VOLUNTEERING

So, I was hoping we could schedule a time to go visit Alternatives, a youth outreach program for disadvantaged kids in North Minneapolis. The program is very organzied, I met with the Director a week ago or so. I was thinking that like Friday from 3-4 we should head over there to take a look and see if we can't set up a regular thing. Let me know.

-Noah

Scalito

President Bush has recommended a new person to replace Harriet Miers/Sandra Day O'Connor for the Supreme Court Associate Justice position, Samuel Alito. Be prepared for a big fight on this one. The Gang of 14 will be huge in this.

--Max

A Republican With Shady Character?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who woke up this morning and immediately checked to see if there were any indictments in the CIA leak case. Much to my joy, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's Chief of Staff has five indictments (perjury, false statements, and obstruction of justice). I believe Libby has raised the bar for all Republicans besting House Majority Leader Tom Delay by 3 indictments. Let's see if Rove can top Libby's impressive showing in the next week. Read all about Libby and the developing story here http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/28/leak.probe/index.html

See you Saturday.

-Noah

Couch Potato

Hey folks, I'm out of town for the weekend, so unless the rest of the exec board updates the blog, it won't be done for a couple of days...

BUT! until it is updated:

REGISTER TO WIN THE COUCH FROM THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART

It would be fun if a U-DFL member won it. Have a good weekend. Be safe. And go to Noah's party on Saturday night.

--Max

Party

Wanted to remind everyone about the Halloween Party at my place this Saturday. Stop by anytime after 9 pm. Bring decorations if you have them, you can never have enough. I live at 1301 University Ave SE #226. The building is the huge apartment complex between 13th and 14th Avenue in Dinkytown, next to Annie's Parlor. My cell phone is 608-215-9370. To get in, come to the front door, and punch in #236, and I'll let you in. Take the elevator to 2 and turn to the right and you'll see #226. Hope to see you there.

-Noah

Farewell Harriet

Goodbye Harriet. In only the latest of setbacks for the Bush White House, Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination. With indictments likely coming today, this administration is facing some of the toughtest challenges it has seen. This is what happens, folks, when cronyism and misinformation is allowed to run amok.

Hey, wanted to know people's schedule for volunteering. There's a great youth program in North Minneapolis called Alternatives. I met with the ExecDirector last week. I would love to have some of us go visit this week. They're open from 230-830 Mon----Sat. Let me know. I'd like to get us started andthis could be a nice project for us. My cell phone is 608-215-9370. Click here to see there website http://www.alternativesusa.net

-Noah

Failure

Here's a fun little time-waster on the internet:

1-Go to http://www.google.com.

2-Type in the word "failure."

3-Click the button that says "I'm feeling lucky."

4-Read.

5-Laugh.

--Max

Indictments

Get ready for some major news...

3 Long Years

It has been three years since the death of OUR senator, Paul Wellstone. I think it's especially appropriate during these days of scandals and the influence of money in Washington to remember Paul and everything he stood for. If nothing else, hopefully the memories we have of him will help us see through these difficult times where it is becoming harder and harder to trust our politicians.

Here is a Star Tribune story on how people are memorializing Paul across the state.

Here is a collection of Star Tribune stories and features on Paul.

For those of us whose memories of Paul want to make us take action, Wellstone Action is a great source.

Here is NPR's biography of Paul.

Wikipedia's entry for Paul.

Google Image Search for Paul.

Finally, the quote that Paul will probably always be most remembered for:

"Politics is not about big money or power games, it's about the improvement of people's lives."

