Lubbock Left

Well friends, I’m going to be internet-free for several days as I celebrate Christmas with my future in-laws.

I leave you with Freedom Rock.

Happy Holidays!

As the year winds down, I think it’s worth taking some time to reflect on some of the achievements of the Lubbock County Democratic Party in 2008:

• At least 16 new people have come forward to be precinct chairs. Precinct Chair is the most important job in the Party, if you ask me. They are all movers and shakers, people who turn out the votes and — even in the off-season — make the party run. Moreover, we basically have 50% more precinct chairs than we did at this time last year. That’s real growth!
• Regular HQ volunteers have been putting in great work. Democratic Party HQ is open weekdays and saturdays. These volunteers are also performing one of the most important tasks we have: data entry.
• Record Primary and Convention Turnout. In Lubbock County in 2008, more people voted in the Democratic Party Primary than the Republican Party Primary. This has never happened in my lifetime. We had correspondingly huge turnouts at our Precinct, County, and State Conventions. (The TX State Convention had more delegates than the national convention, FYI.)
• At least 150 people were directly involved in the election process by phone banking, putting up signs, serving on the Signature Verification Committee and Ballot Board, and becoming poll watchers.
• Lubbock Democrats were very visible in 2008. We distributed about 1,500 Obama/Biden signs, participated in 4th on Broadway, the Fiesta parade, and had a TDW / Democratic Party booth at the South Plains Fair. We also hosted local and state candidates with meet-and-greet events.
• Four Debate Watch Parties! These debate watch parties are legendary enough to get their own mention on the list. We hosted a party for each Presidential Debate and the VP debate, filling Murphy’s Pub to capacity each time.
• We also hosted an election night party, attended by over 450 people with live coverage on two television channels.

Fellow Democrats, let’s take a moment to reflect and celebrate.

Ahhh. Nice!

The Lubbock Juneteenth Committee is putting together an amazing event for Barack Obama’s Inauguration:

Inaugural Ball
January 20, 7-11 pm.
Lubbock Memorial Civic Center

Tickets are $25, or $40 for couples. People can call Lubbock County Democratic Party HQ at 749-8683 (749-VOTE) throughout this week and from January 5th onward to reserve tickets.

A detail-rich flyer for the event (pdf) is available.

Spread the word! Let’s make this a memorable evening.

This is what a lame duck President looks like, with extra ducking.

My friend Jason started a most excellent Facebook group SAVE KTXT 88.1 FM which in 24 hours of existence already has approximately 2,000 members.

(design by the unstoppably great Dirk Fowler)

The facebook group is your one-stop shop for all the ideas and contact information you need to take action.

Of special urgency: please contact the Texas Tech Board of Regents, who continue their end-of-semester meeting tomorrow (Friday, December 12) at the Student Union Building. They need to hear the obvious public outcry over the shutdown and transfer of KTXT-FM. I think it’s even worth showing up to the public portion of their meeting to voice your protest.

Other than that: call in to Lubbock talk radio shows, write letters to the editor, write emails to elected officials in the region, and write letters to the relevant faculty at Texas Tech.

Terrible news today from Texas Tech Student Media:

Texas Tech University’s Student Media department is undergoing several changes. The most significant of those changes occurred today when KTXT-FM, the university’s student-run radio station, ceased its broadcasts on 88.1 FM and ktxt.net.

Control of the radio station’s FCC license, which is maintained by the university, is being shifted from the Student Media department to Texas Tech’s other educational radio station, KOHM-FM.

No firm plans regarding the future of the 88.1 FM frequency or the related Web site have been announced.

“We agonized over this decision and looked for ways to enhance KTXT-FM’s role within the Texas Tech community, but ultimately we had to face the fact that changes needed to be made,” said Susan Peterson, director for Student Media. “We recognize this is a huge loss to those who are loyal to KTXT-FM - its listeners and its staff - but the department must grow and change in order to best serve the entire student body.”

Changes in Student Media were planned following an extensive study of departmental operations. Student input, fiscal reviews and administrative and in-house assessments factored into the decision that Student Media’s continued support of KTXT-FM was no longer feasible.

I don’t know if the budget at Student Media is going to be cut severely (I would not be surprised at this given who our Chancellor is), or if a turf war is being fought within the University over who controls KTXT (also would not surprise me), or if some other, unknown factor is at work here.

Lubbock is at risk of losing one of it’s most valuable community resources if KTXT goes away. This radio station can be heard all over Lubbock County and well into the surrounding counties. It’s how I know I’m getting close to home when I come back from a road trip. It’s how I know what day of the week it is sometimes (based on their evening specialty shows). It’s how I find new music (especially local music) and learn about shows here in town. It was going to be an integral part of my business advertising for Awesome Books in 2009.

This situation stinks. Something is going on that is bigger than a broadcast frequency being reassigned to another department of the University. Someone or some group is making a cultural play.

And don’t buy the line about KTXT losing money for Student Media. College radio stations are not for making money. They are for students to learn how to be on the radio, and they are news and culture resources for the community.

Let’s get to the bottom of this and do something about it.

KTXT-FM on Wikipedia
ktxt.net

A report obtained by the Washington Post shows that data from the BATF — the first time any such data has been released to the public — shows that:

1. states with lax gun laws have the most gun crime, and
2. guns from states with lax gun laws are responsible for most gun crimes in other states.

This data validates arguments for sensible gun control — waiting periods, restriction of sales at gun shows, buyer registrations, background checks, etc.

Read for yourself and see.

This is what a sad auto industry looks like:

Well, sad except for MINI.

I am looking forward to a variety of affordable, environmentally friendly AMERICAN cars. I have a hunch that they will be what bails out our auto industry.

Wanted to pass on the info for this event at the UU Church:

HOPE RISES FROM THE ASHES OF MY LAI
Free Public Presentation and Video
Friday December 5, 2008
First Unitarian Universalist Church at 7:00PM

Who: Mike Boehm of the Madison Quakers, Inc

Where: The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Lubbock
2801 42nd Street                    806-799-1617

When: Friday December 5 at 7:00 PM

What: Presentation on the My Lai programs of the Madison Quakers followed by a showing of a thirty minute documentary video commemorating the anniversary of the My Lai incident.

First Unitarian Universalist Church will host a lecture and video presentation by Mike Boehm of the Madison Quakers, Inc. on Friday December 5, 2008 at 7:00 PM.  The presentation is free and open to the public.  Mike Boehm will explain the activities of the group which promotes reconciliation and the sharing of work on projects in various parts of Vietnam including the village of My Lai.  Besides starting a micro-credit loan program and helping the local citizens build medical clinics and schools, the program also promotes compassion houses for the victims of agent orange and people to people exchanges between American and Vietnamese children.  Mike will follow the presentation with a 30-minute video made by the Vietnamese to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the My Lai incident allowing time for the discussion following the program.  For more information call the church at 799-1617

Sounds interesting to me!