Sen. Jon Ossip,
Sen. Gary Benedix,
Sen. Alan Yanuck,
Sen. Dave Schneider,
Sen. Zach Mori,
Sen. Dylan Billodeaux,
Sen. Travis Baker,
Sen. Stacey Gray,
Sen. Jacob Fyda,
Sen. Alden Gillespy::
Congratulations on your election to the University of Florida Student Senate. I too was elected to this prestigious body in the Spring 2004 and I can honestly relate to the hard work, the sacrifice, and the abuse you all must have taken on the campaign trail.
The Orange & Blue Party was a party that evolved from a very special line of independent parties at UF. O&B went back to basics and raised an old, GDI plan of attack from the dead. No racial cards, no celebrity candidates, no renegade ruling party hacks -- just 'plain, in your face independent kids ready to fight to the wire and kick some FBK ass.' And you did that and in the many races you didn't, you were shy by just enough of votes for others to have allegedly cooked the numbers enough to have escaped your wrath.
You have a great deal to be proud of, but your hard work and sacrifice should be exchanged for a select few to collect titles and selfishly align themselves (bargaining with your name and your networking) to receive larger benefits for themselves.
To quote one of your leaders, Sen. Mark McShera, who currently 'won' a post a Member-At-Large of the Senate's most powerful committee:
"I hope to be able to run for re-election this Spring for CLAS, serve out a second Senate term ending in March 2010 and then graduate in May 2010. To quote General William Sherman, "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve."
All I'm saying to you fine, newly elected leaders is to be weary of colleagues more interested in themselves than in the pursuit of the greater good. I want all of you to look at Senators Miorelli (party president), McShera (plan re-election), & Cavatero (re-elected)... look at what they get during this session and then look at your group and see what you get. If at the end of the day you're subsisting of bread and water and your collective voice is brokered several meetings in advance -- then please consider doing the honorable thing: disassociation from the Orange & Blue Party. You will still be able to fight the O&B Platform, only you will not subscribe to the shady backroom deals.
Remember, you were elected to serve the students, not serve the party. You were told by your leaders that you were Independents, but today your 'Independent Leaders' break bread and cavort with the very scoundrels that have bogged down this University's Student Government since the 1930's.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE PART OF THE LIE.
46 comments:
I am also disappointed with my party. After donating $150 bucks and devoting 60+ hours to the campaign, they turn around and are willing to play nice.
The party has to remember, this isn't some new gator party. These "new faces" were the same ones calling us racists for not having enough tokens on our slate. These same people called us dirty dirty names while on the ground. They have colluded and will continue to collude against us.
Remember the 5700 signatures we collected guys and how that was thrown away. Remember Sheldon Nagesh. Remember the "I voted" stickers that got Pants DQ'd. Remember the emails for fucks sake.
The "real deal" Sam made with JJ was for sexual favors. We'll play nice and you give me a blowjob for Ben's seat and some committee seats.
The Independent movement has a way of purging itself of turncoats. Just bide your time 8:48.
Jardon will graduate soon and within a year or so every O&B leader that sold you out will be either betrayed by Gator or voted out by a new independent party.
Sorry you lost your money, but you did, these are complete sell-outs and the treachery has only begun.
Expect to see one of these Benedict Arnolds as JJ's running-mate in Spring '09.
And if any O&B senators read this blog and really take to heart what I'm saying...disassociate from Orange & Blue and go INDEPENDENT, if there's 8 of you (ex.O&B and Indie elected senators) you could get your own seat on R&A and carry out your vision.
I won't hold my breath, but even if just one of you is pissed, disassociate.
I don't really agree with hardly anything you say, but you're on mark with this.
Christian, you do realize that 8:48AM isn't an O&B member right? They never worked to gather those sigs, never never partipated in the "I Voted" stickers, they weren't around for Nagesh, and they didn't work on the ground this year, and they certainly did not put 60+ hours into the campaign. There are only 4 people on campus that can claim to have partaken in all of those rights of passage and I am one of them.
All four of us are aware of what Student Government means to the students and why O&B was elected. We all come from the days of Pants and "SG Sucks". Each of us, individually, have all seen more Election Commission hearings and Supreme Court farces than all of Gator Party's Senators and Exec combined (and than you, Christian, as well). We also realize the students that ran with us and volunteered with us have diverse views on virtually everything.
