11.04.08
Posted in Blogging, Election 2008, Take Action, Williamson County at 10:15 am by wcnews
To best explain this I will post OffTheKuff’s post below, Report voting conditions and problems using Twitter:
Dwight tells about the Twitter vote report, which aims to capture in real time reports about voting conditions, technical problems, and so on. You can go to that page for a feed of what’s being reported, and if you yourself are a Twitter user, to make use of the #hashtags technique to add in your own observations. You can also help out via text messaging or the good old fashioned telephone – see Dwight’s post or the Twitter vote report page for the details. We’ve got all these ways to shine light on problems as they occur, we may as well use them, right?
Note the comments in Dwight’s post from Rorschach about restrictions on the use of electronic devices near polling places. Rorschach is not a reliable source of information, but even if he’s absolutely correct here, I don’t see how that’s an insurmountable obstacle. You can always make a mental or written note of whatever questionable thing you observe if it happens while you’re on line, then tweet about it to your heart’s content once you’re outside and beyond the 100 foot line. The point is not to be silent if you see something that’s wrong. Tell the election judges if it’s something they can and should fix (that’s what they’re there for), and tell the world. Thanks very much.
Lines, polling place conditions, etc…, send them to Twitter.
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08.11.08
Posted in Around The State, Blogging, Commentary at 9:00 am by wcnews
The Truth About Texas Republicans, a new blogger-powered website designed to expose the real truth about GOP Texas legislators looks at the stuff State Reps. Dwayne Bohac, Betty Brown, John Davis, Bill Zedler and State Sen. Mike Jackson don’t want you to see.
refinish69 was happy to introduce a real progressive Democrat to the readers of Doing My Part For The Left a few weeks ago but has to wonder how to describe Mike Skelly: Democrat or Republican Lite?
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas State Teacher’s Association lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency for giving public funds to private institutions.
Irony Alert: Mary McDaniels, Manager – Pipeline Safety, Texas Railroad Commission, who lied on camera about the Atmos Energy gas pipeline couplings, spoke in Ft Worth about pipeline safety, inspections and regulations, for Chesapeake Energy’s Barnett Shale pipeline, says TXsharon at Bluedaze.
Julie Pippert at MOMocrats asked, “Offshore drilling—whose issue is it anyway? The people’s? Or the politician’s?”
Women who enter the military know they may encounter danger along the way, just as their male counterparts do. Diarist Liberal Texas at Texas Kaos highlights an additional danger they face in Assault on Women in the Military, and calls on all of us to ensure that our fighting women are protected from sexual assault from the companions they should be able to trust.
WhosPlayin used to think John McCain was worthy of respect, even if wrong on issues. But mocking conservation and lying about Obama raising taxes show who John McCain really is.
jobsanger thinks Democrats should let Clinton’s backers have their vote at the convention, and believes Barack Obama has a chance to win Texas this November.
Neil at Texas Liberal talks about AIDS and African Americans.
Due to purchase of McBlogger by a rival blogging firm, the regular writers are on strike. This week, we’d like to introduce you to a new McBlogger, Rose
Petal.
North Texas Liberal remarks on John McCain’s anti-Obama ad comparing the Democratic nominee to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and also includes Hilton’s response ad. Still waiting on Britney’s energy policy…
Off the Kuff takes a look at The Queue behind KBH for her maybe-to-be-abandoned Senate seat.
YaGottaLoveIt of South Texas Chisme urges Barack Obama to have a fundraiser for money that stays in Texas while urging Hillary Clinton to campaign for Rick Noriega in South Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the Williamson County DA’s unwillingness to test DNA evidence in a almost 30 year old unsolved murder, Lawsuit Filed Against County For New DNA, Fingerprint Tests.
Tropical Storm Edouard was more like a decent rainstorm, but that didn’t stop the media — old as well as new, including madcap reporter/Congressman John Culberson — from building it up to a height it could no more sustain than its winds. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the roundup of the hyperventilating in Houston.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about the economy “Purses Tighten, Small Business Suffers, Families Budget“
nytexan at BlueBloggin points out, as the Gerogia Russia war continues and Bush plays with U.S. athletes at the Olympics, Could The U.S. Get Pulled Into Georgia’s War?
