Top Favorite Blog Posts

• The Truth About Race The Truth About Race

  • From: GAHarden
  • Description:

    Im going to say some things here that I think alot of people would like to say and are afraid to. Im going to say alot of things here that many people will probably get bent out of shape over. Im going to say some things here that might possibly ban this letter from appearing on "Get My Vote." Im going to tell the truth from a white mans point of view. At least, one white mans point of view; about race. Ive been thinking about writing this since I heard the advert on NPR. I hope I come across the way I want to, but ive no doubt some people will take what I say the wrong way. Such is life. Anyhow, enough small talk, on to the post...

    A little background first....

    Im 35. Im a graphic designer. I have a 10 year old son. My wife and I are seperated but we have become closer friends than ever. I grew up in the suburbs mostly, although throughout college I lived in the inner city of Pittsburgh. My son currently lives in the city with his mother. I speak from some experience here. And im only telling things from personal experience. So lets begin, shall we?

    My wife takes my son to a local park near her house, so he can learn how to ride his bike. Theyre enjoying an early spring day, several other kids are out and about. Suddenly a bottle smashes at her feet. She turns and is confronted by a group of black kids, between 8-12 years old. An older black girl stands there grinning. My wife, somewhat irked, asks who threw the bottle. They all deny it, laughing and giggling to themselves. Then take offense, saying that the only reason shes accusing them of throwing the bottle is because theyre black. Not because theyre all standing there laughing. Not because theyre the only ones there...but because they are black. It ends with the kids telling my wife to perform obscene sexual acts on them. 12 year old kids saying this to a 36 year old woman and her 10 year old son.

    Another situation at a nearby park ends with my son being punched in the face by an older black kid. My wife and I have our dogs with us, we run to where my son is laying on the ground holding his face. This is a public park. In the city. It was beautful once, but its now covered in graffitti and trash litters the ground. Still, there arent alot of places to take a 10 year old to play so we go. As soon as we get to my kid, the crowd of black kids start telling us to get the *F----* out of THEIR park. We dont belong there. If it wasnt for the fact that Im a big man and I had my dogs, I have no doubt there would have been more violence. We left to the black kids singing "(We) is takin ovah....(We) is takin ovah...." and jeers and catcalls.

    Why are there several colleges that are blacks only, but a college that billed itself as whites only would be considered racist? Why is it that a black man can be proud of being a black man, but if im proud of being white im a racist? Why are black people called African Americans? Why arent white people European Americans then? Why can a black person wear a tshirt that says "The blacker the college the sweeter the knowledge" but If i wore a shirt saying "The whiter the college the sweeter the knowledge" I would at BEST be asked to remove the shirt, and be labeled a racist? Why is it that whenever a black kid gets beat up by a white kid the race card is pulled, but when black kids jump a white kid, its considered justice? Why do I feel like im paying for something that I never had anything to do with? Why do i feel guitly of being white? Why is the inner city a dangerous place to be when the sun goes down? (and dont tell me police presence is greater in the suburbs).

    I dont have any answers to these questions. I dont even have any guesses. Ive tried to teach my kid that all people are created equal. Ive tried to teach my kid that race doesnt matter. What do i tell him when he asks me why black people are so mean to him then? That theyre angry over something that happened to them a hundred years ago? Something that they dont even fully understand? THats not a reason, its a lame excuse. How do I teach my kid to treat everyone equally when hes treated like a pariah in his own school and neighborhood? Because hes white? How do i keep myself from being racist, when I see these things happening in my own backyard? This is a difficult time in America, for everyone. Black people no longer have a leg to stand on as far as equality...the next president of the United States will most likely be a black man. The equality thing just doesnt hold water anymore. "Whitey" isnt holding anyone down. Is this just something that I have to deal with? Do i have to teach my son to stay away from other races because hes going to be treated like a criminal by them?

