Posts tagged Politics
Settled Debates
Birth Control
“We need to take sensationalism out of this topic so that it can no longer be used by militants who have no real knowledge of the voluntary nature of the program but, rather, are using it as a political stepping stone. If family planning is anything, it is a public health matter.” - George H.W. Bush, 1970 (source)
Evolution
“Of course, like every other man of intelligence and education I do believe in organic evolution. It surprises me that at this late date such questions should be raised.” - Woodrow Wilson, 1922
“”In January, prodded in part by outrage over a series of articles in the New York Review of Books, the Justice Department finally released an estimate of the prevalence of sexual abuse in penitentiaries. The reliance on filed complaints appeared to understate the problem. For 2008, for example, the government had previously tallied 935 confirmed instances of sexual abuse. After asking around, and performing some calculations, the Justice Department came up with a new number: 216,000. That’s 216,000 victims, not instances. These victims are often assaulted multiple times over the course of the year. The Justice Department now seems to be saying that prison rape accounted for the majority of all rapes committed in the US in 2008, likely making the United States the first country in the history of the world to count more rapes for men than for women.
America’s prison system is a moral catastrophe. The eerie sense of security that prevails on the streets of lower Manhattan obscures, and depends upon, a system of state-sponsored suffering as vicious and widespread as any in human history. Dismantling the system of American gulags, and holding accountable those responsible for their operation, presents the most urgent humanitarian imperative of our time.
“ We bought that son of a bitch and then he didn’t stay bought.”
On Elites…
“Newt Gingrich, whose campaign was twice left for dead and came back to win a landslide victory in South Carolina, used his victory speech Saturday night before a raucous crowd of hundreds to attack the “elites in New York and Washington,” whom he identified as President Obama and the news media.”
-Gingrich Has Kind Words for Rivals and Venom for ‘Elites’, Nate Silver- NY Times
If he is defining an elite as anyone who holds a position of power how could Gingrich himself not be considered an elite? The House of Representative has had sixty-one speakers in its history or which Gingrich is one.
I’m sorry, but anyway you look at it Gingrich has been an elite in Washington and would like to be again.
“Perhaps during the blackout, Internet users can look elsewhere for an accurate definition of online piracy.” - U.S Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio
Thanks to the state of Texas’ wonderful congressional districting this is my representative. I have called his office to voice my opinion and let them know the Representative could not rely on my vote due to his continued support of this bill.
I am so galled that I am to the point that I will probably volunteer for whoever his opponent is in the general election and do everything I can to ensure that he is not reelected.
So, if you live in the 21st Congressional District of Texas and would like to be represented by someone who does not understand the implications of his own bills then, by all means, vote for Representative Smith.
“ It would be a mistake, though, to believe that, long after Iowa, once the horse race is over, and if he’s elected, Romney could suddenly flip a switch, clear the air of the toxicity left behind by the Republican field, and return to being a cautious centrist whose most reassuring quality is his lack of principles. His party wouldn’t let him; and, after all, how a candidate runs shapes how a President governs. In politics, once a sellout, always a sellout; once a thug, always a thug.”
Comment: Un-American Activities : The New Yorker
Another resounding Romney endorsement.
This Blog Has Been Censored
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Rick Perry & A Flat Tax
Q: But for those at the top, it is hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars for them.
Rick Perry: But I don’t care about that. What I care about is them having the dollars to invest in their companies. To go out and maybe start a business because they got the confidence again because they actually get to keep more of what they work for. If that’s what comes, I’ll take that criticism. Because what I’m interested in is getting Americans working.
Rick Perry is proposing a 20% flat tax. If you are already against a progressive tax system my commentary on this will be mostly meaningless.
The effective tax rate on the top incomes in our country has fallen for the last twenty years, and we have not seen a commensurate investment in business and job growth that Governor Perry claims will happen with a tax cut.
My issue here is with how wealth is created and what the extremely wealthy do with their money. If you have a job and are earning this kind of income it is unlikely you will use your money to start a new business employing hundreds of out of work Americans tomorrow. You are already tremendously successful and being rewarded for it. The earnings will, most likely, be invested into the stock market. Those companies will work to create the best possible long-term growth strategies.
This probably means pursing growth in a BRIC1 country. The money invested in American multi-national companies will go to support their growth in an area that will give the most return on their investment. This isn’t a bad thing, but when proposing a flat-tax under the guise of propelling domestic growth an understanding of the flow of capital in a global economy is necessary. It will not result in a substantial reshaping of our economy or growth in jobs.
I have spoken about income inequality before. How we address this is still unknown to me, but as a nation there are better uses of our national resources than a flat tax that will actually result in a stronger, and hopefully, more equitable economy.
This tax plan will never be implemented, but I am weary of hearing people talk about the wonders that a flat tax of any kind represents.
1. Brazil, Russia, India, China
Did You Know
That the White House has an official petitioning program on their website. Yes, one of our fundamental constitutional rights, the right to petition, is a part of the digital strategy they employ.
You are able to create a petition for whatever you want, and then others are able to digitally sign your petition. Once it reaches a certain threshold the White House will provide an official response. This brings a new level of transparency to the petitioning process, and feels better than sending a letter or email because you can see your progress.
Never-minding issues about digital free speech inequality based on access to computers/internet. I would like to see similar approaches taken by leadership in the House and Senate.
This lends to a more Democratic way of sourcing public views and is a step removed from public interest groups though not immune to their influence. I will also say that I am not entirely convinced that our government should always be concerned with the majority opinion, but that I am all for clear ways of ensuring that those in power are aware of where its citizens stand on a given issue.
A caveat: In general, I prefer to lean towards utilitarian and egalitarian policy based decision making, but do recognize its short comings when protecting minority groups and opinions.
“ One influential Houston Republican explained to me that the country-club set “thinks Perry is a great guy, but as far as having the intelligence to lead the country, there’s just no way.” That’s why many other Republicans down here find Mitt Romney to be a better bet than another cowboy-booted, g-droppin’ governor. But given Perry’s reputation for vindictiveness, these Republican apostates are still most comfortable criticizing him from the shadows. As the same Houston power broker said of a recent Romney fund-raising event, “I had someone else pay for me to go, because I didn’t want people to know I was there.”
