Title VII or is it Title XI?

While having a discussion with a good friend, we couldn't remember the exact title number that gave women the right to the same funding in sports as boys' sports. Girls and women that are setting track world records, winning at golf and even successfully competing with men have that law to give credit. Before then, you were relegated to the role of bystander.
While researching it, I opened my Encyclopaedia Britannica and lo and behold I came upon this definition of government. I herewith submit it for your edification and interest:

"government, the political system by which a nation or community is administered and regulated.
...

Totalitarian dictatorship is perhaps the most modern form of government. Generally, a dictatorship is established when an organized minority seizes power by force or fraud and rapidly assumes complete control over the government. A mass party grows out of this original group and looks to it for the reconstruction of society; it is the existence of this mass party that distinguishes these governments from historical tyrannies or absolute states. Opposition to the dictator is stifled by the imposition of state control over all forms of expression including science, religion, and the arts; the institution of secret police and spying networks and the suppression or destruction of all opposing political parties. Because of the atomization of society resulting from these measures (even the family may be atomized), revolutionary organizations can find no structured base, and no totalitarian dictatorship has ever been defeated from within."

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 5; Micropaedia, Ready Reference, 15th Edition, p. 393

I hope everyone reading that gets chills down their spine as I did.
To stress the possibility that that is the case here in America I submit the following article for the same purpose:

Washington Post
July 19, 2010
A hidden world, growing beyond control

The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.

The investigation's other findings include:

* Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.

* An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.

* In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.
* Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. For example, 51 federal organizations and military commands, operating in 15 U.S. cities, track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks.

* Analysts who make sense of documents and conversations obtained by foreign and domestic spying share their judgment by publishing 50,000 intelligence reports each year - a volume so large that many are routinely ignored.

These are not academic issues; lack of focus, not lack of resources, was at the heart of the Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead, as well as the Christmas Day bomb attempt thwarted not by the thousands of analysts employed to find lone terrorists but by an alert airline passenger who saw smoke coming from his seatmate.

They are also issues that greatly concern some of the people in charge of the nation's security.

"There has been so much growth since 9/11 that getting your arms around that - not just for the DNI [Director of National Intelligence], but for any individual, for the director of the CIA, for the secretary of defense - is a challenge," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in an interview with The Post last week.

In the Department of Defense, where more than two-thirds of the intelligence programs reside, only a handful of senior officials - called Super Users - have the ability to even know about all the department's activities. But as two of the Super Users indicated in interviews, there is simply no way they can keep up with the nation's most sensitive work.

"I'm not going to live long enough to be briefed on everything" was how one Super User put it. The other recounted that for his initial briefing, he was escorted into a tiny, dark room, seated at a small table and told he couldn't take notes. Program after program began flashing on a screen, he said, until he yelled ''Stop!" in frustration.

"I wasn't remembering any of it," he said.

Underscoring the seriousness of these issues are the conclusions of retired Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who was asked last year to review the method for tracking the Defense Department's most sensitive programs. Vines, who once commanded 145,000 troops in Iraq and is familiar with complex problems, was stunned by what he discovered.
To view the video or read the transcript yourself, the following url is for your ease of locating:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/

Sleep well, the country you went to sleep in may be gone before morning.

Democratic Party of Arkansas State Convention

The convention was convened shortly after 10:30am with all delegates being recognized by county. Governor Beebe addressed the attendees as well as Senator Blanche Lincoln, Senator Mark Pryor, Rep. Mike Ross (Dist. 4) and the candidates running for the open districts. After the general meeting and discussion, Garland County delegation elected their representatives to the State Central Committee in Little Rock. They are:

Katie Gibson
Norma Newman
Peggy Yeric
Jackie Davis
Jerry Yeric
Gene Shelby

Congratulations to all of you, you represent the most committed of all of us to the Democratic Party of Arkansas.

The platform was approved with the addition of the implementation of the ratification of the ERA. I hope it finally happens. Being told I am a citizen with full rights is not the same as having them defined by the Constitution which has traditionally only recognized men. And no, I won't share a toilet with men (oops, I forgot Exxon stations), and no, I won't have to serve in the military at the front in case of a war (oops again, we have women fighting in the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq). Well, there goes the argument against the approval of the ERA. At least those were the most stressed reasons to oppose the ratification.

Response to Comments

In response to Ben Thar's comments I offer up the following:
In my previous blog I did say it was the "ADP" which at the time I wrote it, it made perfect sense to me since it is the Arkansas Democratic Party. Unfortunately its called the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Now in response to his other complaints about input to the Party Platform, the input as I said in the blog, occurs or is supposed to occur at the PRE-CONVENTION meeting held Wednesday, not on the Convention floor as he suggested.
Whether Mr. Thar likes it or not, I appreciate his input. I know that what I'm writing is not going out to outerspace unread. If he reads anything besides my blog he should know that every publication has to make corrections to what they have printed. I am, unfortunately, subject to the same type of errors.
This blog is to open up a discussion that is totally lacking in politics in Hot Springs. I can't speak for the Republicans but then maybe if they start reading this blog I'll find out if that is true for them too.

