ColinCurtis's blog

The arms race. A time in our Nation's history when we were on edge. We were racing to the top, to be the world super power and make sure we defeated the USSR. The times were hard, some sloppy policy was made, and our Nation was all over the political spectrum. Since we've learned these lessons, we now know better. In today's current political climate we have our very own arms race. This time instead of racing to the top to fight against another Nation we are fighting against ourselves. The right and the left are all pissed off while the middle stands and stares. We have generated such polarized language that all it does is to turn-off people from politics and aggravate those who are in it.

Our current political climate tears us between either "taking back America" or "Change". It puts our leaders in a battle of endless litigation, of pass then repeal. Take a look at choice, healthcare, gay marriage or any other issue you hear about. During the Bush years the Democrats were always set on getting back into power and now during the Obama years the right is doing the same. Both the Tea Party movement and the Netroots were born out of anger, frustration, and a call for something different. How is it that both the right and the left are so mad and frustrated about what is going on that they are calling for uprising from their respective sides?

FACT: The middle of the political spectrum makes or breaks policy.

We know it's hard to hear. Sometimes we like to disagree with it and get wrapped up in the fighting for our beliefs, but it's true.

It's our opinion that Millennials voted for Barack Obama not so much because he is a Democrat or a liberal or a progressive, but because he gave us the hope of a new kind of politics - one where we don't tear each other down but build our nation up together. Millennials are frustrated that the Congress, the oldest in average age in American history, continues the highly partisan governing from the Bush Administration. We voted not for policy change but for a fundamental change to the approach to governing and politics.

Older generations were fighters. They fought wars, they fought for civil rights and women's rights, the fought for their generation and their country. "Fighting" for one's values and beliefs was a constant theme at this year's Netroots Nation. The "Netroots", spawned from the Daily Kos army, has that fighting spirit. They came of age again under the Bush Administration and remembered the fight that they and their parents fought.

Looking at older generations and comparing them to our generation raises one main question. Are Millennials fighters? We fight in wars but don't have the draft. We support the guarantee of equal rights for the LGBT community and all other oppressed communities, but in a different way in which the struggle for civil rights was fought. As Tim Wise reminded us during his Netroots Nation keynote speech, the majority - whichever way you cut it - will always try to retain it's upper-hand. It's human nature. It's that understanding of human nature that led the leaders of our nation to protect minority rights at the individual-level and at the state-level. But majority rights are protected, too. That is the wonder and effectiveness of American federalism, which is itself rooted in finding compromise and in taking the slow-paced approach to change.

What does a nation without negotiation look like? It's ugly. No one is happy and the entire country is pulled in different directions. The country would be plagued with martial law and civil wars. This is not our country. Our country has a long standing tradition of compromise. We were founded on the idea of protecting everyone's beliefs and creating the fairest possible system we could.

If we keep up the fighting mentality then we fail to bring in the hearts and the minds of the people. We open the doors for special interests to flood the political world with money and bad policy advocates. Policy-making requires moderation and negotiation; the cornerstones of democracy and American federalism. A nation as diverse as ours must take careful and deliberate steps in governing. But shocks to the systems are sometimes important. That was the case during the civil rights era, for example. The federal government recognized that individual rights are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and must be protected. For the most part our Nation recognizes the importance of equal rights and the protection of those rights. There are still examples were this isn't true, but it's being worked on. The reason a shock to the system was needed in the past was because the issue was ignored. We now live in such a connected age that no single issue can be ignored because anyone, anywhere can make it public. Voters make or break politicians.

Millennials carry the spirit of the founding fathers, perhaps more closely than generations in recent times. We understand that quality interactions with our counterparts advocating in good faith are more important than building huge e-mail lists based upon tactics of fear and hate. We talk to others, on this blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, and we do it with civility - or at least we try. We interact this way because we know others are watching and that everything we do and say is on-the-record. This does not mean that we don't stick to our principles and our values and voice our opinions. What it does mean is that we know that we are having conversations with people, other than those that just agree with everything we say. We're not about burning bridges; we're about mending them and building them out into the future.

There isn't a good example in recent memory of what it's like to engage in quality conversation with our friends on the other side of the aisle. But, we all know that working together is the right thing to do. It's the reason that politicians and candidates harp on their bi-partisan successes because they know that Americans are all about teamwork, in life, in sports and in politics. Our generation might not have a clear vision of how working with conservatives and Republicans will turn out, but we know that fighting against them will only entrench their views more, and vice versa. Barack Obama said, "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." We're pretty sure he meant that we walk down that path together and not alone.

This post was a collaboration between Karlo Marcelo and Colin Curtis.

