I am always surprised at how Republicans can just spout out complete BS. I mean, I can understand if one disagrees with the President’s approach to the stimulus package–that’s a philosophical difference (even if their philosophy is wrong). Tonight, however, I overheard some woman spout off about how Obama was “taking away our rights” and “forcing a socialistc agenda down our throats”. She had nothing to back up her assertions. She also said Bush inherited a weak economy and was just a victim of the biased media (the same media that drooled over his Mission Accomplished flight suit costume party).
Of course five minutes later this same person was applauding a presentation about a pubically funded project that will surely benefit from additional funding via the stimulus package. Talk about cognitive dissonance.
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It’s here! Today! At Noon!
I have MSNBC on in the background and the crowds are absolutely amazing.
The lyrics to this song has been going through my head all morning.
A Change is Gonna Come
by Sam Cooke
- I was born by the river in a little tent
- And just like the river, I’ve been running ever since
- It’s been a long time coming
- But I know a change is gonna come
-
- It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die
- I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky
- It’s been a long time coming
- But I know a change is gonna come
-
- I go to the movie, and I go downtown
- Somebody keep telling me “Don’t hang around”
- It’s been a long time coming
- But I know a change is gonna come
-
- Then I go to my brother and I say, “Brother, help me please”
- But he winds up knocking me back down on my knees
-
- There’ve been times that I’ve thought I couldn’t last for long
- But now I think I’m able to carry on
- It’s been a long time coming
- But I know a change is gonna come</blockquote>
Somewhere Sam is smiling today.
Continue Reading “Change”
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Quick takes for the week:
- So by now, everyone on the internets knows that Jott will soon cease all forms of free-ness. I have been using Dial2Do for a few weeks now, and while it seems a little less fluid then Jott, I recommend it as a replacement.
- Virgin America = the best airline out there. I flew from JFK to SFO and loved just about every moment of it. Great Service. On-Time Arrivals (actually early on both legs). Good entertainment system. Food on-demand (including lots of decent free coffee). The only odd thing was the configuration of the lavatories. It was awkward. I’m not sure if that is a VA thing or an Airbus thing.
- The only thing that makes the cold in NY worse is the knowledge that I was walking around in shirtsleeves in San Francisco earlier in the week.
- I finished Guy Kawasaki’s Reality Check last week. Thouroughly enjoyable read. A ton of information. Already passing it out to my colleagues.
- I am currently reading Drucker. It’s very dense reading. I am surprised by how jarring I find the non-gender-neutral language. The advice is sound, however. Additionally, he uses a lot of mid-20th-century examples of leadership throughout the book. I am finding it interesting how closely the economic climate facing FDR mirrors the one facing Obama — especially, the changes it forced FDR to make to his agenda.
- I’m still working on a new blog. It’s business-related. I am trying to decide on the domain name (or should I piggy-back it off getdonkey.com?)
- I still can’t get over this. I am glad everyone survived.
- I can’t beieve this is really about to happen. I can’t wait. Although I chickened out on going down there. Unfortuantely, he will be inheriting a steaming pile.
- So long circuit city. I feel awful for the 30,000 folks left out in the cold.
- Lunch is over. Back to work.
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As mentioned earlier, I have taken an interest in Thai politics (I currently have two Au Pairs from Thailand living in the house). The fact that the King has endorsed the new PM will hopefully settle things a bit
This PM, Abhisit Vejjajiva, seems like a true departure from the previous office holders — he’s young, British born, and not from the same party. He also seems to be free of all the corruption that is rampant in Thai politics. Vejjajiva will have a difficult road ahead:
His first and most difficult challenge is calming the intense
political atmosphere that has seen the country bitterly divided between
supporters and opponents of the exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra.
It is all the harder for Mr Abhisit, as his party has allowed
itself to become closely associated with the hard-core People’s
Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose campaign of economic sabotage,
culminating in last month’s week-long occupation of Bangkok
International Airport, helped bring down the previous government
[snip]
Mr Abhisit’s second challenge will be to rebuild confidence in an economy that is headed for trouble.
The full cost of the airport occupation has yet to be fully
counted, but it will certainly run into several billions of dollars.
The long-term damage to investor and tourist confidence could be much
worse – and that comes on top of a rapidly deteriorating global
climate.
Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Board now
concedes that its prediction of 3-4% economic growth next year is far
too high.
Some economists here are predicting that the economy will
shrink, a dire prognosis for this high-performance region. More than a
million Thai jobs are expected to be lost next year
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The NY Working Families Party has commissioned a poll that finds that New Yorkers are against Governor Paterson’s proposed budget cuts to schools and health care:
The poll showed that New Yorkers were strongly resistant to the proposed massive cuts to healthcare, education programs, and the safety net. When asked whether the state should “seriously consider” a list of budget proposals in order to close the budget gap, or should “definitely not consider taking that step,” between 60% and 75% of all voters said Albany should “definitely not” consider any of the following steps:
· Reducing the amount the state would reimburse hospitals for services provided under the Medicaid program (60% say “definitely do not take that step”)
· Reducing state funding for Medicaid and other health care services by $1.7 billion over the next year and a half (65%)
· Cutting state aid to public schools by $1.4 billion over the next year and a half (75%).
