Yours Bluely,

Ogonowski has Delusions of Grandeur

2008-01-17T12:24:00.000-08:00

We all remember Jim Ogonowski, yes? The would-be Congressman from the MA-05 special election? Despite a 45-51% loss to newly elected Representative Niki Tsongas, Jim's decided that the life of a public servant is the life for him, and is beginning preparations to run again.

This time though, he's aiming a little higher:

"Republican Jim Ogonowski, who narrowly lost a congressional race to Niki Tsongas in October, is preparing to challenge U.S. Sen. John Kerry, The Associated Press has learned.

[...]

"We started a movement," the retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel said. "After my campaign ended, I've been very active throughout the state. I want to continue my public service."

All things considered, he didn't utterly crash and burn in MA-05, despite his obnoxious pandering with SCHIP and general demeanor. But.. really, Kerry? I understand the need to make certain incumbents don't go unchallenged - Long-term Campaign Strategy 101, don't let their war chest grow unchecked - but this is a waste of an otherwise viable candidate on the part of the GOP. That, or he really is that optimistic. In either case, I suppose I shouldn't complain too loudly..

In any case.. get ready for Round Two with Ogo the Uppity, SCHIP, and illegal immigration. Who knows? Maybe he's got a shot:

"Kerry, 64, has $9.5 million in his campaign account, compared to the $65,000 Ogonowski has left over from his congressional run."

Good luck, Jim.

Former Republican Representative Supports the Wrong Troops

2008-01-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

I had myself a pretty decent Wednesday, for a hump day, anyway. I felt accomplished, motivated, and sated in my work day, and managing to make it another 24 hours without breaking any New Years Resolutions.

But honestly, I felt some sick, twisted sense of glee when I stumbled upon this:

"A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

[...]

In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden.

The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned."

Maybe it's the partisanship ecstatic over the misfortunes of the GOP. Maybe it's that I bleed blue. Maybe I'm just a terrible human being. But there's a refreshing sense of vindication and comeuppance in seeing something like this break after 6 years of blathering misguided patriotism, claims of Democratic 'traitorous' intent and a lack of Troop Support.

Seriously though, folks. No one is safe from the corrupting influence of terrorism. This man has waged war with the "forces of darkness." Former Rep. Siljander has been an upstanding fundamentalist member of the radical right; if they get to him, then the terrorists have already won.

/snark

South Shore Kickoff!!

2007-09-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,

The South Shore Kickoff is going to be Saturday September 15 2-4 pm at Walloston Beach in Quincy,MA

Food, Beach Games, and a guest speaker from the NH State Party

Not to mention a great way to make new friends!!

Looking forward to seeing all of you

Ray Bennett
UMD College Democrats
South Shore Director

Global Warming - How Many More Signs Do We Need?

2007-08-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

There was a report today in the Metro (Boston Edition) that says the oil companies are funding research to counter the widely believed theory of Global Warming. It is great to see that Al Gore is standing up against the oil companies and fighting back. I think we can assumer that there is little doubt in most policy makers minds that global warming exists and yet the oil companies still want to ensure that there profits are protected.

My counter argument comes from today's weather. In NEW YORK CITY, downtown NEW YORK CITY, including Manhattan and JFK International Airport, there was a TORNADO WARNING. A TORNADO WARNING In downtown Manhattan and La Guardia International Airport. If that is not global warming, I don't know what is? When are we going to get the idea that Mother Nature has a way of making things right?

I would like to see the oil companies contradict that and Hurricane Katrina and the increased intensities in hurricanes, massive droughts, extreme monsoons, wildfires and everything else that encompasses global warming. If the oil companies win then I guess we better get used to the heat, and Tornado's in downtown New York City.

UPDATE:
The national weather service has confirmed that a Tornado did touch down in Brooklyn, up to 3 times! http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/08/nyc.weather/index.html Now there is proof!

Boston Phone Bank for Niki Tsongas!

2007-08-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is having a great summer.
This summer, I have been interning with the Niki Tsongas Campaign. Niki is running for the 5th Congressional District which was recently vacated by Marty Meehan. The Primary is on September 4 th, only a few weeks away.

