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December 29, 2005
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Thursday's Links
Activism
Common Ground - Common Sense is an internet "town hall," with message threads for just about any issue you can think of. Too often we talk about things here that you may not care about, or not know enough about. Reading through some of the posts here, you can get a much better idea of why these issues affect you, directly or indirectly. You don't need to create a registration to read what's been posted - just to comment, if you so choose.
News
On Tuesday, we talked about the U.N. took America to task for being "stingy" in its reponse to the tsunami disaster in South Asia. Although this quote turned out to be a fabrication (see Editorial #1, below), it turns out that others have pointed the finger at the administration, and so the U.S. has doubled their relief money, as well as dispatching military assets to the Indian Ocean region. We wish we could applaud the administration for their aid, but that applause is tempered by the initial lack of commitment. If this administration truly wants to be the "shining example" to the rest of the world that they claim to be, they need to realize that it's not about the size of your military, it's about how you help other countries in need. Now, if we could just get them to realize that there's a little trouble in Sudan...
The Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage: S.F. can't challenge 'mental disorder' argument". This article is poorly written, but once you decipher it, it's quite upsetting. The constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage is coming to trial, pitting the Attorney General Bill Lockyer versus the city of San Francisco. The judge, Richard Kramer, has allowed Lockyer statements from people who think homosexuality is a mental disorder, people who claim studies show children need two opposite-sex parents, as well as people who try to "transform" homosexuals to heterosexuals. Ok, so what's wrong with accepting statements from bigots? Well, the judge is NOT accepting studies that counter these ridiculous assertions, stating that he doesn't want to get into "factual disputes". That's right - where's the room for facts in our legal system?
Democrats take control of Montana. This is great news for Democrats, not only because they now have the majority in the both state houses of legislature, as well as the governorship, but because, in 2004, Montana voted 59% for Bush. Montana is also being looked at as a pivotal swing state in 2008, and this can only help Democrats.
Editorials
Snookered In. Hey, we never claimed to be perfect. But our link on Tuesday, discussing the U.N. member calling this administration's relief efforts "stingy" turned out to be pure fabrication. Bill Sammon, writer for the Washington Times, fabricated a story based on a quote not intended to be referred to the U.S. The Wall Street Journal also took a stab at twisting quotes. The sad thing is, there won't be any repercussions from this. Sammon has been writing like this for years, and his paper is very conservative, so chances are his readers won't even care.
European Road Show. Still Fighting favorite Howard Dean, in his weekly column, explains how and why, thanks to the ineptitude of our current administration, Europe has taken over the sobriquet of "champion of Western Values."
Charter This! Amy Stuart Wells on why, even though all the evidence points to charter schools not working, we don't need to throw away the idea yet. As much as we dislike the notion of charter schools, we have to agree with her.
|
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Wednesday's Links
Activism
American Rights at Work fights for the rights of the American Worker. Click here to send a letter to President Bush, encouraging him to do more to protect workers' rights.
News
Mississippi: Window into future of abortion debate. If this is the future of the abortion debate, it scares us senseless. There's only one abortion clinic in Mississippi, and look at the results: Less recorded abortions, for sure, but how's the state doing overall? Well, we found the 2003 Ranking for the "Most Livable State", an index that takes into account crime rate, cost of living rates, teenage birth rate, infant mortality, divorce rate, poverty rate, and a number of other factors. We'll give you three guesses where Mississippi falls in the rankings, and the first two don't count. Did you say #50? Bingo! Woe unto us if all of America becomes like Mississippi.
Republicans divided on immigration issues. The President's plan actually would make it a bit easier for undocumented workers to gain citizenship. Some Republican leaders think this is a bad idea. Given that Bush no longer needs the Latino vote, something tells us that this is one of his proposals that's going to get "compromised".
Government corruption cases increase. This isn't a Republican or Democrat problem. It's a problem with us, the voters. We need to hold our elected officials to higher moral standards. Shouldn't the cream, not the scum, rise to the top? You might argue that the increased number of cases mean that we are raising our standards, but it certainly doesn't seem that way recently.
Editorials
Misrepresenting MLK on Gay Rights. Remember that hideous insert in the Washington Post a while ago that sought to divide gays and blacks? Remember a couple weeks ago when King's daughter led an anti-gay marriage march that began at King's gravesite? Well, Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes a fantastic article explaining exactly why Martin Luther King would have been for gay rights, not against them. This is a must read.
