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December 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
Pledge-A-Picket. A little while ago we mentioned a novel approach to opposing the disgusting picketers who were protesting an American's soldier funeral with anti-gay rhetoric. Well, the approach has taken off, and now you can help, except this time you can fight back against anti-abortion picketers. You can make a donation based on the number of protesters that show up outside of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. So, either a lot of protesters will show up and PPSP will receive important funds to help women make informed health choices, or fewer protesters will show up, and women will be able to make those choices without being harassed and intimidated. Either way, you'll strike a blow for choice!
News
Bush's Gulf Enterprise-Zone Plan Has Failed to Deliver Before. Apparently, there's nothing that Bush thinks can't be fixed with tax cuts. Oh, he'll shine up his "Gulf Opportunity Zone" plan real nice, and make it seem like he's doing something magnanimous, but basically it amounts to more tax cuts for big companies. The only problem: It doesn't work. The "enterprise zone" idea has been tried before - Los Angeles is the most recent notable example - and it simply didn't work. What the plan does do is provide money to pad the pockets of large businesses who would likely locate themselves in the gulf anyways. Given all that, it's pretty obvious why Bush is bringing the plan back - and it's not to help the citizens of the Gulf Region, that's for sure.
Make Levees, Not War. What's that sound we hear in the distance? Is it the slow rumblings of a growing anti-war movement? We certainly think so. In case you missed it, this past weekend there was a gigantic anti-war rally in front of the White House. The most reasonable estimates are saying that somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people showed up to voice their clear opposition to this Administration's policies. The following day, a counter-protest was staged. That crowd was estimated to be around 400 people. Now that the people are beginning to speak up, let's start working on the next project: Getting our Democratic leaders to join us. We're not quite sure what they're waiting for.
Insurgents seize 5 towns near Syria. Speaking of that war in Iraq, how's that going? Well, it certainly seems we're inching closer and closer to civil war. Zarqawi-loyalists are forcing local residents out of their towns, threatening them with beheadings. The Administration, grasping at straws for any signs of progress, is the death of "al-Qaeda's number two in Iraq". (They've already killed the "number three" four or five times.) But if you look at the bottom of that story, the violence is continuing, regardless. The road out of Iraq is not clear at all, but one thing is: Our current approach must change now.
Editorials
Democrats' special interest problem. As fans of democracy, Democrats tend to value the opinions of minority groups. We want to concern ourselves with the issues facing everyone, certainly a noble endeavor. But because of the Democrats' "big tent", it's easy to become fractured. For too long, the Democratic Party has been labelled the party of special interest groups. Sometimes, this label has been deserved, and sometimes it hasn't. Recently, after meeting with civil rights and women's groups, Harry Reid announced his opposition to John Roberts. And while we're all for civil rights and women's right, and we have no problem with standing up to Roberts, the real problem was what occurred afterwards. Kim Gandy, President of NOW., said "He got the message loud and clear, didn't he?" How does that help things? It's self-aggrandizing, and only furthers the perception of Democrats as beholden to special interests. Our "big tent" should only extend to those groups that respect the Party, and are willing to work for our common good, not just their own.
Cheap Gas Is a Bad Habit. Sometimes, problems have to get worse before they get better. We certainly don't like the situation at the pump, but we're tired of all of the whining about gas prices. If you keep prolonging the tough decisions about how to wean ourselves off of oil, then eventually those decisions get made for you, which is precisely what is happening now. Of course, unfortunately, the oil companies are getting rich off of our stubbornness, and the ones who are going to suffer most are those who don't have the resources to find alternative means of transportation. For getting us to this, we can blame our leaders for their stunning lack of vision. But now that people can clearly see how vulnerable we are due to our dependence on cheap gas, it's our fault if we still do nothing about it but complain about the high prices, and then continue to guzzle gas at the same rate.
Blogger Commentary
Iraqi women say freedoms are slipping away. As time goes on, we become more and more in favor of withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible. But the fact remains that we've gotten in so deep, and the war was executed so poorly, that there's really no good solution to the situation we're in. Unfortunately, if we pull out, there will be significant costs, in addition to the ones we've already incurred. Bush's pie-in-the-sky idea of spreading democracy is a noble one, if unrealistic. Toppling Saddam may have bred some hope in Iraq, but already our inability to maintain peace in the country is having dire consequences. One of those is the rapid loss of women's rights, and issue that we promised we'd fix. But if we leave behind civil war, or a fundamentalist government protected by a new, and flawed constitution, all of those promises may very well go down the drain.
