Need input on states - Alabama through Connecticut (alphabetical)

[JailForBush]

I'm working on a political site designed especially for children, which will feature information about politics and government for each of the 50 states.

For each state, I'd like to offer a brief synopsis, focusing on its political history - which could go back as far as the Revolutionary War era. I'd also like to mention important individuals and events in recent years.

The "9/11" section focuses not just on the terrorist attacks of September 11, but the corporate/Republican assault on America and the world. It could include environmental problems, and the Washington State page will discuss Mad Cow Disease.

I'm also looking for information relating to Microsoft.

Finally, I'm going to list Heroes and Zeroes for each of the states, focusing especially on people who are fighting George Bush, Inc.

The following states are now online, though most offer brief, and sometimes poorly written, accounts:

Alabama: http://www.politix.us/us/al/index.php
Alaska: http://www.politix.us/us/ak/index.php
Arkansas: http://www.politix.us/us/ar/index.php
Arizona: http://www.politix.us/us/az/index.php
California: http://www.politix.us/us/ca/index.php
Colorado: http://www.politix.us/us/ct/index.php
Connecticut: http://www.politix.us/us/co/index.php

Can you suggest any names, events or topics I should include for any of these states or recommend some websites I should link to?

Thanks.

[Devlzown]

1. Alabama: The Back of the Bus State?

You're gonna get some hate mail out of that one. And Colorado: The Cannibal State? I didn't realize the story of Alfred Packer was such a seminal event in Colorado's history. These all seem to be funny in a smartass kind of way, I just hope the kids viewing them are old enough to understand the humor.

[JailForBush]

5. Yeah, Alabama's a tough one.

I'll have to do some more research to find something nice to say about that state! "Cannibal State" probably isn't a good choice, either. But I've got plenty of time to think of something else - it will be weeks before this project is finished.

[Syrinx]

9. Alabama

Look into the Southern Poverty Law Center. Also, To Kill A Mockingbird.

And although I don't think the number of Linux Users Groups in a state necessarily illustrates how "behind the times" a state is, 4 sounds about right. Colorado has 4, Montana has 2, etc.

[Devlzown]

10. It's a bit of a dilemma.

It would do your readers good, though, to show them how far Alabama has come in the last 50 years because of desegregation and social programs. Look up some stats on how many black politicians currently hold office in Alabama and how much the standard of living has risen for the whole population. Some heroes: Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Harper Lee (wrote To Kill A Mockingbird),Booker T. Washington was from Virginia but he started the Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama. Zeroes: I think you can find plenty of those.

[Dookus]

2. Under California----

Clint Eastwood was not mayor of Monterey. He was mayor of the small town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, just South of Monterey.

You also misspelled Ronald Reagan (as Regan) and I don't quite get the reason for mentioning the Smothers Brothers. They really weren't important in our history :)

Finally, the formatting of the first two lines of text in each frame is bad - the line spacing is too small.

on edit:

Sorry, I've read more: way too much is wrong. You call Davis a "very corrupt governor". I know of no charges of corruption against him. I hope kids don't try to learn anything from this. Sorry, but that's the truth.

more: Gack! Nixon wasn't impeached!

[JailForBush]

6. OK, I made most of the corrections you suggested.

The text was a bit cramped, so I adjusted the line-height. I thought the Smothers Brothers were a cute example of California's reputation for not toeing the party line, though I probably didn't make that really clear.

Regarding Gray Davis, isn't he in bed with the prison guard unions? I could have sworn that they received extraordinary pay raises in exchange for supporting him.

I changed Nixon's "impeachment" to a resignation. I thought he had been impeached, but I see he resigned under threat of impeachment.

Thanks for the tips.

[DODI]

3. On the CT site -

I do believe Hartford passed a resolution against the Patriot Act in the fall and I think New Haven and other towns have done the same or are in the process.

[DODI]

4. CT Heroes/Zeroes

Zero - John Rowland, GWB
Hero - Bill "Don't Blame Me, I voted for Me" Curry. Curry outlined all of Rowland's wrongdoings during the election -- no one listened!

