O Glorious Day

What a great feeling to wake to a Democratic Victory. I thought they were a myth. Rick Santorum: GONE. Donald Rumsfeld: GONE. That one I couldn't believe. That's fear. I actually have my faith in mankind renewed. I thought the party that tried to blame the Mark Foley scandal on Democrats was going to win. I waited an hour in line to vote. Granted I live in Texas and my vote was like a pebble in the ocean, but vote I did. The thing that upset me while waiting was how many people left. What if they were Democrats. I saw 10 people leave, the line went up a flight of stairs so I don't know how many other people left upon seeing the line, but let's say it was a total of 20. These people, when multiplied by districts all across the country, could swing elections. You don't usually get to see voter apathy, but there it was. But I can't complain too much, we control the House and most likely the Senate. I'm more hopeful for the future. Hell, I have hope! USA! USA! USA!

Remembering Ann Richards

Below is the speech given by Ann Richards in 1988. She was the first person to experience having an election stolen by George W. Bush. Miss you Ann.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Buenas noches, mis amigos!

I am delighted to be here with you this evening because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like.

Twelve years ago, (former Rep.) Barbara (C.) Jordan, another Texas woman, made the keynote address to this convention - and two women in 160 years is about par for the course.

But, if you give us a chance, we can perform.

After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.

I want to announce to this nation that in a little more than 100 days, the

Reagan-Meese-Deaver-Nofziger-Poindexter-North- Weinberger-Watt-Gorsuch-Lavelle-Stockman-Haig-Bork-Noriega- George Bush era will be over.

You know, tonight I feel a little like I did when I played basketball in the eighth grade. I thought I looked real cute in my uniform and then I heard a boy yell from the bleachers, "Make that basket, bird legs."

My greatest fear is that same guy is somewhere in the audience tonight and he's going to cut me down to size.

Where I grew up there really wasn't much tolerance for self- importance, people who put on airs.

I was born during the Depression in a little community just outside Waco and I grew up listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio.

Well, it was back then that I came to understand the small truths and hardships that bind neighbors together.

Those were real people with real problems.

And they had real dreams about getting out of the Depression.

I can remember summer nights when we'd put down what we called a Baptist pallet and we listened to the grown-ups talk.

I can still hear the sound of the dominoes clicking on the marble slab my daddy found for a tabletop.

I can still hear the laughter of the men telling jokes you weren't supposed to hear - telling about how big that old buck deer was, laughing about mama putting Clorox in the well when the frog fell in.

They talked about war and Washington and what this country needed.

They talked straight talk.

And it came from people living their lives as best they could.

We're going to tell how the cow ate the cabbage.

A Letter From Forgotten People

I got a letter last week from a young mother in Lorena, Texas, and I want to read a part of it to you.

She writes, "Our worries go from pay day to pay day . . . just like millions of others, and we have two fairly decent incomes. But I worry about how I'm going to pay the rising car insurance and food.

"I pray my kids don't have a growth spurt from August to December so I don't have to buy new jeans. We buy clothes at the budget stores and we have them fray, and fade, and stretch in the first wash.

"We ponder and try to figure out how we're going to pay for college, and braces, and tennis shoes. We don't take vacations and we don't go out to eat.

"Please don't think me ungrateful. We have jobs, and a nice place to live, and we're healthy.

"We're the people you see every day in the grocery store. We obey the laws, we pay our taxes, we fly our flags on holidays.

"And we plod along, trying to make it better for ourselves and our children and our parents. We aren't vocal anymore. I think maybe we're too tired.

"I believe that people like us are forgotten in America."

Well, of course you believe you're forgotten. Because you have been.

'Divide and Conquer' Republicans

This Republican administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that can't fit together.

They've tried to put us into compartments and separate us from each other.

Their political theory is, "divide and conquer."

They've suggested time and time again that what is of interest to one group of Americans is not of interest to anyone else. We've been isolated. We've been lumped into that sad phraseology called "special interests."

They've told farmers that they were selfish, that they would drive up food prices if they asked the government to intervene on behalf of the family farm, and we watched farms go on the auction block while we bought food from foreign countries. Well, that's wrong.

They told working mothers it's all their fault that families are falling apart - because they had to go to work to keep their kids in jeans, tennis shoes and college. And they're wrong.

They told American labor they were trying to ruin free enterprise by asking for 60 days' notice of plant closings, and they're wrong.