'Operation Offset' - GOP To Target Working Families. With the horrible state of the budget, Republicans are finally being forced to realize that they have to do something to reduce the deficit. But they're not giving up the tax cuts. They're also not giving up their pork projects. So who's going to sacrifice? That's right - the middle and lower class again. This time, they're proposing going after so-called "tax cheats". Corporate tax cheats? Nope. Those who file but don't qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit - low-income working families. Because as you can plainly see, the problem is that low-income working families are robbing us blind. Duh.
|
December 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Tuesday's Links
Activism
Pledge-A-Picket. A little while ago we mentioned a novel approach to opposing the disgusting picketers who were protesting an American's soldier funeral with anti-gay rhetoric. Well, the approach has taken off, and now you can help, except this time you can fight back against anti-abortion picketers. You can make a donation based on the number of protesters that show up outside of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. So, either a lot of protesters will show up and PPSP will receive important funds to help women make informed health choices, or fewer protesters will show up, and women will be able to make those choices without being harassed and intimidated. Either way, you'll strike a blow for choice!
News
Bush's Gulf Enterprise-Zone Plan Has Failed to Deliver Before. Apparently, there's nothing that Bush thinks can't be fixed with tax cuts. Oh, he'll shine up his "Gulf Opportunity Zone" plan real nice, and make it seem like he's doing something magnanimous, but basically it amounts to more tax cuts for big companies. The only problem: It doesn't work. The "enterprise zone" idea has been tried before - Los Angeles is the most recent notable example - and it simply didn't work. What the plan does do is provide money to pad the pockets of large businesses who would likely locate themselves in the gulf anyways. Given all that, it's pretty obvious why Bush is bringing the plan back - and it's not to help the citizens of the Gulf Region, that's for sure.
Make Levees, Not War. What's that sound we hear in the distance? Is it the slow rumblings of a growing anti-war movement? We certainly think so. In case you missed it, this past weekend there was a gigantic anti-war rally in front of the White House. The most reasonable estimates are saying that somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people showed up to voice their clear opposition to this Administration's policies. The following day, a counter-protest was staged. That crowd was estimated to be around 400 people. Now that the people are beginning to speak up, let's start working on the next project: Getting our Democratic leaders to join us. We're not quite sure what they're waiting for.
Insurgents seize 5 towns near Syria. Speaking of that war in Iraq, how's that going? Well, it certainly seems we're inching closer and closer to civil war. Zarqawi-loyalists are forcing local residents out of their towns, threatening them with beheadings. The Administration, grasping at straws for any signs of progress, is the death of "al-Qaeda's number two in Iraq". (They've already killed the "number three" four or five times.) But if you look at the bottom of that story, the violence is continuing, regardless. The road out of Iraq is not clear at all, but one thing is: Our current approach must change now.
Editorials
Democrats' special interest problem. As fans of democracy, Democrats tend to value the opinions of minority groups. We want to concern ourselves with the issues facing everyone, certainly a noble endeavor. But because of the Democrats' "big tent", it's easy to become fractured. For too long, the Democratic Party has been labelled the party of special interest groups. Sometimes, this label has been deserved, and sometimes it hasn't. Recently, after meeting with civil rights and women's groups, Harry Reid announced his opposition to John Roberts. And while we're all for civil rights and women's right, and we have no problem with standing up to Roberts, the real problem was what occurred afterwards. Kim Gandy, President of NOW., said "He got the message loud and clear, didn't he?" How does that help things? It's self-aggrandizing, and only furthers the perception of Democrats as beholden to special interests. Our "big tent" should only extend to those groups that respect the Party, and are willing to work for our common good, not just their own.
Cheap Gas Is a Bad Habit. Sometimes, problems have to get worse before they get better. We certainly don't like the situation at the pump, but we're tired of all of the whining about gas prices. If you keep prolonging the tough decisions about how to wean ourselves off of oil, then eventually those decisions get made for you, which is precisely what is happening now. Of course, unfortunately, the oil companies are getting rich off of our stubbornness, and the ones who are going to suffer most are those who don't have the resources to find alternative means of transportation. For getting us to this, we can blame our leaders for their stunning lack of vision. But now that people can clearly see how vulnerable we are due to our dependence on cheap gas, it's our fault if we still do nothing about it but complain about the high prices, and then continue to guzzle gas at the same rate.
Blogger Commentary
Iraqi women say freedoms are slipping away. As time goes on, we become more and more in favor of withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible. But the fact remains that we've gotten in so deep, and the war was executed so poorly, that there's really no good solution to the situation we're in. Unfortunately, if we pull out, there will be significant costs, in addition to the ones we've already incurred. Bush's pie-in-the-sky idea of spreading democracy is a noble one, if unrealistic. Toppling Saddam may have bred some hope in Iraq, but already our inability to maintain peace in the country is having dire consequences. One of those is the rapid loss of women's rights, and issue that we promised we'd fix. But if we leave behind civil war, or a fundamentalist government protected by a new, and flawed constitution, all of those promises may very well go down the drain.