Christian, you fail to remember: there is no Indie voting block; there is no Indie network; there is no reward for being an Indie, in fact it is a liability. All of us are simply individuals that want to make a difference and have their own ideas about how to meet the needs of the students. There is no forced voting, people are not told how to vote, and people are not required to do or work on something they do not want to be a part of. Just as O&B was divided on whether to approve our candidate for District E or the independent candidate, our party will be divided on a lot of issues. Isn't that the great thing about an indie party? Everyone has the right to express their views, their ideas, and cast THEIR OWN vote. People can say whatever they wish and vote however they like...and for me, that is exactly what any Indie Party should be promoting. I think O&B has, and will continue, tobe accomplish this; after all, being able to form your own opinion is exactly what we are all about.
Frank,
I didn't hit the reject button only because of all the times you've leaked me info and openly contributed. You've been a sellout for quite some time now Frank, but it's only that now I'm actually saying it.
You worked for Moseley and have made it a point throughout this campaign to stress you weren't a part of O&B, a cowardly stance thatreminds me of Will Foster to an extent.
There is an Indie block and there is a great deal of pride in being an Independent. You speak of such a distinction and such a loyalty in past tense -- at least you're being honest, now.
Your time in front of the Kangaroo court is hardly an accomplishment -- I think more of it as a waste of time. So yes, you spent much more.
It's never been popular being an independent, but System, I never was and I'll never be.
You are no longer welcome to openly comment on this blog. If you insist on doing so, you'll have to write under the veil of anonymity, alongside your brethren Ryan Day, Kim Cruts, Pedro Morales, Josh Simmons, Ben Grove, Sam Miorelli, Mark McShera, Ben Cavatero, and on and on.
When this blog started I'd get ten maybe twenty hits a week. I have no issue with being fringe or unpopular.
Good bye and good riddance.
Whoa, you can't give us Frank. We don't want him.
look at what has happened on this blog in just a few days...
sam miorelli went from "the last GDI" to enemy of the movement
frank bracco went from valued contributor to persona non gratis
even ben cavataro went from hardened fighter to week-minded sellout
its been TWO DAYS since the Senate has been seated and you're already accusing O&B of having sold out. i don't pretend to know enough to say what's going on in that department, but i do know that your analysis is an extrapolation. you need more information before you can determine something so dramatic as an entire party having sold out to the system.
my advice: lay off the attacks until you have more information. if O&B does sell out, it will be so much more clear and easier to stand against in a couple of weeks. if they don't, then waiting will have prevented you from looking like an ass.
2 days is a long time. Just ask any history major.
Frank's dream is to be censured by Senate, to be censored by you must be just as rewarding.
Why do you think we tried to stop Sam when we did?
"When I was younger, the Don Quixote types easily impressed me. But effectiveness comes with the realization that there is no moral superiority in constantly losing."
-- David Wilhelm
"Winning is not the end game in life; winning for a reason is."
-- David Wilhelm
you proposed in your post that O&B Senators should disassociate in Senate and join the independents in chambers to be more GDI.
I'm sorry Christian, but there's no way that Wolf is more GDI than O&B is. You call us turncoats, and then say that the answer is to associate with turncoats?
How could Will miss the only chance in his life to unload on Wilhelm trivia? I woke him up when i called at 2.
Clever, but wrong.
Eric Wolf is AN Independent, he is not the standard or the model for one being an Independent.
I doubt any one senator would disassociate, it counters the senate-mentality. No one wants to be alone.
And for the record, I don't consider O&B Turncoats. you're The Coatless. You didn't betray the students for Gator, but you're also not Independents.
From Bracco's own words -- you're only in it for yourselves and that's far worse.
Now anytime you "fight the system" it'll just be for bigger chunk of handouts. But I'm sure you'll fight - positive of it - but when you do, don't think you'll fool me.
You wanted power, you got power. Now go fuck yourselves w/ it. :)
Funny sidebar. Truth is Sam and JJ both have dabbled in boys: Sam as a top, JJ as a bottom. Guess that's your answer right there. Probably tells you something about the nature of the deal Sam struck too.
