https://www.dailykos.com/user/cadetcap/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:08:05 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 18:08:05 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/16/876448/-A-criticism-of-the-Democratic-Party-s-new-gun-control-strategy <p>Do not touch gun issues. That is what the Democrats supposedly learned from the 1994 midterm elections. Bill Clinton supported the Brady Bill among other gun control acts and managed to alienate many of the southern Democrats who brought him a governing majority in 1992. So when President Obama and his huge majority were elected, they made a point to avoid any serious talk of pursuing further gun control measures. In fact, gun control has arguably suffered more setbacks under Obama than under the gun-friendly Bush Administration. First, a provision allowing firearms in state parks was attached to the Credit CARD bill. Next, came the amendment to a supplemental transportation funding bill which removed restrictions on firearms on Amtrak trains. Now, the House has attached an amendment excepting the National Rifle Association from its campaign finance bill.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Barack Obama BarackObama Democratic Party DemocraticParty DickCheyney George Bush GeorgeBush Gun Control GunControl NRA _876448 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:44:18 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/14/875816/-Why-has-renewable-energy-disappeared-from-our-energy-debate <p>President Obama spoke &nbsp;recently about the need for a clean energy future. He repeatedly mentioned "clean energy" in the speech and urged Congress to take action on the energy bill. When he actually mentioned concrete steps to achieve a clean energy revolution, the best he could come up with was natural gas drilling and nuclear energy expansion. He mentioned the blueprint for the senate version of the bill had included numerous Republican ideas, though he did not mention the Republicans would not actually cosponsor the bill. Within the bill itself, there is little support for renewable energy or real energy reducing steps. It simply aims to transform our from an oil-based economy to a nuclear/coal/natural gas based economy. This is not necessarily a good improvement. If we are going to spend this much money investing in new energy sources, the sources should at least be worth the investment.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) BarackObama Climate Change ClimateChange President Obama RenewableEnergy _875816 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:42:41 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/6/873533/-Why-Harry-Reid-is-rebounding <p>Harry Reid was a lost cause. Both Minority Whip Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer have been publicly vying for his position for over a year now when it is assumed he will be defeated for reelection. Not so fast, says a recent Mason-Dixie poll recently released which shows his numbers reboundingsignificantly. Reid slightly trails potential challengers Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian and actually LEADS Sharon Angle. These are not good numbers for an incumbent by any means, but they indicate a competitive race. So my question is, what has caused this sudden reversal of fortune. The surge can be attributed to several factors.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Harry Reid HarryReid Midterm Elections MidtermElections Nevada _873533 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:01:03 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/26/870383/-House-Republicans-oppose-9-11-first-responder-benefits <p>This is appalling. Republicans are caught playing politics with the funding of 9/11 responder health insurance coverage. They have opposed an effort to make it a mandatory spending program, which does not have a spending limit. They go further to claim creating another entitlement program is far beyond the government's spending reach. Goes beyond our spending reach? If the United States of America does not take care of the men and women who risked their lives to save victims of our worst attack since the Civil War, then who can we take care of? How is this in any way patriotic? How can we ask for our men and women to put their lives on the line, be it in the army or fire department, if our country will not assure their well being? We have a fundamental duty to protect anyone who is part of our country who cannot protect themselves.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) 9-11 HouseRepublicans _870383 Thu, 27 May 2010 05:38:57 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/24/869637/-So-a-budget-resolution-fails-to-move-is-it-the-end-of-the-world <p>In February, the administration released its budget proposal for the 2011 fiscal year. There was significantly less press surrounding the President's release of the budget than there was for the 2010 budget, mostly because of the health care debate. Since its release, the budget has gone absolutely nowhere. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said she is looking for a way to satisfy her diverse caucus, but that it was proving very difficult. Many have wondered if a budget resolution will pass through Congress at all. Kent Conrad (D-ND), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has said the prospect for a 2011 budget resolution is "fading". Congress has not failed to even consider a budget blueprint since 1974. If Congress does not end up passing a budget resolution, will this be a major setback for the Obama Administration?</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Barack Obama BarackObama Budget _869637 Tue, 25 May 2010 05:14:05 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/19/868106/-Wall-Street-Reform-fails-to-garner-60-votes-needed-to-end-debate <p>In what is possibly a sign of trouble to come, Senate Democrats have failed to achieve the 60 votes needed to move their "Wall Street reform" bill. The opposition comes from both the left and right, though it is widely expected the measure will gain the 60 votes needed to move it to conference once the differences have been settled between various senators and the leadership. Those voting "no" on the cloture motion but expected to votes "yes" eventually include Russ Feingold (D-WI), Maria Candwell (D-WA), and Scott Brown (R-MA). Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and George Voinovich (R-OH) are both considered gettable votes based on previous statements they have made regarding the bill. Additionally, Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) both voted to end debate.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) FinancialReform Senate WallStreetReform _868106 Thu, 20 May 2010 05:14:23 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/17/867399/-Why-is-foreign-terrorism-so-much-scarier-than-its-domestic-counterpart <p>Does <a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/Oklahoma%20City%20Cover-up/oklahoma_city_bombing.jpg">this</a>look familiar to anyone? It is a picture taken shortly after the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing that was eventually tied to a American militia movement sympathizer. The attack claimed 168 lives and destroyed an entire United States federal building. Lets look a little more recently. Does anybody recall on February 18th of this year, Joseph Stack flew a small plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas? How about the shooting of two Unitarian Church members who were antagonized for having liberal social beliefs?</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) OklahomaCityBombing Terrorism TimesSquareBombPlot _867399 Tue, 18 May 2010 04:52:05 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/14/866467/-Yay-spending-cuts <p>House Republican minority whip Eric Cantor has <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/97373-gop-will-seek-votes-on-spending-cuts-that-online-voters-pick">now released</a> a fun online interactive tool. It allows participants to choose their favorite spending cut, and the winners will be voted on in the house sometime in the future. How fun! Lets take a look at some of <a href="http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/">these cuts</a>:</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) EricCantor HouseRepublicans spendingcuts Welfare YOUCUT _866467 Fri, 14 May 2010 17:40:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/12/865986/-Finally-a-new-direction-in-the-War-on-Drugs <p>President Obama yesterday, unveiled the most comprehensive drug abuse prevention program ever seen in the United States. Among its many provisions, it seeks to promote intervention-based programs through medical care and creates a "community based national prevention system". This plan is the latest development in a series of progressive steps by the Obama Administration to combat illicit drug use. The ban on needle sharing was lifted, the DEA was instructed not to prosecute people in legalized marijuana states, and stiffer incarceration sentencing for crack cocaine over sniff cocaine was abolished. These all appear to be steps toward the acceptance of drug use, but this is discounting the deeper they will have in the war on drugs.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) BarackObama Drug Policy DrugPolicy MarijuanaLegalization President Obama WaronDrugs _865986 Thu, 13 May 2010 01:05:14 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/10/865404/-Seems-like-you-left-a-few-things-out-here <p>The Foundry's <a href="http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/obama-budget-skyrocketing-debt">Kathryn Nix</a> correctly pointed out on Friday that Obama is spending at levels never seen since World War II. She goes on to claim that Obama is going against public opinion in doing so. Lets not take these numbers out of context. In 1945, America had just pulled itself out of one of the most severe economic slump in American history and won one of the most costly wars it ever involved itself in. The spike in government spending was due to a combination of economic relief programs and military expenditures. That was then.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) GreatDepression KathrynNix spendingcuts Taxes World War ii _865404 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:52:53 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/9/865083/-The-dangerous-privatization-of-the-military <p>To the delight of liberals and anyone who knows anything about foreign policy, it looked like Blackwater Worldwide would finally be gone from our military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was after the 2007 Baghdad shooting in which Blackwater security personnel opened fire needlessly on a group of civilians, killing 17. Their license was revoked and those responsible were sent to court. Afterwards, the company changed its name to XE, and everybody forgot about the issue. They are somehow still operating in Iraq, however, as are dozens of other "mercenary" armies. Their primary duty is to assist in day to day security operations within Iraq's major cities. They have become so successful at their job that they have even begun to develop their own variants of armored cars, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other sensitive military hardware.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Barack Obama BarackObama Blackwater Iraq War IraqWar WarinAfghanistan xe _865083 Mon, 10 May 2010 03:17:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/6/864354/-We-need-someone-as-liberal-as-Diane-Wood-only-younger <p>Diane Wood is everything we could want in a Supreme Court nominee. She is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit. She holds very liberal positions in areas ranging from abortion rights to the rights of illegal immigrants. Furthermore her liberal activism fits very well into the shoes of John Paul Stevens, long known as the leader of the liberal wing of the court. The only problem is (don't take this personally, Judge) she's old. To most people this would not seem like a big deal. Older justices are much more experienced and therefore are more thoughtful when it comes to decision making. This is not the Supreme Court we are dealing with.