'Operation Offset' - GOP To Target Working Families. With the horrible state of the budget, Republicans are finally being forced to realize that they have to do something to reduce the deficit. But they're not giving up the tax cuts. They're also not giving up their pork projects. So who's going to sacrifice? That's right - the middle and lower class again. This time, they're proposing going after so-called "tax cheats". Corporate tax cheats? Nope. Those who file but don't qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit - low-income working families. Because as you can plainly see, the problem is that low-income working families are robbing us blind. Duh.
|
December 29, 2005
Pledge-A-Picket. A little while ago we mentioned a novel approach to opposing the disgusting picketers who were protesting an American's soldier funeral with anti-gay rhetoric. Well, the approach has taken off, and now you can help, except this time you can fight back against anti-abortion picketers. You can make a donation based on the number of protesters that show up outside of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. So, either a lot of protesters will show up and PPSP will receive important funds to help women make informed health choices, or fewer protesters will show up, and women will be able to make those choices without being harassed and intimidated. Either way, you'll strike a blow for choice!
News
Bush's Gulf Enterprise-Zone Plan Has Failed to Deliver Before. Apparently, there's nothing that Bush thinks can't be fixed with tax cuts. Oh, he'll shine up his "Gulf Opportunity Zone" plan real nice, and make it seem like he's doing something magnanimous, but basically it amounts to more tax cuts for big companies. The only problem: It doesn't work. The "enterprise zone" idea has been tried before - Los Angeles is the most recent notable example - and it simply didn't work. What the plan does do is provide money to pad the pockets of large businesses who would likely locate themselves in the gulf anyways. Given all that, it's pretty obvious why Bush is bringing the plan back - and it's not to help the citizens of the Gulf Region, that's for sure.
Make Levees, Not War. What's that sound we hear in the distance? Is it the slow rumblings of a growing anti-war movement? We certainly think so. In case you missed it, this past weekend there was a gigantic anti-war rally in front of the White House. The most reasonable estimates are saying that somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people showed up to voice their clear opposition to this Administration's policies. The following day, a counter-protest was staged. That crowd was estimated to be around 400 people. Now that the people are beginning to speak up, let's start working on the next project: Getting our Democratic leaders to join us. We're not quite sure what they're waiting for.
Insurgents seize 5 towns near Syria. Speaking of that war in Iraq, how's that going? Well, it certainly seems we're inching closer and closer to civil war. Zarqawi-loyalists are forcing local residents out of their towns, threatening them with beheadings. The Administration, grasping at straws for any signs of progress, is the death of "al-Qaeda's number two in Iraq". (They've already killed the "number three" four or five times.) But if you look at the bottom of that story, the violence is continuing, regardless. The road out of Iraq is not clear at all, but one thing is: Our current approach must change now.
Editorials
Democrats' special interest problem. As fans of democracy, Democrats tend to value the opinions of minority groups. We want to concern ourselves with the issues facing everyone, certainly a noble endeavor. But because of the Democrats' "big tent", it's easy to become fractured. For too long, the Democratic Party has been labelled the party of special interest groups. Sometimes, this label has been deserved, and sometimes it hasn't. Recently, after meeting with civil rights and women's groups, Harry Reid announced his opposition to John Roberts. And while we're all for civil rights and women's right, and we have no problem with standing up to Roberts, the real problem was what occurred afterwards. Kim Gandy, President of NOW., said "He got the message loud and clear, didn't he?" How does that help things? It's self-aggrandizing, and only furthers the perception of Democrats as beholden to special interests. Our "big tent" should only extend to those groups that respect the Party, and are willing to work for our common good, not just their own.
Cheap Gas Is a Bad Habit. Sometimes, problems have to get worse before they get better. We certainly don't like the situation at the pump, but we're tired of all of the whining about gas prices. If you keep prolonging the tough decisions about how to wean ourselves off of oil, then eventually those decisions get made for you, which is precisely what is happening now. Of course, unfortunately, the oil companies are getting rich off of our stubbornness, and the ones who are going to suffer most are those who don't have the resources to find alternative means of transportation. For getting us to this, we can blame our leaders for their stunning lack of vision. But now that people can clearly see how vulnerable we are due to our dependence on cheap gas, it's our fault if we still do nothing about it but complain about the high prices, and then continue to guzzle gas at the same rate.
Blogger Commentary
Iraqi women say freedoms are slipping away. As time goes on, we become more and more in favor of withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible. But the fact remains that we've gotten in so deep, and the war was executed so poorly, that there's really no good solution to the situation we're in. Unfortunately, if we pull out, there will be significant costs, in addition to the ones we've already incurred. Bush's pie-in-the-sky idea of spreading democracy is a noble one, if unrealistic. Toppling Saddam may have bred some hope in Iraq, but already our inability to maintain peace in the country is having dire consequences. One of those is the rapid loss of women's rights, and issue that we promised we'd fix. But if we leave behind civil war, or a fundamentalist government protected by a new, and flawed constitution, all of those promises may very well go down the drain.
'Operation Offset' - GOP To Target Working Families. With the horrible state of the budget, Republicans are finally being forced to realize that they have to do something to reduce the deficit. But they're not giving up the tax cuts. They're also not giving up their pork projects. So who's going to sacrifice? That's right - the middle and lower class again. This time, they're proposing going after so-called "tax cheats". Corporate tax cheats? Nope. Those who file but don't qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit - low-income working families. Because as you can plainly see, the problem is that low-income working families are robbing us blind. Duh.
