Saturday, March 27, 2010

Coffee Party Takes Next Step in New York

Two weeks after the National Coffee Party Kickoff, which I personally participated in by organizing the Albany County chapter, the Coffee Party USA movement is preparing to get together in another national volunteer-coordinated event this coming weekend.  It is the National Coffee Party Issues Summit in preparation for the National Coffee With Congress in the coming Congressional Recess.

Not sure what all this means or what this is about?  Well, I blogged about my own experience during the Kickoff.  Ours was only one of over 350 Coffee Parties held nationwide at the time when a mere 150,000 fans of the movement had signed onto the Facebook Group.  Today, there are over 180,000 and the movement is growing fast.  But not "furiously."  That's pretty against our core values.

Still not sure what all this means?  Check out the latest videos from coffeepartyusa.com, or visit their heavily trafficked YouTube channel for even more information about the movement that could very well save American politics from itself:

NEXT STEPS: COFFEE PARTY SUMMIT and COFFEE WITH CONGRESS



THE ISSUES: WHAT IS THE COFFEE SPHERE?



You can experience this new technology right here.  Try it with a friend or an enemy to see just how close together you truly are!

And if you're a New Yorker, you can experience what the Coffee Party is like at any of the many events taking place in our Great State listed below the fold.

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One of the key points of the Coffee Party is that leadership positions are temporary by design.  Speaking for myself, this means that the role of "leader" must be temporary.  It also means that the unit of geography, in terms of where these "come togethers" take place is not Albany County or even the City of Albany or even the Third Ward of the city.

It is one coffeeshop.  And the ideal group size is far less than the over 40 people my first gathering attracted.  Instead of seeking to grow in power by getting more and more people behind fewer and fewer leaders (this is how the "real" political parties work), we in the Coffee Party movement intend to grow our numbers by getting a reasonable number of people, ideally no more than a dozen, in every single coffee shop in America.

So far, New York State has seen the number of locations nearly double.  Below is a list of all the Coffee Party Issues Summits that will be taking place this weekend in the lead-up to the National Coffee With Congress effort.  I know that my Albany County meeting inspired the Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga chapters to form.  At my meeting, I intend to both inspire even more, even smaller groups to form...

...and to step down as the "leader" of the Albany County Coffee Party - indeed, to dissolve the group entirely.  I shall reconvene it when the number of Coffee Parties in cafe's throughout Albany County (also known as SD-46) grows to become even longer than the list of current Coffee Parties in the whole Empire State.

There's lots of coffee shops in Albany County.  And even more in New York.  I have no doubt that the next blog I write on this subject will show even more growth...an even greater strength in numbers.  Check them out and see what the Coffee Party is like in your "Teaneck" of the woods :-)


Western New York

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19851
Coffee Party (Jamestown, NY)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Labyrinth Press Company
12 East 4th Street
Jamestown, NY 14701

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19701
Coffee Party Northern Chautauqua County
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Central Station Restaurant
332 Central Avenue
Dunkirk, NY 14048

Central New York

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19735
Coffee Party USA, Ithaca N.Y.
Sun, Mar 28, 2010
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
The Ithaca Bakery in Triphammer Mall
Ithaca, NY 14850

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19766
Coffee Party Fayetteville, NY
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Freedom of Espresso
128 W Genesee St
Fayetteville, NY 13066

Capital Region

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20367
Coffee Party showing 'Capitalism: A Love Story'
Sun, Mar 28, 2010
1:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Saratoga Springs Public Library
49 Henry St.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20411
Schenectady Coffee Party
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Ambition Cafe
154 Jay St.
Schenectady, NY 12305

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20311
Coffee Party - Troy, NY
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Waltja Center
157 First Street
Troy, NY 12180

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19789
Albany County Coffee Party
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Emack & Bolio's
1704 Western Avenue
Guilderland, NY 12203

Hudson Valley

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20255
Coffee Party in Red Hook NY at Taste Budd's
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Taste Budd's
40 West Market Street

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19820
Hudson Valley Coffee Party (New Paltz)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Muddy Cup
58 Main Street
New Paltz, NY 12561

Soundpolitic Blogger's Note: These guys win the Soundpolitic Best Coffee Party description award:

"We will be countering Congressman Maurice Hinchey's "espresso" variety of Coffee Party, which has tried to hijack our efforts and is charging $30-$90 to attend their event in Kingston"

Priceless!


http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19902
Coffee Party USA - Ellenville, NY
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
The Coffee Shop
Ellenville Town Plaza
37 North Main Street
Ellenville, NY 12428

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19944
Coffee Party Hudson Valley, NY (Poughkeepsie)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Crafted Kup
44 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

NYC Metropolitan Area

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19643
Rockland County,NY Coffee Party Movement
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
24A Rockland Plaza
Nanuet, NY 10954

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19974
Coffee Party of Westchester and Fairfield Cties
Sun, Mar 28, 2010
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Panera
10 Westchester Avenue
Portchester, NY 10573

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20530
Coffee Party (Bronx/Lw Westchester)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
216 West 238th Street
(Between Bailey Avenue & Broadway)
Bronx, NY 10463

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20000
Coffee Party - Midtown NYC
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Le Monde Gourmet Deli (mezzanine)
38 West 48th St.
New York, NY 10036

Soundpolitic Blogger's Note: This next one isn't this weekend.  But given the fact that my handle is based on my love of both music AND politics, I feel the need to let folks know about this ASAP:

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20134
Coffee Party Music Event New York City
Starting April 05, 2010 07:00 PM
Ending April 06, 2010 12:00 AM
Otto's Shrunken Head
538 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10009-3347
www.myspace.com/makhir
jon.lancelot@gmail.com

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20329
National Coffee Party Day
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Bleeker Street Bar
Bleeker Street cnr. Cosby Street, next to Lafayette St. where train #6 leaves you.
New York, NY 10012

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=19829
Coffee Party (Brooklyn)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Gorilla Coffee Inc
97 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 230-3244?

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20285
Coffee Party (Mineola, NY)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
O'Carroll's Recover Room
214 Station Plz N
Mineola, NY 11501

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=20488
Coffee Party (Suffolk County)
Sat, Mar 27, 2010
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Starbucks
1250 Middle Country rd.
Selden, NY 11784


See you there.  And remember: you can drink tea, too!

1 comment:

Cabel the Pauper said...

This diary was cross-posted last night on DailyKos and this morning on the front-page of The Albany Project; the thing just wouldn't post to TAP last night for some cryptic techie reason.

I'm a Geek Writer...not a member of Geek Squad :-)