Enough!

by pelcan Sun Feb 24th, 2008 at 02:14:00 AM EST

Some time ago, I wrote an article on "frontrunner" Clinton and how she wasn't like Sego Royal because she doesn't have that inspirational quality. Allow me to flip flop.

Hillary is no Segolene (at least not in character)

by pelcan Wed Jan 9th, 2008 at 08:41:56 PM EST

As the ever longer campaign season rolls along, I notice how much history is repeating itself, even if that history is over half an year ago and took place in another country. People who won't vote for a woman because of her gender. People who vote for her because of her gender. (I feel both sentiments are irrational) And, oh, that media obsessiveness on her clothes, her actions, and debating whether or not being a woman is hurting her campaign.

This is the most talked-about race in my lifetime. After the midterms, no one talked about the results, or at least no one I knew started a conversation about it. After Bush was reelected, maybe two or three people discussed it. Now, people who I'd never expect to be interested are wondering about what the next primary state is. I'm ever the political junkie, but for some reason, even the 2004 Dem primary was more interesting for me. Now, I feel that most of the candidates place themselves above cleaning the huge mess Bush made. Which brings me the Democratic front runner...

A spectator's guide to the Democratic crop

by pelcan Wed Jul 25th, 2007 at 03:21:12 AM EST

I'm tired of the democratic civil war in the blogosphere. Obama girl isn't even backing Obama, decried one MyDD Edwards supporter. Hillary's holding huge, unassailable leads in the polls, pro-Hill Kossacks boast. And so on and so forth. So from now on I'm keeping quiet on who I support until the primaries are over. Some of these critics are forming arguments remind me of the Republicans.
So now, let's ride this donkey into the 2008 race. Just 500+ more days to go!

Welcome to Jesus Camp

by pelcan Mon Jul 23rd, 2007 at 12:29:55 AM EST

Jesus Camp. The documentary that was so disturbing I had a little difficulty sleeping last night, yet it's enlightening in a way that Silent Spring accomplishes with it's first chapter. Where do we even begin? First of all, I felt that the clips I watched were worth watching after a while, and the movie was so intelligently made and open-minded that it's no wonder it was nominated for an Oscar (An Inconvenient Truth won). Whether you think the camp and the fundamentalist movement is good or bad for Christ depends on your sanity level.

First, with the sale of the (last?) Harry Potter book, let's see what the camp director feels about the boy wizard...

Great political videos and more [updated]

by pelcan Mon Jun 25th, 2007 at 07:28:07 PM EST

Here are some of the best political youtube videos I've seen:

1.

The Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, John O. Pastore, "was not previously familiar with Rogers' work, and was sometimes described as gruff and impatient." (wikipedia) PBS is like the American BBC, it is, for the most part, unbiased, provides objective reporting, and represents how news should be. I'm also a big fan of NPR, the channel's radio station, which provides a huge contrast when you switch from the stupidity that is talk radio to the intelligence from its reporting. With all the talk among the Republicans about how Christianly they are, one would have thought they acted like this man, a minister who acts out what real Christian values should be.

US energy crisis- lobby your representatives now

by pelcan Fri Jun 15th, 2007 at 01:53:38 AM EST

From Moveon:

Americans have spoken--in fact, we've yelled--that we need relief from high gas prices and a smart energy policy. But in the dead of the night, Congress weakened the bill that would make gas price gouging a federal crime. Now it's virtually unenforceable.

Big Oil and their friends in Congress were hoping no one would notice. We did. And we have to show them that this kind of bait-and-switch isn't acceptable.

There are more votes coming, and Congress needs to feel the heat from voters, so they stand up to the oil lobby.

Greed, pants, and $54 million

by pelcan Thu Jun 14th, 2007 at 06:58:52 PM EST

I'm sure many of you have heard of the lawsuit crisis in America that is costing taxpayers billions and seems to have no end in sight. Now I agree with some of them. Exxon still hasn't fully paid for the Valdez spill. Gender pay discrimination is alive and well. Tobacco companies have been lying to the public for years. But while in these cases, the companies' lawyers can take care of justice, it seems the most ridiculous cases are not as entertaining as they are unfair. Failed supreme court nominee Robert Bork, who fought for a cap on how much plaintiffs can get paid, recently tripped on his way to the podium for a speech and is suing the host for $1 million for not providing proper care for people getting up to speak (I don't think the host did anything wrong). One lady spilled hot McDonalds coffee over her lap: $2 million. A waiter spilled water and someone tripped over it. A mother who sued Disneyland over the emotional harm caused when her children saw people coming out of costumes, thus ending the magic (fortunately the judge had half the sense of turning her case down). The guy who sued the city who sponsored a baseball contest where he slipped in. The millions NYC pay each year to people who trip on the streets and in buildings. The list goes on. And on. And on. As stockholders and pension holders lose out from company payments to those doucebags. As prices go up. As lawyers buy their third vacation home. As those doucebags get rich off the decent people's backs. There have been few efforts to correct this wrong. The Republicans response is to blame the Dems for this mess and enact their own measures, which end up restricting people's access to courts and preventing good lawsuits.

Democratic Debate Open Thread

by pelcan Sun Jun 3rd, 2007 at 08:58:26 PM EST

In my first non-revolutionary literature-titled diary, I'd like to focus on the CNN New Hampshire Democratic debate. I'm not a fan of debates, even in the Kerry-Bush race, which I paid a lot of attension on, I skipped watching them. In the Sego-Sarko race, perhaps the one I was most passionate about, I didn't bother to watch the english version of the debate (at least Sgo employed a lot of English female translators). But I finally decided to watch the 2nd of (I belieive it's) 7 democratic primary debates (do they really need so many? Why does the party lack the comon sense of canceling the Fox CDC debate where the only 3 last place challengers are showing up?).

Common Sense

by pelcan Fri May 25th, 2007 at 07:00:43 PM EST

      "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
                                 -Albert Einstein

      "The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging"
                                 -Molly Ivins

      "There is no reason for the United States of America to remain in Somalia. The American people want them home, I believe the majority of Congress wants them home, and to set an artificial date of March 31 or even February 1, in my view, is not acceptable. The criteria should be to bring them home as rapidly and safely as possible, an evolution which I think could be completed in a matter of weeks. Our continued military presence in Somalia allows another situation to arise which could then lead to the wounding, killing or capture of American fighting men and women."        
                                  -John McCain, 1993

      " Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is,"
                                 -Gov. George W. Bush , April 9, 1999, on President Clinton not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo.

Les Miserables partie deux

by pelcan Wed May 9th, 2007 at 06:57:02 PM EST

After Dubya won by a larger margin in 2004, the late and great Molly Ivins quoted a man who said, "Don't worry now, the worse is yet to come." (Luckily, Ivins lived to see us take back America in '06) So it's time to look at the brighter side of the French elections- as well as some of the darker moments, Andy Rooney-style.

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