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!!!