   Did your (provisional) vote count? You can check Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes is announcing a new "did my vote count?'' system. Voters who had to fill out provisional ballots can look on her website to determine whether their vote ultimately was counted, and if not, why. The system also can be used to check a voter's eligibility or look up an absentee vote. Provisional ballots are used when a voter's identification or eligibility is in question at the polls. According to Snipes' office, in order to look up your vote, you must have your provisional ballot receipt number. If you don't have website access, you can call for help. I'll post the phone numbers on the jump page. To look up your vote, go to www.browardsoe.org and click on "Check Your Registration, Absentee Ballot, or Provisional Ballot Status.'' Here's the direct link. 954-394-4980 |
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Did My Vote Count?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Broward Democratic Party Organizational Meeting
Fort Lauderdale And Dania BeachSunday December 7th 1 p.m. The election of the new leadership for the Broward Democratic Party. Pre-registration at 1 p.m. with the formal meeting to begin at 2 p.m. Voting will be by elected members of the Democratic Executive Committee. Please have photo identification with you. Members may be represented by proxy by another registered Democrat from the same precinct as the elected DEC member. Millennium Middle School Ron Mills Broward County Democrats Leader 954-394-4980 |
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Thank You Howard Dean
Four years ago, after John Kerry's devastating loss, DFA members nationwide decided to not give up. We created the 50 State Strategy. We demanded a people-powered Democratic Party. And we ran and elected Democracy for America founder Governor Howard Dean for Democratic Party Chair to deliver the results. The rest is history. Governor Dean never let us down and now it's time to give him the credit he has earned. Please join me and thank Howard for getting the job done. CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR NAME The 50 State Strategy laid the ground work for President-Elect Obama's 50 State Campaign and landslide victory. Governor Dean delivered a 50 State primary between two historic candidates. Every Democrat in every state had a chance to cast their vote and make it matter. Governor Dean's leadership created a tidal wave of progressive victories in 2006. And even before we elected him to DNC Chair, Governor Dean led DFA's early endorsement of Barack Obama for U.S. Senate. Making Barack one of the first Dean Dozen candidates and shining a national spotlight on a soon to be rising star. Let's deliver hundreds of thousands of messages from people across America and around the world thanking Governor Dean for making change happen. To make sure Governor Dean knows exactly how we feel, he should hear it directly from you. Please add your name and your own personal message right now. CLICK HERE TO THANK GOVERNOR DEAN TODAY It is a great time to be an American. In 2004, we knew that if we worked together this day would come. I'm proud of what we have accomplished together and I can't wait for 2009.  954-394-4980 |
Thursday, October 30, 2008
All Hands On Deck
Broward Democrats Will Be Phone Banking For Ron Klein, Linda Bird and Chris Chiari and Scott Israel Thursday Evening, beginning October 30th From 6pm to 9pm at the GLBT GOTV Center
954-394-4980 |
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Area Nine Phone Banking Night
| Over the last weekend volunteers registered nearly 8,500 new voters. We realize this is the first step in a two part process since we now have to motivate and persuade these new voters, along with ten thousand others, to vote in their first Presidential election. Past statistics have shown only one in four new registered voters actually cast a ballot in their first election unless the campaign and the party contact them again and again to vote. Then the turnout for these new voters approaches the rate of more established voters (which in this case will be an 80% turnout). The Obama campaign bought $2.9 million in television advertisements in Florida for the week ending 6 October 2008 During this same week McCain spend $0.6 million. This advertising advantaged has tipped Florida into the Democratic column. There is much to be done during the next 26 days to ensure we stay there. Area Nine Democrats Will Be Phone Banking Every Thursday Evening, beginning October 15th From 7pm to 9pm at the GLBT GOTV Center
If you can not volunteer on any of these times, please Contact Linda Jain at 954-630-VOTE to let her know what times you can volunteer to work the phones for AREA NINE, please identify your self as a Precinct Leader when you call. 954-394-4980 |
Sunday, September 21, 2008
GOTV Training
