Reaction: Edwards to increase taxes for the rich? ...Really?!

No, not really. John Edwards announced in California at a Democratic Convention that he plans to investigate increasing taxes on the rich. I can only assume that by "plan to investigate" he means "pretend to investigate in order to manipulate people into voting for me." Taxing the rich, as obvious an idea as it is, seems to be an impossible task to accomplish since most politicians, "President of the Free World" included, are in the pockets of the richest people in America. I think that's called a conflict of interest...

Reaction: Former Senator Mike Gravel goes full-blown awesome at SC Debates

I must admit, I love the crazy ones. I have probably seen the Howard Dean "Scream" video fifty times and never once have I been able to comprehend why it ruined him politically. Politics should be a game of passion. So who is Mike Gravel? He's a former Democratic Senator from Alaska and one hell of a longshot for winning the Presidential nomination. However, his passion and straight forward talk about the War in Iraq is as refreshing as I've seen in a while. It's a shame that candidates like Gravel are seen as the crazy ones for speaking their mind with passion and conviction while the middle-of-the-road politicians who play it safe and flip-flop when it's convienent for them are considered the sane ones.

Reaction: Bush approval ratings continue to fall

Apparently not satisfied until his approval ratings reach .00000003% (Bush Jr. versus the entire population of the United States), President Bush reached a new all time low by scoring a 28% approval rating according to the Wall Street Journal. All I can say is ...duh? Bush continues to ignore the collective world's criticisms and is threatening to veto the majority of the American peoples' opinion (via Congress) that we should set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq. Even his fellow Republicans are distancing themselves from him in just about every way they politically can. With over a year still left in his final term, let's see just how low Bush can go.

Reaction: Harry Reid (D-Nevada) mocks Cheney

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has responded to Vice President Dick Cheney's remarks that he has misinterpreted the Iraq Study Group's report to fit into the Democrats' agenda. His response? "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." Awesome! If there's one thing I love it's some good old fashioned mud-slinging. Especially when the person getting mud in their face is Dick Cheney. Not that I love Harry Reid or anything, but that retort just really made me laugh. I don't see any real political effects coming out of this, only hilarity. So laugh it up, we've got less than two years left to get in all the Cheney jokes!

Reaction: MySpace users to elect the next (virtual) President

MySpace.com has announced it will be holding a mock presidential election in January. MySpace apparently believes this will help show candidates where they stand with the overwhelming number of members MySpace has. My greatest fear realized? More people voting in the MySpace election than the real election. My second greatest fear? Candidates adjusting strategies to try and win "the Myspace vote." After all, the majority of people who are interested in MySpace enough to vote in their silly mock elections are the people who don't vote anyways and in many cases the people who can't vote anyways since this election will be open to everyone living within the USA, even those under the age of 18, non-registered voters, and non-citizens.

Reaction: Kurdistan becoming a reality?

Iraqi Kurdistan is making a lot of big moves towards securing an independent nation it seems. Flying under the radar and behind the shadow cast by Shia-Sunni sectarian violence, Kurds have begun a campaign both at home and here in the United States to establish their own Kurdish homeland. They have even established their own group of political lobbyists here in the United States. While I think this is an excellent opportunity for the Kurds and the Kurdish people, the threat of destabalizing the region, especially in Turkey, is something to be taken seroiusly. However, on the flip-side by keeping the Kurds a part of Iraq it adds more instability to Iraq. This is evidence that the divide-and-conquer tactics used by the imperial powers all those years ago still have long-lasting effects and will continue to affect the region. Righting the wrongs of improperly established borders all those years ago will have to come to the forefront of our conciousness eventually and plans to deal with it should begin now.

John McCain has no "Plan-B" for Iraq

John McCain has fumbled once again on the goal line. After staying a strong and steady course over the last few months using his "straight talk" tactics he's suddenly fallen victim to his double talk again. This time it was on the front page of the New York Times. Slate.com reports it as a "self-destruction" but I think I would avoid calling it anything more than another folly. However, McCain is quickly becoming the GOP-version of John Kerry. Not quite a flip-flopper, but one step back towards a coward who avoids confrontation of the real issues by saying whatever his audience wants him to say. This is pretty harsh criticism, but the harsh reality is going to be even worse for McCain if he doesn't step up and stick to his guns. And let's be honest, at least he didn't sing "Bomb Iran" again...

