After North Korea's nuclear test a few months ago, the United States said it would respond by placing certain economic santions on North Korea. After all the consideration, here is how the United States plans to begin its economic sanctioning process. The Bush administration decided that it will make it tougher for the country of North Korea to buy iPods, plasma televisions, and Segway electric scooters. The list continues with Rolex watches, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and Jet Skis.
Folks, you just can't make this stuff up. This is how the U.S. is planning to sanction the country of North Korea for their nuclear test. They defyied the world with this test, and this is how we, the most powerful country in the world, decide to punish them.
First of all, we are talking about North Korea. A country thats form of government happens to be communism. Everything the citizens of this country work towards goes directly to their government. How are these people supposed to be able to buy iPods and plasma screen TV's? They have no money for themselves. They are not allowed to own land or make an honest dollar.
I have no problem with economic sanctions towards North Korea. I think this is a must in order to make nuclear attempts less likely. What I do have a problem with is the way this administration is handling it. They are sanctioning this country with items that they can't afford in the first place. If you are going to sanction them, lets put sanctions on items that they actually get from us and use on a daily basis. This is common sense, but I guess this is no new coming from this administration.
Leading Democrats who soon will control the agenda of the U.S. Congress reject a colleague's call for reinstatement of the U.S. military draft.
As a 22 year old male, I am strongly opposed to the reinstatement of the military draft. If it was necessary then I may have a different opinion, but I, along with many top ranking officials, don't see the need for this sort of action.
I have heard talk about if the draft would get reinstated, how would it be carried out? One suggestion I've heard would be to assign every male of draft age registered with selective service a number. Someone would pull numbers until the proper quota would be filled, and those chose would be forced to serve regardless of if they were employed or in college.
Another suggestion I've heard would be to draft by a priority system meaning start with those 18 years old and not enrolled in a form of higher education and proceed from there. If you would be enrolled in college you would get a free pass from being drafted unless more troops would be needed.
Many argue that the second system I spoke about isn't fair to the poor. This system would only draft poor Southerners to go off and fight a war. I can see where they are coming from with that. It is not fair that the rich get to "dodge" the war only because they come from money and can afford to be enrolled in college.
The first system isn't quite fair either. Why should a person who is trying to better themselves by going to college get pulled out to fight in a war they never wanted to fight in the first place. It doesn't make sense for a "bum" who is too lazy to work and not get drafted while a hard-working, smart college student gets picked to go and fight.
I don't know what system I like the best. To tell you the absolute truth, I don't agree with any system or any form of a draft. I think it is important to our society to keep our military as a voluntary to join force. You may see this differently, but to me the way it has been has worked in the past, and I don't see how it won't continue to work in the future.
The White House dismissed a classified CIA draft assessment that found no evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.
This should sound sort of familiar to you. Can you recall other instances where this administration disregarded certain reports of weapons of mass destruction? If you can't, allow me to refresh your memory. The reason our president sold the United States the war in Iraq was due to "hard evidence" that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. Of course, none of these so called weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq and nor will they ever be.
The only difference between these two cases is that the one dealing with Iraq, our intelligence was inaccurate (or at least that is what the president is claiming). Pertaining with the current situation with Iran, our intelligence is correct only that the White House is choosing not to listen to it.
All I have to say about all of this is let's just hope this administration doesn't make another mistake like they did in Iraq. The whole idea of history is so you learn from it. I hope this administration learned from their past mistake. They really need to get this one right for all of our sakes before rushing off to fight another pointless war.
Civil rights groups in Germany filed a lawsuit against outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld charging him with war crimes for the alleged abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons. This complaint is on behalf of 11 Iraqi citizens who were held at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and one detainee at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba. The allegations conclude that the detainees were victims of beatings, sleep and food deprivation, hooding, and sexual abuse.
Is Rumsfeld guilty of these crimes? Probably so. He was the head of the nations defense, and chances are he knew these sorts of things were going on at out oversees prisons. Should he go to jail in Germany over this? I think not. The United States isn't stupid enough to hand over Donald Rumsfeld to the Germans. If they want to try him in court bad enough, I say let them come over here and take him.
Rumsfeld will never see a day in German prison for this because he doesn't deserve to be in prison over there. He deserves to be tried in America like all other American criminals. Once again, this will never happen due to the fact that the president and other ranking Republicans will never let this happen. The only way this would happen is if the Democrats bring impeachment proceedings against the president on the grounds of war crimes. Democrats say this is not in their agenda, but lets just wait and see what happens when the president decides to veto every bit of legislation that comes out of Congress starting in January.
Robert Gates is set to become the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense after Donald Rumsfeld's recent resignation. Rumsfeld has been heavily criticized of his job related abilities by both parties.
