Candidate statements for next year’s officer corps are up! Please direct your attention to the tab at the top of the page labelled “Candidate Statements”, or the multiple links to the right and bottom of this post. Or just click here.
Elections for 2010-2011 officers will take place this Tuesday, May 25, at 8 PM at our usual meeting place. Qualifications for voting are as follows:
You must have attended at least two meetings.
You must have attended one outside event. (Parties do not count. Sorry.)
Elections are now closed to new candidates. Congratulations to those running unopposed, and best of luck to those whose fate will be decided this Tuesday!
Arizona just passed the broadest and strictest immigration measure in generations. It forces citizens of the United states to carry documentation proving their citizenship and upon failure to do so allows law enforcement to arrest them. President Obama has come out in strong protest to this law, saying that it threatens “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”
On Monday, April 26th, former/next Governor of California Jerry Brown will address UCSB students on the Lagoon Lawn (between the Faculty Club and the backside of the UCEN). Brown, who was California’s chief executive from 1975-1983, is currently running in the California Democratic primary for governor.
That’s right–Jerry Brown is gonna be governor AGAIN. And we are psyched.
With a budget crisis that is affecting all levels of government programs, most notoriously education, and an incredible amount of partisanship that is keeping the state from making ANY progress at all, we need a governor with the experience necessary to get the job done without falling prey to divisiveness or the status quo. As Brown’s campaign puts it: “An insider’s knowledge; an outsider’s mind.”
This should be the largest event at a university campus by a gubernatorial candidate this year, and Campus Democrats is extremely proud to be ones presenting it. If successful, it will kick off a string of campaign stops at colleges and universities across our state–what better way to show the students of California who’s really going to stand up for them? This was a last-minute event, so we need everyone’s help getting the word out!
Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the courts liberals, will retire in the summer. He was nominated by Gerald Ford in 1975. His retirement should not change the liberal-conservitive balance on the bench. This announcement comes 11 days before his 90th birthday.
Interested in coming with us to the California Young Democrats annual State Convention in LA this year? The weekend of April 16-18, Democrats from across California will converge on the LA Convention Center to vote on a new party platform and to endorse candidates for statewide office. There will be opportunities to meet candidates and elected officials, attend trainings, network with other young democrats, and lots of entertainment and hospitality suites. If you would like to attend, please send an email to Michelle at michellealeena_2344@yahoo.com
Despite the year-long effort to pass major health care reform in this country, very few people seem to actually know what provisions are in the legislation which passed last night. No surprise, everyone is still very opinionated on what they think they know, from folks who think that everyone now has free health care to the folks who think we now live in a government controlled police-state. I’ve tried to highlight as many points as I can below, comment if I missed anything.
People earning up to 133% of the Federal Poverty line will be eligible for medicaid, insuring an estimated 16 million people.
24 million people who do not get health insurance through their workplaces should be able to buy into private insurance. This is based on a system of tax credits and state-based exchanges.
Starting in 2014 individuals will be mandated to provide proof of insurance, facing a fine of at least $750. Companies of at least 50 employees who do not provide adequate coverage will also face significant fines. (These numbers will change with reconciliation)
Cuts $120 billion over next 10 years from Medicare Advantage.
Parents may keep their children on their health insurance plan until they are 26 years old.
In six months, all new private insurance plans will have to cover the full cost of preventive care, including annual physicals and children’s immunizations.
Insurers will no longer be able to require prior approval for trips to emergency rooms or gynecologists.
Children with medical conditions will no longer be denied coverage.
Insurers will be barred from imposing lifetime limits on benefits and from dropping people when they file a claim.
Will provide a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs for the low-income elderly.
Tax credits will be available for families earning up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to ensure that the cost of their health care premiums does not exceed 9.5 percent of their income
Imposes a 40 percent excise tax on many generous employer provided insurance plans, Union members do not have a broad exemption.
Imposes a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for high earning families.
“Combined with the Senate bill, the package would increase the overall cost of expanding insurance coverage to $940 billion over the next decade. But the two measures combined would also lower budget deficits by $143 billion by 2019.” [CBO and Washington Post]
Of course changes can still happen and implementation always has uncertainty. There are many aspects of this bill that can’t be summarized, try to find out for yourself if you can
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.
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:
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: