OK, OK, I'll admit straight out that I'm way beyond biased on this, but...
Whatever will King George do for a brain now that Karl Rove won't be around? Our own Axis of Republican Evil Acts will be spending more time with his family - at least until the other shoe drops on some of the illegal activity in our current administration that he masterminded.
Yesterday while being interviewed on CNN Bill Bennett commented that there are five rooms lined with books floor to ceiling in Karl Rove's house. He's been a self-educated guy. While I'm generally a big fan of bootstrappers, perhaps there's a bit of breadth that has been missing in his choices of reading that has obscured his perception of ethics. Maybe he's just been reading tome after tome that reinforces his own worldview. Would be interesting to see a reading list...
Did you know that Rove's reputation for dirty tricks started way back in 1972 with a contested election among the College Republicans? According to Wikipedia, Terry Dolan of California (one of the other candidates) went anonymously to the Washington Post with recordings of several training seminars for young Republicans where Rove discussed campaign techniques that included rooting through opponents' garbage cans. On August 10, 1973, in the midst of the Watergate scandal, the Post broke the story in an article titled "Republican Party Probes Official as Teacher of Tricks."
Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean, who was implicated in the Watergate break-in and became the star witness for the prosecution, has been quoted as saying that "Based on my review of the files, it appears the Watergate prosecutors were interested in Rove's activities in 1972, but because they had bigger fish to fry they did not aggressively investigate him."
The Karl Rove-Dubya affinity began in this same timeframe. In November 1973, Bush Sr. asked Rove to take a set of car keys to his son George W. Bush, who was visiting home during a break from Harvard Business School. It was the first time the two met. "Huge amounts of charisma, swagger, cowboy boots, flight jacket, wonderful smile, just charisma - you know, wow", Rove recalled years later.
The flight jacket comment is particularly interesting considering that King George walked away from his obligation to the National Guard and, in effect, turned in his wings. All flight jacket, no plane.
By the way, Jim just asked me, "Did you ever notice that George H. W. doesn't allow his son to pilot the family boat?"
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The '08 presidential race - in search of global leadership
I know it's really early in the 2008 presidential race but I'm really betwixt and between (as my mother used to say) about who I support in the Democratic race. To be really committed to a candidate I need to agree with their views. I need to like the way in which they communicate. But I also add track record into the equation -their experience at operating on a global level.
By global I'm referring to a holistic perspective. I guess other people might agree with that perspective and that's why a lot of governors have beaten senators in the race for President. They've got experience running their states as a microcosm of a national government, balancing their revenues and expenses and protecting their interests in the larger national stage.
Or perhaps the governors have simply avoided the downside of having a national track record in the spotlight and under the magnifying glass. The only way for a legislator in either house to avoid being wrong on a position is simply not to have taken one.
The other way that I view global experience as important is that our national leader needs to understand what's going on around the world and have an appropriate (as defined by me of course) perception of the United States' role in it. This has been the most frightening piece of the Bush administration to me. Our president has displayed a shocking ignorance of the longstanding conflicts in the Middle East, and even an inability to name key world leaders accurately.
No wonder that Bush has resorted to the global strategy of a seven-year-old - punch them first so they'll be too woozy to punch you back. Oh, and don't worry about whether they're actually the one who pantsed you in gym class - if they're not the guy who did it they'll get the message from seeing the other guy's bloody nose that they'd better back off. Yeah, right. And I won't even get into the fact that he didn't personally have to do the punching. He sent his loyal citizens to get broken knuckles on his behalf.
I think we should learn from the many mishaps of the current administration when we choose the next one, but this situation is sort of like applying for a new job or thinking about dating a new person: it's risky to choose something or someone just because they're NOT what you've had. We need to be choosing someone, not just avoiding someone else.
At times I like Hillary the best. She's got the experience on the largest stage and I think she has the gonads to stand up to bullies, domestic or international. I don't think she's under any illusions, and yet sometimes I think that interferes with her ability to be inspirational. Barack has it in the inspiration department in my opinion. And I really like how Joe Biden calls it as he sees it.
