Chaotic Civics

It's beginning to look alot like a presidential election

2011-09-28T20:40:00.001-04:00

With 2012 right around the corner things are starting to heat up on the right side of the board. Republicans, Big C- conservatives, little C-conservatives and Tea Partiers have all crashed the party in an atempt to get the nod to overthrow the Democratic kingpin.

It should be an interesting ride....

The Past, Present & Future (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly)

2008-03-24T12:38:00.003-04:00

Not to long ago the following scenario could have taken place and I don't think half of anyone would have thought anything of it at all. For this example I will use the generic white male 1 and white male 2 as the candidates for president.

Early in the primary season white male 1 is the favorite because of his long standing connections with the status quo. As time goes on people start to give white male 2 another look and like his message of change, so he starts to win some states.
Before Super Tuesday it is a two man race, change vs. experience. They continue to jocky for the front position swapping victories. As the primary season starts to wind down it looks as if white male 2 will not be caught and should get the nomination.
Somewhere along the way the shine starts to tarnish off of white male two's image and people again give him a second look. This time the outcome appears to be different and for the first time it looks like this candidate will not win in the general election, should he get there.
The superdelegates all get together and decide that for the good of the party they will vote for white male 1 because he has a better shot of victory in the general election. This influx of super delegate votes puts white male 1 over the top and he end up winning the nomination.
But for the strongest supporters of white male 2 most of the country doesn't even realize or care what has happened and life goes on. In the general election regardless of who they initially supported people will vote for white male 1 becuase he is the nominee.

Now, fastforward to today. The above story should sound very familiar. Swap Clinton with white male 1 and Obama with white male 2.

The one main difference with reality and the above story is that if the super delegates do flip the nomination over to Clinton, thinking she has a better shot at victory in November, all hell will break loose. I think that 90% of all the african american voters will pull out of the democratic party in protest. Intended or not this has turned into a race of races. One race feeling they are owed something and if it appears to be taken away, forgivness will not be given.

I am not saying I think Clinton would be a better president, but I am saying that regardless, the super delegates can not push her to the nomination because that will be the demise of the Democratic party, and they know it. We are stuck with Obama for good, bad or ugly at this point.

Obama and his speech

2008-03-19T12:31:00.002-04:00

At this point I have not heard the entirety of Barak Obama's speech on race which was given yesterday. I have been bombarded almost to the point of harassment from the news stations and radio talk shows about certain key points in the speech. If I only listen to what I am told I would say as many other have said, 'This is possibly the best and most powerful speech on race that has ever been given'. 'Everything is fixed and Obama has regained his leader roll and will get the nomination.'

Why is it that I find myself still speculating about things that this speech was supposed to answer for me?

I guess the biggest thing for me is trying to figure out why he views himself so strongly as an African American. True by nature he is 50% caucasian, 50% African American, but by nurture he should be much more in tune with his white herritage. I use the word loyal lightly hear because I mean no disrespect, but why does he seem more loyal to the part of his herritage that abandoned him. Remind me, it was his African American father who left him at a very young age. Was it not his caucasian mother and grandparents who raised him and gave him a loving household to grow up in enabling him to achieve many of the great things he has achieved.

He must explain why he appears to many to have put his whiteness into a shoebox and pushed in under his bed. Will he ever bring this shoebox out again, possibly when he needs it. Obviously at this point he doesn't think he needs it, so it remains hidden. In the beginning some said he wasn't black enough, well now 90% think he is and that may well be enough to win him the nomination. I think these questions must be answered though, and quickly or like a disease they will continue to kill Obama's chances of becoming president.

Being Bored in Life and Your Job

2008-03-18T12:30:00.002-04:00

I am writing this entry just one day after the demise of Eliot Spitzer was completed. The 'former' governor of New York was ousted because of his extracurricular activities.

Speaking from personal experience, I get bored quite often. This bordom encompasses some of my everyday activities but mostly my job. If I had to guess I would say that more people than not are bored at their jobs. Now, what does one do when they are bored. they try to find something to make their lives a bit more interesting. I, for instance, started this blog. I find it much more mentally stimulating to do a little research into the daily politcal areana and comment on it. I get the added benefit that nobody ever reads my blog so I am not really held accountable for any of my comments.

The problem with ex-governor Spitzer is that when he got bored he spent a lot of money, doing something very dangerous that ended up unfortunately being very public. He was forced to be held accountable for his actions. My question to him is 'what were you thinking?'

You commited the exact crimes that you prosecuted just years before.
You had no political allies because of your past actions.
You didn't cover your tracks very well, almost tempting fate to catch up with you.
You spent obscene amounts of money for what? A good blow?
Any historical mark that you may have left on the great state of New York is now tarnished forever.

