NEXT KCDW MEETING – DEC 1ST

Because our November meeting usually falls the day before Thanksgiving, we generally move it. This year it will be held the following week on December 1st. As we are still sorting out a meeting location, this month we will try the beautiful small dining room at Olympic College in the Bremer Student Union. It will be a buffet costing $11. Our speaker will be Linsey Mayhew, the Director of the Q Center, which is a gathering place for gay and lesbian teens. We will also be electing officers. In order to estimate how many to set up for, please let Martha Lynn Johnson know if you are planning to attend  (360-204-5257; marthalj@wavecable.com;). As parking is limited, Martha has offered to coordinate carpooling for those interested. NOTE: You can park anywhere at OC. Any tickets issued will be forgiven.

THE WISDOM OF TURTLES
by Jo Fox Burr
I don’t believe in grades. They are too frequently subjective and often serve to inhibit learning, particularly when they are not what we had hoped for. I was so stressed by them in college that I decided not to look at them during my last semester. And that ended up being the one which netted me my best grades. It was a valuable lesson, and one I find myself applying today. You see, for the most part, I’ve been tuning out the news for quite a while now. So if a tsunami is heading our way, would someone please call me? 
 

Actually what I’m avoiding is the subjective chatter of the pundits on both the right and the left and there is very little news these days that is not accompanied by this chatter. Not long ago I met a man who had worked in the NSA. He no longer listened to the news since, having been on the inside, he knew it rarely got the whole story straight. I’ve always thought the same, but these days it seems to me that it is even more out of sync with reality on the national level than normal. How much is corporate influence a factor here? Or is it just a matter of one pundit following another, too few having the courage to strike out in a different direction?

I remember what happened to the media after 9/11. The only person who dared to even interview people opposed to the Iraqi War was Charlie Rose. There was no major coverage of the large protest demonstrations nationally or worldwide. Bush was the golden boy who was destined to be one of our great presidents. There was even talk about how our country seemed to luck out in finding strong leaders during times of crisis. Ha! Feeling so differently about Bush and what was happening, it was hard to listen to the media in those days, but now watching the media tear apart someone I think is a truly outstanding president is just not an activity I have the heart to take part in.

As you all know, how news is presented can have a major influence on what the public perceives and does on Election Day. Would the Tea Party be such a force had the media not given them so much play? Would the mosque being built near Ground Zero have been so opposed without such extensive media coverage? People talk about how the Democrats did such a poor job of explaining what they have accomplished in the first two years of Obama’s administration. Yet when I listened to Nancy Pelosi on Charlie Rose recently, it seemed to me she very clearly presented a strong defense of Congress’ accomplishments. Was there any coverage of this? The little I tuned in, I saw none. I heard one supposedly neutral pundit talk about Obama’s interview with a journalist shortly before the election. He felt it was politically unwise and I let that influence me. When I saw Obama was going to be on 60 Minutes after the election, I nearly turned it off. I was afraid he might make one of those politically unwise statements. However, my better angel made me watch and what I found was a refreshingly honest and intelligent man who was still essentially dedicated to my goals. I refuse to watch the media’s analysis of this interview.

Why am I telling you this? Well, had I not taken this approach, I’m not sure that I would have been able to keep myself going in this last campaign. To be honest, I hate phone banking and I’m not that fond of canvassing. However, I know they are the most effective tools to get out the vote. So I did it when I could. Others I met doing the same, frequently told me they too had been tuning out the news. Perhaps what we were doing was listening to our inner core for motivation instead of being influenced by outside negative forces. And what were the results? Well locally, given the current political climate, we did amazingly well; re-electing all Kitsap County Democratic incumbents, and helping Patty Murray beat Dino. It felt like my last semester in college all over again. Nationally, well, maybe more people should have tuned out the news, at least until the media start getting the story straighter. 

I can’t help but find myself thinking that I may be acting a bit like a turtle, retreating into my shell when I sense an unfriendly climate. It seems a bit cowardly – but then you know some turtles do live to be 100 years old.
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Kitsap Co. Dem. Women
Date: Dec 1st (Wednesday)
Time: 11:30 am lunch; 12:30 Meeting
Place: Olympic College, Bremer Student Union Dining Room
Speaker: Linsey Mayhew, Dir Q-Ctr

Kitsap County Democratic Central Committe
Date: Nov 15th (Monday)
Time: 6:00 pm (Desserts available)
Place: Fairgrounds Events Ctr.
Speaker: Phyllis Mann, Director for Kit. Co. Dept of Emerg. Management

Re-organization Meeting
Jan 3; Fairgrounds Event Ctr; 6 pm
Only elected PCO’s are eligible to vote

23rd Legislative District
Date: Dec 12th (Sunday)
Time: 4-6 pm
Place: Poulsbo Fire Station
Purpose: Re-organization Meeting-Part 1

26th Legislative District
Date: Dec 7th (Tuesday)
Time: 7-9 pm
Place: Kitsap Rm, Givens Center, 1026 Sidney Rd, Pt. Orch.

35th Legislative District
Date: Dec 11th (Saturday)
Time: 1 pm
Place: Belfair Timberland Library
Purpose: Re-organization Meeting-Part

KCDW HOLIDAY PARTY
See flyer

KCDCC HOLIDAY PARTY
Dec 8th; 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Silverdale Beach Hotel
$40 per person
Paid RSVP by Dec. 3rd
Send checks to KCDCC, PO Box 27, Silverdale, WA 98383

From Jay Inslee regarding the election results of 2010 - “…change is not easy. There is always push-back against progress, and it shouldn’t surprise us that the fundamental changes we’ve made have sparked intense opposition. In this great country, every historic step forward has suffered intense opposition – from the suffrage movement, to voting rights, to the passage of social security. What we need now is a dose of resolution, a shot of courage, and a little bit of spine. We must not walk back from the advances we have made these past two years.”

Jo Fox Burr, Newsletter Editor; foxburr@comcast.net