It'll all reveal itself in time, but we need a Democrat who can put these last two terms of foolishness behind us and get on with the real work of being the America we can be.
By global I'm referring to a holistic perspective. I guess other people might agree with that perspective and that's why a lot of governors have beaten senators in the race for President. They've got experience running their states as a microcosm of a national government, balancing their revenues and expenses and protecting their interests in the larger national stage.
Or perhaps the governors have simply avoided the downside of having a national track record in the spotlight and under the magnifying glass. The only way for a legislator in either house to avoid being wrong on a position is simply not to have taken one.
The other way that I view global experience as important is that our national leader needs to understand what's going on around the world and have an appropriate (as defined by me of course) perception of the United States' role in it. This has been the most frightening piece of the Bush administration to me. Our president has displayed a shocking ignorance of the longstanding conflicts in the Middle East, and even an inability to name key world leaders accurately.
No wonder that Bush has resorted to the global strategy of a seven-year-old - punch them first so they'll be too woozy to punch you back. Oh, and don't worry about whether they're actually the one who pantsed you in gym class - if they're not the guy who did it they'll get the message from seeing the other guy's bloody nose that they'd better back off. Yeah, right. And I won't even get into the fact that he didn't personally have to do the punching. He sent his loyal citizens to get broken knuckles on his behalf.
I think we should learn from the many mishaps of the current administration when we choose the next one, but this situation is sort of like applying for a new job or thinking about dating a new person: it's risky to choose something or someone just because they're NOT what you've had. We need to be choosing someone, not just avoiding someone else.
At times I like Hillary the best. She's got the experience on the largest stage and I think she has the gonads to stand up to bullies, domestic or international. I don't think she's under any illusions, and yet sometimes I think that interferes with her ability to be inspirational. Barack has it in the inspiration department in my opinion. And I really like how Joe Biden calls it as he sees it.
It'll all reveal itself in time, but we need a Democrat who can put these last two terms of foolishness behind us and get on with the real work of being the America we can be.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
York County Federation of Democratic Women set to grow
I just received a membership application from the York County Federation of Democratic Women. They have an upcoming meeting Saturday, March 31 at 2p.m., at a location to be announced.
The purpose of the organization is :
Dedicated to the ideals and principles of the Democratic Party and to the promotion of Democratic Women to leadership in government and in the Democratic Party. The YCFDW shall support the election of Democratic candidates throughout Pennsylvania.
Membership in YCFDW is open to any person who is registered in the Democratic Party, and annual dues are $10..
There are to be five committees:
SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE: This committee shall be responsible for the development of activities to promote the participation and election of Democratic women in York County. The committee shall also develop and recommend events and/or activities to increase voter registration and voter participation in York County.
WAYS AND MEANS: This committee shall be responsible for the development and implementation of events to fund club activities with the approval of the membership.
BUDGET AND FINANCE: This committee shall be responsible for the preparation of the annual club budget. The committee shall also review the financial records of the club annually
MEMBERSHIP: This committee shall be responsible for the recruitment of new members...
Political Action Committee: This committee shall make recommendations for the expenditures from the PAC fund.
Dues may be sent to Carol Downs Brady - Any questions call Colleen Burkett 600.0105 or email to colleen@burketts.org.
The purpose of the organization is :
Dedicated to the ideals and principles of the Democratic Party and to the promotion of Democratic Women to leadership in government and in the Democratic Party. The YCFDW shall support the election of Democratic candidates throughout Pennsylvania.
Membership in YCFDW is open to any person who is registered in the Democratic Party, and annual dues are $10..
There are to be five committees:
SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE: This committee shall be responsible for the development of activities to promote the participation and election of Democratic women in York County. The committee shall also develop and recommend events and/or activities to increase voter registration and voter participation in York County.
WAYS AND MEANS: This committee shall be responsible for the development and implementation of events to fund club activities with the approval of the membership.
BUDGET AND FINANCE: This committee shall be responsible for the preparation of the annual club budget. The committee shall also review the financial records of the club annually
MEMBERSHIP: This committee shall be responsible for the recruitment of new members...