Colin - @colincurtisks

Dear friends & readers,

My name is Colin Curtis and I am one of the bloggers here at Future Majority as well as the State President of the Kansas Young Democrats.

Today I would like to humbly ask for a minute of your time and for your support in getting a DFA Scholarship for Netroots Nation.

Netroots Nation amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Through our annual convention and a series of regional salons held throughout the year, we strengthen our community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.

This scholarship would be tremendously helpful in allowing me to attend this year and bring what I learn back to Kansas and help me continue my work for youth. Your support would be greatly appreciated!

Please take a moment and voice your support here.

Thank you for your consideration.

Colin

EAVB_CBUPHAETYL

In article todays from the LA Times the first lady says people from less privileged backgrounds can succeed, using herself as an example.

In launching an international agenda of outreach to young people, First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday addressed students at a Jesuit college in Mexico with emotional remarks that were part confessional, part call to action.

Obama, a Princeton alumna with a Harvard law degree, told students that she entered college "filled with self-doubt."

She said she and President Obama came from families that were not wealthy, yet they prevailed despite "the sting of low expectations, the constant doubts about whether we could succeed, and whether we were even worth the effort."

I personally am so glad to see such an outreach to youth in general by the Obama Administration. Michelle Obama is a perfect example of someone who aimed high and accomplished great things, and now she is advocating for today's youth to do the same.

"Today, we're seeing what has come to be called a 'youth bulge,' an explosion of the youth population in nations around the world," Obama said. "And the fact is that responsibility for meeting the defining challenges of our time will soon fall to all of you."

Obama told the students that she intended to focus her international work on engaging young people.

In the coming years we will see how much youth outreach is actually done and how empowered youth are with this Administration but for now I say they are off to a good start.

This week President Obama signed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This common-sense reform that will generate an estimated $80 billion in savings by bypassing for-profit lenders in the loan process and will instead provide loans directly to students. This reform makes government more efficient and invests the savings in the education of young Americans without raising taxes or adding to the deficit, this is the largest investment in higher education in history that will put the country on track to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

However the Kansas Republican delegation continues to put the interests of Wall Street, banks, and lenders ahead of the interest of Kansas students and their families. This law will not only make college more affordable but it will also save taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will eliminate wasteful subsidies to private bankers by switching to a system of direct lending of federal student loans.

It will make historic investments in America’s workforce by making college dramatically more affordable – at no cost to taxpayers. I will invest $36 billion over 10 years to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017. It will reduce the deficit by $68 billion over the next 11 years and meets Pay-As-You-Go fiscally responsible principles.

By standing against this law Lynn Jenkins, Todd Tiahrt, Jerry Moran and Sam Brownback have once again turned their backs on the Kansans they represent. Once again their talk of Kansas values and fiscal responsibility has proven to be nothing but empty words.

It’s unfortunate they don't support a law that will make government more efficient and effective, will allow more Kansans to pursue higher education at lower cost, and allow Kansan families to keep more of their money.

Colin Curtis
State President
Kansas Young Democrats

This past weekend about 250 Young Democrats gathered in New Orleans for this years winter conference. The weekend was full of great trainings, discussion, the usual YDA drama, great food, and a ton of fun. Here is my wrap up for the weekend.

Thursday around 80 YD's participated in a community service project in New Orleans, they helped work on a home that was devastated by Katrina. I didn't get in until around noon Thursday so I instead got to roam the town and enjoy some of New Orleans great food and culture. Thursday night there was a Hip Hop caucus event that many YD's attended to talk about community and activism.

Friday the conference officially started. The State Presidents had two trainings that morning, one of campaigns and field work and the other was on finance. In the trainings we learned how to target and organize within our states, as well as how to raise money and budget on a campaign.

Then in the afternoon I had "the SPA business meeting" where we had an election for Vice Chair (Congrats to Melanie from TX) and discussed how we, as State Presidents, feel about issues within YDA and how they effect each of us. Friday night we had the General opening session where we heard from speakers and highlighted a service project in each region.

Saturday we started the morning with committee and caucus meetings. Then we had the great pleasure of having lunch with Lilly Ledbetter and DNC Secretary Alice Jermond. Lilly gave an awesome speech about her fight for equal pay in the workplace and about how we need to work together for equality. You can watch the video from the lunch here.

After lunch I attended the Rural Caucus meeting, where they had a Louisiana State Legislature as a speaker, he spoke about how to work in rural communities and methods that he used when campaigning. After the caucus meetings we had region recaps and then many of us went on a ghost tour of the French Quarter, which was really cool.

Sunday morning we finished up with a few meetings then General Session, after that we explored the town and left our YDA family.

