Saturday, January 24, 2004
Sour grapes...
Yahoo! News - Dean Alleges Dirty Attacks in Iowa
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Howard Dean said Saturday he was surprised by the "under the table" campaigning he faced during the Iowa caucus and said the state needs to prevent such negative attacks if it wants to keep the nation's leadoff presidential vote.Would he want the rules changed if he had won? I think not.
Dean said his rivals "had their folks really beating up on the people who went in, trying to get them to change their minds in caucus."
"I think Iowa is going to have to change the way it conducts its caucuses if it wants to continue to be first," he told reporters in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire.
Friday, January 23, 2004
You all can beat Bush...(except Lieberman)
Yahoo! News - Democrats Argue Over Who Can Beat Bush
It's time to agree that any of the contending Democrats can beat Bush. They all have their strengths. Dean has his zealots. Kerry has his experience. Clark has his leadership (and the rumored backing of Bill Clinton), and Edwards has his Southern charm and charisma. It's a good field and I'd be proud to campaign for any of them.
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Girding for the final weekend before New Hampshire's leadoff primary, the Democratic presidential rivals are seeking to answer lingering doubts about their electability while sharpening their attacks on President Bush.No, Mr. Lieberman, you're the Democrat Republicans most admire. Even Sean Hannity was kissing your ass last night. Drop out. Drop out now. You're poison for the party and your continued attacks on the other candidates will only aid Gov. Bush.
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Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, bragging that he's the Democrat Republicans most fear, vigorously defended his backing for the war in Iraq, conceding it had cost him in some Democratic circles.
It's time to agree that any of the contending Democrats can beat Bush. They all have their strengths. Dean has his zealots. Kerry has his experience. Clark has his leadership (and the rumored backing of Bill Clinton), and Edwards has his Southern charm and charisma. It's a good field and I'd be proud to campaign for any of them.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past...
Infiltration of files seen as extensive
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Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary committee infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate officials told The Globe.What will come of this? Much like the Plame case, absolutely nothing. The inmates are running the asylum.
From the spring of 2002 until at least April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics.
The office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle has already launched an investigation into how excerpts from 15 Democratic memos showed up in the pages of the conservative-leaning newspapers and were posted to a website last November.
With the help of forensic computer experts from General Dynamics and the US Secret Service, his office has interviewed about 120 people to date and seized more than half a dozen computers -- including four Judiciary servers, one server from the office of Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and several desktop hard drives.
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Democrats now claim their private memos formed the basis for a February 2003 column by conservative pundit Robert Novak that revealed plans pushed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, to filibuster certain judicial nominees. Novak is also at the center of an investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA agent whose husband contradicted a Bush administration claim about Iraqi nuclear programs.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Yahoo! Sports
Iowa St. 69 Oklahoma 51
Future wife (I wish!) Anne O'Neil scored 6 points and added 4 assists to beat the 15th ranked Sooners.
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Future wife (I wish!) Anne O'Neil scored 6 points and added 4 assists to beat the 15th ranked Sooners.
Stopping Short My Ass...
Yahoo! News - Bush Stops Short on Constitution Gay Marriage Ban
Conservatives love constitutional amendments. They want one for to outlaw flag burning. They want one to require prayer in schools. They want one that requires a super majority to change tax laws. They want a constitutional ban on abortion. The list goes on and on.
The Constitution has three basic functions. First, it defines the structure of the government and the relationship between the three branches. The second function is the limitation of the powers of the government. The third is the protection of minorities against the tyranny of the majority. The Bill of Rights speaks mostly to the second function. The 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 27th amendments deal with the function of government and the relationship between the branches. Most of the remaining amendments seek to protect minorities. The 13th outlawed slavery. The 14th established due process and equal protection. The 15th guaranteed minorities the right to vote. The 19th gave women the right to vote. The 24th eliminated the poll tax.
That leaves the 18th and the 21st. The 18th was Prohibition. The 21st repealed it. Prohibition did not fit into the framework of the Constitution. It did not define the structure of government. It certainly did not limit the power of the government. It did not protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. What it did was inflict the moral beliefs of a particular group upon the entire country. 14 years later that mistake was corrected.
The proposed amendment to ban homosexual marriage is similar to Prohibition. It does not serve any of the three functions of the Constitution. It will inflict the moral beliefs of a particular group upon the entire country. This amendment is just another example of the GOP's inability to play within the rules. They impeach, recall and redistrict when they can't win. The recount when they lose. Now they will amend when they violate our most sacred document.