Political Action Committee: This committee shall make recommendations for the expenditures from the PAC fund.
Dues may be sent to Carol Downs Brady - Any questions call Colleen Burkett 600.0105 or email to colleen@burketts.org.
Interesting info on the impact of social networks on politics
Ben McConnell at the Church of the Customer Blog did a post titled Social networks and politics:
"Social networks are the new grassroots organizing force for politics.
The first-week numbers for Barack Obama's presidential campaign website illustrate why:
70,000 members signed up
4,000 blogs started
3,000 fundraising pages
started
2,400 groups started
Social networks for grassroots campaigns
give the true believers more of what they want: a voice, a vote and a vocation. "
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Ding Dong redux
“Ding, dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch, the witch is dead. Ding, dong the wicked witch is dead.”
Every American baby boomer who faithfully watched the annual rerun of The Wizard Of Oz every Easter weekend in the 1960s remembers this refrain sung by the Munchkins of Munchkinland upon the arrival of Dorothy, her dog Toto, and her Kansas farmhouse that landed on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. So began the Technicolor portion of the epic tale of Dorothy’s quest to return to her home, family, and friends by conquering the Wicked Witch’s more wicked sister.
Recently the wicked witch of Iraq (and some of his henchmen) was finally put to death for his crimes against his own citizens. America overthrew this evil despot in order to free ourselves from the fear that he would supply weapons of mass destruction to our enemies. Weapons never found. We then justified the continued risks to our men and women, their deaths and maiming and the burgeoning expense of billions of taxpayer dollars because he was an evil dictator who committed despicable acts of murder upon his repressed masses and was destabilizing the entire Middle East. Next, we justified our bungling efforts by declaring that America was delivering the freedom of democracy to the peoples of Iraq (our Democracy came from our own internal revolution, by the way).
Well, the witch is dead . . . let’s go home to Kansas, Toto!
Oh no. It’s not that easy. Now we must tolerate our President hocking his and his Veep’s “Gird Your Loins” plan to send more of our women and men, America’s mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers into the Land Of Oz. Messrs. Rove, Bush, and Cheney propose to us that although we have achieved our Primary Goal of having the evil dictator and his evil sons deposed and/or dead, achieved our Secondary Goal of freeing Iraq’s repressed, tortured populace by introducing a Westerner’s edition of a free democratic government duly elected by confidential ballot that now we have to pull from their homes, their children 20,000 plus of our neighbors (perhaps your family members) to quelch the sectarian civil war and destroy the jihadists funded by Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Syria. The reasoning we are expected to tolerate is that America has “broken it, so we own it.”
Mr. President, like a good used car salesman asks us to join him in supporting the “winning of the war on terrorism” by massing more American citizens in the very killing fields that we created in Iraq for those extremists who have twisted their faithfulness into a justification to live as serial murderers. The advisers of Mr. President and those in the Houses of the Senate and Congress who support this “surge” are the flying monkeys of Oz. You know, the monkeys that deliver us to the Wicked Witch of the West who seeks revenge for our arrival in her land when we dropped that house on her wicked sister. Only this time there are no magic slippers protecting us. Nor is there a simple bucket of water that can be tossed on the wicked creature to cause the evilness to shrink away.
I suggest that you call and email your Pennsylvania Senators and your local Congressperson, Mr. Platts here in York, to CLEARLY STATE THAT AS THEIR CONSTITUENTS YOU DO NOT SUPPORT AN INCREASE IN COMBAT FORCES SPECIFICALLY IN IRAQ ! ! ! !
Then relax and contemplate the words of the Scarecrow
in L. Frank Baum’s original fairytale novel:
“There is only one thing in the world I am afraid of.” “What is that?” asked Dorothy. “The Munchkin farmer who made you?”
“No,” answered the Scarecrow. “It’s a lighted match.”
