Democratic Party: An Overview and Links to Key Web Sites

The national Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. It was founded back in 1828, making it the oldest political party in the U.S.

Politics is defined as the art or science of government. In other words, it encompasses a wide range of activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of governments and its use of its resources.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for overseeing and promoting Democratic campaign activities. This includes managing the process of writing the Democratic Party National Platform. The DNC also organizes and supervises the activities of the Democratic National Convention.

• Democratic National Committee (DNC)
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
• Young Democrats of America (YDA)
• Democratic Governors Association
• National Conference of Democratic Mayors
• National Federation of Democratic Women

The South Carolina (SC) Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the national Democratic Party. It is headquartered in Columbia, S.C.

The SC Democratic Party dominated state politics from 1880 through 1948. It was the 1948 Presidential Election that marked the beginning of the winds of political change in the state when Senator Strom Thurmond broke away from the national Democratic Party and ran for office as a State's Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrat) candidate. The shift in political climate continued with President Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This led to the current domination of the state's political landscape by the conservative Republican Party.

• SC Democratic Party - Web Site
• SC Democratic Party - Facebook Page

• SC Senate Democratic Caucus - Web Site

• SC House Democrats - Facebook Page
• SC House Democratic Caucus - Web Site
• SC Democratic Party Web Sites by County

The Clarendon County Democratic Party is the local county affiliate of the SC Democratic Party. Within the county, there are 26 precincts.

• Clarendon County Democratic Party - Facebook Page
• Senator Kevin Johnson - Web Site
• Senator Kevin Johnson - Facebook Page
• Representative Robert Ridgeway III - Web Site

2016 Democratic National Convention - The gathering at which delegates of the U.S. Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for President and Vice President of the United States of America. The convention will be held July 25–28, 2016, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

No matter what your political party affiliation, it's time to start getting ready for the next nation-wide elections. Pay attention to the candidates and their stance on the major issues facing the US. Also, check out the political platforms of both major parties.

* Visit America's Future: 2020-2050 web site to learn more about the political parties in the US.

AgriTourism - It's A Good Fit with 'Four Summerton'

The largest industry in South Carolina is agriculture. The second largest is tourism. Combine the two and what do you have? AgriTourism - which might be a perfect fit with 'Four Summerton'.

Agritourism offers a way to supplement a farm income and while also helping consumers become more aware of the contributions agriculture makes to their region. It is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry.

Some examples of Agritourism activities include:

• Tours of local vinyards and wineries
• Festivals celebrating regional foods
• Road side stands selling local produce
• Setting up local Farmers Markets
• Self-harvesting farms , e.g. strawberry's, blueberries...
• Farms offering hay rides, corn mazes...
• Dining on regional cuisine and local produce
• Bed & Breakfast (B&B) Stays on Farms and Ranches
• Feeding, riding and interacting with farm animals
• Holding weddings in rural settings
• Private fishing ponds for visitors
• Touring historic farms or plantations

People have become more interested in how their food is produced. They want to meet farmers and processors and talk with them about what goes into food production. For many people who visit farms, especially children, the visit marks the first time they see the source of the food they eat.

It seems like Agritourism is a good fit 'Four Summerton'. The question is - what do we do next? The town and owners of surrounding farms need to work together to grow this local industry. Where do we start? With a local farmers market in downtown Summerton? Participating in SC Agritouism programs and associations? Joining the SC Ag & Art Tour?Agritourism marketing? Signage programs? Web sites? Social media...

To help keep things rolling, check out the following AgriTourism links:

• AgMRC & Agritourism
• AgriTourism World
• Farm Stay USA
• Manning SC: Farmers Market
• SC Association of Farmers Markets
• SC Department of Agriculture - Agritourism Division
• SC Ag & Art Tour
• SC Farm Bureau YouTube Video on Agritourism

Finally, AgriTourism is a close cousin to EcoTourism. See Summerton SC: Nature & Outdoor Recreation web site to learn more about this emerging industry that is also a perfect fit 'For Summerton'.

