Blissfully Unaware

This is a nice article about the Bush inner circle and such. Newsweek two weeks ago had a great cover story on the boy in the bubble (Bush).

RED STATE HUMOR

So I'm in Arizona on a family vacation, and wanted to pass along a couple of the funny political-related things I've seen. First, I actually saw the following 3 bumper stickers on cars:

1) Vietnam Veteran Against John Kerry (My brother took a picture of my saluting this car)
2) If Kerry is the Answer....it must have been a stupid question
3) I (Heart Symbol) Gitmo....Lock those Terrorists Up

It wasn't all Right Wing. There was one cartoon outside a head shop that read:

"I'd rather have a President who lied about his dick than a President whose a dick about his lies."

PSAs

Sorry it's been a while between posts, but all of us are enjoying the break a bit too much I guess! For a little fun over the holiday season, check out these Public Service Announcements:

• Presidential Physical Fitness Award (starring Ronald Reagan)
• And One Starring His Wife, Nancy Reagan (talking about breast cancer)
• Another Reagan-era PSA about people with disabilities
• Everyone's Favorite: McGruff
• And a rather apolitical (but still memory-inducing) Jaleel "Urkel" White gives us the straight dope on library cards

Hope the break is going well. Be safe.

Thank You Capt. Obvious

Cute read from CNN about how the President hopes for a better year in 2005. I think when you've hit bottom you have two choices: 1. Work to climb up 2. Keep Digging Let's take a poll to see what we think Bush will do....

New Year

this is a nice read from the New York Times about what to expect in the upcoming year in Congress. It notes the importance for the Democrats of focusing on one message. Should be an interesting new year.

A "Good" Year

President Bush was recently quoted as saying that it was a "good year for the American people." For once, I have to agree with the President. I mean, besides the incompetent handling of Katrina, his failed Social Security reform, Harriet Miers, astronomical gas prices, failed tax reform, Plamegate, a more divided political environment, and (oh, how could we EVER forget) the quagmire known as IRAQ, everything's been fine.

Feel free to leave other shortcomings of our President in the comments section. I'm sure I missed plenty.

Que Lastima

Looks like Hillary Clinton is (for now) lonely on the ballot in New York. Her opponent will drop out. By the way, her opponent was an embarrassment, hardly worth being in the same zip code as Clinton much less on the ballot. Her opponent actually sent a fundraising letter address to Hillary Clinton and was address to Clinton at the White House.

Temporary Bump

Good analysis from the Washington Post, showing a nice end of year increase for Bush and Congress. Not surprising, considering how much time they've spent trying to bail out a sinking ship. Don't worry, these numbers will probably go down shortly. As the article points out, Bush's number jumped after we got Saddam (If memory serves his overall approval rating went up to 62%) but then crashed back to earth after he continued his typical "leadership."

Is Al Franken's new book on the list?

This is a story from Massachussetts about a college professor who was investigated byt he Department of Homeland Security for requesting a copy of Mao Zedong's Little Red Book. This is another case of the Bush administration and the rest of the Republicans having the big government. With the biggest budget in the history of our nation this year and the government intruding into our lives with the Patriot Act, the Republicans can no longer say they are the party of small government. They are now the party of big (and ineffective) government.

Post other stories you see like this in the comments section. Be sure to leave your thoughts.

Christmas in the House

Here is a clip of the poem read by Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan) on the floor of the House in protest of Bill O'Reilley's "War on Christmas."

Indecision 2008

Here's a quick article from CNN regarding 2008 Presidential Matchups, and it looks like it will have some New York flavor. Caution, don't take too much stock, I'd be shocked if the names John Edwards or John Kerry iliicited much excitment in 2+ years. It's good to Rudy doing well for the GOP though. I think it would be cool if the party of moral values nominated a guy with three marriages and a mistress.

