Neighborhood Buzz
A News Blog for Democrats and Independents
June 9, 2019
June 9, 2019
Editor - Jerry Meyer
jerrymeyer.meyer1@gmail.com
sumterdemocrats.com
Gillum Speaks to Villages Democrats
A steady drizzle the morning of June 8th didn’t
dampen the enthusiasm of Villagers who came early to get one of the 500 seats
available at the Hacienda Recreation Center so they could hear a talk by Andrew
Gillum.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gillum Speaks to Villages Democrats
A steady drizzle the morning of June 8th didn’t
dampen the enthusiasm of Villagers who came early to get one of the 500 seats
available at the Hacienda Recreation Center so they could hear a talk by Andrew
Gillum.
Gillum was equally enthusiastic about being back in the
Villages and reminded the audience that it was one of the first stops as he
began his campaign for the 2018 Governor’s race.He says Florida has four million people who are not
registered to vote and he is heading an effort to get one million registered as
Democrats before
the 2020 election. “Even if we only hit 25% of our goal,” he
told the crowd, “it could mean winning in 2020 and other future elections.”
“Trump knows what we in Florida know,” he said, “winning the Presidential
election requires Florida’s 29 Electoral Votes.”
In his opinion Florida is not a red state or even a purple
state, but an unorganized state, and between now and 2020 we must get organized. Citing information he said he learned during his campaign
for Governor, Gillum offered statistics that in 2008
Florida Democrats had
700,000 more registered voters than the Republicans, but by 2018 that had
dwindled down to 200,000. In 2008 twenty five
per cent of the voters were white and 65 and older. By 2018 that number
increased to 35%. These numbers,
reflected in the Villages, tend to represent a more conservative voter.
The 2018 election brought out eight and a half million
voters and Gillum came up 33,000 votes short in a very tight race, one Gillum
says came closer than any Democrat has in 24 years. He admits the loss was difficult and at that
point he could have walked away to
another life, but chose not to surrender to
history books and has decided to commit remaining campaign resources as well as
his time and effort to helping groups register one million new voters and
re-engage those already registered. He
warns there are no short cuts, and the job requires getting back into the field
to stay connected with the base.
“Talk to voters about issues that matter,” he said, “issues
like health care, including for those without access” And there must be respect
for the decisions of others, no legislature, no governor, no
Congress and no
President have any business making decisions about a woman’s own reproduction.” That brought the crowd to its feet with a
roar of approval. Before Gillum spoke, a
group of a half dozen women, wearing costumes from “A Handmaid’s Tale,” stood
silently on the stage during the pre-program, a silent statement made in
protest of anti-abortion legislation passed in recent weeks by Republican
Legislatures in a handful of states.
Gillum admitted it was difficult to be in the cross hairs,
referencing the ethics charges brought against him, saying four have
been
dismissed for lack of evidence and he paid $5,000 to settle a charge he accepted a gift, although it was done unkowingly.
Gillum has raised $800,000 and last month made a $100,000 mini grant, telling party leadership more is coming, adding he is serious about
the work, because it is clear what is at stake.
Large cards, printed with the slogan “one million voters,”
had been passed out to the crowd with members waving them during various high
points of Gillum’s talk. In his first
appearance in the Villages he took a selfie with the crowd behind him. The
picture was later posted on the club website.
As Gillum ended his talk he told the crowd he wanted another selfie and
they waved their signs enthusiastically as he stepped aside from the podium and
took the picture. As he stepped down
from the stage, members of the crowd ran up to him to get their personal
selfies.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Have you thought about running for office?
Your skills may be of value for a Villages CDD or County Commission member!
For assistance on how to run for office contact:
Mike Hardy - Democrat Party Candidate Coordinator
mlhardy024521@gmail.com
352-623-7823
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
An Insult and a lie
Insult. Even after John McCain’s death President Trump continues to
insult this American hero.
The stern of the USS John
McCain was covered with a canvas so Trump would not see the ship during his
trip to Japan.Trump and his staff tried
to blame the action on some unnamed young person on the advance staff, with
Trump saying the person was “well meaning.”His Chief of Staff, Mick
Mulvaney told an incredulous Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press,’ that it was
not an unreasonable thing to ask.
The Lie. During his trip to Great Britain Trump was asked about
critical remarks made about him before his election by Meghan Markle, the wife
of Prince Harry.
In his response, recorded by
television cameras, Trump said he was shocked by the Duchess past remarks and
did not know she was “nasty.”
