If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed a passion to help local non-profit organizations. Here in Austin, there are two events I am helping organize to help state and local non-profits discuss technology or learn from the crowd.
The first one is a totally free event on November 14.
Austin Non Profit Bar Camp Saturday, November 14, 2009
10:00am - 4:00pm
ACC Eastview Campus
3401 Webberville Rd, Bldg 8500. Multipurpose Hall
What is a Non-Profit Bar Camp?
Austin Non Profit Camp is a FREE, facilitated and participant driven conference that will be the place in Austin for non profits to learn and troubleshoot their technology problems in a supportive, collaborative setting.
Non Profit Bar Camp is being spearheaded by David J. Neff, Jon Lebkowsky, Maggie Duval and Matt Glazer. Their goal is to take the successful Bar Camp model and apply it to expand understanding and awareness of free and Open Source technology within the non-profit community in Central Texas.
Non profits and technology folks come together to have conversations about the issues that they face in a no sales, no cost environment. We bring tech experts together with nonprofits in a context that will facilitate mutual understanding. In addition to scheduled speakers, attendees will have the option to sign up to speak about issues and solutions they know best.
Nonprofit attendees collaboratively problem solve issues they face with running and promoting their organizations, workshopping with local technologists about the latest and most effective technologies and methodologies. These conversations will help nonprofits filter what's useful from what's not and keep their organizations humming and on track.
Topics will include (but are in no way limited to):
Google Apps, Data Exchange/Salesforce, Google Grants, Social Media, Marketing, Cloud Computing, Email Marketing, Fundraising in Social Media, ZERO COST Infrastructure, ROI of The Cloud and more.
Austin Non Profit Camp is sponsored by:
EFF-Austin, NTEN, 501 Tech Club, Plutopia Productions, Austin Social Media Club, 501derful.org, Social Web Strategies, GNI Strategies, Lights.Camera.Help. and Soma Vida. A special thank you/shout out to the Center for Community Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College for providing the incredible space.
In addition to this free event next weekend, there is a non-profit communication training on December 10 being put together by Rowan Communication You can find out more information about this event here. Both give unique opportunities for the community to engage non-profits and for non-profits to learn from on the ground experts.
President Barack Obama released the following proclamation today:
Our Nation's thoughts and prayers are with the service members, civilians, and families affected by the tragic events at Fort Hood, Texas. The brave victims, who risked their lives to protect their fellow countrymen, serve as a constant source of strength and inspiration to all Americans. We ask God to watch over the fallen, the wounded, and all those who are suffering at this difficult hour.
As a mark of respect honoring the victims of the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
First, from Chairman Boyd Richie of the Texas Democratic Party:
“While I am extremely disappointed with Chuck Hopson, I remain confident the Texas House of Representatives will have a Democratic Speaker of the House next Legislative Session. Democrats continue to make inroads across the Lone Star State and will continue to put the best interests of Texans ahead of the special interests Republicans continue to represent.
“Make no mistake… as a rural Democratic elected official who served in rural Texas, I can tell you that if, in fact, Chuck Hopson makes this announcement this afternoon, he will be joining a party that has abandoned rural Texas.
“The Republican Party is the party that has abandoned our public schools to send our tax dollars to private schools in the big cities; the Party that tried to take 600,000 acres of our farmland for toll roads while leaving our farm to market roads in disrepair.
“Perhaps more importantly, Chuck Hopson will be joining the party of the special interests – the party that has given us the highest homeowners insurance rates in the country, that has increased our health insurance premiums beyond repair, and let the special interest lobbyists rule our State Capitol.
“It takes strength and integrity to stand against the special interests – and while some members have that strength, others like Chuck Hopson, do not. In the Democratic Party, there is room for members who are conservative and progressive – the only reason anyone would leave is for crass political reasons and a refusal to stand up to special interests.”
From Jim Dunnam, House Leader and one of the three heads of the House Democratic Campaign Committee (via the Houston Chronicle):
"Chuck has assured me and a number of other Democrats of his intention to continue to vote as he has in the past, which has been with our Democratic delegation the vast majority of the time. ... As for the future, this will have only a marginal impact on House Democrats' inevitable progress toward a majority ... Our overall goals and plans for 2010 have not changed, and we will gain a majority in the House in 2010."