Reporting at Risk. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. (That Kerry guy just isn't doing it for us anymore.) Here, he writes about an issue that should concern all of us: The increase in federal subpoenas of reporters that are refusing to reveal their confidential sources. If employees are no longer able to report problems and be guaranteed anonymity, what little corporate accountability we might have now may soon disappear.
Iraq 2004 Looks Like Vietnam 1966 - Adjusting body counts for medical and military changes. Upon getting into this war, some people tried to compare it to Vietnam, and were roundly shouted down as doomsayers. While there is no joy in this, more and more it's looking like they were right. We have no exit strategy, we have no concrete goal, and we have no effective plan for dealing with the insurgency. More troops might help, but still likely won't be enough. It's actually just a total failure of leadership, and the way out is very unclear. But at least we're not losing as many lives as in Vietnam, right? Well, aside from the fact that the war is far from over, Phillip Carter and Owen West provide an analysis that concludes that the intensity of battle on the ground matches that of previous American wars.
|
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Sunday's Links
Activism
One of the best ways for you to get involved with the Democratic Party, and keep tabs on what's being done (well, aside from reading us every day), is to join MoveOn.org. You'll get email updates, as well as information for things going on locally.
News
The Dust Settles. The state court has authorized the ballots that were thrown out initially, and another recount is not allowed, so it looks like Democrat Christine Gregoire will win the governor's seat in Washington by 120 votes. This is directly thanks to democratic supporters, whose enthusiasm, donations and support made the recounts possible, and gave the candidate with the most votes the win. The state should certify the vote next week.
Although we acknowledge that the political situation in Iraq is different than most, it seems strange to "guarantee" a specific portion of the population representation in the government, but that's exactly what this administration wants for the Sunnis. The situation appears very complex, as many top Sunnis won't run, because it would require them to renounce their affiliation with the Baath party. As the January 30th election draws closer, we can expect to hear more about this.
More Guantanamo Prison current and former detainees are alleging abuse, and their stories are seemingly corroborated with the FBI memos released by the ACLU last week. Should these allegations turn out to be true (and it's looking more and more likely), this administration will have shown that, despite it's lofty spoken ideals, they don't believe in due process, they don't hold much stock in the Geneva protocols, and that they just generally don't care. We wonder how Bush would react if the situation were reversed.
Editorials
Richard Cohen reminds us that, even though reporters tend to de-humanize the subjects of their writings, and turn them into "caricatures," they are still human beings. His example is George Tenet, and makes for a fun read.
The Boston Globe makes a great case on why the Senate should press new Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to create a new branch of DHHS, designed to review prescription drugs after they are on the market. Don't you want to know what could be wrong with the things you're taking?
Harry Reid is not Boring. Chris Suellentrop with what you should know about new Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Besides, have you inspired a Martin Scorsese film character?
|
December 29, 2005
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Thursday's Links
Activism
Common Ground - Common Sense is an internet "town hall," with message threads for just about any issue you can think of. Too often we talk about things here that you may not care about, or not know enough about. Reading through some of the posts here, you can get a much better idea of why these issues affect you, directly or indirectly. You don't need to create a registration to read what's been posted - just to comment, if you so choose.
News
On Tuesday, we talked about the U.N. took America to task for being "stingy" in its reponse to the tsunami disaster in South Asia. Although this quote turned out to be a fabrication (see Editorial #1, below), it turns out that others have pointed the finger at the administration, and so the U.S. has doubled their relief money, as well as dispatching military assets to the Indian Ocean region. We wish we could applaud the administration for their aid, but that applause is tempered by the initial lack of commitment. If this administration truly wants to be the "shining example" to the rest of the world that they claim to be, they need to realize that it's not about the size of your military, it's about how you help other countries in need. Now, if we could just get them to realize that there's a little trouble in Sudan...
The Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage: S.F. can't challenge 'mental disorder' argument". This article is poorly written, but once you decipher it, it's quite upsetting. The constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage is coming to trial, pitting the Attorney General Bill Lockyer versus the city of San Francisco. The judge, Richard Kramer, has allowed Lockyer statements from people who think homosexuality is a mental disorder, people who claim studies show children need two opposite-sex parents, as well as people who try to "transform" homosexuals to heterosexuals. Ok, so what's wrong with accepting statements from bigots? Well, the judge is NOT accepting studies that counter these ridiculous assertions, stating that he doesn't want to get into "factual disputes". That's right - where's the room for facts in our legal system?