And they told the auto industry, and the steel industry, and the timber industry, and the oil industry, companies being threatened by foreign products flooding this country, that you're protectionist if you think the government should enforce our trade laws. And they're wrong.

When they belittle us for demanding clean air and clean water, for trying to save the oceans or the ozone layer, that's wrong.

No wonder we feel isolated. And confused. We want answers and their answer is that something is wrong with you.

Well, nothing's wrong with you. Nothing's wrong with you that you can't fix in November.

We've been told - we've been told that the interests of the South and the Southwest are not the same interests as the North and the Northeast.

They pit one group against the other. They've divided this country. And in our isolation we think government isn't going to help us, and that we're alone in our feelings. We feel forgotten.

Well, the fact is that we are not an isolated piece of their puzzle.

We are one nation. We are the United States of America!

'To Be All That We Can Be'

Now, we Democrats believe that America is still the country of fair play, that we can come out of a small town or a poor neighborhood and have the same chance as anyone else and it doesn't matter whether we are black or Hispanic or disabled or a woman.

We believe that America is a country where small business owners must succeed because they are the bedrock, backbone of our economy.

We believe that our kids deserve good day care and public schools. We believe our kids deserve public schools where students can learn, and teachers can teach.

We want to believe that our parents will have a good retirement - and that we will, too.

We Democrats believe that Social Security is a pact that cannot be broken. We want to believe that we can live out our lives without the terrible fear that an illness is going to bankrupt us and our children.

We Democrats believe that America can overcome any problem, including the dreaded disease called AIDS.

We believe that America is still a country where there is more to life than just a constant struggle for money.

And we believe that America must have leaders who show us that our struggles amount to something and contribute to something larger, leaders who want us to be all that we can be.

We want leaders like Jesse Jackson.

Jesse Jackson is a leader and a teacher who can open our hearts and open our minds and stir our very souls.

And he has taught us that we are as good as our capacity for caring. Caring about the drug problem, caring about crime, caring about education and caring about each other.

What They Do/What They Say

Now, in contrast, the greatest nation of the free world has had a leader for eight straight years that has pretended that he cannot hear our questions over the noise of the helicopter.

And we know he doesn't want to answer. But we have a lot of questions. And when we get our questions asked, or there's a leak, or an investigation, the only answer we get is, "I don't know," or "I forgot."

But you wouldn't accept that answer from your children. I wouldn't. Don't tell me "you don't know" or "you forgot."

We're not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth. Not most days - but every day. Leaders who don't forget what they don't want to remember.

And, for eight straight years George Bush hasn't displayed the slightest interest in anything we care about.

And now that he's after a job that he can't get appointed to, he's like Columbus discovering America. He's found child care. He's found education.

Poor George. He can't help it - he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

Well no wonder, no wonder he can't figure it out. Because the leadership of this nation is telling us one thing on TV and doing something entirely different.

They tell us, they tell us that they're fighting a war against terrorists. And then we find that the White House is selling arms to the ayatollah (Ruhallah Khomeini, of Iran).

They tell us that they're fighting a war on drugs, then people come on TV and testify that the CIA, and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and the FBI knew they were flying drugs into America all along. And they're negotiating with a dictator (Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega) who is shoveling cocaine into this country like crazy. I guess that's their Central America strategy.

Now, they tell us that employment rates are great and that they're for equal opportunity, but we know it takes two paychecks to make ends meet today, when it used to take one. And the opportunity they're so proud of is low-wage, dead-end jobs.

And there is no major city in America where you cannot see homeless men sitting in parking lots holding signs that say, "I will work for food."

Debt and Defense: 'A Bum Deal'

Now, my friends, we really are at a crucial point in American history. Under this administration, we have devoted our resources to making this country a military colossus, but we've let our economic lines of defense fall into disrepair.

The debt of this nation is greater than it has ever been in our history. We fought a world war on less debt than the Republicans have built up in the last eight years.

You know, it's kind of like that brother-in-law who drives a flashy new car but he's always borrowing money from you to make the payments.

Let's take what they are proudest of, that is their stand on defense. We Democrats are committed to a strong America. And, quite frankly, when our leaders say to us, we need a new weapons system, our inclination is to say, "Well, they must be right."

But when we pay billions for planes that won't fly, billions for tanks that won't fire, and billions for systems that won't work, that old dog won't hunt.

And you don't have to be from Waco to know that when the Pentagon makes crooks rich and doesn't make America strong, that it's a bum deal.

