From the monthly archives:

December 2008

Sen Mike Brubaker Tours Lititz

by admin on December 10, 2008

in PA News

Serving Pennsylvania’s 36th district Senator Mike Brubaker does a TV show, here is his latest, a tour of Lititz. Whether you are a tourist or a local that has never walked around downtown Lititz this video is worth watching.

Click here to view the video

1 comment

In 2008 “A record-breaking 46% of Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign,” this according to Pew Research study. With so many Citizens using the internet to talk to each other and get news, shouldn’t our elected officials be communicating with us using email?

I made the rounds of my elected official’s websites to see how well they were communicating with “we the people”

Federal

President George Bush (R)
Pros: Confirmation page and confirmation email. (only site to have double opt in).
Cons: No front page opt in so hard to find out where to subscribe, double opt in message flagged as spam.

President-elect Barack Obama (D)
Pros: Opt in box on the front page, only requires my email and zip code, confirmation page (with ability to invite friends) and confirmation email.
Cons: None

Senator Arlen Specter (R)
Pros: The opt in box is on the front page and he has a list of past newsletters.
Cons: Requires both first and last name, no confirmation email

Senator Bob Casey (D)
Pros: Opt in box on front page, also has an action center with a petition where you can submit your email address.
Cons: Unfortunately the system was down and I got an error when I hit submit (otherwise he would have ranked on top of the list. Requires first and last names.

Congressman Joe Pitts (R) 16th district
Pros: Opt in box on home page
Cons: Triple opt in, once you hit submit an email is generated which you have to reply to with a command, after following the instructions I got a reply email saying my command wasn’t valid. Generated emails do not say who they are from.

State

Governor Ed Rendell (D)
Pros: Has opt in box on home page, only requires an email address.
Cons: No confirmation page or email confirmation that your submission has been processed. i.e. I don’t know if I’m signed up yet.

Senator Mike Brubaker (R) 36th district
Pros: Link from home page and sends a confirmation email.
Cons: No opt in on the front page, only a link. Requires first and last names, confirmation email flagged as spam by google mail.

Rep Scott Boyd (R) 43rd district
Pros: Link from home page (quick to respond to suggestion of having a monthly newsletter)
Cons: No opt in box on the front page. Required fields are: First name, last name, address, home phone, work phone, email, zip code, county, government priorities.

Visit your elected officials and see how good a job they do communicating wit you. Post results in the comments.

cross posted at TechRepublican.com

1 comment

Freindly Fire – Interview with Bruce Castor

12.08.2008

PAWatercooler has the whole interview which you should go read. FF: Were there any bright spots for the Republicans? BC: Certainly in the statewide election, Attorney General Tom Corbett’s convincing re-election against a good opponent – in the face of the Obama landslide – has to rank as our “brightest spot.” Tom’s showing convinced a [...]

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Radio Address from Joe Pitts

12.08.2008

Rep Pitt’s talks about Mumbai and the new visitors center in Washington DC. Props to Rep Pitts for a having a great website and for keeping his constituents up to date with an email newsletter, audio and video. A few free tips: Embed you audio (see below) Embed your video (via blip.tv or YouTube) and [...]

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Philly Police Allowed to Carry Better Guns

12.07.2008

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote on Saturday, Philadelphia police officers will be permitted to carry larger-caliber handguns next year, part of a wide-ranging effort that Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey is making to upgrade the department’s weaponry to match adversaries carrying bigger guns. Ramsey announced yesterday that officers will have the option to replace their 9mm [...]

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Come On Toomey!

12.05.2008

Saw this bit in at TheHill.com and got a few goosebumps. Call me a right winger but come 2010 primary time I’ll vote for whoever is running against Specter, nice guy good politician but I don’t think Harrisburg needs anymore “talented politicians”. A former Republican lawmaker who nearly defeated Arlen Specter in a bruising 2004 [...]

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Beer, Pennsylvania, Lancaster and Prohibition

12.05.2008

Trying my hand at video blogging. Links to local breweries, support your local economy and buy local beer. Lancaster Lancaster Brewing Company Iron Hill Brewery Spring House Brewery Union Barrel Works Brewery Bube’s Brewery Nearby Stoudt’s Brewery Appalachian Brewing Company Have a favorite local brew? Leave a comment.

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More on Teacher Strikes

12.05.2008

Watch this video from StopTeacherStrikes.org

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