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December 29, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Volunteer Match. You know, we talk a lot about policies that will benefit the poor and/or unfortunate, and while it's clearly important to make sure that our government takes the underprivileged into account, there's no reason why we shouldn't all personally do our part. Heck, the more power the GOP gains, the more do-gooders we need to try and fight against all the bad they're already done. Go to the link above and find whatever volunteer opportunity that suits you most!
News
Kerry cheered in Baghdad, decries Bush team's 'blunders'. This certainly isn't something you'll see on the front page any more: Kerry's old news. But Kerry's statements here, done while out of the mainstream public's eye, show that he really is a man of integrity, who cares deeply about our soldiers. And the fact that he was cheered and welcomed shows that the troops probably get that, and understand that being against Bush doesn't mean that you're against them. In fact, the opposite is true.
Billionaire Urges Bush to Give Inaugural Funds to Tsunami Victims. Unfortunately, the billionaire in question is Mark Cuban, the idiot owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But, in this case, he's not so idiotic (despite having voted for Bush), even though normally dead-on President Clinton disagrees. The point here is two-fold: One is that 30-40 million dollars for an inauguration in the midst of a war AND immense tsunami-induced suffering simply indicates our misplaced priorities - that money is coming from somewhere. The second point is that donating that money (maybe even from out of his own pocket?) would actually show that our President is willing to make sacrifices to help out other people - Muslim people, even. And, no, sending OTHER PEOPLE'S children to war does not count as a personal sacrifice. We know that Bush gave $10,000 out of his pocket, but Sandra Bullock donated $1 million out of hers! And what was the last movie you saw HER in? Oh, right, she's a God-hating Hollywood liberal, so she doesn't count.
Roemer Throws His Hat In. Former Represenative Tim Roemer (D-IN) has made it clear that he wants to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The kicker? Roemer is pro-life. Although Roemer has said he doesn't want to change the core principals of the DNC, this is clearly an issue of perception vs reality. The perception of the head of the DNC being against a woman's right to choose sends the wrong message for the Democratic Party, regardless of his intentions. Particularly because we can see the Republican media machine already hard at work planning spins for this. The Democractic Party's system of ideals and beliefs are what make it a better party choice for America, and no perception should be allowed to taint that. Go Howard Dean!
Editorials
Fighting the Wrong War. Fred Kahan of The Weekly Standard takes Rumsfeld to task for his failure to increase our troop strength. Of course, he takes some swipes at Clinton too, but he nicely points out the details of Rumsfeld's faults. He pigheadedly refuses to take any accountability for any of the problems in Iraq, and deflects criticism about troop size by claiming that it's Congress's responsibility to increase the size of the military, not his. But Kagan points out numerous statements by Rumsfeld in which he has opposed an increase in "end-strength", and Kagan also nicely identifies multiple different capabilities we would have had in Iraq if Rumsfeld had been able to increase the number of troops. This man is not interested in results; He's only interested in covering his own ass. But ultimately, our troops pay with their lives for his selfishness and obstinance.
Republicans once again can't keep their promises. Basie, a blogger, has dug up some interesting dirt. It seems that there are seven House members that, while advocating term limits, promised not to run in 2006. Let's hold them to this promise! We need to hold these politicians to a more honest line, and by decrying something on one hand, while working towards the exact opposite on the other hand, at the same time, makes us question their moral values.
Did You Know? One of the biggest arguments for delaying the election is because the Sunnis want electoral districts to be established. That's right - we're going to have elections in Iraq without electoral districts, thus not ensuring that each province may not have even minimal representation in parliament. Larry Diamond makes the case as to why elections should be delayed, and his main argument is that, under the current system, there's nothing to ensure that each part of the country will be fairly included in the government process.
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December 29, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
Volunteer Match. You know, we talk a lot about policies that will benefit the poor and/or unfortunate, and while it's clearly important to make sure that our government takes the underprivileged into account, there's no reason why we shouldn't all personally do our part. Heck, the more power the GOP gains, the more do-gooders we need to try and fight against all the bad they're already done. Go to the link above and find whatever volunteer opportunity that suits you most!
News
Kerry cheered in Baghdad, decries Bush team's 'blunders'. This certainly isn't something you'll see on the front page any more: Kerry's old news. But Kerry's statements here, done while out of the mainstream public's eye, show that he really is a man of integrity, who cares deeply about our soldiers. And the fact that he was cheered and welcomed shows that the troops probably get that, and understand that being against Bush doesn't mean that you're against them. In fact, the opposite is true.
Billionaire Urges Bush to Give Inaugural Funds to Tsunami Victims. Unfortunately, the billionaire in question is Mark Cuban, the idiot owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But, in this case, he's not so idiotic (despite having voted for Bush), even though normally dead-on President Clinton disagrees. The point here is two-fold: One is that 30-40 million dollars for an inauguration in the midst of a war AND immense tsunami-induced suffering simply indicates our misplaced priorities - that money is coming from somewhere. The second point is that donating that money (maybe even from out of his own pocket?) would actually show that our President is willing to make sacrifices to help out other people - Muslim people, even. And, no, sending OTHER PEOPLE'S children to war does not count as a personal sacrifice. We know that Bush gave $10,000 out of his pocket, but Sandra Bullock donated $1 million out of hers! And what was the last movie you saw HER in? Oh, right, she's a God-hating Hollywood liberal, so she doesn't count.