Straight-Talking Democrats

Now, I'm going to tell you, I'm really glad that our young people missed the Depression, and missed the great big war. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew.

Leaders who told us when things were tough, and that we would have to sacrifice, and these difficulties might last awhile.

They didn't tell us things were hard for us because we were different, or isolated, or special interests. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose.

They gave us Social Security. And they told us we're setting up a system where we could pay our own money in and when the time came for our retirement, we could take the money out.

People in rural areas were told that we deserved to have electric lights, and they were going to harness the energy that was necessary to give us electricity so my grandmama didn't have to carry that old coal oil lamp around.

And they told us that they were going to guarantee that when we put our money in the bank, that the money was going to be there, and it was going to be insured.

They did not lie to us.

And I think one of the saving graces of Democrats is that we are candid. We talk straight talk. We tell people what we think.

And that tradition, and those values live today in Michael Dukakis from Massachusetts.

Michael Dukakis knows that this country is on the edge of a great new era, that we're not afraid of change, that we're for thoughtful, truthful, strong leadership.

Behind his calm there's an impatience to unify this country and get on with the future.

His instincts are deeply American, they're tough and they're generous. And personally, I have to tell you that I have never met a man who had a more remarkable sense about what is really important in life.

And then there's my friend and my teacher for many years, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen.

And I couldn't be prouder, both as a Texan and as a Democrat, because Lloyd Bentsen understands America - from the barrio to the boardroom. He knows how to bring us together, by regions - by economics - by example.

And he's already beaten George Bush once.

So, when it comes right down to it, this election is a contest between those who are satisfied with what they have - and those who know we can do better.

That's what this election is really all about.

It's about the American dream. Those who want to keep it for the few - and those of us who know it must be nurtured and passed along.

Families and the Nation

I'm a grandmother now. And I have one nearly perfect granddaughter named Lily. And when I hold that grandbaby, I feel the continuity of life that unites us, that binds generation to generation, that ties us with each other.

And sometimes I spread that Baptist pallet out on the floor and Lily and I roll a ball back and forth.

And I think of all the families like mine, like the one in Lorena, Texas, like the ones that nurture children all across America.

And as I look at Lily, I know that it is within families that we learn both the need to respect individual human dignity and to work together for our common good. Within our families, within our nation, it is the same.

As we sit there, I wonder if she'll ever grasp the changes I've seen in my life. If she'll ever believe that there was a time when blacks could not drink from public water fountains, when Hispanic children were punished for speaking Spanish in the public schools, and women couldn't vote.

I think of all the political fights I've fought, and all the compromises I've had to accept as part payment.

And I think of all the small victories that have added up to national triumphs. And all the things that never would have happened and all the people who would have been left behind if we had not reasoned, and fought, and won those battles together.

And I will tell Lily that those triumphs were Democratic Party triumphs.

I want so much to tell Lily how far we've come. You and I.

And as the ball rolls back and forth, I want to tell her how very lucky she is. That for all our difference, we're still the greatest nation on this good earth.

And our strength lies in the men and women who go to work every day, who struggle to balance their family and their jobs, and who should never, ever be forgotten.

I just hope that - like her grandparents and her great- grandparents before - that Lily goes on to raise her kids with the promise that echoes in homes all across America:

That we can do better.

And that's what this election is all about.

Thank you very much.

JUST REMEMBER

silence.

-j.r.

The Katie Couric Interview

"You have said we can't cut and run on more than one occasion. We have to stay until we win. Otherwise, we'll be fighting the terrorists here at home, on our own streets. So what do you mean exactly by that, Mr. President?" Couric asked.

"Well, I mean that a defeat in Iraq will embolden the enemy and will provide the enemy — more opportunity to train, plan, to attack us. That's what I mean," Mr. Bush said. "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror. I believe it. As I told you, Osama bin Laden believes it. But the American people — have gotta understand that a defeat in Iraq — in other words, if this government there fails, the terrorists will be emboldened, the radicals will topple moderate governments. I truly believe this is the ideological struggle of the 21st century. And the consequences for not achieving success are — are dire"

I don’t disagree with the President here (which make me question my sanity a little. I think a loss there will embolden the terrorists, but I think we could have avoided that by not going to war in Iraq in the first place. I just think if he explained it differently he might convince others. Here’s how he should have explained it: All one has to do is remember how Al-Qaeda formed in the first place: during the Afghan war. The Precursor to Al-Qaeda was a rag tag group of insurgents fighting off a ‘superpower’, the Soviet Union. They fought and fought and eventually the Soviet Union left. They forced a superpower to back down. Now we are in Iraq. This same group of people is fighting us there. If we fight to a stand still or leave, they will consider it a victory. Not only will they have defeated the Atheist Soviet Union, but also the Great Satan of the United States. We have no choice but to stay till the bitter end. That is the lesson we learned from Afghanistan. The victory they earned in Afghanistan is what made them believe they could attack us on 9-11. That is what is meant by we must fight them there so we do not have to fight them here.