Many people say that Bill Clinton did it too. Well, what Clinton did was not illegal (the actually act). Cheating is not a crime. (Who he cheated with should have made it a crime, but look at who he has been married to, do you blame him?)
Now Spitzer did commit a crime. Although I think prostitution should not be illegal, it is. For all the excuses that people may make saying it was unfair, I have always tried to teach my kids to obey laws. Some may need to be changed, but we would not be a functional civilization if we let chaos reign instead of the rule of law.

I feel no pity for this pig. He got what he deserved and I hope his wife sucks him dry in divorce settlements.

Rereading this entry made me think that we are presently living in a state of chaos and that as far as civilizations go we are not very functional. I can only hope that things change, but that is for later commentary on my part.

Rev. Jeremiah Write Jr. & Trinity Church

2008-03-15T13:32:00.003-04:00

I am starting ever so slightly to agree with who the Obama campaign is calling racist. I know I am not, but I do question some of his loyalties. One imparticular is the former Reverend of Trinity Church in Chicago, Jeremiah Write Jr. Barak Obama calls him one of his close friends and the man that keeps him spiritually centered.

If you actually look into the church and its former Reverend you may start to ask some questions yourself.

take a look at http://www.tucc.org/about.htm and read about this church. It seems to me that these members are more loyal to Africa than they are to America. Do we really want a president that has loyalties so entrenched in foreign lands.

Take a look at this abc news clip about the Reverend http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4443230

It scares me that this man has such hate towards America and white man.

If anyone was running for president who it was found out had gone to even 1 KKK rally, their presidential campaign would be over. Now, I am not making direct comparison to Jeremiah Write and Trinity Church with The KKK, but we are not talking about one visit either. We are talking about decades. Obama has been a follower and friend of Rev. Jeremiah Write for about 20 years.

If it is wrong to question this relationship, then I ask why.

If your answer is because it is racist, I ask why.

Is it racist to want what is best for my country and all of its citizens, not just one ethnic group?

Is it racist to question someone's affiliation with a group who would wish harm towards my 2 young white boys?

On a simpler note, is it racist to debate all aspects of Barack Obama, like every candidate before him has had to endure?

If you still say yes, it is racist, then I will have to say ... I am a racist (in your eyes only)

You are in actuallity a fool and a racist yourself.

The Paradigm of Politics

2008-03-11T18:36:00.004-04:00

Over the last couple of days a very interesting thing has been happening in the democratic presidential war. Hillary Clinton, who comes in second to Obama in states won, popular vote and elected delegates has basically asked Obama to be her VP nominee. What makes this so interesting is that it comes at a time when some people will actually start to think that it is the only way.

We have seen throughout this election cycle that the country is pretty evenly divided between the two democratic candidates. There are those that think Hillary and her long time presence within the system is what we need, and there are those who think Obama's new blood is the only way to go. In many ways these two sides will never agree. Then there are the intermediate voters who would love to have Obama's visions but fear his inexperience. Those are the voters who will drink in the coolade that the Clinton's are pouring.

I think that Hillary knows that this idea will never fly, but has thrown it out there to stir up the pot as much as she can. She knows that some will toy with the notion of a joint ticket, but most will find it degrading to Obama and get mad. This campaign by Hillary has turned into what some have called a scorched Earth effort where if she can't win, than she is going to do everything in her power to make sure that Obama can't win either.

Hillary Clinton from this point on is campaigning for President 2012. (You thought this presidential cycle had a long primary calender.)

Mark my words, everything that the Clinton's do or say from this point on will in the end benefit only one person, our next president, John McCain!

Monsters and Ken Starr

2008-03-07T19:06:00.003-05:00

Hillary Clinton is a monster and Barack Obama is acting like Ken Starr.

Are there a bunch of children trying to run our governement? I think I learned that name calling accomplishes nothing good at the ripe old age of about 10. Obviously certain members of both democratic presidential campaigns have the mental accumen of a 4th grader.

Common folks. Let's get real and run for the most important post in the world with a little bit of class and dignity. Leave the name calling to the children.

So Now What?

2008-03-05T12:26:00.006-05:00

So for the first time my primary predictions were not to far off from reality.

Prediction

Ohio - Hillary 54
Obama 46

Reality

Ohio - Hillary 54
Obama 44

Prediction

Texas - Hillary 51
Obama 49

Reality

Texas - Hillary 51
Obama 48

Although I was farther off on my % predictions for Rhode Island & Vermont I did get the winners correct.

So now what? Has there been a momentum change? Can Hillary ever catch Obama in the delegate count?

I think Hillary has a legitimate reason to stay in the race although I think there is no way short of SuperDelegate intervention that she can win the nomination. We may see back and forth momentum from this point on. We may see primaries redone in Michigan and Florida. We may see legal action taken in Texas for unorthodox primary/caucus practices. We may see any or all of these things happen and I still feel that Obama will prevail.

