John Edwards: MTV-MySpace Presidential Dialogue

MTV that I can finally watch

Announcement Video

This is Joe Biden. He is running for President as a Democrat. He is a long time senator on the Foreign Relations committee.

Teacher Could Get 40 Lashes For Allowing Her Class to Name a Teddy Bear Mohammad

Here is another case from a Muslim country that could result in the whipping of person, and what was her crime you ask? As a teacher she let her class name a teddy bear Mohammad.

Gillian Gibbons is a Liverpool woman who traveled to Sudan to teach the elites children. Now she is charged with "inciting hatred, insulting religion, and showing contempt of religious beliefs," a crime punishable by up to 40 lashes. So how exactly did she "incite hatred, insult religion, and show contempt of religion"? She allowed her primary school students so these to name a class teddy bear Mohammad. (Primary school is elementary school in an English system...so these where very young kids who named the bear Mohammad). Mohammad is of course the name of Islam's holiest prophet, likenesses of whom are forbidden by the religion.

The bear was part of a project that was meant to teach the students about animals. One girl bought in a bear and each week a new student would take the bear home with a journal that they where to update with the bears activities. The class voted as a whole to name the bear Mohammad. A total of 23 students voted to do this, an huge a majority of the class. Mohammad was also the most popular boys in the class.

Ms. Gibbons has been in prison since last Sunday. Police bought her in for questioning and then arrested her, despite the fact that her colleagues insist was an inadvertent mistake. The school points out that Ms. Gibbons had only been in the country since August. The school director says "This was a completely innocent mistake." "Miss Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam." The director also describes what happened when the police came to the school to arrest Ms. Gibbons "We tried to reason with them but we felt they were coming under strong pressure from Islamic courts," he adds. "There were men with big beards asking where she was and saying they wanted to kill her." The fate of the school is now also in question. They have had to close their doors until at least January because they fear reprisals by Islamic extremists.

Ms. Gibbons can be sentenced to six months in prison, a fine, or a public lashing under Sudan's blasphemy laws.

***Update*** Thousands took to the streets of Sudan calling for the EXECUTION of Ms. Gibbons!!!
****Update****Ms. Gibbon was sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation back to England.
*****Update***** Ms. Gibbon's was released from prison and sent back to England before her sentence took place. The leader of Sudan had to step in on her behalf.

High School Musical News

Disney has released High School Musial III news. They say for HSM III will be on the big screen and it will have all their original cast members! It will be senior year for the wild cats, so that means graduation and the prom...Though this will likely be the last High School musical, however there are rumors that if a fourth movie was ever made it would star a completely new cast.

sorry, this might not be a political news story but these movies are so cute I had to post the news.

Finials Suck

Finials are coming up so I will have less time to blog. I'm sorry. It will all be over soon.

Chosing a Candiate

If you are still like many Americans then you don't know who you are planning to vote for. I recently got sent this website. You answer its questions and it cross references your answers to how the candidates of both party's would answer. Then it tells you which candidate your beliefs are closest too.

Womens Rights and the Middle East

Here is a story not getting a lot of play in the mainstream media and that is really pissing me off! It is the story of a Saudi woman who has been daubed in the press the "Qatif Girl" (Qatif is the part of Saudi Arabia this woman is from). He name is being withheld from the press because her story is so horrific, but it is a story that needs to be told.

The "Qatif Girl" was gang raped by seven men and she was just sentence to 200 whips and half a year in prison by the Saudi government. What was her crime: she was with a man who was not her male relative. Her orginal sentence was only 90 lashes but since she appled her case and went to the international community for help the court increased her sentence. The court said she "attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media," and for this she is getting jail time and 200 lashes. Her lawyer also got his law license revoked by the court for the same reason. The seven rapist got anywhere from two to nine years for there crime, does that sound like justice to anyone? Not me!

In December 2006 this young girl was able to get her account of what happened to a International Human Rights Group. Her story starts when she was only 16 years old. She began having a phone relationship with a man over the phone (something that is not allowed in Saudi Arabia). The girl had never seen this man before he was just befriended via the phone (apparently young men in Saudi Arabia have been known to leave their phone numbers on cards and leave them for girls to find. No real dating is allowed in Saudi and this is just one way to contact random women. It might not have been the smartest thing in the world for this girl to call one of the numbers she found, but she was only 16!!!) . After a while this man started to threaten her with telling her parents that she was talking to him. The only way he would not tell her parents is if she agreed to send him a picture of herself. So, thats what the girl did.

A few months later she asked for the photo back because she had just gotten married. He would only give the picture back if she agreed to meet with him. She met with him in a public market to get the photo back. He offered to give her a ride home (since after all women are legally not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia).

Here is where I'm just going to quote her interview, I feel its something that should be said in her own words:

"He started to drive me home. …We were 15 minutes from my house. I told him that I was afraid and that he should speed up. We were about to turn the corner to my house when they [another car] stopped right in front of our car. Two people got out of their car and stood on either side of our car. They man on my side had a knife. They tried to open our door. I told the individual with me not to open the door, but he did. He let them come in. I screamed.

"One of the men brought a knife to my throat. They told me not to speak. They pushed us to the back of the car and started driving. We drove a lot, but I didn't see anything since my head was forced down."

"They took us to an area … with lots of palm trees. No one was there. If you kill someone there, no one would know about it. They took out the man with me, and I stayed in the car. I was so afraid. They forced me out of the car. They pushed me really hard ... took me to a dark place. Then two men came in. They said, 'What are you going to do? Take off your abaya.' They forced my clothes off. The first man with the knife raped me. I was destroyed. If I tried to escape, I don't even know where I would go. I tried to force them off but I couldn't. [Another] man … came in and did the same thing to me. I didn't even feel anything after that.

