The Arms Control Association November newsletter contains several ariticles about weapons in space, a great concern of Canada given the US pressure to sign on to the missle defense system.
Centre for Defense Information missile proliferation expert Theresa Hitchins writes about recent US space weapons policy, and finds cause for concern: "Officially, the National Space Policy promulgated by President Bill Clinton in 1996 still stands, a policy that had previously been interpreted as eschewing the deployment of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and weapons in orbit, reflecting more than 40 years of informal restraint both by Republican and Democratic administrations . . . Meanwhile, there has been a steady trickle of lower-level military planning and doctrine documents that seem to codify U.S. intentions to develop, deploy, and eventually use space weapons. The most recent is the Air Force’s Aug. 2 “Counterspace Operations Doctrine.” This precedent-setting document outlines Air Force guidelines for conducting ASAT operations, possibly pre-emptively, against satellite systems being used by enemies, whether they be dedicated military satellites; those with primarily commercial functions; or those owned and/or operated by third parties, whether governments or commercial entities . . . One possible conclusion from reading the tea leaves, however, is that the White House and Pentagon are engaged in a clever political effort to avoid a controversial public argument on space weapons by reinterpreting Clinton-era policy or practice behind closed doors, that is, to reorient U.S. space policy in secret . . . the Clinton policy . . . stresses the peaceful uses of space and downplays military applications, it also leaves the door open for the employment of ASATs for national security reasons . . . Although vague, the 1996 policy was widely interpreted at the time as stressing a deterrent approach, while refraining from any first deployment of ASAT systems or space-based weapons for striking targets on earth . . . the Clinton administration was viewed as politically hostile even to the development of space weapons, particularly those that could be seen as having offensive attributes. Clinton canceled a number of research and development programs . . . the Bush administration has allowed a wide array of space weapons-related technology developments to go forward at the Pentagon. . . . The most recent Air Force planning document, the “Strategic Master Plan for FY 06 and Beyond” published in October 2003, maintains that national space policy actually requires the development and “deployment as needed” of “negation” capabilities to counter enemy space assets. It goes on seemingly to move the goalposts on when a presidential decision would be required. Although the Clinton policy can be read as requiring a presidential approval for deployment, the Air Force now insists presidential approval is not required for deployment but only to approve actual use of ASAT systems . . . With regard to space-based strike weapons, rather than repeat the Long Range Plan’s assertion that such systems are “not consistent with national policy,” the Strategic Master Plan states that such weapons are allowable under international law but that “our nation’s leadership will decide whether or not to pursue the development and deployment.” . . . As a unilateral move by the United States to deploy space weapons would come fraught with a variety of risks to national and global security, it is about time there was a public debate."
(Thanks to Antiwar for the link that led me to this site.)
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Saturday, November 06, 2004
"the most horrific event I have ever seen"
In I, Cringely, journalist Robert X. Cringely compares the strength of belief in America and in the Middle East with this story (thanks to pandagon for the link):
"If the experts are correct, the 2004 election results mean we now live in a country where morality is apparently the major concern of people. Am I wrong, or is the same thing not true in Iran? And if our morality is in fundamental conflict with their morality, which side will be willing to sacrifice more to obtain what they view as their just end? I can tell you it ain't us.
Back in 1986 [reporting in Iran] I decided to go see the war since I had . . . never seen trench warfare, which is what I was told they had going in Iran. So I took a taxi to the front, introduced myself to the local commander, who had gone, as I recall, to Iowa State, and spent a couple days waiting for the impending human wave attack. That attack was to be conducted primarily with 11-and 12-year-old boys as troops, nearly all of them unarmed. There were several thousand kids and their job was to rise out of the trench, praising Allah, run across No Man's Land, be killed by the Iraqi machine gunners, then go directly to Paradise, do not pass GO, do not collect 200 dinars. And that's exactly what happened in a battle lasting less than 10 minutes. None of the kids fired a shot or made it all the way to the other side. And when I asked the purpose of this exercise, I was told it was to demoralize the cowardly Iraqi soldiers. It was the most horrific event I have ever seen, and I once covered a cholera epidemic in Bangladesh that killed 40,000 people. Waiting those two nights for the attack was surreal. Some kids acted as though nothing was wrong while others cried and puked. But when the time came to praise Allah and enter Paradise, not a single boy tried to stay behind. Now put this in a current context. What effective limit is there to the number of Islamic kids willing to blow themselves to bits? There is no limit, which means that a Bush Doctrine can't really stand in that part of the world. But of course President Bush, who may think he pulled the switch on a couple hundred Death Row inmates in Texas, has probably never seen a combat death. He doesn't get it and he'll proudly NEVER get it. Welcome to the New Morality."