XicanoPwr discusses the immigration survey that was sent presidential candidates Obama and McCain put together by The Sanctuary, a web base grassroots community of pro-migrant, human rights, and civil-rights bloggers.
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08.04.08
Posted in Blogging at 10:11 am by wcnews
EOW took a few days off for some R & R, but we’re backnow.
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07.20.08
Posted in Around The State, Blogging, Commentary, Good Stuff at 10:36 pm by wcnews
For me the best part of Netroots Nation was getting to meet so many others who are in the “business” of blogging around the country. It was just nice to be able to immerse myself in a sea of bloggers and talk shop for a few days. Not to mention the “swag“/free stuff that I collected.
During the conference I was able to attend some really great panels including this one on Texas politics, Netroots Nation Panel: Inside The National Laboratory For Bad Government.
Seeing and hearing Al Gore was inspirational. Please join the non-partisan, bipartisan wecansolveit.org. It’s an effort to:
Our ultimate aim is to halt global warming. Specifically we are educating people in the US and around the world that the climate crisis is both urgent and solvable.
You know, you’ve seen the “WE” commercials with Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich, as well as Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson. If they can agree we all can. An Al Gore speech always leaves with a feeling of what could have been, knowing how much better off our country would be now, had he been sworn in January 2001.
Lawrence Lessig’s keynote address at lunch on Saturday, (view it here), was excellent and no less inspiring. He told several stories which highlighted how corrupt our government, has become. But culminated with the fact that until we take the piles of corporate money out of Congress, which corrupts it, and restore trust in that body our Democracy is in crisis. To do that Lessig and Joe Trippi have created Change-Congress.org. It’s asking citizens to take this pledge:
I believe candidates should:
- accept contributions from individuals only, lobbyists excepted.
- support the fundamental reform of congressional earmarks.
- support reform to increase transparency in Congress.
- support public financing of public elections.
Not only do they want you to take it but to pester you member of Congress to accept or deny any of the four parts of this pledge. Join up and help us pester John Carter, more of that to come.
Overall Netroots Nation replenished my blogging soul. While one small local blog can’t change the world, it may be able to change a few minds, and they may change a few minds, and they…
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07.18.08
Posted in Around The Nation, Blogging, Commentary, Election 2008, Presidential Election at 7:00 pm by dembones
Democracy for America chair Jim Dean hosted a reception at his suite in the Hilton about an hour ago. As we socialized, the television was on low volume, tuned to MSNBC. As dailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga appeared on television, I found the remote and cranked the volume to the maximum.
LINK: David Gregory interviews Markos Moulitsas Zuniga on MSNBC.
The dozens of folks gathered watched intently as one might observe a tennis match. Gregory served and Kos returned volley. We reacted to his questions, many probing the perceived wedges between the positions of the liberal bloggers assembled here in Austin for Netroots Nation and presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama. When Kos would deftly reframe Gregory’s questions and return to his core themes, the crowd cheered. Overall, it was a fantastic interview. Great job, Markos!
After the interview, everyone applauded and resumed their conversations. It was quite a moment, and Vince, who was there with me, had a similar reaction.
As I was leaving the hotel room, waiting for the elevator, I spotted Markos headed back to his room from the media room where he had just given the interview. A few of us shouted “Great interview!” as the doors closed.
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Posted in Around The State, Blogging, Election 2008, HD-52, Precinct 3, Williamson County at 1:26 pm by dembones
Two great guys to have in your foxhole, Gen. Wesley Clark and Rep. Lloyd Doggett joined Lt. Col. Rick Noriega at the Texas Democratic Party/Travis County Democratic Party/Noriega for Texas/Texas Progressive Alliance party Thursday at Club De Ville.
The hundreds on hand included many attendees of Netroots Nation five blocks away at the Austin Convention Center. The party started after Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean delivered his keynote speech. (If you would like to see Dean’s comments, tune into CSPAN tonight at 7pm CDT [update] click here, and if you would like to watch Gen. Clark’s speech at NN, click here.)