    These are only a few examples. I could write a bloody book on this. But im sure ive said enough already, and Im interested to see what kind of replies this post gets, if any. In a perfect world, we would all love one another and treat each other as brothers. But its not a perfect world...and races are polarizing themselves even more. I dont think Obama being elected will do anything but push the racial divide even further apart. There is no desire to get along, to understand one another. Not with the generation that seems to be coming up. There seems to be only anger, and hatred, and division, for no other reason than...I dont even know what to write there. The media? Music? Parents? The Gov't? Ourselves? Im at a loss...ill just end this here. Thanks for your time if you read this through. Luck.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 4194

• Electric Over Gas-powered Cars Electric Over Gas-powered Cars

  • From: michaelmoore
  • Description:

    Until I decided I wanted to buy an electric car, my idea of politics was to vote for whatever meant less taxes for me. I became interested in EVs after reading online about the upcoming Tesla Roadster, a $100k electric sports car. I then watched Who Killed the Electric Car? and was reminded of the EVs that graced California's roads during the heyday of the ZEV mandate.

    A little bit of research made it painfully clear that switching America's commuter fleet to electric cars is the single most effective and practical step we could take to free ourselves from the menace of oil. So I decided to buy an EV and couple it with a rooftop photovoltaic system, which I figured I'd pay for with the money I'd save on gas. It's amazing what a perfect solution this is, both environmentally and economically, but for one small problem: It's impossible to buy an electric car.

    How could it be that 1000s of EVs, highly reliable and highly demanded, were on the road 10 years ago; but today, even in the face of $4/gallon gas and the ominous future of global warming and bloody oil wars, not one is for sale? This called for more research, still ongoing, and the results so far speak volumes about what's wrong with our country. One highlight: Chevron, yes Chevron , owns and is effectively squatting on the patent rights for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery, a battery which has been proven to power cars like the Toyota RAV4-EV over 100 miles per charge even after 100k miles of driving. As soon as Chevron acquired these rights from GM they sued Toyota and Panasonic to cease production of these batteries and effectively killed the electric car.

    More citizens need to learn about the story of the EV and get angry about it. The plight of this technology and the lack of awareness among the general public is emblematic of the ills of our nation as a whole. If we don't take back control of our government and make it serve the needs of the people we're in for an ominous future indeed.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 2341

• A First Political Opinion: Hea A First Political Opinion: Health Care

  • From: Liz Garmendia
  • Description:

    A few years ago I unexpectedly developed a political opinion in favor of national health care. I was halfway through my enlistment in the United States Air Force and having free health care in the military felt natural, like easy access to quality health care is a right everyone should have.

    My opinion was a surprise to me because it was very different from my parent’s and that of the community I grew up in. I was brought up in a mostly upper middle-class suburban community, so I was a Republican by cultural osmosis. My family was in the lower economic quadrant of our community and we never had health care, but my parents were opposed to, and suspicious of any legislation that gave the federal government more power.

    When Bill Clinton was president there was no end to my father’s first slamming tirades condemning national health care. I was in my late teens at the time and had no political opinions of my own. I was too busy with my new access to credit and a manic freedom from high school to spend any thought on the issues.

    So, when I did finally form a political opinion based on my own experiences as an Airman, mom, wife, woman and a long overdue college education, I was surprised that it was in strong opposition to my upbringing. It turns out I am a Democrat, and I cast my first vote ever in Oklahoma’s presidential primary in Feb.’08.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 2070

• Equal Education Regardless of Equal Education Regardless of Income

  • From: zyrusun
  • Description:

    I want my children educated. I am tired of fighting. I am tired of trying to convince the powers that be that my children deserve the same opportunities as all the children in my county and that they should not be penalized from day one because they were born to parents in poverty.

    It is not easy to admit to being poor, its almost shameful, as if you simply have not worked hard enough to not be poor. But it is what it is and my husband and I know that the only way to break the cycle of poverty is education.

    All children should have the same access to books, programs, technology, qualified teachers, and expectations. No child should be treated differently than any other child. The truth is though that those of us that live on the wrong side of town know that our schools are not the same caliber as the schools built for the kids living on the right side of town.

    I could say that this is a southern problem remanants of a society divided by race. Living in a town where one school is still known as the old colored school can cloud a person's reasoning, but this is a problem nation wide and not only race driven.

    Poverty is the new racism heaped on top of the old racism, and with out a leader for this country that will address the serious flaws in our education system we will never break the cycle. I am still waiting to hear from a candidate on this subject.

    I am not so naive as to believe that one politician will change my child's quality of education for that reason I will still continue my fight, educating myself in the process, but it would be nice to see a national candidate really recognize that the system needs help.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 810

• Priorities: Working Class Stud Priorities: Working Class Students First

  • From: igardett
  • Description:

    I'm a teacher. I teach writing and literature to community college students, for which I'm paid as a contractor, meaning that I'm paid only for the hours I'm in the classroom. Essentially, I'm paid minimum wage. I'm in debt for the Master's Degree that's a requirement for the position, and at my current salary, I'll be just about as indebted for that degree on the day that I die as I am today.