Every American baby boomer who faithfully watched the annual rerun of The Wizard Of Oz every Easter weekend in the 1960s remembers this refrain sung by the Munchkins of Munchkinland upon the arrival of Dorothy, her dog Toto, and her Kansas farmhouse that landed on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. So began the Technicolor portion of the epic tale of Dorothy’s quest to return to her home, family, and friends by conquering the Wicked Witch’s more wicked sister.
Recently the wicked witch of Iraq (and some of his henchmen) was finally put to death for his crimes against his own citizens. America overthrew this evil despot in order to free ourselves from the fear that he would supply weapons of mass destruction to our enemies. Weapons never found. We then justified the continued risks to our men and women, their deaths and maiming and the burgeoning expense of billions of taxpayer dollars because he was an evil dictator who committed despicable acts of murder upon his repressed masses and was destabilizing the entire Middle East. Next, we justified our bungling efforts by declaring that America was delivering the freedom of democracy to the peoples of Iraq (our Democracy came from our own internal revolution, by the way).
Well, the witch is dead . . . let’s go home to Kansas, Toto!
Oh no. It’s not that easy. Now we must tolerate our President hocking his and his Veep’s “Gird Your Loins” plan to send more of our women and men, America’s mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers into the Land Of Oz. Messrs. Rove, Bush, and Cheney propose to us that although we have achieved our Primary Goal of having the evil dictator and his evil sons deposed and/or dead, achieved our Secondary Goal of freeing Iraq’s repressed, tortured populace by introducing a Westerner’s edition of a free democratic government duly elected by confidential ballot that now we have to pull from their homes, their children 20,000 plus of our neighbors (perhaps your family members) to quelch the sectarian civil war and destroy the jihadists funded by Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Syria. The reasoning we are expected to tolerate is that America has “broken it, so we own it.”
Mr. President, like a good used car salesman asks us to join him in supporting the “winning of the war on terrorism” by massing more American citizens in the very killing fields that we created in Iraq for those extremists who have twisted their faithfulness into a justification to live as serial murderers. The advisers of Mr. President and those in the Houses of the Senate and Congress who support this “surge” are the flying monkeys of Oz. You know, the monkeys that deliver us to the Wicked Witch of the West who seeks revenge for our arrival in her land when we dropped that house on her wicked sister. Only this time there are no magic slippers protecting us. Nor is there a simple bucket of water that can be tossed on the wicked creature to cause the evilness to shrink away.
I suggest that you call and email your Pennsylvania Senators and your local Congressperson, Mr. Platts here in York, to CLEARLY STATE THAT AS THEIR CONSTITUENTS YOU DO NOT SUPPORT AN INCREASE IN COMBAT FORCES SPECIFICALLY IN IRAQ ! ! ! !
Then relax and contemplate the words of the Scarecrow
in L. Frank Baum’s original fairytale novel:
“There is only one thing in the world I am afraid of.” “What is that?” asked Dorothy. “The Munchkin farmer who made you?”
“No,” answered the Scarecrow. “It’s a lighted match.”
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
What's at stake in this year's elections
In the York County, PA community here is what is at stake for this year’s primary and general elections:
1 County Commissioner seat
3 York City Council seats
City Controller
City Treasurer
County Treasurer
County Sheriff
County Clerk of Courts
County Register of Wills
County Clerk of Orphans
County Prothonotary
District Justice 19-1-04 (in York)
District Justice 19-1-05 (in York)
Plus seats for various borough councils, township supervisor boards, and school boards throughout York County
So, how are you going to improve your community this election cycle ? ? ?
Sure, sure, sure - - - these local Democratic Party election opportunities are NOT going to directly change the course of the White House and Pentagon’s actions (or misguided actions) in Iraq. However, these officials will impact your moment-to-moment lifestyle in our lovely Central Pennsylvania community.
Supporting the election of grassroots Democrats will continue the momentum throughout our great nation that was evidenced by the November, 2006 Congressional and Senatorial election outcomes. Begin with your City, Borough, County, and School District offices and watch the influence grow toward the more sensible values and precepts of the Democratic Party’s members. . . you ! ! !
Click here to visit the local Democratic Party of York County website to learn how you can make the difference that leads the way.