"If the experts are correct, the 2004 election results mean we now live in a country where morality is apparently the major concern of people. Am I wrong, or is the same thing not true in Iran? And if our morality is in fundamental conflict with their morality, which side will be willing to sacrifice more to obtain what they view as their just end? I can tell you it ain't us.
Back in 1986 [reporting in Iran] I decided to go see the war since I had . . . never seen trench warfare, which is what I was told they had going in Iran. So I took a taxi to the front, introduced myself to the local commander, who had gone, as I recall, to Iowa State, and spent a couple days waiting for the impending human wave attack. That attack was to be conducted primarily with 11-and 12-year-old boys as troops, nearly all of them unarmed. There were several thousand kids and their job was to rise out of the trench, praising Allah, run across No Man's Land, be killed by the Iraqi machine gunners, then go directly to Paradise, do not pass GO, do not collect 200 dinars. And that's exactly what happened in a battle lasting less than 10 minutes. None of the kids fired a shot or made it all the way to the other side. And when I asked the purpose of this exercise, I was told it was to demoralize the cowardly Iraqi soldiers. It was the most horrific event I have ever seen, and I once covered a cholera epidemic in Bangladesh that killed 40,000 people. Waiting those two nights for the attack was surreal. Some kids acted as though nothing was wrong while others cried and puked. But when the time came to praise Allah and enter Paradise, not a single boy tried to stay behind. Now put this in a current context. What effective limit is there to the number of Islamic kids willing to blow themselves to bits? There is no limit, which means that a Bush Doctrine can't really stand in that part of the world. But of course President Bush, who may think he pulled the switch on a couple hundred Death Row inmates in Texas, has probably never seen a combat death. He doesn't get it and he'll proudly NEVER get it. Welcome to the New Morality."
Come to Saskatchewan!
For Americans who are thinking about Canada, here's some useful information and links.
Saskatchewan is my own province (we are next door to Alberta, north of Montana, if you aren't familiar with Canadian geography). We have an Immigrant Nominee program described here - SINP Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program for skilled workers and professionals, health professionals, business people, students, and farm operators. The Canadian immigration website is here where you can get links to other provinces and general information about immigration.
Tooting our own horn, Saskatchewan is a great province, and Saskatoon is a great city. In all, the provincial population is about one million -- we have two main cities of over 200,000 each, Regina and Saskatoon, plus a number of smaller cities like Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Lloydminster.
Politically, Saskatchewan has been left-of-centre for much of the last 60 years -- the CCF (now NDP) government was first elected here in the 40s, a consortium of farmers and unions who believe, basically, that collective action supports individual initiative. Our CCF government pioneered North America's first Medicare program, in the 60s -- what an inspiring story that is, and a concrete example of how political leaders used to feel that their religious beliefs should support social justice. (Our NDP premier now, Lorne Calvert, is actually an ordained minister, but we don't hold that against him!)
Saskatoon is a beautiful city too -- we have a world-class university with about 20,000 students, including Canada's synchrotron research facility and a broad collection of professional colleges, plus potash mining and various high-tech businesses. Around the province, Regina also has a university of about 15,000 students, and we have various other resource-based industries, like the heavy oil upgrader in Lloydminster.
Come for a visit, at least -- if you liked John Kerry, we think you will like us!
Saskatchewan is my own province (we are next door to Alberta, north of Montana, if you aren't familiar with Canadian geography). We have an Immigrant Nominee program described here - SINP Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program for skilled workers and professionals, health professionals, business people, students, and farm operators. The Canadian immigration website is here where you can get links to other provinces and general information about immigration.
Tooting our own horn, Saskatchewan is a great province, and Saskatoon is a great city. In all, the provincial population is about one million -- we have two main cities of over 200,000 each, Regina and Saskatoon, plus a number of smaller cities like Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Lloydminster.
Politically, Saskatchewan has been left-of-centre for much of the last 60 years -- the CCF (now NDP) government was first elected here in the 40s, a consortium of farmers and unions who believe, basically, that collective action supports individual initiative. Our CCF government pioneered North America's first Medicare program, in the 60s -- what an inspiring story that is, and a concrete example of how political leaders used to feel that their religious beliefs should support social justice. (Our NDP premier now, Lorne Calvert, is actually an ordained minister, but we don't hold that against him!)
Saskatoon is a beautiful city too -- we have a world-class university with about 20,000 students, including Canada's synchrotron research facility and a broad collection of professional colleges, plus potash mining and various high-tech businesses. Around the province, Regina also has a university of about 15,000 students, and we have various other resource-based industries, like the heavy oil upgrader in Lloydminster.