Democrats take control of Montana. This is great news for Democrats, not only because they now have the majority in the both state houses of legislature, as well as the governorship, but because, in 2004, Montana voted 59% for Bush. Montana is also being looked at as a pivotal swing state in 2008, and this can only help Democrats.
Editorials
Snookered In. Hey, we never claimed to be perfect. But our link on Tuesday, discussing the U.N. member calling this administration's relief efforts "stingy" turned out to be pure fabrication. Bill Sammon, writer for the Washington Times, fabricated a story based on a quote not intended to be referred to the U.S. The Wall Street Journal also took a stab at twisting quotes. The sad thing is, there won't be any repercussions from this. Sammon has been writing like this for years, and his paper is very conservative, so chances are his readers won't even care.
European Road Show. Still Fighting favorite Howard Dean, in his weekly column, explains how and why, thanks to the ineptitude of our current administration, Europe has taken over the sobriquet of "champion of Western Values."
Charter This! Amy Stuart Wells on why, even though all the evidence points to charter schools not working, we don't need to throw away the idea yet. As much as we dislike the notion of charter schools, we have to agree with her.
|
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Wednesday's Links
Activism
American Rights at Work fights for the rights of the American Worker. Click here to send a letter to President Bush, encouraging him to do more to protect workers' rights.
News
Mississippi: Window into future of abortion debate. If this is the future of the abortion debate, it scares us senseless. There's only one abortion clinic in Mississippi, and look at the results: Less recorded abortions, for sure, but how's the state doing overall? Well, we found the 2003 Ranking for the "Most Livable State", an index that takes into account crime rate, cost of living rates, teenage birth rate, infant mortality, divorce rate, poverty rate, and a number of other factors. We'll give you three guesses where Mississippi falls in the rankings, and the first two don't count. Did you say #50? Bingo! Woe unto us if all of America becomes like Mississippi.
Republicans divided on immigration issues. The President's plan actually would make it a bit easier for undocumented workers to gain citizenship. Some Republican leaders think this is a bad idea. Given that Bush no longer needs the Latino vote, something tells us that this is one of his proposals that's going to get "compromised".
Government corruption cases increase. This isn't a Republican or Democrat problem. It's a problem with us, the voters. We need to hold our elected officials to higher moral standards. Shouldn't the cream, not the scum, rise to the top? You might argue that the increased number of cases mean that we are raising our standards, but it certainly doesn't seem that way recently.
Editorials
Misrepresenting MLK on Gay Rights. Remember that hideous insert in the Washington Post a while ago that sought to divide gays and blacks? Remember a couple weeks ago when King's daughter led an anti-gay marriage march that began at King's gravesite? Well, Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes a fantastic article explaining exactly why Martin Luther King would have been for gay rights, not against them. This is a must read.
Reporting at Risk. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. (That Kerry guy just isn't doing it for us anymore.) Here, he writes about an issue that should concern all of us: The increase in federal subpoenas of reporters that are refusing to reveal their confidential sources. If employees are no longer able to report problems and be guaranteed anonymity, what little corporate accountability we might have now may soon disappear.
Iraq 2004 Looks Like Vietnam 1966 - Adjusting body counts for medical and military changes. Upon getting into this war, some people tried to compare it to Vietnam, and were roundly shouted down as doomsayers. While there is no joy in this, more and more it's looking like they were right. We have no exit strategy, we have no concrete goal, and we have no effective plan for dealing with the insurgency. More troops might help, but still likely won't be enough. It's actually just a total failure of leadership, and the way out is very unclear. But at least we're not losing as many lives as in Vietnam, right? Well, aside from the fact that the war is far from over, Phillip Carter and Owen West provide an analysis that concludes that the intensity of battle on the ground matches that of previous American wars.
|
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Sunday's Links
Activism
One of the best ways for you to get involved with the Democratic Party, and keep tabs on what's being done (well, aside from reading us every day), is to join MoveOn.org. You'll get email updates, as well as information for things going on locally.
