Who here is up for a DemocraticUnderground trip to Aruba?

In response to The State Of Alabama's unanimous passing of "The Missing Pretty White Girl Exploitation Act", I have begun the initial steps of planning a DU Fundraiser trip to Aruba.

So far, here are my thoughts:

1) As far as possible, I will try and find a package that has been vetted against the BuyBlue.org list.

2) We need to find some charity to raise money for through this effort. Ideally, a memorial fund for a "Pretty Black Girl" in Alabama whose disappearance and/or murder has never been solved. Failing that, I propose either The Alabama Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center or simply for DemocraticUnderground.com .

So, please help me out with the following:

a) Answer the poll below about if/when you'd be interested in going
b) Offer ideas and suggestions
c) Research a suitable charity in Alabama we can raise money for-- something that is worthy, will piss-off the Alabama legislature, and raise awareness of the hypocrisy of their actions.


See related article:

Aruba asks if Bush supports Alabama's boycott

9 November 2005

AMSTERDAM — The government of Aruba wants US President George W. Bush to intervene to stop a tourist boycott of the autonomous Dutch island in the Caribbean.

Alabama governor Bob Riley called for a nationwide travel boycott of Aruba because he accuses the island authorities of not fully cooperating in the search for missing Alabama school graduate Natalee Holloway (18).

Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, joined Riley for the announcement of the boycott.
Riley asked his fellow governors to join him in urging the boycott of Aruba, CNN reported on Tuesday. "There are no other alternatives to get Aruban authorities to take this as seriously as they should," he said.

Holloway disappeared on 30 May while on holiday in Aruba with classmates. Extensive searches have failed to find her. The police think she was murdered.

More:
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=25174&name=Aruba+asks+if+Bush+supports+Alabama's+boycott+

I stupidly turned on the television last night in a futile attempt to find election coverage, and what was on all channels? Aruba! They have resurrected Aruba just in time to pull the cameras off stories of importance to voters. Good job, main stream media.

:-(

However, I cannot understand this fixation with Natalie Holloway. I am sorry about what happened to her, and sympathise with her family; but what about our young people being killed in Iraq? Don't they have families? Does the media care?

I think it is a great idea but I doubt I could make it. What fun for a good cause.

It would be nice to visit the "A" island. I have been to "B" and "C" and they are wonderful but different than Aruba.

Edit:I just voted other. If you plan it and I can get free at that time I will be there. I am sorry that is not a lot of help but I am kind of stuck here most of the next year or so.

I wonder how many missing women there are in Alabama right now, women who have been reported missing, prostitutes, runaways, etc.

I don't know what happened to her, but I know that at 18, she seems to have been unsupervised in a foreign party land. Was she drugged, then died? Don't know. Maybe we never will. But is Aruba to blame?

Some people say perhaps her parents know what happened, but they're enjoying the limelight so much that they did something crazy like dump her body back into the ocean so they could keep "searching."

Let's debate it in the media for eight weeks and let the public decide.

Folks are saying.

So I'll stay home.

"There are no other alternatives to get Aruban authorities to take this as seriously as they should," he said.

Does Governor Riley think anyone is stupid enough to believe that Aruba doesn't want to solve this case? Does Aruba want to stop all of the bad publicity?

Governor Riley should be urging Alabama's affluent residents to spend their money in Alabama. Then if there was any hanky-panky, Alabama's crack law enforcement would be the one's to solve the crime.

If not Alabama, at least in the USA. I know the tourist trade in Northern New York can always use a few extra bucks.

Mill Resort & Suites Aruba
http://millresort.com/







Lowest avg rate $158.00
2.0-star Palm Beach, Aruba
Virtual Tour Available


Family-style resort five minutes from Palm Beach
Styled like a colorful Dutch-Caribbean village, this casual resort offers complimentary shuttle service to popular and picturesque Palm Beach, 400 m (436 yds) ...
More lodging info



Sample itinerary:

Traveler and cost summary

Airfaire: 2 Adults $1,196.00
Taxes & Fees $195.94
Booking Fee $10.00
Total $1,401.94

Traveler and cost summary
Hotel: 2 adults Studio 2/17: $148.00 per night
2/18 - 2/19: $163.00 per night
Taxes & service fees $32.63 per night
Total $571.90


Total package: $1,767.9

1) The Mill is independently owned and operated. I could not find any political contributions made by its owners.

2) Expedia.com is a "blue" company.
http://www.buyblue.org/node/1180

3) United Arilines is "statistically neutral" (47% to 53%) in political donations.
http://www.buyblue.org/node/222/view/summary

Aruba looks very nice...

Aruba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Aruba is an island in the Caribbean Sea, just a short distance north of the Venezuelan Paraguaná Peninsula, and it forms a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, it has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism, however, as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather.



Politics

Main article: Politics of Aruba

Aruba maintains full control over its own affairs except for issues dealing with national defence, citizenship, foreign affairs, and extradition. As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Aruba has its own laws, constitution, government, and currency.

The Aruban Head of state is the ruling monarch of the Netherlands, who is represented in Aruba by a governor, appointed for a six-year term. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who forms, together with the Council of Ministers, the executive branch of the government.

They are elected by the parliament, the unicameral Legislature or Staten, which holds 21 seats. Members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruba

Here's what I think happened.

PWC picks up a coupla local guys in the bar, get 3/4 loaded with them, suggests they go to the beach.

They get to the beach, PWC says "Let's go SKINNYDIPPING!", dudes figure they're gonna get lucky.

Everybody's splashing around in the surf when suddenly one of the guys looks around and says "Where's the CHICK?"

"Oh, SHIT! She was here just a second ago!"

Just off the breaker line, a Shark burps.

That's what I think happened.
But then, I think the CIA kidnapped Chandra Levy and harvested her heart for Cheney's September Transplant, too. :tinfoilhat:

Related thread Holloway and Twitty families in Alabama: Republican donors
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5312044