Sunday, May 4, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Rainy Day Fun and Games
Not only is it cold and wet this week Middlebury, VT, but the nomination battle remains in a cold, stagnant, swampy, sorry state.
Tuesday is not going to change anything: Obama will win NC though not by as large a margin as he would like. Hillary will win in Indiana, but it will do nothing to change the cold truth that she can't win without an increasingly unlikely coup d'superdelegate.
So, what's a political junkie to do, trapped inside during the cold, wet nomination battle, until the wide grassy field of general election season opens?
Fear not.
1. Relax your electibility tension with a warm bath, some scented candles, and a few blissful hours playing with the electoral college map at 270towin.com. Every time I do, that little voice in my head that says "If we lose Ohio and Florida, we lose the election" floats away. Ahhhhhhhh....... all we have to do is win the Kerry states plus Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico. I swear, it's better than a massage.
2. Measure up your political philosophy against your some of your favorite politicians at the electoralcompass.com. Maybe you'll be surprised, though um..... I wasn't:
3. Watch some good pornography. I mean The West Wing. Then cry and do it again.
Tuesday is not going to change anything: Obama will win NC though not by as large a margin as he would like. Hillary will win in Indiana, but it will do nothing to change the cold truth that she can't win without an increasingly unlikely coup d'superdelegate.
So, what's a political junkie to do, trapped inside during the cold, wet nomination battle, until the wide grassy field of general election season opens?
Fear not.
1. Relax your electibility tension with a warm bath, some scented candles, and a few blissful hours playing with the electoral college map at 270towin.com. Every time I do, that little voice in my head that says "If we lose Ohio and Florida, we lose the election" floats away. Ahhhhhhhh....... all we have to do is win the Kerry states plus Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico. I swear, it's better than a massage.
2. Measure up your political philosophy against your some of your favorite politicians at the electoralcompass.com. Maybe you'll be surprised, though um..... I wasn't:
3. Watch some good pornography. I mean The West Wing. Then cry and do it again.
A Thoughtful Point of View
Peggy Noonan's Op-Ed in Saturday's Wall Street Journal painted a carefully thought out, insightful opinion about Rev. Wright. In her article, Noonan, a Reagan speechwriter famous for many of Reagan's most enduring sound bites, discusses her personal view of the Rev. Wright controversy and what the furor around the Reverend may say about America. Take a look.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Obama and Wright
Obama denounced Reverend Wright's most recent statements today:
He definitely needed to do this and I think he did it well, by addressing specific comments Wright made. A few perspectives here.
He definitely needed to do this and I think he did it well, by addressing specific comments Wright made. A few perspectives here.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
"Body of War"
Tonight, Dems screened "Body of War," one of the most recent anti-Iraq, anti-war documents out there. And, honestly, it was one of the better documentaries on the war that I've seen (and trust me, I've seen quite a few).
Chronicling the story of Tomas Young, an Iraq war veteran shot in the spinal cord just five days after he was deployed to Iraq, "Body of War," does not try to pull a Michael-Moore esque stunt and reveal hidden secrets and motives about conservative ineptitudes. It simply follows Young from his release from rehab to his wedding to his divorce to his growing role in Iraq Veterans Against the War. In other words, it provides a very personal and honest approach to life after Iraq. Interspersed in Young's story are the comments and rhetoric of various Senators and Representatives leading up to the 2002 Resolution to invade Iraq. Though both sides of the aisle are shown, two things stick out. One, just how ridiculous it was to make the President the one with the power to declare war, essentially depriving Congress of that same power. And second is the absurdity of those who argued for the invasion of Iraq. They all said the same thing. They all used the same phrases, the same arguments that invoked fear and were built upon nothing. Though this revelation is about as surprising as the recent NY Times exposure of Pentagon control of the press about Guantanamo, it's very striking to hear the remarks in a row, made by many different Congressmen across many different days. (For an accurate idea of what this propaganda sounded like when strung together, watch this montage of quotes from Lost. Seriously.) Serving as a breath of fresh air amongst this absurdity are the dissenting politicians that have become the "Immortal 23" or the Senators who voted "nay," including Senators Byrd, Boxer, Leahy, Kennedy, Wellstone and Jeffords.
