Category: General

When Will We See the Light

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It is about time that we acknowledged the truth of what happens when Lobbyists have so much sway in our system of government. I don’t think there is anything else to say after what Mr. Lessig wrote. This is more than simply the access to broadband that I have written about previously. In both the specific case and the general trend we must take back democracy so that it is not subsumed by capitalism.

Tags connections, issues, lobbying

General

First Right Step

This is the best statement of the current position of the democratic party that I have recently read. Getting Howard Dean as the head of the party is the best first step that the party could have taken. Dean has already proven that he is able and willing to think outside the box and try new things to energize the party which is exactly what they need. It didn’t hurt that the new minority leader in the Senate is a very moderate politician. That should help to remove the extreme image that the party often has to fight in the media.

Tags parties

General

Soul Searching

This is the type of thing to expect from a party that is trying to find its place in American politics. The Democrats are starting to think about their stance on abortion as they search their souls to find ways to appeal to more people. It is about time that they looked at their core issues to figure out the difference between what the American public wants/believes and how they are viewed in public opinion.

It seems to me that they are painted as favoring environmental protection while they are weak on military protection while most people are more interested in having military protection before they get too worked up about protecting our environment. To put it generally, the caricature of the Democrats is that they are strong on all the less important issues. If they will start to take a close look at what people feel strongly about they will be able to restate their positions and find a message that appeals to the primary values and needs of America and they will be able to restore balance to our political system by no longer being the little brother in our two-party system.

Tags New York Times, parties

General

Nugget of Truth

It is not often that I agree with Maureen Dowd more than grudgingly, but in her article about female interrogators torturing detainees in Iraq I found myself agreeing with her without reservation. She put the perfect perspective in one sentence: “However the Bush White House is redefining torture these days, the point is this: Such behavior degrades the women who are doing it, the men they are doing it to, and the country they are doing it for.”

There is no other point that could be made. It would be better in the long run to not have the intelligence gotten by such deplorable means then to stoop to such a level of depravity.

Tags Iraq, issues, New York Times, torture

General

Courage of the Iraqis

To all appearances, today was a success in Iraq. As reported in the New York Times, the turnout in the Iraqi elections was solid – even exceeding expectations in some Sunni areas. David Anderson (another dead link from ISOU – archives/2005/01/bravery_and_det.html) also has a good commentary (as usual) on the elections.

It makes no difference if you supported or opposed the invasion of Iraq, unless you support anarchy you must hail the Iraqis for turning out to vote despite the vocal threats against voters.

Time will tell how successfully Iraq turns the corner towards democracy and freedom, but the turnout at the polls today is one positive indicator.

Tags international, Iraq

General

How We All Win

I have been thinking about this and there has been speculation and anecdotal evidence but the first evidence I found regarding voter turnout came in USATODAY where we are shown the truth of how many people came out to vote this election cycle. I am convinced that we all win in a democratic system whenever participation goes up. Hopefully we can find ways (better than we had this year) to raise voter turnout on a consistent basis.

Tags activism, elections

General

The Beginnings of Unity

There are plenty of reactions out there that are bitter, angry, spiteful or haughty across the political spectrum. Here is a good example of a reasonable approach to creating healing and unity by focusing on now rather than dwelling on a past that we cannot change whether or not we would want to.

I hope to see more and more of the unifying, forward-thinking types of reactions across the net and across the country as the election drifts slowly out of our rearview mirror.

Tags 2004, elections

General

The final gamble

The New York Times > Washington > News Analysis: Fresh Starts: One for Iraq, One for Bush
Here it is, the final gamble on Iraq. What happens in the next couple of months will largely determine how Bush is viewed in averything he has done over the last 18 months.

Will he be vindicated or vilified?

If for no other reason than the sake of the Iraqis I hope he is vindicated.

Tags Bush, Iraq