Weblog
Jan 20, 11:12 AM: Eight Years.
I am not old by any definition of the word. In fact, I suppose I am now at the age I always sort of “imagined” myself when I was younger. You know, living on your own, out of school, being able to “do whatever you want” and all of that.
I can only vaguely recall the specifics of what I was doing 8, 10, 15 years ago. I know that it’s been over eleven years since I started my first web site, and a decade or so since I spent most of my spare time administering IRC servers.
It was eight years ago that I launched this web site. At the time, it was a Blogger powered site located at d-a-v-e.com. I have since forgotten to renew that domain, so it’s gone. Most of my other web projects have expired and vanished from the web. And, I suppose, that’s quite alright. My main web presence now exists on other sites, each with their own purpose. Last.fm for music, flickr for photos, Twitter for micro status updates. There’s little need to put all of those things under the umbrella of a “personal web site.” Even the best designed personal web sites are islands in Web 2.5 or whatever we are on now.
Eight years ago, something else happened. George Walker Bush became President of the United States. The election in 2000 was the first that I was very much involved in, following the election process and even covering it for WHFH-FM. Alas, I was a year too young to vote, but I was amazed. I was also terribly disappointed by the outcome in Florida.
I started this blog on January 20, with the intent of making political observations throughout Bush’s administration. In the course of those eight years, I have neglected the site on-and-off. I have had other writers come and go, and I’ve had the readership rise and fall. I’ve posted about politics, sports, finance, and personal matters. I moved from the suburbs of Chicago to Washington, D.C. I applied to college, was accepted, attended, and graduated. I’ve had relationships come and go, I’ve had jobs come and go, I’ve made money, lost money. I’ve made new friends, and lost others.
A lot of things can happen in eight years. In four. In one. In a day. Today, January 20, 2009 is but one day in history. However, unlike that day eight years ago, today is a day of hope and promise. We do not know what the future holds for us or for President Barack Obama. It’s going to be a long road, however you look at it. But at least we are back on the road.
History can be made in a day, or a year, or a lifetime. I certainly hope that President Obama’s history will be much greater than just this day. But it’s a good one to start with.
Sep 2, 02:40 PM: Election '08
The last time I wrote about politics on this site was prior to the 2006 midterm elections. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was pretty on the dot about how the Senate and House would end up.
Since then, aside from the year-long hiatus, I had avoided the topic of politics. At the time, I felt like I had nothing to contribute, given the vast numbers of “professional” political bloggers out there.
Lately, though, I’ve been rethinking this. For one, while I am not a “professional,” I have been blogging about politics for nearly eight years. In various capacities I have covered political stories, whether as a blogger, for my old high school radio station, or for my college newspaper.
These credentials are often more than any “pro” blogger has, aside from the fact that they get paid to write about politics. Also, I’m interested in politics, and really that’s the only qualification anyone should ever need to write about the subject.
So I’m going to get back on track here, and write more about the 2008 election. We’ll see where I go with it, but it should be fun.
Aug 29, 12:20 PM: McCain-Palin
Eventually I’m going to move away from politics on this blog, but since this is a huge topic of conversation, let me say a few things.
First off, I really have to ask if McCain has lost his mind. Well, no, I think we already knew the answer to that question. He lost it ages ago. I suppose the better question to ask is how did he end up with Sarah Palin as his choice?
I see two possible answers:
1. McCain thinks women are stupid.
2. Everyone else said no.
I think it’s probably a little from column A and a little from column B. Does McCain really think women who supported Hillary will support him simply because Palin is on the ticket?
And just, by the way, let me pause and again ask just who the hell is Sarah Paulin? Oh, that’s right, a former mayor of a tiny little village in Alaska who somehow managed to become governor.
So this is who will take over when/if McCain is no longer able to perform the duties of President? Really?
Really?
McCain/Granddaughter ‘08!
Jul 4, 04:31 AM: On this date, 1776.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Jan 26, 01:48 AM: Very good point
From Stephen Colbert's wrap-up on the State of the Union:
Stephen Colbert: What made [Tuesday's State of the Union speech] so groundbreaking, I think, was all the new stuff we've never heard from the president before...like a domestic agenda. Take his proposal to fix the whole health care mess with the only proven cure-all: tax breaks...