Also I didn't know how to fit this in the post so here it is, but I felt that I couldn't leave it out. We frequented the famous Cafe Du Monde sometimes multiple times a day.

Video from this weekend in New Orleans. Lilly Ledbetter speaks to the Young Democrats of America.

See more fo the rest of the video.

Yesterday on Mashable there was an article titled "Why Social Media Means Big Opportunities for Women". The article brings up some very compelling points as to why social media is opening more doors for women in many ways.

Women have firmly established their presence on the social web, and account for the majority of users on many popular social media sites. But what does this mean for the future of women in social media?

One word: Opportunity.

Companies looking to reach women — whether as consumers, entrepreneurs, employees, or advocates — have an unprecedented opportunity through social media to engage them. For women, social media presents abundant opportunities to lead, effect change, innovate, and build relationships across sectors, locally, nationally, and globally.

Not to take away from the point being made but I believe the arguments provided can apply to youth in general. The article argues that companies, through the usage of social media, are gathering real time feedback from female consumers about products, ideas, marketing, etc. Companies are starting to use social media to do their product testing and aiming directly at women (and youth).

Conversations between companies and female consumers are moving beyond “what do you want?” types of questions. Companies are starting to use social media to secure real-time feedback from women on products, services, and marketing campaigns—sometimes before they go to market.

Unilever used social media to launch their new Pond’s Age Miracle moisturizer in China, recruiting bloggers to try the product and share their findings. The strategy was risky because of the heavy usage of social media there, but it came with a huge upside: If the bloggers liked the product, word of mouth could lead to major success. If not, the poor publicity from blogs would make the launch difficult to salvage. The risk paid off and the moisturizer was a hit, leading to the adoption of social media strategies by other Unilever offices in Asia.

If companies use targeting like Unilever did they can be just as successful, regardless if they are targeting and gathering feedback from women or youth. However women are dominating the usage of social media sites, and they are gaining the lead in mobile web usage too.

A significant opportunity exists for companies to connect with women using mobile technologies. Women comprise 47% of current mobile web users, and between 2008 and 2009, the number of women using the mobile web increased by 43%, compared with a 26% increase in the number of men.

While women's influence is growing in the world of social networking and technology the article does provide some insight to where it isn't exactly the most inclusive.

not all conferences are women-friendly. At some, sexualized images of women are still included in presentations. Others feature scantily clad women as props or for entertainment. Stone, Page, and Jardins observed that “the organizers of many conferences, especially tech conferences, don’t seem to appreciate that women don’t want to sit through presentations — PowerPoint, video and otherwise — that depict women as porn stars and/or sex objects.”

However there is optimism that it will change, as women continue to become even more influential in the world of social media we will hopefully see a move that way.

The number of women programmers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, consultants, community managers, and social media users continues to grow. It’s only a matter of time before these numbers translate into greater visibility and influence in the social space.

Trapani, too, is optimistic: “Ladies, now is not the time to be timid. Step up, take chances, push yourself beyond your comfort zone, use your powers and influence for good, and let your expertise shine.”

It's been a fair amount of time since I have written a truly meaningful blog post that is more than just me covering a story or talking about an issue. Well today I plan to make up for that with this post, this post wont be about any story, just my thoughts on what I think can move Kansas forward.

I am like many other Democrats in this state and haven't been the most thrilled with the recent happenings, out of professional courtesy I wont discuss which happenings these are, but I'm sure you can guess. One thing that is particularly dear to my heart is The Kansas Young Democrats. I took over as KYD President about 4 months ago now. I am very happy to say that we have honestly done a lot statewide. We have increased our number of chapters, took part in the planning of Healthcare Reform rallies held in Kansas City and Wichita, brought the first Young Democrats of America meeting to ever be held in Kansas (planned for Feb of 2011), done multiple community service projects and shown that young people have, want and deserve a voice in our state.

Here's the catch. I often get the question "What young dems would you say are best for working on campaigns?" or "Can your young dems organize an event?" which I don't mind being asked at all, but there seems to be an underlying assumption that KYD is simply a pool of labor for campaigns. I say false. The Kansas Young Democrats are a very motivated force of young people who want to invest in their state and help shape it for the future. We are more than the mules of the party, we are the future of the party.

I have a little over a year left of being President and here is what I would like to see be done. KYD could become a more powerful and better organized grassroots and netroots movement. Allowing for young people statewide to band together to support the candidates we want to help lead our state, working for the issues that matter to us, and having a strong voice in our communities. Build an organization not for the sake of having one but for the purpose of creating a better future. We can always work on campaigns, we can always organize events, but let's make this about us. Our candidates, our issues, or generation.