Rush defends video games, Hell freezes over

Rush Limbaugh has defended video games on his radio show saying they are not responsible for the violent actions of the school shooters and other similar violent acts among young men and women. In related news, hell has frozen over. I'm glad there is a major player in politics who has come out and defended video games. While he does mention that video games may desensitize people from the violence, he indicates that people are looking for a quick fix where it does not exist. As a frequent gamer myself, I absolutely hate it when people chalk violence up to the violent nature of video games. I love all video games, but especially the ones where I walk through room after room blasting zombies/aliens/mutants without reserve. However, in real life I hate guns with a passion and the one time I went shooting I hated it so much I asked to leave early.

Reaction: Minnesota Senate to ban American Flags not made in USA?

The Minnesota State Senate has put forth a bill that will ban the sale of American Flags and novelties boasting the flag that are not made in the good ol' USA. I think that this bill is pretty stupid myself. One of the greatest things America represents to the entire world is a strong, successful, market economy. So here is Minnesota trying to boost American pride/morale/local economy by denying their residents access to one of America's arguably greatest acheivements in their ability to choose which products they buy in a vast, mostly unrestricted (with obvious exceptions for health and safety) free market? Seems pretty hypocritical to me. If Americans were so concerned with the fact their flags and novelties weren't being made in America - they'd choose on their own not to purchase them.

Dick Cheney thinks Dems will back down on Iraq Bill

Adding more fuel to the fire surrounding the ongoing tension between President Bush and the Democrats in Congress, Vice President Dick Cheney has come out claiming that the Democrats will back down and not pass a bill with a timetable for troop withdrawal. While the Dems have nowhere near enough votes to override Bush's promised veto I don't think they will back down on this one. This bill is an excellent way to show that they are representing their constituencies which clearly favor a withdrawal from Iraq. I'm not saying it's necessarily clean politics, but it's politics. Once again, Bush can look like the uncompromising chicken-hawk while Dems can promise to represent the people who elected them in the only facet they know how - attacking the GOP.

Reaction: Mitt Romney on Gay Marriage

I thought I would do something a little different this week with my blog and give my reactions to some of the leading 2008 Presidential candidates' opinions on issues that matter a lot to me. These issues affect me much more from a moral standpoint than they do in any political sense, but I think it's fairly obvious most of these issues are divided down party lines. My personal opinions do tend to reflect those of liberal democrats, however please do not be too quick to lump me in as just another leftist. With that small disclaimer to keep in mind, I will proceed with today's candidate and issue: Governor Mitt Romney on Gay Marriage.



My gut reaction to Mitt Romney's stance on gay marriage is one of disgust. I believe in any candidate's right to have their own opinion about any issue. Without paying them that respect, you cannot expect to receive that same level of respect returned to you. However, Mitt Romney is not just against gay marriage, he is against the very foundations of homosexuality and an individual's right to choose who they spend their life with. This video shows him not only condemning the act of gay marriage, but attacking homosexuals by stating they cannot properly create or raise the next generation. I would rather have two fathers raise me with love and devotion than one father who beats on me and a mother who stands by idly and does nothing. I am not trying to imply that two gay men are less prone to abusing children than straight men, I am simply giving an example of how a straight couple is not always more suitable for raising a family. I think Mitt Romney is way off on trying to push his beliefs upon other people, including the American people as a whole, who in the above interview he states agree with him on this issue. Well Mitt, here is one American who does not, and I'm not even gay!

Reaction: Iraqi Parliament Attack

A suicide attack rocked the Iraqi Parliament Cafeteria today killing 8, including 2 members of parliament, and injuring over 20. Besides the obvious human losses, the scariest aspect of the attack is that it occurred in Baghdad's "Green Zone," which is the most secure area in Iraq. According to CNN.com, there are five different security checkpoints that must be passed to get into the Parliament building, including bypassing bomb-sniffing dogs. BBC reports that many of these checkpoints occur within meters of one another.

My first reaction to this is obviously one of sadness. Anytime innocent human lives are taken it is a great loss for individuals and families, regardless of their political beliefs, ethnicity, religion, etc. My second reaction is one of concern. US occupying forces have been unpopular in the region for several years running now and for an infiltration of this magnitude to occur in the Green Zone almost certainly requires help from the inside. If some of the most trusted security forces can no longer be trusted it shows just how widespread this resentment really is. My third reaction is one of pride and admiration for the Iraqi lawmakers who have stood up in the face of these attack and claimed it will not stop them from doing their job and an emergency meeting has been called for Friday to drive this point home. Their strength and resolve in the face of their friends and coworkers deaths and injuries sends a message louder than any President Bush or Tony Blair could.

Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84

One of my heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, died today. He was certainly one of the most brilliant satirists ever, and without a doubt one of the finest of his generation. Not only is this a great blow to fans of his everywhere, but this is a major setback in the American political arena. Vonnegut had been one of the most outspoken and influential players in the anti-war movement dating back to Vietnam. His speeches, essays, and interviews over the last several years have been very critical of the Bush Administration and the atrocities going on in Iraq.

I have read many of his works, but one of my favorite pieces by him is the short essay "Cold Turkey" which was published in 2004. It was a major turning point in some of my political views because I was new in college and had not developed much of a political identity. His message, interlaced with scathing sarcasm, really struck a chord with me and has helped shape my views to this day. I especially like the last part of "Cold Turkey" and will quote a little bit for you here:

"And my car back then, a Studebaker, as I recall, was powered, as are almost all means of transportation and other machinery today, and electric power plants and furnaces, by the most abused and addictive and destructive drugs of all: fossil fuels.

When you got here, even when I got here, the industrialized world was already hopelessly hooked on fossil fuels, and very soon now there won’t be any more of those. Cold turkey."

U.S. to send money to Palestine

The U.S. State Department announced today that Palestine would receive $59 million to put towards security forces training and improving border conditions. The money is being routed through Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to keep it out of Hamas' hands.

This seems rather bitter-sweet to me considering we are once again cutting Hamas out of the picture. Hamas gained control of the Palestinian government via fair elections and should be negotiated with like any other government. Cutting them out of the process just fuels the fire that is already burning. Cooperation with Hamas could lead to some breakthroughs in the peace process which has sputtered tremendously under the Bush Administration.

And while $59 million is certainly a large sum of money, one can't ignore the fact that Israel receives a minimum of $3 billion annually, and has been since signing the Camp David Accord in 1978. Certainly this $59 million is helpful to a deeply impoverished Palestine, but it's almost a simultaneous slap in the face as well when you compare it to what the U.S. throws to Israel each year.

Reaction: Iran reaches "Industrial Level" of nuclear production

Today Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran has reached an industrial level of nuclear fuel production. CNN.com and BBC have both run articles citing the United States' and other Western countries' anger and concern over Iran's proliferation. While I agree that the thought of Iran, a country rich with anti-Western ideals, with nuclear weapons is a scary one, the United States is reacting as if we do not have the bomb ourselves. Iran has claimed it is seeking nuclear technology only to establish peace and stability in the region. Is that not our same "excuse" for keeping the bomb ourselves? As much as I dislike the idea of Iran having nuclear weapons, I like the idea of the United States thinking we have the right to nuclear weapons while they do not even less. Let us not forget that the United States is the only country to have ever used a nuclear weapon aggressively.

The United States and other Western nuclear powers are holding Iran to a double-standard and it is simply not fair. Unless there is clear evidence that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons and use them aggressively, I do not see where morally we can step in and prevent them from attaining the technology. I find it much more likely the United States is afraid of losing more power in the region and the world than they fear any real threat of attack.

From the CNN.com article: "U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called Monday's events 'another signal Iran is in defiance of the international community.'"

Is that so, Mr. McCormack? Can you please explain why Iran is not allowed to defy the international community, while the United States defied 3 of the 4 other members of the U.N. Security Council by invading Iraq? And by my tally, over 60,000 Iraqi civilian casualties is much more severe than the attainment of industrial production of nuclear fuel. Or how about the countless times Israel has violated U.N. Resolutions? Violations which have gone largely ignored by the United States and other Western powers.

Okay though, the real issue we have to be concerned about here is terrorism. The biggest fear any of us should have is that Iran is not only bordered by countries with terrorist ties (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and now Iraq), but they have more than a few extremist groups within their own borders. The likelihood of one of these groups attaining a nuclear bomb from Iran, be it directly or indirectly, is a legitimate fear that should be addressed. In my opinion, Iran should be focusing more on its efforts in purging these groups from its country which would give more legitimacy to its government, show a stable country ready for nuclear proliferation, and also prove it is a country that can establish peace and stability in the region.