Come for a visit, at least -- if you liked John Kerry, we think you will like us!
Comedy Carolyn
There's a scene in every teenage horror movie that has one of the teenagers - usually the goofy comedian in the group - capering around laughing about how dumb they all were to be afraid of the supposedly-dead monster and how harmless the monster is now. And meanwhile in the background the monster is slowly coming back to life. As the music swells, the comedian's companions stop laughing and gradually adopt a horror-struck look and finally, the comedian says something like "hey, what's wrong? What are you guys looking at?" He turns around and --cue the music, eek! eek! eek! -- the monster strikes again!
I am reminded of this scene when I read about Carolyn Parrish insisting on her right to make cute remarks about George Bush -- Parrish earns PM's censure -- with Paul Martin and the rest of the Liberal cabinet adopting the demeanor of the horror-struck friends.
I am reminded of this scene when I read about Carolyn Parrish insisting on her right to make cute remarks about George Bush -- Parrish earns PM's censure -- with Paul Martin and the rest of the Liberal cabinet adopting the demeanor of the horror-struck friends.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Straight but not narrow
Its impressive how quickly Canadian society has changed.
Today, Saskatchewan became the seventh province to legalize gay marriage. Such a great day! And Saskatchewan as a whole has no problem with it - we're just waiting for some of the churches to catch up. Just last week, the Anglican bishop in Saskatoon found out that two gay choirs were planning a concert in an Anglican church -- someone complained about it, apparently. So instead of telling the complainants to get with the 21st century, the Bishop cancelled the concert.
Well, reaction was pretty swift and pretty negative -- just see this column by Star Phoenix features editor Joanne Paulson who blasted him all over the front page of the Lifestyles section. She writes:
"St. John's and other churches are hiding behind the scriptures -- really the Old Testament -- and using them to discriminate against people. The OT was also against adultery, incest and forced sex, and rightly so. But those are behavioural choices. Homosexuality is not. Neither is it a "lifestyle." Gay and lesbian people are just that, people with a different sexual orientation. They are Caucasian or African or Asian; they have various personalities, some outgoing, some quiet; they are devout Christians or Muslims or Buddhists; they are artists and accountants; they are singers and clergy. The single thing that sets them apart from heterosexuals is that some churches (and segments of society) are still discriminating against them . . . [continuing, she quotes the priest of an Anglican anti-gay splinter group] he said, "Blessing same-sex unions is the same as giving blessings to adulterous affairs and all other kinds of immoral living." It is not the same. Immoral living includes bringing AIDS or Hep C home to your family after visiting prostitutes. Immoral living includes forcing sex or perpetrating violence on anyone. Immoral living, if you want to be biblical, is largely warned against in the Ten Commandments, which you will notice do not mention homosexuality. Marrying someone you love, regardless of his or her gender, is not an immoral act. Neither is singing in a church. The blindness of segments of the Anglican Church on this issue is indefensible."
Today, Saskatchewan became the seventh province to legalize gay marriage. Such a great day! And Saskatchewan as a whole has no problem with it - we're just waiting for some of the churches to catch up. Just last week, the Anglican bishop in Saskatoon found out that two gay choirs were planning a concert in an Anglican church -- someone complained about it, apparently. So instead of telling the complainants to get with the 21st century, the Bishop cancelled the concert.
Well, reaction was pretty swift and pretty negative -- just see this column by Star Phoenix features editor Joanne Paulson who blasted him all over the front page of the Lifestyles section. She writes:
"St. John's and other churches are hiding behind the scriptures -- really the Old Testament -- and using them to discriminate against people. The OT was also against adultery, incest and forced sex, and rightly so. But those are behavioural choices. Homosexuality is not. Neither is it a "lifestyle." Gay and lesbian people are just that, people with a different sexual orientation. They are Caucasian or African or Asian; they have various personalities, some outgoing, some quiet; they are devout Christians or Muslims or Buddhists; they are artists and accountants; they are singers and clergy. The single thing that sets them apart from heterosexuals is that some churches (and segments of society) are still discriminating against them . . . [continuing, she quotes the priest of an Anglican anti-gay splinter group] he said, "Blessing same-sex unions is the same as giving blessings to adulterous affairs and all other kinds of immoral living." It is not the same. Immoral living includes bringing AIDS or Hep C home to your family after visiting prostitutes. Immoral living includes forcing sex or perpetrating violence on anyone. Immoral living, if you want to be biblical, is largely warned against in the Ten Commandments, which you will notice do not mention homosexuality. Marrying someone you love, regardless of his or her gender, is not an immoral act. Neither is singing in a church. The blindness of segments of the Anglican Church on this issue is indefensible."