"I spent two hours begging them to take me home. I told them that it was late and that my family would be asking about me. Then I saw a third man come into the room. There was a lot of violence. After the third man came in, a fourth came. He slapped me and tried to choke me.

"The fifth and sixth ones were the most abusive. After the seventh one, I couldn't feel my body anymore. I didn't know what to do. Then a very fat man came on top of me and I could no longer breathe.

"Then all seven came back and raped me again. Then they took me home. … When I got out of the car, I couldn't even walk. I rang the doorbell and my mother opened the door. She said you look tired.' I didn't eat for one week after that, just water. I didn't tell anyone. I went to the hospital the next day.

"The criminals started talking about it [the rape] in my neighborhood. They thought my husband would divorce me. They wanted to ruin my reputation. Slowly my husband started to know what had happened. Four months later, we started a case. My family heard about the case. My brother hit me and tried to kill me."

Barack Obama on ABC World News Tonight

ABC is doing brief bios on all the Presidential candidates...here is Barack Obama's story.

Who is Fred Thompson on ABC Nightly News

In the interest of fairness I'll show the Republican candidates too!

Here is An Interesting Thought

I don't necessarily agree...but its a thought.
THE B

MTV Saudi Arabia???

MTV Arabia is coming to TV sets inside the Arabian desert. They want t build MTV around hip-hop, the channel will be hosted by a Saudi and Palestinian man. Yet no one should expect MTV Arabia to be anything like the MTV of America. Abdullatif Al- Sayegy, CEO Arab Media Group says

" rap about family, about your country, your school, your work, your colleges, your mom, or dad."

40% of all material will be made locally in Saudi Arabia...including a Saudi version of "Made."
This might be one small step for free speech in the Middle East...

The Danger of Fear

The results of USB 11, an ASSU (Associated Students of Stanford University) resolution to oppose the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld to the Hoover Institution, were 8 in favor, 5 opposed and 2 abstentions. The resolution was 2 votes away from the 2/3-majority needed to pass. At first glance, these results seem like a definite loss to the vast majority of the undergraduate student body that opposes his appointment and the over 4,000 people who signed the online petition to oppose his appointment. While it is a devastating loss to the thousands of us who oppose Rumsfeld’s appointment, I think these results signify a threatening disease I have witnessed not just on Stanford’s campus but within our generation – fear.

Fear may not be as horrific as AIDS when it comes to amount of human devastation it exacts but I do feel it is a disease that is worth worrying about. Fear causes people to not take a stand on a controversial issue in the most dangerous of times. Some of you may be thinking, “Well, it’s not like World War III is going to start with Rumsfeld being on our campus.” You’re right, it won’t but let’s put it in perspective.

Donald Rumsfeld has shown countless times that he shows no respect for truth, wisdom, or human life or dignity. As President Bush’s Secretary of Defense, he played a leading role in doctoring up lies and dubious claims to justify the invasion of Iraq, a country that never attacked the United States. Iraq did not possess massive stockpiles of “weapons of mass destruction”, as later weapons inspections proved, and there were no connections between Iraq and al-Qaeda or the terrorist attacks of 9/11. However, the Bush administration managed to fool the entire American public into supporting an unjustified, immoral, and imperialistic invasion of a country that never attacked us and posed no threat to us. The tolls on human life have been devastating. Thousands of young Americans and millions of Iraqis have lost their lives in a conflict that should have never happened in the first place. In addition, as Bush’s Defense Secretary, Rumsfeld authorized the use of torture in places such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, an utterly blatant violation of international human rights law. And yet, the Hoover Institution has the audacity to award this man with honors and allow him to make policy recommendations for their Middle East Task Force. Do we really want someone of such character making policy recommendations for the future in the middle of our campus?

Honestly, every time I go through Donald Rumsfeld’s actions, it makes me sick to my stomach. It sickens me everyday to know that so many people who didn’t have to die have died as a result of this man’s actions. It makes me even sicker that our university – the administration and the undergraduate senate – does not have the guts to stand up against something such as this. Donald Rumsfeld epitomizes everything that our university is opposed to. Stanford University is one of the greatest universities in the entire world. Our alumni have created Yahoo!, Google, given birth to Silicon Valley, and even served on the United States Supreme Court. Therefore, this university is clearly driven to the pursuit of knowledge and truth and using it to benefit the world. Donald Rumsfeld is the polar opposite of that. His actions have shown that he is willing to lie and break the law in order to pursue aggressive, imperialistic and immoral policies and, thus, his appointment violates the mission and moral conscience of Stanford University.

Now how does this relate to the fear amongst Stanford students and our generation? Well, here’s the answer. The undergraduate senate had a perfect opportunity in its hands to stand up for the voice of the student body and the moral conscience of this university but they FAILED. The primary argument driving the debate was whether or not such a resolution – a resolution actively condemning the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld to the Hoover Institution – was reaching beyond the scope of the ASSU. It is such a stupid argument. If the vast majority of the undergraduate student body opposes the appointment and the undergraduate senators were elected to serve the will of the undergraduate student body, OF COURSE IT IS WITHIN THE ASSU’S SCOPE! However, as lame and absurd as this argument was, it managed to win as it caused the bill to be 2 votes short of receiving the 2/3-majority required to pass. As an undergraduate who loves this university and voted for many of the senators in the ASSU, I feel personally betrayed – betrayed because they rejected my voice and so many voices on this campus. This is what I mean by fear. Because this issue is so “political” and “controversial”, many senators did not want to touch it for fear of being too “extremist” or not moderate or intellectual.

Fear is not something that occurs just at Stanford but within our entire generation. Sure, our generation may be technologically savvy. We know how to market ourselves to the best colleges. We’re up-to-date on current events, involve ourselves in community and government activities and still manage to keep up good grades. On the outside, our generation looks prosperous and has a bright future ahead of us. However, our generation is missing something that the previous generation of the 1960s had – and that’s courage.

