Pardon Me
[ Posted Saturday, November 17th, 2007 – 06:00 UTC ]
Candidate Speech Series: John Edwards
[ Posted Friday, November 16th, 2007 – 06:00 UTC ]
[This is one of a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]
John Edwards
The Moral Test of Our Generation
Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire
10/29/07
Many of you know that I am the son of a mill worker -- that I rose from modest means and have been blessed in so many ways in life. Elizabeth and I have so much to be grateful for.
Candidate Speech Series: Joe Biden
[ Posted Thursday, November 15th, 2007 – 06:00 UTC ]
[This is one of a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]
Joe Biden
National Security and Civil Rights
Drake University School of Law, Des Moines, Iowa
4/3/07
Since before our founding, the United States has been set apart by its uncompromising commitment to the rule of law and individual rights and civil liberties.
Candidate Speech Series: Chris Dodd
[ Posted Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 – 06:00 UTC ]
[This is one of a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]
Chris Dodd
Rekindling the Flame -- A Call for A New American Patriotism
Nashua City Hall Plaza, Nashua, New Hampshire
6/23/07
Thank you, Mike, for that generous introduction, for your support and for your quarter-century of service to this community. I know of no more tireless advocate for firefighters, first responders and public safety.
The Democratic Candidate Campaign Speech Series
[ Posted Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 – 00:55 UTC ]
[Update: Here are links to all of the speeches, in the order that they ran in:]
Today begins a series of campaign speech transcripts from each of the Democratic candidates for president. [Today also begins my vacation... but more about that in a minute.]
Time was when every candidate for president was taken seriously by this country's media. Their words were analyzed and reported in full, so that the American public could gauge for themselves what each candidate stood for, and what each would do if subsequently elected. Back then, the media considered it "newsworthy" to report what the candidates actually said.
Alas, in today's world, there are seemingly just two types of campaign stories: the horserace, and the "gotcha!" gimmick.
Tuesday Three-Dots
[ Posted Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 – 16:06 UTC ]
Just a short three-dot column today...
...For all of you interested in showing Dianne Feinstein what the voters of California think of her recent actions, there is a drive for the California Democratic Party to officially censure Senator Feinstein at its upcoming executive board meeting. I have no contact information for them, but if I were thinking of letting them know how I felt, I'd start at the California Democratic Party website.
[Update: You can sign the petition to censure Dianne Feinstein at CourageCampaign.org.]
Ministry Of Truth Helpfully Redefines Privacy
[ Posted Monday, November 12th, 2007 – 16:54 UTC ]
A United States Ministry of Truth spokesman proudly unveiled the new official definition of "privacy" today, on the heels of their successful campaign to redefine "torture." The new meaning of the word "privacy" will now be (according to MiniTru): "the secure feeling citizens get by knowing that their government is collecting and protecting their personal data." Old definitions of privacy will no longer be operative.
The MiniTru spokesman was quite enthusiastic about the definition rollout. "For generations Americans have been burdened by the responsibility of guarding their own privacy," he said. "This was too great a task for the public to adequately control, so the logical answer was to have the government take over this onerous work, to better serve each citizen's private life. No longer will Americans have to worry about their own privacy, because now Big Brother will take care of it for them."
Turning The Corner
[ Posted Saturday, November 10th, 2007 – 14:40 UTC ]
Friday Talking Points [Vol. 9]
[ Posted Friday, November 9th, 2007 – 19:24 UTC ]
It's been a week of ups and downs for Democrats. Mostly downs.
While congressional Democrats still have yet to pass a single budget bill, they did find the time this week to confirm Michael Mukasey as our new Attorney General. On the positive side, they also successfully overrode a Bush veto for the first time ever.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was timidly bold for a short time. I wish "timidly bold" were indeed the oxymoron that it appears, but sadly it seems that this is the best we can expect from our Democratically-controlled Congress. Pelosi backed only giving President Bush $50 billion for his war in Iraq, instead of the $200 billion he asked for. She then tried to throw a gauntlet of sorts down, by stating that this would be the only bill Bush would see this year to fund Iraq.
Get Up, Stand Up
[ Posted Thursday, November 8th, 2007 – 18:13 UTC ]
I have believed for a long time now that whenever you see dismal poll numbers for Congress' approval ratings, there is one simple reason for them: Iraq. Democrats swept both houses of Congress last year, and the reason why the people who voted them in do not approve of the job they've been doing is because they haven't done more to end the war in Iraq.
My belief in this basic premise is strengthened by new poll numbers from Pew. The statement (from the survey): "In challenging Bush about Iraq, Democratic leaders are going..." had four possible answers: "Too far," "Not far enough," "About right," and "Don't know."