Dawn
Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 03:01:03 PM PDT
Last night I joined some former coworkers for drinks. One friend brought her sister-in-law, Dawn, because they had been out shopping together. I thought the night was going to just be laughs about a former evil boss and everyone catching up on each other lives. It turns out Dawn had much more to share.
I had remembered that she had gone to Iraq as a Marine. So I asked about it casually. I hadn't met her before and it was really the only thing I knew about her. I was making conversation. But I guess asking about Iraq is not like asking someone about their trip to Florida.
New Orlean's Schools-One year later
Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 08:07:40 PM PDT
Of course, since all of New Orleans is struggling to recover from Katrina, it is not surprising the schools are struggling as well. Unfortunately, it is also not surprising the Bush administration has failed the schools of New Orleans.
Here is my main question: Why is FEMA in charge of education recovery?
Fact Check: President Bush
Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 05:17:21 PM PDT
I know politics is all about spinning the story. But I get so tired of the President of the United States lying to the people of this country. He may be in some strange alternate universe of denial but his continual attempt to keep the rest of us there is ridiculous!
Almost 200,000 abortions could be prevented a year.
Thu Aug 17, 2006 at 05:16:23 PM PDT
Single-issue voters get on my nerves. I certainly have some annoying friends who vote Republican only because they are pro-life. While I am firmly prochoice because there is no way I want the government telling me what to do with my body, I also can empathize with the pro-life movement. Babies are precious and vulnerable. Why would I want to support something that could prevent a baby from being born?
What a really want to prevent is the conception of the fetus in the first place. This is why I was thrilled to see this study by the Guttmacher Institute:
Reid's Letter to President Bush
Sat Aug 12, 2006 at 02:26:15 PM PDT
Occasionally I check out the Democrats Senate website. As informative as the Daily Kos is, I like to read various Democratic Party websites and see what they have going on.
Reid's letter to President Bush on the administration's security failure struck a nerve with me. I think Reid is right on with this talking point and other Democrats need to jump on the bandwagon.
Where are all the people who sign up for dKos?
Sat Sep 24, 2005 at 08:57:39 AM PDT
This is something that may not warrant a diary but people seem to love diaries about the Daily Kos so what the hell? I have been wondering about where are all the people who have signed up for the Daily Kos. There are a lot of regulars and a lot of new people.
But I look at who recommends diaries and even when the diary has been up for a day, the list of recommends is not very long in comparison to the number of people who have signed up for the Daily Kos.
Federal education funding is very inadequate.
Mon Sep 19, 2005 at 05:34:26 PM PDT
I still wonder how George Bush ran as the Education President back in the 2000 election. it seems so ludicrous to me. Who would believe it?
Someone did. He may have stolen the election when he had to but he also had so genuine votes. I am sure there are people out there who believed he was going to help our schools. I cannot imagine who this is since the Republicans aren't excatly known for their concern with education.
It isn't just George Bush. The Republican leaders in the Senate can go back to their districts and claim to be support an increase in funding for education. It is the lowest increase in over a decade!! But who really cares?
Army withheld info on soldier's death for more than a year.
Sat Sep 10, 2005 at 04:44:31 PM PDT
I read this AP article today in the Star Tribune. It is very frustrating to read.
WASHINGTON -- The Army said Saturday it knew for more than a year after 1st Lt. Kenneth Ballard's death in Iraq in May 2004 that he was not killed in action, as it initially reported. The family was not told the truth until Friday.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5607517.html
Why would the Army do this to a family? Seriously. Who would lie about a soldier's death to a family? The corruption of this administration is so pervasive that it seeps into every area of our government.
Cindy Sheehan: anti-American communist?
Wed Aug 31, 2005 at 06:27:58 AM PDT
That was the accusation coming yesterday from the Heritage Foundation, which hosted author John J. Tierney Jr. for a forum titled "The Politics of Peace: What's Behind the Anti-War Movement?"
Tierney researched the movement for a book and came up with some choice descriptions. "I have to say it is communist," he told an audience at the conservative think tank, also describing the groups involved as "revolutionary socialistic" and "cohorts" of North Korea, Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro's Cuba. "We're really dealing with . . . a comprehensive, exhaustive, socialistic anti-capitalistic political structure," he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083001862.html?sub=new
What? What is Tierney talking about and what year is he living in?
A Democratic Plan for Retirement Security.
Wed Aug 24, 2005 at 02:25:29 PM PDT
The Democrats in Congress get their share of grief for being obstructionists. I know. They are crazy people for wanting to preserve Social Security, Medicare, filibuster, etc. While fighting the Republican attempts to destroy everything the Democratic Party accomplished in 70 years plus years, they actually have come up with some of their own plans. New plans. Yes, they want to preserve the old plans, which are working well. However, they have new plans, too.
AmeriSave is retirement security plan the House Democrats have developed to help the American public.
