I've been told I have to contribute. I will say right off that I'm kind of a Luddite, so there won't be anything fancy, like, you know, links. Anyway, in regards to the global warming event letters to Bloomberg, what if we suggest some kind of tax break-ish deal for restaurants that donate/sell their used cooking oil for veggie buses (or are we doing biodiesel?).
Since every restauranteur is up in arms about the NYC ban on trans fats in restaurants, it might make them all a little happier. What do you all think?
The difference between biodiesel and straight vegetable oil is that biodiesel is a mix of diesel and veggie oil and can be used in a standard diesel engine. The ratio of veggie to diesel varies, and the more diesel, the more particulate matter is released into the atmosphere. Though diesel creates less CO2 exhaust, it's considered a dirty fuel because particulates foul up our lower atmosphere-where we breathe. There are, however, new and very clean diesels either on the market or about to be on the market, and higher-veggie biodiesels are pretty good. The idea is also that biodiesel's CO2 emissions are cancelled out by the crops grown for the fuel. Veggie buses are, in my opinion, the better option, but they do require costly engine conversions (though I don't think NYC will be down with replacing their fleets with diesel engines/vehicles either. Maybe suggesting that all new transpo vehicles coming in have to be green? Or taxis? Garbage trucks?). They release WAY fewer particulate and CO2 emissions, with the added benefit of cancelling out with crops (is that called a closed system? Something like that). Plus, you can run them on used cooking oil, of which there is an abundance in this city, I would imagine. Think of all that cooking oil being used to run our transportation system instead of being thrown away...And maybe we should suggest painting the buses all psychedelic. Bloomberg would LOVE that.
My two cents.
(The biodiesel/veggie oil facts are off the top of my head, so check 'em out yourself.)
Oh, wait. Straight vegetable oil is not yet legal. whoops. Biodiesel it is.
much love.
Julia R.

For all the hype about the tremendous momentum Democrats have going into this election, we all seem to have forgotten that we must build tremendous margins of support to overcome the Republicans' most potent weapon in winning difficult races. Stuffing them full of money and their well-oiled GOTV machine? No, stealing them.

Oh, and this is just wonderful. Sean Hannity is clearly not pleased to see his military analyst endorse Jim Webb on the air.

Everyone should watch this example of Barney Frank behaving as Democrats must--he stays on message and refuses to discuss the issues in the terms introduced by the Republican Party. This is a really good instance of a Democrat slapping down the meaningless drivel that makes up the Republicans' talking points.

A few things to know about Cleveland:

• Old manufacturing city (through rail and canals to Lake Erie)
• Population ~500,000 (smaller than Columbus)
• Metro area population ~2.25 million (largest in the state)
• Half African-American, slightly less than half Caucasian. Hispanic population and populations of other races are all well under 10%.
• VERY poor--poorest major city in the United States
• Health care and biotech have started to replace manufacturing as the most important element of the economy
• Home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Home to Playhouse Square Center, a performing arts center larger than all in the US except Lincoln Center
• Home of Case Western Reserve University (the top-rated school in Ohio--we will probably want to hang out in University Circle near Case)
• Home of the Cleveland Orchestra, one of the "Big Five"
• The daily newspaper is The Plain Dealer
• The leading alternative newsweeklies are The Cleveland Scene and the Free Times
• Home of Cleveland Indians (MLB), Cleveland Browns (NFL), Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
• The mass transit system consists of a bus line and a rail line (Cleveland Rapid Transit, or "The Rapid") run by the Regional Transit Authority (RTA)
• Cleveland is less than an hour north of Kent, so look out for National Guardsmen
• The current junior senator of Ohio, George Voinovich, is a native and former mayor of Cleveland (as well as governor of Ohio) and is well-liked despite the city's deep blue politics (he beat Kucinich to become mayor). He has been attacked by the right, but should not be considered a RINO like Chafee--he is still moderately conservative.
• The House seat that encompasses most of Cleveland (the 11th) is held by Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who is very well-liked and has never seen serious opposition in an election. She is running for her fifth term in 2006 and has already announced that she will support Hillary in 2006. She is famous for objecting to the countin of Ohio's electoral votes in 2004 due to voting irregularities. The White House hates her and has retaliated by removing federal jobs from Cleveland.

Hi all,

Feel free to post articles, videos, pictures, etc. on the blog for all things activist-y. To start: a video about Dewine.

Also, to make communicating between meetings either (and avoiding the mess of CubMail), we can post our ideas for our events here. Like when Isabel and Sarah figure out what the premiere cheap earth pinata store is, they can post the link here!

Or just put ideas for the event up, or ideas for new events, or anything!

Laura

Welcome to the Internet home of the Columbia University College Democrats Activist Council!
We thought we would join the blogosphere before Bill O'Reilly shows up with his hand grenade to teach us all a thing or two about disrespecting him and President Bush. With the Ohio Campaign Trip and all of our on-campus events coming up, we wanted to have a way to reach those of you who do not come to our meetings on a regular basis. Since part of our mission is to reach out to Columbia's huge progressive community, an Internet presence seemed long overdue. The role of this space, just like the role of the Activist Council, will be constantly evolving with the needs of our community, so feel free as always to contact us with any suggestions, questions, or complaints at demsact@columbia.edu. Also, watch for a lot more content and information from us online!