• Find It

• Make Your Mark

  
  
  
  
  

• From BlogRush

• Recent Posts

  • bataan death march
  • Grey areas
  • name your running mate, already
  • Super Tuesday
  • Public Service Academy, pt. 2

• Recent Comments

  • Todd on name your running mate, already
  • Endorsement Who? on name your running mate, already
  • Chris Myers Asch on Public Service Academy
  • Informed Voter on 2nd Republican Debate, Pt. 1
  • GirafeLady on 2nd Republican Debate, Pt. 1

Anyone else anxious for the announcements of running mates? If Hillary is losing momentum, as the media says almost by the minute, it seems like that could help her. Over at Compassion in Politics, they think Edwards will endorse Obama by the end of the month. I kind of think he’s waiting until someone asks him to be a running mate.

Speaking of endorsements, the New York Times has a cool endorsements page here. Not their own endorsements, but who is endorsing who.

McCain has got it all sewn up, so now the Dems just have to fight out the rest of the primaries. There’s been some speculation about superdelegates swooping in at the National Convention and offering up a new name.

Honestly, after I sent in my absentee ballot on Feb. 1st, I kind of lost interest because what can I do until the general election? Is this the apathy that I normally detest? Or reasonable rest before the next big race that I can be involved in?

In other news, my Congressman Darrell Issa was on Bill Maher the other night, and true to form, he sounded like a party-line fool. I wish we could get him some serious opposition in my district!

Am I suprised about the results? I don’t know. I’m a little saddened because the democrats seem split right down the middle. I second Rosie’s thoughts - I hope they join up and run together. Let’s be uniters, people! Not dividers!

What’s your opinion on the proposed Public Service Academy, the brain child of Shawn Raymond and Chris Myers Asch. Hillary is for it.  I am 100% for it. Here’s an NPR story talking about if you’ve never heard of it.

NPR link

There’s a new site called 10Questions.com, where people submit questions to the candidates then internet users vote for the top 10 questions. The top 10 questions will then actually be answered by the candidates. Each IP can only vote yea or nay for each question, so no stuffing the ballot box. Without extra computers, anyway. So, do you have a burning question for our presidential hopefuls?

10Questions.com

Not sure when your Primary will be? The NY Times has a very clear schedule - not only of when Dems and Reps will vote, but what the candidates will need to ensure victory. Check it out - and stay informed!

Democratic Primaries

Republican Primaries

Like keeping up with the latest political polls? Here’s a great site - not too many bells and whistles, just current polling info.

PollingReport.com/2008.htm

I figure either she or Elisabeth Hassleback must be running, since they’re all CNN and Fox News can talk about. Sheesh.

The New York Times online has an excellent page with all of the candidates listed - including the officially announced candidates and the widely speculated ones. Each candidate has an info page, a link to their official site, and many have their most recent multimedia (YouTube video, etc.).

Here’s the link:

2008 Presidential Candidates

Before you get started here, I highly recommend this backgrounder by Lionel Beehner, Staff Writer for the Council on Foreign Relations.

It’s all very confusing. Why are we trying to dictate what Iraq does with their national resources? I can’t wrap my head around why our government thinks they have any say in what Iraq does with their oil. Passing a bill in congress that dictates what Iraq must do might sound good to Americans - then if it fails, it’s the Iraqi’s fault - but this seems to be terrible logic to me. Here’s a good article outlining the issues with the first “benchmark” - the oil law.

Hasan Jum’a Awwad, Head of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, recently sent an open letter to the US Congress pleading that the acceptance of an oil law not be linked to the withdrawal of US troops.

From the Council on Foreign Relations website, here’s a sort of breakdown of the current benchmarks, (prepared by Lionel Beehner) :

In President Bush’s January 2007 speech outlining his latest strategy for Iraq, he listed a series of benchmarks on security, economic performance, and governance for the Iraqi government to meet. They include passing an oil revenue-sharing bill, reversing the draconian de-Baathification laws his administration previously forced on Iraq, and holding new provincial elections. He also demanded progress in the spending of billions of dollars in reconstruction money and revisions to the constitutional amendment process. “America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced,” Bush proclaimed.

How can we hold another government to benchmarks we make up? Without clear guidelines of what defines both success and failure, how can we say we’re winning or losing?
I really feel like it’s not a win/loss situation. It’s a disaster that shouldn’t go on needlessly. Let Iraq govern themselves. The US has no business dictating how their constitution is worded, how much of their oil goes to foreign investors or how their government is divided up between the peoples of Iraq. If anything, the US should pull out all contractors, let the Iraqi’s offer contracts for rebuilding worldwide. The current contractors can pool the billions in profits they’re making to finance actual reconstruction WITH oversight.

Are we obligated to offer some sort of security force? I don’t know. I believe that the US presence fuels the insurgency, and that all progress will continue to be undone by bombs and shooting while we remain there.

So finally, here’s my assessment. The Democrats tried to put together a bill that included the President’s benchmarks and a time line for troop withdrawal. The time line was denied, but the benchmarks remain. It seems very convenient for our Congress and and Executive Branch to approve of something that the US has no way to enforce and no control over.
I hope others will comment on this entry. I’m always looking for new viewpoints, and the more we all understand the situation, the better we can PARTICIPATE in our government.

Paid for, presented by and moderated by Fox News. That alone was troubling to me. But as they went through the many Republican candidates, I was struck by amount of public service - both in state and federal government. Impressive amount of government experience.

I’m typing these notes as I watch the debates on msnbc.com, so bear with me if it’s a little incoherent or long winded. You can skip around to the different headings if you’re not interested in the topics. Also, these are just my opinions as I watch this 2nd debate. I encourage everyone to watch the debates, and form their own opinions!
Read more

Next Page →

• Blogroll

  • 10Questions.com
  • Center for Responsive Politics
  • Christian Science Monitor - USA
  • CNN/Politics
  • Conceive Magazine
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Generation Engage
  • Good Magazine
  • Indecision2008
  • MSNBC Politics
  • National Public Radio
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Salon.com
  • Slate
  • Snippets and Blabbery
  • SoCalChildcare.com
  • The Atlantic
  • The White House
  • USAElectionPolls.com
  • YouChoose ‘08

• Great Blogs

  Snippets and Blabbery
  InvestorBlogger.com
  Breakdown in the Fastlane
  Caffeinated Ramblings
  Uncommon Notions
  

• Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

• Take me back...

  • May 2008 (1)
  • April 2008 (1)
  • February 2008 (2)
  • January 2008 (5)
  • November 2007 (1)
  • October 2007 (10)
  • September 2007 (1)
  • June 2007 (1)
  • May 2007 (13)
  • April 2007 (2)
  • March 2007 (2)
  • February 2007 (1)

• Directories

  

  

  

  

  

  Pajama Mommy Directory