Unlikely Britain could supply the amount of oil that Washington needs
Tue Aug 23, 2005 at 05:55:49 PM PDT
Occasionally I read news online from different sources throughout the world. I find it fascinating to get different perspectives and to learn about what is occuring around the world. If I rely on American newspapers for world events, the focus is very narrow.
I found an article a few minutes ago that speaks volumes.
The Bush administration is threatening Iran with war; this is great news, as it will allow OPEC and the rest of the oil producing nations to agree on a blockade and put Washington were it belongs.
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=45620
NJ - Municipalities Accuse GOP Candidate of Fraud
Wed Aug 17, 2005 at 02:40:16 PM PDT
I don't live in New Jersey so I certainly do not want to act like a I know a lot about this Republican candidate, Doug Forrester. I don't. But this is interesting.
Republican Doug Forrester's company, BeneCard Services Inc., has agreed to settle a lawsuit by two New Jersey municipalities that accused it of fraud, a claim the candidate for governor contends was politically motivated.
BeneCard, which manages prescription benefit plans for more than 100 New Jersey government entities, has reached deals with Hamilton Township in Mercer County and with the city of Paterson, Hersh Kozlov, BeneCard's attorney, confirmed yesterday.
The municipalities had accused BeneCard of violating the state's consumer fraud act by secretly pocketing rebates from drug companies that should have been passed along to them.
Japan voters could deal a U.S. a blow in Iraq.
Tue Aug 16, 2005 at 05:39:44 PM PDT
Most of the time I forget that we have any allies in the war on Iraq. besides Great Britian. A lot of the countries that joined us have left often due to pressure from the citizens of each country.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's election next month could end up costing the United States another ally in Iraq, a symbolic blow to Washington even if Tokyo's overall pro-U.S. foreign policy doesn't change, experts said on Tuesday.
Both Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party support the decades-old U.S.-Japan security alliance, and the September 11 vote is being fought largely over Koizumi's financial reform agenda.
Koizumi has forged close ties with U.S President George W. Bush, bucking opposition to provide logistics support for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and to send 550 Japanese troops to Iraq in Tokyo's first significant overseas deployment since 1945.
The Democratic Party's policy platform includes pledges to withdraw Japanese troops from Iraq by December -- following other countries like Spain, Poland, Ukraine and Italy.
Bush's blind loyalty hurts us all.
Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 06:02:23 PM PDT
Bush is loyal to a fault. Or maybe it isn't a question so much of loyalty. He could simply stay so uninformed and so distant from what truly occurs that it appears that he has a blind faith in people and shows it with his loyalty. While I cannot claim to have any insight into Bush's loyalty to a fault mentality, I find it fascinating that he is demonstrating Nixon-like behavior.
"It seems that President Bush is falling into the Nixon trap - his administration can do no wrong. His allies and people who support him can do no wrong," said Robert Dallek, a presidential historian. "Palmeiro is above suspicion, Rove is not to be questioned, John Bolton is a stand-up guy.
"The danger is he divorces himself from public reality, political reality, and it erodes his ability to lead the country," Dallek said.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0805-03.htm
Bush's recess appointment power.
Mon Aug 01, 2005 at 02:40:05 PM PDT
Even though we don't like it and a lot of Senators don't like it, Bolton was appointed Ambassador to the U.N. by Bush. This man that needs to be sent to anger management classes rather than the U.N. is now a representing the U.S. in diplomatic relations.
Will the Republicans speak out against George Bush's use of a recess appointment? I doubt it.
But they certainly had to criticize Bill Clinton for his recess appointments.
How Republican Senators are spending their time.
Thu Jul 28, 2005 at 04:00:47 PM PDT
Love, love, love Harry Reid! He is telling it like it is! He knows the Republicans are all about pandering to the people who fill their pockets with cold hard cash. Fuck the America people. This must be their motto they say when they clink their glasses of scotch together and laugh about all the money they are rolling in.
Unrepresentative Democracy
Sat Jul 23, 2005 at 03:25:08 PM PDT
Sen. John Edwards stump speech rang true for me. That's the one where he says, "(There's) one America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks."
Exactly. I know the Republicans like to call it class warfare. Whatever. It is clearly politics of the rich vs politics of the middle-class. With Republicans in power, the middle-class is losing.
State cigarette fees: where do you stand?
Mon Jul 18, 2005 at 07:13:16 PM PDT
I live in Minnesota and I am a non-smoker. Our legislature recently passed a bill that will include a 75 cent "fee" added on to every pack of cigarettes sold. It was Tim Pawlenty's idea and it helped them to finally get our state running again. It was shut down for a week or two.
Anyway, it certainly seemed like an easy political choice for everyone. Have a large cigarette fee. Raise funds for the state. If people choose not to smoke due to the high tax fee, great! They increase their chances of living longer. It seemed like a very much of a win-win situation for all.