From Jim Dow of the 20/20 PAC:
"We learned this morning of Representative Hopson's intentions to switch political parties. In light of that, he is no longer a member of our organization. We are profoundly disappointed by his decision."
I know that the members of the 20/20 PAC -- the other conservative Democrats -- were furious at Hopson this morning.
A man who lives with honor says to your face what he says behind your back.
I used to think Chuck Hopson was that kind of man. Today, I learned the harsh truth that he is not.
I always knew Chuck was first and foremost about self-preservation, but I would have thought he would retire before becoming a Republican -- a promise he's told countless State Representatives, party officials, and local constituents. In fact, he had a fundraiser for himself no more than two weeks ago, taking money from Democrats.
Chuck's decision to join the Republican Party shows that he has sunk to a level of political cowardice I never expected from him. As a former employee of Hopson's, I feel betrayed by his lack of conviction -- betrayed that I ever trusted someone who so clearly puts his own self-interest above that of those who support him.
My first job in the Texas Capitol was as a legislative aide for Hopson. I began working for him in the 2005 Regular Session, and stayed on through the school finance special sessions in 2006, after which time -- in September 2006 -- I went to work as Chief of Staff for State Representative Garnet F. Coleman.
His decision today to switch parties reflects the colder side of Hopson, the side most people never encountered but was always there beneath the surface. It is a side of a man whose principles are dictated by self-preservation, and whose positions on policy you could only count on once you'd convinced him that it was politically safe for him to take action.
I can remember countless times where I had to talk Chuck into doing the right thing, including...
Water Rights
The biggest issue facing East Texas is water rights. The city of Dallas, for years, has tried to build the Fastrill Reservoir along the Neches River -- water that no one in East Texas wants to lose to Dallas, and land that was promised to be built for the Neches River Wildlife Refuge.
In what should be a no-brainer to any rural member with brains (Don't give our water away to Dallas!), Hopson struggled. I wrote constituent letters, official letters to county and city officials, press releases and speeches where Hopson was straddling the fence -- calling for "further study" on an issue where, during a local fair in Jacksonville more than "1,269 new people signed on in support of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge" in a single day in 2006. (Source)
Why wouldn't Chuck speak up against the Reservoir? Because of the money. If he didn't block the Reservoir, he would get political donations. So for months and months, he straddled the fence, refusing to take a position despite my constant urging that (1) it was the smart political decision, and (2) it was the decision his constituents wanted him to make.
Since then, he has publicly covered his tracks. A person who always put himself first can do that pretty well.
Public Education - I Wrote His Education Plan for his 2006 Campaign
Chuck was facing a tough race in 2006. He needed to speak strongly about public education, but since I'd done all the policy and press work for him, he needed me to write it. So, I put together most of the work I'd done on school finance in the 16 months I'd been there, put together a simple plan, and wrote press releases, a speech, and policy papers for him.
He then -- two months before his election, and five months before I thought I was going to get to be his Chief of Staff -- fired me. But that education plan I put together for him ended up in mail pieces, and he used it as a crutch in his town hall meetings for the final weeks of his campaigns.
I don't think he ever even filed legislation on any of the policy proposals I created for him.
For me, it worked out in the end. I got hired on as Chief of Staff for a real Democrat, State Representative Garnet Coleman -- another person who, throughout the years, did everything he could to get Chuck re-elected. But Hopson...
I was always okay with the fact the he fired me without any notice, and that he often worked harder to get himself re-elected than to do any real work in Austin. I remember some good work he did, too -- but I also rembmer enough that I was never at ease with the way Hopson ran things, and with his kind of politics.
I thought I was just too young. I thought I didn't understand politics. I assumed Chuck knew what he was doing, and was doing what was best for his constituents.
Turns out he was just doing what he has always done - what is best for himself.
The party of self-interests just got the most self-interested man I've ever had the displeasure of working for. Good riddance.
The following are locations accepting blood donations to help with the tragic violence at Fort Hood:
The Blood and Tissue Centers in Central Texas
Austin Donor Center 4300 N Lamar Blvd Austin, TX 78756
Cedar Park Donor Center 920 N Vista Ridge Blvd, Suite 560 (at FM 1431) Cedar Park, TX 78613
Georgetown Donor Center 1015 W University Ave, Suite 340 (in Wolf Ranch Town Center) Georgetown, TX 78628
Round Rock Donor Center 2132 North Mays, Suite 900 Round Rock, TX 78664
South Austin Donor Center 9500 S IH-35, Bldg L, Suite 800 (Southpark Meadows: Right on Slaughter Lane, then left on Cullen, and look behind the Taco Bell.) Austin, TX 78748
Please come to Scott & White Blood Donor Center and donate blood as soon as possible, we are located in Room 115 next the McLane Dining Room in the main hospital. We are open today until at least 7 p.m. and you can contact us at 254-724-4376 if you need any assistance on determining your eligibility to donate.