Hero - Harriett Beecher Stowe & the Harriett Beecher Stowe Center - they are doing wonderful programs about civil liberties and activism.

[JailForBush]

7. OK, I'll check these people out.

Also, I checked my notes, and I did find four Connecticut communities that have passed resolutions against the Patriot Act.

Thanks!

[pinto]

8. re: California

Hispanics here are mostly native CA born (not Mexican immigrants).

UC Berkely is located in Berkely, not SF.

A question: why the big focus on Microsoft?
Technology, is a huge part of California economy and culture (see San Jose), but Microsoft is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

a supportive suggestion: Mark Twain on editing a piece: take out every adjective and see what you have.

good luck on your project.

[JailForBush]

11. Thanks

I looked up Berkely online to see where it was located, but I guess I goofed.

The Microsoft focus will appear on every state page on the site. I decided to attak Microsoft, in part, because it really is an extraordinarily powerful and dangerous corporation, and partly because virtually no one is doing anything to fight it.

Even here on DU, many people defend Bill Gates, based on his phony philanthropy.

In fact, I think it might be relatively easy to fight Microsoft, partly by promoting the competition (e.g. Linux). I'm also going to great lengths to promote the Mozilla/Firebird browsers on my websites. Plus, I've begun developing another website - http://www.freedomware.us/

It's also a personal battle. I live in Seattle, and I've had some exceptionally bad experiences with Mr. Gates, who has stabbed me and my students in the backs with particular viciousness.

My websites give me an opportunity to kick that bastard right back. :)

[Dookus]

12. well....

more on California

For heros you Joan Baez and Brian Wilson (misspelled as Willson). While I love them both, you may want to look into Cesar Chavez, Edmund "Pat" Brown and Harvey Milk.

If you want a better "not toeing the line" story, look up Emperor Norton in San Francisco.

[jsw_81]

13. A few events in each state's political history

Alabama
Admitted to Union (1819)
Secession (1861)
Civil War (1861-1865)
Reconstruction (1865-1877)
KKK activity (late 19th century)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1950's-1960's)
Church bombing (1963)
Gov. George Wallace's fight against desegregation (1950's-1960's)
Selma march (1965)
Wallace carries five states in 1968 presidential election
Wallace is shot and nearly killed (1972)
Conservative Republicans dominate state (2002)
Judge Roy Moore "Ten Commandments" controversy (1995-present)

Alaska
Purchased from Russia (1867)
Admitted to the Union as 49th state (1959)
Republican Ted Stevens becomes U.S. Senator (1968)
House Majority Leader Hale Boggs killed in plane crash along with Alaska Congressman Nick Begich (1972)
Pipeline is built to connect port of Valdez with oil fields (1970's)
ANWR drilling debate (1990's-present)
Walter Hickel elected governor as independent (1990)
Democrat Tony Knowles elected governor (1994)
Republican Congressman Don Young makes controversial comment about funding of arts (1990's)
Republican Frank Murkowski elected governor (2002), appoints his daughter to vacant U.S. Senate seat

Arkansas
Admitted to Union (1836)
Secession (1861)
Civil War (1861-1865)
Reconstruction (1865-1877)
Senator Joseph Robinson nominated for vice presidency on Democratic ticket (1928)
Robinson elected Senate Majority Leader (1933)
J. William Fulbright elected to U.S. Senate (1944)
Civil rights struggle (1950's-1960's)
Segregationist Orval Faubus elected governor (1954)
Billionaire Winthrop Rockefeller elected governor as a Republican (1966)
Democrat Bill Clinton emerges on state political scene (1970's)
Clinton elected president (1992)
Arkansas becomes one of the most Democratic of the southern states (1990's)
Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker convicted on "Whitewater" charges and resigns from office (1996)
Winthrop Rockefeller Jr. prepares to run for governor (2003).