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Here's the new map
Thanks to Eblog Canada for the link to this New Canadian Map with our four new provinces: New America, Mini-Willinois, Baja Canada, and the Tropic of Canada, all sitting safely north of the United State of Texas.
Justifiable Anger
As I troll around the blogosphere tonight, I see lots of articles on Kos and MyDD about how the dems can develop a winning strategy the next time by building an organization like the republicans did in the 80s and 90s. "Liberal" won't be an epithet anymore. And yes, this is certainly possible.
If they have time to do it.
I also see one emotion over and over on the blogs tonight -- anger. Pure, simple anger. It's in frogsdong and digby and Americablog and Gadflyer (which I just added to my links) and lots of others. It is anger against the Americans who voted for the Bush administration.
Here is Janet Sullivan in Salon:
"[The media have] dusted off the old theme that the Democrats need to "reach out" more to the "heartland." Reach out? How, exactly? Forget that these folks blindly ignored all objective reality -- and their own best economic and national-security interests -- and voted for Bush. Look what they did at the Senate level. In Kentucky, they refused to use even basic sanity as a litmus test, and reelected a guy with apparent late-stage dementia; in Oklahoma, they tapped a fellow who wants to execute doctors who perform abortions, who was sued for sterilizing a woman against her will, who pled guilty to Medicaid fraud, and who largely opposes federal subsidies, even for his own state; in Louisiana, they embraced a man who has made back-door deals with David Duke and who was revealed to have had a long-running affair with a prostitute; in South Carolina, they went with a guy who thinks all gay teachers should be fired; and in Alaska, they reelected a woman who was appointed by her father to the job after a spectacularly undistinguished career as an obscure state senator. And compared with the rest of the GOP Class of '04, she's the freaking prom queen. These are the stellar elected officials that the "heartland" has foisted on the rest of us. "Reach out" to these voters? Yeah. Then boil your hand till it's sterilized. "
Because this actually was the most important election America has ever had - this democratic meme was true. The progressives are going to try to get back to business, but with faith-based Bush and his administration remaining in the White House plus these regressive idiots in the Senate and the House, the future of America is grim.
Here's my point: America has lots of natural advantages which were the basis of its 20th century empire -- moderate climates for substantial food production, sufficient water and rainfall in most of the country, broad industrial and economic development, relatively cheap sources of energy and power, lots of universities for scientific advancement, stable governance, protection from war by its geography. All this has produced a generally happy and productive and proud citizenry. (And we Canadians have benefited right along side you, too -- our climate not as good, our industry not as big, nor our population, but we've done pretty well being next to you.)
But - one could have said much the same about the natural advantages of the Egyptians in 1000 BC, or the Romans in 40 AD, or even the British in 1900. They were all the Kings of the World at that time.
They lost their empires by their own bad choices -- fighting wars, amassing unsustainable debt, leading to unemployment and poverty and economic decline.
By voting for ignorant, intolerant, mean-spirited, regressive politicians, Americans have taken a path which may ruin their beloved country. By the time the dems get organized again, wars and debt and pollution and unemployment may have so destroyed the economy that the downward spiral is irreversible. Historians of the late 21st century may well mark 2004 as the beginning of the end of the American Empire.
So the anger is, I think, justified.
If they have time to do it.
I also see one emotion over and over on the blogs tonight -- anger. Pure, simple anger. It's in frogsdong and digby and Americablog and Gadflyer (which I just added to my links) and lots of others. It is anger against the Americans who voted for the Bush administration.
Here is Janet Sullivan in Salon:
"[The media have] dusted off the old theme that the Democrats need to "reach out" more to the "heartland." Reach out? How, exactly? Forget that these folks blindly ignored all objective reality -- and their own best economic and national-security interests -- and voted for Bush. Look what they did at the Senate level. In Kentucky, they refused to use even basic sanity as a litmus test, and reelected a guy with apparent late-stage dementia; in Oklahoma, they tapped a fellow who wants to execute doctors who perform abortions, who was sued for sterilizing a woman against her will, who pled guilty to Medicaid fraud, and who largely opposes federal subsidies, even for his own state; in Louisiana, they embraced a man who has made back-door deals with David Duke and who was revealed to have had a long-running affair with a prostitute; in South Carolina, they went with a guy who thinks all gay teachers should be fired; and in Alaska, they reelected a woman who was appointed by her father to the job after a spectacularly undistinguished career as an obscure state senator. And compared with the rest of the GOP Class of '04, she's the freaking prom queen. These are the stellar elected officials that the "heartland" has foisted on the rest of us. "Reach out" to these voters? Yeah. Then boil your hand till it's sterilized. "
Because this actually was the most important election America has ever had - this democratic meme was true. The progressives are going to try to get back to business, but with faith-based Bush and his administration remaining in the White House plus these regressive idiots in the Senate and the House, the future of America is grim.
