Tag: elections

Oct 26 2009

On A New System (Sort Of), Or, Referendum 71 And Mail-In Voting

We are now about two weeks away from the November election in Washington State, and one item on the ballot that has national attention is Referendum 71, the so-called “everything but marriage” proposal that would give same-sex couples more rights and protections than they have today.

There has been a lot of conversation about whether it will or won’t pass–and a lot of conversation about whether it should pass.

I hope it does, and if you live here I encourage you to vote “yes” November 3rd.

But that said, you may not be aware that Washington has an electoral system in transition, and that as a result of the transition Washington has some idiosyncrasies that will make forecasting the results a bit tougher, and determining the results a bit slower.

We’ll talk about that today, and by the time we’re done you should have an appreciation of the odd way in which things can work out–and that, absent a landslide, we aren’t likely to know the results on Election Day.

Oct 20 2009

Obama — 7 lies in under 2 minutes

What can I possibly say to this?  

And let’s face it, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  

Listen to the people cheer, thinking he’s telling the truth.

Sep 09 2009

So you want to start a new party? Here’s where to start

Seeing as how there’s been some interest on the left recently of breaking from the Democratic Party and all of its corporate ties, I figured I would clue you in to the various third party challenges to the two party system that have the highest chances of success around the nation.  This is by no means a complete list, but it’s what I could come up with from my decently extensive knowledge of modern third party politics.

Aug 24 2009

GOOD NEWS! Accountability: Holder to name Special Prosecutor for torture, and how Dems will use it

      Crossposted at progressiveelectorate.com

(I’d just like to state clearly, this is not a rebuttal to the diary posted by Something the Dog Said, rather, consider it a differing opinion)

From WaPo

Prosecutor to CIA Abuse Allegations

by abuse allegations, they mean torture.

More!

From a Daily Kos diary

Breaking: “profanity-laced screaming match” at the White House

    Amid reports that Panetta had threatened to quit just seven months after taking over at the spy agency, other insiders tell ABCNews.com that senior White House staff members are already discussing a possible shake-up of top national security officials.

“You can expect a larger than normal turnover in the next year,” a senior adviser to Obama on intelligence matters told ABCNews.com.    

and this on the heels of news this weekend

From isria.com

9 GOP Senators ask Holder for Mercy for Bus/Cheney

    Now, this is the key part of the news, because I do not think a 1/4 of the GOP Senate would put their necks out to save some no-name underlings.

    I think this is going all the way to the top, and, in my new found attempt to look at things in a glass half full view.

    Therefore, I give you my belief, as of now, that the ball is now rolling, it will build and build, and by the summer of 2010 going into 2012, America WILL lead to Bush and Cheney themselves.

    More below the fold

Aug 17 2009

I pledge to DESTROY the Blue Dogs & ConservaDems over this sh!t

Crossposted at Daily Kos and progressiveelectorate.com

    First of all, I’d like to say thank you to all of those who have written a Health Care Horror Story diary, and I’d like to encourage others to do the same and write their personal horror stories for others to see. The more of these articles we can post on teh toobz, the more we can reveal the true national horror that our for-profit Murder By Spreadsheet industry inflicts onn our nation.

   Now, on to the real story.

    FACT:      Without Blue Dog/ConservaDem opposition, HCR would have been passed with a public option already

   Despite the public debate, the fact is that the Republicans are not killing health care reform despite the screamers/teabaggers/ets. No, the Blue Dogs/ConservaDems are killing this reform.

   So, I hereby pledge to make it my personal business to DESTROY the fake Democrats in the House and Senate, and I hope you will make the same pledge with me.

    More and a call to action below the fold

Jun 26 2009

My interview with Cindy Sheehan

A few days ago I interviewed Cindy Sheehan, half as an blogger and half as an interested citizen activist.  Below the fold is the audio of the interview.  I’ve also typed up a brief summary of the interview, or at least what I could write down of her answers while holding a tape recorder in my other hand.  I’ll be posting a picture of both of us that a press photographer took if it makes it into a local newspaper, or if he sends me any pictures.

She talked about her political future, taking action locally, prosecuting Bush, Afghanistan, and more.  I had previously taken questions here and on a few other websites.

Jun 16 2009

Activism: How Do We Support The Iranian People’s Protests?

I’ve been riveted all day to the news coming via Twitter about Iran.

I seem to recall an election in the US in which there was a similar dispute about who had won.  I don’t recall millions going into the streets.  I don’t recall the “defeated” candidate calling on people to bring on non-violent, silent protests and mass gatherings.  I wish that had happened in the US. But, sadly, it didn’t.  And look what the next 8 years brought.  The Iranian people unlike the US seem to understand the significance and the consequences of a stolen election.  And they appear to want to do something about it.