Continue Reading “New Yorkers don’t want cuts to schools or healthcare”
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I am happy to hear that things seem to be settling down a tiny bit in Thailand. We have a new Au Pair coming over from Thailand next week. She is supposed to leave on Saturday, so it looks like she might be able to make it out. Because of selfish child-care interests and the fact that our current Au Pair is also Thai, I have become quite interested in Thai politics. They sometimes make our politics seem so vanilla.
I am concerned that things could get quite bad there very soon, however. The linked article mentions that the king is in ill health. That coupled with the disarray in their dissolved parliament could make for a very volatile mix.
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Here is how our federal government is “protecting” us from shadowy networks of freedom haters:
One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a “Vegan Community Project.” Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group’s “semi-communistic ideology.” A third indicates the bureau’s interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Llama Fur– it’s the new yellow cake.
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Back in the comments of my previous NY-19 post, there is a debate brewing about the bona-fides of one of the candidates. I think the purveyors of take19 have some great advice:
If you want to see Ben and the other four candidates vying for Sue’s seat, they’ll all be at the Peekskill Democratic meeting tonight (12/15) which begins at 7 p.m. in a room at the Field Library in downtown Peekskill.
As a group — we formed Take19 last year to take back the 19th district — we’ve met with all five of the candidates and each has their plusses and minuses. Though we don’t plan to endorse anyone right now, we’re more than a bit concerned with some of the misinformation being pumped out into the blogosphere about Ben, primarily on DailyKos and primarily by some of the same people who have posted here.
So if you’re tired of being spun by a few posters, come to tonight’s event — there’s more info on the Peekskill Dems site — and make up your own mind about the candidates. Clogging the blogosphere with misinformation about the candidates only helps Sue Kelly. Many of us are working way too hard to see that happen yet again. (emph. mine)
I don’t think I will be able to make it tonight, but hopefully others will, and can see the candidates for themselves. I hope there are more events like this one.
One thing I would really hate to see is this primary become a circular firing squad resulting in a politically wounded Democratic candidate. Obviously, people are going to have primary favorites, and they should talk up the strengths of their preferred candidate, but attacks on the other Democratic candidates benefit no one. I think it would be better for people to keep the focus of the race on where it should be — defeating Sue Kelly. After all, each of the candidates running would be an improvement over the current congressperson.
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Republican Sue Kelly has held my “new” Congressional district since, I believe, 1994. In fact, I do not believe she has ever faced a serious challenge. Well, that is about to change. Perhaps emboldened by the big Democratic gains in the area back in November, there are now 5 announced Democratic candidates vying for her seat.
They are:
I don’t yet know enough about any them to pick a favorite. I do know, however, that John Hall is/was the lead singer of the band Orleans. He took on the Bush Campaign last year when they attempted to use the Orleans song, “Still the One” at campaign stops. Aydelott, who was formerly a Republican, was the first to enter the race and, has raised $200,000 since Labor Day .
take19 is a blog that is completely focused on the race. They have the scuttlebutt on the dealings of Sue Kelly.
The DCCC has a Races to Watch site where you can find your own district. Interestingly they seem to be framing the overall congressional campaign strategy as a referendum on Tom DeLay. That seems like a good idea to me. Here is what they have to say about Sue and Tom:
Some facts about Sue Kelly and how tied up Rep. Kelly is with Tom DeLay…
- Sue Kelly has taken $12,020 from Tom DeLay’s ARMPAC. No surprise that Kelly voted with Tom DeLay 90% of the time between Jan. 1 2004 and March 31 2005.
- Sue Kelly voted to weaken the ethics rules in a move that many say served only to protect Tom DeLay.
- When Republicans realized it was “impossible to win the communications battle” over the gutted ethics rules, Kelly flip-flopped and voted to put the old rules back into place.
- When Democrats offered a solution to clean up the House by strengthening ethics rules, Sue Kelly voted twice to make sure it never even came to an up or down vote.
- Sue Kelly voted to allow DeLay to continue serving as Leader even if he is indicted.
With all these candidates, the primary should be interesting. I’ll update the blog as I learn more about the candidates.
[UPDATE 12/6/2005] It turns out that Ben Shuldiner was the first candidate to officially enter the race as Radha Iyengar notes in the comments :
Ben Shuldiner was actually the first candidate to enter the race, filing with the FEC long before Judy Aydelott.
Ben is the founder and principal of a public school in New York City. His school has had enormous success and for this he was named the Greatest Public Servant under the Age of 35.
I apologize for the oversight.
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Sometime in March or early April, a new member of the get donkey! family will be arriving. We are very excited. Right now, with an early assist from my folks, I am wrapping up the process of preparing his chambers. Can I just say that I hate wallpaper? Mrs. gd! and I have made some initial voyages to Babies R Us to look at baby gear and have come a away with headaches. There is so much baby stuff out there! Anybody have any advice on what is necessary and what is not?
