Rep. Icet to run for state auditor

State Representative Allen Icet (R-84) has announced that he will be running for state auditor in 2010. Icet could not run for reelection due to term limited and had filed a finance committee to explore running for the 26th state Senate seat (which will be a hotly contested Republican primary). As the House Budget Chairman Icet certainly brings experience and credibility with his candidacy. The timing is certainly interesting, though. Clearly this is something that Icet has been considering for some time, but the events of last week may have dictated the timing of his annoucement. Last week Tom Schweich decided against running against Roy Blunt in the primary for the open U.S. Senate seat in Missouri and is now considering running for state auditor. By announcing now, Icet gets into the race before anyone else and can call for party unity (a theme of last week's Republican fundraiser) behind his candidacy. Also, the buzz about Schweich feeds the importance of the story and makes it a higher profile announcement.

OSTP - Civic participation

The Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) is looking for input on civic participation and how it can be strengthened.

How You Can Help

As we seek to identify immediate policy changes that will promote greater civic participation, we need to know from you:

1. What is the appropriate and most effective role for the government to play in fostering greater civic participation? Should the government develop content, fund the work of organizations that teach civic education, establish platforms to connect communities to each other and to government?
2. Do you know of best practices, whether from local, state or foreign governments, or foundations that foster and support civic participation? What are the most effective tools to get people to participate?
3. What skills and subject areas are the most important for civic literacy today? How do we promote the kind of civic education necessary to enable people to make greater use of government data, like the information available on Data.gov, or participate in online commenting processes, like this one or regulations.gov?

Take a look at the OSTP blog and weigh in on the conversation.

Harriett's List formed in Missouri

Politics Magazine reports: "Today a new organization dedicated to electing progressive Democratic women to the state legislature and state-wide office was born." Harriett's List will be active in Missouri races in 2010, a cycle when we will see a large number of open races in the state House and Senate due to term limits. The Beacon Backroom also has a piece on the new group.

California Supreme Court Ruling on Prop 8

The California Supreme Court issued its ruling on Proposition 8 (the ban on gay marriage that was approved by California voters in 2008) this week. The decision upheld the amendment to the California Constitution and ruled that all of the marriages that had occurred while gay marriage was legal in the state were valid. For an interesting analysis of the ruling, take a look at "In defense of the prop 8 ruling, but not defending prop 8."

Schweich to run for Senate in Missouri?

Word is that Thomas A. Schweich is considering a run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Missouri. If he runs, he will be challenging Roy Blunt in the Republican primary. The Missouri media blogs have been buzzing about this over the last couple of days, including the Beacon Backroom, the Political Fix, and at least four posts at KY3. A big part of the story are the two major Missouri Republicans that are encouraging Schweich to run (former Senator Danforth and Sam Fox).

Update: Schweich has decided not to run for the U.S. Senate and is backing Roy Blunt. See KY3: "Schweich Is Out" for more detail.

P-D LTE "Internet: A safe haven for hate speech"

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a letter to the editor today that I fully agree with. David Grone articulates a problem that I have seen all too frequently on-line. With the anonymity provided by the internet people are sometime much more hurtful, hateful, and harsh that they ever would be in person and it has degraded the discourse.

Internet: A safe haven for hate speech

As a long-time reader of the Post-Dispatch and STLtoday.com, I am disturbed by the behavior of some commentors on online news stories. Unfortunately, this behavior is rampant on the Internet.

Have we regressed so much that it is OK to post the sorts of things some people do on these stories? Whether it is mocking the deceased in a tragic death, condemning someone for a crime long before any evidence comes to light, spewing racist hatred at any story involving a particular part of town or simply attacking fellow commentors with hateful insults, it makes me sick to think these things come from the minds of fellow citizens of this community.

Would any of the people who do this anonymously ever say such things directly to a person's face — or even out loud in public? I hope not, and I doubt they would. If people spoke in a forum that required them to show their face and/or have their real name attributed to it, one of two things would happen. Either a lot of simple-minded, Internet "tough guys" would disappear or we would get a real glimpse into what is happening to our culture when a me-first, too-cool-for-the-room, smart-aleck attitude is the rule of the day. It seems like the Internet has become a safe haven for hate speech that in any other medium would be punishable by law.

Human nature is to "think before you speak." I recommend we extend that rule to include "think before you type."

I shudder to think how hateful and self-centered we will be years from now if these opinions and exaggerations are allowed to flow freely.

David Grone — St. Louis County

There have been some who have advocated for an internet in which all communication is tied to a person's real name in an attempt to address this. Regardless of the appropriate solution, it is clearly a problem.

Two new Macomb Aldermen seated

Congratulations to Clay Hinderliter and Ryan Hansen, the two newly elected Aldermen (7th district and 1st district respectively) who were sworn into office at last night's Macomb City Council meeting.

Full coverage of the meeting at the Macomb Journal.