update on article 1

Well, so far, there isn’t much to tell. I looked up the teen center and found that they claim to get quite a few kids coming in each year, that they’re underfunded because their budget has been frozen for the last few years, and that they provide some services in addition to their activities and programs, free of cost… I know what they say; I’ve seen their “Brochure” so to speak, but what I’m wondering is what the reality is. After all, those “35000” kids that come through might include repeats… or not. How can I tell if I never go to see how they keep records? Also, $3,500 is almost as much as their yearly budget. What do they intend to do with this temporary windfall of a double funding? Will they invest it, or, instead, will they create something that they can’t sustain? Just talking to a representative doesn’t seem to be the way to go for me. If I want to see the real deal with this place, as I intend to, I should go around the talk and what they say and see it for myself. After all, that’s our job, isn’t it? To check our facts and sources to see if they match up with reality. I may go, I may not, but in any case, I think this warrants a closer look. And, when I have accomplished my goal, I hope to shed some light on this “Teen center” I never realized they had.

Another inbetween....

So, does anyone else actually look at the other blogs? (Aside from katherine of course. ) I read all of the other post-caucus posts and noticed the same, stark lack of feedback that I find on my own site. Perhaps most of you just aren't interested in hearing what your classmates have to say, or, are simply too busy to notice, or, perhaps you just never think to check your comp and your blog... I suggest we start looking at the writings of those in this course we know are active participants in this experiment in the odd, evolving art of blogging. Or, perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps you're just waiting for someone to comment on your blog so you can reply. I admit, that was what I was doing: Waiting for someone else to take the initiative and post a comment on my blog, proving that they had done something since the first assignment, before checking out their blog and commenting on it myself. So I decided to be the one who took the initiative. I always say I want to back up my fancy words with actions, right? Well now I have, this time. Thanks for anyone who reads this, comment, and I will comment back. Or, if you instead decide not to take part in a community that we're trying to achieve here, there isn't much I can do, aside from focusing on those who actually speak. I can't listen when there are no words, and neither can anyone else. So now you have listened. Will you speak?

The craziest caucus Wyoming's ever seen (in a good sort of way)

In the past, caucuses for Wyoming MN were pretty mundane. We had about 14 people show up, we discussed the resolutions, then we (almost) all signed up to be delegates, closed up shop, and waited for the real thing. (That is, for the countywide meeting, where the really important stuff happened.) This Tuesday Evening was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. As my Mom and I walked in, shortly after 6, we already had more people sitting in the room than we have ever seen at a caucus before, including ourselves. As we proceeded to organize our papers and thoughts, the room slowly filled as we pulled out more and more tables. We ran out of ballots and so were forced to improvise by taking a scissors to a thick pile of plank paper. The straw pole commenced as my Mom and chairman Montzka tried to get the proceedings under control and under way. The results were astounding; as the township residents left for their separate caucus, the results came in. Rom. 68 Mc. 37 Huck.27 Paul 7 Taylor 2 (And, because of some confusion over the procedure, we had three votes for local candidates hoping to be endorsed by the party. We had two mayors vying for endorsement for the same seat, one from Chisago, the other, from Wyoming herself. We allowed them to make their speeches early, for, you see, our current mayor, for charity fundraising reasons, was obligated to return to a tent on a roof after making his short speech.) It was incredible. There were ten times the number of people we usually have. One Hundred and forty sat in that room, supporting the Republican Party… Or, rather, supporting what they believed the Republican Party needed to see, to hear, to know and to do. Most came for one reason and one reason only: They wanted to stop our party from walking down the left-ward road the candidates seem to have taken. After we broke up into two groups, the city and the township of Wyoming, we proceeded to explain to these newcomers what the duty and opportunity of the delegate is. We filled every single slot we were allotted and then some. These people, along with the long time, hard working conservatives, will join me at the county level, to discuss resolutions and help decide who moves to the next level… and who out party will endorse. We will choose whether we think that the candidates will follow the platform. The people from the city didn’t bother with resolutions… what’s the use of resolutions when the candidates will ignore what they claim to stand for? Though the township had the pressing matter of the annexation issue to grapple with, most of the newcomers are interested more in finding a way to support those candidates who will follow the platform than in changing it. What’s the use of changing the platform for the city, county, state, or anything else if they don’t bother to follow it? This turnout is, still, a great thing. It may have been caused by a problem, but we may finally have stepped toward a solution. Finally, people are getting up and doing something instead of sitting back and complaining. For that, I suppose I have to thank those such as Jason Lewis and other talk show hosts who exhorted people to get out and come to caucuses. I don’t care if you don’t like politics, or if you think there’s nothing you can do to change it all. If you care, then get up, get to caucuses, find the people you know and trust, then elect them. If not for a local office, then elect them to go and support the right candidate at the next level, to be one more vote in the right direction toward endorsing the people who you think really should be there. It’s not the system that’s the problem, or the “republican party.” It’s the fact that normal people who care enough to refuse to vote don’t bother to get up and try to fix it. True, “just one person” doesn’t seem to make a difference. But for every person who made the commitment to serve as a delegate, that’s one more vote against a bad candidate, against a bad proposal, and one more vote for the right ones. When we sit back and grumble, those willing to work get what they want at our expense. But when we get up and do our duty and take the reigns, they have to listen. Or else they’ll never make it into office. And that’s the way I believe it should be.

