Campus Democrats at UCSB

So today I dropped in on the meeting of our political counterparts on campus. To be honest, I’ve never been able to make it to a College Republicans meeting before, mostly because they meet at the same time we do. Today they were holding elections for their next batch of officers and I was very impressed with what I saw. Outgoing officers gave stirring and emotional goodbyes while they reflected on their years with the organization. Prospective officers gave thoughtful speeches as they vied for a role in the future of their club.

I saw a group of dedicated individuals with sincere beliefs and a common passion. They’ve put on a successful event last week with their guest speaker, they’ve have a small and committed group of members, and they’ve created a place where conservative students can meet together.

Now there are good reasons why I am a Democrat, but those are for other posts. What I was reminded of tonight were all the reasons I loved AP Government at Great Oak High School. Disagreement, debate, and honest discourse are the foundations of a strong democracy. What I worry is that these things are starting to disappear, especially with the how bitterly gridlocked our country seems to be right now. What I know is though is that the things which unite young Republicans and young Democrats are very real. Though we differ greatly in our beliefs, we are both passionate political enthusiasts who sometimes feel as if we are surrounded by apathy. Many of us have political ambitions, we love discussing politics, and we want to make our country a better place. We should be rivals, but not enemies. I don’t want to live in a world without opposition because at the end of the day we are stronger as a nation when we have a vibrant and competitive democratic system.

So congratulations to the newly elected officers of College Republicans. It is my hope that over the course of the next quarter we can work together to bring political awareness to our campus through spirited debate and honest intellectual discourse.

-Ryan Hirschler is the Vice President of Campus Democrats at UC Santa Barbara

Since Tuesday, over 350 UCSB students have signed our petition demanding that Karl Rove answer our questions. Last night, UCSB’s Associated Students Legislative Council passed a resolution supporting our call to have an open microphone at Karl Rove’s speech tonight. But the College Republicans are still refusing to allow us to have an open dialogue with Karl Rove despite the fact that $12,933 of our student funds have gone to bring him to campus.

What you can do

We need to increase the pressure on the College Republicans to stand up for free speech and allow for UCSB students to ask unfiltered questions to Karl Rove. Our goal is to get 500 signatures before the the event tonight, we need you to send this link to 10 of your friends and get them to sign the petition too: http://bit.ly/rovepetition

If you have tickets to tonight’s event and are interested in opposing Karl Rove in a non-disruptive manner, SB Anti-War is planning to walk out of the event when Rove speaks. Check out their Facebook group here.

Send the petition to 10 friends today!

SIGN THE PETITION

UCSB Associated Students has allocated $12,933 of our student funds to bring former George Bush adviser Karl Rove to campus on Thursday, February 25th. As “Bush’s Brain”, Karl Rove was behind the disastrous policies of President George W. Bush. From fabricating evidence of WMDs in Iraq to exploiting race in politics to fighting to strip LGBT people of marriage equality, it is time that Rove answers for these policies. But instead, the UCSB College Republicans will be filtering your pre-submitted questions for Rove. The students are footing the bill for this event at a university that values freedom of speech and we refuse to be denied our right to ask questions. We demand that the College Republicans allow UCSB students to ask Karl Rove uncensored questions from a microphone at Thursday’s event. Please join us in signing the petition below:

I demand that the College Republicans respect free speech and allow UCSB students to ask Karl Rove uncensored questions from a microphone.

Please join the UCSB Campus Democrats by signing this petition to preserve free speech on our campus.

Democratically Yours,

UCSB Campus Democrats

SIGN THE PETITION

The University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Campus Democrats today announced their endorsement of local Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams in his campaign for the 35th Assembly District.  The UCSB Campus Democrats voted unanimously to endorse Das Williams.

Leaders of the UCSB Campus Democrats cited Das Williams’ deep commitment to and understand of higher education issues and service to the campus community.

“After carefully considering both democratic candidates, we are pleased to endorse Santa Barbara City Councilmember Das Williams for the 35th State Assembly District,” said Amanda Wallner, President of the UCSB Campus Democrats.  “Das Williams has been a huge supporter of Campus Democrats for years. He knows students, he knows Isla Vista, and I am confident that he will continue to work for us and with us in the State Assembly.  Das cares about the students and his commitment to UCSB is unwavering.  The UCSB Campus Democrats are excited to have this opportunity to send a strong advocate for students to Sacramento.”

The UCSB Campus Democrats have hundreds of active members and are the largest Democratic club in the 35th State Assembly District.  The UCSB Campus Democrats are nationally recognized leaders in voter registration and were awarded Chapter of the Year Award in 2009 from the California College Democrats.

“I am proud to have the support of the UCSB Campus Democrats,” said Das Williams.  “I look forward to continue working closely with the Campus Democrats and the UCSB campus community to make affordable, quality higher education a priority in Sacramento.”

Das Williams is running to succeed fellow democrat and termed-out Assemblymember Pedro Nava in 2010.

The Tea Party held a convention and Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker.  It was everything you would imagine it would be.

NY TIMES

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8502567.stm

When I read this decision, I was shocked.  The Supreme Court decided that corporations are allowed to spend unregulated amounts of money in support or opposition to political candidates.  The decision was a 5-4 split with the opposition offering a scathing rebuttal.  The logic was that the laws in place to regulate the amount of money corporations spend on campaigns stifle free speech.  The ruling was made on the basis that corporations are ‘people.’

I strongly encourage you read up on this decision for yourself:

NY Times Original Article, NY Times Editor’s debate,  NY Times ‘The Caucus,’

I have an obvious bias against this ruling, but it is not all bad.  It also allows unions and non-profits to spend without regulation.  However, the fact that corporations are now able to throw an unlimited amount of money at (or against) a candidate is so monumental the rest is dwarfed.

Can you imagine:

-FOX being able to make and air an unlimited amount of political commercials on all their channels, including during shows like American Idol.

-Exxon being able to fully fund a wide release propaganda movie discrediting a candidate they dont like.

-Google buying a half hour long special for or against an candidate on a major network.

-Coca-Cola being able to pay for an unlimited amount of billboards or canvassers for a candidate.

Well these are all now a reality.  The only catch is that the corporations still have to disclose that they are funding their ads.  One Justice, Clarence Thomas, wanted to even get rid of this.  So far there has been a general outcry against this decision, with the exception of some Republican politicians.

These laws have been in place since 1907 with the Tillman Act.  Since then, they have been strengthened by the 1947 Taft-Harvey Act and the McCain-Feingold Act, as well as being upheld multiple times by previous Supreme Court rulings in the 1990s.

This case was brought to the court by the producers of Hillary: The Movie, which was a 90 min long movie defaming Hillary Clinton that was denied distribution because it is a political advertisement.

President Obama issued a statement calling on Congress to “develop a forceful response to this decision.”

Haiti suffered a 7.2 earthquake yesterday that destroyed almost all infrastructure, including the parliament building, high security prisons, and many major hospitals.  Early estimates of the death toll are around 500,000 people and the Red Cross says at least a third of Haiti’s 9 million people are in need of emergency aid.  AP Report

All international humanitarian relief organizations are in need of support and funding.  CNN has compiled a list of links to the major organizations on the ground who are asking for donations.

CNN Impact Your World

Google, frustrated with censorship, is threatening to stop service in China.  Unfortunately China is censoring this story in their borders.

NY Times