No, not John. Donna. Soon-to-be Representative Donna Edwards (D-Maryland).  She played David to Rep. Al Wynn’s 8 term Goliath, helping illustrate that – with enough hard work and dedication – we can not only have Democrats in office, but better Democrats. More on this win at WaPo.
Category: Politics Page 58 of 73
Back in August, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) was one of the votes for expanding the Administration’s surveillance powers without any substantive oversight. And now, today, he voted for providing retroactive immunity for the telecom companies that helped the Administration engage in illegal spying on Americans. This was a basic question of whether you support the rule of law or not, and Webb failed it.
They always disappoint in the end, don’t they?
Other Democrats who value the telecom companies over your Constitutional rights and the rule of law include:
- Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
- Evan Bayh (D-IA)
- Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
- Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
- Mark Pryor (D-AR)
- Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Ken Salazar (D-CO)
- Tom Carper (D-DE)
- Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Bill Nelson (D-FL)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Updated: Atrios says something worth considering:
While one can’t discount
legalized briberycampaign dollars entirely, I do think too often we assume they’re the reason lawmakers do the “wrong thing” when the simpler explanation that they believe the wrong thing is in fact the right thing is the answer.Too many Democrats simply don’t have the values we imagine they do, and it lets them off the hook too much to assume they’re simply craven people who need to get re-elected instead of bad people who don’t share our values.
I wouldn’t go so far as to characterize them as “bad people”, but I think this generally gets it right. I’m not interested in a monoculture party with perfectly harmonized values, but I do expect a shared core. One that includes the rule of law and respect for the Constitution.
I didn’t hear about Operation United Reveille IV until yesterday, and I think I’m going to check it out. Adapted from the Circle of Friends for American Veterans site:
WHAT: One of a series of city rallies in creating massive public awareness about the problems and solutions for homeless and American Veterans. A sequel to OPERATION UNITED REVEILLE I, II and III which generated media blitzes in 36 cities, spotlighting local veterans’ programs, drawing Members of Congress and featuring color guards that opened every rally.
WHY: Approximately 300,000 men and women who served in American uniform are on our streets on any given night, including about 3,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Veterans’ Administration funds only about 12,000 beds for homeless veterans. About one-third of the returning troops have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but only about one-half of VA medical centers treat for PTSD, and of those offering treatment, that were surveyed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), seven out of eight are unprepared to handle the caseload.
HOW: The Circle of Friends has become one of the foremost veterans’ advocacy organizations in American by reaching over 50 million people through media coverage all over America. Molding public opinion helps shape public policy by “putting the heat on politicians, so they see the light.†As in 2004, candidates for federal office all over the nation will be challenged to endorse a “Veterans Bill of Rights.†Transitional facilities report greater public contributions, volunteers and referrals after being featured during TV newscasts and their programs receive positive coverage in the newspapers.
WHEN: Friday, February 8th at 7pm.
WHERE: American Legion Post #139, 3445 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201. Call 800.528.5385 if you need details.
WHO: Sponsored by Circle of Friends for American Veterans, Center for American Homeless Veterans and VETERANS’ VISION Publication. Every rally will be opened by a color guard presenting the colors. Veterans’ transitional facilities will be invited to be highlighted for every rally. While no endorsements will be made, every major Presidential campaign will be invited to have their candidate or a representative speak and say what they promise to do for American Veterans. [emphasis mine].
I hope my fellow local Dems will join me.
See, old Zell still manages to leave some good behind him.
~
Having come to a point where neither Obama nor Clinton have made a compelling case for his or her winning my vote over the other, I’ve found myself taking the larger view from the bleachers. And, for the most part, it’s a really silly game I’m watching (tho’ the parallels to televangelism are growing). It could be a better one, but it won’t be, so I’ve decided to just keep my harping to a minimum.  Thus the rather light political content of late. While there are certainly big things at stake, it feels mostly like analyzing a PeeWee league football game – what’s the point, really?
- Barack Obama
- Hillary Clinton
- The Superbowl
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
“Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”
– (Confederate) General Robert E. Lee
Is this a joke? If it isn’t, Arlington County apparently expects me to prominently display a sticker on my car featuring that quote. Serving as the background to this quote is a waving American flag, with the Pentagon superimposed. Are you )(*&@#ing kidding me?
Now, a bit of background for the 99.5% of my readers not living in Arlington. Arlington County residents pay a property tax on their cars every year, and a decal is issued as evidence of payment of this tax. These decals are placed in the center of the windshield of the car. The Arlington County Treasurer, some number of years ago, decided to hold a competition for the yearly design change. Local high school students submit proposed designs, and then (I believe) Arlington residents who bother to send in a ballot from the Arlington Sun-Gazette or go to the Treasurer’s website vote on it. Some years this yields a rather ugly result, other years it’s fine. This is the current sticker, featuring the new Air Force Memorial. Nice enough.
I find this new design unbelievable on a number of levels, including the fact that it actually garnered the most votes from Arlington residents. I’m going to choose to believe that those voting for it simply couldn’t read the quote, and just liked the American flag and Pentagon (which is located in Arlington). That’s ugly, but fine. But what in the world made Arlington Treasurer Frank O’Leary think that a design featuring a Confederate general’s quote about submitting to authority with the flag and Pentagon in the background is appropriate for Arlington? Sure, the final designs were voted on by Arlington residents, but the pool of finalists was selected by his office in the first place.
That quote – which, by the way, comes from here – is something you’ll never see on my car. I – and I hope you, if you live in Arlington – will be in touch with Mr. O’Leary soon.
Note: as soon as I can find a graphic of the decal, I’ll post it here. Until then, the first link to the Sun Gazette story is the best place to find a picture. Also, while I find this an unacceptably inappropriate design for a public application, I don’t mean to criticize, in any way, the student that came up with it.
Update: I just got off the phone with Mr. O’Leary (you can’t fault Arlington government for being inaccessible). The short version: There are no plans for an alternative design, but Arlington residents are free to cut out the picture/quote from the center of the sticker. So long as the number is displayed, he views it as a valid sticker and isn’t aware of any ordinance to the contrary. Is that enough? Or should Arlington be reconsidering whether this is what we want to pay to have manufactured and displayed on every car in the county? We’ll see.
Update II: This is the sticker (thank you to MJ) –
Well. Erm. Hmm. Sorry about that. Wasn’t planned.
I do not expect, however, to have anything to say about tonight’s State of the Union (because really . . . why?). However, if you’d like to hear my take on a SotU address, check out this post from 10 years ago. Not exactly the most insightful analysis, but it does remind me that I’ve rethought and shifted my policy positions over the years.
Karen just tipped me off to these great matchups of the GOP primary contenders with the various villains from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mitt as the Mayor? Absolutely.
The New Jersey legislature has banned the death penalty, and it will soon be law. I hope more states will follow New Jersey’s lead.
Picking on Huckabee is like sitting under an apple tree in late season, waiting for your basket to fill with fallen fruit. It’s really just too easy, and can make you lazy after a while (while also risking a bit of a headache). But this little bit of Huckabee’s platform, relating to dual citizenship, is just too fantastic. He wants to:
Impose civil and/or criminal penalties on American citizens who illegitimately use their dual status (e.g., using a foreign passport, voting in elections in both a foreign country and the U.S.).
That’s right, he wants to criminalize the exercise of basic civil rights held by thousands upon thousands of American citizens.  How this helps or what it achieves is entirely unclear to me.  I’ve gone through some of the comments over at Volokh’s place, and have yet to identify any cogent reasoning behind it. Ah well. Crazy is as crazy does.