I honestly think the deal was more than we saw with McShera. Expect a few committee seats to also be thrown O&B's way as well. Will these mean anything in the long run? Probably not. Did O&B get what they wanted and cried about all Spring term? Yep, representation on committees. But you're delusional if you think this means the most qualified candidates will start getting seats, it just means that O&B will now be dirty dealing to get seats, exactly what they supposedly fought against. Viva la Revolution? The revolution is dead.
Christian,
You are more interested in the idea of an independent movement than the goals of an independent movement.
Believe it or not, there are more pressing issues to the Student Body than SG Politics: ie. something we call ISSUES.
Now either O&B could play politics till the Spring Election, and the Fall Election after that, OR they could remember what they ran for: the fact they DO have a platform they want to accomplish. Now...I'm not saying that this whole "destroy the system" thing is not important. On the contrary, I think it's more important than almost any issue. But for NOW, those senators have a responsibility to the students that elected them.
Just because the minority saw an oppurtunity to actually have a voice does not mean they have given up on the cause. After all, what's a cause without a voice?
I think you need to apologize to Frank. Apologize to Sam. And if not, apologize to your readers for spending the last 6 months endlessly praising this party which according to you NOW, after 1 arguably necessary agreement, is the embodiement of the anti-christ.
Sure you don't care about the amount of readers you have. But then again, when else have you cared about anything but your own views and opinions? You call those leaders selfish?
Apologies are needed. That or a new blog.
Mr. Duque,
I signed onto this movement because I was sick of seeing our university's SG controlled by individuals who care nothing for the students and everything for themselves. There was a party that vowed to fight the system and take SG back for the students. Orange and Blue was that party.
Many of our Senators are freshmen or other first-time SG'ers who are not tainted by previous involvement in student government. They believe in the movement, or else they would not have walked into the slating room.
Saying that our party has sold out is an insult not to people like Sam, Frank, Mark, or Ben, but rather is an insult to all of the new faces that promised to do the right thing on Tuesday night. If you think that they will let the above-mentioned individuals corrupt the movement, then you are wrong and also should have more faith in the candidates that you were "so proud of" a few weeks prior.
We have not sold out. We will not sell out. The fine members of our party will never let us sell out.
Sincerely,
The Coatless
Who are you to question us?
Your time is over, we are building an independent majority.
Gator accepted our demands, when we get everything and give up nothing why should we refuse?
You are doing a good job convincing the tools that we will truly behave, just wait....the fact that you are freaking out shows how truly out of touch you really are, not to mention the fact that you have never even heard of my name that much i can guarentee.
The fact that you would dare throw McShera, Cavataro, and even Sam (he annoys me and is politically retarded on alot of levels but his dedication to the movement is unquestion) is beyond unacceptable.
It's insulting.
Duque, you sir are the turncoat, by betraying the first successful independent movement in years with no shred of evidence of any foulplay
4:14: I am Christian Duque to the 8th power.
Funny spinwork, classic Cruts-era: I never attacked "the new faces," I attacked the old guard making deals. "The New Faces" are far to honest and idealistic to crack within two measly days. If it were up to "the new faces," the momentum that saw O&B win 12 seats would not be extinguished by the selling out for a single senate seat (whose jeopardy rested on a frivolous case that would have been thrown out anyways).
With Jardon in their corner and PTI already weary of Gator (thanks in no small part to the recent scandal) -- Cavatero's fate was secure, as was his seat.
This deal has placed McShera has a member-at-large and this deal will continue to benefit the top echelons of the O&B leadership. This deal was not struck by, and will not benefit, "the new faces" you so desperately want to quickly turn away from my page.
3:36 you seem quite knowledgeable. Could you please discuss which of the two will hold the beads and which will be inserting? Thank you.
p.s.
3:36 Which movement is that? The one I've been advocating for three years that all of the aforementioned coatless have credited me with exploring? Or the movement your leader Frank Bracco just moments ago pronounced dead and a liability?
Which one love?
And 4:14....
Gator controls the Executive branch, they control the senate, they control the courts, they control BOCC, they control IFC/PC, and they have the backing of FBK.
From your writing and your naivety I can easily ascertain that you're an underclassmen and have spent far too long at the O&B Exec Water-Cooler::::you have bought into a fool's hype.