Here's my point: America has lots of natural advantages which were the basis of its 20th century empire -- moderate climates for substantial food production, sufficient water and rainfall in most of the country, broad industrial and economic development, relatively cheap sources of energy and power, lots of universities for scientific advancement, stable governance, protection from war by its geography. All this has produced a generally happy and productive and proud citizenry. (And we Canadians have benefited right along side you, too -- our climate not as good, our industry not as big, nor our population, but we've done pretty well being next to you.)
But - one could have said much the same about the natural advantages of the Egyptians in 1000 BC, or the Romans in 40 AD, or even the British in 1900. They were all the Kings of the World at that time.
They lost their empires by their own bad choices -- fighting wars, amassing unsustainable debt, leading to unemployment and poverty and economic decline.
By voting for ignorant, intolerant, mean-spirited, regressive politicians, Americans have taken a path which may ruin their beloved country. By the time the dems get organized again, wars and debt and pollution and unemployment may have so destroyed the economy that the downward spiral is irreversible. Historians of the late 21st century may well mark 2004 as the beginning of the end of the American Empire.
So the anger is, I think, justified.
Oh, lets have a laugh on all those loser dems!
I presume that The Note thinks the nation's news media will find this funny -- ABC News: The Note:
"Friday, November 19: Exclusive: Shrum's first draft of the Kerry Senate floor speech in which he announces his co-sponsorship of the President's new multibillion-dollar request for more military spending in Iraq WITH NO TAX INCREASE OFF-SETS, because those, Sen. Kerry will intone, 'could cut off the economic vitality that is so needed to be as strong at home as we are abroad under this President's great leadership and (Note: the following is an adlib that does not appear in the Shrum text) who among us does not love economic vitality?' "
See, its such a clever play off Kerry's supposed quote 'who among us does not love Nascar', which Maureen Dowd made up and attributed to Kerry. Ha, ha, ha. And then there's this one:
"Monday, November 22: Behind the scenes at America Coming Together --who has stolen which data bases and lists and what do they plan to do with them?"
Oh, isn't it just too funny? Let's all have a good laugh about sky-high deficits and republican dirty tricks and all that stupid stuff the dems were so worried about. We're all in Bushworld now, where those things don't matter one bit. What, me worry? Ha, ha, ha.
Well, I guess we can give up any hope that the media, at least, would take a serious look at who won and why and what it means for the United States. Too busy laughing all the way to the bank, I guess.
"Friday, November 19: Exclusive: Shrum's first draft of the Kerry Senate floor speech in which he announces his co-sponsorship of the President's new multibillion-dollar request for more military spending in Iraq WITH NO TAX INCREASE OFF-SETS, because those, Sen. Kerry will intone, 'could cut off the economic vitality that is so needed to be as strong at home as we are abroad under this President's great leadership and (Note: the following is an adlib that does not appear in the Shrum text) who among us does not love economic vitality?' "
See, its such a clever play off Kerry's supposed quote 'who among us does not love Nascar', which Maureen Dowd made up and attributed to Kerry. Ha, ha, ha. And then there's this one:
"Monday, November 22: Behind the scenes at America Coming Together --who has stolen which data bases and lists and what do they plan to do with them?"
Oh, isn't it just too funny? Let's all have a good laugh about sky-high deficits and republican dirty tricks and all that stupid stuff the dems were so worried about. We're all in Bushworld now, where those things don't matter one bit. What, me worry? Ha, ha, ha.
Well, I guess we can give up any hope that the media, at least, would take a serious look at who won and why and what it means for the United States. Too busy laughing all the way to the bank, I guess.
And pardon my ignorance
that "moral values" were so important to Republican voters -- I think it was all the blog comments and freeper posts telling progressive bloggers to "fuck off and die, you commie French-loving lesbo homo bitch asshole" that mislead me. Either that, or Cheney's "go fuck yourself" remark. My mistake. . .
UPDATE - see Digby - in essence, he says it was 130,000 votes in Ohio that won Bush this election, NOT a cultural war between godless democrats and morally superior republicans. And it was mean-spirited, underhanded gay-bashing that produced those 130,000 votes, NOT Christian values.
UPDATE - see Digby - in essence, he says it was 130,000 votes in Ohio that won Bush this election, NOT a cultural war between godless democrats and morally superior republicans. And it was mean-spirited, underhanded gay-bashing that produced those 130,000 votes, NOT Christian values.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
The Moral Mandate? Here it comes
That great upholder of national decency, as long as it doesn't happen in Vegas, Bill Bennet writes today in the National Review Online: "Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it. Now is the time to begin our long, national cultural renewal -- no less in legislation than in federal court appointments. It is, after all, the main reason George W. Bush was reelected."
