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December 29, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Thursday's Links
Activism
The Democracy Directory. As we're working towards a more progressive America, it's critical that we work to build institutional infrastructure. Why is this import? Because the right's rise to power has been a result of them having a gigantic head start on building conservative institutions, and the left needs to catch up in order to be competitive. To that end, you can help by adding to DFA's Democracy Directory. They're trying to compile a comprehensive database of local grassroots organizations. Add yours, and pass it along to others who have organizations to add.
News
Checking in With Bush. What's going on with the president? Bush has got to be feeling frustrated that none of his second-term plans are coming to fruition, or are at least meeting stiff resistance. Social Security, judicial nominees, stem-cells and John Bolton are all issues that the President has a vested interest in, yet none are paying the dividends that he wants. Sure, he'll veto the stem-cell bill, but the House passed it first. Sure, Bolton will have an up/down vote, but it's been delayed. With Bush's approval rating in the toilet, recent polls show that Bush is on the wrong side of American opinion, but is that so surprising? At this point, Bush's headstrong "tin ear" is doing the work of Democrats for them, by showing America that he really doesn't share their values, concerns and priorities. Keep it up, Mr. President!
Push On to Clarify Rights For Detainees. Ha ha ha. Silly Arlen Specter. Detainees don't have rights! Doesn't he know that? Any group of people who have been incarcerated without being charged with a crime, who routinely fall victim to torture, and who have atrocities committed against them and then ignored by the government (even when a group like Amnesty International brings those atrocities to light) doesn't have rights from our government! Specter wants Congress to establish some sort of detention law. Hey, Mr. Specter, before putting the cart before the horse, why not look at what's actually happening down there? Afraid the Amnesty International stories are true?
College Republican National Commitee Officer Promotes Voter Supression. You know, we realize that often allegations of voter intimidation and suppression can come off as conspiracy theories. But then, stories like this come out, and justify our suspicions. If officers in the collegiate wing of the RNC are publicly promoting methods of reducing turnout, then is it that far of a stretch to imagine that the real RNC used such tactics to manipulate turnout in 2004? It's really this simple - they know that the more Americans that vote, the less of a chance they have to win. That's why it's so important to try to ensure that as many citizens as possible do their civic duty and go to the polls, despite the RNC's best efforts.
Editorials
A Liar and A Coward. Speaking of Amnesty International, Dick Cheney was on Larry King Live, and he brooked no argument in condemning Amnesty International's claims of abuse at Guantanamo Bay. We guess Cheney didn't read the FBI memos of 2004, which clearly show that torture and abuse occured. In the War on Terror, it's no secret that the Bush administration will use any means necessary to get the answers they want (whether or not the answerer has them). What that means, however, is that Bush, Cheney and friends have removed themselves from American ideals. They profess to want to spread democracy, liberty and freedom. But these are just words, and their declarations ring hollow when faced with atrocities like Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. In this age of information, it is virtually impossible to keep a secret, so why bother? History will judge Bush, Cheney, Rice, McClellen and the rest as liars of the worst sort who only sought to enhance their own histories, and ruined America's reputation in the process. Really, is it any wonder why the rest of the world finds us to be hypocrites?
Where is Today's Deep Throat? We're not going to pontificate on the Nixon Era and Watergate, except to wax nostalgic a bit. Remember back in the days, when we had a crooked President, but the media wasn't complicit in his deception? John Conyers, as usual, hammers the point home here. The revealing of the identity of "Deep Throat" is relevant today because it provides a stark contrast to our ideals today. Can you imagine if a story like Watergate broke today? In fact, the Downing Street Memo may be just as big, but somehow it's getting less press than "Deep Throat". These days, when a Republican's impropriety is brought up, FOX News makes excuses for it, the White House attacks the press, and Congress just turns a blind eye. Oh, how we miss those Nixon days...
Bombs Won't 'Solve' Iran. Just because we haven't mentioned it in a while doesn't mean that the Iran problem is going away. And aside from their general ineptitude surrounding anything diplomatic, there are specific reasons to believe that the Bush Administration has no clue how to proceed with Iran. In 1981, Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, and the Reagan Administration denounced the bombing, as it made a tense situation even worse. The raid ended up accelerating Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Furthermore, it harmed Israel's reputation. But none of these facts stopped Cheney in 1991 from thanking the man responsible for leading the bombing, claiming that it "made our job much easier in Desert Storm". If he couldn't understand the situation then, what makes us think he's capable of (or interested in) finding a diplomatic solution to a similar problem now?
|
December 29, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Thursday's Links
Activism
The Democracy Directory. As we're working towards a more progressive America, it's critical that we work to build institutional infrastructure. Why is this import? Because the right's rise to power has been a result of them having a gigantic head start on building conservative institutions, and the left needs to catch up in order to be competitive. To that end, you can help by adding to DFA's Democracy Directory. They're trying to compile a comprehensive database of local grassroots organizations. Add yours, and pass it along to others who have organizations to add.
