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December 29, 2005
Monday, June 06, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
It Stops In Virginia. Hey, when Tom Daschle's onboard, you know it's a serious matter! Well, maybe not quite, but the Virginia Governor's race is an important matter. The GOP learned in 2004 (although they probably knew it all along) from the Swift Boat Liars, that out-and-out mendacity is the way to go when your candidate doesn't have anything substantive to offer. And since that's apparently the case in the Virginia Governor's race (which occurs in 2005, by the way), the GOP's at it again. This time, they're once again using religion as a weapon, and it's against Tim Kaine. They know that Jerry Kilgore can't beat him on substance or politics, and that's why they have to play dirty already. Maintaining Democratic Governors is a key part of taking this country back, and Kaine can use your help. If you don't want to donate money, then at least be aware of the lies they're spreading, and do your best to fight back. We're pretty sure you know at least one person in Virginia!
News
Los Angeles Living Wage Study. Finally, some non-Iraq, non-Social Security, non-filibuster-related news. For a little while, we weren't even sure that any existed? Our national minimum wage ($5.15/hr) is a disgrace to this country. We're supposed to be the "richest country in the world" (and GDP-wise, we are), but haven't raised the minimum wage in almost eight years. Opponents of raising the minimum wage always argue that if we do so, we'll hurt the economy, and price legal workers out of the market. And Los Angeles is living proof of that. In 1997, they passed a "living wage" ordinance, which established standards that certain companies that do business with the government have to meet. Right now, that means the minimum wage for those companies is $10.03, (or $8.78 if they provide health care too) and they have to provide 12 paid days and 10 unpaid days off per year. Wow, that kind of largesse must be crippling those firms, and resulting in tons of unemployment, right? Wrong.
Remember Saddam? Saddam Hussein and 11 of his flunkies will go on trial soon, and could face up to 500 charges. As we read about this, we can't help but reflect on Iraq. Now that we know Bush lied to Americans about Iraq, we're left wondering if there could have been a better way. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we're not just talking about hindsight. There were many, many people who had concerns about the legitimacy of this war before we went in. It's a shame that Congress was so complicit in pushing us to war. Was it absolutely necessary to take Saddam when we did? Of course not. There were no WMDs, and no amount of posturing about "bringing Democracy to Iraq" can change the fact that we didn't need to go in when we did. So, Saddam's on trial, and he's sure to be convicted, and we'll get to listen to Bush talk about how "justice has been served, and freedom has won." Tell that to the families of the 1,670 Americans who have died in Iraq, or to the 12,762 Americans who have been wounded. And we haven't even gotten to the Iraqi people. The next time people talk about how the Iraqis are better off without Saddam, tell them that the death rate hasn't even improved. So how is Iraq better off?
The Virtual Case File. No, this isn't something out of the X-Files. The Virtual Case File is the name of the program that the FBI spent over $100 million on, only to abandon it because of massive problems. Yet the FBI knew many of these problems two years ago, towards the beginning of the project, and didn't share their knowledge with the contractor, Science Applications International Corp. There seems to be a finger pointing game going on over at the FBI, where several people have said they saw problems, but no one bothered to do anything about it. Remember, folks, this is the same FBI that couldn't search for "al Qaeda" on the internet, because, for many years, the FBI's internet search engines could not search for more than one word at a time. Honestly, have you come to expect more from your government? But at least Bush makes us all "feel" safer.
Editorials
Bush, The Spoiled Man-Child. We slam the MSM quite a bit here at Still Fighting, because no one seems to have the convictions to speak or write about how Bush has screwed up his 5 years in office thus far. Then, occasionally, we'll come across an editorial from someone like Mark Morford, and we see a slight glimmer of hope. Morford's editorial is a scathing attack on Bush's ineptitude, inspired by Bush's latest press conference. You know, the one where he "disassembled". Morford's point is quite simple, really: Bush treats Americans like children. He tries to placate us by telling us everything is going great in Iraq, because none of us are old enough to read a newspaper, browse the internet, or tune the television to a news channel (well, any news channel except ABC). He tries to assure us that Social Security overhaul is just a matter of time, when the truth is that thr vast majority of Americans don't favor his slow-forming non-plan. Now, all we need is reporters like Morfort actually saying and asking things in this way while they are actually in the White House Press Room.