    My students are in the same position. Trying to improve their lives, most of them work full time. Many have families, many serve or have served or have family members serving second and third consecutive tours overseas. Many are working, taking care of families single-handedly, and going to school at the same time. Quite a few attended high schools that are still, even now, one hundred percent black and funded at fifty percent or less compared to other schools in the area. And yet, these people come to class. They read Macbeth or write an argument paper in the hour after their kids go to bed. And on the whole, they don't complain, which frankly amazes me.

    The last three Presidents, by contrast, have each taken hundreds of millions of dollars out of Social Security to fund pet projects or pay down on the national debt, all the while telling these hard-working students of mine that they can no longer expect a "free ride" when they're old, that they're going to have to be "responsible," to "take personal responsibility." It's an insult, frankly, that three consecutive millionaires should be allowed to take the money trustingly placed in the care of the government and spend it in a few haphazard moments.

    My question for all the candidates, then, is this: will you be beholden to the people, or to the corporations?

    This campaign, I believe, is largely defined by what's not being mentioned. The war, the war, the war, okay, I get it. But what about the fact that millions of Americans are so in debt that they will never get out of it, and yet the bankruptcy bill passed by Congress was hand-written by MBNA, one of the largest credit companies in the world, and the largest contributor to the Bush campaign? "Personal responsibility" is apparently just another justification to hand the government into the keeping of the corporate world.

    So, candidates, to get my vote, and, I believe, a lot of others, this is a question you're going to have to answer--and one you don't seem too keen to even ask: "to whom are you beholden?"

    The answer should be: my students. The people out here in reality who are working hard all year for an amount of money that any of these candidates makes in a day. The people who get up every morning and aren't President of the United States, just somebody trying to get by. How are you going to be beholden to them?

    In a system that encourages the candidates to literally compete for the most dollars raised, that apparently requires tens of millions per month to even run, that asks for the people to foot the bill so millionaires can play out their ambitions on the world stage, can you even be beholden to us?

    Or don't we have enough money to count?

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 671

• Restore the Balance of Power Restore the Balance of Power

  • From: Melissa Tuttle
  • Description:

    The candidate who says, "I vow to renounce the excessive powers taken by the current executive branch and restore balance among the three branches of government," and who actually has a plan to do so, is a breath away from having my vote.

    Healthcare, the war, the economy - all of that is simply icing on the cake. I want the balance of power back to that we can stop our slow slide towards facism.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 3
  • Views: 545

• Death and Politics Death and Politics

  • From: Ralph Brauer
  • Description:

    Because of politics I almost never existed to write this essay.

    You see I am a first generation American whose father, grandfather and aunt came to this country to escape death sentences. My uncle fled the Holocaust and was the only member of his family who survived. My grandfather was a prominent German politician whose unequivocal hate for Adolf Hitler earned him a death sentence in 1933.

    After a harrowing escape worthy of a spy novel, my father and my aunt lived in exile while my grandfather worked for the League of Nations. But the Nazis followed him around the world.

    My father told me how two years later he and my grandfather were in a Paris apartment when he saw two Gestapo men enter the building. My grandfather protested, “They can’t arrest me here.” My father practically pushed my grandfather go out the fire escape as he retorted, “They’re not coming to arrest us.”

    My uncle, a Berlin Jew, managed to get himself out of Germany, but the visa he had worked so hard to secure for his mother arrived just after the Nazis put her on one of those trains whose destination was hell.

    As the son of political refugees who came to this country because this was one place the Gestapo could not follow them, you might say I absorbed my family’s belief the we must constantly defend democracy and the idea of the level playing field that sustains it, because they knew how freedom could disappear at the stroke of a pen.

    Keeping the playing field level means government serves to assure votes are counted fairly, to maintain a free “marketplace of ideas,” to provide an equal education for all, and to guarantee social and economic justice. Its values lie behind the ringing inaugural addresses of FDR and JFK as well as what is the single greatest American speech of the last century, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" masterpiece.