The founding fathers made the amending the Constitution extremely difficult for a reason. The tyranny of the majority can and often does harm that takes decades or centuries to correct. The Republican party would do well to learn a valuable lesson. We did not inherit the Constitution from our forefathers. We are merely borrowing it from our children. Don't handcuff future generations for short term political gain.
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"If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process," Bush said.That doesn't sound like stopping short to me.
Conservatives love constitutional amendments. They want one for to outlaw flag burning. They want one to require prayer in schools. They want one that requires a super majority to change tax laws. They want a constitutional ban on abortion. The list goes on and on.
The Constitution has three basic functions. First, it defines the structure of the government and the relationship between the three branches. The second function is the limitation of the powers of the government. The third is the protection of minorities against the tyranny of the majority. The Bill of Rights speaks mostly to the second function. The 11th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 27th amendments deal with the function of government and the relationship between the branches. Most of the remaining amendments seek to protect minorities. The 13th outlawed slavery. The 14th established due process and equal protection. The 15th guaranteed minorities the right to vote. The 19th gave women the right to vote. The 24th eliminated the poll tax.
That leaves the 18th and the 21st. The 18th was Prohibition. The 21st repealed it. Prohibition did not fit into the framework of the Constitution. It did not define the structure of government. It certainly did not limit the power of the government. It did not protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. What it did was inflict the moral beliefs of a particular group upon the entire country. 14 years later that mistake was corrected.
The proposed amendment to ban homosexual marriage is similar to Prohibition. It does not serve any of the three functions of the Constitution. It will inflict the moral beliefs of a particular group upon the entire country. This amendment is just another example of the GOP's inability to play within the rules. They impeach, recall and redistrict when they can't win. The recount when they lose. Now they will amend when they violate our most sacred document.
The founding fathers made the amending the Constitution extremely difficult for a reason. The tyranny of the majority can and often does harm that takes decades or centuries to correct. The Republican party would do well to learn a valuable lesson. We did not inherit the Constitution from our forefathers. We are merely borrowing it from our children. Don't handcuff future generations for short term political gain.
Living in a dream world...
Yahoo! News - Lieberman Says He Won't Quit After N.H.
I hope this means he will quit before N.H.
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I hope this means he will quit before N.H.
The most insightful comment I've seen all day...
From the comments over at Eschaton:
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I get the feeling that Dean and his Deaniacs listen only to each other. Then, Dean loses and they're surprised. Listen to others, it can't hurt and you might realize that not everyone who is for another candidate or even for Bush is an evil person. Yes, Delay et al are dicks, but Deaniacs remind me of McGovern supporters who stood around and said, "Everyone I spoke to was voting for McGovern."The Dean fanatics scare me. They don't seem to realize that we are all in this together. I'm afraid that we are going to see a lot of sour grapes and conspiracy theories if Dean doesn't get the nomination.
Monday, January 19, 2004
That's one huge caucus...
It's time for Iowa to fade back into obscurity for another 4 years. My precinct split with three delegates each going to Kerry and Dean and two to Edwards. I realigned my vote to Edwards in the final round.
The Dean supporters were rude and uncooperative. I was not surprised.
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The Dean supporters were rude and uncooperative. I was not surprised.
Six Reasons Why I Support Gen. Clark...
1. Clark pledges to all Americans that he will bring our soldiers home, with success in Iraq assured and America standing strong.
2. Clark will never ask our troops to risk the ultimate sacrifice or ask their families to pay the ultimate price of patriotism except as an absolute last resort.
3. Clark will never send American soldiers into combat without a realistic plan to win and the forces necessary for victory.
4. The guiding principle of our foreign policy will be to lead, not to bully.
5. Clark will never challenge the patriotism of Americans who question his policies or express their disagreement.
6. Clark plans to provide universal pre-school and universal grants for college.
I could go on all day. I probably will tonight. Please consider supporting Clark at the caucus.
(Policy statements from www.clark04.com)
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2. Clark will never ask our troops to risk the ultimate sacrifice or ask their families to pay the ultimate price of patriotism except as an absolute last resort.
3. Clark will never send American soldiers into combat without a realistic plan to win and the forces necessary for victory.
4. The guiding principle of our foreign policy will be to lead, not to bully.
5. Clark will never challenge the patriotism of Americans who question his policies or express their disagreement.
6. Clark plans to provide universal pre-school and universal grants for college.
I could go on all day. I probably will tonight. Please consider supporting Clark at the caucus.
(Policy statements from www.clark04.com)