Urban Archipelago. There's something going on across the nation, and it's best seen in Kansas. Two months ago, Kansas voters overwhelmingly supported a same-sex marriage ban and voted in school board members who wanted to teach creationism. Yet, during that same election, the citizens of Larence (one of the fastest growing cities in the state) voted progressives into every open seat. It's a story playing out all over this nation. Did you know that every city in America with a population of over 500,000 voted for Kerry? (That's 29 cities, for those of you scoring at home). About half of the cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 also voted for Kerry (there are a total of 572). It's the smaller, more rural areas where Democrats are losing it. And so, progressives are creating this "urban archipelago" of blue islands awash in a sea of red. A big reason for this island chain can be seen in the influence of mayors. For those of us who live in larger areas, we may not see the effects of our mayor. But for small- and middle-sized towns, the mayor can make a huge impact on how citizens vote at the polls, because mayors have the opportunity to be very hands-on, something most Senators and House members don't have the luxury of doing. This idea of "smaller up" is something Democracy for America has been doing, with varying degrees of success, over the last two years. Maybe it's time for you to get involved more on a local level, particularly if you live on one of these blue islands, or would create your own.
A Policy of Rape. It's not a pretty subject, but we have to talk about it. When we talk about Sudan, we generally discuss the genocide. But as Nicholas Kristof points out, there's more atrocities in Darfur than just genocide. Gang rape runs rampant across Darfur. Aside from the horrible invasion of a woman, the risk of diseases like AIDS is high. Some women are taken away and just...disappear. The government of Sudan will not allow aid groups to bring in medication that reduces the risk of HIV. The government also imprisons women who are raped and become pregnant, for "adultery." We may think we have it bad here, but we really don't. This administration seems to delight in restricting the rights of Americans, but at least the majority of American women don't get gang raped when they go out of their homes.
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December 29, 2005
Monday, June 06, 2005
Monday's Links
Activism
It Stops In Virginia. Hey, when Tom Daschle's onboard, you know it's a serious matter! Well, maybe not quite, but the Virginia Governor's race is an important matter. The GOP learned in 2004 (although they probably knew it all along) from the Swift Boat Liars, that out-and-out mendacity is the way to go when your candidate doesn't have anything substantive to offer. And since that's apparently the case in the Virginia Governor's race (which occurs in 2005, by the way), the GOP's at it again. This time, they're once again using religion as a weapon, and it's against Tim Kaine. They know that Jerry Kilgore can't beat him on substance or politics, and that's why they have to play dirty already. Maintaining Democratic Governors is a key part of taking this country back, and Kaine can use your help. If you don't want to donate money, then at least be aware of the lies they're spreading, and do your best to fight back. We're pretty sure you know at least one person in Virginia!
News
Los Angeles Living Wage Study. Finally, some non-Iraq, non-Social Security, non-filibuster-related news. For a little while, we weren't even sure that any existed? Our national minimum wage ($5.15/hr) is a disgrace to this country. We're supposed to be the "richest country in the world" (and GDP-wise, we are), but haven't raised the minimum wage in almost eight years. Opponents of raising the minimum wage always argue that if we do so, we'll hurt the economy, and price legal workers out of the market. And Los Angeles is living proof of that. In 1997, they passed a "living wage" ordinance, which established standards that certain companies that do business with the government have to meet. Right now, that means the minimum wage for those companies is $10.03, (or $8.78 if they provide health care too) and they have to provide 12 paid days and 10 unpaid days off per year. Wow, that kind of largesse must be crippling those firms, and resulting in tons of unemployment, right? Wrong.
Remember Saddam? Saddam Hussein and 11 of his flunkies will go on trial soon, and could face up to 500 charges. As we read about this, we can't help but reflect on Iraq. Now that we know Bush lied to Americans about Iraq, we're left wondering if there could have been a better way. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we're not just talking about hindsight. There were many, many people who had concerns about the legitimacy of this war before we went in. It's a shame that Congress was so complicit in pushing us to war. Was it absolutely necessary to take Saddam when we did? Of course not. There were no WMDs, and no amount of posturing about "bringing Democracy to Iraq" can change the fact that we didn't need to go in when we did. So, Saddam's on trial, and he's sure to be convicted, and we'll get to listen to Bush talk about how "justice has been served, and freedom has won." Tell that to the families of the 1,670 Americans who have died in Iraq, or to the 12,762 Americans who have been wounded. And we haven't even gotten to the Iraqi people. The next time people talk about how the Iraqis are better off without Saddam, tell them that the death rate hasn't even improved. So how is Iraq better off?