Happy Holidays

Good luck with your finals and homework everyone. I wanted to ask you each to take a moment and e-mail our good buddy Bill O'Reilly and wish him a HAPPY HOLIDAYS. He's of course off in his own world about the war on Christmas. Considering how our war on drugs, war on poverty, and war on terrorism are going right now, I'm sure Christmas will pull through. E-mail Bill at oreilly@foxnews.com and wish him Happy Holidays!

Oh, and Merry Christmas to all of you....

Got Some Time...?

Here's a great article from The New Republic about the culture of Washington DC after 5 years of Republican rule. Be forewarned, it's quite lengthy.

Don't Park the Bus

Click on the following link, I received a message that there will be a Camp Wellstone this winter.
http://www.wellstone.org/camp/index.aspx

U-DFL in the Minnesota Daily

Our beloved organization got a mention in one of the articles in the Finals edition of the Minnesota Daily today (a spoof edition that comes out on the first day of finals every semester). And of course they had to precede our organization with "godless communists." Perfect.

Fair Enough

Nice article from Newsweek's Anna Quindlen about the Democratic Party looking for new leaders to take advantage of the President Bush's weaknesses. This is a great article for comments.

News Round-up

Happy 112th post! (I mean to congratulate ourselves at the 100th post, but forgot.)

Here are the latest headlines everyone should be checking out:

• N.Y. Times: Bush v. McCain on Torture. I still don't understand why this is even an issue we're debating.
• Strib: Bush switches rationale for war yet again. Part I: Weapons of Mass Destruction. Part II: Remove Saddam. Part III: "...more than the removal of a brutal dictator. It is to leave a free and democratic Iraq in his place."
• Strib: Hennepin County Let's Bars Smoke Again
• Strib: Congress Renews Patriot Act. Filibuster possible in the Senate
• Times Leader: Rick Santorum in Trouble

Let's try this again...

All together now! (Leave comments)

OPEN THREAD
(Leave comments)

Follow Up

Here's another story from the Washington Post regarding changes to the Democratic Party's nominating primary process. Didn't mention any changes to Wisconsin or Minnesota, both of whom appear to remain as early sites.

"Defense" of Marriage

Check out this article from the Capital Times, a liberal Madison newspaper regarding Wisconsin Republicans efforts to write discrimination into the Wisconsin Constitution, by infringing (really eliminating) gay rights, and going so far as to hurt domestic partnership rights as well. It's an interesting take on whether the political ploy could fail. I wish I shared his sentiment.

Gone Till November

Interesting article from the Washington Post regarding strategy for the 2006 Midterm Election. This is something we need to be thinking about for our efforts to oust the Governor and hold the US Senate seat next fall.

In Memoriam

I didn't grow up in Minnesota, but that doesn't mean Eugene McCarthy didn't mean anything. Democrats everywhere should be proud and reflective of the legacy of the former Minnesota Democrat. Read the obit from CNN that further discusses his courageous stand against the Vietnam War. Let me know if you see someone like him, because obviously times are similar.

Is Global Warming a Myth?

Check out this article from the New York Times regarding global warming and the Bush plan of ignoring the problem, or refusing to admit there's a problem so they don't have to do anything about it. Also, please make special note of the term "climate change" because that's just a GOP talking point. Climate change sounds less ominous than global warming so you see Republicans use that term.

Comments

Ok, so I changed the settings so that anyone can now post on the comments section on the blog. You just leave a comment under anonymous. This comes with a few caveats, however:

• Please type your name at the end of the comment you leave.
• Please keep these comments clean and appropriate. If they start to get out of hand, I'll have to turn the anonymous section off.
• Look for open threads. Whenever you see these words, you can just start typing about anything political. Hopefully this'll help develop a dialogue. So....

OPEN THREAD! Post your little hearts away...

--Max

Bush: This is a Senator Kennedy I Can Work with

The state DFL has good coverage of Bush coming to town last night for his little lapdop, doormat, puppet, etc, Mark Kennedy. Also check out the Strib's coverage.