Roemer Throws His Hat In. Former Represenative Tim Roemer (D-IN) has made it clear that he wants to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The kicker? Roemer is pro-life. Although Roemer has said he doesn't want to change the core principals of the DNC, this is clearly an issue of perception vs reality. The perception of the head of the DNC being against a woman's right to choose sends the wrong message for the Democratic Party, regardless of his intentions. Particularly because we can see the Republican media machine already hard at work planning spins for this. The Democractic Party's system of ideals and beliefs are what make it a better party choice for America, and no perception should be allowed to taint that. Go Howard Dean!
Editorials
Fighting the Wrong War. Fred Kahan of The Weekly Standard takes Rumsfeld to task for his failure to increase our troop strength. Of course, he takes some swipes at Clinton too, but he nicely points out the details of Rumsfeld's faults. He pigheadedly refuses to take any accountability for any of the problems in Iraq, and deflects criticism about troop size by claiming that it's Congress's responsibility to increase the size of the military, not his. But Kagan points out numerous statements by Rumsfeld in which he has opposed an increase in "end-strength", and Kagan also nicely identifies multiple different capabilities we would have had in Iraq if Rumsfeld had been able to increase the number of troops. This man is not interested in results; He's only interested in covering his own ass. But ultimately, our troops pay with their lives for his selfishness and obstinance.
Republicans once again can't keep their promises. Basie, a blogger, has dug up some interesting dirt. It seems that there are seven House members that, while advocating term limits, promised not to run in 2006. Let's hold them to this promise! We need to hold these politicians to a more honest line, and by decrying something on one hand, while working towards the exact opposite on the other hand, at the same time, makes us question their moral values.
Did You Know? One of the biggest arguments for delaying the election is because the Sunnis want electoral districts to be established. That's right - we're going to have elections in Iraq without electoral districts, thus not ensuring that each province may not have even minimal representation in parliament. Larry Diamond makes the case as to why elections should be delayed, and his main argument is that, under the current system, there's nothing to ensure that each part of the country will be fairly included in the government process.
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December 29, 2005
Volunteer Match. You know, we talk a lot about policies that will benefit the poor and/or unfortunate, and while it's clearly important to make sure that our government takes the underprivileged into account, there's no reason why we shouldn't all personally do our part. Heck, the more power the GOP gains, the more do-gooders we need to try and fight against all the bad they're already done. Go to the link above and find whatever volunteer opportunity that suits you most!
News
Kerry cheered in Baghdad, decries Bush team's 'blunders'. This certainly isn't something you'll see on the front page any more: Kerry's old news. But Kerry's statements here, done while out of the mainstream public's eye, show that he really is a man of integrity, who cares deeply about our soldiers. And the fact that he was cheered and welcomed shows that the troops probably get that, and understand that being against Bush doesn't mean that you're against them. In fact, the opposite is true.
Billionaire Urges Bush to Give Inaugural Funds to Tsunami Victims. Unfortunately, the billionaire in question is Mark Cuban, the idiot owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But, in this case, he's not so idiotic (despite having voted for Bush), even though normally dead-on President Clinton disagrees. The point here is two-fold: One is that 30-40 million dollars for an inauguration in the midst of a war AND immense tsunami-induced suffering simply indicates our misplaced priorities - that money is coming from somewhere. The second point is that donating that money (maybe even from out of his own pocket?) would actually show that our President is willing to make sacrifices to help out other people - Muslim people, even. And, no, sending OTHER PEOPLE'S children to war does not count as a personal sacrifice. We know that Bush gave $10,000 out of his pocket, but Sandra Bullock donated $1 million out of hers! And what was the last movie you saw HER in? Oh, right, she's a God-hating Hollywood liberal, so she doesn't count.
Roemer Throws His Hat In. Former Represenative Tim Roemer (D-IN) has made it clear that he wants to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The kicker? Roemer is pro-life. Although Roemer has said he doesn't want to change the core principals of the DNC, this is clearly an issue of perception vs reality. The perception of the head of the DNC being against a woman's right to choose sends the wrong message for the Democratic Party, regardless of his intentions. Particularly because we can see the Republican media machine already hard at work planning spins for this. The Democractic Party's system of ideals and beliefs are what make it a better party choice for America, and no perception should be allowed to taint that. Go Howard Dean!
Editorials
Fighting the Wrong War. Fred Kahan of The Weekly Standard takes Rumsfeld to task for his failure to increase our troop strength. Of course, he takes some swipes at Clinton too, but he nicely points out the details of Rumsfeld's faults. He pigheadedly refuses to take any accountability for any of the problems in Iraq, and deflects criticism about troop size by claiming that it's Congress's responsibility to increase the size of the military, not his. But Kagan points out numerous statements by Rumsfeld in which he has opposed an increase in "end-strength", and Kagan also nicely identifies multiple different capabilities we would have had in Iraq if Rumsfeld had been able to increase the number of troops. This man is not interested in results; He's only interested in covering his own ass. But ultimately, our troops pay with their lives for his selfishness and obstinance.
Republicans once again can't keep their promises. Basie, a blogger, has dug up some interesting dirt. It seems that there are seven House members that, while advocating term limits, promised not to run in 2006. Let's hold them to this promise! We need to hold these politicians to a more honest line, and by decrying something on one hand, while working towards the exact opposite on the other hand, at the same time, makes us question their moral values.
Did You Know? One of the biggest arguments for delaying the election is because the Sunnis want electoral districts to be established. That's right - we're going to have elections in Iraq without electoral districts, thus not ensuring that each province may not have even minimal representation in parliament. Larry Diamond makes the case as to why elections should be delayed, and his main argument is that, under the current system, there's nothing to ensure that each part of the country will be fairly included in the government process.
