Just Desserts in Trumansburg
It’s been a hot, stormy summer – weather to match the political season this year. Wrapped up in the family activity of summer, you may not have noticed that you’re living in one of the hotspots of American politics this year.
In our congressional district, New York’s 24th, there’s a race for an open seat – a rare event in congressional politics. Republican Sherwood Boehlert, sensing that Republican power may soon come crashing down as the bubble of fear and nationalist hysteria threatens to pop, is retiring. This year, in our district, for the first time in a generation, the Republicans do not have the advantage of incumbency.
Democrat Michael Arcuri is running against Republican Ray Meier. I’ve been following this race since the beginning of the year, and let me tell you: Ray Meier is no Sherwood Boehlert. Boehlert was known as a centrist Republican, voting with the right wing on some issues, but also promoting science and the environment. Ray Meier is siding with the Religious Right to oppose open scientific research, and taking money from big oil companies who are happy with his plans to promote a fossil fuel economy in the Congress.
As of this week, there will be only 100 days left until Election Day. This year’s congressional elections are crucial – only if the Republicans have their majority control of Congress stripped away from them can we hold George W. Bush accountable to the law and stop the right wing agenda that is destroying America.
The Just Desserts Potluck we’ll be having this Monday, sponsored by MoveOn, will be pretty low key. The idea is that everyone will bring a dessert to share. We’ll talk, drink iced tea to cool down, and talk about the elections to come – local and state elections are happening this year too.
Just Desserts After Dinner Activist Potluck
8:00 PM, Monday, July 31
21 Cayuga Street, Trumansburg
Call 607-387-3938 for information
There will be a nationwide conference call with Barack Obama and Al Franken that we’ll be able to join, but most important of all, there will be information about how to get involved in this year’s effort to take back the Congress – focusing right here in our own district.
All are welcome. If you’re a member of MoveOn, you can register for this event by visiting http://political.moveon.org/event/eparty/10557
If you’re not a MoveOn member, no problem. All are welcome. Just show up, and bring anyone you like – including the kids (ours will be here, after all). Honestly, this is a last-minute event, so we’re not expecting many to come. If anything else, it’s always nice to say hi to a neighbor.
Hope to see you on Monday.
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Hey, it’s so great that you’re doing this! I just wrote a comment on the MoveOn.org ActionForum, and I’d love to have your support! Here’s what I wrote:
Unify the Party and Strategize
It’s nice to talk about all the issues we care about and wish we could address, but we’re competing with a party (the GOP) that prioritizes retention of power over legitimate consideration of issues. While we shouldn’t adopt these twisted priorities ourselves, we can at least learn enough from our esteemed opponents to realize the importance of refining and focusing our platform, conveying our noble stances to the country in irrefutable layman’s terms, and employing thoughtful and effective psychology when we debate with those who disagree with us.
Check out George Lakoff’s Think Tank! I think he has the right idea. http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org
If you believe in this approach to strengthening our party, please go to here for a link to the place in the forum where you can support my view!
Thank you!!
Ryan
Just by way of general information here is another blog site that is an opposing view of this blog at least politically
and these are all over the place.
http://jcoders-page.blogspot.com/2006/07/frightening-thought.html
Interesting as a point of view and opinion but that is all it is. only opinion and totally biased as is this blog. One popint of view is valuable in treying to analyze information. I would not dismiss Al Gore’s stance on Global Warming nor would I draw true conclusions from this blog as to local politics. It is interesting to note the continued and seeming increasing polarity in politics in general and the hostility level appears to be increasing generally in our culture. we are beginning to percieve the rest of the world as evil and we are the only ones who are right in the world. A growing fundamentalist viewpoint and a narrowing of thought. So check out htis website as well for an opposing viewpoint.
You know, Barry, I don’t think that the problem is in “increasing polarity” in politics. I think that the problem is increasing apathy.
People are just plain tired of politics. I get it. It just seems soooo draining to have to listen to bad news about how things are turning all to heck, and then have to listen to people ask you to, you know, DO something about it. What a drag, huh?
Me, I think that my government engaging in multiple programs to spy on American citizens’ private lives is a drag. Me, I think that my government torturing prisoners is a drag. Me, I think that my government throwing away thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars on an unnecessary, pointless war is a drag.
Genuinely pay attention to the news just one day out of the week, and I don’t see how you can avoid being outraged. Maybe people don’t pay attention to the news even one day out of the week. Maybe I’m some kind of freak who just can’t let go of his attachment to those little liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
I know that I’m out of the mainstream on this, but from where I sit, the mainstream is allowing America to be taken toward some very frightening places because it just seems rude to engage in partisan politics.
I’m angry about this stuff, Barry. I’m hostile to what’s going on in our country, and when I see people paying more attention to Superman movies than to the reality of what our government is doing.
I have sympathy with those who say they’re tired of all the political anxiety, and quote back to me the old saying, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Hey, I know that having a good time is an important part of leading a balanced life, but I don’t want a revolution. All I want is for the Constitution and the rule of law to come back to my country. Dancing’s great, but there comes a time when we have to take a break from the good times, and attend to business.
Listen to what that blogger has to write this morning: “As a frequent flyer, who takes pause each time I see a Muslim type walk on the plane, I have no objection to having phones tapped, bank accounts monitored, body searches performed and whatever else it takes to protect me and my fellow passengers from a horrific demise.”
I’m genuinely starting to wonder if Americans would allow America to slide right out of democracy, so long as their cable television was all paid for. Yes sir, please take my freedom, just don’t take away my ESPN!
Damn, I’m feeling bitter this morning. I can’t find any reason not to be.
Well I agree witrh almost all that you say therembut am beyond hopeful for a solution to this mess in Government short of outright revolution. I see no changes in store for the future. as long as people can be hoodwinked into belie4ving a reaql draft doger can be better than one who actually served and on and on. Perhaps people are really to stupid to govern themselves. I prefer the scientific stuff rather than polarization myself. It seems to be becoming more and more out of reach with each political statement by any politician or by any pundit. These things do little service except to their owners’ pocketbooks and a bit of humor such as hearing the other day that someone referred to Ann Coulter as that tranvestite plagarist.
Great stuff. Anyway I mentioned the blog from Erie becasue I was there the other day and realized just how twisted so many people seem. This guy in the blog even said there were WMD in Iraq. Amazing fox news hadn’t caught up with that one. So the point was merely that there are so many people who beleive all this crap on these blogs as many take Rush Limbag for Gospel. Kinda scary that people can be so gullible but they sure seem to be so. Apathy is a large problem and the voting takes place apparently only vicerally, unencumbered by the thougt process. Amazing results from this stuff.
Your recent comments about Mr. Austic stiff arming the public were just incorrect even dead wrong I am afraid. IT is truly three board memebrs alone who have stiff armed the public and I have seen it happen repeatedly at the Town Board meetings. Mr. Ellis seems a ring leader then there is Tyler who follows his lead and Roxanne Marino. these three are bypassing democracy themselves by not allowing the public to be informed about the proposed water district and spreading misinformation regarding it. They have blocked Mr. Austic’s attempts to inform the public from the get go. They have tried to block public meetings from the start. Those meetings should have begun when the project was initiated … even as much as 3 years ago, but at least by this January when the misinformation board members joined the board and claimed ignorance. How did they get elected and still were so ignorant of the ongoing water issues?