GOTV TRAINING SEPTEMEBER 20TH 2008 Opening Video "YES WE CAN" Voter Access Network " VAN Training Full Manual Tips MyCampaign Phone Bank Training CLICK HERE * Be sure to watch the video on the last page, you must be online and click on the picture Canvass Training CLICK HERE * Be sure to watch the video on the second and last page, you must be online and click on the picture. The last video shows how to use my.Barack.com system for canvassing and phone banking. Lay Of The Land "Creating Value" Download Lay Of The Land Form VOTE By Mail Download Vote By Mail Flier CLICK HERE Blogging How To Start A Blog 10 TIPS FOR POSTING TO YOUR BLOG Posting comments on other Blogs
© Ron Mills Ron@BrowardforChange.com 954-394-4980
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
Get Out The Vote Training
Get Out The Vote Training For All Precinct Committee Members and Area Leaders & Community Organizers Agenda 9:00 AM Light Breakfast 9:30- 10:30 AM : Voter Access Network Training 10:30 AM-11:00 :Phone Banking Training 11:00 AM 12:00 PM: Creating Value And Vote By Mail 12:00 PM- 12:30: PM Lunch 12:30 PM- 1:00 PM: Canvass Training 1:00 PM-2:00 PM: Blogging Your Message 2:00 PM Hititng The Streets To Canvass Phone Bank And Blog When: Saturday September 20th 9:00 Am To 2:00 PM Where The New GOTV Center 2040B N. Dixy Higway, Wilton Manors, FL MAP Click HERE RSVP Ron Mills 954-394-4980 954-394-4980 |
Monday, September 15, 2008
Precinct Leaders
 Precinct Leaders in Area Nine, I would like to get a sense of who will be working their precincts during this election cycle, so we can coordinate with other campaign to make sure we are not overlapping and so we can assure every precinct is canvassed and called. Please contact me by either phone or email and let me know if you Will be working your precinct. anyone not contacting me, it will be assumed you will not be working your precinct and I will let the campaigns know they will need to work those precincts. Looking forward to seeing you at our training Saturday 20th September at 900 AM  Ron Mills- Area Leader Fort Lauderdale- Dania Beach 954-394-4980 |
Friday, September 12, 2008
"Neighbor to Neighbor" Program--
| "Neighbor to Neighbor" Program-- The Democratic National Committee has done a scientific experiment studying the various ways of increasing voter conversion--
All methods except one generated only a 1 or 2% increase in voter participation. The ONE METHOD that increased voter participation the most, 12%, was neighbors knocking on neighbors doors-- mailers affect 1 in 400 voters phone calls affect 1in 50 voters face to face contact - connects 1 in 12 "Neighbor to Neighbor" Program-- All you do is log in to MY.BARACKOBAMA.COM/VOTERCONTACT and follow the directions from there. They will help you print out a walk list of 20 undecided voters who live near you (there is a flyer too). Then you knock on each person's door and ask them where they stand and record their responses so we can get them out to vote in November if they are a strong supporter, try to persuade them further if they are undecided or just leave them alone if they are not supporting. You don't have to do it all at once. You can do it an hour at a time in the evenings or whenever you get some free time. If someone isn't home, just come back another time until you have talked to all 20 people on your list. You can input your data at any time, you don't have to wait until you get to all 20 people. The next time you log in and click on the "NEIGHBOR to NEIGHBOR" button, you will see a button labeled "Report Voter Contacts" at the top of the screen. Just click on that button and report your data for each person. And then, please sign up for more contacts if you can. For more training on door knocking see our training program the second page is a video, you will need to be online to view the video, you can enlarge the video to full screen, the video lasts 5 minutes 954-394-4980 |
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
8 More Things That Makes Palin Bad For America
| 1: Palin Tried to Ban Books From Local Library Thanks to Bush, the Republican Party is not strongly associated with intellectualism. But Sarah Palin has apparently taken the conservative derision for book-learnin' to a whole new level: Timereports that as mayor Palin asked the town librarian how to go about banning books from the local library. News reports from the time show that the librarian, who, strangely enough, was opposed to a tactic commonly employed by totalitarian regimes, had her job threatened for not giving her "full support" to the mayor. The People for the American Way have issued a statementcondemning Palin's actions and demanding an explanation from her:
People can disagree about a lot of things, but censorship is completely beyond the pale. Our democracy was founded on the belief that government shouldn't tell people what kinds of books to read or what kind of beliefs to hold. No one with that kind of history should be anywhere near the White House. Sarah Palin needs to clarify her stance on freedom of speech immediately, and John McCain needs to explain why he chose a running mate with so little regard for the Constitution.
