Third Party & Independents:

Parental Obligations and Abortion

The Democratic Party leadership is beginning to realize that its support for on-demand abortions hurt the Party in 2004 election- and is considering softening its stance on the issue. Democrats have even chosen a mildly pro-life Senate leader in Harry Reid of Nevada. Given this opportunity for a political shift, this article is an attempt to explain a new way of looking at abortion. This article is timely because the majority of Americans do not support abortion on demand (and oppose partial birth abortion), but many of these same people cannot see unborn children before viability as full human beings.

The Bush Tax Plan: 1

The Washington Post reports Bush's desire to reform tax policy by the end of 2005 has been pushed back a year. Apparently, with his economists working on killing Social Security as we know it, and the need to cut Bush's highest budget deficit ever in half over the next 4 (or 5) years, while continuing to move the national debt toward the expected 10 Trillion dollars by decade's end, there just isn't enough brain power to do taxes as well.

All politics is local

A friend of my wife is going to be running for the school board in our fair city. This got me to thinking about the local level. How much research do you do into local candidates? Do you read their literature, look up their websites, and maybe check the local papers for recommendations? Do you actually talk to the candidates themselves?

Masterful PR to Save Rumsfeld

Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, is in trouble, and it is in all the headlines. But, apparently he has a genius in his corner as evidenced by his press conference yesterday. It was a masterful PR play.

Bush Has a Brooklyn Bridge to Sell

President Bush's touting of a Social Security Crisis has been somewhat successful in deceiving a majority of the public. According to the Washington Post Americans accept the crisis by about 74%. (Why Bush's touting a crisis is a deception is discussed in the article entitled, Bush Selling S.S. Same as Iraq War). The Washington Post however states the public is not entirely sold on his stock market options. So, Reuters reports the President and conservative groups are going to launch a media blitz selling campaign.

Medicinal Marijuana and the End of a Limited Government

A couple of weeks ago, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ashcroft v. Raich, a case about a woman who used home-grown medicinal marijuana to reduce the pain from an inoperable brain tumor. Her actions were legal under California law, and she sued to enjoin the federal government from using its power under the Controlled Substances Act to take away her medication. The most important question in this case is not rights to medication, but the proper scope of our federal government.

Bush Selling S.S. Same as Iraq War

If you felt the premises and trumped up fears to support Bush's invasion of Iraq were regrettable, be advised the very same huckster salesmanship is being applied to privatizing Social Security. Yesterday, President Bush completed his two day staged, no contest, no debate, summit on American economic policy. Using the exact same tactics to sell the invasion of Iraq to the American people, he made his pitch for privatizing Social Security. Start with false premises and statements, add a huge layer of fear, and then push the sale for the transfer of tax dollars into the deep pockets of his corporate buddies who supported his election.

The Unseen Casualties

The New York Times is running a story this morning on the unseen American GI casualties which are beginning to, and are anticipated to, overwhelm our Veteran's health care system. They are the psychologically wounded. The article is entitled, A Flood of Troubled Soldiers Is in the Offing, Experts Predict. These stories struck home with me, since my last 2 years of duty in the Army from 1973 to 1975, were spent working as a psychiatric technician in a military hospital at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.

America Headed for Orwellian Perpetual War?

Mr. Lantos (D) on the House International Relations Committee calls for an end to China's one child policy to manage its former population explosion and calls for American sanctions against China to force them to cease enforcement of the One Child Policy.

Mr. Tancredo (R) indicated our government will not take such drastic actions and implied that the consequences to the U.S. and its economy and international relations with China would be too greatly harmed by such measures.

Vet This

There is much hubbub in the media this week over Bernard Kerik's "nanny problem". Given that politicians have been laid low over similar issues many many times in the last ten years, you might think that anyone with political aspirations might be a little more circumspect about their hired help. But that is hardly Kerik's only issue. Allegations of corruption, mob ties, ethical lapses, moral lapses, and extramarital affairs abound and the media seems content to only cover the nanny issue. For a White House that is quite clearly morality driven, it seems odd that someone with such a questionable history would have made it this far in the process.

Ground Floor Grassroots Effort to Unite Third Parties

Last month I wrote an article here entitled United: A chance! - Divided: No Chance! in which it was recommended that third parties find their common ground and goals, and unite under one umbrella toward those ends in the next election, pooling efforts and resources on the national level. I was alerted yesterday, that a petition to the third parties asking for just that, has just been opened up for signatures on the internet.

President Bush Announces Blatant Lie

Reuters reports the following in an article entitled, Bush Says No Payroll Tax Hike for Social Security:

President Bush ruled out raising payroll taxes to help pay for Social Security reform on Thursday, leaving him few options other than a sharp increase in government borrowing to bankroll transition costs estimated at up to $2 trillion.

Rumsfeld should be fired.

When questioned by an Army specialist about why our troops are being observed searching through Iraqi dumps for armor for their vehicles, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said "you go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want". That is an outrageous statement under the circumstances. If Iraq had attacked American soil or one of our allies, or posed an imminent threat which Bush denies he ever claimed, then a nation must go to war with the Army it has. But, this was an entirely elective war. Pres. Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld decided on the date to invade and they chose to invade before our troops and equipment were ready.

The Non-draft Draft and American Non-security

The Non-draft Draft: Soldiers are suing the Bush government for breach of contract in preventing them from exiting the armed forces on the dates they thought they agreed to when they enlisted. This is going to be a policy full of unintended consequences. The Bush administration likely has no sympathy for a bunch of troops who just don't appreciate fine print or lack patriotic courage in the face of death or maiming after their discharge date has passed. That's fine.

President Bush Does Not Have a Plan!

Scott McClellan, President Bush's spokesperson to the press, said today in his press briefing that the President does not have a plan for Social Security. Instead, McClellan said, the President has a set of principles. McClellan states the President is committed to not passing on the tax burden for Soc. Sec. in current form to future generations. Also, that the President is reaching out to Congress on both sides of the aisle to come up with a plan to continue Social Security.

Let The Battle be Rejoined

It has taken me nearly a month, but I am finally over the 2004 Presidential Election. My candidate lost and I have to deal with that, I have to come to grips with the fact that Bush will be in the Oval Office for four more years.