by shayera [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Anyone who hangs around on Facebook even a little has seen that Secretary of State Debra Bowen makes great use of it.

Late this (5/7/8) evening, she posted a "note": Facebook tip leads to conviction for voter registration fraud. Secretary of State Debra Bowen Announces

Conviction for Voter Registration Fraud in Orange County (warning pdf) The link is from the Secretary of State's website, since you have to be logged into Facebook to see the note.

It's basically a press release detailing a case tried in Orange County Superior Court. Sacramento based Don Cornell Williams plead guilty to registering 3 ineligible voters in 2006. A warrant for his arrest was issued in 2006 but he wasn't arrested until this year.

Apparently a complaint was filed against his signature gathering techniques this year. Which lead to his arrest on the outstanding warrant.

The press release does not mention where the tip came from. But since Bowen's note says "Facebook tip leads to conviction" I think we can all infer where.

Social networking taken to a whole new level.

 

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

To be perfectly honest, I feel sorry for Matt Gonzalez (who I like personally). He's had a tough run at politics. First, he had to rebel against the Democratic Party for not being the Green Party. Now, he's rebelling against the Green Party to run with Ralph Nader. Along the way, he managed to completely miss out on the most important progressive realignment in decades.

Justifiably, he's getting whacked. There's the new Facebook Group Former Gonzalez Campaigners for Obama (recently joined by Chris Daly). I actually don't think I've seen a single positive comment about this stunt. And is it really any wonder?

I asked Gonzalez about this, about whether he is really arguing that there's no difference between Obama and McCain on the war. His answer was there's not a "drastic" difference.

And this was the best candidate to challenge Newsom last year? Really?

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

While the jury is still out on whether California will count in the nomination process, Californians and healthcare were front and center this weekend in New Hampshire. The family of Nataline Sarkisyan was out on the stump yesterday with Senator John Edwards and their presence prompted sharp words between Iowa's second and third place Democratic finishers.
 
Sarkisyan was the 17 year old Angeleno who died a few weeks ago while Cigna dickered on whether to pay for a potentially lifesaving liver transplant. The Sarkisyan family fight against Cigna highlighted the fact that the healthcare crisis extends beyond those who are uninsured. The Sarkisyan family was insured, but that did not matter. Cigna refused to approve what Sarkisyan's doctors said was a necessary and lifesaving treatment, relenting only after a steady stream of negative publicity. Unfortunately, Cigna's reversal came too late. Sarkisyan died two hours after Cigna relented.
 
On January 3, following the Iowa caucuses, Edwards noted the Sarkisyan case as the reason that he does not believe that a President should negotiate with the healthcare industry about reform. Sarkisyan's mother saw the speech and contacted the Edwards' campaign. Saturday night, during the ABC/Facebook/WMUR debate, Edwards again mentioned the Sarkisyan case when discussing his sponsorship of a patients bill of rights.

There's more...

by Mark Leno Campaign [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Equality California has launched a huge ad campaign to educate the public on Marriage Equality (great 60 second ad after the flip):

An above the fold story in today's San Francisco Chronicle noted:

"This campaign is about changing the climate in California around this issue," Seth Kilbourn, Equality California's political and policy director, said as he sat in his upper Market Street office.

He cites polls showing Californians almost evenly split on the issue. A 2000 poll by the Policy Institute of California found that voters opposed same-sex marriage 55 to 38 percent; a poll by the same group last year showed a major shift: 48 to 46 percent.

This campaign is intended to move the state "over the tipping point," Kilbourn said. "We wanted to connect to the people of California on an emotional level, on a level they can identify with."

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Late tonight I jet east to our lovely nation's capital which had the decency to raise me from birth to 20-something and must really miss me.  I'll be stirring up progressive-style trouble through Tuesday, including checking out the Facebook Political Summit.  Use this thread to ruminate on the many pleasures of the DC metro area, discuss weekend revolutions, or whatever else may have slipped through the cracks this weekend.

And for your musical pleasure, one of the bands responsible for the crazy man I am today: Bad Brains - Banned in DC

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is looking forward to her hour long discussion with folks on Monday at 4 pm, judging by the note she left Bob on Facebook (yes, she is the coolest Facebook friend I have, especially since it really is her).  Courage Campaign is hosting a conference call with all folks interested in hearing from progressive hero Bowen.  She will give us an update on what she has been up to and her plans for the upcoming elections.

You can sign-up here and submit your questions in advance.

The email that just went out to the Courage list is below.  And here is the Facebook group: We Have a Crush on Debra Bowen that Brian created, for this call and obvious reasons.