News
Checking in With Bush. What's going on with the president? Bush has got to be feeling frustrated that none of his second-term plans are coming to fruition, or are at least meeting stiff resistance. Social Security, judicial nominees, stem-cells and John Bolton are all issues that the President has a vested interest in, yet none are paying the dividends that he wants. Sure, he'll veto the stem-cell bill, but the House passed it first. Sure, Bolton will have an up/down vote, but it's been delayed. With Bush's approval rating in the toilet, recent polls show that Bush is on the wrong side of American opinion, but is that so surprising? At this point, Bush's headstrong "tin ear" is doing the work of Democrats for them, by showing America that he really doesn't share their values, concerns and priorities. Keep it up, Mr. President!
Push On to Clarify Rights For Detainees. Ha ha ha. Silly Arlen Specter. Detainees don't have rights! Doesn't he know that? Any group of people who have been incarcerated without being charged with a crime, who routinely fall victim to torture, and who have atrocities committed against them and then ignored by the government (even when a group like Amnesty International brings those atrocities to light) doesn't have rights from our government! Specter wants Congress to establish some sort of detention law. Hey, Mr. Specter, before putting the cart before the horse, why not look at what's actually happening down there? Afraid the Amnesty International stories are true?
College Republican National Commitee Officer Promotes Voter Supression. You know, we realize that often allegations of voter intimidation and suppression can come off as conspiracy theories. But then, stories like this come out, and justify our suspicions. If officers in the collegiate wing of the RNC are publicly promoting methods of reducing turnout, then is it that far of a stretch to imagine that the real RNC used such tactics to manipulate turnout in 2004? It's really this simple - they know that the more Americans that vote, the less of a chance they have to win. That's why it's so important to try to ensure that as many citizens as possible do their civic duty and go to the polls, despite the RNC's best efforts.
Editorials
A Liar and A Coward. Speaking of Amnesty International, Dick Cheney was on Larry King Live, and he brooked no argument in condemning Amnesty International's claims of abuse at Guantanamo Bay. We guess Cheney didn't read the FBI memos of 2004, which clearly show that torture and abuse occured. In the War on Terror, it's no secret that the Bush administration will use any means necessary to get the answers they want (whether or not the answerer has them). What that means, however, is that Bush, Cheney and friends have removed themselves from American ideals. They profess to want to spread democracy, liberty and freedom. But these are just words, and their declarations ring hollow when faced with atrocities like Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. In this age of information, it is virtually impossible to keep a secret, so why bother? History will judge Bush, Cheney, Rice, McClellen and the rest as liars of the worst sort who only sought to enhance their own histories, and ruined America's reputation in the process. Really, is it any wonder why the rest of the world finds us to be hypocrites?
Where is Today's Deep Throat? We're not going to pontificate on the Nixon Era and Watergate, except to wax nostalgic a bit. Remember back in the days, when we had a crooked President, but the media wasn't complicit in his deception? John Conyers, as usual, hammers the point home here. The revealing of the identity of "Deep Throat" is relevant today because it provides a stark contrast to our ideals today. Can you imagine if a story like Watergate broke today? In fact, the Downing Street Memo may be just as big, but somehow it's getting less press than "Deep Throat". These days, when a Republican's impropriety is brought up, FOX News makes excuses for it, the White House attacks the press, and Congress just turns a blind eye. Oh, how we miss those Nixon days...
Bombs Won't 'Solve' Iran. Just because we haven't mentioned it in a while doesn't mean that the Iran problem is going away. And aside from their general ineptitude surrounding anything diplomatic, there are specific reasons to believe that the Bush Administration has no clue how to proceed with Iran. In 1981, Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, and the Reagan Administration denounced the bombing, as it made a tense situation even worse. The raid ended up accelerating Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Furthermore, it harmed Israel's reputation. But none of these facts stopped Cheney in 1991 from thanking the man responsible for leading the bombing, claiming that it "made our job much easier in Desert Storm". If he couldn't understand the situation then, what makes us think he's capable of (or interested in) finding a diplomatic solution to a similar problem now?
|
December 29, 2005
The Democracy Directory. As we're working towards a more progressive America, it's critical that we work to build institutional infrastructure. Why is this import? Because the right's rise to power has been a result of them having a gigantic head start on building conservative institutions, and the left needs to catch up in order to be competitive. To that end, you can help by adding to DFA's Democracy Directory. They're trying to compile a comprehensive database of local grassroots organizations. Add yours, and pass it along to others who have organizations to add.