And when they succeed in overturning Roe V Wade, and requiring the teaching of 'creationist science', and saying the Lord's Prayer in schools, and mandating Christmas creche displays, and preventing the broadcast of critical movies and MTV, and outlawing porn and being gay, will America be a more "decent" place?
Has anyone read The Handmaid's Tale recently?
(Thanks to Josh Marshall for the link.)
And when they succeed in overturning Roe V Wade, and requiring the teaching of 'creationist science', and saying the Lord's Prayer in schools, and mandating Christmas creche displays, and preventing the broadcast of critical movies and MTV, and outlawing porn and being gay, will America be a more "decent" place?
Has anyone read The Handmaid's Tale recently?
(Thanks to Josh Marshall for the link.)
Dean for America
Howard Dean could probably claim the title of most disappointed man in America -- after a primary campaign that jump-started the DNC and inspired millions of democrats to rejoin the democratic wing of the democratic party, he lost the nomination to Kerry -- then watched Kerry lose an election which, likely, Dean is personally convinced he could have won (and won't THAT be a debate for the future?)
But Dean still writes a message of hope on Democracy For America:
"Today is not an ending.
Regardless of the outcome yesterday, we have begun to revive our democracy. While we did not get the result we wanted in the presidential race, we laid the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
Democracy for America trained thousands of organizers and brought new leadership into the political process. And down the ballot, in state after state, we elected Dean Dozen candidates who will be the rising stars of the Democratic Party in years ahead.
Tens of millions of us are disappointed today because we put so much of ourselves into this election. We donated money, we talked to friends, we knocked on doors. We invested ourselves in the political process.
That process does not end today. These are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting change if that sense of obligation and responsibility becomes a permanent part of our lives.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'
We will not be silent. "
But Dean still writes a message of hope on Democracy For America:
"Today is not an ending.
Regardless of the outcome yesterday, we have begun to revive our democracy. While we did not get the result we wanted in the presidential race, we laid the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
Democracy for America trained thousands of organizers and brought new leadership into the political process. And down the ballot, in state after state, we elected Dean Dozen candidates who will be the rising stars of the Democratic Party in years ahead.
Tens of millions of us are disappointed today because we put so much of ourselves into this election. We donated money, we talked to friends, we knocked on doors. We invested ourselves in the political process.
That process does not end today. These are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting change if that sense of obligation and responsibility becomes a permanent part of our lives.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'
We will not be silent. "
Some random thoughts
1. Oh, damn it, damn it, damn it.
3. One lesson learned: a northeastern senator or any perceived Washington insider CANNOT win the presidency anymore, not with the population shifts and the southern evangelical vote, and not dragging a senate record behind him. Next time, look for a southern governor. And be ready for rapid response on personal attacks.
4. Get serious early, for heavens sake -- exercise enough party discipline that you do NOT have four or five absolutely hopeless candidates running month after month for the nomination -- Al Sharpton? Carol Mosely-Braun? Give me a break. Nice people, yes, but with such a lengthy primary season, its irresponsible for people who have no chance of winning nationally to use the democrats just as a stepping stone toward their own national reputation. It made the democrats look confused and trivial, and made it more difficult for Kerry to establish a national profile. Let two or three credible winners fight it out in 2007 and show the country that the dems know how to lead.
5. Yes, Obama is impressive, but in 2007 he would suffer from the same problems Edwards had - a great speaking ability but only three years senate experience, and no experience running a government. Against Jeb Bush or Arnie, Obama would be toast. The dems cannot afford to lose Obama the way they have now lost Edwards.
6. And finally, well, at least the anti-war movement can come back now. Showing commendable discipline, anti-war people shut up about it for the last six months, not wanting to cause any rifts in the Kerry campaign and also believing that perhaps Kerry, once elected, could actually achieve some success in Iraq -- but that's all in the past now. We KNOW that Bush cannot succeed in Iraq, so we are free to blog against the war once again.
UPDATE - 7. Read Digby
2. When you look at the experience of democracies around the world, it is not uncommon for political parties to spend years and years in the wilderness before coming back to power -- look at Labour in Britain, look at the NDP here. It ebbs and flows. The 2000 and 2004 election were both so close that democrats know their message resonates with millions and millions of northern and west coast Americans -- the dems just haven't been able to close the deal by winning a southern state. Edwards should have carried North Carolina but he didn't; Gore should have carried Tennessee but he didn't. The democratic candidate in 2007 and/or his running mate will win the northern states again but MUST also be strong enough and well-enough connected in the south to win a southern state.
