February 24, 2017

A factoid that might be useful.

The largest population of undocumented immigrants in Boston is the Irish.

February 23, 2017

Update on taking back the CT senate.

I inquired as to how our town had undertaken to support Greg Cava's bid for the CT senate. It turns out that I live in a town with the same name as one of the towns in his district. We're helping out under the auspices of The Sister City project, where towns of the same name in different states help with campaigns. I'm not sure who organized this project. Googling Sister City Project comes up with too much.

February 23, 2017

A peek inside the workings of ItStarts.Today

Here is an interchange with someone at ItStarts.Today (maybe it really is Jonathan Zucker). I was intrigued to see that they were willing to launch their effort in a timely fashion while waiting for the more complicated underpinnings. This is an e-mail interchange, so you have to start at the bottom. And here's a link to their extremely simple web site: https://contribute.itstarts.today/2018


Jonathan Zucker
10:29 AM (12 minutes ago)

to me

The existing ~$10 one has been halted and refunded (it may take a few
days for your card company to show the credit).

So glad you want to raise your subscription!

And thanks for the help spreading the word. We're really excited
about what we are doing... it is so gratifying to see others sharing
the enthusiasm.

Jonathan

On Thu, Feb 23, 2017 at 10:27 AM, xxxxxxx <xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, please. I'll increase it to $25/month (or whatever is closest of your
> options). I just didn't want multiple charges to deal with.
>
> Thanks!
>
> I'm spreading the word every way I can think of. Great idea! Who knows
> where pockets of Dems will explode into a critical mass with some financial
> encouragement!
>
> xxxxxxxxxx - Credit card ending in xxxx
>
> On Thu, Feb 23, 2017 at 9:15 AM, Jonathan Zucker <jonathan@itstarts.today>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hi xxxxxx...
>>
>> Given where the platform is at present (just the beginnings of what we
>> envision, which will include robust tools to let you increase,
>> decrease, pause or halt, your subscription on your own), the easiest
>> thing to do is for us to cancel your existing one and for you to start
>> a new one.
>>
>> Do you want us to refund the money on the current one?
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 23, 2017 at 7:05 AM, xxxxxxxxxxxx <xxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> How can I increase my monthly donation?
>> > Thanks,
>> >xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>

February 22, 2017

Our town Progressives group tells me "we broke their survey the first time."

...and provided a link to do it again.

https://action.donaldjtrump.com/mainstream-media-accountability-survey/

I'll try to find out more about how we know "we broke their survey."

February 22, 2017

What do teachers trying to teach internet savvy do now?

How can a teacher help students investigate the reliability of internet information without being accused of fostering a political position? I'm too old to have ever seen such a curriculum, but I understand such things are now taught in school.

When I reflect about how I determine truth from falsehood one of the things I do is check multiple reliable sources, which for me are the NYT, NPR, Snopes, etc. What if your family's "reliable source" is Breitbart????

February 22, 2017

Just saw Fences. I have a question about cinematography and set design.

Fences was clearly based on a play. It WAS a play. Very limited locations. Constant talking. That was fine. What I'm wondering is if the cinematography purposely gave the sense of a sound stage instead of the realism you normally get in a movie. The things I noticed are listed below. My question is, was I supposed to subliminally notice them?

1 - You could tell that the distance scenes up the street were painted, not real. Not totally sure why except that the smoke from the smoke stacks was always the same height and at the same angle. One did move a little at one point.

2 - The people in the street scenes seemed to be "staged." I can't figure out why. I'd love to know how they differed from normal movie street scenes.

3 - I think the sound itself would probably have been different if the back yard scenes were really filmed outside. OR, if the director had really wanted the back yard to sound like the real outdoors instead of a stage. Which is it?

4 - Lighting. I'm guessing the shadows would be different if cast by the sun.

5 - I'd be interested in other thoughts about what gave the movie the "feel" of an actual stage play, not just a play.

February 21, 2017

What happened to Campbell's Mushroom Soup????

I keep cans of Campbell's Mushroom soup around for tuna fish casserole. Today, for the first time in, literally, decades, we had some as soup for lunch. It was awful. Not only did it not have enough salt*, but it had a funny taste. Like they were trying to replace the salt with potassium or something. I didn't even finish it.

* I know it was WAY too salty. But now and again you just want to indulge. I don't think they should try to make stuff like that healthy.

Does anyone have facts?

February 21, 2017

Do you have a story/evidence of Trump voters waking up?

I'm waiting and watching, and I see snippets of evidence in this and that post. I'd love to collect such stories in one place. Do you have one? Unfortunately, I don't. Haven't seen anything on TV or read anything and I am not aware of knowing any Trump voters.

In particular, are Trump voters part of the vocal crowds at the town hall meetings?

February 21, 2017

Did Gen. McMaster have an option to turn down the job?

Since he is in active service? I hear mentions of that being a discussable item, but haven't heard any conclusions.

February 21, 2017

Update on effort to reclaim the Connecticut senate!

From: Edward Corey <edward.corey1994@gmail.com>
Date: February 20, 2017 at 10:36:49 PM EST
To: Edward Corey <edward.corey1994@gmail.com>
Subject: 2/21 Cava Campaign update

Hey all,

We continue to have record days of voter contact. We more than doubled
our goal for calls made today! While we keep getting better and better
news, we can't afford to slow down now. We're on the home stretch and
we can win this thing if we keep up this momentum. You've all
contributed so much, and we wouldn't be here without you. I know we
won't leave anything on the field.

For tomorrow, we've got a seniors list, a "general" list for afternoon
and evening calls, and a women to women list. Please call the seniors
list from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and the general list or women's list
from 4:30 PM until 9:00 PM. We are not leaving messages, and we are no
longer able to send absentee ballots to voters, as the process would
not leave them enough time to return their ballot reliably. If a voter
needs an absentee ballot, they'll need to contact their town hall
directly. We are still able to schedule rides, so please continue to
mark folks who need them so we can follow up to schedule.

Remember to sign up for GOTV shifts! We need to make sure we turn out
every supporter we've spoken with and every Democratic voter in all 10
towns in the district. GOTV is an all hands on deck process to make
sure that our efforts gathering supporters pay off. Please sign up
below if you haven't already.