If anyone knows of other locations, please let us know by e-mail (phillip@burntorangereport.com), or by leaving a comment.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women at Fort Hood and their families today.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul is working hard in D.C. to make sure that Texans in the 10th District receive no meaningful health reform. With efforts to block President Obama's proposals at every turn, the unremarkable incumbent has now taken to touting bogus polls and whining about not being included in the process. And what does McCaul have to show for it? A Republican bill that will leave 17 million Americans uninsured, and won't cut the deficit nearly as well as the Democratic bill.
Last week, Michael McCaul went on KVUE to complain about health insurance reform, touting an oh-so-scientific poll from his own website. From KVUE, October 31, 2009:
"In my view, the majority of the American people don't support [the Democratic health reform plan]. Certainly in my district, on my website I have a poll, and it's about 85% against this, it's what's called the public option, the government-run option, the government takeover of our healthcare, it's one sixth of our economy."
Michael McCaul is wrong about health reform. In August, 77% of Americans supported the public option, according to a SUSA poll. That's even higher than it was in June. According to an ABC News poll conducted last week more Americans prefer the Democrats' public option than a watered-down, bipartisan compromise.
McCaul continues on with a series of bogus Republican buzz-words against health reform: "government-run takeover," "getting in between you and your doctor" and "health czar!" Funny, last time I checked, the only person coming between me and my doctor was some insurance company bureaucrat trying to decide if I really need that M.R.I., or visit to a specialist, or blood test, or not. And what's with their czar fetish?
To provide justification for his position, McCaul sites a bogus poll conducted on his website. (How does he know the folks voting on his website are only constituents? Hmm?) On his Facebook Feed, McCaul also published the results of another bogus poll conducted during his own tele-town hall, with 65% opposed to the public option.
Whaaat? You mean to say the small sample of folks who bother to visit his website or join a tele-town hall happen to overwhelmingly agree with his views on the public option?! What's extra irritating here is how the newscaster just takes the bogus statistic as God-given fact. Then she has the gall to suggest that health reform is actually moving too fast. As anyone who has actually been following the legislative process can tell you, things are definitely NOT moving too fast, especially for the 9.3 million Texans who were uninsured for all or part of last year.
Then, just this week, McCaul continued whining in a call-in press conference that Obama and the Democrats have "left out" the Republicans in the health reform process. This is disingenuous, for three reasons.
First, the Republican bill championed by McCaul is widely considered to be a dismal failure. From Ezra Klein:
In 2019, after 10 years of the Republican plan, CBO estimates that ...17 percent of legal, non-elderly residents won't have health-care insurance. The Republican alternative will have helped 3 million people secure coverage, which is barely keeping up with population growth. Compare that to the Democratic bill, which covers 36 million more people and cuts the uninsured population to 4 percent.
According to CBO, the GOP's alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit. ... The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan.
McCaul describes the Republican bill as better, because it "incentivizes the free market and the private sector to provide coverage." Except that's the same idea that has failed Americans since World War II. It's no change in policy, and it will do very little to change the rate of uninsured Texans.
Second, Republicans--teabaggers and members of Congress alike--are deliberately trying to obstruct the reform process for ideological and political gain. They spent all summer yelling about death panels and insuring undocumented immigrants and shouting "YOU LIE!" during joint sessions of Congress. Republicans are too busy trying to prevent meaningful reform and coverage that will extend to all Americans, in order to support their buddies in the insurance industry. All they want is for President Obama's plans to fail--they don't care about meaningful reform, they only care about their own electoral prospects in 2010 and beyond.
Third, while McCaul complains about not having a seat at the table, he made it nearly impossible for his own constituents to share their views on health reform. He complains that the Democratic bill was written "behind closed doors in Washington," despite the many open town-halls held by Democratic Representatives and constant stream of news coverage about every single step of the process and constant updates from Democratic Congressional leaders.
