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December 29, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Saturday's Links
Activism
The American Compact. To paraphrase George Carlin, Republicans have a lot of good ideas. The problem is, most of 'em suck. Unfortunately, though, these days those sucky ideas are winning out over Democrats' seeming total lack of ideas. They've got good principles, and know that the Republicans' ideas are destroying the country, but there needs to be an alternative. Enter the American Compact: 10 good ideas that Democrats can stand for, and that will make our country stronger. Learn about these platforms and then encourage your politican to support them. Make the Democratic Party the party of ideas - and good ideas at that.
News
Angry e-mail follows fetal pain article. Pop quiz: What do religious conservatives do when science provides a result that doesn't fit into their world view? Ok, that was an easy question: We all know that they attack the scientists that present the offensive data. In this case, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor in chief of The Journal of the American Medical Association, published an article that said fetuses (fetii?) likely don't feel pain until late in pregnancy. For that, she was attack by dozens of vitriolic emails. DeAngelis herself is quite religious, but fortunately, that hasn't blinded her to science, as religion has clearly done to her attackers. Folks, science is here to stay, so maybe it's time to start looking inward when reality conflict with your faith.
John Conyers Urges Kerry/Edwards Campaign to Not Withdraw From Ohio Recount Case. The 2004 election situation may be far from your mind by now, but it shouldn't be. Forget trying to change the results of the election (hopefully Bush's own actions will take care of that in time), but if we let up on investigating the possible cases of fraud, then there's no reason they won't try again in 2006 and 2008. We have to expose their misdeeds, but apparently John Kerry and John Edwards are losing their will. Last week, there was a report (since denied) that they were going to drop their recount case. Enter John Conyers, who is as ubiquitous on Still Fighting as he is tenacious. He seems to be the only one who refuses to let the Ohio case die, and he needs our support. Make sure Conyers, Kerry, AND Edwards know how important this case is to our democracy - the contact information is at the bottom of the link.
Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans. Remember the phrase, "the anti-military left", and how it was drummed into our heads by the right, especially when Clinton was in power? Well, we need to bring that phrase back, except now it needs to be "the anti-military right". With every action of those in power, they make it clear that they don't give a damn about the troops. They're just pawns in their grasp for power. And in the latest disgrace, it seems that the Pentagon is "offering the option" of putting mission names on troops' headstones. It's fine if the troops want that, but at least one family has had their child's headstone set without their approval. Dishonoring the dead? Is there anything more anti-military than that?
Editorials
The danger of yellow ribbon patriotism. Finally, someone nails down what's been bothering us about those silly yellow ribbon magnets. It's not just that it's such a shallow act of support. It's not just that the money for the magnets is likely going to some massive company instead of troops of their families. No, it's that we've apparently lost all sense of what "support" really means. No one is asked to make a real sacrifice, unless they're in the military or care about someone who is. In fact, as you travel the country, but for those goofy magnets, you might not even know there's a war going on at all. Joe Klein is absolutely right: "...patriotic displays just won't cut it anymore."
Could it be Bush's Watergate? You know things aren't going well for you when a former Chairman of the Texas Republican Party is writing editorials forecasting your administration's possible demise. Thomas Pauken writes about how Karl Rove got into the Plame mess, and some of the similarities to Watergate. Not surprising, since Rove idolizes Nixon. Pauken does a nice job of summarizing the current situation (which cannot be ignored, and should be brought up again and again), and adds a new twist: What if the now-known-to-be-fake Niger uranium documents that Joe Wilson was sent to investigate turn out to have been forged by someone in the Administration? As Pauken says, "If there is any truth to these charges, the lid will blow off Washington — and the Bush administration will be history." We're keeping our fingers crossed...
Blogger Commentary
Nice Little Propaganda Machine You Got There, Boys. We presume that if you read this blog, it's because you take progressive ideals to heart. In doing so, you've probably engaged one of your more narrow-minded friends or acquaintences about an issue that's important to you. Maybe it's gay marriage. Maybe it's intelligent design. Maybe it's prayer in schools. Whatever it is, most likely you've been faced with the accusation that you're the one that's narrow-minded because you refuse to accept their view, whatever it may be. Arthur Silber puts that argument to rest. Refusing to accept arguments that are not based in fact is not being narrow-minded; rather, it's the basis for intelligence.
The Parties Are Over. Gary Hart's been on a roll these days. A couple months ago, he wrote this editorial for the Huffington Post, discussing how the two-party has strayed far from its original intend. Parties cling to their bases, and serve their own interests. Neither party really seems to stand for anything any more, except possibly opposing the other party. And while we certainly want the Democrats to keep opposing Republicans, they need to do more. Maybe the current state of things will bring about an end to this system, as Hart predicts. We'd like that - more choices are always better. But in the meantime, we also worry about things getting even worse before they get better. There's no easy solution - stick with the system in an attempt to fight off Republican dominance? Or buck the system, knowing that it might only work out after decades of fighting for an electoral revolution?
|
December 29, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Saturday's Links
Activism
The American Compact. To paraphrase George Carlin, Republicans have a lot of good ideas. The problem is, most of 'em suck. Unfortunately, though, these days those sucky ideas are winning out over Democrats' seeming total lack of ideas. They've got good principles, and know that the Republicans' ideas are destroying the country, but there needs to be an alternative. Enter the American Compact: 10 good ideas that Democrats can stand for, and that will make our country stronger. Learn about these platforms and then encourage your politican to support them. Make the Democratic Party the party of ideas - and good ideas at that.