Pre-Convention Meeting july 13, 2010

A meeting was called to order by Vice-Chair Karen Garcia of the Garland County Democratic Central Committee at 5pm at the Democratic Headquarters, 608 Grand Ave. The purpose was to have a pre-convention meeting to inform all delegates what their responsibilies were and the times the separate committees convened Saturday in Little Rock.
Karen informed us that we were short the number of delegates allowed so that anyone that had signed up as an alternate was therefore elevated to delegate position. The GCDCC was also eligible to place 3 men and 3 women on the Executive Board. The Chair and Vice-chair being automatically members by default. John Martineau said he wanted to run for one of the positions and asked for the support from those members present.
The Party Platform was not going to be available for discussion until Saturday morning as the DPA Rules Committee hadn't worked it out completely for publication.

The first thing I was waiting for was an opportunity to be a part of the Party Platform. We, as a grass roots organization, must have input into the Party Platform particularly since it hadn't been formalized. Agreeing on what we want the Democratic Party to achieve in the upcoming cycle is the sole purpose of the pre-convention. How can it be "democratic" if no one says what it is they expect their party to stand for? It is the reason we have the Blanche Lincoln's and Mike Ross' doing their collective "what's good for me is good for Arkansas" hoe down in Washington. Karen never asked for input on what we thought our goals and aspirations were for the Party. Like sheep to slaughter, we are expected to shut up and 'vote Democrat'. It is the purpose of the pre-convention to get everybody to agree on what the goals of the Party should be and to present a united front to the general assembly Saturday. The last convention we went to, every other county had all their ducks in a row. When the dust settled, Garland county had no delegate going to the National Convention in Denver because the other counties had joined forces to get the delegate they wanted. The largest county committee got snookered. It looks like it will happen again.
It points up the one thing lacking in Garland County is leadership.

Democratic State Convention Update

The GCDCC will have a meeting tomorrow at 5pm at the Democratic headquarters, 608 grand Ave. at 5 pm. All delegates to the state convention Saturday in Little Rock are expected to attend. A little side note is that George Hozendorf claims to have been appointed to the Credentials committee and is expecting to get elected to the DPA in Little Rock.
Herewith his solicitation:
I hope everyone is as excited as I am about the State Convention and all the activities this coming weekend. Don't forget we're having an organizational meeting at 5PM tomorrow night at headquarters.

As you know at noon on Saturday, we will be electing our delegates to the DPA Executive Committee for 2 year terms. It would be my privilege and honor to serve Democrats of Garland County on the Executive Committee.

Recently Chairman Turner appointed me to the Credentials Committee for the DPA. Being on the Executive Committee would enhance this assignment and give Garland County a larger voice at the state level. As many of you know, in the past I've made comments regarding the length of the application a County Committee member has to complete. Getting this shortened and less redundant will certainly be high on my list of goals as your representative on the Executive Committee as well as the Credentials Committee.

Your vote and support will be deeply appreciated,
George


I don't know of anyone that would vote for him considering the number of complaints filed against him and Ginna Watson's lawsuit still hanging around but then politics makes strange bedfellows.
Those of us that have filed complaints will be getting in touch with Chairman Turner to find out if this appointment came before or after he received the letters of complaint.
More will be added as the story unfolds. Stay tuned.

Sierra Club Non-Meeting with Blanche Lincoln

Blanche was a no show at the address given on Valley.

Commission Meeting July 5, 2010

The meeting was called to order by presiding chair Virginia (Ginna) Watson . The commission (Twila Brown, Republican, Alan Clark, Democrat) elected Ginna to the position of Chair. There was no evidence of George Hozendorf being present or having an emissary present in his place.

Old business conducted was the township of Fountain Lake scheduling an election to disincorporate a section of the incorporated township. It was decided that since only those who were residents of Fountain Lake could vote on the issue, a special election was more in keeping with verifying that only Fountain Lake residents voted in the election. If it was conducted at the General Election in November, so many special ballots would be in place that verifying only Fountain Lake residents voted for this, would make the election process slow, tedious and put additional pressure on the poll workers to ensure that the vote was valid. Fountain Lake will cover the costs of this election.

I asked why Ginna was conducting the meeting and she said she was told to.
After the meeting I asked again and she explained that the AEC and their attorney told her to hold the meeting pursuant to the rules of order. She had no comment on her law suit as her attorney has told her to not discuss it with anyone.

Stay tuned. It looks like George Hozendorf did not succeed in assuming Chairman of the Election Commission even after the Kangaroo court at the last GCDCC.