Politics Blogged Now-The Issues

2005-09-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

Patrick Ruffini has an excellent conservative blog

I am posting my comments that I left on his blog here.

I will update soon. The whole blog is going to have a makeover.

However, I am back at my university... so time is limited.

In regard to olitics during the crisis in New Orleans.

Good points Patrick. I enjoy your blogging because you have some interesting things to say.

My response to you:

"Bush hasn't changed since 9/11 -- in fact, he's been lambasted for staying so consistent despite changing facts on the ground. But the Democrats have. And it's only fair to call a spade and spade. If they're the ones who changed, then the nation's "divisions" can be laid at their doorstep."

It seems Patrick that you are still playing the political game.

And my first post didn't mention anything political except that polls show more then a few 'leftist' are unhappy with Bush's performance post 9/11. Indeed, I was showing you that your argument was a little polarized.

I haven't taken a side but rather pointed out two things: 1. Bush’s agenda, (as any political expert will tell you) will probably change including his tax cuts, Medicare cutting, and social security. 2. Bush will have to answer to the people. Bush has taken some very large steps, including limiting the tax revenue the government has towards programs, how much the federal government's subsidizes state programs, and finally, what we are spending our money on.

Finally, for a president whose philosophy is to make government smaller and to spur growth by cutting government’s revenue and giving it large investors is find,-- except—when it cuts important programs like FEMA. How is that a ‘welfare state’?

2005-08-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

Iraq is about to break?

If the war doesn't go the way of the American's what will Bush have left of his legacy?

This is the break down...

The Iraq war could be at a turning point... I said could.

As Thursday's deadline gets closer, it seems the Sunni's need to decide what their position is going to be on the constitution. The Iraq war has become a center peice in MSM for the month of August. This could be interesting because if everything works out Iraq could be on the way to peace, or pure civil war.

Of course, only the future will tell us the answers.

I must say Bush hasn't shown us a good plan to get out of Iraq, but this has to do with the reason that he didn have plan after 'mission accomplished' was declared.
I guess Bush should have read up on his Iraqi history.

Three diverse groups, oil, no oil on Sunni land, and finally England created the Faux state and gave it to a minority group.

Iraq in a nutshell.

The Iraq War (The Bush Family War)

It will take a lot of work for the three groups to work out, and I don't agree that this was the right way to combat Terrorism, or spread democracy to the middle east. Of course, this has [middle east] become a big issue for the United States once it became a super power.
But remember: it was the U.K's brillant imperialism that created Iraq.

Now that you see how poorly planned the war was, I did come upon some very promising news.

THe BBC has done an article showing promise for Iraqi's. Something that helped by the Americans.

I found the article beautiful.

Politics blogged

Feel free to comment

2005-08-21T20:15:00.000-05:00

The Iraq War, Bush, Republicans and Death

Are the Republicans winning?

August is a slow month for news, but that hasn't stopped a war in the Republican Party.

In this CNN article, the author explains the different views in the Republican Party pretaining to what should be done and less importantly 'are we winning the war?' I tried my best but I couldn't find one mention of a Democrat in the whole article.

Furthermore, there are mentions that we could be in Iraq for four more years at levels of just over 100,000. If this the case, and the Republicans are already tasting blood within their own party, it could spell destruction for the 2006 races.

Politics Blogged

2005-08-19T12:24:00.000-05:00

WMD "DEAD WRONG!"

I can only remember the lead up to the Iraq war as blurred confusion. There was no denying that President Bush was going, but what made the situation strangely cruel, was how fast he seemed to jam it into the halls of debate.

This seemed to be the difference between Bush and other Presidents.

Clinton had problems with terrorism, but it seemed to be coming from a distance place, far away. This isn't to say that the problem was handled in the right way, but Clinton took the situation and handled it in the way that America wanted to look at it.

I would find it hard to debate the point that America dealt differently, emotionally, and politically with the first Trade Center attack.

With this in mind, how do we access the situation in Iraq?

CNN is doing just this...

This Sunday, will hopefully show critically the step by steps taken before entering in Iraq.

One thing is sure, Iraq will complicate and challenge historians on what exactly the 'War on Terror' meant.

Politics Blogged

2005-08-17T21:41:00.001-05:00

9/11 will be a day that will be analyzed for years. What we have right now is a president, that would have been known as a educational reformer, with the likes of Ted Kennedy.When 9/11 came Bush was even reluctant to create Homeland Security. Probably because of the anti-government section of the party. He then went to war in afghanistan, a plus.

But as we see, Iraq has become the presidents legacy, and will play out far longer than the next four years.

One of Sundays Washington Posts headlines, was that the adminstration is finally coming to the reality that Iraq will not be what was planned.

A CIA leak (BBC) that was not covered very well in the U.S media, showed that the Iraq war will cause greater problems world wide, and has had the same influence as the Afghanistan war with the Soviet Union. Aka creating a powerful armed insurgency that can thrust its powers around the world.

