Minutes of March 8th 2006 group meeting - APPROVED.     (for previous meetings' minutes, click here). Present: LloydMattMitchellSean (notetaker) CONSENSUS to approve proposed agenda. Sean to take notes. Intros. After discussion, proposed minutes of February meeting APPROVED without changes. March 18th and March 22nd events: Presentation content referred to Presentation Working Group whose next meeting was rescheduled for Friday 5PM at Lloyd?s house, all welcome. PROPOSAL ?That CAPES flyer March 18th events including the Pilsen feeder march, the Union Park rally, and the rally before the Michigan Avenue march. That CAPES establish financial means for so doing.? CONSENSUS to flyer the Pilsen feeder march, the Union Park rally, and the Michigan Avenue parade on March 18th. At least two members available for each 3/18 event, more volunteers more than welcome. $35 already spent on 400 flyers distributed in Pilsen, Sean will eat cost. All members present agreed to match this with $35 donations establishing a $140 kitty. CONSENSUS to establish kitty and solicit further donations from members not present. PROPOSAL ?That we carry a 3?x8? tape-reinforced-paper banner at the March 18th events and that we establish financial means ($20-$50) for so doing? WITHDRAWN in favor of having more people to flyer. PROPOSAL for banner design WITHDRAWN since there?s no banner! Discussion of handing out free NO WAR buttons with each flyer at peace events ? too expensive, too little time. Discussed request from March 18th Committee (www.chicagoactions.org) for parade marshalls/event facilitators.CONSENSUS not to send event facilitators. Proposal to make up for it with flyering for 3/18 and Pilsen 3/18 feeder march - CONSENSUS to flyer for both March 18th and March 22nd events outside St. Pius Church (2 blocks from 3/22 event site) 10AM the Sunday after this meeting (3/11/05). Logistics: discussion of second translator being approached for event. Update on Pilsen Greens local promotion work being done. Mitchell will invite CAN-TV to shoot the event for broadcast. Near end of presentation, we?ll ask people interested in Parecon to hook up with Pilsen-area groups fighting related, shorter-term struggles ? we?ll present list of possible groups. Non-Pilsen Past/Future Events Discussed flyering at past events: Naomi Klein ?The Take? film, Indymedia fundraiser at ACME, Cindy Sheehan/Juan Torres event at St. Pius, School of the Americas Watch event. Discussed implications of worker-managed factory movement for Parecon and the 3/22 event ? referred discussion to Presentation working group (meeting Friday!). Mitchell proposed forum date offered by Open University of the Left for Saturday June 10th (time TBA) ? June 10th event approved by CONSENSUS. May 6th 2006 Chicago Social Forum: PROPOSAL to get in forum proposal before March 20 proposal deadline. We?ll adapt March 22nd presentation. CONSENSUS to make Matt McBride point person for 2006 CSF event. Re-use forum proposal from 2005 CSF. Midwest Social Forum in July ? early bird deadline for proposals April 1st ? CONSENSUS to send them proposal again based on 2005 CSF proposal. Discussed potential future neighborhood forums in activist/working neighborhoods. Reportbacks Presentation WG Reportback ? nothing not discussed above. Voicemail Team Reportback ? no voicemail messages yet. Sean WITHDREW PROPOSAL for minute-long bilingual voicemail message in face of concerns from Lloyd, Matt, Mitchell.Mitchell ROTATED OFF Voicemail Team, Lloyd ROTATED ON for two-month term. Web Team Reportback and issues ? PROPOSAL to discuss website element by element before evaluating design proposals presented along with website design PROPOSAL by Lloyd. Discussion focused on design proposals, TABLED until April group meeting. PROPOSAL that ?we confirm that maintaining this listserv has been officially assigned as a group task, and that we nail down to whom it's been assigned.? CONSENSUS to assign Lloyd as listserv point person, Mitchell as newsletter point person. Parecon Gaming and Fiction WG Reportback: Mitchell will have more time to initiate WG process soon.   Old Business: PROPOSAL from February meeting (?to develop procedures that would enable group to make time-sensitive decisions without having to wait for group meetings. Discussion considered creating new working groups /empowering existing working groups to speak for CAPES within set parameters on specific issues likely to be time-sensitive, creating procedure for calling emergency meetings, including conference-call style meetings perhaps facilitated through the website.?) TABLED until April meeting. New Business: Also TABLED until April meeting: PROPOSAL ?that the last words of the CAPES mission statement should change from: '. . . based upon the democratic ideals of EQUITY, SOLIDARITY, DIVERSITY, and participatory SELF-MANAGEMENT, in addition to the practical value of real EFFICIENCY so neglected by the current system.' to '. . . based upon ____ democratic ideals of EQUITY, SOLIDARITY, DIVERSITY, real EFFICIENCY, and participatory SELF-MANAGEMENT.'" Also TABLED until April meeting (after discussion about need for radical shortening and also grounding in sectarianism issue) PROPOSED statement: ?Our long-term vision of Parecon cannot be achieved without the evolution of the same immensely powerful and dazzlingly diverse democratic movement which is now becoming understood as a precondition not only of radical economic democratization but of mere human survival. Consequently CAPES has nothing to offer progressive activists which does not contribute to their effectiveness and that of their organizations in achieving short-term change consistent with democracy whether central to Parecon or tangential to it. We do not increase our membershp at the expense of other democratically organized and focused campaigns and we do not ask any organization to divide its energies between its efforts and ours. We are an instrument for furthering debate on the crucial issue of economics because democratic debate on the core issues tends to inspire, educate and unify activist movements - we hope to the point where the implementation of Parecon or some even better vision will be inevitable. We ask organizations, networks, and movements wishing to debate radical democratic vision to consider ours. Parecon is for debating, dissecting, developing, and discarding in free egalitarian debate between people ready to work for a more human world. Our goal is to facilitate actual democracy and so we eschew undemocratic tactics in achieving this goal. In short, we cannot be sectarian, and be for Parecon, at the same time, and democratic groups should not fear that we will employ sectarian tactics in our work for radical long-term change. In rejecting sectarianism we do not reject criticism of or competition and noncooperation with groups commited to radical antidemocratic change; because we find ourselves not in a different sect from groups with antidemocratic commitments and tactics; but rather in different and adversarial movement.? Also TABLED was discussion about defining or choosing not to define CAPES membership. Discussion of pros and cons of busy, structured, formal group meetings. CONSENSUS to initiate monthly CAPES social hour in addition to group meetings, Matt approved as point person, assigned to find time and venue(s). Adjourned at 8:20.