We are already naturally moving in that direction. Youth candidates are standing up and running, young people that have felt alienated over the previous eight years took a stand and voted for Obama and the promise of progressive change that he gave us. We voted for real healthcare reform to happen, we voted to end the war, we voted for clean alternative energy sources, we voted to change our country for the better. I may be preaching to the choir here but as young people we do have a voice, and we need to not only start using it but following up with it. We have to start doing more than just showing up on election day and counting on all the other young people to do the ground work for us. We have a great group of activist here in Kansas. Out of that great group a lot of them are young, but all of us activist can't do it alone all of the time.

We have to work for the change we want, we have to work together, we have to work for our generation, we have to work for our beliefs, and most importantly we have to work for Kansas. It has been far to long that we have taken second place in the battle over our beliefs, only we can bring the changes we want and need to Kansas. I guess we could view this post as a call of arms to democrats young and old, progressives, and activist. Let's work together to make it the Kansas we want. KYD can be that organization we build in order to create a better future, we are already working in that direction.

Like I said just my thoughts after some recent frustration both State and National, but I hope they hit home with some of you and if they do, I look forward to working with you soon.

This past weekend there was a healthcare reform rally held in Kansas. The rally was primarily organized by the writers of Forward Kansas. The rally was in response to Brenda Landwehr and Mary Pilcher Cook’s proposed legislation to opt Kansas out of any eventual public insurance option. That's right, certain Kansas lawmakers wants to prevent Kansas from receiving any part of the public option before the bill is even passed by proposing a constitutional amendment, the Health Care Freedom Amendment. Despite the misleading title of this amendment it would deny Kansans the freedom to choose a public health insurance option.

Luckily all of Kansas isn't as crazy as some of our electeds are. The people of Kansas are smarter than to believe the misleading language of the proposed amendment. This rally was the second one we have held against this amendment and was a great success!

“We didn’t expect so many people to come out, especially in the cold, but Kansans need health care now. Over 58,000 children in Kansas are uninsured and about 60 percent of Americans want a public option,” organizer Levi Henry said. “It’s great to see so many of those people represented here today.”

My favorite part of it all, is that most the people in attendance were youth. Young kids, college students, young professionals, middle aged folks and senior citizens stood together to stand up for Kansas.

According to a study released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July about the benefits of the Affordable Health Choices Act being debated in the US Congress:

Over 250,000 Kansans who currently are unable to purchase health care would gain access to high quality, affordable care.

Over 65,000 Kansas small businesses would have the possibility of receiving tax credits to provide for coverage of their employees.

Over 44,000 Kansas seniors would avoid a hole in Medicare Part D that currently exists, drastically improving their care.

Over 4,100 Kansan families would escape the clutches of bankruptcy due to affordable health care.

Rep. Nile Dillmore, Ranking Democrat, Insurance Committee, Kansas House of Representatives singled out Rep Brenda Landwher and her Amendment saying “The sponsors of the Health Care Freedom Amendment are ideological and politically motivated individuals who are on the wrong side of history and on the wrong side of their constituents economic and social interests.”

Other speakers included:

Rep. Geraldine Flaherty, Ranking Democrat, Health & Human Services Committee, Kansas House of Representatives

Rep. Delia Garcia, Ranking Democrat, Local Government Committee, Kansas House of Representatives

Dr. Tom Kluzak, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)

Deborah Ballard-Reisch, Fellow at the Kansas Health Foundation

Kansas needs the public option, too many Kansans have had to go bankrupt or even die because of a lack of coverage. It's time we put and end to this and told Brenda Landwehr and Mary Pilcher Cook that we want no part in their propose amendment that is bad for Kansas.

Quoted text is from Sarah's earlier post about the rally.

Today is World Aids day. It is important that we, us youth especially, pay serious attention to the issues effecting our communities. So let's take today to organize around an issue that affects millions worldwide.

World AIDS Day was started on 1st December 1988. World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

There are approximately 33.4 million people living with HIV, including 2.1 million children. During 2008 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all over the world. 

Show your support today by wearing something red. Go a step further; complete a community service project in your area and join the fight against HIV and AIDS. Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

•Invite elected officials to visit a local HIV/AIDS service organization.
•Hold a cultural or faith-based event with speakers who can call attention to the local epidemic. 
•Offer free HIV testing at a special event. Offer incentives to attend. Get tested yourself to set an example, or ask a local celebrity to take the test.
•Organize a health fair to educate people about HIV/AIDS, testing options and other health issues.
•Honor a local leader or organization for their response to the epidemic.

For more ideas, visit: www.aids.gov or visit www.cdc.gov for updates on HIV and AIDS statistics.