Bush clip: And for the millions of Americans with no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within reach.
Colbert: It's so simple. Most people who couldn't afford health insurance also are too poor to owe taxes. But...if you give them a deduction from their taxes they don't owe, they can use the money they're not getting back from what they haven't given to buy the health care they can't afford.
Jan 26, 12:07 AM: Rumor Mill Continues: Cheney to Resign?
How many times have we heard this one?
Well, here it is again. From Comedy Central Insider via Crooks and Liars:
The CC Insider/InDecider has just heard more rumors (see earlier posts) from a SECOND reliable source that Dick Cheney will be stepping down as Vice President and will be replaced as Vice President by Condoleezza Rice. And now we’re hearing that she would like to be on the ticket as the GOP VP candidate in ‘08.
According to our rumor-meister, John Negroponte will be filling Condi’s current position as Secretary of State. Negroponte is currently the Director of National Intelligence (the first person ever to hold the few-years-old position) and the former US Ambassador to Iraq.
I wonder how this would go over with the rest of the Republican Party? I can’t imagine anyone from the Bush White House having anything coming close to a shot at the nomination.
Jan 24, 06:15 PM: 582,000 Americans who have no voice in Congress
In 2002, I officially gave up my right to have representation in the United States Congress. That was the year that I registered to vote in the District of Columbia. I have since been an official resident of the District, and have paid both federal and “state” income taxes ever since. I voted in 2004 for President, but it should be noted that residents of the District of Columbia have only had that privilege since 1964. (Yes, you read that right, nineteen sixty-four).
Now I have heard a lot of reasons why I should not be allowed to vote for Congress. These range from the absurd (Washington, D.C. gets so much federal aid, you should be grateful and just be quiet) to somewhat more logical (2 Senators for one city would be goofy). However, I don’t put any stock into these excuses. That’s because these reasons fail to address the main problem, that American citizens who pay taxes have no voice in the Congress that ultimately creates those taxes, and also sends our members of the military to fight.
It’s been said that there’s no national outcry about this because no one outside of D.C. knows about it. There have been many publicity stunts trying to attract attention to the voting rights issue, from moving the District’s presidential primary, to stamping “Taxation Without Representation” on our license plates. So far, though, nothing has seemed to work. Nothing has galvanized the nation to take action. The situation was even officially declared a human rights violation by the Organization of American States. Yet, again, no one seems to care.
I’ll assume this blog post will not be the turning point either.
I’ve traveled across much of the United States, and most people are surprised that Washington, D.C. has it’s own driver’s licenses. I’m not sure why most people are surprised, I guess they assume that Washington, D.C. is actually part of Maryland or Virginia. I received quite a few strange looks driving around Washington state with my car from D.C. When I explain to people that yes, people live in Washington and that we can’t vote, most people are shocked.
Are you shocked? You may have even visited Washington, and seen the White House or the Capitol, and seen the monuments. I’ll bet you didn’t even think about the people actually living in the city. It’s okay, when I first visited D.C. I didn’t give much thought to it either.
Since our government has gotten in the habit of spreading democracy across the world, it’s a shame we can’t take care of the problem of the people who live in the “capital of the free world.”
There has been some talk about giving our “non-voting Delegate” a vote, provided we give Utah a second at-large representative. This is clearly ridiculous, as it turns this into a political issue rather than a voting rights issue. That’s like saying, let’s give the U.S. two votes on the U.N. Security Council to make up for China’s vote. Actually, that’s a bad analogy, but you get the point.
I’m just hoping that if you read this, you’ll be just a little shocked that there are so many people who don’t have the same rights the rest of America does, and maybe you’ll write your Congressman. Or your Senators.
I would, but, well, you know.
You can read more about D.C. Voting Rights at DC Vote and Wikipedia.
Jan 15, 04:58 PM: Updates on Sen. Tim Johnson's (D-SD) Condition
I hadn’t heard any updates on Sen. Tim Johnson’s condition for a while, so I headed over to Google News and did a quick search.