If this is what he means, then he’s right. Anyone who’s read the 9-11 Commission reports knows that this is the history of Al-Qaeda. This is the reason they brought the war to our home soil. They attacked our military bases, they attacked the USS Cole, and they attempted in the 90s to blow up the World Trade Center all because of the belief that having taken down the Soviets they could take on us.

This is why I don’t consider Bush smart. Either he doesn’t realize that this is why we have to stay in Iraq, or he does and neither he nor any speechwriter who works for him can put it into words.

This probably sounds like I support the war in Iraq. I don’t. If we had never gone there we wouldn’t be stuck there. If we had just continued to fight in Afghanistan and hunt Osama down, that would have sent a clear message to all those who seek to harm America. We should have had the picture of our soldiers pulling Osama out of a spider hole. The picture should have been of the humiliating exam of Osama not Saddam. That would have sent a message that America takes care of its own. Instead, the message we sent was, “Harm us and your neighbor better watch out.” I know that was glib, but come on! I heard someone say that the war in Iraq let’s “them” know that America will defend itself. Iraq never attacked us! We didn’t defend ourselves; we preemptively attacked them. On information that turned out to be false. Now we’re stuck in a war we cannot afford to lose. And if it does completely devolve into civil war and we leave, like some want us to, we better pray that Al-Qaeda doesn’t emerge victorious because we’d have to invade Iraq a second time. At least this time the preemptive strike would be warranted.

Confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism

Today in Salt Lake City, Utah, Donald Rumsfeld attacked critics of the President and his war on terror and his handling of the war in Iraq. What follows are some of his comments (and mine).

"With the growing lethality and the increasing availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?" Rumsfeld asked the American Legion U.S. military veterans group.

Uhm. I’m going to go with: NO. I don’t think any rational person thinks we can appease the terrorists since what they want is for America and Israel to cease to exist and won’t settle for anything less. There isn’t a Democrat or Liberal who wishes we could just talk to Bin Laden and sort out all our feelings. No, we want him dead or captured and Al-Qaeda destroyed. That’s why we are against the war in Iraq, because you, Mr. Rumsfeld, took our eyes off the prize.

"It was a time [WWII] when a certain amount of cynicism and moral confusion set in among Western democracies, when those who warned about a coming crisis -- the rise of fascism and Nazism -- they were ridiculed or ignored.”

Ignored like the outgoing Clinton administration was when it warned you of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda and you dismissed them and told them they were too obsessed with terrorists. While I’m on the subject, I would like an apology for when your party accused Clinton of “Wagging the dog” when he bombed Al-Qaeda camps.

"Indeed, in the decades before World War Two, a great many argued that the fascist threat was exaggerated or that it was someone else's problem”

So you’ve decided to make the fascist threat our problem by holding prisoners without trial, spying on American citizens without a warrant, and demanding blind faith as a show of patriotism.

"I recount that history because, once again, we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism,"

So vote Democrat in 2006 to put an end to fascism in America. I make fun of his comments because they deserve it. Rumsfeld, Rice, Bush and their dwindling supporters insist on … I don’t know what to call it. It’s not a perversion of our message. It has nothing to do what we as liberals and democrats actually believe. They just made up something to argue against and pretended we said it. Who is more against fascism than us?

In case you don't know what fascism is: Fascism as defined by Dictionary.com - a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

That about says it all.
-j.r.