Meanwhile, it's McCaul who is largely operating behind closed doors, having private meetings with folks who seem to unanimously oppose reform. According to his website, McCaul held only one in-person town hall, at 9:00 a.m. on a Friday, in Katy, the day before Labor Day weekend. He waited until the final day of the Congressional District working period to solicit real input from his constituents. It was only posted to his campaign website three days before the event. Sounds as if Rep. McCaul doesn't want to hear what his constituents have to say. In a district that spans 150 miles from Austin to Houston, he holds only one event, off in one of the most Republican parts of the district. There sure was no event in Travis County, because if there was, McCaul would have heard an earful from his constituents who are tired of losing coverage for pre-existing conditions, being dropped from their plans, and watching premiums rise as access to quality care drops.
To conclude, let's sum up the many ways in which Michael McCaul is wrong about health reform:
Elections have consequences. Barack Obama won, and Democrats have significant majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats are supposed to set national policy. That's what people voted for. (N.B.: Olympia Snowe is not a Democrat and should not be setting health care policy.)
If Republicans want a seat at the table they need to offer real solutions backed by their party, not just vitriol and obstruction. A bill that leaves 17 million people uninsured and doesn't cut costs as well as the Democratic bill is not a real solution.
Congresspeople can't conduct bogus polls on their websites and conference calls and tout it as scientific fact. Anyone who actually has a say in our nation's education funding should know better. The thought makes me shudder.
Michael McCaul is yet another out-of-touch Republican in Congress working hard to prevent the people of the 10th Congressional district from having access to quality, affordable health care. He needs to go.
Burnt Orange Report publisher Karl-Thomas Musselman is twenty-five years old. KT is a great friend of mine -- someone who brought me onto BOR over four years ago, and has continued to give me a platform to write stories, make arguments, provide political analysis, and -- when I was in Boston for two years -- stay connected to home through the amazing BOR community he's helped nurture and grow for the better part of this decade.
In many ways, BOR is KT's full-time job. Though he does work for various clients from time-to-time (and despite the fact at least three current statewide candidates have tried to get him to work for their campaigns), KT has stuck to his grassroots and netroots self and fought in every way he could for the bigger change, and the bigger cause.
On Tuesday, he helped deliver one of the coolest election night wins in the country -- a measure in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to approve an anti-discriminatory law.
Voters in Kalamazoo have approved a measure banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
With all precincts reporting Tuesday, the ordinance had 7,671 votes in favor to 4,731 opposed.
The ordinance will add gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals to an existing Kalamazoo city ordinance banning discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.
There are about 72,000 residents in the southwestern Michigan city.
It may not seem like much, but it is. Especially when you understand that KT basically left Austin and lived in Kalamazoo for two weeks to help make this happen and be a part of this important local election.
How many of us can claim that? How many of us settle for what is comfortable, as opposed to doing what is challenging?
KT just did it. He didn't have to. No one asked him to. He just went for it.
Congratulations are in order for KT, this site's publisher -- and my election day hero.
UPDATE: It turns out that Michael Soto did not need to stellar a campaign to beat Mr. Agosto. Soto had won the backing of Senator Van de Putte and former SBOE Member Joe Bernal. Today, Rick Agosto, the Conservative Democrat whom Soto was going to challenge, has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2010. I wrote the post below before this news. If Dr. Soto is our next SBOE 3 Representative, I will be glad to have a new man with such assets on the board.
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Three political methods exist to stop the State Board of Education from crippling our schools with an extremist agenda.
Run a Democrat against a socially conservative Republican and win.
Support moderate Republicans against the God-Fearing Conservative Republicans, and make sure they win.
Purge any Democrats who vote with the Socially Conservative Bloc.
The first two options will prove quite difficult. Locally, lots of Democrats are lining up to take on the ultra-crazy Cynthia Dunbar, and they all should be applauded for that, but a 15-seat body to represent everyone in Texas doesn't exactly have "swing districts." Beating Cynthia Dunbar in a general election, unfortunately, will require a lot of money, a lot of volunteers, and/or a lot of luck. It's possible. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but eventual failure in these efforts will not surprise me.
The second option is highlighted in this excellent article from the Texas Tribune. Most notably, Thomas Ratliff, son of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff, is running against former chair Don McLeroy. I remain skeptical about putting too much stock here, too. We just saw Republicans abandon their own candidate in NY-23 because she was too moderate, and almost every sign in Texas shows that Rick Perry and his extra-conservative gang lead the state GOP. Success here will be easier than in the general election, so we should consider helping folks like Bill Ratliff if we can. But still, failure in these endeavors won't phase me a bit.
