a hurricane of yuck

just wanted to share a couple of articles from Al Jazeera English that I found particularly interesting. Please read. Share your thoughts in comments if you would like. I have to say that what I have read thus far on Al Jazeera English leaves me quite impressed. I find it unfortunate but not all surprising that there are some communities in this country that have or are trying to ban Al Jazeera English from their local cable.

US election diary: Stupid season
US 'in need of rebellion'

"I think one thing you can definitely say about Al Jazeera is that it will and does evoke a reaction." - Rageh Omaar

'm listening to the RNC and I'm listening to Obama's and Biden's responses to the Palin pregnancy "controversy," and I have to tell you... If anything is going to convince me as an independent voter to vote for Obama/Biden it's that the Republicans are just being so vitriolic toward Obama/Biden and all the "angry left" (actual Bushism from tonight) while Obama and Biden are saying "leave Palin's family out of this and be decent, folks." Biden even went so far as to say he can't speak to Palin's experience and that he can say she's a Governor and that isn't an easy feat. Kudos Obama and Biden. Good show.

I had such hopes that Thompson was actually going to be respectful because he wasn't resorting to the usual name-calling and smearing at first, but that sadly changed as his speech wore on. Lieberman was seemingly a whiney brat lashing out at his party (he still claimed to be a Democrat while speaking even though he's supposedly now Independent) because he had to go independent just to keep his seat. But hey. Who knows. Maybe he actually does believe McCain is the best person for the job.

I'm not sure how I feel about Laura Bush's speech, especially the part where she highlighted the women working for the Bush Administration.

"Fellow citizens: If the Hanoi Hilton could not break John McCain's resolve to do what is best for his country, you can be sure the angry left never will." - George W. Bush

“I don’t know the governor…I know people worry about Biden-style talk, but the truth is I simply don’t know. I take her on face value. She’s a governor, that’s no mean feat and she seems to have a strong personal story.” - Joe Biden

or those interested, Politics1 has a very comprehensive list of all candidates running for President and VP in this election, including links to their sites. I'm thrilled to see so many third-party candidates! I know they're likely not all available in all states.

I heard on NHPR earlier today that Nader managed 1700 more signatures than the required 3,000 (1,500 from each of the two districts) and was thrilled to hear it. Even if I don't vote for him I am glad to see him on the ballot. Plus that his supporters were able to collect 1,700 more signatures above and beyond is a good sign. I remember in 2000 we managed about that many and it was very difficult to accomplish, but we did it. One of my fondest memories of the nomination signatures drive was meeting the folks working to get signatures for other third party candidates and trading signatures. We all had a pretty easygoing attitude where we all knew what it was like and we were all interested in opening up the ballots to all, so we helped each other out even though we were signing for candidates for whom we didn't plan to vote.

I started looking over the Libertarian candidate's site and liked some of what I read. I was also very happy to see so many Libertarians on the ballot for various state and federal seats. I may actually vote Libertarian for Senate! I know what Shaheen was like as Governor and, while I was somewhat satisfied, I was extremely dismayed by some of her actions, such as vetoing a repeal of the death penalty even after it had passed both chambers of our state legislature and the state hadn't executed anyone since the 30s. I definitely do not like the incumbent Republicans. I've written to them both numerous times on a host of issues and have rarely found them responding favorably or with any decent explanation of their position. And they both for the most part act as Bush rubber-stamps. Yeah, Sununu stood up once or twice, but that was around 2006 when there was so much fear for Republican seats so I chalk that up to him trying to rescue Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley. Fat chance! We sent them packing! And good riddance! I still remember having conversations with Bass. Like the time he mentioned that he was supporting federal franchising for cable, especially since it would give local communities the right to build broadband for themselves. Too bad the state already gave NH towns and cities that very right about a month or two before we were having that conversation. Where was the incentive? Were your interns sleeping on the job there Charlie?

Anyhow... political rambling. Yay. Maybe the third parties will only pull about 1 - 4% in the election. I'm still rooting for them. We need more than two dominant parties in this country. I am so tired of this binary mindset this country clings to so fervently. If our country really is as interested in non-partisan politics as we seem to enjoy claiming, we should really get behind tearing apart the Republican/Democrat false dichotomy. Having more than two parties in the mainstream means parties have to work together and build coalitions to garner a majority on an issue up for consideration. As long as we have Rep/Dem, Red/Blue, Con/Lib, Elephant/Ass, et cetera, ad nauseum, we'll always have that "us against them" stalemate where neither side really makes much of a concerted effort to work with the other very often.