3. One lesson learned: a northeastern senator or any perceived Washington insider CANNOT win the presidency anymore, not with the population shifts and the southern evangelical vote, and not dragging a senate record behind him. Next time, look for a southern governor. And be ready for rapid response on personal attacks.
4. Get serious early, for heavens sake -- exercise enough party discipline that you do NOT have four or five absolutely hopeless candidates running month after month for the nomination -- Al Sharpton? Carol Mosely-Braun? Give me a break. Nice people, yes, but with such a lengthy primary season, its irresponsible for people who have no chance of winning nationally to use the democrats just as a stepping stone toward their own national reputation. It made the democrats look confused and trivial, and made it more difficult for Kerry to establish a national profile. Let two or three credible winners fight it out in 2007 and show the country that the dems know how to lead.
5. Yes, Obama is impressive, but in 2007 he would suffer from the same problems Edwards had - a great speaking ability but only three years senate experience, and no experience running a government. Against Jeb Bush or Arnie, Obama would be toast. The dems cannot afford to lose Obama the way they have now lost Edwards.
6. And finally, well, at least the anti-war movement can come back now. Showing commendable discipline, anti-war people shut up about it for the last six months, not wanting to cause any rifts in the Kerry campaign and also believing that perhaps Kerry, once elected, could actually achieve some success in Iraq -- but that's all in the past now. We KNOW that Bush cannot succeed in Iraq, so we are free to blog against the war once again.
UPDATE - 7. Read Digby
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Can you spell "backfire"?
This confirms my own thinking, so of course I'll post it. pandagon's Jesse Taylor reports on the voting experience in a primarily black precinct and concludes: "The Republican voter challenger debacle, alongside the Milwaukee and South Carolina flyers, may be the worst conservative strategic blunder of any election in recent memory. From my precinct (an admittedly small sample), a lot of people feel like they're back in the 60s, fighting against a tyrannical and prejudiced power trying to keep them from exercising their constitutional rights."
The republican meme -- that everybody really loves George but democrats are trying to steal this election by fraudulent voting -- is an insult to all of the election supervisors and poll workers who are working their guts out today all over the US. I know how hard it is, because I've worked elections. And I know how dedicated and professional the poll workers are.
OF COURSE there are errors in the voters lists -- without a system of pre-election ennumeration like we have here in Canada, there is no way to tell how many people have died, moved, married, divorced since the previous election, and a system which allows private individuals paid per-voter to register people for voting encourages the Mickey and Minnie Mouse type of registrations. But the poll workers sort this type of thing out -- that's what they are being paid to do.
That meme is also a cover for what appears to be a deliberate, targeted attempt to block black and hispanic voting by intimidating and harassing legitimate voters -- and that is truely despicable, not to mention horrifying to the moderate middle who MIGHT have voted for Bush this time but now will not. The republicans will rue the day they ever let Rove talk them into this.
The republican meme -- that everybody really loves George but democrats are trying to steal this election by fraudulent voting -- is an insult to all of the election supervisors and poll workers who are working their guts out today all over the US. I know how hard it is, because I've worked elections. And I know how dedicated and professional the poll workers are.
OF COURSE there are errors in the voters lists -- without a system of pre-election ennumeration like we have here in Canada, there is no way to tell how many people have died, moved, married, divorced since the previous election, and a system which allows private individuals paid per-voter to register people for voting encourages the Mickey and Minnie Mouse type of registrations. But the poll workers sort this type of thing out -- that's what they are being paid to do.
That meme is also a cover for what appears to be a deliberate, targeted attempt to block black and hispanic voting by intimidating and harassing legitimate voters -- and that is truely despicable, not to mention horrifying to the moderate middle who MIGHT have voted for Bush this time but now will not. The republicans will rue the day they ever let Rove talk them into this.
Monday, November 01, 2004
"Avoid history at all costs"
Gary Kamiya wrote a prescient article just prior to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, entitled Sleepwalking to Baghdad: ". . . we have gone from being in a political moment to a historical one. I use the words somewhat eccentrically, to distinguish between events that are simple enough to be fully explicable ("political") and those that are too complex to be defined ("historical"). The war against Afghanistan took place in what I am calling the political realm: It had a clear, limited and achievable goal, one understood by all -- and widely supported around the world. The impending war against Iraq, on the other hand, is a historical event. It cannot be explained or defined. When it comes, it will simply exist, with the opacity of history. Its outcome is not foreseeable. The distinction also has a moral dimension. To exist in history is to have passed beyond the pieties and slogans of the political. History is tragic: politics is not. History is glorious. It is also fatal. The two great competing ideologies of the 20th century, fascism and communism, were both self-consciously historical movements. As Czeslaw Milosz brilliantly noted in his classic study "The Captive Mind," it was precisely the abstraction of communism, its claim to have attained the summit of morality and to have incorporated into itself all possible contradictions, that made it so meticulously horrifying. In similar fashion, fascism contained a kind of blankness at its core: the self-glorifying violence of the state simultaneously concealed and revealed the emptiness of its founding concept, the national tribe. The lesson every government should have learned from the bloody 20th century, one written in blood across the tortured soil of old, very old Europe, is very simple: Avoid history at all costs. History is too big, too abstract, too dangerous. Avoid men with Big Ideas -- especially stupid men with Big Ideas. Take care of politics: let history take care of itself. In a word, don't play God."