So far the McCain campaign has been quiet about Palin's attempts to legislate what books people should be allowed to read. 2: Palin Apparently Doesn't Put 'Country First' A central and integral part of the McCain Campaign's message is "Country First." McCain is a POW who has always put country before personal gain, as he and his handlers have reminded the public time after time after time. So if the vetting process of Palin was as thorough as McCain's people (and McCain himself) have been claiming, how is it that they missed this:
Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which since the 1970s has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.
And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First - Alaska Always."
Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.
"We are a state's rights party," Clark -- a self-employed goldminer -- tells ABC News. The AIP has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."
"Alaska First, Alaska Always." Huh, I don't suppose there's a unless-you-are-nominated-to-be-Vice-President clause is there? No, probably not. 3: Palin's Love Affair With Earmarks McCain, when introducing Palin on Friday in Ohio, praised her as a champion for "reform to end the abuses of earmark spending." When it was Palin's turn to speak she mentioned her claimed opposition to the famous pork barrel project, "the bridge to nowhere" as an example of her tough stance on earmarks. Well we all know it turned out that she was actually for the bridge long before she was against it. Apparently her love affair with earmarksdoesn't end there:
… under her leadership, the state of Alaska has requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million in next year's federal budget …
But hey, it was her first shot at being Governor of Alaska. Maybe things were different when she was mayor?
As mayor of the small city of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin appears to have made use of the system she now decries, hiring a Washington lobbyist, Steven Silver, to represent the town.
After he was hired, the city obtained funding for several projects, including a city bus facility that received an earmark valued at $600,000 in 2002. That year a local water and sewer project received $1.5 million in federal earmarks, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog organization.
Hmmm, Steven Silver, why does that name sound familiar? Talking Points Memo is quick to remind us:
… Silver appears to have additional ties that could further undercut Palin's image as a squeaky-clean reformer. According to Senate lobbying disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, from 2002 to 2004 Silver listed as a client Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig. On Greenberg's behalf, Silver lobbied the federal government on "issues relating to Indian/Native American policy," "exploration for oil and gas" and "legislation relating to gaming issues" -- the very issues that Abramoff headed up for Greenberg at the time. In other words, Silver appears to have been a part of "Team Abramoff.
So this is the breath of fresh air that McCain wants in Washington? Earmarks aplenty and links to the infamous Jack Abramoff? If that's a step in the right direction I don't want to see the step in the wrong one. 4: Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms Not many pregnant teens are as privileged as Bristol Palin. And for those who are not, Sarah Palin made things a little harder a few months ago when she used a line-item veto to cut funding for a transitional home for teen moms in Alaska. According to theWashington Post:
After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.
According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."
(It certainly doesn't sound like the teen moms were joyriding in Cadillacs on the government's dime, but you never know.) In classic "compassionate" Conservative fashion, Palin opposes programs that teach girls how not to get pregnant, lobbies against their right to decide whether to have a child, then kills social programs that exist to cushion the impact of those policies. She then has the gall to trot out her own pregnant daughter as a symbol for "family values." 5: Crazy Reverend, Crazy Church From the age of 12 and for most of her adult life, Sarah Palin attended the Wasilla Assembly of God. Apparently, Sarah Palin's God was a vengeful God; one that made Himself helpful to the Bush Administration from time to time by damning critics of the President, Democrats, and other irredeemable sinners. The Huffington Post writes that the Church's preacher Ed Kalinins:
… preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war "contending for your faith;" and said that Jesus "operated from that position of war mode."
Kalinins also offered a nuanced view of foreign policy, preaching that 9/11 and the Iraq war were part of a greater struggle over Christianity, with Jesus playing an important role as a very exacting General:
"What you see in Iraq, basically, is a manifestation of what's going on in this unseen world called the spirit world. … We need to think like Jesus thinks. We are in a time and a season of war, and we need to think like that. We need to develop that instinct. We need to develop as believers the instinct that we are at war, and that war is contending for your faith. … Jesus called us to die. You're worried about getting hurt? He's called us to die.