What is plainly evident now after last night is that while all this is happening, McCain will be sitting in front of his TV with a pen and paper taking notes on how each democratic candidate rips the head off the other. The Democrats and their bitter primary season could easily be their demise come this November. While Hillary and Obama fight on burning money and bridges, McCain rests, building strength, money, a stronger coalition, and most importantly ammunition.

Think about for the next 7 weeks until Pennsyvania.

My Predictions for Today's Primaries

2008-03-04T17:16:00.002-05:00

Hillary will do well, but not well enough.

Ohio - Hillary 54
Obama 46

Texas - Hillary 51
Obama 49

Rhode Island - Hillary 55
Obama 45

Vermont - Hillary 46
Obama 54

All of this works out to a net win for Hillary of only 16 Delegates (see calculator on last post)

This may be used to show a change in momentum, but really what happens today is really nothing to be to proud of.

Delegate Calculator

2008-03-04T16:51:00.001-05:00

It seems hard for Hillary to capture the nomination on her own. She may be able to get the nod from the inner party elite, but the numbers don't lie.

Take a look and have some fun.

http://www.slate.com/features/delegatecounter/

Stop Whining and See What Happens

2008-02-29T20:42:00.004-05:00

It really bothers me when people say that the only reason why Hillary is losing is because people are still very descriminatory towards women. I think this is a Wha Wha philosophy for women who feel sorry for themselves. I personally do not think that people are vearing away from Hillary because she is a women. They are rethinking things because she is not a nice person sometimes. Hey, when it comes down to it, she did not run her campaign in a very good manner. Many mistakes were made and now she is paying for them. Why is it that just because people might think that Obama is a better choice for president (for whatever reason that might be), they must be descriminating. Hey are all the people who are voting for Hillary descriminating against Obama? Maybe they are, but who are we to say. Let people vote for who thaey want to and it will all come out in the wash.

When the time is right there will be an African American president. When the time is right there will be a female president. When the time is right there will be a Jewish president. We just all have to wait for that right time. This year cannot be everyone's times

Who Should Edwards Endorse?

2008-02-13T10:06:00.005-05:00

The answer is quite simple...NO ONE!!

John should follow his own morals and keep his lips tight. Yes he should make it openly known that he will ultimately support the nominated candidate in the general election, but nothing good can come from an endorsement at this point in the game.

If he endorses Obama, it could appear that he is jumping on the band wagon, and such an endorsement would really do not good.
- Obama and Edwards already take from the same pool of voters.
- Obama seems much less likely to 'thank' Edwards for such an endorsement.

If he endorses Clinton he will appear like a big hipocrit who is willing to do anything for a piece of the pie.
- Clinton has probably promised him the world for said endorsement.
- All remaining credibility will be lost by those who support him.
- If Clinton were still to lose, that would be really bad.

I think that Edwards really has to ask himself a few questions before he makes a decision.
- Do I really want to be in government at all or should I continue as a citizen soldier to focus on my cause? (Could I do for the poor what Gore has done for the environment?)
- If I do want to be in politics, what position would I want to be offered? (Attorney General?)
- Am I willing to sell my soul for such an offer? (I hope not!)

Ultimately the choice can only be Edwards to make. I only hope he really thinks about the questions and makes the right choice for him and his future.

The Dirt Will Soon Start to Fly

2008-02-08T16:52:00.000-05:00

With the race starting to tighten up, we know that the dirt will start to fly in all directions. It would not surprise me if Clinton dug something up on Obama and it accidently got leaked to the media.

I have just read something that troubles me.

http://sunlituplands.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-clintons-will-destroy-john-mccain.html

Most likely the above blog entry is CRAP, but it deserves a moment of reflection that this might be the direction the entire 2008 campaign may be headed.

We deserve better than this and I hope we get it.

Republican Dream Team

2008-02-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

After Super Duper Pooper Scooper Tuesday, McCain will be the last one standing. Romney will bow out with his tail between his legs and McCain's partner in crime (Huckabee) will soon be asked to join his ticket.

McCain and Huckabee are like ying and yang, and should make a formidable team come November. At McCain's age it is likely that he will only serve for one term. Mike Huckabee would be stupid to not accept such an offer. He would be gaining the experience and the name recognition needed to runin 2012.

On the Democratic side it will still be wide open and move on to March.

The Best is Yet to Come!!

2008-01-30T14:37:00.000-05:00

John Edwards is a man of vision and integrity. Yes it is true that he would have made an excellent president, possibly one of the best, but there are greater ways to pick up the disenfranchised and the forgotten.

Unfortunately politics these days is very similar to American Idol, with the rockstar usually winning in the end. Buried in a race for president with two rockstars, both of which would make history if elected, was just a little to much for an Edwards' campaign to withstand. Liberal America is to liberal at this time to elect a white man over the other options for fear that it would look either racist or sexist. Liberal America is neither racist nor sexist, it just wants to win so badly.

