Still Fighting

Activism

Purchase Fahrenheit 9/11. Why? Because he's planning on making a sequel, and it's going to need support. You may not be too fond of Michael Moore, but there's no debating that his movie helped motivate the media to finally ask questions about the war in Iraq.

News

One of the most under-the-radar stories to happen over the last few months is the appointment of Porter J. Goss to CIA Director. John E. McLaughlin, the Deputy Director of the CIA, resigned on Friday, citing massive confrontations with some of Goss's newly hired staff. What's worse, he doesn't appear to be the last one to leave.

High Achievers Leaving Schools Behind. How's that No Child Left Behind thing working out? It's not. Just ask our soon-to-be former Secretary of Education, Rod Paige.

Hush Up Now. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wants Democrats to lay off the filibuster, in terms of federal court nominees. Frist actually called juducial filibusters "nothing less than a formula for tyranny by the minority." Apparently, we're supposed to forget that in 1995, Republicans filibustered Bill Clinton's nomination of Henry Foster to the position of Surgeon General because he had admitted to performing abortions in the past.

Editorials

Frank Rich explains why Republicans taking the "moral values" road is hypocrisy, and a victory for Democrats.

On Tuesday, November 2nd, there was a lot of talk about exit polls, which showed Kerry doing very well, especially in swing states. In fact, based on exit polls, the Kerry camp was popping champagne at 4 in the afternoon. So why was everyone wrong? Steven Freeman, at the University of Pennsylvania, explains what exit polls are, and that they were wrong, but that we still don't know why.

Peter Beinart is the editor of The New Republic, and has a very interesting editorial up about how liberals and conservatives see voting differently.

Television

Last Letters Home. If you have HBO, you owe it to yourself to watch this documentary. It chronicles the stories of ten soldiers who died in Iraq, as told through the letters they wrote home, which are read by their surviving family members.

George W. Bush Quote of the Day

"In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn't serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences."
- NBC's "Meet the Press", Febraury 8, 2004

Timing

We've decided that we're going to try and post links by noon each day. This means that we might miss some of the early morning news and not post it until the next day. We're hoping this isn't a big deal, as anyone can just go to CNN or MSNBC if they want the latest headlines. So, we might be a day or two behind the release of some articles, but it allows us more flexibility to post the most valuable articles we can find. If that's problematic, please let us know.

Comments

Please use the comments section - we think it's a good way to start discussion, even if it's to point out articles you liked that we posted, or other articles that might be related. To post a comment, just click on the "X comments" link below the post. You shouldn't need an account to post, although if you do post anonymously, we hope you'll sign your post.

Feedback

We've gotten some great feedback and suggestions from people so far, but given the number of hits we're getting compared to the number of emails we've gotten, we know there are some of you out there who haven't let us know what you think. We really value your opinion and would love to hear what you think. Please mail us (dbb817@hotmail.com, madhatternalice2@comcast.net) with your input. Thanks!

Don't fret - Friday's Links are just below this post.

Activism

Drinking Liberally. They just added a DC chapter. Have fun and get involved! (Thanks to Mike Brauwerman for the link.)

News

Thanks to Neil A. Lewis for helping us to remember the little things. Like those hundreds of detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay. Federal Judge James Robertson ruled that Bush "overstepped his bounds." It'd be nice if this was a little more widely reported.

Send in the Drills. President Bush turns his energy agenda towards Alaska, and now has his best bet yet to start drilling for oil in a wildlife preserve. Bet Alaskans are mad they voted for him, eh?

The Democrats now realize that their lack of a voice on faith and "moral values" issues played a big hand in the last election. But did you know that not all church groups are on the right? This Associated Press piece will help fill in the blanks. If you think this isn't that big of an issue, you'd be well served to read this.

Editorials

Travesty of Justice. In honor of John Ashcroft's resignation, we post a classic Krugman article describing him as the "worst attorney general in history". It's important not to forget how reprehensible he was.

It's never too soon to think about retirement. Both The New Yorker and The New Republic (free subscription required) challenge you to do so. Are you happy with the President's plan for Social Security? The next time someone mentions "privatization", we hope you'll challenge them to think about the real implications of this ill-conceived policy.

Many have you have already responded to our message about this blog and have expressed your support. For that, we are very appreciative. Some of you have asked what the purpose of this blog is, and rightly so. We were deliberately vague, and to be honest, we're still not quite sure what will come of this, but at the very least, we thought we'd share some of our ideas for the future of this online community.

As some of you have noted, there are plenty of other political blogs out there. Most of our favorites are linked to on the left. We don't intend to be just one more blog to throw on the pile - our intents are much more towards fostering activism, rather than just reporting or pontificating.

From talking to our friends and family, we have sensed a great amount of resolve and determination to do something about the way this country is heading. We certainly feel that making change is very important, and we've grown tired of sitting on our hands. But, like many of you, we're not quite sure what is the best way to get involved. Certainly, at this point it time, the Democratic Party is in disarray and regrouping. That's understanding, but our opponents are relentless, and we don't have a whole lot of time to catch our breath.

We've sensed that many people are looking for a way to make a difference. We feel that one of the first steps is to get informed. This is critical for many reasons, but chief among them is empowerment. If you're aware of what's going on in the world, and if you're united with a community of like-minded supporters, you're going to be more confident in your actions. You're going to be more assertive in your beliefs. You're going to be more proactive and more energetic and more capable of making a difference. So, at the most basic level, that's the point of this blog - keep you informed of what's going on in the world, and how people are being affected.