You’ll recall Tim Johnson underwent emergency brain surgery last month, to relieve bleeding caused by malformed blood vessels. The event sparked a frenzy here in D.C., and political commentators seemed to salivate over figuring out what would happen to the balance of power if the Senator had died.
The last time Johnson was mentioned in the major media outlets, he was still heavily sedated and no one was talking about how bad his condition may be, or what the prognosis was. However, it seemed he was stable enough that the political vultures circling would have to head somewhere else.
According to several news articles the good Senator from North Dakota may be improving.
Johnson has been moved out of the intensive care unit at George Washington Hospital and into the in-house rehabilitation center. According to his neurologist, his speech center was not damaged by the hemorrhage. It has also been reported he has been speaking a few words, and is able to follow commands. He continues, however, to have a tracheostomy tube to assist his breathing.
It’s unclear how long the recovery will take, and it will be a long and difficult process. However, I look forward the first official remarks from the man whose life had become a math equation for political pundits.
Dec 30, 04:00 AM: Saddam Hussein is Dead
Saddam Hussein (right) shaking hands with former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
In case you haven’t read enough commentary about Saddam Hussein, here’s some more.
Around 10 PM EST (6 AM local time in Baghdad), the former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hanged. Much like the “mission accomplished” speech of 2003, it is likely that this event will have little to no effect on the current civil war going on in Iraq. President Bush can pat himself on the back for turning yet another corner, and we can tout how the Iraqis are well on the way to a democracy. Or something.
It is up for debate whether or not Saddam had a fair trial, and I suppose the larger question would be if such a thing was even possible. Of course he was going to be executed, if not by a U.S. missile than by hanging or firing squad or something else. And of course some will cheer this event, and others will curse the U.S. for disgracing Iraq even more.
I don’t cheer the death of Saddam, and perhaps in some way it was good for the Iraqis to have this day. Personally I am not a big fan of using death as punishment, and I am a bit skeptical that a new mythical outpost of freedom can be borne out of an execution. Just seems like the wrong foot to start on.
The prospects for anything except more violence in Iraq are dim, and this just seems to me yet another death. Did he deserve it? Probably. More so than those who covertly supported him at the same time he was committing such atrocities? Who knows. If we are lucky, maybe the United States won’t be responsible for as many deaths in Iraq as Saddam was. But, of course, we aren’t even keeping track of such things.
One dictator down. Lots more to go. When did this become our job? As much as I wish everyone would live in peace and we could have global prosperity, how much of a price should we pay for more failed attempts at that goal—a goal which is more than likely unattainable. There’s a lot of work to do here at home. I, for one, would like to see us get started on that. The rest of the world (dictators and all) will be still be there. Those who hate us will still hate us, but maybe those who used to respect us will come around again. We may need their help again, you know.
Nov 9, 09:44 AM: Note to the new Democratic Congress
Dear Democrats,
Pass a voting rights bill for the District of Columbia, and forget about giving Utah an extra seat.
Bush won’t veto it. Nancy Pelosi: Please incorporate that into the “first 100 hours.”
Thanks,
The 580,000 residents of the District of Columbia
Oct 9, 08:05 PM: Gas Price Rigging?
I cannot speak to the accuracy of this article, but it draws some interesting conclusions.
The premise of this piece is that Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banking houses, is purposely manipulating gasoline prices as the 2006 elections approach.
The article links to a New York Times story which was buried in a Saturday edition.
From the Times’ piece:
Politics and worries about oil supplies may have caused gasoline prices to go up at the pump earlier this year, but one big investment bank quietly helped their rapid drop in recent weeks, according to some economists, traders and analysts.Goldman Sachs, which runs the largest commodity index, the G.S.C.I., said in early August that it was reducing the index’s weighting in gasoline futures significantly. The announcement did not make big headlines, but it has reverberated through the markets in the weeks since and some other investors who had been betting that gasoline would rise followed suit on their weightings.
It gets interesting to note that this sell-off happened just a couple months after President Bush named Henry Paulson, Jr. as the new Secretary of the Treasury. Paulson was the Chairman and C.E.O. of Goldman Sachs.
Conspiracy theory? Maybe. But interesting, nonetheless.
