Glassbooth
Interesting website that lets you vote on a list of issues, then matches you with the candidates that most closely match your preferences based on the candidate's published positions.
Very interesting, with two caveats:
1. Makes no mention of electability or competence, and,
2. Issue list is very limited.
Regardless, I came out matched most closely with Kucinich with an 86% match while I matched Hillary with 73%.
Hillary is still the best bet for the country.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Full Rudy
'The Full Rudy', an article in The Nation by Jack Newfield, is one place that provides a balanced assessment of Giuliani.
At this writing it seems possible that he will become the Rep nominee.
In the writer's opinion, it will be a disaster for the United States if Rudy takes the presidency whether the win is legitimate or not.
In the event Rudy is the Rep nominee then the Dems need to do a full swiftboat on him - he should be buried so far that he has zero possibility of recovering. He has publicly appealed to the same anti-American, base instincts in the electorate that propel the Bush administration toward dictatorship. His record in New York is one of incompetence and vitriol.
Conventional wisdom is that negative campaigning works. If Rudy is the nominee, the Dems need to swallow their distaste for negativity and smear Rudy as hard as they can, IMHO.
At this writing it seems possible that he will become the Rep nominee.
In the writer's opinion, it will be a disaster for the United States if Rudy takes the presidency whether the win is legitimate or not.
In the event Rudy is the Rep nominee then the Dems need to do a full swiftboat on him - he should be buried so far that he has zero possibility of recovering. He has publicly appealed to the same anti-American, base instincts in the electorate that propel the Bush administration toward dictatorship. His record in New York is one of incompetence and vitriol.
Conventional wisdom is that negative campaigning works. If Rudy is the nominee, the Dems need to swallow their distaste for negativity and smear Rudy as hard as they can, IMHO.
God Help Us
Listened to Dr.Peter Phillips, Director of the Project Censored program of Sonoma State University last night.
Following are some impressions of his talk - the impressions are mine alone, so complain to me if they are not correct.
Based on exit polls, the most reliable poll possible according to polling experts, Kerry lost 10 million votes in 13 states in the 04 election. Bush's offical margin was 3 million votes. The election was stolen.
Phillips reinforced strongly the idea that Bush has created in the United States
the infrastructure for a police state similar to Stalinist Russia or Pinochet's Chile.
The right of habeus corpus is now suspended. The President can name any person, citizen or not, as a terrorist and have them arrested and held without trail or bail.
If you interefere with the business or profits of any animal oriented business such as conducting a boycott or strike against a grocery store, you can be named as a terrorist and arrested without trial or bail.
Recently, under Attorney General Gonzalez, 9,000 state and local police were federalized in three sweeps and arrests of 30,000 people were conducted under Federal control.
There has been no accounting of the fate of those arrested nor release of names and/or charges filed.
The Posse Comitas act, which has prevented federal troops from conducting police operations since the Civil War, is suspended.
Halliburton Corp, was given a contract to build a series of detention centers across the country that are able to hold thousands of people.
Writing and publishing this piece probably qualifies me as a terrorist and may make me a target for arrest. As an American, it is my duty to speak out when the government acts against the Constitution. I have in the past taken an oath to defend the Constitution and I am doing so now. If I am arrested, so be it.
A Democratic Presidential administration seems to be the only remaining hope to prevent the United States of America from becoming a military dictatorship.
It is time for Hillary and the others to declare that they will reverse this dangerous course of American domestic policy.
Following are some impressions of his talk - the impressions are mine alone, so complain to me if they are not correct.
Based on exit polls, the most reliable poll possible according to polling experts, Kerry lost 10 million votes in 13 states in the 04 election. Bush's offical margin was 3 million votes. The election was stolen.
Phillips reinforced strongly the idea that Bush has created in the United States
the infrastructure for a police state similar to Stalinist Russia or Pinochet's Chile.
The right of habeus corpus is now suspended. The President can name any person, citizen or not, as a terrorist and have them arrested and held without trail or bail.