The Virtual Case File. No, this isn't something out of the X-Files. The Virtual Case File is the name of the program that the FBI spent over $100 million on, only to abandon it because of massive problems. Yet the FBI knew many of these problems two years ago, towards the beginning of the project, and didn't share their knowledge with the contractor, Science Applications International Corp. There seems to be a finger pointing game going on over at the FBI, where several people have said they saw problems, but no one bothered to do anything about it. Remember, folks, this is the same FBI that couldn't search for "al Qaeda" on the internet, because, for many years, the FBI's internet search engines could not search for more than one word at a time. Honestly, have you come to expect more from your government? But at least Bush makes us all "feel" safer.
Editorials
Bush, The Spoiled Man-Child. We slam the MSM quite a bit here at Still Fighting, because no one seems to have the convictions to speak or write about how Bush has screwed up his 5 years in office thus far. Then, occasionally, we'll come across an editorial from someone like Mark Morford, and we see a slight glimmer of hope. Morford's editorial is a scathing attack on Bush's ineptitude, inspired by Bush's latest press conference. You know, the one where he "disassembled". Morford's point is quite simple, really: Bush treats Americans like children. He tries to placate us by telling us everything is going great in Iraq, because none of us are old enough to read a newspaper, browse the internet, or tune the television to a news channel (well, any news channel except ABC). He tries to assure us that Social Security overhaul is just a matter of time, when the truth is that thr vast majority of Americans don't favor his slow-forming non-plan. Now, all we need is reporters like Morfort actually saying and asking things in this way while they are actually in the White House Press Room.
Urban Archipelago. There's something going on across the nation, and it's best seen in Kansas. Two months ago, Kansas voters overwhelmingly supported a same-sex marriage ban and voted in school board members who wanted to teach creationism. Yet, during that same election, the citizens of Larence (one of the fastest growing cities in the state) voted progressives into every open seat. It's a story playing out all over this nation. Did you know that every city in America with a population of over 500,000 voted for Kerry? (That's 29 cities, for those of you scoring at home). About half of the cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 also voted for Kerry (there are a total of 572). It's the smaller, more rural areas where Democrats are losing it. And so, progressives are creating this "urban archipelago" of blue islands awash in a sea of red. A big reason for this island chain can be seen in the influence of mayors. For those of us who live in larger areas, we may not see the effects of our mayor. But for small- and middle-sized towns, the mayor can make a huge impact on how citizens vote at the polls, because mayors have the opportunity to be very hands-on, something most Senators and House members don't have the luxury of doing. This idea of "smaller up" is something Democracy for America has been doing, with varying degrees of success, over the last two years. Maybe it's time for you to get involved more on a local level, particularly if you live on one of these blue islands, or would create your own.
A Policy of Rape. It's not a pretty subject, but we have to talk about it. When we talk about Sudan, we generally discuss the genocide. But as Nicholas Kristof points out, there's more atrocities in Darfur than just genocide. Gang rape runs rampant across Darfur. Aside from the horrible invasion of a woman, the risk of diseases like AIDS is high. Some women are taken away and just...disappear. The government of Sudan will not allow aid groups to bring in medication that reduces the risk of HIV. The government also imprisons women who are raped and become pregnant, for "adultery." We may think we have it bad here, but we really don't. This administration seems to delight in restricting the rights of Americans, but at least the majority of American women don't get gang raped when they go out of their homes.
|
December 29, 2005
It Stops In Virginia. Hey, when Tom Daschle's onboard, you know it's a serious matter! Well, maybe not quite, but the Virginia Governor's race is an important matter. The GOP learned in 2004 (although they probably knew it all along) from the Swift Boat Liars, that out-and-out mendacity is the way to go when your candidate doesn't have anything substantive to offer. And since that's apparently the case in the Virginia Governor's race (which occurs in 2005, by the way), the GOP's at it again. This time, they're once again using religion as a weapon, and it's against Tim Kaine. They know that Jerry Kilgore can't beat him on substance or politics, and that's why they have to play dirty already. Maintaining Democratic Governors is a key part of taking this country back, and Kaine can use your help. If you don't want to donate money, then at least be aware of the lies they're spreading, and do your best to fight back. We're pretty sure you know at least one person in Virginia!
News
Los Angeles Living Wage Study. Finally, some non-Iraq, non-Social Security, non-filibuster-related news. For a little while, we weren't even sure that any existed? Our national minimum wage ($5.15/hr) is a disgrace to this country. We're supposed to be the "richest country in the world" (and GDP-wise, we are), but haven't raised the minimum wage in almost eight years. Opponents of raising the minimum wage always argue that if we do so, we'll hurt the economy, and price legal workers out of the market. And Los Angeles is living proof of that. In 1997, they passed a "living wage" ordinance, which established standards that certain companies that do business with the government have to meet. Right now, that means the minimum wage for those companies is $10.03, (or $8.78 if they provide health care too) and they have to provide 12 paid days and 10 unpaid days off per year. Wow, that kind of largesse must be crippling those firms, and resulting in tons of unemployment, right? Wrong.
