This is way off topic, but I just looked out my office window at UT, and there is a plane flying around and around campus pulling a banner that says "HEY MACK QUIT WHINING U KNEW THE RULES".
ROFL. This is what we get for the 45-35 plane at the OU/OSU game.
As a constituent of Mike Jackson, I was horrified that he didn't show up at the UTMB Town Meeting during which our (I am a UTMB employee and patient) continued existence was discussed.
After Ike, Ron Paul's staffer's had helped me out with Amtrak to the tune of $700, and I was thrilled. They were invaluable at a true time of need for me. So when I emailed Mike Jackson's office, I was stunned to received this reply. Mike Jackson's campaign manager's reply is in italics, below.
Ms. Camp,
Senator Jackson and his staff were not aware of the Town Hall meeting otherwise he would have been there, just as he has been at every other Hurricane Ike Recovery meeting of which he has been contacted. Do you really believe any politician would skip the chance to be in the same place with 4000 of his constituents? Do you really think he would do nothing while 4000 of his constituents lose their jobs and one of the premier medical facilities in the country that serves much of his district just closes its doors? That would be crazy.
Nevertheless, he has already been working with his colleagues in the Legislature to make certain there is funding in our next state budget to help keep UTMB open and prevent the loss of jobs. He has been in constant contact with Dr. Callender and will continue to work closely with UTMB to make sure they have the resources they need to fully recover.
I wouldn't expect you to take me at my word though since you are a Democrat and are simply repeating Senator Jackson's opponents statements. Are you really inclined to believe lawyer a who really wants to be an elected official again? He wasn't any good when he was a City Councilman.
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers, in an email to UT alumni and friends, came out in support of increasing higher education capacity and funding "excellence" at the state's existing national research universities.
We cannot escape the fact that Texas spends less of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education than other states. In 2006, Texas' spending on higher education and public schools amounted to 3.35% of our GDP. Michigan spent 4.49%, California spent 4.24%, and North Carolina spent 4.05%.* These differences may seem slight, but as an illustration, if we added 1% of our state GDP to education spending, it would generate $8.5 billion. Adding 1/10 of 1% would provide $850 million annually.
It is also worth noting that California spends almost twice as much on higher education than Texas, and it has done so consistently for many years, even though its population is only a third larger. That investment has surely played a role in California's GDP, which is 75% greater than ours.
Simply put, our competitors are investing more in education, and they have systematically done so for years. We are far behind.
Powers echoes many of the same thoughts as LSG Chair State Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), and even notes the fallacy of the Legislature's current spending practices as they relate to the state of education in Texas:
An organization I'm involved with at UT is preparing for our 11th annual 5K race in just a couple of weeks, and I thought I'd extend the invitation to come out and run for a good cause! This year, we're benefitting Project 2009, which is an East Austin community cleanup project. The largest single one-day of community service in Austin helps to paint houses, pick up litter, repair parks, and otherwise foster a greater emphasis on community in Austin.
That being said, we need your help! As of the time of this writing, we only have 86 runners for the race that is Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 8am on the UT Campus. If you can come out and run (or walk) for a good cause, please consider registering for our race (it's only $20 and includes a great goodie bag!) If not, please consider donating as little as $1 to help clean up your community!
In thirteen days, the deadline to register to vote in the March 4th Texas primary will pass, and 80% of the country will prepare to vote on Super Tuesday. That means we Longhorns have fewer than two weeks to register Texans to vote and call early states as part of the biggest get out the vote effort in American history. Your voice is needed at this defining moment.
We need your help to make phonecalls to voters on the West coast. If you are willing to contribute some of your time to Barack Obama's campaign, we want you.
Please bring your laptops and cell phones and join us in the Forty Acres room of the Texas Union between 9pm and 11pm during one or more of the next 13 nights. We will be in the forty acres room every night until February 4th. If you can't meet us in the Union, but would still like to help us make calls, please respond to this email with "Unity" in the subject line, any message you wish to incude, and your name and phone number in the body.
You don't have to have worked on a campaign before in order to help. We need everyone to speak up for change we can believe in.
Also-- Remember that the deadline for registering to vote in the Texas Primary is February 4. Make sure you, your family, and your friends will be registered to vote by the February 4th deadline. We can register you to vote at the phonebank if you are not yet registered in Travis County.
The next University of Texas Students for Barack Obama meeting is next Tuesday, January 29th in Burdine 208 from 6 to 7 PM.
I doubt that I can be said to speak for the University of Texas at Austin. The only time I was on a campus-wide ballot, only 20% of students voted and almost 70% of those voted against me. I am in exile from the campus for the time being, though I’ll be back in the city by the end of the summer. Despite all this, I am hereby taking it upon myself to speak on behalf of the UT community. Professor Norman Finkelstein: we want you.
If you do not know who Norman Finkelstein is, you are not terribly interested or well-versed on matters dealing with the Israeli occupation of Palestine or the Holocaust.
It is with great excitement that the Texas Roosevelt Institution invites you to our first meeting of the fall semester! We are the local chapter of the thriving national progressive think tank known as the Roosevelt Institution. We're students, we research policy, and we put our research onto policy-makers' desks. We believe we can improve our society and the time to do so is now!
If you are interested in being a part of this rising movement, please join us at our event. It will take place at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, September 26 at SRH 3.109 (1st floor of the LBJ school of Public Affairs). We will give a brief presentation of our organization, the progressive movement, and the opportunities available for students to conduct meaningful research. If you are unable to attend, please send e-mail to me@kedrontouvell.com for further information. You may also peruse http://utexas.rooseveltinstitution.org for additional background information.
Again, we hope to see you next Tuesday. Remember, all levels (undergrad, grad, professional, etc.) of students are welcome to attend!
Sincerely,
Your Roosevelt Team
Eve Richter, Executive Director
Kedron Touvell, Communications Director
