Why Do we Caucus on Tuesday??

Some states hold primaries, in Minnesota we use the caucus system. Since the early days of Minnesota's statehood, caucuses have been used to select delegates to nominating conventions.

Caucus begins at 7:00 p.m. The Republican party will meet at the Menahga City Hall, while the Democratic Party will meet ay the High School Media Center.

Remember--You can get gov in action points for this. Also-Barack Obama will be at the Target Center on Saturday. It is a free event and doors open at 1:30. If you go, bring something back--a flyer, picture......


What happens at the caucus????

A caucus is a meeting in your neighborhood, held every two years, where people talk politics. They're normally set up at community centers or in classrooms not far from your home.

"Hopefully coffee will be on, and it will be a lot of friendly talk and discussion," Ron Carey, the state GOP chair said.

"You're going to see a room full of people who are politically active and politically concerned, and you're going to see tables with various stacks of paper," Brian Melendez, the chairman of the Minnesota DFL Party said.

A lot of party business gets done at caucuses. But if you're a Democrat, and it's a presidential election year like this one, you don't have to stick around.

"Let's say all you really care about is the presidential election," Melendez said. "You can come, pick up a presidential preference ballot, fill out your ballot, turn it in, and leave, if that's all that you're really concerned about."

It is a secret ballot, so it's not like the Iowa caucuses, where you're forced to announce your loyalty in front of your neighbors.

And on the DFL side, the results of the caucuses are binding. That means Democratic candidates win delegates to the national nominating convention based on the number of votes they receive.

It's a complicated formula, but it basically breaks down like this: Minnesota will send 88 delegates to the Democratic Convention this summer in Denver. Of those delegates, 72 will be assigned on caucus night, in proportion to the vote totals. The other 16 delegates are so called "super delegates" who support whichever candidate they choose.

On the Republican side, the results are not binding. So the presidential vote is really just a public opinion poll.

"It influences, but does not mandate, who is going to get the national delegates out of Minnesota at the national convention," Carey said. The delegates are assigned at the state convention in the spring.

The main business at a Republican caucus is picking local party leaders and learning more about candidates for various offices. Then caucus goers decide which issues they want listed in the state Republican Party platform.

He adds: "It's a wonderful exercise in democracy. It's about as close to direct democracy as we get here in America."

And on that point, both parties agree.

"You're going to find it's probably pretty rewarding, and not the intimidating process that some people think it is," Carey said.

The Democrats and Republicans have an informational sites if you would like to learn more about what to expect on Tuesday.

Go here for Democrats http://www.dfl.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={3FE7BDD2-0932-45A2-8B80-86BA06F6D836}

Go here for Republicans
http://www.mngop.com/caucus2008/

Employers, Coaches, Facebook and Myspace

There were some very interesting responses to the Facebook post. Most people think the schools should not act on pictures from Facebook. What about coaches, colleges and employers????

I found some interesting info.

Interview with Tim DeMello, owner of Internet company Ziggs:
When DeMello was asked if he does an Internet search for online profiles when he chooses whom to hire, he replies, "Of course. Everybody does."

DeMello estimates that about 20 percent of companies are secretly scanning online profiles before they interview applicants.

"Within a short period of time, you could find these 83 photos on every search engine on the Web, and these 83 photos could be attached to your name for the rest of your career," says DeMello.

An Ottawa , Canada grocery store (Farm Boy) fired two employees after they read postings on a Facebook groups called " I Got Farm Boy'd" The employees had talked about stealing merchandise from the store. One of the employees spoke out and denied stealing from the store. He said the post was only hypothetical.

A minimum wage Argos employee in the UK was fired for gross misconduct after he vented on Facebook about a frustrating day at work.

A 29-year-old police officer from Ohio was fired from his department after he posted photos of evidence from criminal cases and of the speedometer of a police car going 100 mph on MySpace; he was the subject of a recent ABC News story.

People across the country have been fired for “not living up to the moral code of the company,” Stacey Elderbroom, co-creator of the “Protect Your Privates” campaign, said.

Last May, LSU swimmers Eddie Kenney and Matt Coenen were kicked off the team after athletics officials discovered they belonged to a Facebook affinity group that put up disparaging comments about swim coaches.

Loyola University Chicago is forbidding its athletes from belonging. Loyola athletics director John Planek says he ordered athletes off the site to protect them from gamblers, agents or sexual predators who could learn about them, or contact them, through their profiles. It is also an image issue for schools. Schools could be deeply embarrassed if underage star athletes are seen on a website drinking from a beer bong.

Officials at the University of Oxford are using Facebook to find — and fine — students that engaged in a spasm of "trashings," rowdy revels after exams end that include dousing classmates in foam, eggs and flour.

Disciplinary officials at Oxford scanned Facebook, found pictures of the rowdies and have begun e-mailing students fines equivalent to about $85 to $210 for breaking campus rules.

So...it is not just high schools using Facebook and Myspace to gather info. From what I read it sounds like coaches are just starting to use Myspace and Facebook as a place to keep tabs on their athletes. Employers look at it. It sounds like you have to be careful what you post--even if your account is set to private. Thoughts??????

WWWWhaaaat? Direct Democracy in Action......

VT town seeks arrest warrants for Bush, V.P.

A group in Brattleboro, Vermont is petitioning to put an item on a town meeting agenda in March that would make Bush and Vice President Cheney subject to arrest and indictment if they visit the southeastern Vermont community. Activists want them subject to arrest for war crimes.