In spite of the fact that his
remarks are recorded and easily played back for reference, Trump denies he
referred to Markle as “nasty.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
State
Democrats want to know if lobbyist failed to report NRA Payments
Senator Perry Thurston (Ft.
Lauderdale) and Representative Anna V. Eskamani (Orlando) have filed formal
complaints with the state Senate and House oversight committees, requesting
investigations into whether NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer failed to disclose
hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments.
A news story posted by
floridabulldog.org says Hammer failed to file compensation reports on payments
received since 2007. The payments
reportedly include $270,000 paid following the 2018 Parkland school shootings.
Thurston, who has questioned
whether the NRA may have had a role in promoting legislation allowing teachers
to carry guns in the classroom, pointed out that Hammer is not an in-house
lobbyist at the NRA, but is a lobbying firm and must submit compensation
reports for each calendar session she was a registered lobbyist for the organization.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Commentary-Jerry
Meyer
It may not
be fake news, but at minimum it is opinion, based on few or questionable facts.
John
Stossel’s career began at ABC. Today he reports on Fox. He is described as a Libertarian Pundit,
whose books, TV reporting and syndicated newspaper columns combine reporting
and commentary.
In a recent
column he claimed “celebrities are helping spur sex ‘trafficking’ panic. He quoted several celebrities who called
attention to children who are kidnapped and forced into the sex trade, then he
questioned the numbers of children involved.
Stossel also
wrote that many of the adult women described as sex slaves are actually willing
sex workers. He quoted several law
enforcement officials who reportedly changed their stories about rescuing so
called sex slaves after further investigation.
Stossel
claims there is a big difference between slavery and sex work done by
consenting adults, and when exaggerated numbers are reported it forces people
into a crazy emergency panic mode that ends up not helping the problem.
I don’t have
information to dispute whether adult women are sex slaves or willing
participants, but I think he is dead wrong about what is happening to teenage
girls. In our front yard we currently
have the story of the local restaurant owner, caught in a human trafficking
sweep involving a minor. That story and
Stossel’s column may be coincidence, but a May 29th Frontline report on PBS is not. The report followed the Las Vegas police
department’s ongoing battle with sex trafficking of teenage girls. The scope of the problem is hard to quantify
because much of what happens takes place on the internet and when an arrest is
made it can take a year or even two to prosecute.
Another
column that caught my attention was written by Adriana Cohen, a syndicated
columnist with the Boston Herald. Her
headline was “Trump Protecting Free Speech online.” She lauds the White House launching of an
online platform where people who believe they have been wrongfully censored or
discriminated against can make a report.
According to
Cohen,” It is well known that social media companies –run by radical left wing
activists—are silencing conservatives who do not violate their terms of
service.” Cohen went on with her opinion that this is un-American and violating
our rights to free speech. Apparently
this and more is all being done by the “power brokers” of Silicon Valley and is
a threat to all of us.
Cohen
conveniently ignores the Mueller report and documentation the Russians used
the internet to assist the election of Donald Trump.
Cohen has a
right to free speech, and so do I. And I
think her column was “spin,” designed to deflect, with a carefully crafted
headline that cleverly sends a message even if the column is not read.
So when we
use the term “fake news,” let’s consider from just what direction it’s coming.
The Crazies are still out there!
Have you heard of “QAnon?”
This conspiracy theory group is alive across the nation and in Florida almost
60% of the population knows enough about it to have an opinion.
It originated in 2017 when an
online poster used Q, a govt. top level security clearance, as an identifier
when posting on a message board that claimed Hillary Clinton was about to be arrested. Further
analysis claimed Q may be multiple individuals.
Followers of “Q” became known
as QAnon. The meaning of Anon listed as
“soon, shortly, in a little while, presently and in the future.
The group’s far right
conspiracy theory repeats the claim of a “deep state” which is alleged to exist
to oppose President Trump and his supporters. Q has made many outrageous claims, including
that top politicians and Hollywood figures are cannibalistic pedophiles
involved in a child sex trafficking ring.
Other claims, which have been proved false, included the imminent arrest
of Hillary Clinton in addition to a claim Trump feigned collusion with the
Russians so Robert Mueller would join him in exposing the ring and stopping a
coup attempt by Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros.
In spite of many failed
predictions about politicians, public figures and disruptive events, the
followers seem undeterred, claiming they are "willful" misinformation and that
“disinformation is necessary.”
Sources include Wikipedia and Vox
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No comments:
Post a Comment