The Truth Hurts George

Hey, I know we all love e-mail forwards, but this one from my brother was too good to pass up. I'm sure we all know who Kanye West is. He's the Chicago born Rapper/Producer who made Time Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World last year. He made headlines during NBC's live broadcast for Hurricane relief when he went on a tirade against Bush. Click here to view it. http://thepoliticalteen.net/2005/09/03/gwbdoesntcare/ Rapper KO released a new song in response to Bush's pathetic response to the hurricane, and backing up West's assertion regarding Bush and the GOP's opinion of black people. Click here to listen to the song. http://www.archive.org/download/George_Bush_Doesnt_Like_Black_People/GeorgshDoesntCareAboutBlackPeople.mp3 Try this link if the above one doesn't work:
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/53964

First, it does contain some bad language (but nothing worse than anything Dick Cheney has said on the floor fo the US Senate). It's to the tune of "Gold Digger" by Kanye West. Enjoy

-Noah

Committees on Monday

Hi Everyone,

We will have our usual meeting at Coffman 323 at 5:30 tomorrow
(Monday).  Committees will be held, so try to brainstorm in advance
what your committee chairs wanted you to do. 

We will also be discussing the Harriet Miers articles passed out at
last weeks meeting.  The links for those articles are found below, and
I'll post them to the web site tonight as well:


http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051024/ten_questions_for_harriet_miers

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1223180

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/10/16/20person-team-to-sell-re_n_8961.html

So bring money for pizza and intelligent thought for the discussion
after the meeting, and we'll see ya there!


Keep Fighting the Good Fight,

Max

Like Father Like Son

I thought this was an interesting article from USAToday comparing the Bush presidency's, namely how and where they failed. It's a quick read but interesting to see the similarities. Click here for the story.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-22-bush-presidencies_x.htm

Best 2006 Campaign Photo

As some of you may know, Tom DeLay (R-TX) is the majority leader of the House, and is one bad dude. He has had two separate indictiments from a Texas grand jury over shady money laundering tactics for his illegal campaign financing of Texas State Legislative races. He was booked today in Texas outside of Houston. Expect to see this picture quite a bit by Democrats in the 2006 Election. DeLay is really the poster child for GOP corruption on Capital Hill, which is quite a hard title to get if you think about it. Click here to read the article. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/20/Delay.booking/index.html

Tim Pawlenty Event

The U-DFL holding a demonstration today on the East end of the Washington Avenue Bridge. The event will be an attempt to get people to understand the immaturity of "Teflon" Tim Pawlenty's "Menu" offer to the state's top legislators. Look for the event at 2:30 and get a menu of your own, courtesy of the U-DFL!

--Max

Jon and Stephen

They say they're objective and cut through the bull****, regardless of political party, but Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (on his new show!) prove to us that elephants are more full of **** than donkeys. Hats off to the liberal media!

--Max

Senate Voting Record

Here you can find all of the Senate's roll call votes from this past session. It can be quite fascinating.

Thanks for those of you who camped out last night. The pictures will be up as soon as Luis e-mails them to me. I hope many people got tickets to the Bill Clinton event. We will plan a couple more events for that weekend.

--Max

Blogs

Because you were able to navigate your way to this blog, let's assume you are internet-savvy enough to click on the links below. They are other left-leaning, humorous, or insightful blogs I've come up with. Post others you've found in the comments section.

Wonkette
U-DFL Member Pat Smith
Daily Kos
Atrios
Talking Points Memo
Crooks and Liars

--Max

Camping for Bill Clinton

Hi folks,

The U-DFL and other fans of Bill Clinton will be camping out Monday night in front of Northrup's ticket office to be the first in line to get tickets to Bill Clinton's speaking event on November 5th. Everyone is encouraged to join us. We will be beginning the camping experience at 11:00 pm Monday night. The party will continue through Tuesday morning when tickets are handed out.

Even if some people would like to come camp out and cannot make the actual event, the social aspect will be immense. This is likely to attract dozens of people, and the more the merrier! SEe you all there. Contact me at page0172@umn.edu or 612.916.5965 with any questions.

-Max

NOTE: Alcoholic beverages are not to be consumed at this event.

Monday Meeting

Here is the message that was on the listserv this afternoon.

Also, keep checking back to see the Bill Clinton plan!

Hey everyone,

So yes, Bill Clinton is coming to the University of Minnesota, and
tickets are FREE!  Show up to the meeting, and you'll learn about our
mass plan to get a bunch of free tickets so as to have a huge presence
there.

