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December 29, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Friday's Links
Activism
Volunteer with OneWorldHealth. What is OneWorld Health? Well, according to their website, they're a Nonprofit Pharmeceutical Company. What a novel idea! Providing helpful drugs to people not for profit, but simply because you want to help people. Imagine the possibilities. They were founded 5 years ago, and currently have $25 million dollars "at work", fighting infectious disease around the world. Their stated values are "Integrity, Courage, and Collaboration". Frankly, we can't imagine many organizations more worth your time. So hop on over and volunteer your time at the link above, or at least donate here.
News
Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal. Remember when Tom DeLay spearheaded the redistricting of Texas, which caused several Democrats to lose their House seats? At the time, we were all very mad, and wondered how it could have been legal. Funny story: It isn't. Six lawyers and two analysts in the Justice Department unanimously agreed that the move was illegal, because it "diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections." These eight individuals crafted a memo to this effect, but were overruled by "senior officials." The redistricting was a gross misuse of power, and the case is on the Supreme Court's docket. Let's hope that the Supreme Court sees it for what it really is: A illegal ploy to engineer the Republicans takeover of Congress.
FBI's Sham Candidate Crawled Under W.Va.'s Political Rock. We're astounded not only that this happened, but that it's considered legal. In 2004, as part of a plea agreement, Thomas E. Esposito ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was one of 10 candidates on the ballot. He received 2,175 votes. And he never had any intention of taking office, because he ran at the behest of the FBI to help flush out corruption in the election process. He created a campaign, with bumper stickers, phone calls, gladhandling, and all the rest. So the government was sued over election fraud, where the lawyer argued that the citizens who voted for Esposito were robbed of a constitutional right. But, get this, the Judge sided with the government, and here's why. "Corruption in Logan County had been endemic 'for longer than living memory' and that the bogus election campaign might have been the only way to root it out." Although that's certainly true, and we applaud the FBI for trying to crack down on this, the FBI has clearly overstepped their bounds on this case. This isn't a vote for class president: This is a state's House of Delegates. So not only is the FBI sending a message that they don't care, but the court is sending a message that "the ends justify the means." The court ruled in favor of the government because of the situation in West Virginia. The judge, David A. Faber, asked the lawyer during the hearing, "What else could the Justice Department have done?" The lawyer replied, "Not violate the constitutional rights of the voters of Logan County." Well, we know how this administration feels about the sanctity of elections. This just adds to that sacrilege.
Most Americans Doubt Bush Has Victory Plan. On the heels of Bush's "Victory Plan" speech, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 55% of Americans do not believe that Bush has a plan that will achieve victory for the United States in Iraq, although it is conincidental that what we know of Bush's plan is eerily similar to Senator Joe Biden's (D-DE). See Editorial #2 (Bullet Points Over Baghdad) for more. In further Iraq news, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), best known for his call for America to leave Iraq "now," recently told a civic group that our Army is "Broken, worn out." He, like so many others, admits that he was wrong to vote for the Iraq War. There's absolutely nothing wrong with admitting that. No decision should ever be made without re-examining it. If we knew then what we know now (or even what we think we know), far fewer people would have voted to authorize Bush to go to war. But we were a nation scared, and Bush preyed on that. Now Bush wants us to continue to "stay the course," which isn't really an option, when you get right down to it. Murtha also predicted that it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money. Of course they are. That's Bush's M.O., isn't it? Save today, screw tomorrow. Well, actually, screw up today, and screw tomorrow.
Editorials
If America Left Iraq. What would happen if America left Iraq right now? Of course, no one really knows, but maybe it's something we should start seriously thinking about. The President likely would argue that leaving Iraq would basically directly the denotation of nuclear weapons in every major U.S. city, but he has no clue what he's talking about. However, Nir Rosen does. He convincingly argues that our presence there does more harm than good, and there's basically no hope for a "western-style" democracy anyways, so we might as well give up the ghost. He believes that our presence is fueling the insurgency, and that if we left, it would likely stop. Additionally, Sunnis would realize that they can't defeat the Shiite majority, and would try to work with them. Furthermore, hopefully Iraqis would band together and ensure that Iran doesn't take over. Why should we believe Nir Rosen? Well, he did spend six months in Iraq post-invasion, and as far as we can tell, unlike Bush, he doesn't have a track record of utter failure.
Bullet Points over Baghdad. We know Bush's "Victory Plan" is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Paul Krugman breaks down exactly why that's so. The plan is full of talking points and tired cliches, but Krugman writes that it's actually a test for the media. Will the media hold Bush accountable for this "plan?" Conventional wisdom says no, but lately some members of the MSM have grown a backbone. No, as Krugman writes, "The point isn't just that the administration is trying, yet again, to deceive the public. It's the fact that this attempt at deception shows such contempt - contempt for the public." Should we expect anything more from this administration?
