Democrats Hurt Themselves

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Wednesday September 14, 2011 · 2:10 PM PDT

2011/09/14 · 14:10

Republicans have won the 9th district of New York for the first time in quite a long time. Is this victory a referendum on the Polices of Barack Obama and his Democratic colleagues? I would argue that this self inflicted wound is a referendum on their spinelessness.

Jaturner1

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Tuesday September 13, 2011 · 1:41 PM PDT

2011/09/13 · 13:41

Paul Krugman drew a lot of heat for his 9-11 blog post in which he stated that 9-11 is a moment of shame for this country. Despite what his detractors have said (and they are not ALL on the right) he is correct. I am now 27 years old and have a vivid memory of 9-11. But what stuck with me more was seeing how it affected and infected the people around me. Even as a junior in high school, who at the time could not quite grasp the global significance of the event or the ramifications it had, I knew that something was not right.

Jaturner1

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Wednesday August 24, 2011 · 9:55 AM PDT

2011/08/24 · 09:55

After Dominique Strauss Kahn was arrested charged with attempted rape he was paraded in front of the cameras looking disheveled and downtrodden, a man whose past transgressions had finally seemed to catch up to him. How could he not be guilty? Known as the great seducer in France, he himself had acknowledged his weakness with women and even speculated that a plot to bring him down might involve the accusation of rape by a women on the payroll of his political enemies. Then there is the supposed attempted escape to France, where extradition with the United States is a murky affair. He was in such a hurry that he had even left his cell phone in the room. This seemed to be the classic case of a man in power taking advantage of a hotel maid and believing he could get away with it; at least that is the conclusion that nearly everyone came to. The truth, it seems, is much more complicated.

Poll

14 votes Show Results

Do you think politicians private lives, if no laws are broken, should have any bearing on their ability to govern?

14 votes Vote Now!

Do you think politicians private lives, if no laws are broken, should have any bearing on their ability to govern?

Yes

3 votes

11 votes

DSK - What it Means for France, the I.M.F, and the Global Economy

Jaturner1

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Monday May 16, 2011 · 5:25 PM PDT

2011/05/16 · 17:25

As someone who follows European politics very closely, I was shocked to receive a New York Times update informing me that the head of the International Monetary Fund had been taken into custody. Dominique Strauss Kahn was leading in the polls as of Sunday (taken before the arrest by France 24) claiming almost 30% support as the Socialist candidate (which in a country that usually has close to 10 candidates for president, is quite a large number). Current President Nicolas Sarkozy is currently 4th with around 20%, though he can expect an increase in light of this scandal.

What is more troublesome for those on the left of French politics is Marine Le Pen, head of the far right National Front, currently second in the polls, and stands to gain momentum.

Poll

63 votes Show Results

Do you think DSK is guilty or was set up?

63 votes Vote Now!

Do you think DSK is guilty or was set up?

Guilty

35 votes

Set up

7 votes

Unsure

21 votes

My thoughts on Bin Laden, What it Means for Obama, the 'War on Terror', and the Politics of Death

Jaturner1

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Monday May 02, 2011 · 9:30 PM PDT

2011/05/02 · 21:30

The death of Osama Bin Laden is much more of a figurative victory for the United States than one which has any actual effect on Al Qaeda; this is not to diminish its importance but to put it in perspective. Bin Laden had not been actively running the organization for some years now and served as little more than a figurehead. As a criminal he was still very important, and thus a certain degree of justice has been done.

For Obama, this is a great political victory. I couldn't help but chuckle while listening to the Morning Joe podcast as someone proclaimed that this event transcended politics. I can assure you it does not. While this may be a way of uniting the country under a single banner for a week or so (more on the pros and cons of that to come), Obama must be sure to put his stamp on this very quickly, with his late hour speech being a good first step. To put it bluntly, I find those like the man on Morning Joe, who believe that this is not political or that there are "no winners and losers" in this (aside from the recently departed, who clearly is not a winner) to be naive. Whether this is due to not understanding the situation or simply wishful thinking remains to be seen.

Poll

15 votes Show Results

Will this issue help Obama come 2012?

15 votes Vote Now!

Will this issue help Obama come 2012?

Yes

14 votes

1 vote

President Obama's Speech and how Republicans continue to be wrong on Budget

Jaturner1

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Thursday April 14, 2011 · 5:38 AM PDT

2011/04/14 · 05:38

President Obama today made what I consider to be a good speech on the direction he would like to see our country go, and how he believes we should get there. As someone who has been critical of many of Mr. Obama's past decisions (No public option for health care, tax cuts for the wealthy, lack of direction in Afghanistan, and even his recent capitulation on the 2011 budget) I am relieved to see him drawing the preverbal line in the sand in regards to what he is willing to do to pass a budget in 2012 (and also perhaps where he will stand on the debt ceiling issue). The Republican response to the presidents speech was both predictable and sad.

Poll

10 votes Show Results

What did you think of the Presidents Speech?

10 votes Vote Now!

What did you think of the Presidents Speech?

On the mark

9 votes

Good, but not great

1 vote

Not good

0 votes

Didn't watch

0 votes

RSS

Democrats Hurt Themselves

Paul Krugman is Correct (as usual)

Presumption of Innocence is Important

DSK - What it Means for France, the I.M.F, and the Global Economy

My thoughts on Bin Laden, What it Means for Obama, the 'War on Terror', and the Politics of Death

President Obama's Speech and how Republicans continue to be wrong on Budget