Just a quick thought

Real Time with Bill Maher is back on the air. I’m very happy about this. I love the Daily Show and The Colbert Report, but when you throw in Real Time it’s a great time to own a television. On the season premiere they had my favorite person on: Christopher Hitchens. You may know him if you’ve watched Bill Maher from the beginning (Comedy Central and ABC’s Politically Incorrect) as the man who repeatedly called Clinton a rapist. Well, he still blames Clinton for what’s wrong with the world and he brought up something that I had just recently discussed with a friend of mine. He mentioned that Clinton never did anything without first consulting an opinion poll. Conservatives consider this a great evil, though no politician ever does anything without consulting a poll (if they want to win). The problem was Clinton tried to be a moderate and made decisions that the majority of people supported (and consequently got a lot done). What an evil man. Here he is the President of the United States, elected by the whole country to represent the whole country, and he’s trying to make decisions that all of them can get behind. What an Ass!
At least the conservatives are consistent, and I love consistency. Conservatives support the president and think he is a great man. He sticks by his decisions even though 60% of the country do not agree with him. What a leader. Since he was elected in 2004 with 51% of the popular vote that means that even people who voted for him do not agree with him. This means that he’s not even representing the people who voted for him. This begs the question: whom does this President represent?

Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research was the cover story on the most recent Time magazine though, there were more articles on the war between Lebanon and Israel. As I was thinking about those who are against embryonic stem cell research I first admired their consistency. They believe life begins at conception and so it logically follows that they would be against using fertilized embryos in this way. The question I asked myself was, “why don’t they protest other attacks on life?” As I mentioned the other articles in Time magazine dealt primarily with war, why isn’t the pro-life movement anti-war? Why doesn’t the pro-life movement march against the death penalty? Why weren’t they the first to bring up issues of genocide and ethnic cleansing in places such as Rwanda and Serbia? Why didn’t they march on Washington with pictures of children missing arms and legs because we were too slow to act to prevent warlords from exterminating whole tribes? If life is so precious, why don’t they fight for decent health care or fight against poverty, two leading killers of people around the world?

If they’re serious about ending abortion why don’t they attack the reasons most women get them? Why don’t they fight for a living wage? Why don’t they work for better access to birth control for women? Once again, Health care. Having a baby isn’t cheap. Why don’t they fight for better day care? Better maternity leave? Currently, a company is only legally required to keep your position open, they don’t have to pay you when you’re not working. What woman can make the decision to stop working for 2-3 months without pay, while racking up medical expenses? What about stiffer penalties for men who sleep with women and then leave when the stick turns pink?

Of course, looking for consistency and logic among fanatics is not a good way to spend your time. And even if they were consistent, I’d still think they were wrong. Stem cell research has great potential. Those who claim it is mostly hype are mostly those trying to get us not to do it. 20 years ago the word “cancer” was synonymous with “death”. Now it’s “what type do you have?” The chances of survival are different for different types and what area of the body it attacks. In another 20 years, cancer of any sort may not mean anything more than an overnight stay at the hospital. People live with HIV now. The fight against these diseases isn’t over, but we’re winning more battles. Medical advances take a long time, due to (necessary) restrictions against tests on humans. So why would we saddle ourselves with even more limitations. Every year that we withhold federal funding of embryonic stem cell research adds another year to the DECADE it will take before the experimental drug can reach the clinical trial phase. Let’s stop letting fanatics decide scientific and public policy. Let’s stop letting fanatics elect our leaders. We're a majority on this issue, and we should make our voices heard.

The Never Ending Story?

I took about a month off to work on another project, anything exciting happen while I was gone? Exxon posted over 10 billion in profit for the 2nd quarter. Great. There’s a war going on between Israel and Lebanon. That’s probably because of all the stability we’ve brought to the region after the toppling of Saddam.

I’ve been watching the war since it started, mostly online news feeds. I have to admit I didn’t really know what my feelings were (besides dread) about Israel attacking Lebanon in an effort to crush Hezbollah. A country has the right to defend itself from attacks, not even I would deny that. I wish America had responded similarly to 9-11. Yeah, we attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan and toppled their regime, but we stopped short of capturing Osama and severely crippling Al-Qaeda and moved on to Iraq (fortunately the terrorist followed us there). However, would it have even made a difference if we had gone after Al-Qaeda till the bitter end?

Israel has always had a sort of “they pull a knife, you pull a gun. They put one of yours in the hospital you put one of theirs in the morgue” mentality to attacks on itself. And you would assume that people would realize that they shouldn’t fuck with Israel, but they do. If Israel were a person and you bumped into them without saying “sorry”, they would punch you in the face and kick you in the stomach. If you were a person you would learn quickly never to bump into Israel, or at least to apologize. Why doesn’t this happen on the world stage? For the same reason people continue to attack the U.S. and U.S. forces abroad: Ideology.