News
Angry e-mail follows fetal pain article. Pop quiz: What do religious conservatives do when science provides a result that doesn't fit into their world view? Ok, that was an easy question: We all know that they attack the scientists that present the offensive data. In this case, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor in chief of The Journal of the American Medical Association, published an article that said fetuses (fetii?) likely don't feel pain until late in pregnancy. For that, she was attack by dozens of vitriolic emails. DeAngelis herself is quite religious, but fortunately, that hasn't blinded her to science, as religion has clearly done to her attackers. Folks, science is here to stay, so maybe it's time to start looking inward when reality conflict with your faith.
John Conyers Urges Kerry/Edwards Campaign to Not Withdraw From Ohio Recount Case. The 2004 election situation may be far from your mind by now, but it shouldn't be. Forget trying to change the results of the election (hopefully Bush's own actions will take care of that in time), but if we let up on investigating the possible cases of fraud, then there's no reason they won't try again in 2006 and 2008. We have to expose their misdeeds, but apparently John Kerry and John Edwards are losing their will. Last week, there was a report (since denied) that they were going to drop their recount case. Enter John Conyers, who is as ubiquitous on Still Fighting as he is tenacious. He seems to be the only one who refuses to let the Ohio case die, and he needs our support. Make sure Conyers, Kerry, AND Edwards know how important this case is to our democracy - the contact information is at the bottom of the link.
Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans. Remember the phrase, "the anti-military left", and how it was drummed into our heads by the right, especially when Clinton was in power? Well, we need to bring that phrase back, except now it needs to be "the anti-military right". With every action of those in power, they make it clear that they don't give a damn about the troops. They're just pawns in their grasp for power. And in the latest disgrace, it seems that the Pentagon is "offering the option" of putting mission names on troops' headstones. It's fine if the troops want that, but at least one family has had their child's headstone set without their approval. Dishonoring the dead? Is there anything more anti-military than that?
Editorials
The danger of yellow ribbon patriotism. Finally, someone nails down what's been bothering us about those silly yellow ribbon magnets. It's not just that it's such a shallow act of support. It's not just that the money for the magnets is likely going to some massive company instead of troops of their families. No, it's that we've apparently lost all sense of what "support" really means. No one is asked to make a real sacrifice, unless they're in the military or care about someone who is. In fact, as you travel the country, but for those goofy magnets, you might not even know there's a war going on at all. Joe Klein is absolutely right: "...patriotic displays just won't cut it anymore."
Could it be Bush's Watergate? You know things aren't going well for you when a former Chairman of the Texas Republican Party is writing editorials forecasting your administration's possible demise. Thomas Pauken writes about how Karl Rove got into the Plame mess, and some of the similarities to Watergate. Not surprising, since Rove idolizes Nixon. Pauken does a nice job of summarizing the current situation (which cannot be ignored, and should be brought up again and again), and adds a new twist: What if the now-known-to-be-fake Niger uranium documents that Joe Wilson was sent to investigate turn out to have been forged by someone in the Administration? As Pauken says, "If there is any truth to these charges, the lid will blow off Washington — and the Bush administration will be history." We're keeping our fingers crossed...
Blogger Commentary
Nice Little Propaganda Machine You Got There, Boys. We presume that if you read this blog, it's because you take progressive ideals to heart. In doing so, you've probably engaged one of your more narrow-minded friends or acquaintences about an issue that's important to you. Maybe it's gay marriage. Maybe it's intelligent design. Maybe it's prayer in schools. Whatever it is, most likely you've been faced with the accusation that you're the one that's narrow-minded because you refuse to accept their view, whatever it may be. Arthur Silber puts that argument to rest. Refusing to accept arguments that are not based in fact is not being narrow-minded; rather, it's the basis for intelligence.
The Parties Are Over. Gary Hart's been on a roll these days. A couple months ago, he wrote this editorial for the Huffington Post, discussing how the two-party has strayed far from its original intend. Parties cling to their bases, and serve their own interests. Neither party really seems to stand for anything any more, except possibly opposing the other party. And while we certainly want the Democrats to keep opposing Republicans, they need to do more. Maybe the current state of things will bring about an end to this system, as Hart predicts. We'd like that - more choices are always better. But in the meantime, we also worry about things getting even worse before they get better. There's no easy solution - stick with the system in an attempt to fight off Republican dominance? Or buck the system, knowing that it might only work out after decades of fighting for an electoral revolution?
|
December 29, 2005
The American Compact. To paraphrase George Carlin, Republicans have a lot of good ideas. The problem is, most of 'em suck. Unfortunately, though, these days those sucky ideas are winning out over Democrats' seeming total lack of ideas. They've got good principles, and know that the Republicans' ideas are destroying the country, but there needs to be an alternative. Enter the American Compact: 10 good ideas that Democrats can stand for, and that will make our country stronger. Learn about these platforms and then encourage your politican to support them. Make the Democratic Party the party of ideas - and good ideas at that.