News
Checking in With Bush. What's going on with the president? Bush has got to be feeling frustrated that none of his second-term plans are coming to fruition, or are at least meeting stiff resistance. Social Security, judicial nominees, stem-cells and John Bolton are all issues that the President has a vested interest in, yet none are paying the dividends that he wants. Sure, he'll veto the stem-cell bill, but the House passed it first. Sure, Bolton will have an up/down vote, but it's been delayed. With Bush's approval rating in the toilet, recent polls show that Bush is on the wrong side of American opinion, but is that so surprising? At this point, Bush's headstrong "tin ear" is doing the work of Democrats for them, by showing America that he really doesn't share their values, concerns and priorities. Keep it up, Mr. President!
Push On to Clarify Rights For Detainees. Ha ha ha. Silly Arlen Specter. Detainees don't have rights! Doesn't he know that? Any group of people who have been incarcerated without being charged with a crime, who routinely fall victim to torture, and who have atrocities committed against them and then ignored by the government (even when a group like Amnesty International brings those atrocities to light) doesn't have rights from our government! Specter wants Congress to establish some sort of detention law. Hey, Mr. Specter, before putting the cart before the horse, why not look at what's actually happening down there? Afraid the Amnesty International stories are true?
College Republican National Commitee Officer Promotes Voter Supression. You know, we realize that often allegations of voter intimidation and suppression can come off as conspiracy theories. But then, stories like this come out, and justify our suspicions. If officers in the collegiate wing of the RNC are publicly promoting methods of reducing turnout, then is it that far of a stretch to imagine that the real RNC used such tactics to manipulate turnout in 2004? It's really this simple - they know that the more Americans that vote, the less of a chance they have to win. That's why it's so important to try to ensure that as many citizens as possible do their civic duty and go to the polls, despite the RNC's best efforts.
Editorials
A Liar and A Coward. Speaking of Amnesty International, Dick Cheney was on Larry King Live, and he brooked no argument in condemning Amnesty International's claims of abuse at Guantanamo Bay. We guess Cheney didn't read the FBI memos of 2004, which clearly show that torture and abuse occured. In the War on Terror, it's no secret that the Bush administration will use any means necessary to get the answers they want (whether or not the answerer has them). What that means, however, is that Bush, Cheney and friends have removed themselves from American ideals. They profess to want to spread democracy, liberty and freedom. But these are just words, and their declarations ring hollow when faced with atrocities like Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. In this age of information, it is virtually impossible to keep a secret, so why bother? History will judge Bush, Cheney, Rice, McClellen and the rest as liars of the worst sort who only sought to enhance their own histories, and ruined America's reputation in the process. Really, is it any wonder why the rest of the world finds us to be hypocrites?
Where is Today's Deep Throat? We're not going to pontificate on the Nixon Era and Watergate, except to wax nostalgic a bit. Remember back in the days, when we had a crooked President, but the media wasn't complicit in his deception? John Conyers, as usual, hammers the point home here. The revealing of the identity of "Deep Throat" is relevant today because it provides a stark contrast to our ideals today. Can you imagine if a story like Watergate broke today? In fact, the Downing Street Memo may be just as big, but somehow it's getting less press than "Deep Throat". These days, when a Republican's impropriety is brought up, FOX News makes excuses for it, the White House attacks the press, and Congress just turns a blind eye. Oh, how we miss those Nixon days...
Bombs Won't 'Solve' Iran. Just because we haven't mentioned it in a while doesn't mean that the Iran problem is going away. And aside from their general ineptitude surrounding anything diplomatic, there are specific reasons to believe that the Bush Administration has no clue how to proceed with Iran. In 1981, Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, and the Reagan Administration denounced the bombing, as it made a tense situation even worse. The raid ended up accelerating Iraq's nuclear weapons program. Furthermore, it harmed Israel's reputation. But none of these facts stopped Cheney in 1991 from thanking the man responsible for leading the bombing, claiming that it "made our job much easier in Desert Storm". If he couldn't understand the situation then, what makes us think he's capable of (or interested in) finding a diplomatic solution to a similar problem now?
