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December 29, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Thursday's Links
Activism
Tell Jim! With Howard Dean being elected DNC Chair, he's had to leave running his Democracy For America program to his brother Jim. Jim isn't a politician, but he was sufficiently inspired by DFA's work to agree to head the organization, and he can certainly use your support. Use the provided link to give him suggestions about the type of work you'd like to see DFA do in the future. Haven't been to a DFA Meetup yet? Then sign up for a March Meetup here.
News
Pennsylvanians Are Educated. The results of a survey conducted by Quinnipac University (located in beautiful Hamden, Connecticut) show that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) trails State Treasurer and Democratic Senate hopeful Robert Casey, Jr. 46% - 41%. Although the election is not until next year, the fact that incumbent Senator Santorum trails is great news. Of course, both parties have yet to start their advertising machines, but the Democrats will throw a lot of money at Pennsylvania, as Santorum, the third ranking Republican in the Senate, is a huge thorn in the Dems' side. From his anachronistic (and outspoken) views on homosexuality and abortion, to the fact that he spends more time living with his family in Virginia than he does in his constituent state, Santorum needs to go. The fact that he is vulnerable gives us a lot of hope.
You Can't Spell "Kyoto" With the Letters "USA." The Kyoto treaty went into effect yesterday. The treaty, ratified by 141 nations of the world, limits emissions from 25 major industrial countries, in an effort to stem the greenhouse effect. Clinton entered the accords in 1997, but Bush pulled the US out in 2001, citing concerns over financial loss. According to the White House, agreeing to the treaty (and thus dropping emissions 7% below the level that they were at in 1990) would cost 5 million jobs and $400 billion annually. With Bush so concerned about money, he must not be thinking of the kind of planet his children will have when they are his age. Most people agree that Kyoto is somewhat flawed, but there are bigger principles at work here - namely that of global cooperation. If we won't participate in a treaty this large, how can we expect international support for our crazy ideas? Furthermore, the Bush Administration's steadfast denial about the effects of greenhouse gases, even in the face of tons of science, isn't winning them any points either.
Contractor said to be paid $2m in cash. This article seems like it could be in The Onion, because it seems satirical, but as far as we know, it's completely true. Our good friends at Custer Battles (you know, the firm that had a few guys quit because they allegedly were killing Iraqi citizens) were paid in cash stuffed into a bag. There was no tracking of the money, and no accounting for its distribution. Is it any wonder that 9 billion dollars are unaccounted for? Our friends, these are your tax dollars at work.
Editorials
Church, State and the Homeless. Howard Fineman looks at the issue of the Republicans' use of Church, and how Democrats can use this idea for themselves. Being the non-believers that we are, even we recognize that the Democrats will have to embrace religion as a part of the party, but they don't need to make the party synonymous with religion. We're appalled that Republicans and Christian zealots have turned this into an "us vs. them" battle, when that's clearly not the case. We need Dean to come up with a unifying message for all Democrats, and soon.
$25,974.40. That's your share of the $7.67 trillion dollar debt, according to the Democrat's House Budget Committee website (linked above). When you go, you'll see an article for February 16, 2005, which will link you to the finally released list of Bush's proposed cuts and funding decreases for his 2006 budget. Whether or not they actually get cut, it seems amazing that Bush would try to remove programs such as the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented program (designed to enhance elementary and secondary G&T programs for excelling students), the HOPE VI program (which we talked about last week), or the CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program (developed in 1981 by Congress, the PHHS program allocates money to all 50 states, DC, and the territories to tailor prevention and promotion programs to their particular public health needs. With this money, states are expected to meet the goals of Healthy People 2010). Bush has attempted to terminate G&T and PHHS before, to no avail. We hope Congress gets to the heart of the budget. We can spend $8.8 billion on a missile defense system that doesn't work, but we can't allocate $143 million for low-income housing? Thanks to Alice Duggan for the link.
Howard Dean & The Moral Center. Jesse Jackson discussed the importance of returning our nation to the "moral center". (This is different than the "political center", which is often a position born of compromise or shameless politics, not of principle.) Instead of tilting our policies towards the benefit of the rich and powerful, we need to bring America back to the center, where more Americans are involved in our government, and supported by its systems. Jackson believes that Howard Dean is the man to bring us back to the moral center - we hope he's right.