Unlike Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates has a lot of experience working with past presidents and in roles of leadership pertaining to national security. Robert Gates served for 26 years in the CIA and the in the National Security Council. Under Bush-41 he served as the Director of Central Intelligence.
Robert Gates has quite a resume, but he isn't in just yet. In order for him to become Secretary of Defense, he must be confirmed first by the Senate Armed Services Committee and if approved, by the majority of the Senate. With the recent election giving the control of both the Senate and the House to the Democrats, Gates's chances might be slimmer than expected.
Here is a little more history about Gates. Robert Gates was nominated to become the Director of Central Intelligence in 1987. He withdrew his nomination because it was clear that the Senate would reject it due to his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal. If you are unfamiliar with the Iran-Contral scandal, here is a brief description about what happened. The Iran-Contra scandal took place in the 1980s where it involved many members of the Reagan Administration who sold arms under the table to Iran, yes Iran, and used the money to fund the Contras, an organization in Nicaragua, to fight the communist guerillas.
Will he get confirmed this time around? Who knows. Would I vote for his confirmation? I actually would. I believe Gates can and will do an excellent job as Defense Secretary. He has the knowledge and know-how from past experiences to possible turn this war around. I believe he is a great candidate for the job, and I just have to wonder why Bush-43 didn't appoint Gates to the position instead of Rumsfeld.
With the elections over and the Democrats the victor, America clearly voted to send America toward a new direction. They decided that a change of power is needed in order to get things done in this country. The question on everybody's minds at this moment has to be what exactly are the Democrats planning on doing.
The new Speaker of House, Nanci Pelosi, recently came up with her 100 hour plan. In this plan lists what she and the Democrats will first do in their first days in power.
On the top of the 100 hour plan list is to raise the current minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. Democrats tried to raise the minimum wage during the past few Congressional sessions but failed every time. This time around I imagine there will be different results. President Bush already said that he is planning on working with Speaker Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats on a minimum wage increase bill. I think this bill is a definite must for America and is time that the wage gets an increase.
Next atop the list is to put new rules in place to break the link between lobbyists and legislation. From past Congressional sessions, lobbyists have played a huge part in deciding what gets passes and what doesn't. A bill of this sort would really put the law making power back in the hands of the American people. This would open the eyes of our law makers to see what needs to be done instead of listening to persuasive lobbyists.
Another issue on this list is to enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Included in the recommendations of the extremely lengthy 9/11 Report are ways to make American more secure as a nation, venerabilities in our nation security, and ways to prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States. I cannot see anyone who would be against re-opening the 9/11 Report and listening to these recommendations.
The last key issue on the 100 hour plan is to cut the interest rate on student loans. I am currently a college student, and I have my fair share of student loans built up. I and many other poor college students would love to see this interest rate decrease. This would ultimately put money back in our pockets that wouldn't have been available, and this would allow more money to be put back into our economy. I see this as a win in every direction.
I foresee this Congressional session to be one for the record books. After the last showing of Congress, I doubt Congress can accomplish any less. We all have high hopes in our newly elected Congress, and lets all just wait and see all that will get done. I have a good feeling we will be in for a great next two years.
This could perhaps be considered the most exciting mid-term election of our time. With the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives and the Senate waiting in the balance, this is definitely a huge momentum shift in the Democrats favor.
The last time the House switched hands was in 1994 with Republicans easily picking up the required seats to gain the majority. Now, for the first time in 12 years, the Democrats are finally back in control of this branch of Congress. Also, for the first time in American history, we have a woman as Speaker of House. Nanci Pelosi of California is the waiting to be officially the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
In American history, no one party has seized to take control of one branch of Congress without taking both branches. The way this is currently looking, the Democrats will keep up this trend and regain control of the Senate. No one could have projected the outcome of the Senate control. Everyone I talked to knew that a Democratic control of the Senate was almost impossible. The outcome of this lies on one key Senate race. The race I'm referring to is the Virgina Senate race of Republican incumbent George "Macaca" Allen and Democratic challenger and soon to be Senator Jim Webb. As of right now, the current vote count with 100% precincts reporting is Jim Webb with 1,169,285 votes and George Allen with 1,162,577 votes. If my math is correct this is a total of 6,708 votes more for the Democrat Jim Webb. According to Virginia law, if the vote is within a 1% difference, then the loser can call for a recount that is paid for the state.
The race is too close to call right now but it is highly unlikely for Senator Allen to take 3,355 votes away from Jim Webb and win his seat. So what does this mean if Webb can hold on to his lead? This means that this will give the Democrats 51 seats held in the Senate making them the majority party. This ultimately means that the Democrats are en route to be the majority party in both branches of Congress, the House and the Senate, making them in control of the lawmaking process in the U.S.