Ask me how you can help in your immediate neighborhood and who you can reach out to in order to become involved. Email me at JimPoland@JimPoland.com or call #870-5070.
Don’t be shy, give it a try ! ! !
1 County Commissioner seat
3 York City Council seats
City Controller
City Treasurer
County Treasurer
County Sheriff
County Clerk of Courts
County Register of Wills
County Clerk of Orphans
County Prothonotary
District Justice 19-1-04 (in York)
District Justice 19-1-05 (in York)
Plus seats for various borough councils, township supervisor boards, and school boards throughout York County
So, how are you going to improve your community this election cycle ? ? ?
Sure, sure, sure - - - these local Democratic Party election opportunities are NOT going to directly change the course of the White House and Pentagon’s actions (or misguided actions) in Iraq. However, these officials will impact your moment-to-moment lifestyle in our lovely Central Pennsylvania community.
Supporting the election of grassroots Democrats will continue the momentum throughout our great nation that was evidenced by the November, 2006 Congressional and Senatorial election outcomes. Begin with your City, Borough, County, and School District offices and watch the influence grow toward the more sensible values and precepts of the Democratic Party’s members. . . you ! ! !
Click here to visit the local Democratic Party of York County website to learn how you can make the difference that leads the way.
Ask me how you can help in your immediate neighborhood and who you can reach out to in order to become involved. Email me at JimPoland@JimPoland.com or call #870-5070.
Don’t be shy, give it a try ! ! !
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
You go, Eugene!
Last year when we elected Eugene DePasquale to the State House we knew we were sending him to a place with a history of financial self-dealing. Pennsylvania residents were ticked off that our state representation chose to circumvent the intent of the law and take advances on the pay raises they voted for themselves. Some of the folks we drummed out of office in the November elections took their last swipes at our wallets by taking tens of thousands of dollars in "expenses" on their way home.
Well, Eugene has provided an itemized list of his expenses right out of the gate - what a concept! At last somebody understands the accountability we want to see from the legislators who work for us. None of this tiptoeing out the door with a check in hand. Full accountability. Way to be a role model, Eugene!
Well, Eugene has provided an itemized list of his expenses right out of the gate - what a concept! At last somebody understands the accountability we want to see from the legislators who work for us. None of this tiptoeing out the door with a check in hand. Full accountability. Way to be a role model, Eugene!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Welcome to The Kicking Donkey!
My dad was a dyed-in-the-wool Massachusetts Democrat who taught me a lot about speaking my mind even when my views were unpopular. Little did he know just how much my perspective on government and its proper role in our lives would indeed reflect the minority view in my community - at least until now.
We have a resurging Democratic party now in York County, with strong leadership and a growing Grassroots effort. Just last night we brought our local Grassroots organization under the official party umbrella to enable its energy to continue to move us forward. Kudos to Ron Toomey, Mary Toomey, and Betty Marshall for providing that place for like minds to gather. During the past three years we've organized to better promote candidates, and we've gotten more informed about the issues that are affecting us at a national, state, and local level. We've had more solidly competitive candidates in more races. And we're building our network of community volunteers to get people registered and participating in the process of democracy.
If things go according to plan you'll see posts from various members of our York area community of Democrats - some to inform you, some to inspire, and some to do some ranting and rabble-rousing. Please add your voice to the mix - this is what the American way of government is all about!
We have a resurging Democratic party now in York County, with strong leadership and a growing Grassroots effort. Just last night we brought our local Grassroots organization under the official party umbrella to enable its energy to continue to move us forward. Kudos to Ron Toomey, Mary Toomey, and Betty Marshall for providing that place for like minds to gather. During the past three years we've organized to better promote candidates, and we've gotten more informed about the issues that are affecting us at a national, state, and local level. We've had more solidly competitive candidates in more races. And we're building our network of community volunteers to get people registered and participating in the process of democracy.
If things go according to plan you'll see posts from various members of our York area community of Democrats - some to inform you, some to inspire, and some to do some ranting and rabble-rousing. Please add your voice to the mix - this is what the American way of government is all about!
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