Here's the long and short of it:

Monday, 5:30, Coffman Room 323

We will be discussing some upcoming plans, including:

--Campaigning for Cara/City Council Debate
--Camping out for Bill Clinton
--Passing out a new article to read for next week's discussion

We also should be having Secretary of State candidate Mark Ritchie
coming in to speak to us.

Show up, and bring friends!

After the meeting we will be going out to chalk for the debate on
Tuesday!  Then we will proceed to go out to eat.

Keep fighting the good fight,

Max

U-DFL Social Tonight!

Hey everyone. I hope to see you at the U-DFL social tonight. It's at the 1301 Apartments right at the near edge of Dinkytown. Here is the message from Secretary Noah Seligman, who is hosting the party:

Hey all, I live at 1301 University Ave SE (next to Annie's Parlor on the
corner of 14th and University.  My cell phone is 608-215-9370 if you have
questions.  When you get to the front door, dial #236 on the pad to the
left.  I'll buzz you in.  Walk passed the desk to the left and go to the
elevators and go to Floor 2. I live in #226.  See you Saturday night after
Wisconsin keeps the Axe.  Come by anytime probably around 9:00.

Noah Seligman

See you there!

--Max

Mayoral Debate Pictures

Here are a couple pictures from the mayoral debate held on Wednesday night at Coffman Union. It was hosted by MPIRG, MSA, and the Youth Vote Coalition and featured Mayor R.T. Rybak and County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.

Scott McClellan vs. Helen Thomas, Part 3,498

In only the latest battle between current White House press secretary Scott McClellan and Boston reporter Helen Thomas, McClellan says Thomas is "opposed to the broader war on terrorism." Oh dear.

Check back soon for an update on the Clinton plan.

--Max

Politics as a car

A friend related this metaphor to me today which I thought was very clever:

Politics is like a car. When you want to go forward, you put it into D. When you want to go backwards, you put it into R.

Rather clever. Also, a VERY noteworth event has come up regarding Bill Clinton. Check back soon to see what this is.

--Max

College Democrats of Minnesota web site

So, starting now, hopefully the blog should be updated EVERY DAY. So keep stopping back and checking us out. We'll include articles of interest, revealing factoids, Democrat pictures, and announcements.

Today's update is just to let everyone know about the College Democrats of Minnesota, more affectionately known as CDM. They are the organization which oversees all other College Democrat organizations, like the U-DFL, across the state. In fact, both the Chair (Chris Montana) and Secretary (Alex Valen) of CDM are students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities!

Check out the web site and get acquainted with the system which governs all college parties across the state.

--Max

Monday Meeting

Hey there Democratic Friends,
We will be having our weekly meeting on Monday, at the usual time(5:30) at the usual place (Coffman 323), so show up and bring friends! This meeting will hold some major planning of our big events. Wewill also be discussing the article we passed out last week. Checkthe blog (www.udfl.blogspot.com) if you missed the article or lost it.

Also, please please please bring your check books if you are aMinnesota resident. Through the Political Contribution Refund (PCR),you can give $50 to the U-DFL and get the money back! It's quite thedeal, and you should participate!

We will be ordering pizza at the beginning of the meeting for thosewho want to stick around for the discussion afterwards, so bring alittle cash to contribute (about $5 is good).

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me oranother executive board member

Keep fighting the good fight,

Max
612.916.5965
page0172@umn.edu

Noah's Article

U-DFL Secretary and Communications Director Noah Seligman recently wrote an article which was published by the Minnesota Daily. Read it HERE.

Fineman Article

The article for next week's discussion can be found HERE.

Thanks for coming to the meeting today, and let's get crackin' with everything.

-Max

Monday: First Committee Meetings!

Hola compañeros,

Our meeting for this week will be on Monday at Coffman Room 323 at the
normal meeting time, 5:30. We will be breaking up into committee
meetings and delegating some work. It's time to start digging our
teeth in and go to town.

Remember to try to bring at least ONE new friend every week. We will
be going out to dinner afterwards, so bring money for that. Also,
we'll have a new reading available to be discussed at the following
meeting.

Any questions, feel free to contact an exec member

Keep fighting the good fight,

Max