I cannot be more proud of my Democratic party at this time. This is a major accomplishment that didn't come without hard work. The predictions were that the House would go to the Democrats but the Senate would stay in Republican control. No one would have accurately predicted a shift of both houses.
Now we only have one thing to do. We Democrats must use our new power wisely. We need to do some good for this country so in two years from now we won't have to relinquish our majorities. Expectations are high and I think we will do the job that needs to be done. I think the Democrats will make America a safer place to live and I trust they will do a miraculous job being in control of Congress.
This is it folks. Mid-term elections have finally arrived. Super Tuesday 2006 is here. Polls are open and optimism is high for the Democrats. With 15 seats needed to take control of the House and 6 for the Senate, can the Democrats seize control of Congress and keep the damage the president can do to a minimum for his last two years in office.
President Bush's name will not appear on any ballot around the country, but the races sure have been about him. With some Republicans distancing themselves from the president, can this be enough to give them the edge on their Democratic challengers.
It has been a long and hard road for many incumbents this election season. Many call this the time of the Democrat. Even with the hardness to unseat incumbents, many will not have jobs after today.
Many say the best chance for a branch of Congress to be controlled by the Democrats lies in the House of Representatives. With the Democrats needing 15 seats to the back the majority, many Democrats and Republicans as well say this is almost inevitable. The only question remaining is just how many seats will the Democrats actually pick up. The more challenging battle lies in the Senate. Even though the Democrats need to gain only 6 seats, this is heavily regarded as a long shot. A possibility but still a long shot.
Gubernatorial races are also heavily leaning toward a Democrat advantage. This will set up the 2008 presidential election for the Democrats with these victories. With a Democratic Governor in control of a state, this makes setting up rallies and meeting much easier.
State House races are also looking toward a Democratic gain. This will play a huge part come 2010 when the new census comes out and redistricting begins. With a state being held in Democratic control, redistricting in their favor will be a lot easier.
A time of the Democrat is beginning to sound like an understatement. All is not won yet. You must do your job to ensure this huge Democratic victory. Without the votes from you the people, none of this can be possible. In our democratic society, the best way to speak out about a government that you do not favor is by getting out and casting your ballot away from that government. This is the ultimate way to speak out against them. Many have died and struggled in order to ensure that you will always have this right. Today, folks, is the day to exercise this right and allow your voice to be heard.
If you watched American Dad last night on the Fox Network you would have noticed a real simple theme. This theme happened to be vote Republican. They attempted to pull this off on American Dad with an episode devoted to persuading gays to join the GOP. On this episode, they tried to say that the Republicans are now supporting gays and are asking them to support the Republican party.
How pathetic is this? Do they really think that gays don't know exact what the Republican party stands for. Are they really trying to steal votes from these people who deserve equal rights, and it is them who don't want to grant it to them. This was a really poor attempt to steal votes for an election that is only one day away.
I'll lay this out to you as simple as I can put it. If you are an American that believes that all people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality deserve to be treated equally and allowed the same rights, you owe it to your country to go out tomorrow and vote Democrat. For some reason, Republicans in this country don't believe that gays should be treated equally in our society, and I have just one response to that bigotry. Gays are people too and do not deserve to be discriminated against just because of their sexuality. They are people just like everyone else and deserve the same rights because of it, so if you support equal rights for all, you must vote for any name with a "D" on the ballot and allow America to move forward in time instead of backward.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) is heavily being criticized about a botched joke about the war in Iraq. Republicans are taking his comment out of context in attempts to turning the attention away from the issues in order to gain ground for this coming Tuesdays election.
His comment, which I have heard but do not have the official transcript of, was directed to the president and his staff not our brave men and women fighting oversees like the Republicans are trying to say. His comment was saying that if you don't study hard, you will "get stuck in Iraq." This might sound offensive if you don't know the true context of the matter. Prior to saying this statement, Senator Kerry was talking about the president and his administration. No where in his speech was he talking about the troops in Iraq. Republicans are trying to spin his words to put Democrats on the defensive.
With the election on 6 days away, Republicans are willing to do anything to gain some sort of support in an effort to swing the vote and maintain control of Congress. It is desperate times for the Republican party right now, because they know they are on the verge of losing control of the House and possibly the Senate as well.
Personally attacking Senator Kerry for his remarks, remarks taken out of context, does not surprise me just how low they are willing to stoop. This is typical Republican behavior. If they can't beat you on the issues, they stoop to personal attacks to get the attention drawn away from the issues that should be in the spotlight. This is nothing but a form of dirty politics, and it shows the true colors of a party that says it's based on moral and ethical values.