I'm glad Dems showed this screening for several reasons, but namely because it reminded me that the war is an important issue. A Vermonter who is part of Iraq Veterans Against the War (a man himself not much older than 25) came up to me afterwards and said, "I was very surprised when I found out the College Democrats were screening this." His comment helped served as a reality check that, even though voters may be saying the economy is the most important issue, the Democratic Party is not just about one issue or not just about one candidate. It has a robust platform and represents a wide variety of issues. I think this perspective is important to keep in mind as we get even deeper into this election cycle, starting with the Iraq Debate on May 5th.
Anyway, now that we've paid for the requisition of the film, we will likely be showing this again in the near future and I highly recommend that people come.
Chronicling the story of Tomas Young, an Iraq war veteran shot in the spinal cord just five days after he was deployed to Iraq, "Body of War," does not try to pull a Michael-Moore esque stunt and reveal hidden secrets and motives about conservative ineptitudes. It simply follows Young from his release from rehab to his wedding to his divorce to his growing role in Iraq Veterans Against the War. In other words, it provides a very personal and honest approach to life after Iraq. Interspersed in Young's story are the comments and rhetoric of various Senators and Representatives leading up to the 2002 Resolution to invade Iraq. Though both sides of the aisle are shown, two things stick out. One, just how ridiculous it was to make the President the one with the power to declare war, essentially depriving Congress of that same power. And second is the absurdity of those who argued for the invasion of Iraq. They all said the same thing. They all used the same phrases, the same arguments that invoked fear and were built upon nothing. Though this revelation is about as surprising as the recent NY Times exposure of Pentagon control of the press about Guantanamo, it's very striking to hear the remarks in a row, made by many different Congressmen across many different days. (For an accurate idea of what this propaganda sounded like when strung together, watch this montage of quotes from Lost. Seriously.) Serving as a breath of fresh air amongst this absurdity are the dissenting politicians that have become the "Immortal 23" or the Senators who voted "nay," including Senators Byrd, Boxer, Leahy, Kennedy, Wellstone and Jeffords.
I'm glad Dems showed this screening for several reasons, but namely because it reminded me that the war is an important issue. A Vermonter who is part of Iraq Veterans Against the War (a man himself not much older than 25) came up to me afterwards and said, "I was very surprised when I found out the College Democrats were screening this." His comment helped served as a reality check that, even though voters may be saying the economy is the most important issue, the Democratic Party is not just about one issue or not just about one candidate. It has a robust platform and represents a wide variety of issues. I think this perspective is important to keep in mind as we get even deeper into this election cycle, starting with the Iraq Debate on May 5th.
Anyway, now that we've paid for the requisition of the film, we will likely be showing this again in the near future and I highly recommend that people come.
An alternative prospective from Middlebury Confessional...
Original post: "I don't understand when people at Middlebury choose majors they don't like."
Commenter: "Your inability to understand is called privilege."
Race, Class, Merit, and Higher Education
For those who attended this past Saturday's discussion group on the topic of affirmative action, attending the John Hamilton Fulton Lecture to be held this Wednesday (April 30th) in Mead Chapel would be a great continuation of our dialogue. Lani Guinier will be speaking. She's the first tenured black female tenured professor at Harvard Law, and will be speaking about "how wealth became merit, class became race, and college education became a gift from the poor to the rich" (adapted from the Institutional Planning and Diversity email).
A quick wikipedia search tells me that Ms. Guinier has proposed to recast the affirmative action system into something she calls "confirmative action," which "ties diversity to admissions criteria for all students, whatever their race, gender, or ethnic background--including people of color, working-class whites, and even children of privilege." It seems that she will employ the argument that diversity contributes value to universities, but I'm sure it will be more nuanced than that. For those who attend, we'll need to summarize and discuss this talk at the next discussion group. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.
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