News
The Dust Settles. The state court has authorized the ballots that were thrown out initially, and another recount is not allowed, so it looks like Democrat Christine Gregoire will win the governor's seat in Washington by 120 votes. This is directly thanks to democratic supporters, whose enthusiasm, donations and support made the recounts possible, and gave the candidate with the most votes the win. The state should certify the vote next week.
Although we acknowledge that the political situation in Iraq is different than most, it seems strange to "guarantee" a specific portion of the population representation in the government, but that's exactly what this administration wants for the Sunnis. The situation appears very complex, as many top Sunnis won't run, because it would require them to renounce their affiliation with the Baath party. As the January 30th election draws closer, we can expect to hear more about this.
More Guantanamo Prison current and former detainees are alleging abuse, and their stories are seemingly corroborated with the FBI memos released by the ACLU last week. Should these allegations turn out to be true (and it's looking more and more likely), this administration will have shown that, despite it's lofty spoken ideals, they don't believe in due process, they don't hold much stock in the Geneva protocols, and that they just generally don't care. We wonder how Bush would react if the situation were reversed.
Editorials
Richard Cohen reminds us that, even though reporters tend to de-humanize the subjects of their writings, and turn them into "caricatures," they are still human beings. His example is George Tenet, and makes for a fun read.
The Boston Globe makes a great case on why the Senate should press new Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to create a new branch of DHHS, designed to review prescription drugs after they are on the market. Don't you want to know what could be wrong with the things you're taking?
Harry Reid is not Boring. Chris Suellentrop with what you should know about new Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Besides, have you inspired a Martin Scorsese film character?
|
December 29, 2005
Common Ground - Common Sense is an internet "town hall," with message threads for just about any issue you can think of. Too often we talk about things here that you may not care about, or not know enough about. Reading through some of the posts here, you can get a much better idea of why these issues affect you, directly or indirectly. You don't need to create a registration to read what's been posted - just to comment, if you so choose.
News
On Tuesday, we talked about the U.N. took America to task for being "stingy" in its reponse to the tsunami disaster in South Asia. Although this quote turned out to be a fabrication (see Editorial #1, below), it turns out that others have pointed the finger at the administration, and so the U.S. has doubled their relief money, as well as dispatching military assets to the Indian Ocean region. We wish we could applaud the administration for their aid, but that applause is tempered by the initial lack of commitment. If this administration truly wants to be the "shining example" to the rest of the world that they claim to be, they need to realize that it's not about the size of your military, it's about how you help other countries in need. Now, if we could just get them to realize that there's a little trouble in Sudan...
The Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage: S.F. can't challenge 'mental disorder' argument". This article is poorly written, but once you decipher it, it's quite upsetting. The constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage is coming to trial, pitting the Attorney General Bill Lockyer versus the city of San Francisco. The judge, Richard Kramer, has allowed Lockyer statements from people who think homosexuality is a mental disorder, people who claim studies show children need two opposite-sex parents, as well as people who try to "transform" homosexuals to heterosexuals. Ok, so what's wrong with accepting statements from bigots? Well, the judge is NOT accepting studies that counter these ridiculous assertions, stating that he doesn't want to get into "factual disputes". That's right - where's the room for facts in our legal system?
Democrats take control of Montana. This is great news for Democrats, not only because they now have the majority in the both state houses of legislature, as well as the governorship, but because, in 2004, Montana voted 59% for Bush. Montana is also being looked at as a pivotal swing state in 2008, and this can only help Democrats.
Editorials
Snookered In. Hey, we never claimed to be perfect. But our link on Tuesday, discussing the U.N. member calling this administration's relief efforts "stingy" turned out to be pure fabrication. Bill Sammon, writer for the Washington Times, fabricated a story based on a quote not intended to be referred to the U.S. The Wall Street Journal also took a stab at twisting quotes. The sad thing is, there won't be any repercussions from this. Sammon has been writing like this for years, and his paper is very conservative, so chances are his readers won't even care.
European Road Show. Still Fighting favorite Howard Dean, in his weekly column, explains how and why, thanks to the ineptitude of our current administration, Europe has taken over the sobriquet of "champion of Western Values."
Charter This! Amy Stuart Wells on why, even though all the evidence points to charter schools not working, we don't need to throw away the idea yet. As much as we dislike the notion of charter schools, we have to agree with her.
American Rights at Work fights for the rights of the American Worker. Click here to send a letter to President Bush, encouraging him to do more to protect workers' rights.