With so many things going on in the world – global warming, international terrorism, the war in Iraq, torture, the restriction of civil liberties at home, racism, poverty – these times are only a few assassinations from being as terrible as the 1960s. The previous generation faced many controversial issues – racism, civil rights, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, etc. – but they had the courage to stand up for what is right and move the country in the right direction. They marched, protested, lobbied and did whatever they could to stand up against the many injustices going on at that time. It took them years of fighting but they managed to accomplish many things that many of us take for granted today, such as civil rights for women and minorities. However, you don’t see our generation doing the same thing. Sure, we may say we care about social issues but so many of us are not willing to take a firm stand and fight for what is right. Anytime there is an opportunity to take a firm stand, we fear being labeled “extremist” or “on the fringe” and choose the easier path of being “moderate” and constantly researching and debating. While researching and debating are very important things and being moderate is not a bad thing, they are not adequate tools to create change in such dangerous times.

John F. Kennedy said in Inaugural Address, “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.” The ASSU had a perfect opportunity to let the outside world know that the undergraduate student body is vehemently opposed to the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld to the Hoover Institution, a man who violates the moral conscience of the university. If the ASSU had any courage, it would have welcomed the opportunity to stand up for what is right. Instead, they capitulated to fear and shrunk from this opportunity. This makes me sick. I, however, choose not to capitulate to fear and welcome the responsibility to stand up for what is right. As long as Rumsfeld is here and as long as there’s unnecessary suffering going on in the world, I will speak out and I will stand up for what is right. The question is, will you?

ABC World News: Ron Paul Surprises the Political World

CNN's Funny Pelosi Edit

CNN did a "funny" cut of the Speaker. They decided not to use the full quote so they can make their point. Rather than telling the truth, showing the truth, and speaking the truth CNN has decided to cut clips out and show half truths to their viewers...is this really news?

Its Veterans Day

Remember all of those who are not with us today because of war. They are away in a far off land fighting, risking their lives. We all have an obligation to do right by them and remember the ones who do not make it home.

Toby Keith - American Soldier

Thank a Veteran today.

Barack Obama on Saturday Night Live

A little humor to brighten your day...anyone else think that SNL can sometimes bring to light what we are all thinking...

Welcome Adam!!!

OK, so I told you guys I wanted to bring on guest blogger's, well I have one. Below is a post by Adam Hudson. I have known Adam for a little over a year. We met during an internship at our state senators office.

Adam has to be one of the smartest and coolest people I know. He is currently attending Stanford and is very active in several peace groups on campus. His post below is in regards to a rally that one of his groups is organizing. The rally is to raise awareness about former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld coming to the Hover Institute. The Hover Institute is a Republican "think tank" on Stanford campus. As you can imagine numerous students are upset by Rumsfelds appointment to the Hover Institute, since they feel Rumsfeld helped push the war in Iraq on the country and thus he does not represent the values of Stanford University. Adam and many other Stanford students are holding a rally today to help raise awareness about Rumsfeld coming to Stanford and hopfully they will rasie enough suport to get Rumsfeld kicked off campus!

I hope you enjoy listening to Adam's views.

Adam's speech for the Stanford Anti-Rumsfeld Rally

A great man once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Those words were spoken by John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961. Speaking before a country ready for change, Kennedy’s words were a call to action for the nation. He let the people know that moving the country and the world toward a brighter future would require the participation of the masses. Instead of focusing entirely on their busy lives, the people had to be willing to sacrifice for the greater good of humanity. As evidenced by the social upheaval of the 1960s, people took those words seriously. Such sentiment and willingness to sacrifice, I lament, has disappeared.
As a student here at Stanford, I see Stanford as more than just a university; I see it as an institution with a very important place in the world. Our alumni become lawyers, engineers, business leaders, and even Justices on the Supreme Court. An institution of such tradition and prestige obviously must stand for some higher cause. Stanford is an institution devoted to the never-ending search for knowledge and truth and using it to benefit humanity. The recent appointment of Donald Rumsfeld to the Hoover Institution, a think-tank that lies in the geographic heart of our beloved campus, violates the mission and moral conscience of Stanford University for many reasons.
As President Bush’s Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld played an important role in manufacturing lies to justify the imperialistic invasion of Iraq. He claimed that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were buddies and that Iraq played a role in 9/11. The 9/11 Commission found no connections between the two, thus proving this claim false. Rumsfeld also claimed that Iraq had massive stockpiles of “weapons of mass destruction” and that Saddam would hand them to terrorists in order to attack America. Later weapons inspections proved this claim to be utterly false. Donald Rumsfeld also played a key role in authorizing the use of torture in places like Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Anyone familiar with the Geneva Conventions would know that this is a blatant violation of international human rights law.
The list could go on and on but this is enough to prove that not only does Rumsfeld have no respect for the truth but he also has no respect for human dignity and basic morality. The fact that our university would allow such a person, a person who is basically a war criminal, to receive the title of “distinguished visiting fellow” at a think-tank in the middle of its campus with no challenge or voice of opposition makes me sick to my stomach.
But what makes me even sicker is the apathy among the student body. Having a man who has shown no respect for human life or dignity affiliated with your school should not be a politically taboo issue. Yet, it’s treated as such. People rarely talk about how Rumsfeld’s appointment is damaging not just to Stanford’s image but also for the future. Do we really want someone who played a leading role in manufacturing lies for an unjust war and authorized the use of torture making policy recommendations for a think-tank that sits in the middle of our campus? And it seems like whenever this issue is talked about, it’s reduced to cliché sound bites, such as Rumsfeld’s appointment is about freedom of speech. Donald Rumsfeld used his power and influence to smear people who disagreed with him and the president’s policies, labeling them as traitors or unpatriotic. In addition, it is not his mere beliefs that are offensive but his actions – actions that should make any moralistic or rational person sick to their stomachs. It is very possible to find another conservative fellow with much more integrity than Donald Rumsfeld. Therefore, freedom of speech is not the case here.
As a Stanford student, with many friends in the armed services, I feel it is my responsibility to stand up for human rights and oppose Rumsfeld’s appointment. If I refuse to speak out during such dangerous times – times in which millions of Iraqis and thousands of Americans are dying in an unjust war based on lies, times in which the United States is violating international human rights law by torturing people in secret prisons, all in the name of preserving “freedom” while restricting civil liberties here at home – then I will have blood on my hands. And so my fellow students, I ask of you to do this. If you truly love Stanford University, if you truly love this country and if you truly want to see a brighter future not only for yourselves but for your children and your grandchildren then DO SOMETHING. The time for making excuses is over. Ask not what you can do for yourselves but what you can do for the greater good of humanity. And you can start now by standing up for human rights and getting Rumsfeld off of our fucking campus.

