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...