NBD

At the Women in the World conference, Tina Brown signed my Newsweek, an Italian senator said hello to me, Arianna Huffington and I met in the bathroom, the founder of Women for Women gave me a hug, and Andrew Sullivan said he hopes to hear from me and can't wait to see what I do when I'm older. NBD.

March 13, 2011

1. Earth quake in Japan. Over 10,000 dead and missing. Tsunami hit the country. Nuclear reactors had a partial meltdown. It's bad, so bad that the Prime Minister has compared to damage to the damage caused during World War Two. Not to sound insensitive, but I think Japan is going to be fine and recover well. It's a rich country that is very important to the global economy, unlike Haiti or the areas hit by the 2004 Christmas tsunami, and I think the United and States, EU, etc will make sure it's back on it's feet.
2. The horrible union bill passed in Wisconsin, and now there are something like 100,000 people protesting at the capitol in Madison with the 14 state senators who came back. There also is a serious effort underway to recall eight of the Republican senators and Governor Walker.
3. The Libyan rebels lost the key city of Brega. By this point, it's not just a rebellion or a revolution. It's civil war and there will not be a peaceful end.
4. Yemen and Saudi Arabia had days of rage to protest a lack of democracy.
5. Israel approved of settlements in West Bank. Why, Israel, why?

All stories taken from Daily Beast, New York Times, and BBC.

Wisconsin Senate

Just passed the anit-union bill. Oy.

Death Penalty

The awesome Governor Quinn of Illinois has just banned the death penalty.

To make it simple, I am anti-death penalty because 1. Nobody should have the right to play God 2. The system is flawed. The majority of people on death row are not white. The people who commit death-penalty worthy crimes are split 50-50 between white and not white. 10% of death-penalty worthy crimes are committed by women. Women make up less than 1% of death row. Shall I keep going? 3. Innocent people/those who never should have been on death row in the first place have been executed. And yes, I am looking at you, Texas.

That is not to say some people do not deserve to die. Charles Manson. Sirhan Sirhan. Those people. The system is flawed, because they cannot be executed, but a mentally retarded man can be. That's just wrong.

Anyway, prison takes care of its own. Jeffrey Dahlmer did not get death penalty, but it's not like he is alive anymore.

Good job, Illinois.

March 9, 2011

1. I am officially a minority in my home state now. Over half of California's children are Hispanic in origin. California joins Hawaii as the only states where white people are not in the majority.
2. Illinois will ban the death penalty. Governor Quinn plans to sign the bill into law sometime in the next few days.
3. Libya. Not much else to say there, but it's an important place, and the result of the conflict aren't going to be good, no matter who wins.
4. Peter King is a hypocrite. The man who is proud to lump all Muslims together as terrorists supported the IRA, even when they killed civilians. What a jerk, but I'm not surprised.
5. Women of the World conference starts tomorrow.

All news taken from BBC, New York Times, and Daily Beast

Fill in the Blanks

1. Libya is not going to end well.
2. The budget will not end well.
3. The battle in Wisconsin will not end well.
4. The result of the Republican presidential primary will not end well.
5. The Wikileaks trials will not end well.

At this point, it's a game of fill in the blank. Take the phrase "______ will not end well" and plug in any current event.

March 8, 2011

1. Michele Bachmann said something stupid and offensive about Obama (she called his White House the gangster government). Mike Huckabee said Obama was raised in Kenya. Neither will apologize. Good luck winning the White House back, Republicans.

2. Muammar Gaddafi is crazy.

3. You know that guy who prank called Governor Walker, pretending to be David Koch? Well, it turns out Walker violated ethic laws by taking the call with the interest to coordinate third-party spending; conspiring to incite disorderly conduct; accepting a trip to California; and misusing the Attorneys General office.

4. Peter King (R-NY) insists on being a jerk, and says the hearings on extremism in Muslim communities in America will go on. Keith Ellison (D-MN) will testify. Ellison is the only Muslim member of Congress.

5. Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world.

All news taken from The Daily Beast, BBC, and The New York Times

Correction

The 14 brave state senators from Wisconsin are not going back. They are remaining in Illinois, where Governor Bradley is protecting them. All 14 suggested a meeting in Chicago with Scott Walker. Walker refused, and will probably meet with his cronies the Koch brothers. Or impersonators of the Koch brothers, since he obviously does not know who they are.

Partisan Politics

I do not like partisan politics. In my ideal world, the Senate would have a comfortable two-thirds majority of reliable progressive senators, and the remaining thirty three would be Olympia Snowe. Sadly, two thirds of Americans are not going to elect Al Frankens and Sherrod Browns, and Olympia Snowe is going to get primaried by, and probably lose to, a Tea Party challenger. So I’m going to settle for the next best thing, a Senate that is a comfortable mix of liberals, moderates, and a few Rand Paul style conservatives, just for some amusement. Again, this is not going to happen. Why? Partisan politics.