What Do You Do? What Could Be Done?

So to all you "young adults" out there. What do you do for fun on the weekend? and what could be done by the city to make things better?

What Is A Teen To Do???

Ok, so I've said it before...I live in kinda a small town. Not small town like boondocks Kanasas...but still small. My socail life is made up of going to High School football games, bowling, movies, and ice cream.

The problem is that I'm 19 and the list above is rapidly losing its appeal. Frist of all Football games and ice cream stores have a short shelf life. Football games end (mostly in tears with my high school) and ice cream shops close (way to early). And though I enjoy bowling and movies...they are expensive and get old really quick.

I live in a city whose motto is "Where families come first." But it seems the word "family" only applies to five year old toddlers who might enjoy kids-fest or some twelve year old who might enjoy hip-hop lessons at a community center.

Well I'm here to tell my city representatives I'm still part of a family last time I checked. I am entitled to the amount of concideration as that five or tweleve year old. I'm not asking for much. I'm asking for attention. I want the city to look at teen issuses not tween issues!

The Politics of Parsing

This is Hillary saying two different things at the same debate...I've got to say is "huh, I'm confused..."

Sen. Obama on The Today Show

Somebody agrees with me on Hillary using the "woman card"

Eisenhower on the Military Industrial Complex

We should have listened...

Hillary Clinton, A Womans Worst Choice

Hillary Clinton is this countries first serious female candidate for President. Because of this she is holding the dreams of a lot of little girls in her hands. “Yes Sally, you to one day maybe President.” But what is Hillary Clinton teaching Sally about how get to the office of the Presidency?

Lesson 1 Marry Well: Sometimes it can be difficult for a woman to become a high ranking political official and it is even harder to get the media attention that is needed to later become President. To become President you have to be good at your job, but you also have to have a lot of cameras pointing at you. Hillary Clinton found the prefect way to obtain all that, marry well and become first lady. By becoming first lady she got to have unlimited access to the candidate (her husband), she got to have influential jobs that the first lady often gets (think more humanitarian stuff) and she got lots of media attention. I’m not saying Hillary doesn’t love Bill, but even Hillary’s close college friends admit that one of her major attractions to Bill was that Hillary was sure Bill would become President someday…

Lesson 2 Its Not Nice To Pick On A Girl: We all have to admit that fact is still there. Most people feel that it is not right for a man to be “mean” to a woman. You can bet Hillary and her staff know this…they saw the results of it in her first Senate race. During the debate of that race, Hillary’s male opponent strongly challenged her on some issues. So much so that he left his podium and walked over to Hillary and tried to get her to sign a “Pledge.” Well that man lost the election. What’s more is many analysts believe he lost that election in that one moment. Studies show that many people saw that “in your face pledge” as an invasion of Hillary’s personal space. It was too mean, too confrontational, and something that is not acceptable to do to a woman. That Senate race was a dead tie before the debate and then after it, Hillary was in the lead.

To me this reinforces the old stereotype that woman are different than men. And we are…don’t get me wrong…I would be turned off if a man was openly “mean” to a women. But being challenged on a political issue is not “mean,” it is what is meant to happen. And it is wrong for any woman to hide behind it. This is what Hillary is doing. Hillary after losing this Tuesdays debate released a e-mail to all her supporters stating that debate was nothing more than, and I quote “the politics of pile-on.” She is saying that the men decided to go after her and that was wrong of them. Well I’m sorry Hillary, they went after your stance on the issues, not after you. If you stop voting for war with Iraq and Iran then maybe other people (men and women) will stop bring it up. But until then, it is the obligation of every person who disagrees with you to say so, that is a democracy Mrs. Clinton…look into it.

Lesson 3 If it’s not Nice To Pick On A Girl, Act Like A Girl: Anyone notice that ever since Hillary decided to run for President she got a lot girly all of a sudden? Hillary chose as her campaign theme song “You and I” by Celine Dion. Now I like Celine Dion’s music…but I’m a woman, and I like it because her music tends to be mushy and sentimental…and is that what you want your campaign song to be like? Normally they are about hope (such as “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow”) and they are normally the type of song anyone can sign…can anyone reach the high notes on Celine’s Titanic song…I don’t think so… Also has anyone noticed that Hillary laughs a lot more now? It isn’t even so much of a laugh than it is a giggle. Whenever someone asks her a hard question Hillary laughs them off. As if to say “how funny you think that way, now go away.” She does really challenge people on the issues…she just giggles…and smiles…

All I have to say is: ok Hillary, I get it you’re a woman, just like me, giggles and Celine Dion in all. But you are meant to be more than that, you are a Presidential candidate. Don’t laugh off the hard questions, answer them! Don’t tote out your experience as First Lady as an advancement for women’s rights. Marrying well and getting power is not the same as getting your own power. Queen Elizabeth was ruler of England at the same time England was burning witches (not a real advancement for women there…Hilary is no different). Hilary show us younger woman that it is possible for us to reach Presidency and we don’t have to sell our selves out to bad female stereotypes to get there!

