Let’s say you make a dccent living and have a little cash left over after expenses and investments.  Being a socially conscious person, you want to use it to help the needy.  So what is the best way to spend your money?

a) give it to the United Way;

b) give it to a beggar on the street;

c) give it to a local after-school program (sports, computers, science, etc.);

d) help sponsor your work collegue’s kid’s hockey trip to France;

e) overpay your taxes.

Answer after the flip!

A recent NY Post artilce entitled "Battling for Baghdad" got to me.  Unsurprisingly, it's the same talkingpointish BS that we hear everywhere from right-wing media outlets.  But I thought I'd make this article a case study in why so many of the right's screeds are not just wrong, but dishonest.

What bothers me most isn't the obvious partisan bias of the author or his wishful potrayal of the situation.  It's his constant use of logical fallacies to support his flimsy reasoning.

What was unexpected this time were the people he picked: Lamont, Akaka and Menendez.

In Connecticut, Ned Lamont has caused a national stir by successfully challenging the Bush position on Iraq that ignores the utter failure of the President's policy and calls for a deeply misplaced reliance on a dangerous course of action. In the Senate, Ned Lamont will go head to head with Don Rumsfeld, and our troops will benefit from Lamont's leadership. He knows that patriotism isn't reserved for those who defend a President's position; patriotism is doing what's right for our troops and our country.

- It will almost certainly make no difference to the outcome whether I vote or not.

- If everyone thought the above, it would no longer be true.

Both these statements are accurate.  The first one often wins out because it suggests a direct course of action: as long as I don't influence a great number of people to do the same, I, personally, don't need to vote.

So is it really worth voting at all?

Despite this, the Student Caucus turned out to be one of the most interesting and talked about Caucuses here at the Convention.

At this critical juncture in our nation's history, your newly elected House leadership believes that a few fundamental changes in the direction of this county are necessary.

Let it be resolved that the brutal teachings of wars past will never more be ignored.  From Sun Tzu to the Powell doctrine, we will heed the lesson of history.  We will plan and anticipate so that military action takes where and when we choose, that we may maximize our advantage.  We will not allow our valiant soldiers to become bogged down in guerrilla deathtraps where friend is indistinguishable from foe.

Let it be resolved that the men and women who fight our wars deserve more than lip service and bumper sticker support.   Let our defense budget give priority to training, equipping and compensating our soldiers before we splurge on weapons systems and support championed by well-connected defense contractors.

• The leaked story on the White House defense strategy;
  
• Moderate Republicans demanding answers;
  
• Ever-cautious big name Democrats like Kerry mulling about a "solid case for impeachment" (even though he tried to claim it was in jest afterward);

• The RNC response to Kerry, showing that the issue has traction and cannot be ignored;
  
• The slew of Op-Ed pieces by wingnuts dismissing the charges with tortured logic;
  
• The conclusion of any sane, unbiased observer with a minumum of legal knowledge that George W. Bush knowingly and unequivocally violated the FISA law.

Said nickname may play a significant part in the nation's collective memory of the 43rd President of the United States.  Bush's ultimate nickname will hopefully reflect a defining characteristic of his tenure in office from 2001 to 2007 (impeachement, heh heh).

• Richard Nixon was Tricky Dick.

• Ronald Reagan was called The Teflon President by his detractors and The Great Communicator by his admirers.  We are still battling over his legacy.

• George H.W. Bush was not stuck with any memorable nickname, other than, perhaps, wimp

• Bill Clinton was Slick Willie.

• George W. Bush will be known as......?