Letters to my Phantom Friend (Writing about Writing)

I feel like writing today, and so I shall. I like to write for myself, I actually have a backwater blog set to private so I can write my little heart out and pretend people read me. Tis odd, I know, but it’s what it takes to get me going at times. When I write, I generally begin by ambling through the slow undercurrent of thoughts that runs behind my conscious mind, or whatever minor happenstances seem to be worth mentioning. For today, my prompting is the former. I want to write about writing. ~So there we have it, I have my initial subject. Bravo! Many writers never get that far. If you don’t like to write, perhaps that’s one of your problems; you’re just too picky! I like to write about my family, my crazy cat, my opinions and philosophies, what I wish might be and what I dread, what I think and feel, and what I should do about it. So pick some random, yes, random, topic and start to run with it. Watch me if you will. (or, rather, read me.) Writing. I like to write; I generally tend to do it when I’m stressed or simply feeling listless. It’s a rather compulsive activity for me in truth. I write because I feel a sudden desire to, or, because I don’t, and I think I need to work through my thoughts. In my normal writing, my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings all come together with the happenings of recent days to create a string of reasoning and philosophizing that emerges as I work through my own mind and heart with whatever words spring to my fingertips. Writing is enjoyable; I can write stories. (in fact, I often do, I have already completed a few novel-length plots and worked half-way through a couple of them before I decided to set them aside for major revision) can talk to myself while talking to some phantom reader who listens to my every word. As I write the reader listens, as I explain and expound, summarize and try to help the phantom to understand, I gain a new understanding myself. This is the end, in both senses of the word, part of the point of my writing and the conclusion. This is where I come to a close. I find something from my writing, I discover something, I make a decision, even if the decision is to simply leave whatever be and move on, instead of dwelling eternally upon a worthless strain of thought. Watch for your ending. It’s not always easy to spot; you have to let your mental defenses down and simply explain. Don’t try to prove your point to your phantom, instead, try to persuade; try to help the phantom understand your life, your thoughts, your heart. Relax. The phantom doesn’t judge. The phantom won’t get mad at what you write, no matter how stupid or how badly you did on the post. The phantom doesn’t notice bad spelling of inferior wording, horrid grammar or whatever other problems you think your posts may have. The Phantom never minds. He listens simply because he likes to listen. The phantom is only your own mind trying to understand itself. So love your phantom and use him well. He’s an incredible tool if we simply learn to use him. After all, tis what he’s there for, right?