</soapbox>

"We have a complete void of progressive politics in this country right now. The will of the people goes ignored and unrealized. I'm searching for the people that can enter the political system, a strong third party. We need to consolidate." - Ani Difranco

t's been interesting listening to the DNC the past couple of nights. I'm getting tired of speakers with repetitive mantras. Really trite. Honestly. I don't find them to be qualities of a good speaker. Best line of last night: "That's not a maverick. That's a sidekick!" Agreed! Tonight I heard a lot of Bush bashing and quite honestly I don't get it. We all know Bush sucks. It's a dead horse. Move on. Obama is running against McCain. Besides, I think I would much rather hear more discussion about change and cooperation than the usual "the other dude sucks balls" talk that crops up in campaign season. Yeah, McCain sucks. I may not have said that a few years ago admittedly, but ever since 2000 and learning more about him, I really have come to dislike him as a politician and seriously distrust him. I'm looking forward to hearing where Bill Clinton is going with his speech right now. So that's inside. All nice and cushy and happy.

Let's look at outside:

I was surfing YouTube for Dead Kennedys because I had California Uber Alles stuck in my head. I figured after listening to it that I may as well enjoy some more DK since our CD collection is still packed away and all I have are a handful of mp3s and YouTube. Here are a couple I thought I would share:

From the AP:

Undeterred, Clinton said the competition would only strengthen the party in the long run.

"This spirited, exciting contest is actually a real plus for us," she said while campaigning in Indiana, which has its primary two weeks after Pennsylvania's April 22 vote.

Ummm... no. Actually, the bickering is only HURTING the Democrats, but nice try. Give up. Please Hilary, just give up. I don't want another eight years of Republican warmongering because Democrats are too busy having a pissing contest.

Surprise, surprise. A recent study found the US ranked dead last among industrialized nations in health care despite all the money we spend on it. The measure for this was the number of preventable deaths. One of the biggest (but certainly not the only) factors was the high number of uninsured Americans. Canada and Australia were among the highest ranking. I really don't want to hear anyone complaining the Canada health care is so much worse than American health care because the government provides health care. At least according to this study, that just isn't the case. I'm wondering if there are other similar studies available that show the same thing...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/lf_afp/ushealthfrancemortality_080108191353

Maybe Obama has a good environmental record, but his campaign certainly does not. I receive some sort of paper advertisement from his campaign almost daily. Today I received three in one day. That's right: three ads in one day. How many trees must you kill to get elected, Obama? I'm not sure which is worse in regard to junk mail: Obama, Richardson or the Alliance for a New America touting Edwards. I know who I'm voting for in the primary, and I can guarantee you it's none of these three. For the past two weeks I've been marking every piece I receive "return to sender" and putting it back in the outgoing mail. Maybe if they have to pay to take it all back they'll get the point?

Have any of you been receiving massive amounts of junk mail from candidates? Which ones? What do you do with it?

Just in case any of you wondered what I do for work, here's a sample. The Town Clerk and I got together and made this informational video in just a couple of hours to educate voters on the new ballots and what to expect at the polls. Not only will this cablecast on the government access channel, but it's also available on the town website. This is the best part of my job: I get to have a positive impact on the community while applying my technology skills and having fun playing with gadgets. :)

First, let's watch a video, shall we?

Wow! Now that seemed like a complete 180-degree turn on Iraq! So what could have happened since 1994 that changed Cheney's mind so drastically on Iraq, even though he so accurately prognosticated what would happen if the US invaded? Oh yeah! He went to work for Halliburton from 1995-2000 and still receives stock and salary benefits from Halliburton as part of his very sweet "retirement" (or as some might argue promotion) package when he stole the White House alongside Bush. Yes, the same Halliburton that reaps huge rewards from the continued Iraq situation and actually has a say among the Bush Administration over what happens to the post-invasion oil production in Iraq.

"Once you got to Iraq and took it over and took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you gonna put in it's place? That's a very volatile part of the world and if you take down the central government in Iraq you could easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off... It's a quagmire." - Dick Cheney