The town meeting, an annual exercise in which residents gather to vote on everything from fire department budgets to municipal policy, requires about 1,000 signatures to place a binding item on the agenda.

The measure asks: "Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictment for consideration by other municipalities?"

The Brattleboro Select Board voted 3-2 to put the item on the ballot for the March vote.

The board voted to put the item on the ballot after receiving petitions from townspeople with the required number of signatures.

Select Board member Richard Garant says he thinks the vote is legal, but the town doesn't have the authority to issue an arrest warrant. He says it sends a message.

What do you think?????

Facbook Troubles for Metro Students

OK, did you hear a few weeks ago about all of the kids in Eden Prairie who got in trouble after school officials saw Facebook pics of them with alcoholic beverages? No, you say, you did not hear about his story?? Or the new story that came out today? Well, let me summarize it for you here.

Earlier this month-January 10th- 13 students from Eden Prairie High School were punished when pictures of them drinking and partying were taken from someone's Facebook and given to school officials anonymously on a disc. The school has not revealed what the punishments were.

Since this story a few things have happened:
1. Walk-out 16-year-old Nick Laurent staged a walk out of Eden Prairie High School Thursday to protest the school's punishment of students seen partying on Facebook pages. More than a dozen students joined him. The students said school administrators overreacted to the perception that students in the photos were drinking. "It's the loudest thing we could do," said Laurent, who organized the walkout but said he wasn't one of the students in the photos. "The situation was so old, those pictures were two to four years old," said one student at the walkout. "It's off school grounds and it isn't anything to do with school at all. It shouldn't be anything you should really care about," said another student. Laurent tried to make his point by passing out red plastic cups that were similar to those seen in some of the photos. He noted that it was impossible to see what was inside the cups, so administrators couldn't prove that students were drinking. Laurent agreed that athletes and other students who sign a code of conduct to be involved in activities should face consequences if they break the rule against drinking alcohol. But he said the punishments were too harsh. "They don't have (the) support of the students to hand out arbitrary punishments and punishments that don't fit the crime," he said. Laurent and other students said they knew of classmates who were banned from their sports teams for five weeks. While some students walked out, others are using the Internet to voice their side. The controversy that started online continues online, as a new group created a Facebook page titled, "Eden Prairie High School did not go too far." On the group page one student writes, "These people had it coming.Get a clue. I agree wholly with what the administration is doing."

2. 4 students at Woodbury High are facing discipline for partying pictures of them taken from Facebook. A student took pictures off the website, used them in a powerpoint on drinking, showed the powerpoint in health class and now the kids in the pics are in trouble. 12 students were talked to, 4 received an undisclosed discipline. In a letter sent to parents on Monday, the principal explains that "because the photos were brought into our building, it is our obligation to address any violations of school rules they might depict." Reaction to the student who brought them to class vary. "I've heard some people say that they support what he did but then I've heard a lot say they don't support what he did," said Potter. "It's kind of like invading privacy even though it's a on a public Internet site," said Richter.
What many young people may not realize is the long term consequences of those networking sites. "It's an electronic trail right now. And it can be found by college administrators, by potential employers, by friends, by grandparents, by people who you don't want to see some of the mistakes you've made," Media Specialist John Rash.
It's becoming increasingly common for schools or potential employers to check social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and to penalize kids or other people for what they find, said William McGeveran, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and expert on data privacy.

"Facebook is largely a public space. Users don't always perceive it that way, but that's what it is," McGeveran said.

What do you think? Should kids be punished for Facebook pics that emerge? Is it a public space used by many to gather info?? Who do you agree or disagree with in the stories above?

The State of the Union

President Bush gave his final State of the Union address this evening. He addressed many issues facing the country. Go find an article about the speech and describe two of the issues he presented. Strive to be original.

Taxes

Cathy Cabot talked to us about taxes today. What did you think about how your tax money is spent? Here is a breakdown of how the federal gov spends your money:

27% of the budget-Military & Defense-558 Billion
21% Health Care-428.5 Billion
19% Interest on the Debt--398.6 Billion
12% Other-254 Billion
6% Income Security 123 Billion
5% Education 93 Billion
3% Veterans 68 Billion
3% Nutrition 53 Billion
2% Housing
2% Environment
Nominal Amount--Jobs Training 6 Billion

What do you think about this spending? Or other things she talked about?

She also talked about filing taxes. Are you filing? If so, you can do so for FREE!!! ONLINE -it is easy AND you can efile for FREE also!! Here is the link:

http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/

Liam Lynch-United States of WHATEVER

It is YOUR United States. This video is for fun:)

First One

Make sure you read the first blog/introduction!!

We all know the stories about buses and seating discrimination-Rosa Parks. Detroit Lakes is having its own busing problems. Read the story:

The Detroit Lakes school district is changing its bus routes after some students were teased.

Under the revised routes, a group of students from a mobile home park will no longer have to sit in the front seats.

A parent had complained that having those students sit in front of the bus had created a stigma and led to the students being teased.

For the last eight years, the bus had picked up students from the mobile home park -- located less than a mile from the school -- on its last stop on the route. Those students had to sit in the first three rows.

The district said it had assigned the seats because the stop is on a high-traffic road, and it saved time for the students to sit down quickly.

The new policy takes effect within the next 10 days.

What do you think? Is this discrimination based on economic class? Should the school change it route? What other options may the school come up with?