Belief that what you are fighting for is Just, Right and God’s Will. Belief that you are fighting the Great Satan. Belief that your enemies must not only be defeated, but exterminated will keep most of the world at war for most of the foreseeable future. There are people who would fight to see their enemies eradicated, even if it meant the death of everyone else, including themselves, their families and even all their people. How do you combat that? Strong shows of force don’t work; in fact, it only helps strengthen their resolve. And is the answer really to just try to kill everyone who hates us? That’s a whole lot of killing, and while we’re killing those people more people start to hate us. Will we just have to live in a world with war? I don’t know, but I now know what my feelings are: Hopelessness.

If only I were a real blogger

I have a better understanding now of just how hard being a real blogger can be. I work full time and do this whenever I’m not too tired and the mood strikes me. In between those times so much happens. I intended to write about oil because last weekend I saw several oil reps on Meet the Press. I also watched Addicted to Oil and a segment on NOW about the death of the electric car. Our use of oil is a national security issue (as first mentioned by Pres. Carter), it’s a health care issue, it’s a human survival issue. I feel pretty strongly about it.

Then other issues came up. The House delayed the renewal the 1965 Voting Rights Act. As far as I can tell, from the AP article I read, the objections of the House Republicans were that the act allowed too many American citizens the right to vote. I’m only half kidding.

Also, the Senate defeated the Democrats’ proposed minimum wage increase. In what can only be described as a complete logical disconnect the Senate voted NO to raising the minimum wage while the house said YES to giving themselves a raise. So let me get this straight: The poorest Americans don’t deserve a cost of living increase, but the House does. In fact, lawmakers have seen a pay increase of over $30,000 since 1997, the last time minimum wage was increased. We sometimes forget that the salaries of all our governmental officials come from us. We should remember that EVERY November come election time.

But there was also good news. Warren Buffett donated $30.7 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with another $6.4 BILLION going to other charitable foundations. BILLION PEOPLE! The two richest men in the world doing what they can to make the world a better place.

Buffett went even further to say that the estate tax shouldn’t be repealed. "It's a very equitable tax," Buffett said. "It's in keeping with the idea of equality of opportunity in this country, not giving incredible head starts to certain people who were very selective about the womb from which they emerged." I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So much happened. So many opinions to share. I don’t know where to start. And now it’s time to end. I didn’t even get to mention that the government is now spying on your bank records. You real bloggers are a hardworking lot.

j.r.

Is anyone else scared?

Is anyone else scared? W. talking about the “Iranian regime”. Discussion of shooting down the missile test by North Korea. Granted the article that mentioned shooting down the missile said it was a remote possibility, you know ‘cause it might spark a war, but isn’t the fact the idea was ENTERTAINED not scary? We saw what they did to a “regime” they thought had the precursors to nuclear weapons. What will they do to a nation that actually has them.

Luckily the Bush administration is not bothered by consistency or the need to follow logically what your own rhetoric dictates. They never suffer from cognitive dissonance. So we’re going to go all diplomatic on their asses. It makes sense if you use the right analogy. If we think they may have a gun, we shoot them to protect ourselves. If they are pointing a gun at us, we talk to them. NOW doesn’t that make sense. If you know for a fact they have a gun, cause it’s pointed right at you, you could get yourself killed trying to shoot them first. On the other hand, if you think they have a gun, (because fifteen years ago you saw them play with one, though for the last fifteen years they haven’t been allowed near guns or bullets and anytime they get near guns or bullets they get beaten up. But still you believe in your heart of hearts they have a gun in their possession. No one else thinks this. You don’t care, though. You would swear he’s hiding the gun in his backpack. In fact, you have several people swear they’ve seen it.) you kill them. Of course, it turns out they didn’t have a gun, but how could anyone know. What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Iran and North Korea.

Diplomacy is how we’re handling Iran and North Korea. Saddam was in a nutshell declaring himself the king of infinite space and we invaded him. Two nations hostile to the U.S. developing WMDs, one with a missile that has a range that can reach California, and we tell them “stop or we’ll say stop again.” Where is the rhetoric about the mushroom cloud that Iraq couldn’t, but Iran and N.K. most certainly could, bring us.