Edwards would have faired better against McCain than either Obama or Clinton, and for that it is a shame that I will not be able to cast my vote his way.

When you really think about it though, Edwards would have been handcuffed if elected and would not be able to focus his attention to the topics of his desire. The poor and the crumbling middle class need a visionary like Edwards to help fight for us. I believe that John Edwards will be a more powerful man and do much more good for society as a citizen soldier than he could as president.

Follow your passions and succeed as Carter and Gore have before you. That is where you belong, for now.

Perhaps in the future America will be ready for such a visionary.

What is She Thinking?

2008-01-29T16:55:00.001-05:00

Once again, Clinton has shown that she will do whatever it takes to become president. After the fact she is now fighting to have Michigan's and Florida's delegates reinstated. This is very convenient to her especially since Obama and Edwards were not even on the ballot in Michigan.

I don't know what she is thinking, but her reasons are shallow and people can see right through her. She is a candidate who's sole desire is to be president, and she will say and do anything to reach her goal. I personally find this repulsive and rather sad.

I hope America wakes up and puts her candidacy to sleep. We don't need an adicted to power, psychotic personality running our country. She and her husband are single hanadedly dividing our party into two and that can only lead to another 4-8 years of republican rule.

Vote for sanity. Vote for change. Vote Edwards.

Where Does Edwards Go After S.C.

2008-01-23T20:40:00.001-05:00

I think Edwards is between a rock and a hard place. Liberal America is at a point in history that it feels, if it ever voted for the white male over the female or the African American, that it would be considered prejudice. Liberal America wants so badly to not be prejudice that it is overlooking ability and record and just focusing on prejudice.

Edwards is just as capable as the others to be president. He fairs better in head to head matches with leading republicans, and he has been in the driver's seat about platform policy throughout this primary season.

If we hope to pass off a vibrant democracy to our children, than Edwards should stay in the race for the soul fact that his views need to be heard. He needs to keep fighting the good fight or the important things will get buried by the media and the remaining democratic candidates.

Politics should be about ideas that help America and not about making history. This is a fact that many voters seem to be forgetting.

Wrong Again!

2008-01-20T10:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems quite evident that I don't know what the hell I am talking about when it comes to politics.

Almost every single prediction that I have made has turned out to be false. That is why I work in research and development and not politics.

What I think I have proven is that anyone can be interested in politics. Actually everyone should be interested in politcs. These people who are running for president have the ability to drastically change our lives for the better or worse. We owe it to ourselves and our friends and families to understand what each candidate stands for.

If you don't vote you can't complain about anything. You should make an educated vote. That is why I will continue my interest, my education, and my blog.

My predictions may never get any better, but I will continue to become more learned and more inspired.

Once Again, Where was Kucinich?

2008-01-16T14:29:00.001-05:00

Once again democracy was tampered with and Dennis Kucinich was not allowed to participate in the Las Vegas debates last night. He actually took MSNBC to court, won, and was still excluded. Enough is enough and someone needs to tell the media that they cannot decide for the American people. It is not their right to think for us. Why don't we just let Big Brother do everything for us. Hey MSNBC, my ass needs wiping, want to take care of that for me.

We have the right to hear what all of the candidates have to say and just because some people don't think he has a chance to win doesn't mean he can't shape the platform of the party. You stiffled his 1st amendment rights by saying it was against yours to be forced to have him on. That is really childish and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I smell a media revolt coming.

Vegas Debate

2008-01-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

I thought the debate yesterday was a lesson in futility. The first 30 minutes of the debate was nothing other than the moderators trying to egg on this race/gender division between Obama and Clinton. When one of the pressing questions is "Senator Edwards, how do compete in this historic election cycle being a white male?" you know your in for a whole lot of nothing. If it were completely up to the MSNBC moderators that's exactly what we would have gotten, NOTHING. The candidates to their credit stayed above the frey and refused to be pulled back down into the childish banter.

All of the debators looked quite tired and were not up to par inthe poise department. Clinton was allowed to talk way to long. It seems to me that it should be a requirement that our president know what 90 seconds is. (Oh well, she's out).

Obama said nothing inspiring at all, but was the only candidate that got a chuckle from the very well behaved audience on more than one occasion.

I thought that given his very blattent limited time to answer questions, Edwards did quite well. After a poor start of just rattling off stump speech retoric about being a mill worker etc, he really used his precious time to lay out the foundation of his plans to pull out of Iraq, help the economy, and aid in education. That is what he needed to do.
Edwards has to continue letting the country know that this is not just a two horse race.

It's all in the numbers

2008-01-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

Real Clear Politics keeps a running total of all major polls given and comes up with an average which is pretty reliable. Click on Blog title and see for yourself that John Edwards is the man that would be president. In summary the democrats win every time except for a couple of key scenarios.

The only democratic candidate that would beat McCain at this point is Edwards with +2.7%. Obama would tie and Clinton loses by 5%.