I strongly support and believe in Niki's candidacy for many reasons. Her commitment to end the War in Iraq, to making affordable healthcare available for all Americans and her experience in higher education as the Dean of External Affairs at Middlesex Community College- the largest community college in the Commonwealth, are just a few. In addition, when Niki is elected she will be the first female Member of Congress representing Massachusetts in 25 years. I encourage you to visit her website at nikitsongas.com or call me directly if I can provide you with any information about her background and/or policy positions.

I am writing to ask you to join us at our Boston phone bank on Tuesday nights. There are only 3 Tuesdays left before the Primary!

Niki Tsongas Boston Phone Bank
Tuesdays 6-8:30pm
O'Neill Associates
31 New Chardon Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02114

Please email me and let me know if you will join me on Tuesday. Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you forward this email to at least 5 people in your address book today.

I hope you join me in working towards electing Niki Tsongas to Congress

My Best,
Ray Bennett
U_R1Bennett@umassd.edu

Confirming what we knew all along...

2007-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

This great viral video, "Huffington Post: Max Blumenthal: Generation Chickenhawk: With The College Republicans" investigates a fascinating disconnect in the ideology and actions of many College Republicans. It asks attendees of the National College Republicans Convention, some of the most staunch supporters of the war in Iraq, "If you support this war so strongly, why don't you enlist?"

Bill Clinton Single Handedly Revives Smashmouth's Career

2007-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

http://hillaryclinton.com/video/36.aspx

Well done Sopranos spoof. Check the home page for the cliff hanger result.

Obama Girl.

2007-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

There are many things I could say about this but I will just let everyone watch.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU

Obama Girl Dot Com

There are some gems in the lyrics.

MA-05

2007-06-21T21:32:00.001-07:00

Hey all. So I'm sure many of you know there is a special election for Marty Meehan's seat in the MA-05. I am working for one of the candidates, Jamie Eldridge, on his communications staff so I do not want to go on too long about this because I will start talking Jamie up. I just wanted to let people know it is going on and I would love to start a dialog about it. So leave some comments or what have you and we can start to talk, or shoot me an email tom@jamieforcongress.com if you want to know more about Jamie's campaign.

From Hotlineblog:

2007-04-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

I figured that everyone would like to see where our ex-Governor has set up shop in Iowa.

Mitt's Iowa HQ.

Meehan to become chancellor of UMass Lowell

2007-03-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

So it looks like Congressman Meehan is leaving Congress to become the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. His nomination still needs to be approved by UMass' board of trustees but all signs point to that happening. So what does everyone think of this decision, and who do you think/want to win the seat in the special election? This list is of people that have already said they are running and is from boston.com.

Democrats:
Niki Tsongas, wife of the late US senator Paul Tsongas; state Representative Barry R. Finegold of Andover; Eileen Donoghue, the former Lowell mayor and current city councilor; state Representative James B. Eldridge of Acton; and Stephen Kerrigan, a former aide to Senator Edward M. Kennedy and to Attorney General Thomas Reilly

Republicans:
Michael Sullivan, mayor of Lawrence; Charles McCarthy, Meehan's 2002 challenger; and Donna Cuomo, a former state representative from North Andover.

tm.

Power Rankings

2007-03-03T22:16:00.000-08:00

The National Journal has set up a ranking system [similar to espn's power rankings] for the candidates. This gives a short description of why they are in the ranking they are in, if they have moved up or down and fundraising projections for each candidate. These, just like sports power rankings are updated weekly - here are the links

Democrats

Republicans

t.mills

Racism 101

2007-02-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

The College Republicans at NYU have created a "fun" game to attract interest to their club. They are putting on a "game" today on their campus called find the Illegal Immigrant. The organizers have been upset they are being called racists and said if anyone that opposes them wants an “intelligent debate" they can talk to them at their rally. When you are asking narrow minded rich college students to run around and find the "illegal immigrant" what do you expect, minority groups speaking out about how great your organization is? NYU college republicans knew what they were doing, they knew this would not facilitate an intelligent debate about anything - it was a ploy to get on TV (see bottom). I hope you guys don't spend too much of your dad's money on the snacks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Find the Illegal Immigrant"

There will be one individual with a nametag that reads 'illegal immigrant'. This person has volunteered to do so and is not actually an illegal immigrant. On Thursday people will be signing up to be 'INS' and the
first person that signed up and finds the "illegal" will get a prize. At the table there will be information and handouts on the subject matter to inform others on the problems that ILLEGAL immigration causes.