Arizona
Admitted to Union (1912)
State becomes part of conservative "Sun Belt" and elects Republican Barry Goldwater to U.S. Senate (1952)
Goldwater nominated for the presidency (1964)
Congressman Morris Udall runs for Democratic presidential nomination (1976)
Martin Luther King Day controversy (1980's)
Goldwater retires from Senate, John McCain is elected (1986)
Republican Governor Evan Mecham impeached and removed from office (1987)
Former Governor Bruce Babbit runs for Democratic presidential nomination (1988)
Republican Senator McCain and Democratic Senator DeConcini involved in "Keating Five" scandal (early 1990's)
Congressman Jim Kolbe comes out of the closet as one of the first prominent gay Republicans (1996)
Republican Governor Fife Symington convicted on bank fraud charges and resigns from office (1997)
Women dominate state politics, holding nearly every statewide office (1990's)
McCain presidential campaign (2000)
Democrat Janet Napolitano elected governor by razor-thin margin (2002)

California
Bear Flag Revolt (1846)
Gold Rush (1848)
Admitted to Union (1850)
Leland Stanford becomes governor (1862)
Anti-Chinese riots (1871)
Massive San Francisco earthquake (1906)
Hiram Johnson elected governor (1910)
Johnson runs for vice presidency with Theodore Roosevelt on Progressive ticket (1912)
Atheist Culbert Olson becomes governor (1939)
Future Chief Justice Earl Warren becomes governor (1943)
Warren runs for vice president with Thomas Dewey on Republican ticket (1948)
Richard Nixon elected to Congress (1946) and elected U.S. Senator (1950)
Nixon elected Vice President (1952), narrowly loses presidency to JFK (1960)
Nixon loses California gubernatorial race to Edmund Brown (1962), elected President (1968)
Nixon resigns from presidency in disgrace (1974)
Ronald Reagan elected Governor (1966)
Reagan elected President (1980)
Governor Jerry Brown runs for Democratic presidential nomination (1976, 1992)
Brown becomes Mayor of Oakland (1999)
Senator Alan Cranston runs for Democratic presidential nomination (1984)
State elects two female U.S. Senators (1992)
L.A. Riots (1992)
Prop. 187 controversy (1990's)
O.J. Simpson trial (1995)
Governor Pete Wilson seeks Republican presidential nomination (1996)
Democratic Governor Gray Davis recalled and replaced with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger (2003)

Colorado
Gold Rush (1858)
Admitted to Union (1876)
Meeker Massacre (1879)
Millionaire Horace Tabor nicknamed "Silver King," helps build Denver
Tabor elected to U.S. Senate (late 19th century)
NORAD complex built (1950's)
Senator Gary Hart runs for Democratic presidential nomination (1984, 1988)
Congresswoman Pat Schroeder mulls bid for Democratic presidential nomination (1988)
Democrat Roy Romer wins three terms as governor (1987-1999), becomes DNC chairman (1990's)
Right-wing Republicans dominate state politics (1990's-present)
Democratic Senator Ben Campbell switches to Republican party (1995)
Republican Governor Bill Owens mentioned as possible presidential candidate (2003)

Connecticut
Yale founded (1701)
Revolutionary War battles (1770's-1780's)
Nathan Hale hanged by British as a spy (1776)
America's first law school founded at Litchfield (1784)
"Connecticut Compromise" at Constitutional Convention (1787)
State admitted to Union (1788)
Connecticut resident Eli Whitney invents cotton gin and changes the world (1793)
Federalists dominate state politics (1780's-1810's)
Large numbers of immigrants settle in state (late 1800's-1900's)
Democrat Wilbur Cross serves four terms as governor (1930's)
Democrat Abe Ribicoff serves in JFK's Cabinet and is elected to U.S. Senate (1960's)
Senator Thomas Dodd censured (1967), Dodd's son Christopher elected to U.S. Senate (1980)
Democratic boss John Bailey dominates state politics (1940's-1970's)
Democrat Joe Lieberman defeats liberal Republican Lowell Weicker for U.S. Senate (1988)
Weicker elected governor as independent (1990)
Lieberman nominated for vice president (2000)
Lieberman runs for president (2003-04)
Republican Governor Rowland involved in "cottagegate" scandal (2003)