Meet Mitt Romeny

Mitt Romeny is the former Governor of Massachusetts. He put together the Massachusetts Health Care Program. Its the first of its kind in the country, the state mandates by law that everyone have health care and anyone who can not afford it is meant to get government aid in paying for health care. Mitt Romeny has also had a lot of success in the private sector, he is a millionaire several times over and when the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics where floundering Mitt Romeny was the one who saved them.

However their are some problems with the Romeny campaign. First of all he was a Governor of a VERY liberial state, and thus had to take some liberal positions. Up until recently he was pro choice and he also said he would be better on gay issues "than Ted Kennedy". So that is not going over so well now. He has reversed both of those past positions...but is tagged as a flip-flopper...so the religious right treats him with some distrust. Another problem the religious right has with Romeny is that he is not their religion. Romeny is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, more commonly known as Mormons. Romeny is a huge "X" factor in his campaign, since most people say they will never vote for a Mormon.

Meet Rudy Giuliani

Okay, so I've been a bit neglectful of the Republican candidates running for President. I didn't mean too...I swear! Mid-terms just suck!

Ok so lets talk about Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He has been called "America's Mayor" by some in the media. He really got national media attention for his response to 9/11. Lets all face it, who do you remember on 9/11 President Bush reading "My Pet Goat" or Rudy Giuliani rushing out to ground zero to be with emergency workers....Giuliani had a strong mans approach to 9/11 and has continued to spread that message of being "tough on terrorism" after leaving office.

The base of Giuliani appeal is two things: tough on terror and moderate enough to win "liberal" states. Its true Giuliani's positions puts him at odds with his own party yet in the mainstream of the rest of the country...kinda...Lets list all the ways Giuliani used to disagree with his own party:
1) For Gun Control
2) Pro Choice
3) Lived with a Gay Couple
4) had an affair
5) has had two divorces
6) We have pictures of him dressed in DRAG
so yeah, if he was a Democrat this wouldn't really be a problem...but he's not.

1 in 10 American High Schools are "Dropout factories"

No school is proud of the title: "Dropout Factory." This not so great honor is bestowed upon high schools with a 60% dropout rate, and 1 in 10 High Schools in America have been awarded this title. Thats about 1,700 schools nationwide. The highest dropout rates where in large cities and "high-poverty" rural areas in the South and Southwest. Most of these "dropout factory" schools have high minority populations too.

Utah is the only state without a single dropout factory and Florida and South Carolina have the highest percentage of them. This statistic is particularly troubling for people like Jim Foster, a spokesman for the South Carolina department of Education. Mr. Foster is quick to point out that a couple of years ago a high school dropout could get a good job in a local textile mill, but now those jobs have gone. So what are these children meant to do???

This new dropout statistic comes from study at Johns Hopkins University. This study was fairly compressive and looked at the senior classes for three years in a row. This was to make sure that local events, such as plant closures (and thus people rapidly moving out of a town).

Lets Have A Debate

Ok so when I first started this blog I didn't know what to expect. I didn't really know where I wanted it to go. Yet over the past few weeks I have come to discover what I want this blog to be about. I want it to live up to its name "Young Minds Can Think." I want it to be an open place for several young people to write their ideas down and let other young people (and I guess older people...forever young, right???) read what they have to say.

Lets make this a place for debate and disscusion. Let it be a place for us to develop our points of view and engage in civil agruements with other smart people from our generation who might, just on ocashion disagree with us.

In the furture I hope to have on some gust blogers. Other young people who have a complelty new persective on the World. You might agree or disagree with them...but we should listen to them. Feel free to post a response to one of my posts, so your voice can be heard!

ONE Vote '08

Vote on our issues!!! Make our voices heard!!!

How much is a Trillion???

So the new numbers for the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars came out. It is projected that over the next decade we will spend $2.4 TRILLION!!!

So how much is a trillion? Well if you where to count to one trillion and each number took one second to say, you would be counting for 32,000 years!!! There are one trillion seconds in 32,000 years and about to be $2.4 trillion in the Iraq and Afghanistan war budget.....does anyone know how to do math in the Pentagon?!?!?!?! How about Congress?!!?!?!?! Does $2.4 seem right to anyone???

New Poll - The Republicans Turn

Ok so Barack Obama is the most popular Democract, but who is the most popular Republican candidate??? Lets find out. Vote for the Republican candidate you are most likely to vote for.

House Passes New Children Healthcare Bill

After the failure to override a Presidential veto the House went back and made a new Children's Health Care bill. The last children's health care bill pass with bipartisan support, yet the president still felt the need to veto it. So the House went back today and made a new children's health care bill, which they hope will get past the Presidents desk. However the House still does not have enough votes to override a Presidential veto.

Why is it okay for our President to veto a bill that would allow $10 million poor and middle class children to get medical coverage and thus see a doctor!!! The President vetoed a bill that would allow children to see doctors!

Come On People!!!!

Hillary vs Obama...Please Don't Let This Happen...

I'll admit I'm a little worried...

Funny Websites

It is a sign of the times that every poltcian and his brother has a Facebook and a myspace (I've told my boss to get one...). But now the parties have come out with fake versions of these sites to make fun of the other sides canidates. I have to say these site are HALERIOUS!!!

A Democratic Group has come out this the website "Right Wing Facebook" ( http://www.rightwingfacebook.org/ ). This site is a mock-up of Facebook and has profiles of five of the Republican presidential candidates: Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, McCain, and Huckabee. For a profile picture Giuliani has a picture of him in drag (a picture from a comedy skit he once did); Thompson lists his favorite movies as "anything I'm in"; Romney lists his relationship status as "married (to one woman, I asure you)"; and the list goes on and on...