In the United States, the government has become very partisan, but only in one direction. The Republican Party, with the new, terrifying Tea Party, has been going more and more to the right. The Democrats have been moving more and more to the center. While I do not support bipartisanship in all cases, or believe that the Democrats and Republicans would see eye to eye on issues such as gay marriage and eliminating the tax loophole for big business, it would be nice to see compromise. And by compromise I do not mean the Democrats coming to the table with ideas and the Republicans saying no to all of them. I want to see real compromise, where both parties have a real conversation and have to give up a little of what they believe in order to make some really good laws.

Partisan politics are hurting moderates. Yes, I do enjoy mocking some moderates (I’m looking at you, Ben Nelson), and have little tolerance for a certain Independent member of the Senate whose name rhymes with Mo Bieberman, I do think both parties would benefit somewhat from moderates. Well, the Republican Party would probably benefit a little more from more Kay Bailey Hutchinsons and Susan Collins, Republicans who are able to straddle party issues and actually follow their moral compass. I may not agree with a lot of what they stand for, but I do have respect for them. While I often find myself infuriated with Diane Feinstein and her refusal to flat-out say what she believes in, I understand she is trying to appeal to a large, diverse voting group, and most Californians really like her.

Partisan politics have not been going away. The Republicans and Democrats rarely work together on anything. Did you know John McCain of Arizona and Orrin Hatch of Utah, both Republicans, originally supported the DREAM Act. They both were sponsors. Now, when DREAM came to a vote in the Senate, let’s guess who did not vote for it. that’s right. McCain and Hatch. Why? Because they felt a need to appeal to a very specific voter base. In short, they gave into partisan pressure.

John McCain is a great example of what happens in partisan politics. Way back in 2000, McCain was George W. Bush’s moderate challenger who promised straight talk and a change from special interest in Washington. Hw won the new Hampshire primary with 49% of the vote. However, Dubya rallied special interest groups against McCain and compared him to Bill Clinton, which apparently is an insult. We all know what happened in the 2000 election and ensuing Supreme Court case. John McCain went back to Senate and promptly broke away from the Republican Party on key issues, like gun legislation and worked with the late, great Senator from Wisconsin, Russ Feingold, to pass the McCain-Feingold Act. Barack Obama and John McCain even co-authored a bill in 2007!

So what happened? I’m going to blame the 2008 election. John McCain could not run as a moderate Republican. Mitt Romney kinda got that position, especially with the whole Mormon thing. Even so, John McCain still was pretty cool. After the election, McCain had changed. One of his advisers said “A lot of people, including me, thought he might be the Republican building bridges to the Obama Administration. But he's been more like the guy blowing up the bridges”. McCain flip-flopped on key issues, like immigration reform, DADT, and the START treaty. He has gone from a moderate to a near Tea Party candidate. Why? I think part of it is out of revenge, anger at losing the Presidential election, kind of like Joe Lieberman. The other part? Appealing to a very narrow, very conservative voter base that sadly has power in Arizona.

I have no respect for candidates on both sides of the aisle who run saying one thing and as soon as they are elected, do something else. Rand Paul, who has decried federal spending, has just asked for pork to go to Kentucky. The Blue Dog Democrats, who initially supported health care reform, only to be badly beaten in the 2010 midterms, are now considering helping with a repeal. Politicians who only vote to get reelected have no place in our government. We should elect politicians who are candid and honest, like Scott Brown and Russ Feingold. Russ Feingold may have lost his election, which is a tragedy, but he did not change who he was or what he believed in, even if it meant losing. Scott Brown will get primaried by the Tea Party, and while I may not agree with him, I prefer a candidate who is willing to work with others over the Tea Party.

March 7, 2011

List of things on my mind

1. The Wisconsin state senators are returning to Wisconsin and it makes me kind of sad and a little angry. Yeah, negotiation is really important, and I'm sure they all miss their families, as they rightly should. Still, why would you go back to Governor Walker? He isn't going to negotiate. No. He's just going to cut jobs and lay off workers and punish the unions. It feels like quitting to me.

2. I really can't wait for more Republicans to file their papers, because it will be a circus and I will be amused. The only republican who I see having a chance of beating Obama is Mitt Romney, and I don't think he can win the primary. So, hopefully, someone crazy will, like Rick Santorum, whose name makes me smirk, and the White House will be safe for four more years.

3. I need to get on applying for an internship with a state assemblyman.

4. Libya is getting more violent, and the only outcome I can see is either Quaddafi wipes out the opposition and that sends a bad message to other dictators, or he is killed and there is civil war and a power vacuum, and that's just bad.

5. Does anyone know what is going on with Prop 8/ DADT/DOMA?