    My family fought for the idea of a level playing field all their lives. Only a candidate who promises to keep the playing field level will get my vote because she or he would have gotten theirs.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 811

• New Concepts for a New Milleni New Concepts for a New Millenium

  • From: William Michael
  • Description:

    What am I looking for in a candidate?
    
    Above all else, I'm looking for someone who understands that it isn't the 'Wild West' anymore; or the 'Gay 90s'; or the 'Roaring 20s'; or the 'fabulous 50s'. I want someone who isn't looking to pile us all into the 'wayback' machine and head back in time to some less stressful era that may, in fact, have never existed.

    I want someone who understands that we long ago passed the point where we could reasonably aspire to live in a state of pleasant anarchy wherein the mutual persuit of individual self-interest would magically solve all our problems and who accepts the corollary of that observation: that government, for all its faults, is of necessity a 'player' in dealing with modern problems. He or she needs to appreciate the role of public investment and understand that Americans cannot expect to maintain the standard of living to which they have become accustomed if the only thing the government is willing to invest in is tax cuts.

    I want someone who comprehends the new and unique challenges facing us in the early part of the twenty-first century, the most basic of which is the acceleration of change itself. We face new and stiff competition not only for the world's markets, but, more importantly, for its resources from hitherto 'backward' nations that are just starting to develop their potential.

    The world's population has more than doubled in the last 40 years and is expanding exponentially. Combined with the ever-accellerating pace of man's technological progress, this has put a strain on the earth itself such that we no longer have the luxury of not considering the environmental impact of our actions.
    
    I want someone who understands the nature of warfare in the 21st century, and whose national security thinking isn't burdened by a 'World War II' or a 'Cold War' mindset. For the Nazis were long ago defeated. And the communist world has largely imploded. Our main adversaries today are fundamentalist religious fanatics whose tactics are unlike anything our military has had to contend with. And wars today are as much about winning 'hearts and minds' as they are about destroying targets, killing enemy personnel and controlling territory.
    
    It's a New World The solutions and approaches that served us well in the past may not be well suited to addressing the problems we now face. To deal with twenty-first century problems, we need a twenty-first century mind! That's the kind of candidate I'm looking for.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 711

• Right to Protest Unjust Laws Right to Protest Unjust Laws

  • From: Nate
  • Description:

    Our Nation was founded by people who challenged unjust laws, to the point of being seen as criminals. Those who started our Revolution broke the law to achieve a more logical and more just morality. And in the history of our nation, every social revolution that was to follow was preceeded by people who had to break law in order to protest against a great wrong in our society. Every step forward in the issues of Colour, Gender, and Sexual identity was preceded by people who boldly challenged laws to show there was a better path for our society to follow. Every step forward for workers conditions, or aid for the poor, or environmental issues was preceded by protests that crossed the law.
    
    Yet in the past 8 years, challenging status quo has become deemed unseemly, perhaps un-American, especially if it means breaking even the slightest of regulations. The country has been undervaluing protest done in the name of improving society; lumping protest with random acts of crime.

    I would be impressed with the Presidential candidate who talks about the history of dissent in our Nation. Perhaps even give the speech in People's Park, or in the redwood forests of Humboldt County, or at the The Stonewall Inn. Or, if the candidate be so bold, meet with organizers from different protests, and show they aren't afraid when people speak up and act out, with a genuine desire to push the nation forward.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 697

• Conservative becomes progressi Conservative becomes progressive

  • From: Chad Giesinger
  • Description:

    My political viewpoints have evolved constantly along with different experiences in my life. Initially my story, as with most, began with my family, which came from North Dakota. Although I wasn't really aware of the political aspects at the time, my father and many other family members regularly made comments about how the government can't do anything right, can't be trusted, should be smaller or eliminated, shouldn't help support people, etc. - in retrospect, a very conservative perspective that informed my initial viewpoints as I became an adult.

    There were also many comments, socially accepted as I grew up, bashing gays, minorities, etc. that I initially took for granted. There were common jokes such as, “40 degrees below zero keeps the riff raff out.” By “riff raff” they meant minorities, especially blacks. Based on this upbringing, you could say I was a redneck in many ways when I graduated from high school.

    Because individual rights always mattered so much to my parents, they always stressed the importance of voting. So I dutifully voted for the first Bush. Then Bill Clinton came along as I was struggling to make a living and find money and time for college. I was transfixed by his charisma and speaking ability. This was the first politician I had ever seen reach out to young people. His rhetoric about the middle class inspired me. I guess you could say that was a turning point for me, when I began to consider the other side, and my viewpoints have evolved from there.