If people would just look at the numbers they would see that the only way to ensure victory is to nominate Edwards. Most major pundits are saying that the race is now McCains to lose. Well the only democrat that can help him lose is Edwards.

It's the Economy, Stupid! It needs to be about Change and Dollars.

2008-01-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

"It's the Economy, Stupid!", was a very popular and successful tagline of the Bill Clinton 1992 Presidential campaign. It was his way of fighting George Bush who at the time was considered unbeatable with an 80% approval rating. Clinton needed to drum into people's heads that we were entering a recession, the middle class was getting pinched, and we needed to focus on the right thing, the economy. It worked for Clinton then, and it can work for Edwards now.

Here we are 16 years later and things are looking very similar. A Bush is in the White House, we are at war, and the economy has gone down the toilet again. There is one major difference this time around. It is not a Clinton that really looks to fix things. We have a new defender for the middle class. It is quite evident that John Edwards is the candidate of change, looking out for those who are working their butts off just to survive. His message rang out loud and clear in the beginning but now that is all you hear from every candidate. John is drowning because the rest of the gang has seen his wisdom and are picking up on his talking points. John needs to spice things up a bit.

It can't be just about change. What he is really fighting for are dollars. We will soon be in a recession and things do need to change. The middle class is not only pinched but, it could now be considered an endangered species. Edwards is the only candidate that sees this and knows that like the rhino, the middle class needs government protection or it will go extinct.

If John wants his message to ring loud and clear once again, than he must let all the other candidates have their 'change'. What an Edwards presidency will do for America can be more greatly appreciated in terms of dollars. Dollars that will save the heart of America and help us to regain our standing in the world. With this will come better health care, better education, less poverty, etc., but it all has to start with the economy, stupid!

Oops

2008-01-09T08:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems that I was a little off on my predictions. That is why I have a blog and not a pundits job. Actually they didn't do to well either, maybe there is a job for me in the future.

It appears that two key things happened yesterday.

1) Independents broke much more than expected for McCain than Obama.

2) Hillary with her emotional episode a couple of days ago worked like a charm (I think she knew exactly what she was doing). Women broke in a much larger case fro Clinton than Obama yesterday.

Delegate count is even going into Nevada and SC. Both lead candidates have momentum so it's anyones game. I think Clinton takes Nevada, Obama takes SC.

Edwards is still my choice. Suggestion to him...Cry!

Change trumps the mighty dollar

2008-01-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

My predictions for tonight primary.

Obama will tromp again and Edwards will have a very impressive placement, either close third or even second.

Obama: 41
Edwards: 28
Clinton: 25

Enough independents will go Obama that Romney squeeks out a win. Paul with impressive third place.

Romney: 33
McCain: 31
Paul: 14

We'll see how I did tomorrow

Where is Dennis Kucinich?

2008-01-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

I feel that it goes against the democratic system to disallow certain candidates from debating.

I understand that people want to here from the frontrunners and feel that the fringe candidates only take away from this. This thinking is actually completely backwards. Over time it is expected and accepted that both parties start to move toward centrist views. This is the only way that they guarentee themselves a shot at the national game.

I know as well as anyone that Dennis Kucinich does not have an icecubes chance in hell of getting the Democratic nomination, but he is probably the most pure in his liberal views. We need to hear the views of the purists because they keep all of the other candidates honest. By not letting the fringe candidates debate we are silencing the pure viewpoints of the party. I would think that as Americans we would want to hear how the frontrunners would respond to the strong views of others.

Let's hear what all the candidates have to say. Let all of the candidates Debate. That is true to our democratic views.

Couldn't look better for Giuliani

2008-01-05T17:53:00.000-05:00

I am sure back when Giuliani was deciding how he was going to handle the primary season, he did not think much about Huckabee, but it can only help him along on his conquest. His plan to abandon the early states is working without a hitch.

Pre season: Giuliani's biggest threat is Mitt Romney.

Game 1: Huckabee beats up on Romney in Iowa. This weakens Romney and makes it even more likely he will lose to McCain in New Hampshire.

If Romney loses in New Hampshire to McCain than he weakened even more.

The next battle happens in South Carolina. Romney has to win to remain a contender. I think that Huckabee will take the victory for similar reasons he won in Iowa. McCain even though he has momentum will get crushed in S.C. just like he did in 2000.

Before the game even gets to a state that Giuliani has been fighting in Romney and MCain will be all but done. Come Florida and especially Super Duper Tuesday everyone will be thinking, "Do we really want Huckabee as our nominee?" I think their answer will be a very clear NO and the votes will go to the only one still standing - Giuliani.