Straw Poll

Next spring or fall or possibly both we should conduct a poll on campus for the US Senate Race. But before then, I'd like to get your thoughts. It's a one question poll.

Is Rep. Mark Kennedy (Republican running for US Senate) a....?

A. Lap Dog for President Bush
B. Doormat for President Bush
C. Puppet for President Bush

Cast your vote in the comment section.

Get Your Read On

A couple of stories worth checking out:

1. From the Washington Post regarding potential changes to the Democratic Primary schedule in 2008.

2. From CNN, regarding the negotiations over tax policy plans for the next year. A little complicated, but we're all bright people.

3. Another story from the Washington Post, this one about Bush's pull for fundraising for Republicans in Congress. They make special note of him helping out Mark Kennedy at a huge fundraiser.

Who Needs Freedom?

The Senate announced today a compromise was made on certain provisions of the Patriot Act that were set to expire by the end of the year. Worth reading, so you know what to avoid when searching at your local public library.

MSA Representation

Hey everyone,

Our trusty MSA representative, Adam Engelman, will be leaving us for second semester. So, we will need someone new to go to MSA for us. The meetings will be every Tuesday next semester at 3:30. I will let you know when we have elections for this position ahead of time.

If you have any questions about this position, ask any member of the exec board. They've all served in MSA.

--Max

Sen. Franken

A staff editorial from the Capital Times, a Madison newspaper discusses the possibility.

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/editorial/index.php?ntid=64074

Funny Videos

Here are a couple humorous videos from the DevilDucky.

Will Ferrell doing a priceless Dubya

Robert DeNiro playing Homeland Security Advisor

Blue Man Group on Global Warming

--Max

I Can't Believe He's a Kennedy

Hi Crimestoppers,

There's an opportunity coming up this Thursday that you should help participate in. The Klobuchar for Senate campaign is going to be in front of Coffman on Thursday from 11:30-1:30. Here's why: George Dubya Bush is coming to town to campaign for Republican Senate Candidate Mark Kennedy. Kennedy, as many of you may or may not know, recently cast the deciding vote in the House of Representatives for a reconcilliation bill that, among many other bad things, cuts college student aid. The petition being passed around by the Klobuchar campaign is to ask Mark Kennedy never to do this again.

Klobuchar will be at the event for the entire two hours, so if you want to meet a Senate candidate, this is the time! If you cannot volunteer, you may still want to stop by and sign the petition.

If you are interested in volunteering with the campaign for this event, contact Lizzy at 651.714.2006 or let Max know.

--Max

Still On Trial

Disgraced House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) got some good and bad news today. His conspiracy charge was thrown out by a judge, but his money laundering charge was not. This is great because if it goes to trial (and neither side has shown any interest in a plea deal) it will be a media circus and drag on well into an election year.

Read it here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/05/delay.case.ap/index.html

Sept. 11th Changed the Equation

Here's an article from CNN about the government's response to homeland security. There will be more information to come regarding what they did in response to the 9-11 Commission. Read it here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/04/911.commission/index.html

Reminder Al Franken Tomorrow

Al Franken will be at the Edina Barnes and Noble (3225 W 69th St. Edina, 55435. 952-920-0633) tomorrow Sunday December 4th at 3:00 pm. E-mail me, at seli0052@umn.edu (cell 608-215-9370) or Aaron Eisenberg eise0100@umn.edu (cell 636.795.7893) if you need a ride.

And The Mighty Walls Came A-Tumblin' Down

Check out this article from the Washington Post about the splintering in the GOP ranks regarding leadership. Nice to see as we head into an election year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201945.html?sub=AR

Iraq

Bush outlined his "plan" for Iraq yesterday without making much of an impression. Read about the poll results here on CNN. First, let me say, this is the problem with the media. Instead of telling us about his ideas, and whether or not they're plausible, they look to see if we were convinced. But still, these numbers are important and don't be surprised when the GOP decides to bring some troops home next year and it just happens to fall before the election.

Read the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/30/iraq.poll/index.html

-Noah