It can't necessarily be assumed that Palin agrees wholeheartedly with her former pastor. But in an address to the church three months ago, Palin also used disconcertingly religious language to frame the conflict in Iraq:
"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."
Considering how much flak Obama got for the statements of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, this is an issue Palin needs to address. 6: McCain Picking Palin Reeks of Sexism The McCain campaign is already doing their best to deflect all the negative stories that are coming out about Palin by calling Democrats sexist, and by claiming that they are the party that values women's rights. Of course, Dems had a woman on the presidential ticket in 1984 (Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro) so Republicans aren't breaking glass ceilings here but are actually 24 years late to the party. When it comes to sexism, it seems the party that isn't for equal pay or for a woman's right to choose should take a quick look in the mirror before accusing others of sexism. In fact McCain's idea that women will vote for the McCain/Palin ticket just because Palin has a vagina is incredibly condescending, as Ann Friedman at the American Prospect writes:
Palin's addition to the ticket takes Republican faux-feminism to a whole new level. As Adam Serwer pointed out on TAPPED, this is in fact a condescending move by the GOP. It plays to the assumption that disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters did not care about her politics -- only her gender. In picking Palin, Republicans are lending credence to the sexist assumption that women voters are too stupid to investigate or care about the issues, and merely want to vote for someone who looks like them. As Serwer noted, it's akin to choosing Alan Keyes in an attempt to compete with Obama for votes from black Americans.
A candidate should be chosen because they are qualified for the job, not because of their gender. Any hard working woman whose been passed over for a promotion could have told the McCain campaign that. 7: Palin Can't Even Run a Car Wash Many politicians have a strong background in business: CEOs, executives, business presidents, self-made millionaires, etc. The thinking is that a businessperson is economically savvy, has executive experience, and can make tough calls and quick decisions. Well Palin has some experience in the private sector: while she was Mayor of Wasilla Palin had time to open up a car wash in Anchorage. Good for her, nothing wrong with a little public service cushioned by some private business while raising a family. But by the time Palin was Governor of Alaska her business had run into trouble, as Matthew Mosk reports for the Washington Post:
State records show the business ran into trouble with Alaska's division of corporations business and professional licensing after Palin became governor of the state in 2006.
A Feb. 11, 2007 letter to the governor's business partner advises that the car wash had "not filed its biennial report and/or paid its biennial fees," which were more than a year overdue.
The warning letter was written on state letterhead, which carried Palin's name at the top, next to the state seal.
On April 3, 2007, the state went further and issued a "certificate of involuntary dissolution" because of the car wash's failure to file its report and pay state licensing fees.
The least you can accuse Palin here is of mismanagement (of a car wash!) and at worst she was abusing her political clout by trying to cut corners. Either way Palin doesn't come off as the kind of executive you'd want running your business, let along your country. 8: Lied About Foreign Travel In an attempt to inflate her non-existant foreign policy credentials, Palin's spokespeople stated shortly after her nomination that shehad travelled to Germany, Kuwait, and Ireland: you know, the three countries most likely to give rise to catastrophic national security emergencies in the next four years. But not only is Palin's travel history unimpressive, it was also being blatantly misrepesented. According Jim Aravois an Irish blogger has just revealed that Palin was in Ireland for a brief refueling layover. And as Aravosis argues, Palin's lack of travel experience outside of "duty-free-diplomacy" has major implications:
… John McCain, who is 72 and has had 4 bouts of cancer, [has] picked Sarah Palin to replace him as commander in chief should he die or be incapacitated in office. POSTED AT ALTERNET.COM 954-394-4980 |
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Top Ten Reasons Palin Is BAD For America