Republicans have come out with there own mock website too. Its the RNC's Halloween themed "Scariest Democrat" (http://www.gop.com/net/ScariestDemocrat/ ). This site has rather unflatering pictures of the Democratic presidential canidates and then gives out list of headlines and quotes for each candidate (to show how liberial they really are). The voters get to rate the who they think is the "Scariest Democrat"

Fun Stuff!!!! Enjoy the Sites!!!

Big Block of Cheese Day

Its one year and two days (I am a little late posting this...) since John Spencer died. So Oct 21st is known to West Wing fans as "Big Block of Cheese Day". What is "Big Block of Cheese Day," well it was the day in the West Wing where important staff members had to meet with "lesser known groups." These groups included Cartographer's of Social Equality, a man how thought the government was covering up alien spaceships, teenage protesters, and citizens for D.C. statehood. Meeting such groups was meant to humble the staff and keep them grounded. I wish the White House really did Big Block of Cheese Day...the world would be a better place.

Old Style Democracy

With all the political hype around the Presidential race it is pretty easy to forget that their are a lot of people running for other offices in 2008. This seems sad to me, because the founders intended for the people to be involved in all levels of government. Their is an argument, that we are meant to be more active in local politics. Yet how many of us can name our own Congressman? anyone? How about State Senator? Assemblymen? Anyone got any answers???

I'll admit it... I'm guilty of ignoring local politics for the flashy National stuff too. That is why I am so glad I went to a local Democratic Club meeting last Friday. Club meetings are the very definition of "grass roots politics". What was even better about this club meeting was that there was a debate between two people running for a State Senate seat. It really was democracy at it purest form. Two guys at makeshift podiums answering regular peoples questions...this is what politics is meant to look like.

Some of the best quotes of the night where:

"Its not about the economy stupid, its about the people stupid."
Mark Desaulnier
"I believe the enviorment is one of the biggest issues of our lifetime."

Mark Desaulnier

"One thing we have not done in schools is teach our students about the principle that the economy moves in cycles, that needs to be taught more in schools"

Joe Cansamila

When asked if he had taken tabacco money Joe said...
"Yes, and a fairly substantial amount, tobacco is legal in CA. As long as the business is legal....and as long as the product is legal..."

There is something emopowering about haveing two people up on stage haveing answer to the people. Thats what democracy is all about...take charge, put your Repersentatives on the spot! They work for you after all!!! And their was something refreshing about being in a room with so many politically active people, I strongly reconmend doing it!!!
(Discliamer: I work for the senator who currently holds the seat these two men are fighting for...and I support Mark!!!)

Obama Leads In My Poll

The results are in from last weeks poll:

Obama 33%
Clinton 26%
Edwards 26%
Richardson 6%
Biden 6%

So Obama WINS!!!!

Sorry I Haven't Posted... Busy Weekend in my Small Town (Who Knew That Could Happen???)

Sorry I haven't posted, it turns out you can have a busy weekend. It involves going to a Democratic Club meeting, bowling (I'm getting better...about freak'n time), and a paper ball fight. Today is homework!!! YAY!!!

I will post about the club meeting and other things I learned about this weekend...sometime...when I'm done with homework...maybe

Rock the Vote!!! To All My Young Friends

Its time we all came together and said "We as a generation are going to matter to elected officials. It is no longer ok for them to ignore our issues." The only way this is going to happen is if we all get together and VOTE!!!!

One Less Republican Running for President

Senator Brownback will announce tomorrow that he is dropping out the Presidential Race.

How this will affect the Republican race is unclear. I personally believe that all of Brownback's support will go to Huckabee. Huckabee and Brownback were the most alike. It should also be said that Huckabee placed third in Iowa in a new poll released today (Higher than Giuliani)...with Brownback's supporters behind him-- How will Huckabee affect the GOP race for President?

He Said What???

Barack Obama said last night on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: "Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare 'Mission Accomplished' a little too soon."

Maybe Barack Obama is turning away from that "positive campaign " strategy...well it had to happen some time. There are only 10 real campaigning weeks left before the Iowa Caucus .

Is Stephen Colbert For Real???

Is Stephen Colbert run for President in the state of South Carolina for real? Well, ....yeah.

Stephen Colbert's staff took the time to call both the Republican and Democratic State Committees before the big announcement.

Joe Werner, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said someone from the Colbert Camp called him three weeks ago in regard to filing dates and other race requirements. Werner also went on the record saying" From what I understand, he does have credible people down here, working to have him on the ballot."

The chairman of the state Republican Party, Kato Dawson, said that his office also got a phone call from Colbert's people, but it was on Tuesday (the day Colbert announced). Dawson was less optimistic of Colbert's chances. Dawson went on record saying Colbert "could probably have more fun buying a sports car and getting a girlfriend." (Maybe someone should tell Mr. Dawson that Stephen Colbert is married and has two children, so the girlfriend idea might not be a good one...I mean hasn't the GOP had enough problems with type of stuff already?!?)

So what does Colbert have to do to keep this gag going? Mr. Werner said that one of two requirements have to met for Colbert to run. Either he has to pay a filing fee of $2,500 or to have 3,000 signatures. He would have to turn in the fee or signatures by Nov. 1st. Though he would also need the blessing of the executive council of the South Carolina Democratic Party. But Mr. Werner said "I don't believe you can do that." Yet if he would just run as a Democrat the "our executive council would have a hard time not putting him on the ballot."

Mr. Dawson does not believe the Republican Party could stop Colbert from running as both a Republican and a Democrat. He would just have to pay the Republican filing fee...a $35,000 fee...

Could Stephen Colbert Be Our Next President???

The answer to this question seems to be, yes but only sorta.