    As Igrew older, graduated from college, had children, and traveled to other countries, I realized I simply could not support ideologies of intolerance, religious politics, pure military solutions, and capitalism without responsibility. I have never been religious, so when the Republican Party began branding people like me as"godless", as a traitor to my country because I would dare question our government, as a murderer because I don't think abortion is a government issue, my transition to progressive politics was solidified. I guess I have become one of those "elite" progressives.

    Unfortunately my income belies my newly acquired "elite" status! Remember when elite meant you were good at something? Remember when facts were based on science and primary sources? I do.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 622

• Government Should Lead Towards Government Should Lead Towards a Shared Ideology

  • From: jkrotkov
  • Description:

    I don’t discuss politics much with my friends and neighbors in this tiny town in a big, red state, because they all think I’m pretty much a pinko-commie, bleeding-heart, liberal pansy. And they say it as though it’s a bad thing. They think of me that way because I believe we need to get back to discussing ideologies. I don’t think the role of a leader is to pursue expedience, but to rally people to the banner of our shared principles.

    I want a leader who reminds us that we’ve agreed, on principle that all our citizens should have access to a free, quality, secular education because it makes the citizenry more able to govern themselves. I don’t want a leader who says ‘well, our public school system is hopeless. Lets phase it out.’

    Despite the fact that the town I live in is tiny, we have a town government and while the valiant souls who volunteer to serve on it do their best, I think they’re crippled by that fatuous phrase that’s been drilled into their heads: “government should be run like a business.” No it shouldn’t. Our town’s goal is to provide services to its people, not to make a profit, and not even to spend as little as possible. Lots of my friends and neighbors think that the primary role of our town government is just to “keep the lights on,” and to fend off what they see as intrusive regulation by the State and the Feds.

    Of course its important to eliminate wasteful spending, and to keep the lights on and the water running, but that’s not the primary job of a Mayor or our President; it is to lead us toward the goals dictated by our shared principles – our ideology.

    There’s a lot of talk of “vision” and “change” in this Federal election season, but I think its just reactionary (see! I really must be a Marxist or something! I said “reactionary!”). It’s an ideology of politics, not of government. If any of the candidates want to get my vote they should get back to the basics and address those principles that underlie our constitution - which we’ve drifted so far away from- like freedom of speech, equal opportunity for all, secularism, caring for the less fortunate, and access to quality education and health care.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 568

• National Healthcare for the Ri National Healthcare for the Richest Country

  • From: Peggy Carey
  • Description:

    I was raised in a political family. I vaguely remember my Mom lifting me up so I could see one of the Kennedys who came through our small town on a train. Not only was he Irish, as was my mother, but he was "so handsome."

    But it was a visit to immigrant farm housing that made me determined to make a difference. One of the nuns at my Catholic high school took me with her when she went to visit the farm laborers who picked the produce that once grew lush where Silicon Valley stands today. The woman was distraught because she could not keep her children clean; there was no running water. At that moment I was transformed into a politcal animal.

    My father boasted that I was "raised for public service" when I ran for local office, at a time when politicians were routinely excoriated and compared to pigs feeding at the public trough. Throughout the years I learned much about politics, and voted from every conceivable angle: as a one issue voter, straight party ticket, based on seniority and committe assignment, and strategically for who I thought could win.

    Then, in 2005, I was diagnosed with breast cancer while uninsured. I soon learned that insurance companies paid one-third what I did for identical tests. I was required to pay one half the cost of my hospitalization before I could be admitted for my mastectomy. Again, the rate was more than twice paid by insurance companies. I had it, as I had sold my house, but what of people who didn't have the resources?

    So, once again, I am a one issue voter. It is time for national health care in the richest nation on earth. The politcal will exists, and the outrageous stories continue. I will vote for the person I believe is committed to National Health Care, and who has the ability to stand up to the insurance industry.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 548

• Threat to Democracy Threat to Democracy

  • From: me escobar
  • Description:

    As a woman, I like the idea of seeing a sister in the highest most honored rank in my country. However, I have big questions about THIS woman (Hillary, that is) in the White House. My feelings, though contoured by, have less to do with her experience and ability issues and more to do with a threat to democracy.
    
