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December 29, 2005
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Wednesday's Links
Activism
Ah, who could forget the days of the Fireside chat? (If you're old enough to have been around when FDR started them, that is.) Well, Harry Reid has started the tradition again, digitally. Go here to watch Reid's first chat on, what else, Social Security. While there, you can also sign the Democrats' pledge to protect Social Security.
News
The More Things Change...You know, back in 1995, when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate for the first time in 781 years, Newt Gingrich's message had been that Democrats were "drunk with power," and it was time to take back Congress "for the people." We all see how well that worked. It's funny, but now Democrats are using the same message. Of course, it doesn't take a beltway insider to see just HOW drunk Republicans in Congress are. As the House Democratic Whip, Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said recently, "They're not playing by House rules, by the ethics rules, by the Senate rules, even by the rule of law in the Schiavo case." Now is the ripe time for Democrats to continue the assault on Congressional Republicans, what with so many recent extremest ideas and decisions by the GOP. We certainly aren't going to let up.
How Many Polish Soldiers Does it Take to Fight a War in Iraq? Poland's Defense Minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, thinks the answer is zero. And really, can you blame him? It's been over two years since the occupation began, and with Bush's assertment that "trained Iraqi troops now outnumber U.S. forces," well, what need is there for Poland to stay? In fact, what need is there for us to stay? You've gotta wonder what he means by "trained Iraqi troops". Remember when Rumsfeld and Rice claimed that there were over 100,000 trained troops, and Joe Biden found out it was much closer to 4,000?
No Time, Love and Tenderness for John Bolton. Carl W. Ford Jr. testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday about John Bolton, saying that he is "a 'bully' who abused his authority and power, intimidated intelligence analysts, and damaged the integrity of the agency." Well, this certainly seems like the kind of man we want representing the U.S. to the U.N.! Ford is the former intelligence chief for the State Depamrtment, and the details of his testimony are in the link above. But what gets us is this line from the article: "He [John Bolton] has been a longtime critic of the United Nations, and backers say he is the right choice for ambassador at a time when Bush has made reform of the world body a priority." This sentence pretty much sums up the arrogance of the Bush administration in one fell swoop, now, doesn't it?
Editorials
Misleading.gov. A few weeks ago we talked about the new government website 4parents.gov, and how the facts on the website are misleading and skewed towards a conservative agenda. Now comes Chris Mooney, writer for the American Prospect, who deconstructs the website and reveals the truth. He sums it up better that we could. "It is a sad day, but we can no longer doubt that it has arrived. At least in the area of sexual health, Americans can no longer rely on their own government for balanced, objective information." This isn't about politics, it's about the well-being of American citizens! Sigh...
Flirting With Deficit Disasters. David Ignatius discusses a pair looming crises that Bush has been ignoring: The collapse of the dollar and the growing budget deficit. He talks about about financial guru Warren Buffett's annual letter, which this year took on a quite ominous tone. Buffett predicts a continued decline in the dollar due to our massive trade deficit. Additionally, sometime hack Alan Greenspan is concerned about the budget deficit threatening our long-term stability. (Of course, that doesn't mean his call for tax cuts was wrong...) Fixing these problems is going to require true leadership, and possibly some political sacrifice. But it won't happen, because there's too much political hay to be made attacking judges and inventing fictional crises. Ultimately, we're all going to pay the price.
The New Congressional Assault on the Right to Die. After the Schiavo case got so ugly, it would have been nice if the whole episode was just removed from our national consciousness. Unfortunately, the mess did happen, and there are some lasting effects. Some positive ones might be that citizens are more aware of the need for living wills, and that the violent hatred of the so-called "right-to-life" movement has been exposed for more to see (and hopefully defeat). But it would be naive to think that there aren't long-term negative effects as well. In the short-term, it was painful for the Schiavo family, and completely embarrassing for our country. Additionally, it seemed to further embolden those on the right who are looking for justification to overthrow (or eliminate?) the independent judiciary. But this editorial talks about another way craven right-wing politicians are exploiting the Schiavo case: They're proposing laws that would take away our right to choose death without suffering. It's sad, pathetic, and scary, and the power grab of the religious right has got to be stopped.
|
December 29, 2005
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Wednesday's Links
Activism
Ah, who could forget the days of the Fireside chat? (If you're old enough to have been around when FDR started them, that is.) Well, Harry Reid has started the tradition again, digitally. Go here to watch Reid's first chat on, what else, Social Security. While there, you can also sign the Democrats' pledge to protect Social Security.