So it appears that Iran has at this moment a time of both intense risk and enormous opportunity.

As I type this, hundreds of thousands of people are in the streets across Iran because they know that their election was stolen, that their votes were not counted, that the election was a sham, that their democracy has failed them.  They are angry, and they want a restoration of their democracy.  And they are going to demand a fair election and a fair counting of the votes.

How do we in the US support the Iranian People’s Protests?

I turn to you for the answers, for the tactics, for the approach.  The Iranian People’s Protests deserve our support.  Let’s put our heads together.

Here are two small examples of what we’re looking for. Twitter users are being urged to change their location to Tehran and their time zone to GMT +3 to give protection, however slight, to those in Iran who are reporting the news who are being followed by the authorities.  A second example:  Twitter was scheduled for maintenance this evening.  That would have shut off the Iranian news tweets.  Twitter re-scheduled its maintenance.

And now I ask again: what can we do to help?

Update: 6/16/09, 8:40 ET: Green icons for twitter are a click away.

Jun 14 2009

He is their Obama

crossposted at http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

   We were ROBBED in Bush v Gore 2000. The Supreme Court was the Supreme Council for one ruling. We were told to stop counting and declare George W. Bush President, and so it was.

   Imagine if Obama v McCain was this election and the SCOTUS robbed us again, what would you have done?

   It is like that in Iran everyday, and now more than ever.

   After viewing the farce that is Democracy in Iran over the past few days I think it is very important that Americans who believe in an open Democracy fully support Iranians who want the same for themselves.

   Therefore, I invite you to offer your full support for the Iranians who voted for candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi and the hopes of the next generation of Iranian “Change”!

   This is what winning hearts and minds is all about.

   People around the world who want a more Democratic society should be fully supported by Americans no matter where they are from or what their faith is. This is even more true in cases where elections are rigged and the will of the people are suppressed by the powers of a status quo that lacks empathy for the people they wish to control.  

Jun 13 2009

Well…

No one’s talking about prosecuting Cheney, any more. Lots of distractions, these days. I hope the congress hasn’t forgotten about how important that is, too. All the happy talk in the world isn’t going to make everyone who lives outside our borders forget that we’re now officially a nation that tortures. Prosecuting the master mind under existing law would go a long way toward ending that (accurate) perception.

Jun 03 2009

RepubliCons Won’t Be Back ELECTORALLY

I certainly agree with the jist of Something The Dog Said’s currently front-paged essay . . . the grand OLD ?Party? is sucking itself into a black hole of self-immolation, at least on the national level. Their base won’t support anyone who has the slightest chance of getting elected outside of the South and/or the Mormon belt out West; and they despise moderates who might ostensibly have a shot at it.

While in certain way, this of course fills me with glee, I think there’s potential downsides that need to be addressed as well.

Jun 02 2009

If you build it….

The real field in Dyersville is actually borne of division, two feuding families each owning half the ballfield property… that is really not what I expected when searching for this image, but why I am I not surprised it fits this introduction anyway?

Heaven may have many mansions, but America has many bars… some of which I’d enter willingly, others I’d tolerate yet never be truly comfortable in, and some that feel like home. Its ok that like minded gravitate toward each other, and I for one, think that new ways of thinking are offered all the time between kindreds. I don’t buy into the preaching to the choir thing much. I think friends should inspire eachother, and that unseen ripples change the universe. The point is being flexible enough to roll with the waves and be able to be altered in a million tiny ways.

Right now many of us have political burn out. Some, quite rightly, are feeling the “I told you so’s” while witnessing so many others express disillusionment with this new administrations lack of progress. Many are feeling like change can never happen, even if a moral man went up against the corporate power. Some are feeling outright betrayed, while others still think we haven’t “given the man a chance.” I venture that almost all are kind of collectively holding our breath wondering how we will personally survive the coming economic collapses.

So what now? Apathy for any reason is never productive.

May 25 2009

On meeting my first real conspiracy theorist

[NOTE: UPDATE: CT edscan has been banned was issued a Sternly Worded Warning from dKos. Could the words of such an unpopular an essayist as me have been any more prescient?]

During the election campaign, I met my fair share of people spouting the emailed Republican talking points. I could discern them, not because anyone I knew personally was idiot enough to send them to me, but because I learned of them through various internet sites. My friends, neighbors and family – politically in sync or not – also knew better than to forward such tripe to my inbox, thus, none did.

Last night, at the most unlikely of places imaginable (at least for me), I met my first flesh-and-blood CT.

The conversation started innocently enough with dog talk at the local dog park followed by discussion of the economy and the bailout. Then, the worm turned to politics. Not just any politics – Texas-style politics.  

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