Category: Club events

Terry A. Anderson, retired Associated Press correspondent who was taken hostage in 1985 by Shiite Hezbollah militants and held hostage in Lebanon for six years, will speak at a special Sunday meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club on March 19.

The event, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the lower level of the LOW Clubhouse, is open to the public without regard to political affiliation. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.

Anderson, 68, is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, and author of the best-selling book “Den of Lions,” recounting the time he was held hostage in Lebanon.

He is a former foreign correspondent in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He served as chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, as well as working as a newspaper editor, television and radio reporter and documentary producer.

Anderson has spent 12 years as a journalism professor at Syracuse University, Ohio University, the Columbia University School of Journalism and the University of Florida.

He is honorary chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which works on behalf of journalists under threat around the world, and co-chair of the Vietnam Children’s Fund, which has built more than 50 schools in Vietnam.

He ran unsuccessfully in 2004 for the state senate in his native Ohio.

Anderson now lives in Orange County, where he is working with a group called Virginians for Change in Animal Legislation, which is advocating for tougher animal welfare laws in response to the rescue of abused animals at a farm here farm last year.

Now, perhaps as never before, we need reliable information on how to express our concerns to our elected representatives.

Ellen Wilson, treasurer of the LOW Democrats, has obtained two documents that will be helpful to our members. One is contact information for all our representatives in Washington and Richmond. The other contains links to a variety of organizations who are working to oppose the damaging and dangerous agenda of the current administration.

The documents can be found at the links below. Print them out and put them to work!

• Contact information for our elected representatives
• Resources for involvement and action

The writers of a new book advocating for changes in the American democracy to make it more relevant to the 21st century will present their ideas at a public forum at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 in the LOW Community Center.

The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club.

Jack Trammell and Guy Terrell are the authors of “The Fourth Branch of Government: We the People,” published in July by Brandylane Publishers Inc. of Richmond, Va.

In the book, Trammell and Terrell make the argument that certain fundamental changes in the framework of our democracy — the U.S. Constitution — may be necessary, changes that include eliminating the Electoral College, implementing electronic voting, perhaps even changes leading to a broader and more direct participation by citizens in our governance.

In Chapter 3 of the book, entitled “Our Unfinished Nation,” the authors write: “The Constitution was created to establish a republic, balance the power of the three branches, and establish the mandate to allow governance of a new nation. Changes to the Constitution were then and remain the key to guaranteeing our future. No one wants to destroy the Constitution, but it no longer matches the times we live in either.”

The influence of the Internet and social media, the writers say, has given American citizens greater access to information that ever in our history, but has left many feeling disconnected from the very mechanisms and people who are supposed to represent their interests.

Trammell,  who ran for Congress from Virginia’s 7th District in 2014, is an associate professor of sociology and director of disability support services at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. He was a political science undergraduate at Grove City College in Grove City, Pa., where he earned a bachelor of arts degree. He holds advanced degrees or certificates in education, special education, history education, and research methodology, including master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Terrell, holds a master of business administration degree from George Mason University in Fairfax and a masters degree in information systems from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is a published poet and past president of the Poetry Society of Virginia.

Copies of the book are available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

• “The Fourth Branch of Government” Web site
• Buy the book from Amazon.com
• Buy the book from Barnes & Noble
• Download a flyer advertising this event

Get together with others to watch the first presidential debate at the home of Jim Donovan at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26. Support Hillary Clinton as she demonstrates why she is the only candidate with the knowledge, experience and temperament to lead our nation in the next four years.

Snacks will be provided, but bring your own beverage.

Please RSVP to 540-412-1337 or jamiestoy@hotmail.com