1: Palin supports gunning down wolves from planes Sarah Palin is no friend of wildlife. And let's not blame this on her being a hunter. Plenty of subsistence hunters respect animals. But Palin reportedly came out against legislation introduced by Rep. George Miller, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, that would "end Alaska's policy of allowing people to shoot wolves from airplanes." Miller is among a large number of folks who believe the practice is not only cruel, it's unnecessary (proponents say it is to keep caribou and moose numbers up for other hunters) and a violation of federal law banning airborne hunting. Palin has also tried to make gunning down wolves (and even bears) from the air easier and financially rewarding. As the Huffington Post reported: Last year, the state offered a $150 bounty as an incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more wolves. And leading up to this week's statewide vote on Measure 2 to stop the aerial shooting of wolves and bears, Palin's Board of Game spent $400,000 of public money on brochures and radio ads to influence the election. She not only took an inhumane and unsporting position at odds with the principles of wildlife management and fair chase, but did it in an undemocratic and underhanded way. Palin has been said to have a "failing record" on wildlife -- including being in favor of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- and she has opposed efforts to protect beluga whales in the Cook Inlet (whose numbers have dropped to just 375) because it might adversely affect the oil and gas industries. 2: Palin doesn't believe global warming is man-made At every campaign stop, McCain says that human activity is the driving force behind global climate change. For the first time in its history, the GOP caught up to the rest of the planet by accepting the reality of man-made climate change in its 2008 platform. It reads, "The same human activity that has brought freedom and opportunity to billions has also increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere," and "increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the earth." But Palin is among the conservative fringe that rejects the scientific consensus. According to the Washington Post, "Sarah Palin told voters there she wasn't sure climate change wasn't simply part of a natural warming cycle." Palin told the conservative Web site NewsMax, "I'm not one ... who would attribute it to being man-made." This may help explain why Palin announced this year that Alaska would sue the Department of the Interior over its decision to add the polar bear to its list of endangered species. If people are "over-reacting" to global warming, as Palin has said, then the polar bears' rapidly dwindling habitat should be fine and those bears can fend for themselves. As Palin explained in an op-ed in the New York Times, "I strongly believe that adding them to the list is the wrong move at this time. ... The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, has argued that global warming and the reduction of polar ice severely threatens the bears' habitat and their existence. In fact, there is insufficient evidence that polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct within the foreseeable future." 3: Palin is the candidate of powerful far right-wing cabal; her nomination seals their support for the little-wanted McCain As Max Blumenthal reports: Last week ... the country's most influential conservatives met quietly in Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy. CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges. ... This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain. What happened at the secret meeting was the topic of online commentary by one of its attendees, top Dobson/Focus on the Family flack Tom Minnery. Minnery described the mood as CNP members watched Palin: "And I have to tell you, that speech -- people were on their seats applauding, cheering, yelling ... That room in Minneapolis watching on the television screen was electrified. I have not seen anything like it in a long time." Minnery added that his boss, Dobson, has yearned for a conservative female leader like Margaret Thatcher to emerge on the American scene. And while Palin is no Thatcher, "she has not rejected the feminine side of who she is, so for that reason, she will be attractive to conservative voters." The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick. With her selection, the Republican nominee is suddenly -- and unexpectedly -- assured of the support of a movement that once opposed his candidacy with all its might. Case in point: While Dobson once said he could "never" vote for McCain, he issued a statement last week hailing Palin as an "outstanding" choice. If Dobson's enthusiasm for Palin is any indication, he may soon emerge from his bunker in Colorado Springs to endorse McCain, providing the Republican nominee with the support of the Christian right's single most influential figure. 4: Palin staunchly opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest Sarah Palin is strongly anti-choice, but she has taken her views on abortion to an extreme that may prove unpopular even among Republicans. Palin only supports abortion if the mother's health is in danger. Rape and incest don't register with her as legitimate reasons to honor a woman's right to choose -- not even if the women is her own daughter. In 2006, when her daughter Bristol was only 14, Palin said that she would not support choice even if her daughter were raped. She made that announcement at a time when Alaska was plagued with a rape rate more than twice as high as the national average. "This is absolutely outside the mainstream. Even in South Dakota they rejected (outlawing abortion in cases of rape) in '06 because it has gone too far and everyone can identify that in a case of rape or incest a woman should have the chance to make the decision with their family or doctor," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro Choice America, told the Huffington Post. "Women voters are going to reject both her and John McCain, and I think we see it specifically because we reach out to Republicans and independent pro-choice women. They live in the suburbs and exurbs. They are very much part of the mainstream America. And woman in general will reject that ticket." 