Blogger Commentary
O'Reilly Brought Christmas War to Cavuto. Look, usually, Bill O'Reilly's not worth our time. But Friday's usually our day to kick back and just make fun of crazy Republicans. Sure, it's not particularly productive, although we can't imagine any of our readers would actually waste their time with him, and it is important to know just exactly what kind of psychosis he's promoting. Lately, he's been engaging in his annual "Save Christmas" crusade, setting up "secular, liberal" strawmen who are out to eliminate Christmas. It's just plain old nuts. But unfortunately, some people take him seriously, which is how we get from harmless stupidity to people trying to fight against the "liberal courts" out to destroy Christianity. For adding fuel to the fire, or taking credit for lower gas prices, or just being an ass in general simply to further his ratings, Bill O'Reilly may just be the worst person in the world. Sound like hyperbole? Well, maybe, but at least Keith Olbermann agrees with us.
The President Makes a Speech for Peace. Ok, before reading the rest of this paragraph, go to the link and read it. It's quick, we promise. Don't worry, we'll wait. Go now! Ok, done? So, this might seem like a cute little joke, taking "Vietnam" out of an old speech and replacing it with "Iraq", but this is really no laughing matter. The rhetoric surrounding Iraq and the justification for continuing the war is eerily similar to that of Vietnam. Do we want to go through Vietnam again? Apparently, people like Cheney and Rumsfeld do, given that they served under Nixon, and didn't get the memo about what happened to him. On top of the similarities between the two war themselves, it now looks like rationale for Vietnam was faked too.
|
December 29, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Friday's Links
Activism
Volunteer with OneWorldHealth. What is OneWorld Health? Well, according to their website, they're a Nonprofit Pharmeceutical Company. What a novel idea! Providing helpful drugs to people not for profit, but simply because you want to help people. Imagine the possibilities. They were founded 5 years ago, and currently have $25 million dollars "at work", fighting infectious disease around the world. Their stated values are "Integrity, Courage, and Collaboration". Frankly, we can't imagine many organizations more worth your time. So hop on over and volunteer your time at the link above, or at least donate here.
News
Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal. Remember when Tom DeLay spearheaded the redistricting of Texas, which caused several Democrats to lose their House seats? At the time, we were all very mad, and wondered how it could have been legal. Funny story: It isn't. Six lawyers and two analysts in the Justice Department unanimously agreed that the move was illegal, because it "diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections." These eight individuals crafted a memo to this effect, but were overruled by "senior officials." The redistricting was a gross misuse of power, and the case is on the Supreme Court's docket. Let's hope that the Supreme Court sees it for what it really is: A illegal ploy to engineer the Republicans takeover of Congress.
FBI's Sham Candidate Crawled Under W.Va.'s Political Rock. We're astounded not only that this happened, but that it's considered legal. In 2004, as part of a plea agreement, Thomas E. Esposito ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was one of 10 candidates on the ballot. He received 2,175 votes. And he never had any intention of taking office, because he ran at the behest of the FBI to help flush out corruption in the election process. He created a campaign, with bumper stickers, phone calls, gladhandling, and all the rest. So the government was sued over election fraud, where the lawyer argued that the citizens who voted for Esposito were robbed of a constitutional right. But, get this, the Judge sided with the government, and here's why. "Corruption in Logan County had been endemic 'for longer than living memory' and that the bogus election campaign might have been the only way to root it out." Although that's certainly true, and we applaud the FBI for trying to crack down on this, the FBI has clearly overstepped their bounds on this case. This isn't a vote for class president: This is a state's House of Delegates. So not only is the FBI sending a message that they don't care, but the court is sending a message that "the ends justify the means." The court ruled in favor of the government because of the situation in West Virginia. The judge, David A. Faber, asked the lawyer during the hearing, "What else could the Justice Department have done?" The lawyer replied, "Not violate the constitutional rights of the voters of Logan County." Well, we know how this administration feels about the sanctity of elections. This just adds to that sacrilege.
Most Americans Doubt Bush Has Victory Plan. On the heels of Bush's "Victory Plan" speech, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 55% of Americans do not believe that Bush has a plan that will achieve victory for the United States in Iraq, although it is conincidental that what we know of Bush's plan is eerily similar to Senator Joe Biden's (D-DE). See Editorial #2 (Bullet Points Over Baghdad) for more. In further Iraq news, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), best known for his call for America to leave Iraq "now," recently told a civic group that our Army is "Broken, worn out." He, like so many others, admits that he was wrong to vote for the Iraq War. There's absolutely nothing wrong with admitting that. No decision should ever be made without re-examining it. If we knew then what we know now (or even what we think we know), far fewer people would have voted to authorize Bush to go to war. But we were a nation scared, and Bush preyed on that. Now Bush wants us to continue to "stay the course," which isn't really an option, when you get right down to it. Murtha also predicted that it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money. Of course they are. That's Bush's M.O., isn't it? Save today, screw tomorrow. Well, actually, screw up today, and screw tomorrow.
