I have said before that I am no fan of the electoral college and that statement would stand irrespective of the results of the 2000 presidential election. Unlike Unqualified Offerings, I am more of a small-d democrat than a small-r republican. One of the most exasperating things about the electoral college is that different states… Continue reading Electoral College Modifications
Category: Politics
Voting Rights History
Since the election is only 3 weeks away, I was wondering about the history of voting rights in the US. As I understand it, in the early days of the United States, voting was limited to white men who also held property. However, as today, the laws then also varied by state. So the first… Continue reading Voting Rights History
Vice Presidential Debate
Here are some scattered thoughts on yesterday’s debate between Cheney and Edwards. It is difficult to watch a debate when one’s baby is being fussy. As a corollary, consoling the baby is more important than watching two politicians talk. Dick Cheney definitely lived up to his name. Cheney lied about every 30 seconds. Since Cheney… Continue reading Vice Presidential Debate
Vote for Syed Kerry
Hey, American Muslims, vote for a Syed. “New research by Burke’s Peerage reveals that Mr. Kerry is the only presidential candidate in U.S. history who has genealogical descent from Muslims, Jews and Christians.” Mr. Kerry is kinsman of the Shi’ite shahs of Persia (the most famous was Shah Abbas I, who reigned from 1587 to… Continue reading Vote for Syed Kerry
Presidential Debate
In my obviously biased opinion, Kerry did better than Bush. But I don’t think any one of them convinced many undecided voters…
Legal Torture
Obsidian Wings has a very important post about a bill in Congress which will allow the US to legally send suspected terrorists to any country for torture. The Republican leadership of Congress is attempting to legalize extraordinary rendition. “Extraordinary rendition” is the euphemism we use for sending terrorism suspects to countries that practice torture for… Continue reading Legal Torture
Urban Vs Rural = Democrat Vs Republican?
Via Political Animal, there is an interesting data analysis about the Democrat-Republican divide. The two parties today not only represent different political philosophies but find their core support in different kinds of communities. The nation has gone through a big sort, a sifting of people and politics into what is becoming two Americas. One is… Continue reading Urban Vs Rural = Democrat Vs Republican?
George W. Bush: Words Speak Louder Than Actions
You must watch the Bush video made by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It’s really good. It is titled “George W. Bush: Words Speak Louder Than Actions.”
Torture, Emperor and Forgetfulness
Via Mark Kleiman, I came upon the story of the torture memo in the Wall Street Journal. Bush administration lawyers contended last year that the president wasn’t bound by laws prohibiting torture and that government agents who might torture prisoners at his direction couldn’t be prosecuted by the Justice Department. The advice was part of… Continue reading Torture, Emperor and Forgetfulness
Political Contributions
I knew that one could check who has contributed to political campaigns by name on the Open Secrets website. But now you can enter an address at the Fund Race 2004 website and find out who contributed to whom in that neighborhood. There are other ways to collate the information as well, some of which… Continue reading Political Contributions