5: Palin takes unnecessary risks with the health of her own child, supports failed abstinence-only programs Amid the now-disproven rumors that the Palins' fifth child, Trig, was the son of her 17-year-old daughter, are reports that Sarah Palin seriously endangered her child during labor. Palin was in Texas delivering a speech when she allegedly began to leak amniotic fluid. Instead of immediately checking into a hospital, Palin finished her speech. She then flew to Anchorage, Alaska, where she drove to a hospital 45 minutes away to give birth. Palin's apparent need to rush to Alaska for the delivery helped fuel rumors she was faking the pregnancy to cover for her daughter. Now that the story has proven to be false, it nevertheless raises questions about Palin's judgment. In this case, she seems to have taken unnecessary risks in the delivery of her child. As the past eight years have shown us, the last thing we need is a reckless politician in office. And speaking of unsound judgment, her daughter's pregnancy demonstrates seriously poor decision making -- not on the part of Bristol but by conservative politicians like Palin and McCain, who have decided that the best way to ensure kids learn about sex is by depriving them of information. Palin is a firm supporter of abstinence-until-marriage sex education, despite the fact that numerous studies show that abstinence-only sex education does not delay sexual activity and may in fact lead to unsafe sex practices. It would be cheap to trade on the irony that a firm backer of abstinence-only sex ed is now the mother of a pregnant teen. But it does need to be noted that many pregnant teens do not have the financial and emotional supports that Bristol appears lucky to have. Palin's abstinence-only stance on sex ed, like McCain's, is wrong because it puts everyone's kids in danger. 6: Palin is under investigation for allegedly abusing her power as governor to help her sister in a messy divorce Politicians are supposed to recuse themselves, or step away from matters, when there is a conflict of interest. Yet according to the Washington Post and other news outlets, Palin "has been embroiled in a bitter family feud that has drawn in the state police, the attorney general, the governor's office and the state legislature." In fact, a "bipartisan state legislative panel has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether Palin improperly brought the family fight into the governor's office," the newspaper reports. At issue is whether Palin and her staff pressured and then fired the public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, because he did not fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, from the state police after he apparently threatened her sister and other family members, including her father, in 2005. The Post reported that Palin heard Wooten "threatening to kill their father" for helping his daughter obtain a divorce. Palin, who did not call the police that day, later reported the incident. Upon becoming governor, Palin and her staff asked Monegan to fire Wooten, but the state's top cop replied that the matter had been investigated and had been closed. In July, Palin fired Monegan. The state legislature subsequently launched an investigation into whether she had improperly used her office's power. A report is due in October. The so-called troopergate incident apparently is not the first time Palin fired police officers for failing to follow her wishes, according to Andrew Sullivan at TheAtlantic.com. Sullivan cites an Anchorage Daily News report from December 1997 when, as mayor of Wasilla, Palin faced a recall "in response to Palin's controversial firing of Police Chief Irl Stambaugh." Sullivan reports that Stambaugh and another city official, the library director, Mary Ellen Emmons, were fired for "not fully supporting her efforts to govern." "Both had publicly supported Palin's opponent, longtime mayor John Stein, during the campaign last fall," the Sullivan report said. "When she was elected, Palin questioned their loyalty and even initially asked for their resignations." 