Name: Find the Illegal Immigrant
Host: NYU College Republicans
Type: Causes - Rally
Date: Thursday, February 22, 2007
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: South side of Silver

Statement put out by the college republicans about event:

we, as CR’s, are free to hold politically incorrect events while at the same time making a point. Not all things politics need to be serious.

What is serious, is how quickly we’ve been able to garner so much attention and controversy, and so mission accomplished. Thanks guys.

(This message will probably piss you crazy wall-posters off more, which I do find funny)

We have more wall posts than people definitely attending this event. The people with no lives giving life-story testimonials to this event wall as if we, the real CR’s, actually give a shit what these people think should consider that we’re doing this regardless, but we appreciate how pissed off you guys get at a joke with which you dont agree.

btw, just another example how small minded people fear other people’s ideas and try to stifle it by attempting to cover it up/silence with their own rhetoric.

GO CR’S.
-Rick (The Captain)

2007-02-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

I think the biggest problem that student groups face, is coming up with creative activities to host. So, I thought I will share with you my favorite activities that the Democrats of Clark University have come up wit. Maybe my colleagues from other chapters can do the same?

1. The Bill Clinton Scrabble Tournament - Politics can be a bit too much at times, which is why we have had an annual Scrabble Tournament named after our favorite orator. It's a fun, easy and succesful event which is now in its third year running.

2. Bringing Politicians Door to Door - In the past, State Senators and even a U.S. Congressman has joined us in our get out the vote efforts on campus. It is great, because college students are more likely to be up later then the general population. Contact your local congressman, state senator, State Rep, City Councilor, etc... and let them know about bringing them to campus.

I wanted to post more.. however, I have a meeting in a few minutes. Another time!

[Monthly] Regional Meeting

2007-01-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great break and are ready to get going on this semester. I wanted to remind everyone (at least from the eastern MA region) that we will be getting back into having monthly meetings. If you came to any of the meetings last semester you know the drill, but hopefully this semester will be joined by more chapters. At this meeting we will be discussing our plans for the up-coming semester and what we should be adding to our plans. This is something that I would like to do every month to keep the chapters informed - it worked well last semester. As of now we do not have a date for the February meeting, but we will let everyone know as soon as we do.

I hope to see everyone in February,

Tom Mills
Eastern MA Liaison
thomasemills@gmail.com

Bayh - Presidential Caucuses

2006-12-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Evan Bayh, the Senator from Indiana, has apparently just pulled out from the presidential race. It's a shame too, he was my preliminary choice for POTUS.

This is as good a reason as any to remind chapters:
a) They should not endorse any candidate until he/she wins the Democratic primary.
b) Chapters should form candidate groups within their own groups. Groups like Clark University Students for Kendra Salvador or College of the Holy Cross students for Tom Vilsack should meet directly after a chapter meetings. This keeps people coming to meetings and informed about all of the candidates. I know from personal experience in 2004, that there can be some discontent among people who think their chapter is biased for one candidate or another.
This is a good way to keep people happy.
David Glick
Clark University '07
Central MA Liason

Fantasy Congress is here

2006-12-09T12:21:00.000-08:00

If you're anything like me, you have played Fantasy Baseball, Football and Basketball. It's a great way for you to get bragging rights from your friends and have a lot of fun. I am also a huge polito junkie. So when I read an article in the NYTimes about a website that compiles statistics concerning members of Congress I was ecstatic. (check out that article at my own blog) Now, I have setup a league for all Massachusetts College Democrats.

Go explore Fantasy Congress.com; College Democrats from across the nation can compete against each other.

Want to join our league?
It is easy.
1. Register with Fantasy Congress.com
2. Join the Massachusetts College Democrats League
- You can join the league by clicking here
- Or by searching for the Massachuetts College Democrats League
3. Draft your team immediately. You can always change how is on your starting lineup.
4. The league will become activated this January when the new congress comes into session.

