  My friend Jerry was sent this by a friend of his,  and he requested that I post it on my blog.  Date:  Sun,  20 Jun 2004 15: 16:
47 - 0400 ( EDT)  From:  Mischa Gelman To:  Gerald J Nora Subject:
 Notes from initial Democrats for Life of PA meeting Jerry,  Please pass these along to anyone who may be interested.  This is the summary of our first meeting to organize a state branch of Democrats for Life.  If the student groups would be interested in a presentation once things are organized,  I'm sure it could be arranged.  Notes from the Democrats for Life meeting of 6/
13/ 04 in Pittsburgh:  Creating a Pennsylvanian Chapter -  While there has been a Democrats for Life contact in Pennsylvania James Minicozzi)  no incorporation papers have been filed and Lt.  Minicozzi is presently stationed in Iraq -
 To incorporate in Pennsylvania,  we need a board of directors,  bylaws and a mailing address.  There also may be a filing fee -  Bylaws of National DFLA were reviewed and can be adopted as a basis for the state chapter.  -
 Once we have a list of charter members and board members,  we should create an advisory board of pro- life Democratic officeholders.  Pat Casey may be willing to lend a hand in making calls.  Website,  mailing list,
 other technological issues -  While Democrats for Life has a national email list,  a state- specific list would be a good idea to help people remain in contact,  notify one another of pending legislation on the state level and inform folks of pro- life Democratic candidates running for state office -
 Both Erin Devlin and Michael Collins have volunteered to do web design.  Mr.  Collins also will check with folks at Carnegie Mellon University who may be willing to lend a hand.  -  Michael Collins will have a proposal for computer setup ready by 6/ 30 Potential sources of members -
 LEARN ( a pro- life African- American group)  has been a good source for Democrats for Life in other areas.  Jay Ware of Democrats for Life of Illinois was emailed to see if he knew of any local contacts -
 The Catholic Church does not want to get involved in any partisan issues and the secretary for social concerns in the Pittsburgh Diocese did not return a call,  but the Oratory stated that they would accept information in case anyone contacted them -  Other potential recruitment options raised were PLAGL,  anti- death penalty groups,  People Concerned for the Unborn Child,
 the Merton Center and student pro- life groups at the local universities -  Feminists for Life does not release names on its mailing list State Chapters -  The progress of existing chapters was reviewed.  Among projects that are presently being done are rallies,  meetings of pro-
life state representatives,  press conferences,  contacts with the state and county parties ( in some states the Democratic Party has web links to the local Democrats for Life or distributes our literature in their offices)  -  Many chapters are just getting off the ground and none is older than 5 years,
 so we're not alone in starting from a minimal base.  A date for going public could well be within 6- 12 months.  Once we have a strong base of members,  elected officials and an organized structure we should be able to get some press attention Other Notes -  Brendan Boyle is running for office in the Philadelphia area.
 He is presently busy with his campaign but would be a possible leadership candidate for Democrats for Life of Pennsylvania should his campaign be unsuccessful.  His campaign manager,  Dan Lotise,  also would be a good option as president of DFLA in Pennsylvania -  Pat Casey may lead an effort to start a pro- life Democratic PAC,
 possibly to be named Casey Democrats in honor of our former governor and present auditor general.  Democrats for Life of America serves as a lobbying group,  not a PAC -  Some chapters have been approached by Republicans who are interested in lending a hand.  Members of Democrats for Life must be Democrats or else we run the risk of being accused of being a front group for the Republicans No man is an island,  entire of itself;
 every man is a piece of the continent,  a part of the main. Any man's death diminishes me,  because I am involved in mankind.  And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;  it tolls for thee -
 John Donne I'm afraid I gave up on the Democratic Party about a decade ago ( and am less than sanguine about the Republican Party as well)  but an attempt to break up the pro- death monopoly in a major political party certainly deserves our prayers.  The e- mail address for Mischa Gelman is mgelman@
city- net. com .