Beyond that, once the "regrouping" process starts, we'd like our posts to trend towards activism. We get the impression that many people don't know where to start to get involved, and we can't blame you for that. That's why we feel this online community will be a perfect place for us to solicit ideas and present solutions, instead of just bemoaning problems. We hope that you will provide ideas and support, and that as time goes on, we'll develop a whole reservoir of ways for us to make a difference.

We're really under no delusions of grandeur - we're just a small group of people looking to make a difference. But you know all of those cliches about journey of many steps and drops of water in a lake; we don't need to repeat them here. We're kind of hoping this blog will generate a ripple effect - this community will inspire and motivate people to take the fate of their country into their own hands, and in turn, they'll motivate those around them to make a difference, and slowly, but surely, we'll start making change for the better.

You won't see a whole lot of political commentary written by us here. As we said earlier, there are plenty of great blogs and websites by people far better at it than us. You also won't find mindless links from writers/columnists spouting "Bush is terrible!" The daily links we'll provide to you are designed to inform and bring to light some things you may not have realized were going on.

We know that there's a ton of positive energy and enthusiasm out there, and we also know that we can't accomplish much without your help. We hope that you'll present your ideas and plans and solutions an strategies, and help empower us and everyone else. If we start to stray off course - becoming too shrill or too negative, for example - then we're going to count on you to bring us back on track. We want to be a positive force for activism and change, and we expect to still be fighting for a long time, as long as we have your help.

News

Howard Dean considers DNC bid. He may be just what we need - direct, honest, outspoken, and uncompromising. Here's one place to let your opinion be known if you agree. If not, let the DNC know as well!

Democrats skeptical of Bush's conciliatory tone. Well, I should hope so! What are they, idiots? Wait, don't answer that.

Culture Wars: Winning the 'Values' Vote. This may or may not be an accurate assessment, but the mere fact that it might be true should scare the crap out of us.

Editorials

Bully Pulpit, by Jane Malanowski. A new book about Tom DeLay reveals the depth of his corruption, and it ain't pretty. DeLay is definitely one of the bad guys, and needs to be stopped.

Moderates, Not Moralists, by E.J. Dionne Jr. An interesting and different take on why the election was lost. Maybe his argument has some merit.

Facing Iran, With Europe. Hey, the Washington Post is a good one today, ok? Bush working WITH other countries? Riiiiight...

News

Battle for Falluja under way. Martial law in place. This might be the biggest battle since Vietnam. We probably won't hit the January target for elections. It'd be nice to issue a big "We told you so" to Bush supporters if the whole situation wasn't so sad in the first place.

Analysis Call Outlook for Bush Plan Bleak, Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post. Too much deficit, not enough revenue. Well, there's a surprise!

Editorials

Blue in a Red America, Dan Kennedy. A nice summary of how some of us are feeling post-election.

No Surrender, Paul Krugman. What do we do after the election? Krugman's got some good ideas. Too bad he's going on vacation.

When the Personal Shouldn't Be Political, Gary Hart. A quite reasonable analysis of religion in politics, from a religious man himself.

Post Election Strategy Memo, Part Two, Chris Bowers. If you've got the time, this is a great read, along with a lot of the comments below the article. Bowers hits the nail on the head with how to fight the "values" war.

Hello, everyone. We are starting this blog as a way of fighting against the Republican administration and the increasing conservatism that is gripping and slowly tearing apart America. The 2000 election showed us how our country has become more polarized, and how the Republican machine will stoop to any level to assure themselves of victory. The 2004 election was a stark wake-up call to us that not only are conservative ideals taking root in the government, but that they are slowly permeating American life, and it's going to take real strength and action to fight them. We need to return this country to upholding its high standards of truth, democracy, freedom, and reason. In the past few years, we have taken a sharp turn away from these principles, with President Bush at the helm, and both America and the world are worse off for it. We can work to fix these problems, but it's going to be a long, arduous road.

We believe that the first step is to get informed. We're hoping that this blog will help us all do that - it's tough to keep track of the extent of the deception and manipulation going on by the right-wing, but it's important to try, so that we know what we're up against. We guarantee that it's only going to make you more outraged, and we're hoping that you'll channel that anger, and help us to channel ours. We're not quite sure what the best political action is right now. We only know that in order to make a difference, we're going to have to get involved, and stay involved. We're asking for your help.

Please bookmark this site, and share it with other concerned and resolved Americans. For our part, we will try to add links everyday to the most interesting, insightful, and inspiring political commentary that we can find. We don't aspire to be political commentators ourselves - there are many, many other people out there who do it better than we can hope to. But we do aspire to be an online community where our friends and family (and their friends and family) can become more active. We hope that you will help us by using the comments to suggest newsworthy links, as well as contributing ideas about how we can all get involved to turn things around.

We're asking that you come back and check this page every couple of days, and read the links, and hopefully comment. Additionally, on the left of the page, you'll find some permanent links that we've provided. We hope that you will check those out as well. You might need to get a couple free internet accounts to view some of the links (like Washington Post, New York Times, etc.), and we believe you'll find it worth the effort. Finally, if you're really motivated, we'd like to have you help us run the blog, because it ain't gonna write itself! Please let us know if you're willing to help.

Still fighting,

Dave and Kevin