Buddy the spazzhound is already getting into adjustment mode. He and Bailey (who could care less) have been banished from sleeping with us in the bedroom since August. He is being trained to sit in his “house” on command and stay there, until we tell him he can leave. I think he’s starting to get it. On the advice of a veterinary behaviorist, he also is being trained to wear a basket muzzle (which, for some stupid reason, I call his “treat hat”) for about 30 minutes a day just in case he doesn’t accept the baby as one of the pack (he has been strange around kids in the past). He isn’t crazy about it, but it doesn’t really seem to bother him after a few minutes. We bought some treats that we can slide into the slots in the muzzle and he actually figured out how to drink with it on his head.
I hope that I will have more to write about as it gets closer to his arrival (did I mention the baby is a boy?). I also want to start writing more about the local area here in the mid-Hudson valley. To be honest, I get my fill of national politics on kos and atrios, so I don’t feel a pressing need to cover that here anymore. There is an excellent blog about the town I live in, but it is the site of the monthly town paper and is only monthly. I have been unable to find any other websites or blogs up here that cover the culture of the area, the politics, and, especially, the adjustments of moving from a large city (aside from here, there are many transplants from NYC) to a small city. It’s an interesting situation as there is some palpable tension between people who have lived here for their entire lives and the people moving in. This town used to be solid “red country”. That changed on election day, however when the city council went from a 4-2 GOP majority to a 6-0 Democratic majority. The only Republican left on the council is the mayor. Things should be getting interesting.
Anyway, it’s Thanksgiving time in these parts, so, if you celebrate it, have a happy Turkey Day. If you are interested, here is a link to my Thanksgiving Prayer from last year. I still like it.
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I haven’t linked to anything political in a while, and while this Kos diary post may be a bit political, it is more about putting a human face on Social Security and what it means for so many people. I was espiecially touched by this post because the author is very close in age to me. But for the grace of God or good Luck or whatever, his story could be mine.
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Like all good blog denziens, I bow before the insurmountable power and genius of Giblets and the rest of the crew at Fafblog.
They have two great posts up today, that I just had to link to (okay, I am compelled to by Giblets’ New World Order).
The first outlines Giblets plans for the media now that the media is dead and the blogosphere is ascendant…
DECREE THE FIRST! All news is now NET-news! All reporting is now E-reporting! The New York Times will spend 90% of its content bickering with the Washington Post in an increasingly abstract yet personal argument regarding the feasibility of anarcho-capitalism in the works of A. A. Milne! The CBS Evening News will be replaced by one man persistently correcting the Washington Post’s spelling and grammar for thirty minutes! The Wall Street Journal will consist entirely of excerpts of the New York Times and the Washington Post followed by a single “Indeed”!
The second post discloses the real reasons we went to war with Iraq. Here is the most frightening one that the now-dead media so often forgets cover:
SAND! It is well-known in the “blogosphere” that Saddam was mastering the creation of unstoppable Sand Golems capable of crushing whole cities in monster rampages! Only by siezing control of deadly Iraqi sand could we protect decent Americans from this menace. But the threat of high-sand-content nations isn’t over! Giblets hears that Syria may already have a sand processing plant up and running!
I have nothing to add except to say I wish I had a quarter of the amount of talent the writer of Fafblog has.
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…are why I supported this guy. Howard Dean delivered the following at George Washington University today:
Remarks made by Governor Howard Dean on the Future of the Democratic Party. Given at The George Washington University on December 8, 2004.
Thank you for that introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Let me tell you what my plan for this Party is:
We’re going to win in Mississippi
…and Alabama
…and Idaho
…and South Carolina.
Four years ago, the President won 49 percent of the vote. The Republican Party treated it like it was a mandate, and we let them get away with it.
Fifty one percent is not a mandate either. And this time we’re not going to let them get away with it.
Our challenge today is not to re-hash what has happened, but to look forward, to make the Democratic Party a 50-state party again, and, most importantly, to win.
To win the White House and a majority in Congress, yes. But also to do the real work that will make these victories possible — to put Democratic ideas and Democratic candidates in every office — whether it be Secretary of State, supervisor of elections, county commissioner or school board member.
Here in Washington, it seems that after every losing election, there’s a consensus reached among decision-makers in the Democratic Party is that the way to win is to be more like Republicans.
I suppose you could call that philosophy: if you didn’t beat ‘em, join them.
I’m not one for making predictions — but if we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. we cannot win by being “Republican-lite.” We’ve tried it; it doesn’t work.
The question is not whether we move left or right. It’s not about our direction. What we need to start focusing on… is the destination.
There are some practical elements to the destination.
Continue Reading “Speeches like this…”
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It’s the hottest trend sweeping the science-hatin’, gawd-fearin’ school boards of Red ‘Merika. Some fine folks at Swarthmore have come up with a few of their own. Check ‘em out.
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