7: Palin lied about her plans for the "Bridge to Nowhere" When accepting the GOP's nomination for vice president, Sarah Palin took credit for killing a controversial bridge project in Alaska dubbed the Bridge to Nowhere: "I told Congress, 'Thanks but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere,'" she exclaimed to a cheering audience in Ohio. But it turns out that her relationship with the bridge wasn't that cut and dry. The Gravina Island Bridge would have linked the town of Ketchikan to its international airport, which is extremely difficult to get to by car, as it is on Gravina Island (there is currently a ferry in place to shuttle people to and fro). The bridge was to be federally funded but was quickly labeled a pork barrel project by many conservatives in Washington, including McCain. So maybe it was an eagerness to please her new boss that caused Palin to lie to the American people right out of the gate. Who can say? But thanks to reports from the Washington Post and the Anchorage Daily News, we are now aware that that is exactly what she has done. It turns out that initially Palin was a big fan of the bridge -- although it could be that Palin wasn't so much a fan of the bridge as she was a fan of telling Ketchikan's 14,000 residents that she was while on the campaign trail in September 2006. "She was the only candidate who was saying, 'We're going to build that bridge,'" former governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat who lost to Palin in the 2006 general election, told the Washington Post. "She's taking a position now which certainly wasn't what it was when she was campaigning." After a long fight about how much federal assistance should be granted to Alaska for the bridge, Congress decided to grant Alaska a lump sum of $454 million to spend on general infrastructure projects, instead of specifically earmarking federal money for what had become a very unpopular project. Even then, though, there where plans for the bridge. It wasn't until September 2007, a year after her promise to the people of Ketchikan, that Palin finally shut down the project, citing overspending. As Keith Ashdown, an investigator with Taxpayers for Common Sense, told the Post: "She made the final decision to kill a very bad project, so she deserves credit for that. But she didn't do it as an ideological opponent of earmarks. She did it as someone who had to balance the books." Palin lied to her constituents about getting the bridge done, and now she is lying to the American people about what her position was in the first place. It looks like Palin isn't the type of politician who would clean up Washington after all. 8: A so-called political reformer, Palin has big money ties to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been indicted for political corruption Former Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil was known for political witticisms, including "Dance with the one that brung ya." That refers to being loyal to your supporters through the thick and thin of political life. According to the Washington Post's The Trail, from 2003 to 2005, Palin was one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. A "527" refers to a section of the tax code governing such campaign groups. "Palin, an anti-corruption crusader in Alaska, had called on Stevens to be open about the issues behind the investigation," the Post reported. "But she also held a joint news conference with him in July, before he was indicted, to make clear she had not abandoned him politically." Stevens, who is running for re-election this year, was inducted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., this summer for failing to disclose sizeable gifts from a now-defunct Alaskan oil company, including assistance with renovating a vacation home. The Post report said that Stevens agreed to lend his name to the campaign committee, but it did not say how much was raised or how the funds were distributed. A report on the group at the CampaignMoney.com Web site also does not list funds raised or spent. It is not inconsistent that Palin would have been able to muscle major oil companies into making financial concessions for the benefit of Alaskans as governor -- and would have raised funds from those same corporations, the largest doing business in the state, as a director of a 527 group. Such clout is part and parcel of modern campaigns and governing. While much remains unknown about Palin's role as a fundraiser for Steven's 527, her role as a white knight reformer of Alaskan politics has some shades of gray -- as anyone who follows money in politics in small states will affirm. 9: Palin exploits her son's Iraq service for political gain Taking the stage alongside John McCain last Friday, it took no time for Palin to play the 9/11 card. "On September 11th of last year," she announced, "our son enlisted in the United States Army. … And on September 11th, Track will deploy to Iraq. ... And Todd and I are so proud of him and of all the fine men and women serving this country." Palin's public pride in her son served a purpose, one the media dutifully picked up. As campaign operatives rebuffed charges that Palin is unprepared, they reached for her son's military service. Confronted with her admission that she has "not paid much attention" to the war in Iraq, one guest told Hardball's Chris Matthews that, as a military mother, "she pays attention to it with her heart." Maybe so, but Palin is hardly alone. The 2008 presidential race is remarkable in that three of the candidates have sons in the active duty military. But standard practice seems to be not to discuss it publicly. Take John McCain. His son Jimmy returned from Iraq in February. "We have two sons in the military," he told Sean Hannity, "but we never talk about it, if that's all right." Similarly, Joe Biden, whose son Beau will deploy to Iraq in October, has kept uncharacteristically quiet about it. So what gives Palin license to wear her son's military service on her sleeve? Simple: She's a mom. Palin's uber-motherhood is already the stuff of legend and controversy. With five children, including an infant with Down syndrome, now she's dealing with her teenage daughter's pregnancy. In a game that has traditionally shredded male candidates on the slightest hint that they are not tough enough for the job, Palin is the Right's version of what a strong woman should look like. That she'd be given a pass for exploiting her son's military service on emotional grounds is one thing. For her campaign to construe it as somehow making her more qualified to be commander-in-chief is absurd. 