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December 29, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Thursday's Links
Activism
Tell Jim! With Howard Dean being elected DNC Chair, he's had to leave running his Democracy For America program to his brother Jim. Jim isn't a politician, but he was sufficiently inspired by DFA's work to agree to head the organization, and he can certainly use your support. Use the provided link to give him suggestions about the type of work you'd like to see DFA do in the future. Haven't been to a DFA Meetup yet? Then sign up for a March Meetup here.
News
Pennsylvanians Are Educated. The results of a survey conducted by Quinnipac University (located in beautiful Hamden, Connecticut) show that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) trails State Treasurer and Democratic Senate hopeful Robert Casey, Jr. 46% - 41%. Although the election is not until next year, the fact that incumbent Senator Santorum trails is great news. Of course, both parties have yet to start their advertising machines, but the Democrats will throw a lot of money at Pennsylvania, as Santorum, the third ranking Republican in the Senate, is a huge thorn in the Dems' side. From his anachronistic (and outspoken) views on homosexuality and abortion, to the fact that he spends more time living with his family in Virginia than he does in his constituent state, Santorum needs to go. The fact that he is vulnerable gives us a lot of hope.
You Can't Spell "Kyoto" With the Letters "USA." The Kyoto treaty went into effect yesterday. The treaty, ratified by 141 nations of the world, limits emissions from 25 major industrial countries, in an effort to stem the greenhouse effect. Clinton entered the accords in 1997, but Bush pulled the US out in 2001, citing concerns over financial loss. According to the White House, agreeing to the treaty (and thus dropping emissions 7% below the level that they were at in 1990) would cost 5 million jobs and $400 billion annually. With Bush so concerned about money, he must not be thinking of the kind of planet his children will have when they are his age. Most people agree that Kyoto is somewhat flawed, but there are bigger principles at work here - namely that of global cooperation. If we won't participate in a treaty this large, how can we expect international support for our crazy ideas? Furthermore, the Bush Administration's steadfast denial about the effects of greenhouse gases, even in the face of tons of science, isn't winning them any points either.
Contractor said to be paid $2m in cash. This article seems like it could be in The Onion, because it seems satirical, but as far as we know, it's completely true. Our good friends at Custer Battles (you know, the firm that had a few guys quit because they allegedly were killing Iraqi citizens) were paid in cash stuffed into a bag. There was no tracking of the money, and no accounting for its distribution. Is it any wonder that 9 billion dollars are unaccounted for? Our friends, these are your tax dollars at work.
Editorials
Church, State and the Homeless. Howard Fineman looks at the issue of the Republicans' use of Church, and how Democrats can use this idea for themselves. Being the non-believers that we are, even we recognize that the Democrats will have to embrace religion as a part of the party, but they don't need to make the party synonymous with religion. We're appalled that Republicans and Christian zealots have turned this into an "us vs. them" battle, when that's clearly not the case. We need Dean to come up with a unifying message for all Democrats, and soon.
$25,974.40. That's your share of the $7.67 trillion dollar debt, according to the Democrat's House Budget Committee website (linked above). When you go, you'll see an article for February 16, 2005, which will link you to the finally released list of Bush's proposed cuts and funding decreases for his 2006 budget. Whether or not they actually get cut, it seems amazing that Bush would try to remove programs such as the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented program (designed to enhance elementary and secondary G&T programs for excelling students), the HOPE VI program (which we talked about last week), or the CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program (developed in 1981 by Congress, the PHHS program allocates money to all 50 states, DC, and the territories to tailor prevention and promotion programs to their particular public health needs. With this money, states are expected to meet the goals of Healthy People 2010). Bush has attempted to terminate G&T and PHHS before, to no avail. We hope Congress gets to the heart of the budget. We can spend $8.8 billion on a missile defense system that doesn't work, but we can't allocate $143 million for low-income housing? Thanks to Alice Duggan for the link.
Howard Dean & The Moral Center. Jesse Jackson discussed the importance of returning our nation to the "moral center". (This is different than the "political center", which is often a position born of compromise or shameless politics, not of principle.) Instead of tilting our policies towards the benefit of the rich and powerful, we need to bring America back to the center, where more Americans are involved in our government, and supported by its systems. Jackson believes that Howard Dean is the man to bring us back to the moral center - we hope he's right.