If you interefere with the business or profits of any animal oriented business such as conducting a boycott or strike against a grocery store, you can be named as a terrorist and arrested without trial or bail.
Recently, under Attorney General Gonzalez, 9,000 state and local police were federalized in three sweeps and arrests of 30,000 people were conducted under Federal control.
There has been no accounting of the fate of those arrested nor release of names and/or charges filed.
The Posse Comitas act, which has prevented federal troops from conducting police operations since the Civil War, is suspended.
Halliburton Corp, was given a contract to build a series of detention centers across the country that are able to hold thousands of people.
Writing and publishing this piece probably qualifies me as a terrorist and may make me a target for arrest. As an American, it is my duty to speak out when the government acts against the Constitution. I have in the past taken an oath to defend the Constitution and I am doing so now. If I am arrested, so be it.
A Democratic Presidential administration seems to be the only remaining hope to prevent the United States of America from becoming a military dictatorship.
It is time for Hillary and the others to declare that they will reverse this dangerous course of American domestic policy.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Driving Mr. Edwards
Watched the debate the other night and the Edwards commercial that replayed Hillary's answers to the question of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
Maybe the mistake was trying to have an answer to every question all the time. Being a responsible leader means taking the time to think through a question and it was obvious she had not done so for this question. The American people will understand that she cannot shoot from the hip on serious questions.
Maybe this would have worked:
"You know Chris, this is a serious question and frankly I have not been able to think through all the implications here. I think the American people want a responsible leader who will take the time to give serious, responsible thought to difficult national issues. I will do that for this issue and get back to you in a week.
As you know I am called on to answer literally hundreds of questions about national and local policy every day. My goal is to give serious answers to serious questions instead of shooting from the hip or making flip, overly simplified responses on the spur of the moment.
While some may see that as 'parsing', the fact of the matter is that national policy questions demand thorough analysis before coming to a conclusion.
Illegal immigration is a serious national policy question that Bush and the Republican congress have failed to answer. In the meantime, illegal immigrants will drive cars illegally and somehow we need to control that.
So, it's a big question and I will get back to you."
Maybe the mistake was trying to have an answer to every question all the time. Being a responsible leader means taking the time to think through a question and it was obvious she had not done so for this question. The American people will understand that she cannot shoot from the hip on serious questions.
Maybe this would have worked:
"You know Chris, this is a serious question and frankly I have not been able to think through all the implications here. I think the American people want a responsible leader who will take the time to give serious, responsible thought to difficult national issues. I will do that for this issue and get back to you in a week.
As you know I am called on to answer literally hundreds of questions about national and local policy every day. My goal is to give serious answers to serious questions instead of shooting from the hip or making flip, overly simplified responses on the spur of the moment.
While some may see that as 'parsing', the fact of the matter is that national policy questions demand thorough analysis before coming to a conclusion.
Illegal immigration is a serious national policy question that Bush and the Republican congress have failed to answer. In the meantime, illegal immigrants will drive cars illegally and somehow we need to control that.
So, it's a big question and I will get back to you."
Monday, November 5, 2007
ABC News Poll - Good News?
Here'e what the poll says:
"On Iraq, 63 percent of Americans continue to say the war was not worth
fighting. And at home, nearly two-thirds rate the economy negatively, with nearly seven in 10 seeing some likelihood of a recession in the year
ahead."
Here's what the possible problem is:
The Fed always supports the incumbents so there will probably be good economic news in 2008. Election years always see good numbers.
SO: Don't count our chickens - keep up the pressure.
"On Iraq, 63 percent of Americans continue to say the war was not worth
fighting. And at home, nearly two-thirds rate the economy negatively, with nearly seven in 10 seeing some likelihood of a recession in the year
ahead."
Here's what the possible problem is:
The Fed always supports the incumbents so there will probably be good economic news in 2008. Election years always see good numbers.
SO: Don't count our chickens - keep up the pressure.
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