10: During her time as mayor, Palin drove a town deep into debt According to Politico, "Palin, who portrays herself as a fiscal conservative, racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla. That amounts to $3,000 per resident. She argues that the debt was needed to fund improvements." 954-394-4980 |
Monday, September 1, 2008
Why We need linda Bird In The Florida Senate
Her opponent, Jeff Atwater could not be a greater foe to the residents of Florida. Jeff Atwater puts bad special interests above the people's interests. Atwater does what the lobbyists tell him to do even if it is bad to his constituents. Example #1: Jeff Atwater has been a great ally for big insurance, voting for the big insurance give-away in 2006 that raised homeowners' insurance rates by over 70%. (SB 1980, 2006) Example #2: Atwater has been a great ally for big telecom, voting to raise phone rates for Florida's families in both 2002 and 2003. (SB 654, 2003; HB 1683, 2002) Example #3: Jeff Atwater has endangered Florida residents by putting the big gun lobbyists over common sense. In 2002, Atwater voted to allow kids to bring guns onto school property (HD 1D, 2002), and in 2008, he voted to allow people to bring guns to work, including guns at Disney World. (HB 503, 2008) Example #4: Jeff Atwater sided with Tom Delay and George W. Bush in the case of Teri Schiavo. (SB 804, 2005; HB 35E, 2003) Example #5: Jeff Atwater caved to the religious right by imposing burdensome medical procedures on women to intimidate those seeking to terminate pregnancy. (SB 2400, 2008) Example #6: Jeff Atwater voted to require women giving children up for adoption to publish all of their sexual partners in the newspaper. (HB 141 "The Scarlet Letter Law," 2001) For More Information |
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Forgot to put story in the last email Oh Boy Obama
| OhBoyObama.com is an exciting new website that allows grassroots supporters all across the country to submit ideas on what the campaign should do and to vote on ideas added by other Obama supporters. It's like Digg for Obama campaign strategy - the best ideas come out on top. Just go to www.ohboyobama.com, register, and start voting or submit your idea as a "scoop." Be sure to bookmark the website so you can vote on each day's new ideas. We can't wait to see what you guys come up with! You can become a Facebook supporter of OhBoyObama! at http://www.facebook.com/pa 954-394-4980 |
Friday, August 29, 2008
Message From Michale Moore
A Note I Sent to You -- Three Years Ago Friends, I'm am speechless after listening to Barack Obama's speech last night. So I'm sending you something I wrote to you two weeks after Hurricane Katrina. It remains every bit as relevant today, on Katrina's 3rd anniversary, as when I wrote it on September 11, 2005. Please give it another look. Here it is in full: A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush... from Michael Moore (And my idea now, some three years later, is that they seek forgiveness and redemption by voting for Barack Obama -- or just stay home on November 4.) P.S. An excellent film on Katrina, "Trouble the Water," is currently playing around the country. Go see it! 954-394-4980 |
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Unfit for Publication
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Area Nine Democrats Meeting
Broward County Democrats Fort Lauderdale & Dania Beach
Please Join Broward County Democrats from Area 9
For a candidates forum
Saturday June 28th 2008
At 1:00 PM
Agenda:
Get Out The Vote Training And Candidate Forum
1:00 PM Introductions
Update on Calypso project
Introduction to the Neighbor to Neighbor Program
2:00 Pm Florida Senate Candidates' Forum
Introduction and moderation By Sen. Skip Campbell
3:00 Pm Florida House Candidate's Forum
Introduction and moderation by Chris Chiari
Join Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach Democrats for a Area Meeting
June 28th 2008 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM
GOTV Training and Candidates Forum
Hosted By The GOGO's Democratic Club
Playa del Mar 3900 Galt Ocean Drive Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
Get directions
Ron Mills Area Leader 954-394-4980
June 28th 2008 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM
GOTV Training and Candidates Forum
Hosted By The GOGO's Democratic Club
Playa del Mar 3900 Galt Ocean Drive Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
Get directions
Ron Mills Area Leader 954-394-4980
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