'06 or Bust

Let me be the first to say it: if the Democrats do not take back at least one house of Congress in November, either the entire leadership of the Democratic Party should be fired and replaced, or a new, independent party must rise out of the ashes of a dead Democratic Party.

There are so many problems facing this nation right now. If the Democrats cannot capitalize on the Republicans' incompetence now, I dare say it is hopeless for them as a party. Think about all the ammunition the Democrats have:

1. Hurricane Katrina, and the lack of any response (Even today little has been done),
2. The (civil) war in Iraq (body bags are piling up and where are those WMD's?),
3. Gas prices and our reliance on big oil (2 big oil men in the white house = coincidence?),
4. Jack Abramoff/Tom Delay lobbying scandals,
5. Failure to find and capture Bin Laden & Al-Zarqawi,
6. An enormous federal budget deficit that is growing exponentially,
7. Repeated attempts to privatize social security,
8. Passage of a confusing prescription drug benefits bill that primarily benefits the drug companies,
9. Leaking the name of a covert CIA agent,
10. Torture at Abu Ghraib

I realize that gerrymandering hampers the Democrats ability to take back the congress, but the Republicans have failed so miserably that Democrats should compete in '06.

For more Bush Administration scandals, see http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/011905D.shtml

Little Known Facts

I thought it might be interesting to take a quick break from the usual political post. Instead, I am posting a list of little known facts that you may find interesting.

1. State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
2. Percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%. Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
3. Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches
4. The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.
5. The youngest pope was 11 years old.
6. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
7. The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fredand Wilma Flintstone.
8. Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury
9. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
10. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
11. Chances that an American lives within 50 miles of where they grew up: 1 in 2.
12. China has more English speakers than the United States.
13. Conception occurs more often in December than any other month.
14. In Indiana it is illegal to ride public transportation for at least 30 minutes after eating garlic
15. Marilyn Monroe had six toes.
16. Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."
17. The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the males head off.
18. The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes
19. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
20. The phrase "sleep tight" derives from the fact that early mattresses were filled with straw and held up with rope stretched across the bedframe. A tight sleep was a comfortable sleep.
21. The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
22. The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means, "the king is dead".
23. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.
24. Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.
25. In medieval England, beer was often served with breakfast
26. Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired


Sources:
http://www.avolites.org.uk/jokes/didyouknow.htm
http://www.gambino.com/funstuff/facts.htm
http://www.commonplacebook.com/humor/aphorisms/facts.shtm
http://www.qub.ac.uk/assoc/msf/little_known_facts.htm

Which Party is Better for Homeland Defense Issues?

Many believe that Republicans are strong on national defense and that Democrats are weak. I have previously written that this is a myth being perpetrated by Karl Rove and other Republican talking heads. Here is an excellent description of where the Democrats stand on homeland security issues, and also a terrific break down of the facts, comparing the Democrats to the Republicans:

http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda/real_security/

We Should All Be So Lucky

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060313/ap_on_fe_st/beer_on_tap

Counterattack against South Dakota

If you are like me, you felt a sense of bewilderment and helplessness when news of South Dakota's abortion ban became public. The religious right is hell-bent on overturning Roe v. Wade and making abortion illegal in all 50 states. Unlike most of us, these pro-life supporters are one issue voters and are relentless in advocating their position. Most of the pro-choice supporters, in contrast, are quite passive. We need to become active. The question is what should we do?

Here is a superb article written by a pro-choice activist. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/8/234141/0518 The article is very informative and suggests several things we can do right away to counter the pro-life activists.

Houston Soccer Team Update

Many of you may recall my rampage against the name of Houston's new major league soccer team. Originally, the team was to be called "1836" after the year Houston was founded. Today, the team announced that instead of "1836", the team will be called The Dynamo. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=360856&cc=5901 Not great, but much better.

Katrina

If you have not seen the video that just came out about Bush's briefing on hurricane Katrina, please stop what you are doing and at least read about it. The video clearly shows that the President knew that Katrina would likely breach the levees. After the briefing, the President asked ZERO questions. Not one. He even told reporters that the government was fully prepared to respond to the hurricane. Here is a link to the video: http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=c52e838f-66ce-47df-a229-8127e2c6f17e

Moreover, "Bush declared four days after the storm, 'I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees' that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans." What a liar! http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002114558

This whole thing disgusts me. There are two issues in particular that strike me as important. First, Bush did not ask any questions after the briefing. He lacks any intellectual curiosity and by remaining silent, was not doing his job. His first job is to protect the American people. He failed. Second, he blatantly lied. The video proves that he was warned about the possibility of the levees being breached. In addition, the video shows that all the experts were taking the hurricane very seriously. The only one who did not take it seriously was the President. The Democrats should pummel the President and republicans on this issue from now until November.

For a more detailed account, read http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002114558

Republican Hardball Politics

Republicans are well known for their dirty tricks (see President Nixon for exhibit A) and behind the scenes arm twisting. Tom Delay is the master of such political subterfuge. An article came out in today's Washington Post detailing the latest Delay plot. Check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/26/AR2006022601227.html. The article explains that the IRS was asked to investigate a Texas non-profit organization that was critical of Tom Delay's campaign spending. The IRS investigated the organization at the behest of Tom Delay's good friend, congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX). Thankfully, the organization was cleared of any wrongdoing, but it is disgusting that the Delay and his cronies are trying to get revenge in this way. Watchdog organizations should not have to worry about costly investigations and/or vengeful political tricks for engaging in an important public service.

Tom Delay has a long history of playing political hardball. Take, for example, the medicare bill that passed Congress in 2003. The bill was designed to help pharmaceutical companies and screw over your average American. The Act specifically prohibited Medicare from bargaining with pharmaceutical companies. It is unbelieveable that Congress would make such a prohibition. After all, the such bargaining power explains why the Veteran's Health Administration has been able to demand prices 49 percent lower than Medicare's and why every other country with nationalized health insurance buys pharmaceuticals at around half our price.

Tom Delay, as majority leader, did everything he could to ensure passage of the act. The vote was held open "an unprecedented three hours to ensure passage (by contrast, when Democratic leaders held a vote open for 15 extra minutes in 1987, then-congressman Dick Cheney called it 'the most arrogant, heavy-handed abuse of power I've ever seen in the 10 years that I've been here.')" and lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Moreover, Delay bribed another member of Congress to vote for the bill and threatened not to donate money to the son of a congressman who was running for office. Check out this link for a detailed account of the vote http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/111605/news2.html. Also check out http://www.johnmccrory.com/wrote.asp?this=434 for more detail about the bribe.

Support Nick Lampson, the Democrat running against Delay in 2006. Delay's job approval is at an all-time low, so Lampson has a chance of defeating him. http://www.lampson.com/