When the LCYDs our discussing which candidates and issues that we would to throw our support towards it is generally believed that we should focus our energy on local issues.
When something important happens on the national level we try to figure out how it effects us locally, the impact on Leon County or the State of Florida. Over the last few days the FLNews Blog has done a great job of showing how Congressman Delay's actions are effecting our state.
If you haven't already I encourage you to check his post from the last few days. You can read about the Dirty Dozen Congressmen and women taking money from his PAC, you can read about the Sorry Seven that are helping to raise money for his legal defense fund. You can also read about the bloggers experiences contacting the campaigns of these elected officials and see their reaction to his questions such as:
"Now that Tom DeLay has been indicted, does Katherine Harris plan to give back the $20-thousand she received from DeLay's Political Action Committee?"
Check out the FLNews blog to see the unexpected answer to that question!
On Sunday the Tallahassee Democrat ran an article where they reaffirmed their endorsement of the independent redistricting ballot initiative, even with its flaws. You can check out the link in the title bar for the whole article.
Here is a brief highlight:
"Drawing their own districts is a blatant conflict of interest for lawmakers, and it's unnatural in a state where voter registration is almost evenly split by party. It's not right no matter which party is in charge and does the gerrymandering.....Bring back competitive elections by signing the petitions. One of the three was dealt a setback in August when it was determined to be six words too long, but the remaining two should not be abandoned. The most important one establishes the nonpartisan commission; the flawed one is less important, having to do with requiring compact districts and respect for geographical boundaries. These standards could be established later"
The fight continues on! 611,009 signatures are needed to for each amendment by the end of the year. As of Wednesday, 363,864 had been collected. If you haven't already, go to their website print out the petitions and sign them, it is www.committeeforfairelections.com.
"British troops will start a major withdrawal from Iraq next May under detailed plans on military disengagement to be published next month...Britain has already privately informed Japan - which also has troops in Iraq - of its plans to begin withdrawing from southern Iraq in May, a move that officials in Tokyo say would make it impossible for their own 550 soldiers to remain."
Not good for us.
Sean Flanagan posted about Phil Donahue's recent appearance on The O'Reilly Factor to discuss Cindy Sheehan. The link in the title includes video clips, transcripts and a discussion of the interview.
This was an intense and interesting conversation. If you are interested in the continuing controversy surrounding the Iraqi War you should at least read through the transcript.
The T-shirt proudly boast that 'Kanye was Right' it is being offered by the Color of Change website. The website that is asking:
"We are asking 250,000 African-Americans and concerned allies to make a commitment. To ensure that our brothers and sisters are protected, and that they are never left behind again. To make sure that our folks in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have a chance to be a major part of the rebuilding effort, and that they are given a chance to thrive. To ensure that Bush cannot use this crisis as yet another way to fatten the pockets of his friends and supporters, and further erode our government's support for those that need it the most.
No matter what your race or income level, you know what you saw was wrong. "
Check it out, it is being promoted by the League of Pissed Off Voters. As many of you are aware the League did a lot of good in Florida during the last election cycle working with the Young Voters Alliance, a coalition that didn't survive the loss of the last election, and I am glad to report that the league is still raising awareness.
Last Night's LCYD Meeting went really well. We were lucky to have Omar Kahn, the Executive Director of the Florida Young Democrats join us. The FYDs have an impressive new website that I encourage you to check out: www.floridayd.org. It is still under construction but it is already leaps and bounds above what it use to be.
The LCYDs met are group requirement at last nights meeting, so we will be marching on in this weekend's Heart Walk!
Lastly a great young democratic leader has resigned in Tampa today. Janee Murphy, the Hillsborough DEC Chair, a DNC member and the elected Secretary for the Florida Democratic Party. I am sure that Janee will stay active with party politics, but I believe that it is a shame that we drive out some of our most promising young leaders.
There has been a rash of Blog Spam taking advantage of the Google/Blogspot bloging service. I have taken the liberty of adding in a word verification feature for to our comments section. There is a link in the title bar that explains the need and inner workings of the process. From now on to post a comment on our blog you will be asked to verify a word in a box so that automated machines can't post random comments on the blog with links to their vendor website. You can see an example of this Blog Spam on an earlier post on our Blog from last week. LINK
If you have any strong feelings for or against this new feature, please post a comment in the comments section and let the group know.
Today's Tallahassee Democrat, our local daily newspaper, ran a story about Kate Gonsalves a 22 year old survivor of heart disease. She works at one of the local Tropical Smoothies here in town and one of the reasons that Tropical Smoothie is raising money for this weekends Heart Walk at every store.
The LCYDs have committed to help raise money and participate in this event, but at this time we don't have our goal number of participants. We need more of our members to sign up today, while there is still a week to fundraise.
