Study: Wealth Gap for Minorities Widens

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Monday October 18, 2004 · 8:29 AM PDT

2004/10/18 · 08:29

Study: Wealth gap widened for blacks, Hispanics
Monday, October 18, 2004 Posted: 10:19 AM EDT (1419 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The enormous wealth gap between white families and blacks and Hispanics grew larger after the most recent recession, a private analysis of government data finds.

White households had a median net worth of greater than $88,000 in 2002, 11 times more than Hispanics and more than 14 times that of blacks, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a study being released Monday.

Blacks were slowest to emerge from the economic downturn that started in 2000 and ended in late 2001, the report found.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/18/minorities.wealth.ap/index.html

8 states may decide election

Doppy

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Saturday October 16, 2004 · 6:32 PM PDT

2004/10/16 · 18:32

AP Article:

Analysis: 8 States May Decide Election

1 hour, 44 minutes ago

By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer

WASHINGTON - Eight states worth just 99 electoral votes are up for grabs in the closely fought presidential race, with the White House going to whoever conquers this shrinking battlefield.

While another dozen states could come into play if either candidate breaks open the race, President Bush (news - web sites) and Democratic Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) entered the campaign homestretch assuming that wouldn't happen. Their strategies focused heavily -- but not exclusively -- on essentially tied races in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Mexico.

National polls suggest the race is tight, but a vast majority of the states are overwhelmingly supporting one candidate over the other -- leaving a handful to determine who wins the White House.

Taken together, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania account for 68 of the 99 votes from these tossup states. They form a triangle of influence unmatched on the political map.

"Whoever wins two of those three wins the White House -- and I hope to God it's my guy," said Democratic consultant Greg Haas of Columbus, Ohio.

With 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency, 26 states are solidly behind Bush or lean his way for 222 electoral votes, according to an Associated Press analysis. Sixteen states plus the District of Columbia are with Kerry or leaning his way for 217 electoral votes.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041016/ap_on_el_pr/road_to270&cid=694&am p;ncid=716

Log Cabin files suit over DADT

Doppy

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Tuesday October 12, 2004 · 5:54 PM PDT

2004/10/12 · 17:54

Pro-Gay Republican Group to File Suit

Tue Oct 12, 5:11 PM ET

By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A Republican homosexual rights group filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to overturn the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.

The policy, put into place in 1993 during the Clinton administration, allows gays and lesbians to serve so long as they do not disclose their sexual orientation nor engage in homosexual acts.

The Log Cabin Republicans (news - web sites) sued in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles asking for an injunction that would prevent the Pentagon from enforcing the policy. The suit names the United States and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as defendants.

Log Cabin members serving in the military asked the group's leaders over the last four months to take legal action, said Marty Meekins, one of the group's attorneys. They did not come forward because of a specific incident but out of "fear of the military finding out their sexual orientation if they are gay and lesbian," said Meekins, who is based in Los Angeles.

The suit says the policy violates a soldier's constitutional right to due process, freedom of speech and equal protection.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041012/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gays_military_lawsuit_3

Think Tank: Iraq War Distracted U.S.

Doppy

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Monday October 11, 2004 · 7:52 PM PDT

2004/10/11 · 19:52

Think Tank: Iraq War Distracted U.S.
Mon Oct 11, 2:10 PM ET

By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer

TEL AVIV, Israel - The war in Iraq (news - web sites) did not damage international terror groups, but instead distracted the United States from confronting other hotbeds of Islamic militancy and actually "created momentum" for many terrorists, a top Israeli security think tank said in a report released Monday.

President Bush (news - web sites) has called the war in Iraq an integral part of the war on terrorism, saying that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) hoped to develop unconventional weapons and could have given them to Islamic militants across the world.

But the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University said that instead of striking a blow against Islamic extremists, the Iraq war "has created momentum for many terrorist elements, but chiefly al-Qaida and its affiliates."

Jaffee Center director Shai Feldman said the vast amount of money and effort the United States has poured into Iraq has deflected attention and assets from other centers of terrorism, such as Afghanistan (news - web sites).

The concentration of U.S. intelligence assets in Iraq "has to be at the expense of being able to follow strategic dangers in other parts of the world," he said.

Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli army general, said the U.S.-led effort was strategically misdirected. If the goal in the war against terrorism is "not just to kill the mosquitos but to dry the swamp," he said, "now it's quite clear" that Iraq "is not the swamp."

Instead, he said, the Iraq campaign is having the opposite effect, drawing Islamic extremists from other parts of the world to join the battle.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041011/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_terrorism

Oregon group against anti-gay amendment on the air

Doppy

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Monday October 11, 2004 · 6:11 PM PDT

2004/10/11 · 18:11

We are at one of the defining moments of this campaign -- one of those points that we will look back on when we win. We will remember that the proponents of this amendment attempted to write unequal treatment into our Oregon State Constitution -- and we will remember that we stood side-by-side and refused to allow our Constitution to be used to hurt gays and lesbians.

We cannot allow Oregonians to be misled by false television ads that claim this amendment will not change our Constitution or suggest that gays and lesbians do not wish to be treated equally to other Oregonians. With your help, we will make sure Oregonians hear about the real consequences of this amendment: enshrining unequal treatment in our Constitution and denying thousands of families the rights and
protections of marriage.