Politics Blogged

2005-08-17T21:41:00.000-05:00

But as we see, Iraq has become the presidents legacy, and will play out far longer than the next four years.

One of Sundays Washington Posts headlines, was that the adminstration is finally coming to the reality that Iraq will not be what was planned.

2005-08-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

Iraq is a threat to America!

It doesn't take a Republican nor a Democrat to tell you things in Iraq are complicated.

Just look at our gas prices, it's one of the reasons they are high.

However, with gas prices aside, a new CIA leak indicates there is more than economics to worry about in Iraq.

The BBC, the public funded company in UK has an interesting story about the leak.

You can read it here

I couldn't find any MS American news site that mention this article.

The article points out that insurgents are learning how to become better at all kinds of military techniques, and projections are that they will use them in other countries. This includes the US. The article points out that this is the same way ''Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network trained and fought in Afghanistan, during the struggle against the Soviet-backed regime."

This is a lose-lose situation.

Especially with Iran right next door.

Politcs Blogged

2005-08-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

New York Times has its days.

NY Times didn't catch it, and neither did Richard Stevenson.

Of the Many Deaths in Iraq, One Mother's Loss Becomes a Problem for the President

It did not hurt her cause that she staged her protest, which she said was more or less spontaneous, at the doorstep of the White House press corps, which spends each August in Crawford with little to do, minimal access to Mr. Bush and his aides, and an eagerness for any new story

Can you say someone was typing faster than what they were thinking?

Now the interesting thing about this story is that the MSM is really giving this activist a voice.
Indeed, the first time the news has given the Iraq a personal side.

2005-08-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

Robert Novak

Novak is already a key player in the Plame leak.

That is old news. My question is, does the episode on cnn show that Novak is not really a journalist?

Some journalist argue that bloggers are not journalist, and so they might not have the same portection. However, Novak is far from a journalist especially based on his remarks on CNN.

-Gjuro

2005-07-29T12:09:00.000-05:00

Rick Santorum- out of the mainstream

Rick Santorum has just issued a mass email to campaign subscribers, in which he uses the standard political rhetoric: 'the senate race is going to be hard one, and funds need to start to pick up.' He is asking for contributions of $75-300.

Some of the specific rhetoric he uses includes:

You know well that I'm being targeted by the radical left because I fight for the conservative principles the Republican Party embraces.

Pro-abortion groups have me in their sights because I fought to ban partial-birth abortions.
Senators Ted Kennedy, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Harry Reid want me defeated because they know I'm going to fight for judicial nominees like John Roberts who will stick to the Constitution when they make rulings, not rewrite laws from the bench.
Billionaire George Soros' and his radical MoveOn.org group has already launched a series of emails distorting my record and raising funds from leftists across America.

This is the typical message from a right leaning senator, images of the cultural elite, pro-choice judges who legislate from the bench, and life under radical leftists.

However, Santorum's biggest challenge may be during the debates with Casey
because the Republican leadership might be thinking about a presidential run in 2008.

In the article, Senate majority leader Bill Frist has come out vocally once again in favor of Stem Cell research. This is big news for supporters and democrats alike, Frist is the only doctor in the senate and has given advice to Republicans numerous times on scientific issues. This goes against what Bush advocated (only so many lines could be used and then government funding would cease to exist.) and could result in Bush's first veto if Frist is able to move a Stem Cell bill through.

Of course this dissent gives Frist front page time, as well as a moderate voice, a positive thing for someone who is running in '08.

Santorum, already facing tough opposition in 2006, will have another dynamic listed to his campaign.

His official position on stem cells came be found here and here.

As a issue that can only be understood as a wedge issue on the right, this gives Casey a powerful chance to illustrate that Santorum is not mainstream or for working families.

Santorum's office in Washington had a no official comment on the Frist story.

2005-07-22T10:59:00.000-05:00

The Magical Mystery Lawyer

When the Bush administration came forward with their nomination, it was well planned. Not only did they wait a good bit of time after O’Connor announced her retirement to declare the new appointment, but also did it late at night giving Democrats little time to respond. However, now that a couple of days have gone by there still seems to be little known of the character named Roberts. (Some democrats like Kennedy openly admit that this was one they didn’t do as much research on.)

It seems the biggest obstacle for a strong democratic opposition against Roberts is that it is hard to find any thing on him. (He has a small paper trail) And on top of that his 2003 record in front of senate confirms that he seems to be a moderate right wing conservative. The records show that he has some regard for the differences between personal beliefs and professionalism needed in his line of work.

However, his close connection to the courts have given some information on his views on issues such as abortion, and when he answered them two years ago, some of his answers referred to him being a lower court judge, which is expected to uphold the Supreme Courts ruling. He is now in a different position.

Naturally Roberts will be more prepared for his Senate confirmation hearings, specifically because of the training Republicans will give him in how to answer questions. Don’t be surprised when it sounds like a press conference with Scott Mcclellan

So far even the angles that liberal leaning groups have found and used seem to have fallen through the holes as more information comes out about our mystery lawyer come out.