News
The More Things Change...You know, back in 1995, when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate for the first time in 781 years, Newt Gingrich's message had been that Democrats were "drunk with power," and it was time to take back Congress "for the people." We all see how well that worked. It's funny, but now Democrats are using the same message. Of course, it doesn't take a beltway insider to see just HOW drunk Republicans in Congress are. As the House Democratic Whip, Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said recently, "They're not playing by House rules, by the ethics rules, by the Senate rules, even by the rule of law in the Schiavo case." Now is the ripe time for Democrats to continue the assault on Congressional Republicans, what with so many recent extremest ideas and decisions by the GOP. We certainly aren't going to let up.
How Many Polish Soldiers Does it Take to Fight a War in Iraq? Poland's Defense Minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, thinks the answer is zero. And really, can you blame him? It's been over two years since the occupation began, and with Bush's assertment that "trained Iraqi troops now outnumber U.S. forces," well, what need is there for Poland to stay? In fact, what need is there for us to stay? You've gotta wonder what he means by "trained Iraqi troops". Remember when Rumsfeld and Rice claimed that there were over 100,000 trained troops, and Joe Biden found out it was much closer to 4,000?
No Time, Love and Tenderness for John Bolton. Carl W. Ford Jr. testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday about John Bolton, saying that he is "a 'bully' who abused his authority and power, intimidated intelligence analysts, and damaged the integrity of the agency." Well, this certainly seems like the kind of man we want representing the U.S. to the U.N.! Ford is the former intelligence chief for the State Depamrtment, and the details of his testimony are in the link above. But what gets us is this line from the article: "He [John Bolton] has been a longtime critic of the United Nations, and backers say he is the right choice for ambassador at a time when Bush has made reform of the world body a priority." This sentence pretty much sums up the arrogance of the Bush administration in one fell swoop, now, doesn't it?
Editorials
Misleading.gov. A few weeks ago we talked about the new government website 4parents.gov, and how the facts on the website are misleading and skewed towards a conservative agenda. Now comes Chris Mooney, writer for the American Prospect, who deconstructs the website and reveals the truth. He sums it up better that we could. "It is a sad day, but we can no longer doubt that it has arrived. At least in the area of sexual health, Americans can no longer rely on their own government for balanced, objective information." This isn't about politics, it's about the well-being of American citizens! Sigh...
Flirting With Deficit Disasters. David Ignatius discusses a pair looming crises that Bush has been ignoring: The collapse of the dollar and the growing budget deficit. He talks about about financial guru Warren Buffett's annual letter, which this year took on a quite ominous tone. Buffett predicts a continued decline in the dollar due to our massive trade deficit. Additionally, sometime hack Alan Greenspan is concerned about the budget deficit threatening our long-term stability. (Of course, that doesn't mean his call for tax cuts was wrong...) Fixing these problems is going to require true leadership, and possibly some political sacrifice. But it won't happen, because there's too much political hay to be made attacking judges and inventing fictional crises. Ultimately, we're all going to pay the price.
The New Congressional Assault on the Right to Die. After the Schiavo case got so ugly, it would have been nice if the whole episode was just removed from our national consciousness. Unfortunately, the mess did happen, and there are some lasting effects. Some positive ones might be that citizens are more aware of the need for living wills, and that the violent hatred of the so-called "right-to-life" movement has been exposed for more to see (and hopefully defeat). But it would be naive to think that there aren't long-term negative effects as well. In the short-term, it was painful for the Schiavo family, and completely embarrassing for our country. Additionally, it seemed to further embolden those on the right who are looking for justification to overthrow (or eliminate?) the independent judiciary. But this editorial talks about another way craven right-wing politicians are exploiting the Schiavo case: They're proposing laws that would take away our right to choose death without suffering. It's sad, pathetic, and scary, and the power grab of the religious right has got to be stopped.
|
December 29, 2005
Ah, who could forget the days of the Fireside chat? (If you're old enough to have been around when FDR started them, that is.) Well, Harry Reid has started the tradition again, digitally. Go here to watch Reid's first chat on, what else, Social Security. While there, you can also sign the Democrats' pledge to protect Social Security.
