The 2008 democratic candidates are starting to appear, and early front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have risen to the front.

My main question is, do they have a chance at winning?  Does the Democratic Party need to put forth a different candidate in order to ensure the winning of the election, or has the GOP *&$ed up enough for people to look past race and gender?

I personally do not have a problem with the race or gender of either candidate, but the American people as a whole traditionally have.  Is the country ready for a woman President, or an African - American President?

Obama is only the 5th African-American senator, and a junior senator at that.  Is is charisma and ideology enough to overcome inexperience and race?

Many people have mixed feelings about Hillary after her support of President Clinton during his “extracurricular” activities.  Is her ideology and Bill’s support enough for her to overcome gender?

Has the American people become enlightened enough for non-standard (anyone other than rich, white, men)  candidates to stand a chance?

Technorati Tags: barack obama, hillary clinton, decision 2008, democrat

–>

President Bush has OK’d “aggressive” action on Iranian nationals inside Iraq that are “deemed a threat to American Troops or public at large”.

I don’t particularly think this is a bad thing, if someone is training insurgents on how to make a bomb MacGyver style, then by all means lock them up, shoot, napalm, whatever, they are a threat.  My main concern here is why target Iran, why specifically target them.  Iran is by no means a fan of the US, and vice versa, but with them attempting to gain nuclear weapons, them having a large standing army along with INFLUENCE throughout the middle east, shouldn’t we be more “diplomatic” about this.

If Bush wants to target Iranians inside Iraq, fine BUT DON’T call them out.  Make it a more “target everyone aiding the enemy” rather than giving Iran more ammunition for their distaste for us.  Does this strategy let Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the middle east off the hook?  If we catch someone with 50lbs of fertilizer, an old washing machine and a rusting artillery shell do we detain him if he is Jordanian?

Mr. Bush, as always is less than tactful, he speaks without thinking and is only making matters worse.  The GOP is trying to gain support throughout the country, and he is making media statements so it appears something is being done, but in the big picture this more than hurts us.

Having almost all of our standing military, along with National Guard units committed to Iraq, what would happen if Iran REALLY wanted to get involved.  We can’t fight farmers with 30 year old AK-47’s and no training effectively, how would we fare against a large organized army AND a farmer with a rusting AK?

Technorati Tags: bush, iran, iraq

–>

Apparently noone in the current administration can listen to reason.  Following a 2 year investigation by the Canadian government Maher Arar has been cleared of any  ties to terrorist organizations.

Of course the United States has “secret” intelligence that says otherwise.

This is a guy we arrested, flew to Syria, tortured, and confined for 10 months without any sort of due process.

“The three men sat down to review the information on Arar. Later, at a press conference, Day said there was “nothing new” in the U.S. dossier on Arar that would justify keeping him on a terrorist watch list.”

We didn’t check the facts, Canada did, and even they say our “additional intelligence” is not sufficient to keep him on the Terrorist Watch List.

This should serve as a warning to anyone with relatives in a middle-eastern country, chances are you are on a list somewhere, for no reason, and are a threat to the United States.

Good thing we have the MCA otherwise this could happen to American Citizens, oh wait it can.

Story At npr.org

Technorati Tags: freedom, liberty, bush, Muslim, terrorist

–>

So it begins, again.  Days after Barack Obama admitted his candidacy for President in 2008, the conservative hitsquad was hard at work. 

“The contention that Obama was educated at a radical Muslim madrassa surfaced on the Web site of the conservative Insight magazine the day after Obama announced he was jumping into the 2008 presidential race. Conservative Internet blogs and the Fox News Channel picked up the story and spread the charges just as his candidacy was getting off the ground. “

It’s amazing to me how “news” organizations can simply MAKE STUFF UP, in order to debunk or humiliate people that they see as unfavorable.  Is there a fact checker at Fox News?  I find it sad that I trust that Colbert and Stewart are more factual and truthful than some “major news networks”.

I can only hope that the American people have begun to see through the smokescreen and are a little more skeptical about allegations such as this.

Technorati Tags: barack obama, lies, fox, republican, democrat

–>

In one of the most chilling public statements ever made by a U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales questioned whether the U.S. Constitution grants habeas corpus rights of a fair trial to every American.

How can you question if the Constitution grants habeas corpus?  Article 1 Section 9

“The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion tech public Safety may require it.” -US Constitution Article 1 Section 9

How can someone that is supposed to interpret the law actually question things EXPLICITLY defined in the constitution, habeas corpus isn’t even in the bill of rights (amendments) and is the only liberty specified in the general document itself. 

Alberto’s logic here is flawed, and puts most liberties at risk.  His main contention is that the constitution does not grant habeas corpus, rather simply says that it cannot be revoked.  He is basically saying that the framers specified that a right cannot be taken away, but it was never granted in the first place.

I weep for our future.

Baltimore Chronicle Article

Technorati Tags: bush, gonzales, habeas corpus, freedom, constitution

–>