    For the majority of my politically aware life, there has been either a Bush or Clinton in the White House. It hasn’t really been since Hillary’s running that I’ve thought of it in these terms. For over 20 years, 1 of 2 powerful families have ruled my country.
    
    If I heard on NPR coverage on another countries elections where by 1 of 2 families have been in control for 20 years back to back and now another member of the same families was trying for another 4-8 years, it would make me question the legitimacy of their democracy. I would question the fairness of their election process. I would cringe as I imagine how disempowered the people in that country must feel. I would be thankful that I don’t have to live like that…wait a minute. I do live like that!
    
    The last 8 years of the Bush administration has really worn me down as a citizen. I feel disempowered knowing that money speaks louder than my voice in this country. I have lived with a chronic low-lying fear that has been come down from my government assisted by controlled media. I feel polarized because of my beliefs from the other half of Americans.
    
    A visit to the Constitution Center makes it clear that our founding fathers were trying to ensure unity through a definite shift from isolated power to power in the hands of the people. It’s insulting that any one person or political machine would ignore this basic American Constitutional right for the sake of continuing to keep power isolated. I don’t know why more people aren’t offended by this.
    
    I want to feel whole again. I want my country back.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 491

• Inclusion Inclusion

  • From: Marilyn Maciel
  • Description:

    The overarching idea I'm seeking in a candidate is inclusion. I'm a life-long Democrat, but we've learned through past administrations that it does us no good to have a Democrat in the White House if the President can't work with Congress to get things done. I hesitate to even use the word "bipartisan" in describing the appeal I'm looking for, because that suggests we have only two opposing views when, in fact, we have many in this country.

    I want someone who recognizes our place on the global stage without adopting a bullying posture. And I want the same thing at home--a candidate who's willing to throw out the old paradigms to make way for more inclusive ones.

    I want a candidate who will create an administration that recognizes that our government belongs to all of us--not just to a chosen few.

    One of the things I love most about blogging and social networking is its ability to flatten hierarchies. That’s what I’m looking for in a 21st century candidate—someone who will recognize that we each have an equal voice in our government.

    Many of us don’t fit neatly into box-like categories. I’m a 53-year-old white woman with an African-American mate. My mate has a bi-racial child (black/Asian). I lived out of nation for several years. I’m a life-long liberal whose views on some issues have grown more conservative as I’ve gotten older. I was raised Catholic but eschew all organized religion as an adult.

    I am America. I want a candidate who makes me feel included in this process. Someone who will make me feel welcome in my own country…and make me feel proud to be an American again.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 475

• Margaret Thatcher made me a li Margaret Thatcher made me a liberal

  • From: E. Thomas Wood
  • Description:

    Soon after I arrived at the University of Leeds for a junior year abroad in September 1984, I sat on the steps of its main building and defiantly marked my absentee ballot for Ronald Reagan. It was the first vote I had ever cast.

    I had grown up in Nashville with little exposure to any politics other than the libertarian, business-oriented and Fundamentalist Christian strands of Republicanism. I was shocked to arrive in Leeds at a moment when the pervasive political environment was a militant, left-wing orthodoxy. The Miners' Strike was on, and support for the miners appeared to be universal. London wags branded the area "People's Republic of South Yorkshire."
    

    The campus branch of the Revolutionary Communist Party was much in evidence. Everyone I met, from the kindly old warden of my residence hall to shy girls in pubs, would query me politely about why on earth young people would support a president like Reagan. I remember the looks of horror on every single face around me in the dining hall when I was the only one to refuse to sign a black South African's petition calling for Nelson Mandela to be freed. "Communists don't deserve freedom," I told him.

    It took a few months for me to understand -- very gradually, with much gentle encouragement from a new friend who was a fundamentalist Christian and a socialist at the same time -- that I was living in a community pushed to the brink of desperation. The Thatcher regime had simply written off the North of England, once it realized it had no support there. The police and MI5 used crushing tactics against strikers who were losing the only way of life their communities had ever known.

    By the end of my year, I had fully realized that power wielded without responsibility equals evil. I became a liberal -- the term was already hurled as abuse in my Nashville circles -- and I have never looked back. The standard I apply to all activity in the public sphere is: For good or ill, what is the impact on the community? Many of my friends and loved ones here in Nashville consider me badly misled, and the feeling is mutual.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 2
  • Views: 475

• An Asian American on the presi An Asian American on the presidential election

  • From: donwjoe
  • Description:

    As an Asian American I vote for candidates who fight discrimination and who favor immigration reform.