Well, they didn't let history take care of itself, and Bush did play God. Now Kamiya writes about the results: American nightmare. He concludes "A pious, foolish and poorly educated man, surrounded by zealots and knaves, dreamed of smiting the evildoers, but instead put a sword into their hands. He imagined that by invading a state in the heart of the Arab world, he would cut through the Gordian knot, but he entangled his army in writhing coils. He fantasized that an all-powerful America would stand atop a grateful world, but he made his nation despised everywhere, and particularly in the one region of the world where it is most important that we not be despised. This is the world Bush left us. We must make a new one."
Well, they didn't let history take care of itself, and Bush did play God. Now Kamiya writes about the results: American nightmare. He concludes "A pious, foolish and poorly educated man, surrounded by zealots and knaves, dreamed of smiting the evildoers, but instead put a sword into their hands. He imagined that by invading a state in the heart of the Arab world, he would cut through the Gordian knot, but he entangled his army in writhing coils. He fantasized that an all-powerful America would stand atop a grateful world, but he made his nation despised everywhere, and particularly in the one region of the world where it is most important that we not be despised. This is the world Bush left us. We must make a new one."
Kerry - EV 290
Well, here's the CathiefromCanada prediction. Not mathematically precise, I know, but I think it will be 290 or higher for Kerry.
Today's electoral vote predictor has Kerry at 298, not including New Mexico.
I was talking today with an American professor who had voted absentee and was worried that Kerry hadn't "closed the deal". Well, its always easier to vote for someone who is 60-40 rather than 48-48, of course -- but I remembered something that either Churchill or Eisenhower said before D-Day -- that the chance of D-Day success was about 50-50, and it had taken four years and the combined might of the free world to get that single 50-50 chance.
Various bloggers have said this already, but let me chime in -- what Democrats and progressives have achieved, in less than two years, is magnificent.
Following the mid-terms, Democrats were in total disarray, demoralized, disorganized, half-caught by Bush's charm, impressed by his political performance at the UN and in Congress, and ensnared by the patriotic idea that anyAmerican Leader should be supported after 9/11. Then came Howard Dean, proving that the Beltway pundits were getting it wrong about how Bush and his war in Iraq were universally beloved and supported. Then came the nine Democrats, who had to vie for the nomination by out-democrating each other. Finally out of the pack came John Kerry, a fighter, principled, a leader. And his Democrats are organized, on message, enthusiastic, and getting to the polls already in record numbers.
So maybe its still a 50-50 chance, but you created that chance for yourselves with your hard work and dedication to democracy. I congratulate you and I will be cheering for you tomorrow.
Today's electoral vote predictor has Kerry at 298, not including New Mexico.
I was talking today with an American professor who had voted absentee and was worried that Kerry hadn't "closed the deal". Well, its always easier to vote for someone who is 60-40 rather than 48-48, of course -- but I remembered something that either Churchill or Eisenhower said before D-Day -- that the chance of D-Day success was about 50-50, and it had taken four years and the combined might of the free world to get that single 50-50 chance.
Various bloggers have said this already, but let me chime in -- what Democrats and progressives have achieved, in less than two years, is magnificent.
Following the mid-terms, Democrats were in total disarray, demoralized, disorganized, half-caught by Bush's charm, impressed by his political performance at the UN and in Congress, and ensnared by the patriotic idea that anyAmerican Leader should be supported after 9/11. Then came Howard Dean, proving that the Beltway pundits were getting it wrong about how Bush and his war in Iraq were universally beloved and supported. Then came the nine Democrats, who had to vie for the nomination by out-democrating each other. Finally out of the pack came John Kerry, a fighter, principled, a leader. And his Democrats are organized, on message, enthusiastic, and getting to the polls already in record numbers.
So maybe its still a 50-50 chance, but you created that chance for yourselves with your hard work and dedication to democracy. I congratulate you and I will be cheering for you tomorrow.
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