Stephen Colbert started out his Presidential campaign like every other candidate- by refusing to tell us whether he plans to run or not. He hinted that he was thinking about running on the Daily Show, yet he still refused to give us a clear answer. It seems he needed more time to think things over and "discuss it with his family." After about 15 mins of soul searching, he made it official. On his own show stated "I shall seek the office of the President of the Untied States." And following in the foots steps of Barack Obama and John Edwards, Colbert will couple his campaign with a book tour {Colbert just released a book "I am America (and so can you)." }

Colbert says he plans to run in South Carolina "and South Carolina alone." South Carolina happens to be his home state and third in the primary season. He says he would run as both a Democrat and a Republican, he says it gives him an opportunity to "lose twice."

This might all sound absurd but it is unclear how far Colbert is taking this whole thing...I mean he hardly ever breaks character and major networks like ABC and CNN are covering it. Remember folks Colbert is all about "truthiness"

Quote of the Day

"Every family has a black sheep," - Barack Obama's response to the news that he is distantly related to Dick Cheney.

Meet Chris Dodd

Chris Dodd is one of the more lesser known Democratic Presidential candidates. He is a five-term senator, former member of the House, and former chair of the national party. He serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and thus has experience with dealing with international issues. His website states the claim that he could have us out of Iraq by 2013…but is that fast enough for some Democrats? Though his plan might seem a bit slow he has backed more aggressive measures to change our current course in Iraq. Dodd sponsored the Feingold-Reid measure that would have cut off funding for the Iraq war. So it seems he wants us to quickly change course in Iraq…but the course we’re changing to is still long.

Dodd has also introduced the Restoring the Constitution Act. The Restoring the Constitution Act would restore habeas corpus and would make the Untied States meet the requirements set forth by the Geneva Conventions.

Dodd may seem a little to “New England” though. He is a bit stuffy and that could be a problem for him since the Democrats have such electric candidates leading in the polls. Not mention the Democrats put forward a guy for President last time who had a “New England” problem….look how well that worked.

The Jena Six

I briefly mentioned Jena in my post "lets get some facts". Well this video explains the facts at Jena.
Thank you to Sam for informing about the video!!!!

Vice President Cheney and Barack Obama are Cousins?!?

Can Dick Cheney and Barack Obama be cousins....I mean isn't that like one of the signs of the end of days or something?!? Yet in might be true. Lynn Cheney (Vice President Cheney wife) was doing research for her new book "Blue Sky's, and No Fences" and found that her husband and Senator Obama are 8th cousins.

Ok, well I never said they where closely related.

Let Bartlet be Bartlet

I loved this show so much. I think it could teach us all about politics and our government. I want the Democratic Leadership to watch this show...maybe it will remind them why people put them in office in the first place. "Let Democrats be Democrats"

Meet John Edwards

John Edwards can't wait to tell everyone about his humble roots, he is a son of a mill worker don’t you know (I love that story!). It is his personal background that gives him such authority when he speaks of “Two Americas”. Edwards believes that this country is split into “two Americas” one for the rich and one for the poor. The idea of “Two Americas” got him noticed in the 2004 campaign and he became John Kerry’s running mate. However the Edwards family was dealt a hard blow at the end of the 2004 campaign by the fact that Mrs. Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though her cancer went into remission by the time the 2008 campaign began, it has now returned.

Edwards is running on a platform of fighting for the poor and middle class. He is a strong supporter of Unions and has been know to walk the picket lines with Union members. John Edwards was the first candidate to make universal health care a major part of their platform. By doing this he basically forced Hillary and Obama to come out with their own health care plans. He has one of the most liberal Iraq policies. He has apologized for his vote giving the President the right to invade Iraq, and now he has one of the clearest plans to get out of Iraq!!!

Edwards however has had problems getting support. He remains third in every national poll and in the early primary states he only leads in Iowa (and that lead is slipping). For Edwards Iowa is do or die, if he fails to come first their in the Iowa Caucus then he is done. He has also come under attack for not living up to the middle class values he claims to represent. Though he was the son of a mill worker...Edwards is no mill worker...he lives in a very big, expensive, new house and has been know to get a $400 hair cut.

Meet Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the first major African American candidate to run for President. A senator from Illinois, Barack Obama has come out of Abram Lincoln’s home state and he looks like he might just finished what Lincoln started. Barack Obama might become the first ever African American President. Obama broke into the world of national politics at the 2006 Democratic convention, where he gave a speech that knocked the crowd out (I should know I was watching it on TV, I never cheered so much in my life). Ever since then he has been the sweetheart of liberals and even a few moderate conservatives. There is an energy surrounding the Obama campaign that has been compared to that of Jack and Robert Kennedy’s campaigns. He wins the youth vote in every poll. He has to be Hilary Clinton’s strongest opponent, with his opposition to the Iraq war (from the beginning, he is the only one of the major democratic candidates that can say that) and his promise of a “new type of politics”. He has become the candidate know for hope and not using negative campaign tactics, however it has yet to be seen if this is a winning strategy.

Meet Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is probably the best known candidate in the Democratic field and she provokes strong feelings from both sides of the isle. You either love her or you hate her. She has a lot of support and her team has organized a strong campaign, which will make her hard to beat. Not to mention she has her secret weapon, Bill Clinton. She is known for being to the left of center on the issues; however this reputation might not be well earned. She is against flag burning and wants abortion to be “safe, legal, and completely unnecessary”. Those two positions alone put her more in the center than most other Democratic candidates. She has also gotten into trouble with the hard left for her vote on Iraq. She voted to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq, and she has yet to give an apology for that vote. She has also given several conflicting statements on what she would do with the troops in Iraq if she happens to become president. She has said “If George Bush doesn’t take the troops out of Iraq, I will” yet she has also said in debates that she would want residual forces to stay in Iraq. But despite all this, it is widely believed that you will some day be calling Mrs. Clinton...Madame President.