The People's Republic of Botswanna does not make demands of the United States of America. O&B does not make demands of Gator -- such a commentary is asinine.
You're villifying me for chastising traitors, meanwhile you yourself have absolutely no idea what in the hell you're saying.
With Jardon in their corner and PTI already weary of Gator (thanks in no small part to the recent scandal) -- Cavatero's fate was secure, as was his seat.
lol, im confused what pull you think jardon has with the administration, election commission, or the uf supreme court.
Jardon is a useless piece of shit, and no i am not the indie everyone will attribute this to (Joe), i am an indie thats been around long enough to know that the only thing Jardon has ever been good for is a check.
Sidebar: Frank Bracco is not an O&B leader
Duque,
Go Fuck Yourself
Thanks
I haven't seen or spoken to Tommy in ages, but I'm confident he'll make a fine attorney. Not too many parties have that kind of asset. With Access we needed to outsource like crazy to assemble counsel.
If Gator didn't control the supreme court then having a good lawyer would be a good way of assuring justice, however, do you not remember the famous online voting ruling,
"I voted nay because i live near horses and they say nay alot"
Yup im filled with confidence that Cavataro would have kept his seat
Duque,
I didnt realized you owned such a nice leather mask...you and sam really would get along well
Mr. Duque,
I am one of the freshman senators you addressed in your open letter, and I take great offense to your claims that the leaders of my party have sold out at the expense of our cause and the Independent movement as a whole. You evidently are all too aware of how SG politics have functioned before now, so you also must realize the potential for changing SG politics that O&B has at this juncture. Your letter surprised me, to say the least.
Is it unreasonable for O&B to gain a foothold on R&A and other committees if the opportunity arises? How will O&B move our cause forward if we are not proactive in our efforts to secure an effective level of representation in the various standing committees? Should we allow ourselves to be complacent, and thereby weaken our party's position within Senate -- and our chance at accomplishing items on the agenda on which we ran our campaign, and for which the student body will undoubtedly hold us accountable this Spring?
As a new senator this Fall who does not have any preconceptions of what can and cannot be accomplished, or by what means it can be accomplished, I apply basic reasoning and arrive at the following conclusions:
- O&B is a minority party, and in this election it encroached upon territory the majority party previously considered secure; O&B will not be given any positions of effective influence unless politics is utilized (and influence is needed to accomplish goals)
- Since O&B has threatened the status quo, everything will be done by those who wish to maintain it. If O&B is given just enough committee representation so that GP can make the case semester that they were bipartisan -- and then act partisan enough so that O&B has nothing to show for its efforts this Fall -- GP may be able to claim effectively that O&B is not productive. (Of course, this would be a smoke-screen tactic on GP's part, but that may not matter to some voters.)
- There are no O&B members or supporters presiding over SG judicial affairs -- which means that Cavataro surely would have been disqualified had O&B not brokered a deal with GP.
Having taken all of this into account, I believe that Sam, Ben, Mark, and the rest made the smartest decision at an opportune moment. Why would you admonish them for doing what is needed, when it can be done?
As for your accusation that O&B execs are acting only in their own interests, I am curious about who you believe should have been nominated for the R&A seat. Would it have been better to seat an inexperienced O&B senator instead -- or, better yet, a GP senator?
I admire your years of commitment to working against the System, but your accusation that O&B is now a part of the System is utterly ridiculous and is unfair to the many current O&B senators and the hopeful Independents who have come before us. You are not convincing any of us "new minds" by railing against those we have believed in from the beginning, without making a case that is based on anything other than a rant.
I look forward to your reply.
Christian Duque,
It seems to me that you are more obsessed with the idea of a group of rebels than an actual party--a maniac at best.
I'd also like to point out that I asked a history major if two days was a long time, and he said no, so you can add it to your pile of misrepresentation at best and a blatant lie at worst.
All the students I have talked to consider you completely insane, even those in step with the indie movement, and the fact that you are trying to convince Senators to betray their party loyalties immediately--before they are even settled in, would, at best, leave a third party, made up of new Senators, completely confused and unaware of the Senate.