Feel free to sign up as many people that can fit under the 100 person cap.

David Glick
Clark University '07
Central Ma Liason, MA College Dem's

CDA Leadership Summit!! Be there and keep it affordable!

2006-12-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hey All,
I have been assigned the responsibility of finding an inexpensive way so that everyone can attend the leadership summit in Washington D.C. this February. So far it looks like if we car pool, plus registration, and hotel it is 140 plus food. This is very affordable! If you respond Melissa at Robertvw@bc.edu she will forward me your names and you can join our room block. This block will be at the Days Inn in Washington D.C. at 4400 Connecticut Ave. Check it out! It has 5 sun bursts and the chairmans highest rating for five years! Look forward to seeing all of your names on the list. This will be an amazing conference! Talk to all of you soon!

Yours Bluely,

-Kyle Schulberg
Legislative Director
South Shore Liaison

Website Suggestions

2006-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hey,

A lot of great ideas cam out of the convention about how to improve the website, and we're taking all of those seriously. They included:

adding RSS feeds from chapter blogs to the state blog
adding D.C. housing resources
creating an internship review forum
adding a chapter toolbox section with sample press releases, flyers, and basic information

These suggestioons are all in the works, and will be up and running soon. In the meantime, if you have more ideas, please feel free to reply to this post-we'll certainly try to add any new ideas!

Yours Bluely,
Lissa :)

How to post, and BU Fundraiser!

2006-12-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody,

If you would like to be able to post on the blog, I have to make you an author. I've already done this for most of the E-Board, but if I missed you, or you're not an E-Board member and would like to be able to post, please send me an email at robertvw@bc.edu with your name, school, and email address.

Business aside, The BU College Dems are having a fundraiser at Uno's on Wednesday from 11 Am til 10 PM. 15% of anything you order goes to the Dems, HOWEVER, you must print out the flyer included in the calendar event on our website for it to count!! This sounds like a lot of fun for all of you Boston area schools, and I know I'm going to try to make it out there on Wednesday! Hope to see a lot of you there!

Yours Bluely,
Lissa Roberts

Leadership Summit an Incredible Success!!

2006-12-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well boys and girls,

I just wanted to be the first to say how much I enjoyed seeing/meeting/speaking with all of you today at the Summit! I know I speak for the entire E-Board when I say that this meeting far exceeded our expectations. I know it's difficult to give up a Saturday, so a HUGE thanks goes out to all of you who made the trip to BC and engaged in the most productive general assembly that CDM has ever had. A post-summit resource package, as well as info about the monthly general membership conference call and the other issues we discussed over the course of the day will be posted on the CDM website within a week.

On a lighter note, the inimitable David Glick, our Central Mass Liason, has created a CDM Fantasy Congress League. To sign up, go to www.fantasycongress.com and join the Massachusetts College Democrats league. I don't know about all of you, but I think my draft picks are pretty stellar (My Upper Senators can beat up your Upper Senators)... Let the smack talk begin :)

Yours Bluely,

Lissa Roberts
Comm Director

Leadership Summit

2006-12-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hey Dems,

I am SURE that after being bombarded with emails, phonecalls, and facebook messeages, that you are all aware that this Saturday (i.e. tomorrow) December 2nd, CDM is hosting its first annual mid-year Ledadership Summit at Boston College. For specific info, check out the event on our website at http://www.macollegedems.org.

I hope that you'll attend with your e-boards, chapter members, community members, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors and anyone else who would like to come. Please come say hello tomorrow, if I haven't met you already, and I hope you enjoy seeing my alma mater!!

Yours Bluely,
Lissa Roberts
CDM Communications Director

Welcome to the CDM Blog!

2006-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello College Democrats of Massachusetts!

Each of us, as active members of the Democratic Party have concerns about different issues. It's our hope that this blog will be a forum for those issues that most concern each of us, as well as a constant reference for the E-Board. Do you think a program would work well on a state level? Tell us! Do you need help with an issue based campaign on your campus? Tell us! Do you have an idea for how we can better serve as a resource to you? Tell us!

We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

The CDM E-Board