    Therefore I support John McCain.

    One would think that as an Asian American, I would support Barack Obama. After all, Obama’s step-father was Indonesian, his half-sister is Asian American, and he grew up in Indonesia , Hawaii and Los Angeles , where many Asians or Asian Americans live. Electing an African American could pave the way for Asian Americans to win higher elective office, such as governor of California . And being a Columbia University alumnus, I really would like a fellow Columbian to become president. Unfortunately, Obama’s policies are bad for Asian Americans and America .

    McCain would help Asian Americans. Liberals control universities and use affirmative action to discriminate against Asian American applicants. McCain opposes racial quotas, a stand which would help Asian American applicants, while Obama would continue affirmative action. On immigration, Democrats have a good record, but McCain had the courage to push for immigration reform.

    But most important, the Republicans’ policies are better for America and poor people, while the Democrats, contrary to Obama’s slogans, defend the status quo.

    McCain would increase the supply of energy. Environmentalists oppose burning coal, nuclear reactors, drilling for oil, construction of refineries, etc. Environmentalists want poor people in northern states this winter to freeze on dark buses.

    McCain supports school vouchers, which the majority of African Americans want. Meanwhile, the Clintons , Gores, Kerrys and Obamas send their children to private schools which poor people can’t afford. The teachers unions’ attitude is: “The Olympics are on TV but we don’t believe in competition. We will fight to keep our government monopoly and force you to pay higher taxes for a shoddy product. We also don’t want extensive testing to reveal your children can’t read, write, add or subtract.”

    McCain is opposed to racial quotas. Rather than using race based affirmative action, universities should give preference to students who come from poor families.

    McCain wants healthcare reform. Every policy wonk inside the Beltway knows healthcare costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate. By 2030 Medicare will consume 50% of the federal budget. Evidently Democrats want to eliminate the Pentagon, the FBI and national parks to pay for Medicare. McCain’s policies would help to reduce healthcare costs and make healthcare plans more portable. The Democrats’ healthcare plans want to expand and build on a bridge which is about to collapse.

    Why do I support McCain? Because his policies are good for Asian Americans and best for America .

    Don W. Joe
    Asian American Politics
    www.asianam.org

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 1
  • Views: 1684

• Oil prices (keep 'em high!) Oil prices (keep 'em high!)

  • From: Jon Gorey
  • Description:

    I am unabashedly liberal. People complain about paying taxes? Frankly I don't even think I pay enough. A little wage garnering in exchange for health care, education, and safer streets seems like a fair deal to me.
    

    So something has irked me for awhile: there's no candidate out there (that I know of anyway) who will stand up and say:

    "You know what? Gas prices are high... and I'm gonna let 'em stay that way. Because you all need to stop driving so damn much so we can ween ourselves off oil, Middle Eastern or otherwise."

    Honestly no candidate could get away with that stance, especially not on the democratic side, where both Obama and Clinton are trying to assuage the fears of low-income voters in a faltering economy. Can you blame them?

    The thing is... the environment is a key issue for the left. And just about everyone agrees that if we were less dependent on foreign oil, we'd be in a lot better shape economically and in terms of international security and relations. But the key reason we ARE so dependent in the first place is that oil was so cheap for so long, and for decades we allowed our lifestyles and infrastructure to develop with cheap gas as a given.

    Would people be driving 50 miles to work each day from exurban mcmansion developments if gasoline prices in the US had mirrored those of Europe's for the last 20 years? Some would, but certainly not as many.

    Everyone likes the idea of changing their lifestyles for the better -- whether it's saving the environment or quitting smoking, it all sounds great on paper or on New Year's Eve -- but the one thing people truly respond to is economics. Many people finally quit smoking when it simply becomes too much of a financial burden to buy a pack every day. And the only thing that's really going to get a lot of people in this country to change their behavior, to use less gasoline, to make better decisions in terms of the cars they buy and the places they live, is to keep gas prices high and force them to break the habit.