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December 29, 2005
Tell Jim! With Howard Dean being elected DNC Chair, he's had to leave running his Democracy For America program to his brother Jim. Jim isn't a politician, but he was sufficiently inspired by DFA's work to agree to head the organization, and he can certainly use your support. Use the provided link to give him suggestions about the type of work you'd like to see DFA do in the future. Haven't been to a DFA Meetup yet? Then sign up for a March Meetup here.
News
Pennsylvanians Are Educated. The results of a survey conducted by Quinnipac University (located in beautiful Hamden, Connecticut) show that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) trails State Treasurer and Democratic Senate hopeful Robert Casey, Jr. 46% - 41%. Although the election is not until next year, the fact that incumbent Senator Santorum trails is great news. Of course, both parties have yet to start their advertising machines, but the Democrats will throw a lot of money at Pennsylvania, as Santorum, the third ranking Republican in the Senate, is a huge thorn in the Dems' side. From his anachronistic (and outspoken) views on homosexuality and abortion, to the fact that he spends more time living with his family in Virginia than he does in his constituent state, Santorum needs to go. The fact that he is vulnerable gives us a lot of hope.
You Can't Spell "Kyoto" With the Letters "USA." The Kyoto treaty went into effect yesterday. The treaty, ratified by 141 nations of the world, limits emissions from 25 major industrial countries, in an effort to stem the greenhouse effect. Clinton entered the accords in 1997, but Bush pulled the US out in 2001, citing concerns over financial loss. According to the White House, agreeing to the treaty (and thus dropping emissions 7% below the level that they were at in 1990) would cost 5 million jobs and $400 billion annually. With Bush so concerned about money, he must not be thinking of the kind of planet his children will have when they are his age. Most people agree that Kyoto is somewhat flawed, but there are bigger principles at work here - namely that of global cooperation. If we won't participate in a treaty this large, how can we expect international support for our crazy ideas? Furthermore, the Bush Administration's steadfast denial about the effects of greenhouse gases, even in the face of tons of science, isn't winning them any points either.
Contractor said to be paid $2m in cash. This article seems like it could be in The Onion, because it seems satirical, but as far as we know, it's completely true. Our good friends at Custer Battles (you know, the firm that had a few guys quit because they allegedly were killing Iraqi citizens) were paid in cash stuffed into a bag. There was no tracking of the money, and no accounting for its distribution. Is it any wonder that 9 billion dollars are unaccounted for? Our friends, these are your tax dollars at work.
Editorials
Church, State and the Homeless. Howard Fineman looks at the issue of the Republicans' use of Church, and how Democrats can use this idea for themselves. Being the non-believers that we are, even we recognize that the Democrats will have to embrace religion as a part of the party, but they don't need to make the party synonymous with religion. We're appalled that Republicans and Christian zealots have turned this into an "us vs. them" battle, when that's clearly not the case. We need Dean to come up with a unifying message for all Democrats, and soon.
$25,974.40. That's your share of the $7.67 trillion dollar debt, according to the Democrat's House Budget Committee website (linked above). When you go, you'll see an article for February 16, 2005, which will link you to the finally released list of Bush's proposed cuts and funding decreases for his 2006 budget. Whether or not they actually get cut, it seems amazing that Bush would try to remove programs such as the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented program (designed to enhance elementary and secondary G&T programs for excelling students), the HOPE VI program (which we talked about last week), or the CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program (developed in 1981 by Congress, the PHHS program allocates money to all 50 states, DC, and the territories to tailor prevention and promotion programs to their particular public health needs. With this money, states are expected to meet the goals of Healthy People 2010). Bush has attempted to terminate G&T and PHHS before, to no avail. We hope Congress gets to the heart of the budget. We can spend $8.8 billion on a missile defense system that doesn't work, but we can't allocate $143 million for low-income housing? Thanks to Alice Duggan for the link.
Howard Dean & The Moral Center. Jesse Jackson discussed the importance of returning our nation to the "moral center". (This is different than the "political center", which is often a position born of compromise or shameless politics, not of principle.) Instead of tilting our policies towards the benefit of the rich and powerful, we need to bring America back to the center, where more Americans are involved in our government, and supported by its systems. Jackson believes that Howard Dean is the man to bring us back to the moral center - we hope he's right.