-Gjuro

2005-07-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

What is fair tax?

A small critque of the website fairtax.org

I was driving down the street when I noticed a bumper sticker. I must admit that I am always interested in bumper stickers and their meanings. Bumpers sticker like their owners come from all walks of lifes. Bumper stickers are truly a unique exspression and like a tattoo, they can be hard to take off. The bumper sticker I ran into the other day was a very simple one, it has a picture of the IRS crossed out in a circle and the words fairtax.org. At first I thought this was your usual libertarian bumper sticker explaining smaller government, better life. I however kept my judgements to myself and drove home. Later I had a chance to get on the internet and look up the site. To my susprise the website wasn't about flat tax.-And it had some very interestng ideas.

Americans for Fair Tax is a non-partisan organization which aims for a more systematic and fluent system of exchange between government and its citizens.

The site gives you an array of information, even a toll free number if you have questions.

The main critque of system is that it could possibly eleminate the IRS, but with its restructuring in the Social Security adminstration-where you file your rebate- as well the dismantling of the IRS, and impact of job loss would cost hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.

The Social Secutiry branch would also have to expand as noted, this would mean that SS would have more costs and a bigger budget, but as the represenative I talked to the phone mentioned it wouldn't be as much.

The IRS, indeed, if eliminated would leave a large gap in the checks and balances of auditing peoples finances. A fair tax system would take the need to look into peoples finances out for the most part, especially because corporate tax would be no more. However, the future system would have a hard time looking into financial corruption since coropate finances wouldn't have to answer to the IRS anymore. We would have to rely on figures the company puts out through the stock market. That is if the company is on the market.

The last part, is that the site advertises among its argument that this would create incentives for companies to invest in America and have American companies stay here. This is fine, but this does not account for the outsourcing or accountability to pay a "fair" wage. Indeed more corporations could possibly come to America but only as a tax haven for corporations, not as a new and strong labor force that gives back to America with strong paying wages and job security.

The woman on the phone I talked to argued that when it came to labor standards that we could prevail because there is a standard labor in American labor. Indeed, this may be true. However, the standard 8 hour shift and high paying union jobs doesn't mean that the workforce is more attractive then the Chinese, who are willing to work 16 hours at a fourth the cost. Remember more Chinese and Indians go beyond secondary education.

As a thinktank for tax goods, fairtax.org brings into play the idea of a better tax code, however there are some deep gaps in how this would be a positive thing for all americans. Most assets by the hyperrich and corporations in the stockmarket would be taxed only by the cost of trading, there would be no accountability for taxing the actually stock or gain, nor would a estate tax be in place, to collect from the generations who adopt the large sums of money.

-Gjuro

2005-07-20T01:20:00.000-05:00

Political events that make history, in the modern United States, are framed and created by the MSM and talking heads. Recently, there has also been a great force from what is now known as the Blogosphere. However, this is the first time a Supreme Court justice has been debated with the internet as a super force in opinion and dissent. Instead of giving out my own opinion of Mr. Roberts I am going to try to show both sides of the debate and the results because of these factors, specifically when it comes down to the vote or fillibuster

The Nation, the leading magazine of the left has suprisingly little to say about the aftermath of Bush's Speech in which he nominated Mr. Roberts. (As of 2 hours after the speech) The one blog entry that has appeared is by Peter Rothberg in blog column titled Act Now!. In this article he mentions that Mr. Roberts is a "real-in-your-face selection by the president." His advice for the activist is to keep in touch with two websites Alliance for Justice and People for the American Way. I have found, interestingly enough, that it seem the issue at play will be mostly abortion. --And very possibly Civil Rights in general--This seems very predictable. However, I encountered a debate so far that disputes the claims that Mr. Roberts is a right wing ideologue that won't hold up abortion. This usually sights the 2001 confirmation when Robert says that the issue of abortion is "settled." More or less implying a precedent has all ready been set. In the same article the Washington Post points out that the left has used an article Roberts helped write, showing his disapproval in the Roe court ruling.

In the blog/message boards, The Corner, of the Weekly Standard, bloggers were chiming about the recent news regarding Mr. Roberts. It seems there is a general consensus that he was a smart and strong pick. However, there seems to be a cloud of question. No one really was strikingly bold with reassurance that it would be an easy victory or a hard one. It took 2 hours for a response by anyone at the staff of the Weekly Standard to respond. The short response by William Kristol, the editor, was a happy one, mostly going over the fact that he thought he (Roberts) would be a she.

The issues of Civil rights, specifically women can be affirmed by the very popular liberal blog Daily Kos.

The next days will be exciting for bloggers, political junkies, and news junkies. I look forward to the next response- feel free to comment.

This blog was created as an extension of my personal interest in communication, politics and literature. I am a Media Studies major and hope I can use this Blog as a way to inform and debate the role of communication in politics. Also, I hope to use it as a vehicle to spread information on articles and blogs I enjoy as well as putting out my opinion for debate.

I am writing under the pen name Gjuro.

-Gjuro.