Editorials
If America Left Iraq. What would happen if America left Iraq right now? Of course, no one really knows, but maybe it's something we should start seriously thinking about. The President likely would argue that leaving Iraq would basically directly the denotation of nuclear weapons in every major U.S. city, but he has no clue what he's talking about. However, Nir Rosen does. He convincingly argues that our presence there does more harm than good, and there's basically no hope for a "western-style" democracy anyways, so we might as well give up the ghost. He believes that our presence is fueling the insurgency, and that if we left, it would likely stop. Additionally, Sunnis would realize that they can't defeat the Shiite majority, and would try to work with them. Furthermore, hopefully Iraqis would band together and ensure that Iran doesn't take over. Why should we believe Nir Rosen? Well, he did spend six months in Iraq post-invasion, and as far as we can tell, unlike Bush, he doesn't have a track record of utter failure.
Bullet Points over Baghdad. We know Bush's "Victory Plan" is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Paul Krugman breaks down exactly why that's so. The plan is full of talking points and tired cliches, but Krugman writes that it's actually a test for the media. Will the media hold Bush accountable for this "plan?" Conventional wisdom says no, but lately some members of the MSM have grown a backbone. No, as Krugman writes, "The point isn't just that the administration is trying, yet again, to deceive the public. It's the fact that this attempt at deception shows such contempt - contempt for the public." Should we expect anything more from this administration?
Blogger Commentary
O'Reilly Brought Christmas War to Cavuto. Look, usually, Bill O'Reilly's not worth our time. But Friday's usually our day to kick back and just make fun of crazy Republicans. Sure, it's not particularly productive, although we can't imagine any of our readers would actually waste their time with him, and it is important to know just exactly what kind of psychosis he's promoting. Lately, he's been engaging in his annual "Save Christmas" crusade, setting up "secular, liberal" strawmen who are out to eliminate Christmas. It's just plain old nuts. But unfortunately, some people take him seriously, which is how we get from harmless stupidity to people trying to fight against the "liberal courts" out to destroy Christianity. For adding fuel to the fire, or taking credit for lower gas prices, or just being an ass in general simply to further his ratings, Bill O'Reilly may just be the worst person in the world. Sound like hyperbole? Well, maybe, but at least Keith Olbermann agrees with us.
The President Makes a Speech for Peace. Ok, before reading the rest of this paragraph, go to the link and read it. It's quick, we promise. Don't worry, we'll wait. Go now! Ok, done? So, this might seem like a cute little joke, taking "Vietnam" out of an old speech and replacing it with "Iraq", but this is really no laughing matter. The rhetoric surrounding Iraq and the justification for continuing the war is eerily similar to that of Vietnam. Do we want to go through Vietnam again? Apparently, people like Cheney and Rumsfeld do, given that they served under Nixon, and didn't get the memo about what happened to him. On top of the similarities between the two war themselves, it now looks like rationale for Vietnam was faked too.
|
December 29, 2005
Volunteer with OneWorldHealth. What is OneWorld Health? Well, according to their website, they're a Nonprofit Pharmeceutical Company. What a novel idea! Providing helpful drugs to people not for profit, but simply because you want to help people. Imagine the possibilities. They were founded 5 years ago, and currently have $25 million dollars "at work", fighting infectious disease around the world. Their stated values are "Integrity, Courage, and Collaboration". Frankly, we can't imagine many organizations more worth your time. So hop on over and volunteer your time at the link above, or at least donate here.
News
Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal. Remember when Tom DeLay spearheaded the redistricting of Texas, which caused several Democrats to lose their House seats? At the time, we were all very mad, and wondered how it could have been legal. Funny story: It isn't. Six lawyers and two analysts in the Justice Department unanimously agreed that the move was illegal, because it "diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections." These eight individuals crafted a memo to this effect, but were overruled by "senior officials." The redistricting was a gross misuse of power, and the case is on the Supreme Court's docket. Let's hope that the Supreme Court sees it for what it really is: A illegal ploy to engineer the Republicans takeover of Congress.