That same Texas Tribune article reminded me of the third option:
Though the board had (and still has) ten Republican and five Democrats, seven socially conservative Republicans had formed a reliable voting bloc that, with the swing vote of Democratic member Rick Agosto, gave them the power to push forward a socially conservative agenda.
A Democrat should never vote with a far-right block anywhere, especially when his or her single vote is so important -- Not to mention on a regular basis, as Mr. Agosto does!
On a board where the Republicans have stocked many of their farthest right members, I'm not suggesting all Democrats be far-left, but they shouldn't consider associating with those in the farthest right, either. Worse yet with Agosto, he is involved in some SBOE ethics problems, which could jeopardize his chances in a general election while opening up the opportunity for an even more conservative board member. Some speculation even suggests that his ethics troubles and his periodic support of the Right Evangelistic positions are interrelated!
Can this guy get any worse?
We probably shouldn't wait to find out.
Thankfully, his seat is on the 2010 ballot. People have been calling for challengers for a while, and the San Antonio Express-News even joined the fray in a mid-October editorial, saying, "surely there are more qualified candidates in this 11-county SBOE District 3 region than we saw in 2006." After reading the editorial, I combed through the interwebs to see if anyone in this district has expressed remote interest in challenging the most Republican Democrat on the State Board of Education.
One name came up: Dr. Michael Soto, an English professor at Trinity University. Looking at his website, he looks like a potential asset for the board. Wonderful. Now, can he win?
He ran for the San Antonio ISD school board in May, and he garnered almost 44% of the vote. Impressively, however, he managed this against former mayor Ed Garza. In that race he managed to gain the support of local San Antonio businessmen, but the race isn't just in San Antonio. SBOE 3 runs from Bexar County all the way down to Hidalgo County in the Valley. And Agosto rings a bit more Hispanic than Soto. He has a website already, but it's lacking in many respects compared to Rick Agosto's.
He could use some help. And right now, no one else is stepping up. So if you live in the district, either offer Mr. Soto a hand or find another challenger. We need someone here.
If he's the only other option, he could be our savior on the State Board of Education. Right now, nobody has a better chance to rid the board of a bunch of bad votes.
Usually when you contribute to losing a race that has been controlled by your party since the civil war, you lay low and avoid words like referendum and change. Pete Sessions hasn't read that memo.
Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, lost races in both California (not a surprise) and New York (huge surprise) and yet he is spending his day saying last nights election results are a referendum on the popular Democratic President. The big surprise is Sessions, like Tom Craddick in the State House, is so out of touch, he has directly contributed to helping increase the Democratic majority in Congress.
As mentioned today on the Plum Line, "NRCC chair Pete Sessions's statement says the gubernatorial wins prove independents are "dissatisfied" with Dems and will continue "moving away from them at a rapid pace."
The NRCC and Sessions came out strong against the Republican nominee and for the independent/conservative candidate. Yet, they lost.
Do we extrapolate then that Sessions is unpopular and the people of New York and the Republican Party as a whole made a referendum on the leader of the caucus? No. That is ridiculous.
What it does mean is that the Republican Party is still in total disarray and lost traction in local races and lost ground in Washington D.C. where the battle over health care reform, insurance reform, environmental reforms, clean energy reforms, and many many other initiatives are being fought. Clearly the people of California and New York both want Washington to move forward.
This is a signal that Democrats can continue to win tough races in fragmented parts of the country as long as Sessions, Cornyn, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and Rick Perry can't agree on what their party stands for and what sort of candidate they should field.
Both sides need to use last nights results and learn. 2010 is going to be tough and Democrats will lose seats in the U.S. Senate and House and in local races if the fail to mobilize and turnout. When Democrats can sweep in federal races but lose gubernatorial races perhaps we should stop throwing out buzz words and start asking why.
Why are Pete Sessions and John Cornyn gloating when their jobs just got harder? Why is this a referendum when VA has swapped parties with the President for nearly four decades? Why aren't we comparing Corizine and Bloomberg instead of comparing Obama to the whole Republican Party of New Jersey?
Let's start asking some questions and stop making blind, sound bite assumptions. Oh, and let's get to work for March and November.