I would also love to hear your justification for saying that the entire host of new Senators doesn't already know what their party is doing--I assure you they've all put in time volunteering and working hard, and deserve more respect that an letter you were too lazy to address individually to each senator--you were too lazy to even learn anything about these Senators beyond what you needed to know to shameless promulgate your own agenda.
Your actions are as absurd as those you expect others to take, so, at best, you aren't a hypocrite.
12:10 you take great offense?
FYI it's not been 1yr of blogging, it's been 3+ (add all the numbers on the side panel). And you're in no position to speak of what selling out is to an SG veteran. I bet the ink on your housing contract hasn't even dried yet.
Shut the fuck up for a second and scroll back the three years TR has been around and read about how sellouts come into play. THEN, compare it what the leaders of your party are getting.
I could care less if you're highly offended - welcome to public service, sheesh, I hope you don't highly offended at different ideas, you're going to be miserable in chambers. You're also an insolent, pretentious little snot. If we did a sit down interview...I doubt you'd ask me such things.
3:01 and you might be? Perhaps when you call people out, you'd write down your name? ------ No!!! LOL.
I paid my dues son. I was a senator and have been blogging for three long years. You want my justification -- how about you read my posts?
Ya see. No one is really going to disassociate, b/c you're all brainwashed little robots. You're all as loyal to O&B as the sad pledges that the Greeks recruit.
Arguing SG w/ you is both dull, frustrating, and rather time-consuming. You have no footing in the institution, virtually no grasp of Student Body Statutes, and you really don't have a clue about UF, how it operates, FBK, the intricacies of the IFC/PC/NPHC/MGC grip on day-to-day life, and CLEARLY, SURELY you have not a clue about SG Histroy (which spans back to the 1930's).
I said my piece and now I'm done. I believe after this post -- we will return to Comment Disabled.
TR is MY SITE, I say what I wanna say, when I wanna say it, and people will read -- even if you SCREECH!
You're fucking insane.
Christian, your response to what's going is a hyperbole at best.
If Voice 2001, which won just 1 seat and a pretty low popular vote in the Fall election, can get a seat on Budget (unheard of in my day for FBK to give up one of those)...
I don't think it's out of the question for O&B to get an R&A seat - just a bit surprising.
Why don't you give them some time before concluding so swiftly that they've sold out and will no longer be acting like an opposition party?
I'm going to reserve judgment on them, because they have the potential to win in the Spring if they know what they're doing (and they are already doing far better than you or I ever dreamed, much less managed).
Lol at all of the new O&B kids trying to state their cases.
1. There is no potential to change SG if O&B is outwardly dealing with the nepotism they vowed to abolish. How can you say you're going to stop backroom deals when you're doing them yourself?
2. O&B threatened no status quo. Jordan was just smarter than KLD. We all know her loss of control during the summer led to her political downfall. Jordan had the sense to throw scraps at O&B while in the end making himself look like the great uniter (read today's Alligator).
In the end, what have you accomplished, O&B? You sold out for a few committee seats. Yeah, you'll be able to voice your opinions on a committee, but you're still outnumbered, the GP can still do whatever the hell it wants. Having a committee seat does nothing but give you a vote, a vote that can be easily ignored. You had a cause when you could scream at the top of your lungs that GP was barring you from committees so you couldn't get any work done. Now you don't even have that.
Ken,
I could see where you'd categorize my assessment as hyperbole.
Question. How often does Sam Miorelli, Mark McShera, or the others send you insider info? From the look of your posts (and this isn't a slam), you don't write with any kind insider information - that might be because you have tried to separate yourself from SG blogging - what I plan on doing too.
I have a pretty clear frame of reference for being 3yrs out and on the other side of the map.
TR has also been a part of a few things in the last few months with notables in O&B; I've done a few errands, so with all due respect, you lack a great deal of background information to dismiss my commentaries as purely exaggeration.
Ken, do you also agree with these folks that there is no Independent movement? That to be an Independent is a liability?
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you also say that the deal for O&B was too cheap? That dealing with Gator for Cavatero's seat was to cheat the students?
Ken...please don't become the John Kerry of the blogging world. If you agree with these sellouts, then be their new guru, but if you agree with the tendency that Independents don't cave to the system, then stand with me, Gruskin, Grapski, straight down the line.
Please make up your mind.