FBI's Sham Candidate Crawled Under W.Va.'s Political Rock. We're astounded not only that this happened, but that it's considered legal. In 2004, as part of a plea agreement, Thomas E. Esposito ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was one of 10 candidates on the ballot. He received 2,175 votes. And he never had any intention of taking office, because he ran at the behest of the FBI to help flush out corruption in the election process. He created a campaign, with bumper stickers, phone calls, gladhandling, and all the rest. So the government was sued over election fraud, where the lawyer argued that the citizens who voted for Esposito were robbed of a constitutional right. But, get this, the Judge sided with the government, and here's why. "Corruption in Logan County had been endemic 'for longer than living memory' and that the bogus election campaign might have been the only way to root it out." Although that's certainly true, and we applaud the FBI for trying to crack down on this, the FBI has clearly overstepped their bounds on this case. This isn't a vote for class president: This is a state's House of Delegates. So not only is the FBI sending a message that they don't care, but the court is sending a message that "the ends justify the means." The court ruled in favor of the government because of the situation in West Virginia. The judge, David A. Faber, asked the lawyer during the hearing, "What else could the Justice Department have done?" The lawyer replied, "Not violate the constitutional rights of the voters of Logan County." Well, we know how this administration feels about the sanctity of elections. This just adds to that sacrilege.
Most Americans Doubt Bush Has Victory Plan. On the heels of Bush's "Victory Plan" speech, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 55% of Americans do not believe that Bush has a plan that will achieve victory for the United States in Iraq, although it is conincidental that what we know of Bush's plan is eerily similar to Senator Joe Biden's (D-DE). See Editorial #2 (Bullet Points Over Baghdad) for more. In further Iraq news, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), best known for his call for America to leave Iraq "now," recently told a civic group that our Army is "Broken, worn out." He, like so many others, admits that he was wrong to vote for the Iraq War. There's absolutely nothing wrong with admitting that. No decision should ever be made without re-examining it. If we knew then what we know now (or even what we think we know), far fewer people would have voted to authorize Bush to go to war. But we were a nation scared, and Bush preyed on that. Now Bush wants us to continue to "stay the course," which isn't really an option, when you get right down to it. Murtha also predicted that it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money. Of course they are. That's Bush's M.O., isn't it? Save today, screw tomorrow. Well, actually, screw up today, and screw tomorrow.
Editorials
If America Left Iraq. What would happen if America left Iraq right now? Of course, no one really knows, but maybe it's something we should start seriously thinking about. The President likely would argue that leaving Iraq would basically directly the denotation of nuclear weapons in every major U.S. city, but he has no clue what he's talking about. However, Nir Rosen does. He convincingly argues that our presence there does more harm than good, and there's basically no hope for a "western-style" democracy anyways, so we might as well give up the ghost. He believes that our presence is fueling the insurgency, and that if we left, it would likely stop. Additionally, Sunnis would realize that they can't defeat the Shiite majority, and would try to work with them. Furthermore, hopefully Iraqis would band together and ensure that Iran doesn't take over. Why should we believe Nir Rosen? Well, he did spend six months in Iraq post-invasion, and as far as we can tell, unlike Bush, he doesn't have a track record of utter failure.
Bullet Points over Baghdad. We know Bush's "Victory Plan" is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Paul Krugman breaks down exactly why that's so. The plan is full of talking points and tired cliches, but Krugman writes that it's actually a test for the media. Will the media hold Bush accountable for this "plan?" Conventional wisdom says no, but lately some members of the MSM have grown a backbone. No, as Krugman writes, "The point isn't just that the administration is trying, yet again, to deceive the public. It's the fact that this attempt at deception shows such contempt - contempt for the public." Should we expect anything more from this administration?
Blogger Commentary
O'Reilly Brought Christmas War to Cavuto. Look, usually, Bill O'Reilly's not worth our time. But Friday's usually our day to kick back and just make fun of crazy Republicans. Sure, it's not particularly productive, although we can't imagine any of our readers would actually waste their time with him, and it is important to know just exactly what kind of psychosis he's promoting. Lately, he's been engaging in his annual "Save Christmas" crusade, setting up "secular, liberal" strawmen who are out to eliminate Christmas. It's just plain old nuts. But unfortunately, some people take him seriously, which is how we get from harmless stupidity to people trying to fight against the "liberal courts" out to destroy Christianity. For adding fuel to the fire, or taking credit for lower gas prices, or just being an ass in general simply to further his ratings, Bill O'Reilly may just be the worst person in the world. Sound like hyperbole? Well, maybe, but at least Keith Olbermann agrees with us.
The President Makes a Speech for Peace. Ok, before reading the rest of this paragraph, go to the link and read it. It's quick, we promise. Don't worry, we'll wait. Go now! Ok, done? So, this might seem like a cute little joke, taking "Vietnam" out of an old speech and replacing it with "Iraq", but this is really no laughing matter. The rhetoric surrounding Iraq and the justification for continuing the war is eerily similar to that of Vietnam. Do we want to go through Vietnam again? Apparently, people like Cheney and Rumsfeld do, given that they served under Nixon, and didn't get the memo about what happened to him. On top of the similarities between the two war themselves, it now looks like rationale for Vietnam was faked too.