We have a LCYD meeting tonight and we will discuss whether to continue to participate in this American Heart Association fundraiser, with out your commitment we probably will shift our focus for the weekend. Click the link in the title bar to sign up now.
JEB Jr was arrested Friday night in Austin Texas. This is his second run in with the police, the first time was here in Tallahassee, but he was not arrested, nor was his name mentioned in the police report just 'political ties', but it was Jeb Jr who was caught, quite literally, with his pants down. (This is Tallahassee, you can't keep these things secret)
This new arrest puts him above his brother for police reports, his brother has only earned one write up, so far. George P. Bush was not arrested because the family of his ex-girlfriend, whose house he vandalized, did not press charges.
I not sure, depending on how we are counting, it either ties him with his sister, or she is still ahead. Noelle Bush has been arrested twice.
His cousins, the president's daughters, have had some run ins with the law (and alcohol) in Austin too.
His uncle, the president, he has had problems with alcohol too.
His mom, the first lady of Florida, has had some sketchy moments with the 'law' also.
I know that people say that it is wrong to discuss personal matters in public, just because it involves politicians and their families, but it amazes me. The Bushes have been a leading' family in the United States for over a hundred years. It just seems that the children, nephews, grandchildren, nieces of Presidents should have self control, and if not, if they cannot demonstrate self control, then perhaps the right should reevaluate their positions on a lot of issues.
Check out the Blog link in the title bar...The FL News Blog is written by a former LCYD member and he is often right on with his points. This posting is about Mel Martinez, who voted against establishing "a congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of the United States especially in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other areas impacted in the aftermath and make immediate corrective measures to improve such responses in the future."
If you look at the link you will see that it was a party line vote. Mike's point that this is not about politics is one that I support. Check it out: http://flnews.blogspot.com/
We talk about having the power -- now it's time to harness and direct it toward making a difference. And the DFA Training Academy is coming to Gainesville, Florida on October 15-16, 2005 to help you do just that.Grassroots leaders are working to bring you a weekend full of campaign training, simulation and serious fun. Sign up today:http://www.democracyforamerica.com/fltraining
At the DFA Training Academy, you'll learn how to effectively communicate a message, influence your local media, run a local campaign and build your local group's attendance, activity, and effectiveness.Local and national experts on campaign management, field organizing, communications and Get-Out-The-Vote will be on-hand to instruct and work with you one-on-one to develop the skills needed to take our country back.
This is no social get together; the training is an intensive two-day series of sessions and workshops geared toward your particular political landscape. We build the program so you can go out and actually use the skills you learn as soon as you get home. We follow up with you to make sure you have the support you need in your communities.http://www.democracyforamerica.com/fltraining
If you can't make the Gainesville training in October, check out some of the other training dates across the country:http://www.democracyforamerica.com/training
See you in Gainesville!
If Tallahassee Gas Prices have you down, you could consider carpooling. Commuter services of North Florida is taking advantage of the high gas prices to get people to share rides to work and home. The link in the title bar will take you to their website.
You can also register for their guaranteed ride home program, where if you have carpooled to work and have an emergency and have to get home or stay at work late they will provide you a taxi.
Just something to think about.
The Leon County Young Democrats are proud to annouce their participation in the 2005 Heart Walk in support of the American Heart Association. Every man, woman, and child is at risk from heart disease and stroke, America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers. The American Heart Association is working to prevent, treat, and defeat these devastating diseases by funding new breakthroughs in research, increasing people's knowledge and power over their health, and advocationg for healthier communities. The Heart Walk is the AHA's main public fundraiser for the year.
The 2005 Heart Walk will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2005 at Southwood. We will be meeting at 8:30 am. We need at least 8 team members (more are fine), so if you would like to be part of our team, you will need to:
1. Respond to this post or contact me directly.
2. Click on the link above to register at the Heart Walk 2005 website. To join the Leon County Young Democrats team, just start at "Register Here" on the home page and follow the directions from there. Don't worry, it's easy and pretty self-explanatory.
Our team goal for fundraising is $800, meaning each individual's goal will be about $100. To accomplish this goal, you can either send friends and family an e-mail from the Heart Walk 2005 website which allows them to contribute directly to your individual goal online, or you can collect cash and checks with a collection envelope you can get from me. I recommend a minimum donation of $5 per person.
Everyone who participates will get a t-shirt, but I am STRONGLY suggesting that we all wear our new LCYD t-shirts during the walk. If you do not have one yet and would like to participate in the Heart Walk, please contact me about purchasing one. Don't worry if you think you won't be able to raise your individual goal...just join our team and collect as much as you can. You can contact me at cwfetrow@yahoo.com or at 322-8356.
