News and Politics

From buzzflash.com via Broward For Dean:

Everyday has been a “W” day since we started BuzzFlash.com in May of 2000. We’re not talking about the twit who has assumed squatters’ rights in the White House, not that “W.”

What we’ve been experiencing is the same nightmarish unfolding of Democratic Congressional Leadership “W” days for more than three years now, like Bill Murray waking up on the same day over and over again in the movie “Groundhog Day.”

You see, the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) and the paid Democratic consultants can argue all they want that the Democrats have to tread lightly and respect the mythical “moderate middle” and not appear “partisan,” but in the end, the result is the same: an opposition party with a mandate to be wimps.

Read more

Are our elections fixed? Diebold Election Systems makes electronic voting machines being installed throughout the US. The problem? The systems contain serious security flaws that could possibly have been the reason for major swings in vote counts and discrepancies with exit polling. Also, a step-by-step guide to manipulating Diebold results — and covering your tracks. [metafilter.com]

Walter Pincus for the Washington Post, in his report on the White House’s admission yesterday that Bush shouldn’t have claimed in his State of the Union address that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium in Africa, closes with Howard Dean’s… [Blog for America]

Not theirs – ours. This Washington Post article details one example of the Bush administration replacing seasoned, world-savvy public health and reconstruction officials with fundamentalist Christian, Republican-connected appointees who are far less qualified but extemely loyal to the Bush agenda.

You may ask, “What’s more important – protecting Iraqi citizens and meeting their needs, or making sure the Americans running the country are fundamentalist Christians who will put the Bush administration ahead of what the people need?” Now you have your answer. [Life and Deatherage]

I just got back from the Dean For America meetup for Broward County. We had an enthusiastic crowd of more than 50 people at the Atlanta Bread Company around the corner from me.

I’m very disappointed by Bill Frist‘s recent statements. I thought he was intelligent & reasonable, but he proved that even the best Republicans are incapable of moving past their religious prejudices and need to impose their own moral standards on everyone else.

For a party that keeps shouting “less government”, they seem to be preoccupied with meddling in everyone’s private life and imposing their own religious views on everyone else. I find that extremely hypocritical.

That’s why I support Howard Dean for president.

This is very frightening:

Welcome to the Machine This article in the Washington Monthly describes a long term project of the Republican party to change the largely bipartisan nature of K street lobbying firms and install Republican thought leaders. In return for political benefits to the lobbyists clients, the lobbyists and their clients are expected to play nice with the Republicans on other issues. K Street has been a moderating influence against drastic change, as some constituent always objects. Under this new right-wing symbiotic relationship, individual interests are somewhat subordinated to the right-wing agenda. One of the more fascinating aspects is how it dramatically improves Republican fundraising; for instance:“For years, conservatives have been pushing to divert part of Social Security into private investment accounts. Such a move, GOP operatives argued, would provide millions of new customers and potentially trillions of dollars to the mutual fund industry that would manage the private accounts. The profits earned would, of course, be shared with the GOP in the form of campaign contributions. In other words, by sluicing the funds collected by the federal government’s largest social insurance program through businesses loyal to the GOP, the party would instantly convert the crown jewels of Democratic governance into a pillar of the new Republican machine. “ Of course the whole premise of this system rests upon continued Republican control. If the Democrats can wrest back control of the House and Senate, or install another strong president some of these lobbyists and their constituents will likely find themselves closed out of the process. Oh what a lovely way to govern. (via The Filibuster) [metafilter.com]

Supreme Court wisely rules that you can’t legislate morality and that privacy between consenting adults is a-ok as the Texas sodomy law (that applies to homosexuals only) is struck down. Ruling invalidates other remaining sodomy laws on the books. Dancing in the streets ensues. And as usual, Scalia gets to add his wisecracks in the dissent. [via SCOTUSblog] [metafilter.com]

the administration is “underestimating the enemy.” It has failed to address the root causes of terror, he said. “The difficult, long-term issues both at home and abroad have been avoided, neglected or shortchanged and generally underfunded.”

Would we prefer to have this man providing intelligence information to our president more than a woman who has an oil tanker named after her? [metafilter.com]

The death of James Randall Stokes, a lawyer from Escambia County who opposed the controversial practice of prosecuting children in adult court will be remembered for his support of hurting children. Stokes believed that children should not be held to the same standard of culpability and accountable for their actions as adults.

The late James Stokes was selfless in his dedication in assisting children with no other means of defending themselves. As Florida leads the nation in sending children to adult court, there was never a shortage of children awaiting adult court in Pensacola. Before his death, James Stokes was intensely preparing to defend 15-year old Daniel Carter.

Stokes had previously represented Alex King in his trial.

For more information, please visit www.kidsincourt.com and  www.danielcarter.us

Read more