News
The More Things Change...You know, back in 1995, when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate for the first time in 781 years, Newt Gingrich's message had been that Democrats were "drunk with power," and it was time to take back Congress "for the people." We all see how well that worked. It's funny, but now Democrats are using the same message. Of course, it doesn't take a beltway insider to see just HOW drunk Republicans in Congress are. As the House Democratic Whip, Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said recently, "They're not playing by House rules, by the ethics rules, by the Senate rules, even by the rule of law in the Schiavo case." Now is the ripe time for Democrats to continue the assault on Congressional Republicans, what with so many recent extremest ideas and decisions by the GOP. We certainly aren't going to let up.
How Many Polish Soldiers Does it Take to Fight a War in Iraq? Poland's Defense Minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, thinks the answer is zero. And really, can you blame him? It's been over two years since the occupation began, and with Bush's assertment that "trained Iraqi troops now outnumber U.S. forces," well, what need is there for Poland to stay? In fact, what need is there for us to stay? You've gotta wonder what he means by "trained Iraqi troops". Remember when Rumsfeld and Rice claimed that there were over 100,000 trained troops, and Joe Biden found out it was much closer to 4,000?
No Time, Love and Tenderness for John Bolton. Carl W. Ford Jr. testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday about John Bolton, saying that he is "a 'bully' who abused his authority and power, intimidated intelligence analysts, and damaged the integrity of the agency." Well, this certainly seems like the kind of man we want representing the U.S. to the U.N.! Ford is the former intelligence chief for the State Depamrtment, and the details of his testimony are in the link above. But what gets us is this line from the article: "He [John Bolton] has been a longtime critic of the United Nations, and backers say he is the right choice for ambassador at a time when Bush has made reform of the world body a priority." This sentence pretty much sums up the arrogance of the Bush administration in one fell swoop, now, doesn't it?
Editorials
Misleading.gov. A few weeks ago we talked about the new government website 4parents.gov, and how the facts on the website are misleading and skewed towards a conservative agenda. Now comes Chris Mooney, writer for the American Prospect, who deconstructs the website and reveals the truth. He sums it up better that we could. "It is a sad day, but we can no longer doubt that it has arrived. At least in the area of sexual health, Americans can no longer rely on their own government for balanced, objective information." This isn't about politics, it's about the well-being of American citizens! Sigh...
Flirting With Deficit Disasters. David Ignatius discusses a pair looming crises that Bush has been ignoring: The collapse of the dollar and the growing budget deficit. He talks about about financial guru Warren Buffett's annual letter, which this year took on a quite ominous tone. Buffett predicts a continued decline in the dollar due to our massive trade deficit. Additionally, sometime hack Alan Greenspan is concerned about the budget deficit threatening our long-term stability. (Of course, that doesn't mean his call for tax cuts was wrong...) Fixing these problems is going to require true leadership, and possibly some political sacrifice. But it won't happen, because there's too much political hay to be made attacking judges and inventing fictional crises. Ultimately, we're all going to pay the price.
The New Congressional Assault on the Right to Die. After the Schiavo case got so ugly, it would have been nice if the whole episode was just removed from our national consciousness. Unfortunately, the mess did happen, and there are some lasting effects. Some positive ones might be that citizens are more aware of the need for living wills, and that the violent hatred of the so-called "right-to-life" movement has been exposed for more to see (and hopefully defeat). But it would be naive to think that there aren't long-term negative effects as well. In the short-term, it was painful for the Schiavo family, and completely embarrassing for our country. Additionally, it seemed to further embolden those on the right who are looking for justification to overthrow (or eliminate?) the independent judiciary. But this editorial talks about another way craven right-wing politicians are exploiting the Schiavo case: They're proposing laws that would take away our right to choose death without suffering. It's sad, pathetic, and scary, and the power grab of the religious right has got to be stopped.