News
Mississippi: Window into future of abortion debate. If this is the future of the abortion debate, it scares us senseless. There's only one abortion clinic in Mississippi, and look at the results: Less recorded abortions, for sure, but how's the state doing overall? Well, we found the 2003 Ranking for the "Most Livable State", an index that takes into account crime rate, cost of living rates, teenage birth rate, infant mortality, divorce rate, poverty rate, and a number of other factors. We'll give you three guesses where Mississippi falls in the rankings, and the first two don't count. Did you say #50? Bingo! Woe unto us if all of America becomes like Mississippi.
Republicans divided on immigration issues. The President's plan actually would make it a bit easier for undocumented workers to gain citizenship. Some Republican leaders think this is a bad idea. Given that Bush no longer needs the Latino vote, something tells us that this is one of his proposals that's going to get "compromised".
Government corruption cases increase. This isn't a Republican or Democrat problem. It's a problem with us, the voters. We need to hold our elected officials to higher moral standards. Shouldn't the cream, not the scum, rise to the top? You might argue that the increased number of cases mean that we are raising our standards, but it certainly doesn't seem that way recently.
Editorials
Misrepresenting MLK on Gay Rights. Remember that hideous insert in the Washington Post a while ago that sought to divide gays and blacks? Remember a couple weeks ago when King's daughter led an anti-gay marriage march that began at King's gravesite? Well, Earl Ofari Hutchinson writes a fantastic article explaining exactly why Martin Luther King would have been for gay rights, not against them. This is a must read.
Reporting at Risk. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. (That Kerry guy just isn't doing it for us anymore.) Here, he writes about an issue that should concern all of us: The increase in federal subpoenas of reporters that are refusing to reveal their confidential sources. If employees are no longer able to report problems and be guaranteed anonymity, what little corporate accountability we might have now may soon disappear.
Iraq 2004 Looks Like Vietnam 1966 - Adjusting body counts for medical and military changes. Upon getting into this war, some people tried to compare it to Vietnam, and were roundly shouted down as doomsayers. While there is no joy in this, more and more it's looking like they were right. We have no exit strategy, we have no concrete goal, and we have no effective plan for dealing with the insurgency. More troops might help, but still likely won't be enough. It's actually just a total failure of leadership, and the way out is very unclear. But at least we're not losing as many lives as in Vietnam, right? Well, aside from the fact that the war is far from over, Phillip Carter and Owen West provide an analysis that concludes that the intensity of battle on the ground matches that of previous American wars.
One of the best ways for you to get involved with the Democratic Party, and keep tabs on what's being done (well, aside from reading us every day), is to join MoveOn.org. You'll get email updates, as well as information for things going on locally.
News
The Dust Settles. The state court has authorized the ballots that were thrown out initially, and another recount is not allowed, so it looks like Democrat Christine Gregoire will win the governor's seat in Washington by 120 votes. This is directly thanks to democratic supporters, whose enthusiasm, donations and support made the recounts possible, and gave the candidate with the most votes the win. The state should certify the vote next week.
Although we acknowledge that the political situation in Iraq is different than most, it seems strange to "guarantee" a specific portion of the population representation in the government, but that's exactly what this administration wants for the Sunnis. The situation appears very complex, as many top Sunnis won't run, because it would require them to renounce their affiliation with the Baath party. As the January 30th election draws closer, we can expect to hear more about this.
More Guantanamo Prison current and former detainees are alleging abuse, and their stories are seemingly corroborated with the FBI memos released by the ACLU last week. Should these allegations turn out to be true (and it's looking more and more likely), this administration will have shown that, despite it's lofty spoken ideals, they don't believe in due process, they don't hold much stock in the Geneva protocols, and that they just generally don't care. We wonder how Bush would react if the situation were reversed.
Editorials
Richard Cohen reminds us that, even though reporters tend to de-humanize the subjects of their writings, and turn them into "caricatures," they are still human beings. His example is George Tenet, and makes for a fun read.
The Boston Globe makes a great case on why the Senate should press new Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to create a new branch of DHHS, designed to review prescription drugs after they are on the market. Don't you want to know what could be wrong with the things you're taking?
Harry Reid is not Boring. Chris Suellentrop with what you should know about new Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Besides, have you inspired a Martin Scorsese film character?