    One other (probably more politically viable) idea would be to foster telecommuting as technology advances. It's not exactly a solution, but it would still help somewhat, without requiring a radical overhaul of infrastructure. Though I do worry it would lead to more vacant cities and the general detachment that sprawl generates, when tight-knit urban centers of commerce and community are in fact better for society.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 1
  • Views: 1469

• Secturity Does Not Justify a P Secturity Does Not Justify a Police State

  • From: Fremry
  • Description:

    On the fifth anniversary of Guantanamo Bay's opening to POW's in the War in Afganistan, there were several protests all around the country. I attended one in hiladelphia. While I was walking around with my sign demanding that detainees be tried or released, the Philadelphia Police Department's recording crew arrived.

    Standard procedure. Police supervise and videotape protests that are known to the city to stop counter-protests from becoming violent and to have indisputable evidence if it does become violent. This crew was different though. Along with the video team was a woman wearing a "Police" armband with a film camera taking pictures of our faces from no more than 1-2 feet away from us. When asked why she was taking pictures, she replied "For your protection".

    I immediately felt like I was in an autocratic dystopia. The words themselves weren't even real. They were so cliche, so obviously devoid of truth, that, if included in a screenplay, would be excised for being "unrealistic".

    At this point it was more than obvious what her role was; to create and maintain files of known "dissidents". She was literally taking mugshots of us for disagreeing with the Presidential administration. Taking mugshots without comitting a crime, being charged with a crime, or being convicted of a crime. Ironically, this woman was embodying the abuses of power that we were protesting.

    This was too much for me, so I, as an aspiring law student, decided to flex my rights as an American. The conversation was as follows:

    Me: Excuse me, ma'am. Where will I need to go to get access to the pictures you are taking?

    Photographer: What do you mean?

    Me: When I want to get prints of the pictures you are taking, where do I need to go to obtain them?

    Photographer: What do you mean? You can't. We're the Police.

    Again, it struck me. We're the Police. We ARE the Police . She was dumfounded that I even asked. Her words "You can't. We are the Police", was her way of saying "You can't have access to these. We are the authority. We are above you. We decide what information you receive. We do not work for you. We work against you."

    Her words, literally, made my head spin. I was so unready for that answer, that I had a brief (less than a second) feeling of vertigo. This woman was a part of the Philadelphia Police force, and she truly believed that the police work against the citizens who dare stray from the path of blind compliance. She believed that, by the very fact that she was an authority figure, her actions were not to be questioned. Further, by stating that she was an authority figure, she had given me sufficient reason for our conversation to be over.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 1
  • Views: 879

• More Focus on Saving the Envir More Focus on Saving the Environment

  • From: greta k.
  • Description:

    I listen to NPR at work 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, so I feel I'm pretty informed about what's going on in the world. There are certain trends in the news and if you listen closely and connect the dots, you come up with a scary picture for the future.

    The environmental degradation, economic instability, political unrest, disease, and impoverishment, which have all existed for decades if not centuries, are reaching a critical moment. Many factors are playing and feeding off one another and there's not nearly enough time, resources, or harmony amongst our current leaders for any meaningful solutions.

    We are going to have to make monumental changes and sacrifices in how we live, especially those of us who are lucky enough to be living comfortably in the first world nations. This means more, MUCH more, than turning down our thermostats, paying a little more for bread and gasoline, and changing out a few lightbulbs.

    So what's it going to take to get my vote? Leaders who are able to see these problems for what they really are and implement timely, bold, and agressive solutions. These leaders need to tell the people the whole truth without sugar coating it or insisting that these problems are only temporary. These leaders are not likely going to be popular (to say the least), but please, don't kill the messenger. These kinds of leaders are necessary now more than ever.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 1
  • Views: 811

• Need to move America by rail Need to move America by rail

  • From: Stu Nicholson
  • Description:

    Mobility is the essence of freedom. When our mobility is limited, so is our freedom. So why do so few of our candidates speak up about the need for more and bettertransportation options to always having to drive a car? Where are the Presidential candidates on expanding funding and development for improved inter-city passenger & freight rail?....better local mass transit?.... bikeways?.... more walkable neighborhoods?

    They talk of reducing our dependence on oil and offer band-aids like alternative fuels. But where are they actually doing something to reduce the demand and allow us to better control the markets for oil and gasoline? Rail-based transportation for moving people or freight is the most fuel efficient and emission efficient mode. It also generates economic development and jobs that can stay here at home.

    You want MY vote.... get us more trains, light rail, streetcars.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Favorite count: 1
  • Views: 796