If only there were people in Congress to point out that this is far more important than flag burning and gay marriage. If only.

j.r.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

I watched Mr. Smith goes to Washington today. I love that movie. If it were released today it would be condemned by Fox News and the right as more of that Hollywood Liberal-Michael Moore-Hate-America-First-George Clooney tripe. Corruption in the Senate, destroying a man using the media, and disdain for the filibuster. The movie highlights more than anything that the more things change the more they stay the same. Insert Jack Abramoff for Taylor, insert (and I know this will piss people off) John Kerry or Al Gore for Smith. O.K. I know I'm way to liberal to be open minded but it's there. Kerry vs. The Swift Boat Veterans. The Media painting Al Gore as a constant fabricator. And while I doubt that the Republican party would stoop to running little kids off the street, I wouldn't put it past them. They profess a love for our military and our troops, but that didn't stop them from spreading rumors about John McCain when they ran against him in the primaries. This is a man who served our country with distinction. He gave years of his life for us in that POW camp and they used that to suggest (with just the slightest hint) that he betrayed us. Despicable. They questioned former Senator Max Cleland's patriotism. He gave both his legs and his right arm for this country. What did Bush or Cheney ever give.

It's sad in a way. We've made so much progress, yet not really. Congress is still under the control of special interests. The media can still be bought and paid for. And you can still present evidence before a Senate committee that is full of lies and falsified information. Were there ever really any "good old days"

j.r.

Will the Democratic Party please stand up!

Republicans know how to win elections. They play off your fears and prejudices and get you to vote. They know that while defense can keep you from losing a game, it is offense that wins it. They play to win, we play not to lose, and it has cost us. As long as we keep trying to get to the middle of the road, the Republicans are going to keep running over us. They aren’t trying to sway Democratic voters, they’re playing to their people. We should do the same.

Gore should have won Nader’s people, Kerry should have won big with female voters. They both have voting records that play to these groups, yet during the campaign they tried not to lose. They tried to seem more pro-life than pro-choice. Less environmental more “things are just fine”. We need to take a stand, because they do.

Things I know Republicans stand against.

Gay marriage
Environmental regulation
Illegal immigrants
Abortion
Gun control

We’re so afraid of losing the votes of people who agree with Republicans that we’re losing our own voters. If Gore had played up his environmental creds more (and not distanced himself from Clinton), Nader wouldn’t have been an issue. If any candidate stood up and said they are the polar opposite of the current candidate they may have stood a better chance.

Examples by me:

On Gay Marriage: I support gay marriage and will fight any amendment or bill that seeks to marginalize our law-abiding, tax paying citizens.

On Environmental Regulations: Global warming and the greenhouse effect are real. No legitimate scientist thinks otherwise. Continued denial of the effects we are having on this planet only puts us and our children at peril.

On Abortion: I hope for the day when there are almost no abortions performed. But not because we outlawed it. When we improve sex education, the numbers of abortions will go down. When we make better birth control and easier access to it, the numbers will go down. When we live in a society that does not put ALL of the burden on the woman, and none of it on the man, the numbers will go down. I cannot in good conscience tell a woman with little money and no health insurance that she must endure the physical, psychological and financial burdens that come with bringing a child into this world. It’s one thing to say a woman can’t have an abortion, it’s another entirely to say you will pay all her medical expenses and stay with her for the next 18 years to ensure they are provided for.

I know those views seem extreme, but that’s because all we have are far right and middle. On gay marriage all we heard was “NO” and “maybe civil unions” which still sounds like you don’t really like it. On the environment: “Global warming is not real” and “there’s some debate but most agree”. And finally on abortion: “HELL, NO!” and “only in the case of…” But if you stood up and said the things I wrote up there you would win the Gay and Lesbian vote, the Environmental vote and a good portion of the women’s vote. Add speaking Spanish and not sounding like a Gringo and you’d have an election landslide.
j.r.

Bush's immigration speech

George Bush unveiled his 5 point plan for dealing with immigration. Now I have many feelings about his 5 point plan, but the one the American people should really focus on is: How much is this going to cost?

1. Strengthen our Borders – the cost for this point alone must be astronomical. He wants to hire 6,000 more employees. If you paid them minimum wage that would still be over 60 million a year (tax payer dollars), for every dollar over minimum add another 12 million a year. Not to mention the cost for these infrared cameras, motion sensors, the cost of building fences, and roads. Then add the additional cost of sending everyone back, not just to Mexico, which would be cheap, but if someone comes from Cuba or Chile or China we’re (the taxpayers) going to have to pay to send them back there. For this proposal alone the cost goes over a billion dollars.

