Republicans in New York
I guess if your platform isn't worth standing on, the only thing you can do is bash your opponent, Senator McCain's [lame and discouraging] speech notwithstanding.
- posted by Chris @ 1:51 PM

 
The Question Is....
... does a new law increase the ability of those with resources to acquire more resources, and to more effectively, and with fewer restrictions, dominate those who provide labor/material/support?
- posted by Chris @ 2:46 PM

 
Paying the price
David Halberstam has a brilliant essay in the most recent Vanity Fair (the Reese Witherspoon ? September 04) issue. His main points, as I understand them, are:

1. The current president and vice-president of the United States have never personally experienced the matrix of decision-making challenges that even 18-year-old soldiers in Iraq are having to navigate right now.

2. These men, and many others in positions of decision-making, missed serving their country in the Vietnam conflict by choice ... VP Cheney got five deferments, and President Shrub used family connections to acquire military service without military sacrifice, serving in Texas and Alabama, not even in Saigon, much less in a jungle camp on the border of Cambodia.

3. These men, and many others in positions of power and influence, now somehow believe they can pass judgment on the patriotism of others ... including those who did serve in Vietnam, and the American public is letting them.

4. A better understanding of history, both distant and personal, would better serve both our country and its leaders.

Too bad it's not online. But I highly recommend it anyway.
- posted by Chris @ 1:46 PM

 
Beliefs and values
I want to quiz those people saying, "George Bush shares my values." What exactly do they mean?

Honesty is a value. Human dignity is a value. Freedom of mind (or of spirit, or of belief) is a value.

Denying gays the right to marry? Banning abortion? Tax cuts only for targeted pieces of the community? Military action without just cause? These are choices based on beliefs about who should control the world and its wealth. These choices are NOT values. And I will hold everyone who votes for Shrub accountable for their choice, fully defending their right to make it, but not absolving them of responsibility for the consequences.

I think many more people would think more carefully about their political choices if there was more direct accountability ... (You voted for Bush? Here's your bill for the armored Humvee they need in Iraq. And by the way, we'll be dropping off the baby you forced that 13-year-old to have. Your responsibility now.)

Yes, my conservative friends, it works the other way, too. If Kerry is elected, we should expect our taxes to go up ... he's promising seniors that their escalating drug costs will be covered ... who's going to pay for that? He's promising to be just as firm in fighting terrorism. Who's paying for that?

Now. Would direct, immediate accountability encourage more people to be more interested in what politicians are promising? It would work on me ... I've almost scared myself out of voting now. Oh, wait. There's no way the American people will go for this idea.
- posted by Chris @ 5:08 PM