Remember Saddam? Saddam Hussein and 11 of his flunkies will go on trial soon, and could face up to 500 charges. As we read about this, we can't help but reflect on Iraq. Now that we know Bush lied to Americans about Iraq, we're left wondering if there could have been a better way. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but we're not just talking about hindsight. There were many, many people who had concerns about the legitimacy of this war before we went in. It's a shame that Congress was so complicit in pushing us to war. Was it absolutely necessary to take Saddam when we did? Of course not. There were no WMDs, and no amount of posturing about "bringing Democracy to Iraq" can change the fact that we didn't need to go in when we did. So, Saddam's on trial, and he's sure to be convicted, and we'll get to listen to Bush talk about how "justice has been served, and freedom has won." Tell that to the families of the 1,670 Americans who have died in Iraq, or to the 12,762 Americans who have been wounded. And we haven't even gotten to the Iraqi people. The next time people talk about how the Iraqis are better off without Saddam, tell them that the death rate hasn't even improved. So how is Iraq better off?
The Virtual Case File. No, this isn't something out of the X-Files. The Virtual Case File is the name of the program that the FBI spent over $100 million on, only to abandon it because of massive problems. Yet the FBI knew many of these problems two years ago, towards the beginning of the project, and didn't share their knowledge with the contractor, Science Applications International Corp. There seems to be a finger pointing game going on over at the FBI, where several people have said they saw problems, but no one bothered to do anything about it. Remember, folks, this is the same FBI that couldn't search for "al Qaeda" on the internet, because, for many years, the FBI's internet search engines could not search for more than one word at a time. Honestly, have you come to expect more from your government? But at least Bush makes us all "feel" safer.
Editorials
Bush, The Spoiled Man-Child. We slam the MSM quite a bit here at Still Fighting, because no one seems to have the convictions to speak or write about how Bush has screwed up his 5 years in office thus far. Then, occasionally, we'll come across an editorial from someone like Mark Morford, and we see a slight glimmer of hope. Morford's editorial is a scathing attack on Bush's ineptitude, inspired by Bush's latest press conference. You know, the one where he "disassembled". Morford's point is quite simple, really: Bush treats Americans like children. He tries to placate us by telling us everything is going great in Iraq, because none of us are old enough to read a newspaper, browse the internet, or tune the television to a news channel (well, any news channel except ABC). He tries to assure us that Social Security overhaul is just a matter of time, when the truth is that thr vast majority of Americans don't favor his slow-forming non-plan. Now, all we need is reporters like Morfort actually saying and asking things in this way while they are actually in the White House Press Room.
Urban Archipelago. There's something going on across the nation, and it's best seen in Kansas. Two months ago, Kansas voters overwhelmingly supported a same-sex marriage ban and voted in school board members who wanted to teach creationism. Yet, during that same election, the citizens of Larence (one of the fastest growing cities in the state) voted progressives into every open seat. It's a story playing out all over this nation. Did you know that every city in America with a population of over 500,000 voted for Kerry? (That's 29 cities, for those of you scoring at home). About half of the cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 also voted for Kerry (there are a total of 572). It's the smaller, more rural areas where Democrats are losing it. And so, progressives are creating this "urban archipelago" of blue islands awash in a sea of red. A big reason for this island chain can be seen in the influence of mayors. For those of us who live in larger areas, we may not see the effects of our mayor. But for small- and middle-sized towns, the mayor can make a huge impact on how citizens vote at the polls, because mayors have the opportunity to be very hands-on, something most Senators and House members don't have the luxury of doing. This idea of "smaller up" is something Democracy for America has been doing, with varying degrees of success, over the last two years. Maybe it's time for you to get involved more on a local level, particularly if you live on one of these blue islands, or would create your own.
A Policy of Rape. It's not a pretty subject, but we have to talk about it. When we talk about Sudan, we generally discuss the genocide. But as Nicholas Kristof points out, there's more atrocities in Darfur than just genocide. Gang rape runs rampant across Darfur. Aside from the horrible invasion of a woman, the risk of diseases like AIDS is high. Some women are taken away and just...disappear. The government of Sudan will not allow aid groups to bring in medication that reduces the risk of HIV. The government also imprisons women who are raped and become pregnant, for "adultery." We may think we have it bad here, but we really don't. This administration seems to delight in restricting the rights of Americans, but at least the majority of American women don't get gang raped when they go out of their homes.