2. Temporary worker program - It’s one thing to say we need new Ids for all workers. Easy to say that we want to set up a system for workers and employers to get together, but who’s paying for it. A new office or upgrades to the currently existing INS offices is going to be required. More employees will most likely need to be hired. A new government agency will have to be set up to help immigrants who wish to work legally here in the U.S. find employers who want to hire them. Essentially a Federal temp agency. And we’ll be paying for it.

3. Employer accountability – In order to hold employers accountable for hiring illegal workers, you need people to investigate the claims. Once again hiring more people or tasking already over tasked law enforcement with that duty. At least this one could possibly pay for itself with the fines we could levy on employers who violate the law. But it would still probably only break even.

4. Illegals here could earn citizenship – Once again, without increasing the number of people in the federal government, nothing is going to change for those illegals who have been here for years. If those who are going the legal route get to go first in line (and that already takes a long time), then I don’t see those who have been living here for 20-30 years illegally trying to become legal citizens when they would have to wait even longer, work even harder and pay a penalty. THEY’RE POOR YOU MORON! If they had money they would enter the U.S. legally!

5. Which I could only understand as NO HABLO ESPANOL! I didn’t hear much on point five except that everyone must try to speak English. I agree with this one and I think GEORGE W. BUSH should be the first who has to pass an English test for citizenship. That would solve all our problems. Once he’s declared not a citizen then we can legally take the Presidency away from him. HOORAYY!!!

I believe we need strong borders. I believe we need to do something about our immigration problem. But this is just too expensive, and wouldn't really solve the problem. At a time when we have a tremendous deficit and owe money to foreign countries do we really want to get deeper in debt. And remember that as the number of Federal employees goes up so does our tax burden. Whatever happened to Republicans being for smaller government. To co-opt the phrase most often used in local elections: "This plan costs to much, does too little."

- j.r.

Tom Cruise

I won’t write much about Hollywood. What angers me enough yell at the television rarely has anything to do with how Britney is treating her baby. Seriously people, there are children in this country who have no health care, are starving, and if they are lucky enough to make it to school age, may go to schools that are falling apart, with substandard books, teachers and which will most likely close leaving them unable to go to school at all thanks to Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. So I could give two of nothing about Britney’s baby.

Tom Cruise on the other hand intrigued me. His movie M:I:III opens today. Recently he’s been under attack for a lot of the “crazy” statements he’s made. His attack on Brooke Shields and his baby birthing rules were much in the news. And as crazy and the things Tom said were, he only makes movies not laws. Bill Frist on the other hand supports sex education (abstinence) that says you can get AIDS from tears and sweat. Rick Santorum compared Homosexuality to beastiality and pedophilia. These are the people who make the laws we must live by. Why did I see more airplay about Tom claiming he knew psychiatry was BS, than Frist claiming he knew Teri wasn’t in a vegetative state…because he watched video of her. Tom Cruise may convert some people to scientology, maybe not, but I consider him harmless compared to senators and congressmen with irrational beliefs. It isn’t Tom Cruise who’s going to limit women’s access to birth control, or ban gay marriage or lead us into a war with questionable intelligence against a country that didn’t attack us. It’s going to be those other people I mentioned. So let Tom talk crazy and if he runs for office vote against him. And while you’re at it see if you can vote out of office the people who still believe that the WMDs exist.

-j.r.

a little about me and my blog

I’d like to introduce myself. I’m an Austin Liberal Democrat. I have the life I always hoped for when I was young. I have a car, a nice apartment, digital cable, enough money to feed my addiction (books), a beautiful girlfriend, beautiful girls as friends, and a job that satisfies and challenges me, but which I can leave at work when I go home. What more could a person want?

How about a President who is smarter than me? How about Universal Health Care? How about a country that realizes that two people, any two people, getting married has no effect on you whatsoever?

My annoyance at people who agree with me, but don’t vote, knows no bounds. Yet, how much different am I? Yes, I vote. Yes, I give money to the ACLU and the democratic party, but what am I really doing to try and change things. I discuss issues with anyone who disagrees with me and try to make them change their mind. It’s a start. This I hope will be the next step.

I am adding my voice, or text at least, to the thousands of others who want to try to get this country back on course. Not getting it back to some mythical glory days that never existed, but to a future where equality is real, tolerance is practiced, and freedom is more than just a word.

That’s what I humbly hope to accomplish with my blog.

Oh, and I’d like to get that bastard impeached.

-j.r.