I don't think anyone wants to stand with Grapski at the moment, since he is in the Alachua County jail.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081015/NEWS/810162913
Yeah, I didn't really want to cover that, but Bud Calderwood (a friend of mine & husband of fmr. Alachua Mayor Jean Calerwood) let me know yesterday.
Grapski going to jail is no laughing matter, i hope him all the best and hope he gets out of the trouble he is in quickly,
Grapski for all of his faults is a great person and helped out the O&B movement far more than even Grapski knows.
Good luck Charlie, hope to have another beer with you once your out
Charlie has always been there for the GDI's. Despite what Frank Bracco may believe, the independent movement has a pulse and is very much alive.
Sorry we can't compare to the Greeks or FBK, but was that ever the point? No.
Christian, R&A is Sunday night. Confirmations are Tuesday. Wait to see what O&B introduces after they get theirs to know if they're going to be playing nice this semester.
Honestly I still don't think JJ's going to live up to his end of the deal and politically, that may be the biggest godsend O&B gets this term.
You know...my love for the Independent movement runs deep. I've been calling for Miorelli & McShera to step up in Spring. And while many of these newly-elected senators are ready to go on the warpath against me, they're thinking more about defending their party than the logic of the caving.
I too am very militant about Access, but I was able to see when the Y&B Revolution went astray.
People don't respect false majorities, they don't respect titles, they don't respect "cooperation," they respect & value the persistence to carry on the fight for what's right.
If we went by Pedro Morales or Frank Bracco definition of standard, we'd only concern ourselves with the path that led to victory - hollow victory.
What's it worth to yell your lungs out at Orange & Brew if your victory was w/o merit? In Fall '08 the students had reason to scream to the top of their lungs for O&B, like those in Fall Impact '05 and Spring Access '04 had reason to.
I even encouraged dealings with BSU and smaller houses, but dealing directly with the FBK-backed Machine is a bum deal for O&B. The now silent Kerns also agreed with me. Any rational-minded Independent would agree as well.
Who is O&B to make demands? Who honestly believes that failed logic. Can O&B defeat Reilly's veto? No. Can O&B sway Reilly's courts? No. Can O&B defeat Reilly's leaders in Senate? No.
At this point, when O&B leaders fight, it will be construed by those of us with enough sense to QUESTION and not merely FOLLOW, that the bureaucrats want more pie.
O&B KICKED ASS THIS TERM! Then they got on their knees.
Of course Gator will betray them, if they fucked Sam Green, what makes you think they won't fuck Sam Miorelli?
All good things to those who WAIT, Christian. Could we be a little patient? Please? Just give O&B a chance to actually make some moves before you deride what you ASSUME their moves are? You aren't actively influencing the process so you're really wasting your time trying to predict the future with such imperfect information when you have any information at all.
Believe me! I know I'm not influencing the process. What you read is only the product of sincere disillusionment expressed over the same medium with which I professed my undying loyalty to a movement that I identified with being as pure the Spring 2004 Access Party.
You do realize it was Frank that introduced Dictor and the rest of SDS to Charlie right?
Christian, I'm not silent. I was never given the full details of the deal promised by both sides, so I never wanted to assume it was a good one or bad one.
There is always a danger that a short-term deal can have long-term costs. Especially if it splits O&B - the most successful of the singularly GDI parties since Vision (all the others had some variation of Greek or establishment support) - when O&B could easily be a fierce competitor to Gator in the Spring.
I wanted to hold off judgment before writing the situation off. The movement will live on - the question for me is whether O&B can steer it through the Spring with principles intact.
And to me, getting an extra seat on R&A and saving the Hume seat in exchange for agreeing to be less obnoxious is not a movement-killer.
But we'll see.
So what 9:35? Frank seems poised to live out on the best life for Frank, his comments on the Independent movement and his reluctance to align w/ O&B this term are pretty emblematic.
Judas was a stand-up guy too. I'm sure back in the day he was down with Luke 'n John and maybe even gave Paul a high-five or two, but then he betrayed Jesus.
Who cares Frank did in the past? He betrayed the Independent movement. Now I'm not suggesting he should go hang himself, but if he wants to sprint across University Avenue in black clothes at 2AM back and forth until a car hits him, then I mean what can I say?
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