Gen. Clark delivered a resounding endorsement for Noriega, as traditional media and progressive bloggers hobnobbed and swapped notes about the day’s developments.
Democrats from Williamson county were well represented. County Commission candidate Greg Windham stopped by to say hello. County Attorney candidate Jaime Lynn posed for a picture with Gen. Clark.
The reverly was a key part of the state’s welcome for the NN attendees, who have come from coast to coast expecting to enjoy some of Austin’s legendary night life. It also presented opportunities for bloggers who have only met online to socialize and get to know one another face to face.
State Rep. candidate Diana Maldonado was beaming, on news of her campaign’s triumphant 2nd Quarter Texas Ethics Commission filing, showing her with a 4-to-1 cash on hand advantage. Rep. Lloyd Doggett stopped by to visit, though still recovering from a broken bone in his leg.
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07.17.08
Posted in Around The Nation, Blogging, Commentary at 6:27 pm by dembones
The group of 2,000 or so liberal political bloggers now convened at Netroots Nation in Austin is growing into a professional association. Managing our success and further realizing our potential are our concerns as our sites mature. Developing into a mature community requires an assessment of our strengths and weaknesses, and a focus on new problems that success has brought.
The liberal blogosphere, largely nonexistent six years ago, has reached the milestone where no one questions its existence or popularity. However, it continues to debate its credibility with traditional media, struggles to meet wildly optimistic expectations and hold those it helped elect accountable.
A critical issue for bloggers, particularly those who, like us at Eye On Williamson, are “citizen journalists,” which is to say we won’t be quitting our day jobs in the foreseeable future, would like to build a business model for “monetizing” our enterprises. Some of the blogs that receive the lions’ share of “clicks” are producing revenue streams that cover the costs of publication and in a few cases, even pay a full-time salary. Many of the national blogs have reached this goal, and we’re hearing that Texas’ Burnt Orange Report may soon be there too.
When a cadre of professional bloggers are at work to serve our communities with insight into the functioning (or malfunctioning) of government, we will have a new problem on our hands. Sponsors will exert subtle control over editorial content, access will be meted out to those who know how to play the game, and ultimately a turn from longer, denser posts about difficult public policy will give way to “infotainment” and celebrity gossip.
Inevitably, the political blogosphere will mature and look something like traditional media in the future. We who have brought this experiment in participatory democracy from hobby to profession are actively charting the next steps along this journey right now, here in Austin.
The news that emerges from this conference may miss that point, so I wanted to explain why I’m here and what I hope to accomplish for this site. For the moment, I would like to recognize this unique moment in history.
The vacuum created by the corporate media’s emphasis on profits is what created the market that local political blogs serve. Without Eye On Williamson, the story of our dysfunctional local government would have remained largely untold. Our mission is to shed more light on the corruption and incompetence, show how it impacts you, and offer solutions and promote candidates who will make positive changes. This mission is far from fulfilled, and to the extent possible, our all-volunteer enterprise will continue.
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04.25.08
Posted in Adminisphere, Blogging, Uncategorized at 2:09 pm by wcnews
Thank you for you patience, see here for details.
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Posted in Blogging at 8:53 am by wcnews
If you’re having problems posting comments at EOW, don’t worry we haven’t stopped accepting them. We recently updated our blogging software, WordPress, and believe the problem is related to that. We are working on this to get it fixed ASAP, thanks for bearing with us. We will post when this is fixed to let everyone know the comments are working.
In the meantime if you need to get in touch, email us at wcnews(at)eyeonwilliamson(dot)com.
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03.29.08
Posted in Blogging at 10:49 am by wcnews
There have been some issues come up beyond our control that brought blogging to an abrupt halt. Expect regular blogging to come back online in the near future.
To tide you over go read what Sal posted earlier in the week about the latest GOP disaster plan for toll roads in Texas, Sen. Steve Ogden and Special Interest Pals Push Multi Billion Toll Pension Scheme!
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