Hope to see lots of YD's at the event!
Congratulations to the Florida State university football team! I assume that everyone who reads this blog is some how associated with the great state of Florida and if that is the case then you are already aware that FSU broke its losing streak to the University of Miami last night! The team played very hard and did a great job, and I am excited about the rest of this season! Quote Coach Bobby Bowden: "We finally stole one from them after they've been stealing from us. ... This win will really help us. " Link
For the local LCYDs, don't forget that our regularly scheduled meeting (1st and 3rd Monday of every month at the FDP HQ) was postponed until tonight at 7PM.
Lastly, in Sunday's Tallahassee Democrat there was an editorial that summed up my frustration with our government and the way it has been handling itself over the last few years. Gerald Ensley's frustration continues to grow and the situation in New Orleans is not helping. Here is a quick quote, but I encourage you to click the Link and read the short opinion piece:
"Our government seems to grow more impotent by the year - and we've encouraged it.
For more than a decade, there has been constant applause for downsizing government. The Republican Party has made replacing government services with private initiatives its raison d'tre. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush once crowed he longed for the day when we have no government agencies.
That attitude has eroded public services, hamstrung regulatory safeguards, undercut public projects and discouraged many of the best and brightest from government service. We've made government a dirty word.
That's wrong."
Should Virginia's political bloggers adhere to a code of ethical conduct? And if so, will it set up a precedent for other political blogs in other states?
Bloggers Debate Code of Conduct for Political Sites
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005;
CHARLOTTESVILLE
Should Virginia's political bloggers adhere to a code of ethical conduct?
That question was posed at a first-of-its-kind conference last weekend hosted by the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
Using a computer with Internet access and some simple Web-based software, anyone can create a blog, which allows commentary from the well-informed as well as from people who have little to add to public discussions.
(Full disclosure: I have a political blog of my own: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/racetorichmond .)
On Saturday, more than 50 of the state's bloggers -- on the right and the left, the young and the old -- spent a day meeting each other and debating whether there is a need for a common moral compass for this new form of political communication.
The conclusion among many of them was that there is not.
Several said they view their blogs as extensions of their very personal voices. No one, they insisted, has any business telling them what they should say or how they should say it.
Those who held that view expressed exasperation at the idea that government would try to regulate blogs. "Have you ever heard of 'Congress shall make no law?' " one asked, referring to the first few words of the First Amendment and the constitutional protection of freedom of speech.
The prospect of regulation prompted a different response from some of the bloggers assembled at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville.
Chris Piper , an official with the Virginia State Board of Elections, told the group that several lawmakers have approached his office with concerns about blogs. They alleged that the blogs were being used by their political opponents to spread lies and misleading information and were not meeting the state's rules on reporting expenditures made on behalf of candidates.
That kind of concern, Piper told them, often translates quickly into legislation.
Bloggers, Piper said, are required to put disclaimers on their sites if they become advocates for candidates or ballot measures. They can also be required to register as campaign agents if they reach spending thresholds.
Still, lawmakers could seek more regulation.
Some bloggers said the best way to head off that possibility is to create a voluntary code of conduct similar to ones in place for journalists, lawyers, real estate agents and other professionals. Bloggers who agree to follow the code might put a "seal of approval" on their sites, lending credibility to their discourse.
Several bloggers argued that such a code would have to be adapted to fit within the freewheeling format of blogs, which offer readers the opportunity for a back-and-forth discussion with little traditional reporting.
Jim Bacon , who runs one of the best Virginia blogs at http://www.baconsrebellion.blogspot.com/ , said after the conference that he is eager to convene a second meeting of bloggers.
"I am not -- repeat not -- suggesting that standards and business models be imposed on anyone. The blogosphere is too anarchic to control, even if anyone wanted to," he has written. "I am talking about a 'coalition of the willing,' so to speak, of those who aspire to take blogging to a higher plane."
Bacon said a group called the Creative Change Center in Richmond is willing to host a second conference.
It's probably a good idea.
The die-hard bloggers are right, in a sense. Their sites are extensions of their voices, and they are pretty much free to say whatever they could say on a street corner or in a pamphlet handed out in a park.
Just as the people on the street corner are free to walk away and those in the park can toss the unwanted pamphlet into the trash, blog readers are free to go elsewhere.
If Virginia's political bloggers want more influence and credibility, they should begin by earning reputations for telling the truth, being upfront about who they are, and treating their audiences with intelligence and decency.
That doesn't mean they need to dumb down or even lose the edgy and sometimes acerbic style that often keeps people coming back.
It does mean they need to learn how to balance those traits with ones that traditional reporters strive to uphold every day.
A code of conduct won't ensure that every blogger strikes the right balance. But it's a start.