My Endorsment for President

2007-12-01T14:55:00.000-05:00

I would like to throw all of my support behind John Edwards for President of the United States.
He will not do whatever it takes to become president like some of the other candidates. Instead he will do whatever it takes to bring America back to its greatness. He is emotionally attached to closing the division between the classes. There are two Americas and it is about time that the masses are represented as our founding fathers had believed. He has laid out a very detailed roadmap of the course that an Edwards presidency would take. He is not afraid to fight special interests or lifelong political types. It is my belief that he is our only hope to win back the presidency in 2008.

Clinton and the Gender Card

2007-11-08T22:20:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton has mastered the use of the gender card. She's just one of the girls trying to get by in a world ruled by men. First she says that we are trying to get her in 'gotcha' questions, then she says that she can handle the heat because she feels comfortable in the kitchen. Enough is enough.

I personally am tired of the accusations that the other candidates and media are sexist and are ganging up on her because she is a woman. The real reason why they are ganging up on you is because you are the frontrunner and your politics are suspect. Why you think you can get away with not answering questions and skirting subjects that you don't want to talk about confuses me. You are not running for president of the neighborhood garden club. You are running for president of the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world. If people have questions for you, you had better answer them or it will come back to bite you.

You are actually the sexist if you think that you should be treated different just because you are a woman. You should get scrutinized and taken down a few notches just like all the others.

Kucinich - Dark Horse or Electric Spark

2007-11-03T22:57:00.000-04:00

You know something is up when even conservative talk show host, Jay Severin, has been saying for months that he hopes a democrat will present articles for impeachment for the unconstitutional behavior of the Bush administration. But, who? One of the presidential frontrunners. NO!

On Tuesday Dennis Kucinich will offer a privileged resolution to try to force the House of Representatives to consider his articles for impeachment against Dick Cheney. Although it will be a long uphill road and will most likely never occur, it could be the best thing to happen to the democratic party since sliced bread.

In 2006 the American people spoke and spoke loudly that they wanted change. There was an overwhelming turnover in congress finally leaning democratic for the first time in more than a decade. What did the American people get...Nothing! The democrats are a bunch of spineless babies that are so worried about angering some voters that they are alienating those that got them into office. This is slowly starting to eat away at the political capital that the democrats had after the 2006 election. If something does not change soon than the republicans will overcome this deficit and retain the presidency in 2008.

Kucinich in all right has no chance of winning the democratic nomination and I think he knows it. He also know about the failure of the democratic party to stand up for what they feel is right. He is trying to force them to stand up with his articles of impeachment. Although impeachment will never actually happen, if enough of the democrats do stand up and agree with Kucinich, the democratic base will be solidified and start to grow in strength. I feel that this is the only thing that can save the democrats from themselves.

He may be the smallest candidate running for president but he has the largest kahunas of them all including Hillary. You go Dennis!

Presidential DFA Pulse Poll

2007-10-28T08:36:00.000-04:00

Democracy for America is running a pulse poll of its members. (Actually anyone cane vote in the poll). Goto http://ga1.org/ct/01e7NwF1fjPP/ before November 5th and you can choose your top three choices for president. All of the main candidates are shown with another option being write in. As of today Al Gore, as a write in, is in first place having received 27% of the over 95000 online votes. Hillary Clinton is a very distant 6th place. On November 6th the DFA will announce the winner and ask all of members to throw their support behind that campaign.

What does this tell us? It tells us two things. One, that there is a substantial portion of grassroots democratic America that would want Gore to announce his candidacy for president. Two, Clinton is not viewed with the same enthusiasm. You might actually say she is just not liked that much at all. Knowing these two things can help me to predict the future. My first prediction is that Al Gore will win the DFA poll. My second prediction is that he will not run for president. My third prediction is that grassroots efforts at this time are not strong enough to work on anything other than low level positions and that regardless of their dislike for Clinton, she will win the democratic nomination.

Democracy for America was founded in 2004 by non other than Howard Dean. His candidacy for president appeared to be an unstoppable freight train untill the actual voting started. He did have a very strong grassroots contingent to his campaign, but it wasn't enough to sustain. After his failed attemp at becoming president he and his brother founded Democracy for America as a way of trying to rebuild the democratic party from the bottom up by using grassroots tactics. Possibly some day these tactics might work for a major position, but I think that 2008 is not that time. I hope that I am wrong for I fear that Clinton will not be able to win the presidency and we will be under Republican rule for another 8 years.

Regardless of the current power of grassroots efforts we must all still try. Grassroots is another way of saying common people. If more and more common people started to get involved in the political system than there is no doubt that the system will slowly start to fix itself. Great men once said that the governement was of the people, by the people, for the people. We need to involve more of those people again.

Blog Action Day

2007-10-15T21:45:00.000-04:00

In honor of Blog Action Day I will dedicate this entry to the environment as it relates to our current political reality.

The Bush administration has done more to harm our envirmonment than any president of the recent past. The crazy thing about his administration is that it is shielded in privacy and clouded with deception. The current administration tells the American people less and less and amazingly no one questions this. What we are told sounds good on the surface so mostly we don't question that either. WE SHOULD!