Ladies Home Journal and the State of the Candiates Unions

A survey conducted by the Ladies Home Journal found that 35% of American women believe the state of a candidate’s marriage will influence how they vote. 13% said it would affect their vote a great deal and 22% said is somewhat affect their vote.

So who do American women believe is the happiest couple??? *drum roll, please* John and Elizabeth Edwards!!!!

Here is the poll break down and where the other candidates fell into place:

John and Elizabeth Edwards, 52%
Barack and Michelle Obama, 43%
John and Cindy McCain, 35%
Rudy and Judith Giuliani, 34%
Hillary and Bill Clinton, 29%
Mitt and Ann Romney, 24%
Fred and Jeri Thompson, 20%
Bill and Barbara Richardson, 12%

Interestingly enough Hillary and Bill beat Mitt and Ann Romney in this poll, despite the Clintons’ known marital problems and Romney’s happen to be the longest married out of all the couples and they have the most children.

So what should be more important to voters, the state of the Union or the state of their union?

Lets get some facts

I was watching Meet the Press today. Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint were on talking about the African-American community. Now in light of the recent problems in Gena I think we as a country and we as the next generation of leaders of this country need to have a honest conversation about race. So lets get some of the facts.

In 1950, 5/6 African-American children where born in a "two parent house hold" today its less than 2/6.

70% of African American babies are born to single mothers.

1/3 of homeless people in this country are African American males. Yet African Americans only make up 12% of the population in the US.

2.2 million people are in jail in this country. 910,000 of them are African American. Thats 44% of the prison population that is African American and again African Americans only make up 12% of this countries total population. 90% of all African Americans who are in jail are male.

Homicide is the number one cause of death for African American males between the ages of 15 and 29.

Their is a racial difference in the sentencing practices in America. 80% of powdered cocaine users are white. Yet it takes 100 times as much powdered cocaine than crack cocaine to get the same mandatory sentence. In other words you get put in jail longer if you are caught with a drug mostly used by African Americans.

Gangster rap constantly uses the "N-word" yet gangster rap main audience is mostly white youth.

50% of new HIV/AIDS cases are African American.

I got these facts from the transcripts of Meet the Press. So now we have the facts, what are we going to do about it?

Weekly Poll

Every week I will have poll. This week is "who will you vote for in the democratic primaries?" So if you know the answer to the question, answer it. If you don't then wait and some time this week I will post info about each of the candidates and then you will be to decide... right?

Next week will be the Republicans turn....

Their is nothing to do!!!

It seems like I'm going to have another one of those nights. I have a group of friends and nothing to do. I live in a city where the motto is "Where families come first". Yet it seems that mayor believes that families are only made up of peppy little five year olds. I say this because the only community events this city ever holds are for small children. I like art shows in the town square, just as long as I am not expected to do finger painting... I did graduate elementary school after all.

There is not a whole lot for a teen to do here. Their are the movies (if you have $10 to spend on a ticket) and their is bowling. Oh, and their is my personal favorite sitting outside in the town square until all hours of the night thinking of things to do. You might be saying "well your a young person go out and party, have fun, stop complaining". Well the party sense isn't quite my thing...so what is their left for me to do?

Why do cities constantly forget to provide any entertainment to teens of their communities. Do they think that any group of teens gathered together means instant crime, because let me tell you it doesn't. I'm a good teen and a responsible person and I want my community to do things for my age group!!!

Over My Dead Body Ann!

Ann Coulter made a disgusting attack on the 19th Amendment in The New York Observer in a section cleverly titled “On Women”. For all of you who don’t know, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution finally gave American women the right to vote. The right to vote is the right to have a voice in our own the government, and it is our government. Somehow Ann Coulter thinks this is a bad thing. She criticizes the Democratic Party for fighting for women’s issues. Can I ask, what is wrong with that? Women make up the majority of the population of this country, why shouldn’t politicians speak to our issues? Isn’t that the point of a democracy, the majority of the population gets to make the decisions? Someone please correct me if I’m wrong…

It is absolutely amazing to me that in this day and age another woman can attack the amendment so many women fought and some died for. Inez Milholland was one of those women who died for the cause. She led 5,000 women on a march to the capitol on the day of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. Yet Inez Millholland’s poor health and constant working for the cause of women’s suffrage led to her early death. Her last public words were, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?”

In less than one hundred years this country has gone from inspirational female leaders like Inez Milholland to women like Ann Coulter. We have gone from a woman who disregarded a doctor’s warnings about her work load because she believed in what she was fighting for: she believed in liberty for all. She believed in liberty for women. It seems that those days are gone and here are the days of Ann Coulter, a woman who launches verbal harpoons for the sake of selling books, for the sake of her own profit margin! Someone better remind Ann that it was same women who fought for her right to vote, whether she wants that right or not, that fought for women to own property. If those women hadn’t had stood up to the segregationist society of the time, poor little Annie Coulter would be stuck giving all her profits from her very popular books to her father (since Ann is not married). So Ann should remember that when she is taking her very large check to the bank!


Here is Ann Coulter in her own words:

On women:
If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women.
It also makes the point, it is kind of embarrassing, the Democratic Party ought to be hanging its head in shame, that it has so much difficulty getting men to vote for it. I mean, you do see it’s the party of women and 'We’ll pay for health care and tuition and day care -- and here, what else can we give you, soccer moms?'

My First Post!!!

Hello All,

So I'm new to this whole blogger thing... I don't know what to expect from it at all. I guess I hope that this will become a place for me to write down my thoughts and feelings on current events and issues, and every once in a while have a good rant.

I'm a young progressive Democrat and for a while I have felt that very few blogs speak to my issues. So this blog is my way of filling the void. I want to prove that young people do have thoughts on current issues and that those thoughts are important!!!