---

The Democratic Club Christmas Party will be at 10:30 am at the Grape Leaf on Saturday December 17th.  Bring a Christmas Treat to share.  There will be live music.

---

---

The Democratic Party will be hosting a Meet and Greet from 5:30 to 9:00 Pm on Friday October 21st at the Heritage Villiage Club House. Perspective candidates and representatives from local organizations will be present. Candy Easter, the Kern County Democratic Central Committee Chair will be sharing questions and answers on President Obama's outline for today's issues and concerns. Refreshments will be served.

---

---

All regular Ridgecrest Democratic Club meetings will be at the Grapeleaf.  We have decided that it woud be more convenient to be able to eat a meal at the meetings. We meet in the back room of the restaurant.

---

---

---

---

The Democrats of the High Desert are active again and regularly meeting.  Join us in our new location for our monthly brunch. It is located at the Grape Leaf and is at 10:30 am on the third Saturday of each month. Our general meeting is at the library at 6:30 the second Monday of the month.

---

---

This month's speaker is John Anderson from Habitat For Humanity.
He will speak on what that orgainzation is doing in Ridgecrest and
surroundings, and how individuals can assist them.

The talk is at Casey's Steak & BBQ on November 28 at 10:30 AM

---

---

We will host a booth at the Desert Empire Fair.
The scheduled hours of operation are;

Thursday, Oct 22: 5 PM to 10 PM
Friday__,  Oct 23: 5 PM to 11 PM
Saturday,  Oct 24: Noon to 11 PM
Sunday_,  Oct 25: Noon to 9 PM

Please come by and offer encouragement and support
to the vounteer hosts.

One theme of this year's booth is Health Care -
especially Universal Health Care & the Public Option.

But we will also continue our regular efforts at
disseminating the Democratic Party's central
messages, and recruiting members.

---

---

Marla Erwin of the United Way will speak to us about what they do to help local organizations, and about the opportunities for volunteering in our community.

The talk will be on October 31 at 10:30 AM at

Casey's Steaks & BBQ
1400 N Norma St # 201
(760) 446-8000

---

---

Dr. James Fay and Valerie Karnes will speak at our next
brunch on the CCCC's Wind Technology program.

Dr. James Fay is Vice President of Academic Affairs, and
Valerie Karnes is Dean of Career Technical Education
at Cerro Coso College. This should be a very interesting
and enlightening talk.

---

---

Gene Williams of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare will speak at our Feb 28 brunch at the Texas Cattle restaurant at 10:30AM. This is an important topic, and the talk may last 45 minutes.

Hope to see you all there.

---

---

The Democrats of the High Desert will hold an Obama Inauguration Day
breakfast at Charley's Place in the Carriage Inn on Tues Jan 20 8:00 AM.

The swearing in ceremony will be around 9:00 AM, although I can't find an
exact schedule.  Come celebrate this historic occasion with us.

---

---

We are having a Holiday Party at the Heritage Club House (Heritage Community
off Norma just north of Drummond and behind the Heritage Hotel) on Mon Dec
15 starting at 5:00PM (or whenever you can get there) and lasting however
long people want to stay.  It is pot luck so bring your favorite food
dishes, whatever you like to drink and share with all.  We can toast and
rehash what has been an amazing political year and discuss what needs to be
done to bring this country back to greatness.  Sam Ghaleb is our Heritage
Host as he has arranged for us to use the Club House.

The Holiday Party will take the place of the usual brunch that we hold on
the last Saturday of the month.  Accordingly the Dec brunch has been
cancelled.

---

---

---

---

We are honored to have Holly Mitchell speak at our Brunch on 27 September.

From TradingMarkets.com:

Holly N. Mitchell has been a deputy district attorney in Kern County for some two decades. A 1982 graduate of Howard University School of Law, Mitchell's experience with the District Attorney's office has included criminal prosecution as well as work as a supervisor with the office's child support division and truancy program.

Her judicial philosophy: "There is no place for bias or preconceived ideas. The duty of the judge is to honor the law ...It is not the role of the court to engage in judicial activism. A Superior Court judge acts as a steward of the law for the People. As judge, it would be my public duty and the people's expectation that I live up to that stewardship by applying the law in a fair, firm and efficient manner."

For more details and to help with her campaign, please visit
 http://www.hollymitchellforjudge.com/

---

---

Only the Daily Show has the guts to tell the truth about him.

---

---

---

---

We are honored to have Rachel Carver, of the California Nurses Association,
as our speaker at the July brunch. She will speak on the very important
issue of Universal Healthcare.

If you who are interested in changing the direction of the country and willing to work for a new administration, join us and help make that possible. We have lively discussions and share our hopes for our state and country.

The website for the California Nurses Association is http://www.calnurses.org/.
There you can sign on to help bring about affordable Healthcare for all.

They also maintain the website http://www.singlepayer.com, a critical resource in the fight for single-payer healthcare.

---

---

City Councilman Ron Carter (at right) installed the officers of the Club. The ceremony was held at Charlies (brunch) on January 26, 2008. From right to left are:

• Councilman Ron Carter,
• Ralph Lachenmaier (President),
• Doris Bruce (Secretary),
• Joy Parker (outgoing President), and
• Jim Vijay (Vice President).

Not present were Mary Lewis (Treasurer) and Gordon Wilcher (Member at large).

All of us would like to express our deepest gratitude to all previous office holders, and especially to Joy Parker for doing such a fantastic job as President of the Club for over three years.  Thanks Joy!!

---

---

On Monday 17 December 2007 at 5 PM

at Heritage Club, 425 North Heritage Drive, Ridgecrest, CA.
(Google Map link ).

This is a pot luck dinner.
Please call Joy Parker (375-3706) to coordinate what food/drink to bring.

But, in any case, bring yourself and lots of good cheer!

---

---

Our President, Joy Parker, received a "Good Donkey Award" at the annual Dorothy Donahoe Award ceremony held on 19 October 2007 at The Doubletree Hotel in Bakersfield.


Way to go, Joy!!


The picture above shows the other awardees (wearing corsages or boutonnières). Congressman Jim Costa, in the center, delivered the keynote addres. And Supervisor Michael Rubio (behind Joy) was the Master of Ceremonies.

Five of us from Ridgecrest accompanied Joy to the dinner.  From left to right, Ralph Lachenmaier, Joy Parker, Mary Lewis, Mary Stites, and Jim Vijay. Cathy Stites, Mary's daughter, took the pictures.
Needless to say, we had a great time, and we are very proud of Joy.

To see other pictures Cathy Stites took, visit her gallery.

For more information and pictures, visit the webpage of the Kern Democrats
(http://www.kerndemocrats.com/), or call 661-322-7411.

---