Healthy Forests Initiative - Opens large tracts of previously protected forest to logging. It puts much more power into the hands of some money hungry governors rather than the federal government. Yes it might reduce the future risk of forest fires, but how can you have forest fires if you have no forests.

Clear Skies Package - Destroys most of the strong provisions of the long standing Clean Air Act. It actually allows more air pollution now, with a longer time allowed for lowering it. (See earlier Blog entry on this one)

Clean Water Act - In 2002, the Bush administration essentially repealed a longstanding provision of the Clean Water Act prohibiting the dumping of mining wastes in streams. Now, under what is advertised as a "clarification" of the law governing surface mining, the administration is eliminating a ban dating from the Reagan era against mining activity within 100 feet of a stream.

The Bush Administration has done close to nothing to lower our dependancy on oil, but does seem to have no problem destroying the Alaska Wildlife Refuge to get the equivalent of about six months worth. He says that he agrees that global warming is a problem, but does not agree that it is manmade. He is like my 9 year old son, "I didn't do it so why should I clean it up". I for one am tired of a bunch of immature, shallow, lying,anti-environment,subpar politicians trying whatever they can to ruin my kids future. The time has come to eliminate the waste of our political system and start anew.

I would love it if Gore would throw his hat into the ring, but I also completely understand why he will not. Hopefully his getting the Nobel Prize will finally tell the other Democrats that the world is watching. Hopefully they will come around and raise their platforms to the level that we expect, the level that we deserve.

Long live America, a healthy America, a healthy World.

Gore gets the Nobel Prize

2007-10-12T21:18:00.000-04:00

To all that criticize Al Gore for getting the Nobel Peace Prize I have the following comment...

Assume, as many people do (including 1000's of scientists) that the things Gore has said about global warming are true. Global climate change would produce desert where there is now farmland and grassland. It would also produce grassland where there is now forest. Livelyhoods would be crushed, entire civilizations would be forced to migrate or perish. Local crime would go up as flooding, heatwaves, superstorms and drought would decimate everyone. Wars would become more prevalent, last longer and kill more people as the worlds resources dwindle.

If the thing that Gore has been able to do for the world (open our eyes to this potential) could stop any of the possible disasters listed, than he has worked to promote peace. Gore more than any person in a long time has gotten countries to work together for the greater good of mankind. That is a lot more than can be said of the current president of the United States.

It seems like such a simple thing to understand, but many people can not give credit where credit is due. These are some of the same people who think that DDT should still be used and blame environmentalists for malaria outbreaks in Africa. Nothing will ever be good enough for these people.

A Well Informed Citizenry

2007-09-12T23:19:00.000-04:00

I recently read Al Gore's new book 'An Assault on Reason'. I thought that this was a very insiteful look at how our democracy is starting to crumble. Reading that book is one of the reasons why I started this blog. Although much of the book was a pointed assault on President George Bush, the underlying statement was that in order to save democracy we must have a well informed citizenry. Remember, our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people, for the people. If said people are not well informed than how can they make educated decisions that will effect generations to come.

I consider myself quite liberal in many ways but I try to learn conservative viewpoints so that I can see both sides of the coin. Every day I listen to FM96.9 which is a conseravtive talk radio station in the Boston area. I find the most entertaining personallity on this station to be Jay Severin. I do not agree with much of what he has to say, but as with Gore's book, his underlying view is that we need to be educated and fight to keep democracy working. To me it does not matter that these two men have completely different ideas on what our government should do. What does matter is that both men are trying to get more people involved in the political process.

I do not know if anyone will ever read what I have to say, but I feel the obligation to speak out about what I think. I want to do my part to make people think, talk and act.

911, Political Correctness & Spin

2007-09-12T22:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of the worst attack ever on US soil. All over the country there were ceramonies and speeches, moments of silence and many, many prayers and recollections. In the lovely state of Massachusetts there was the annual memorial ceremony presided over for the first time by Governor Deval Patrick.

Mr. Patrick is getting alot of flack for comments that he made during this presentation. "Among many other things, 9/11 was a failure of human understanding. It was a mean and nasty and bitter attack on the United States. But it was also about the failure of human beings to understand each other and to learn to love each other. It seems to me that lesson at that morning is something that we must carry with us every day."

Ask any prominent republican and they will focus on the first and third sentence in his quote. "The attack was a failure of human understanding." and, "It was also about the failure of human beings to understand each other and to learn to love each other." They will go on to imply that he was saying that Americans could have and should have done more. That we were somehow partly to blame. Did Mr. Patrick mean to say that he thinks if Americans were more tollerant of other cultures/ human beings, that this attack would not have happened?

I would say look more deeply into the second and fourth sentences of his quote. "It was a mean and nasty and bitter attack on the United States." and, "It seems to me that lesson at that morning is something that we must carry with us every day." Mr. Patrick seems to agree with everyone else that this was a horrific attack and does not condone any of the actions that occured on the morning of September 11, 2001.