Hopefully, y'all are paying attention to the renovation and use of #4 Main Street in downtown Summerton - that's 'Four Summerton'.

Local Clarendon County Football Teams and Upcoming Schedules - August 2015

The following are links to the upcoming 2015 Football schedule, roster, and stats for Summerton and other local high schools across Clarendon County, SC:

• Clarendon Hall Saints
• East Clarendon High School Wolverines
• Laurence Manning Academy Swampcats
• Manning High School Monarchs
• Scott's Branch High School Eagles

Looks like an exciting season ahead. The first game for some of the teams start August 21, 2015.

* Check out MAXPREPS, a CBSSports.com web site for team standings and more complete statistics across the state.

'Open' Government Software Tools and Web Sites for South Carolina

Think of all the things state and local governments do today. They collect water bills, run public libraries, manage court systems, operate police department, field emergency response teams, provide public health services, fix roads, and so much more.

Collaborative development efforts to create innovative, free and 'open source' software (FOSS) tools, applications, and other solutions for use by governments at all levels are well underway. These innovative 'Open Government' solutions are being released under one or more open source license arrangements that allow both public and private institutions to acquire and use these tools at little or no cost. This has tremendous potential consequences for government organizations around the world that face funding challenges.

The following are just a few selected 'Open' Government web sites, software tools, and mobile apps South Carolina officials and citizens should seriously consider exploring:

'OpenGov' Web Sites

Cities.Data.Gov Code For America COSI 'Open' Government Civic Commons GeoPlatform.Gov

'OpenGov' Software

Evergreen and Koha - Public Library Software FEIS, , NIFTT, NEXUS, WFAS - Fire Fighting Software OpenISES - Emergency Services Open Justice Broker Sahana Disaster Response Tools

Generic 'Open Source' Software & Tools

Apache Software Drupal Fedora Java GIMP GeoServer JBOSS

Libre Office Linux Mozilla & Firefox MySQL OpenNMS Open Office Ushahidi

Mobile Apps

Android Government Apps NASCIO State Government Apps SC.Gov Mobile Apps USA.Gov Mobile Apps

* Other potential free and open source software solutions (FOSS) for state and local governments to use can be found on COSI Open Education, COSI Open Health, and other COSI Open Solutions web sites. You might also want to check out TED Talks: On Innovation & the Power of Cities

If you have other 'Open' Government web sites or software tools you would recommend, please share the links to them with our readers.

* Check out the Summerton SC: 'Open' Technology web site.

Free Online Systems for Healthcare Consumers in South Carolina

Need to enroll in Medicare or Medicaid? A family member has cancer? Looking for a good, affordable hospital near you? Looking up treatment for a particular disease?

Healthcare consumers today ought to be taking advantage of the many free, online health information web sites and tools that are now available. Unfortunately, many people still don't know what online resources are available.

What are some of the best free and online health information web sites that you ought to consider checking out? The following list consists of just a few selected federal, state, and non-government web sites that you might find useful:

South Carolina Health Information Web Sites

• SC Department of Health & Human Services

• SC Department of Health & Environmental Control

• SC Healthy Connections Prime
• SC Hospital Price Point - Compare prices by SC Hospitals
• MySC Hospital - Compare quality and safety of SC Hospitals 
• Open Health for SC
  

Federal Government Health Information Web Sites

• Cancer.Gov
• FoodSafety.Gov
• HealthCare.Gov
• HealthFinder.Gov
• NLM MedLine Plus
• Nutrition.Gov
• US Department of Health & Human Services
• Veterans Health Administration 
  

  • My HealtheVet
• WomensHealth.Gov

Non-Government Organization (NGO) Web Sites

• AAFP FamilyDoctor
• Healthy.Net
• MS HealthVault
• WebMD

If you have another favourite free and online Health Information web site you would like to recommend, please share the link with our readers.

* Also, check out the Summerton SC: 'Open' Technology web site.