News
Angry e-mail follows fetal pain article. Pop quiz: What do religious conservatives do when science provides a result that doesn't fit into their world view? Ok, that was an easy question: We all know that they attack the scientists that present the offensive data. In this case, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor in chief of The Journal of the American Medical Association, published an article that said fetuses (fetii?) likely don't feel pain until late in pregnancy. For that, she was attack by dozens of vitriolic emails. DeAngelis herself is quite religious, but fortunately, that hasn't blinded her to science, as religion has clearly done to her attackers. Folks, science is here to stay, so maybe it's time to start looking inward when reality conflict with your faith.
John Conyers Urges Kerry/Edwards Campaign to Not Withdraw From Ohio Recount Case. The 2004 election situation may be far from your mind by now, but it shouldn't be. Forget trying to change the results of the election (hopefully Bush's own actions will take care of that in time), but if we let up on investigating the possible cases of fraud, then there's no reason they won't try again in 2006 and 2008. We have to expose their misdeeds, but apparently John Kerry and John Edwards are losing their will. Last week, there was a report (since denied) that they were going to drop their recount case. Enter John Conyers, who is as ubiquitous on Still Fighting as he is tenacious. He seems to be the only one who refuses to let the Ohio case die, and he needs our support. Make sure Conyers, Kerry, AND Edwards know how important this case is to our democracy - the contact information is at the bottom of the link.
Troops' Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans. Remember the phrase, "the anti-military left", and how it was drummed into our heads by the right, especially when Clinton was in power? Well, we need to bring that phrase back, except now it needs to be "the anti-military right". With every action of those in power, they make it clear that they don't give a damn about the troops. They're just pawns in their grasp for power. And in the latest disgrace, it seems that the Pentagon is "offering the option" of putting mission names on troops' headstones. It's fine if the troops want that, but at least one family has had their child's headstone set without their approval. Dishonoring the dead? Is there anything more anti-military than that?
Editorials
The danger of yellow ribbon patriotism. Finally, someone nails down what's been bothering us about those silly yellow ribbon magnets. It's not just that it's such a shallow act of support. It's not just that the money for the magnets is likely going to some massive company instead of troops of their families. No, it's that we've apparently lost all sense of what "support" really means. No one is asked to make a real sacrifice, unless they're in the military or care about someone who is. In fact, as you travel the country, but for those goofy magnets, you might not even know there's a war going on at all. Joe Klein is absolutely right: "...patriotic displays just won't cut it anymore."
Could it be Bush's Watergate? You know things aren't going well for you when a former Chairman of the Texas Republican Party is writing editorials forecasting your administration's possible demise. Thomas Pauken writes about how Karl Rove got into the Plame mess, and some of the similarities to Watergate. Not surprising, since Rove idolizes Nixon. Pauken does a nice job of summarizing the current situation (which cannot be ignored, and should be brought up again and again), and adds a new twist: What if the now-known-to-be-fake Niger uranium documents that Joe Wilson was sent to investigate turn out to have been forged by someone in the Administration? As Pauken says, "If there is any truth to these charges, the lid will blow off Washington — and the Bush administration will be history." We're keeping our fingers crossed...
Blogger Commentary
Nice Little Propaganda Machine You Got There, Boys. We presume that if you read this blog, it's because you take progressive ideals to heart. In doing so, you've probably engaged one of your more narrow-minded friends or acquaintences about an issue that's important to you. Maybe it's gay marriage. Maybe it's intelligent design. Maybe it's prayer in schools. Whatever it is, most likely you've been faced with the accusation that you're the one that's narrow-minded because you refuse to accept their view, whatever it may be. Arthur Silber puts that argument to rest. Refusing to accept arguments that are not based in fact is not being narrow-minded; rather, it's the basis for intelligence.
The Parties Are Over. Gary Hart's been on a roll these days. A couple months ago, he wrote this editorial for the Huffington Post, discussing how the two-party has strayed far from its original intend. Parties cling to their bases, and serve their own interests. Neither party really seems to stand for anything any more, except possibly opposing the other party. And while we certainly want the Democrats to keep opposing Republicans, they need to do more. Maybe the current state of things will bring about an end to this system, as Hart predicts. We'd like that - more choices are always better. But in the meantime, we also worry about things getting even worse before they get better. There's no easy solution - stick with the system in an attempt to fight off Republican dominance? Or buck the system, knowing that it might only work out after decades of fighting for an electoral revolution?