Does anyone deny the fact that on that day our lives changed forever? I think not. What major changes need to occur is where differences in view come into play. Some think we need more war. Some think we need to lose freedoms. Some think we need to carry a big stick and if we make enemies that's ok, and some think we need more love and tollerance.

I do not think Mr. Patrick meant to imply any of the spin that republicans are spewing. I think he, like many others, knows that these hijackers were obsessed with trying to destroy our way of life. There was nothing we could have done to change their minds. To me Mr. Patrick is trying to say in a politically correct way that tollerance from Americans, for Americans and all others is a very powerful tool that may dissuade future attacks here and abroad.

Can anyone deny this claim.

'Clear Skies' initiative

2007-09-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

"I have sent you Clear Skies legislation that mandates a 70 percent cut in air pollution from power plants...I urge you to pass [this measure], for the good of both our environment and our economy."
-President George W. BushState of the Union, January 28, 2003

At first blush you might think "Hey, maybe he is a compassionate conservative." Well, think again. Bush is only looking out for number 1. He could care less about you and your kids.

Bush touted that this initiative would provide immediate health benefits to all Americans. The plan very similar in some ways to the already existing Clean Air Act is actually a way of dismantling it and makes loopholes for all of his friends in the energy industry.

Let's look at some numbers. Under the Clear Skies inititive SO2 and NOx which are two of the leading pollutants that we have to deal with will be reduced to 4.5 million tons in 2010 and 2.1 million tons in 2008 respectively. If the already existing Clean Air Act was properly funded and punishment was fulfilled it would reduce the same two pollutants to 2 million tons by 2012 and 1.25 million tons by 2010.

The real problem with this 'initiative' is that it causes significant rollbacks to New Source Review pollution control provisions.
"1. New rules will allow virtually all pollution increases from old, high-polluting sources to go unregulated. EPA will allow companies to avoid updating emission controls if their plant’s equipment has been reviewed at any time within the past decade, and the measures used to calculate emissions levels will be reconfigured.
2. The review process built into NSR will be drastically scaled back. Until now, when facilities wanted to expand their production, thereby increasing their emissions, they would have to apply for permission and undergo EPA scrutiny and public comment. The rollback will do away with this requirement. Communities will now not know when a nearby power plant is increasing the amount of pollutants pumped into their backyards."

This 'Initiative' is actually a wolf in sheeps clothes and it is not the only time that Bush has attempted to shaft us and future generations. If this is the direction that the republican party wants to lead us than the only hope for our children and grandchildren is to not vote republican.

Impeach

Mr. Thompson?

2007-09-03T22:28:00.000-04:00

First, I would like to thank Fred Thompson for finally announcing on Friday that he will be announcing his intent to run for the President of the United States this coming Thurday.

If that was confusing to you, it is equally as confusing to me. Come on now. A man who for all intents has been runing for president for the past few months is now telling us that he has finally decided to really run. This former senator, former tv actor, will be telling the world this Thursday why he thinks we should vote for him to be our next President. Why, you might ask, would he wait until the day after a major Republican debate to finally enter the ring. I think he knows he has nothing important to say. He would have a target on his back and he knows it. Giuliani would be attacking from above to stave off this push at his front runner status. Romney and McCain would be attacking from below to claw their way up the ladder. Don't fret though, Thompson has it all figured out. He will be showing a 30 second 'preview' of his announcement during the debate, so all of us will be hot with anticipation.

This whole campaing smells of joke to me. I don't think he has a chance. I'm sure he doesn't think he has a chance. If this whole 'we need another Ronald Reagan' thing doesn't pan out for him maybe Law & Order DC Mishaps will hire him.

Why Hillary?

2007-08-30T22:39:00.000-04:00

I find it funny how many democrats can't see the trees through the forest. I believe in the democratic system and know that everyone has the right to vote for whoever they want . What surprises me is how people can be swept up in "a whirwind of change", when what they're voting for really isn't change and deep down inside they know their candidate can not win.

Hillary Clinton is for all intents and purposes a freight train, with the democratic nomination all but locked up. If you look at polls from almost every state, she has a double digit lead over both Obhama and Edwards. You would hope that if so many people were going to vote for her in the primaries that she would also receive as many votes in the general election. Contrary to this belief, polls for possible head-to-head matches show both Obhama and Edwards fairing better than Clinton in a battle with republican leader, Giuliani. Why would democrats vote to nominate someone who they know can not win. The reason is that democrats are so caught up in this "party of change" garbage that they are willing to sabotage their chances at the oval office just to be the party that first nominates a woman.

The democrats need to face the facts. Hillary can not win and they need to rally around a candidate that can. The American people are ready for change, but they want real change, not just another lifelong insider.