Today, we launched a television ad that tells the story of LeAnn--just one of the many Oregonians who will be hurt by this amendment. To watch the ad - CLICK HERE.

Then, help us keep this ad on the air! We know that the more Oregonians hear about the ways this amendment harms real people, the more they reject it. Click here to securely contribute $50, $100, $250 or as much as you can today. It costs as much as $12,000 to place a 30-second ad on a top show such as Survivor, so any amount you can give will help us inform Oregonians about the real consequences of Constitutional Amendment 36.

Help keep this ad on the air today by contributing what you can! Every donation helps!
We cannot defeat this amendment without you.

Watch the ad

CATO makes the case for Kerry

Doppy

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Sunday October 10, 2004 · 10:59 PM PDT

2004/10/10 · 22:59

This article from the CATO Institute is a great case to make to fiscal conservatives for why they should vote for Kerry.

A Case for Divided Government
by William Niskanen

William A. Niskanen is chairman of the Cato Institute and former acting chairman of President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers.

For those of you with a partisan bent, I have some bad news:

Our federal government may work better (less badly) when at least one chamber of Congress is controlled by a party other than the party of the president. The general reason for this is that each party has the opportunity to block the most divisive measures proposed by the other party. Other conditions, of course, also affect political outcomes, but the following types of evidence for this hypothesis are too important to ignore:

Point One. The rate of growth of real (inflation-adjusted) federal spending is usually lower with divided government.

Point Two. The probability that a major reform will last is usually higher with a divided government because the necessity of bipartisan support is more likely to protect the reform against a subsequent change in the majority party.

Point Three. The prospect of a major war is usually higher with a united government, and the current war makes that clear.

http://www.cato.org/dailys/05-07-03.html

Much more detail in the article, I just picked the bullet points up.

Oregon anti-marriage amendment update

Doppy

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Thursday September 30, 2004 · 1:34 PM PDT

2004/09/30 · 13:34

From an e-mail from No On 36:

Oregonian Urges No Vote
Poll shows race winnable!!

Good News From the No on Constitutional Amendment 36 campaign!

Today, the Oregonian endorsed a "No" vote on Constitutional Amendment 36, calling the effort to change our Constitution "sad, mean-spirited and just plain wrong." Full text of the editorial is below.

Also today, a poll was released by The Oregonian and KATU News that reflects what we've known all along - - this is a very close race. Despite the fact that the poll was conducted while the Yes side had TV ads up for three weeks and while we had only radio ads up, the poll shows 51% Yes voters, 40% No voters and 9% undecided.

This is great news and shows WE CAN WIN, because both our polling and our experience at the door proves that most undecided voters and many Yes voters move our way as they hear more about Constitutional Amendment 36. Over the next 4 1/2 weeks, as we talk to persuadable voters at their doors, on the phone and in the mail - as well as air several compelling TV ads - this race will move our way!

But make no mistake, this will be a close race. Every dollar contributed, every hour volunteered and every voter spoken to can make a difference in the outcome of this race.

Find out how you can help and read more endorsements at www.NoOn36.

Oregonian Endorsement is below. Please write the Oregonian to show your support for the endorsement.

Doppy

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Wednesday September 29, 2004 · 10:18 PM PDT

2004/09/29 · 22:18

60% of Young Male Voters Say War in Iraq, "Not the Right Decision"; 59% Say President Bush Misled America and Executive Branch- Highly Responsible for the Problems that US faces Today, New Zogby/Williams Identity Poll Reveals

Most political pundits believe that the final month of the 2004 presidential campaign will center around the war in Iraq. If so, then young men are likely to cast a vote of "no confidence" in George W. Bush. These are the findings of a new Zogby/Williams Identity poll conducted by Zogby Interactive from September 3 through September 7, 2004. The interactive survey was conducted online among 850 males between the ages of eighteen and thirty years old.

http://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=871 Read More

Oppose Marriage Amendment Now

Doppy

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Monday September 27, 2004 · 12:56 PM PDT

2004/09/27 · 12:56

Please take a minute to contact your Congressional Representative asking him/her to oppose the federal marriage amendment.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/house_fma_oppose Read More

Edwards 8/2001: Terrorism is biggest threat

Doppy

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Sunday September 26, 2004 · 2:23 PM PDT

2004/09/26 · 14:23

August 7, 2001, while Bush & Co. were on vacation ignoring the terrorism threats against the US, John Edwards said: "I've become convinced that terrorism is the most important national security challenge our country will face over the next decade." Read More

Great article: How Bush blew the war on terror

Doppy

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday September 18, 2004 · 10:14 AM PDT

2004/09/18 · 10:14

The only reason Bush has any chance of winning in November is because people think he's "strong on terror." But that couldn't be further from the truth.

In reality, Bush is incredibly weak on terrorism. For example, as Bob Graham lays out in his new book, when the conditions were optimal for us to catch Osama and the rest of the Al Queda leadership, Bush started pulling our assets out of Afghanistan to get them ready for Iraq. In effect, Bush let Osama and the rest of the bad guys go.

Bush is also impotent at fighting wars, as the worsening situations in Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate.

We need to hammer away by exposing the truth - Bush is weak on terrorism, weak in war.

This is a long, but great article from October's Atlantic Monthly talking about how Bush wasted 2002 and significantly blew our chances of fighting an effective war on terror. Read More

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