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) DianeWood Obama Supreme Court SupremeCourt _864354 Fri, 07 May 2010 04:08:57 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/6/864203/-Who-is-this-working-for <p>The United States is by far the largest food donor in the world. With less than 1/10 of the world population we donate 59.2% of all the food aid. This seems mighty generous of us if we weren't making so much money out of it. The agribusiness and shipping lobbies both heavily support our current food aid policy. This is because they drive down prices for American consumers, increase profits for large farms, and ensure a market for the huge surplus that American agriculture produces each year.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) foodaid _864203 Thu, 06 May 2010 20:56:02 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/5/863985/-Let-s-help-resurrect-the-New-England-Republican <p>The New England Republican is an endangered species these days, being forced out of their own party by a Southern Republican party far more conservative than it. This is not to say that there aren't anyone who is a Republican in New England anymore, on the contrary, there are far more Republican leaning people in a liberal state like Vermont than one would think. The big problem for the New England GOP is that these Republican voters aren't voting Republican in federal races. The prime example of this is the election of Bill Owens to fill the seat of John McHugh. The Republican candidate was Dede Scozzafava though she was eventually forced out of the race by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, handing the Democrats a victory in the conservative NY-23.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) moderaterepublican OlympiaSnowe Primary Republican Party RepublicanParty _863985 Thu, 06 May 2010 03:35:02 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/3/863338/-Lets-stop-wasting-our-money-protecting-Europe <p>While watching the debate between Scott Brown and Martha Coakley during the special senatorial election to replace Ted Kennedy I noticed both Scott Brown (R) and the Libertarian Kennedy argued for spending cuts in social programs to reduce the deficit. I don't think there is any disagreement between economists these days that spending cuts will be needed to decrease the record deficit we are stuck with. The disagreement among our politicians and civil society is where to find these budget cuts. I have argued that strategic budget cuts and strategic tax increases can both reduce the deficit and improve the economy as a whole. An example of this is a new carbon tax and cuts in the oil subsidies the federal government now gives out to lower the cost of oil. This would have the effect of reducing carbon emissions without actually addressing the issue.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) BudgetDeficit defensespending _863338 Tue, 04 May 2010 05:08:53 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/5/2/862943/-Witness-to-the-reality-gap <p>Barack Obama has done more things since becoming president than many of his predecessors. These include the stimulus act, health-care legislation, the biggest expansion of wilderness areas for decades, an expansion of SCHIP, among other accomplishments. It can be argued that Obama has made more changes to the current American system than any president since Ronald Reagan. It is interesting to see how an uninformed public interprets these changes, being as complex as they are. These responses vary from confused to misinformed to generally informed. When you have a public that does not respond to anything other than 60 second news stories, it is hard to convey the policies your government has enacted.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Obama _862943 Mon, 03 May 2010 01:53:55 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/30/861987/-What-Cape-Wind-announcement-means-for-climate-legislation <p>Some pretty huge news today on the sustainable energy front. Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, announced today that the long-stalled Cape Wind project has been given the green light. Cape Wind project is a 130 turbine wind farm that is projected to produce more than 50% of Cape Cod's energy needs when fully operational. The project had been stalled for more than 9 years because of objections of prominent Massachusetts politicians who resided on Cape Cod and did not want their ocean view obstructed. This will be the first ever offshore wind farm in the United States. Though small by global proportions, it signals a new era of renewable energy development.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) CapeWind Climate Change ClimateChange eKos Rescued Wind Power WindPower _861987 Sat, 01 May 2010 00:48:04 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/28/861813/-Need-health-savings-Try-environmental-justice <p>As far as the massive budget deficit is concerned, both tax rises and budget cuts will be needed to solve the problem. There will be a budgetary crisis when the baby boom enters the Medicare and Social Security programs. The current budget deficit won't go away without significant economic growth, which probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. In Republican Congressman Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future, which has been cited as a conservative answer to the deficit, entitlement cuts are proposed. The problem is: we need these programs. But we also need to reduce the deficit. How should the government go about doing it?</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Budget eKos Environmental Justice EnvironmentalJustice Medicaid Medicare Social Security SocialSecurity _861813 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:12:57 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/20/859091/-Why-we-shouldn-t-have-to-restrict-the-role-of-lobbyists <p>It is common knowledge that lobbyists have disproportionate influence on our legislative and executive branches of government. During the Bush years, the level of interest spending and influence on policy reached a breaking point. The oil industry managed to receive billions of dollars in subsidies and remove renewable energy from the 2007 energy security bill. The Democrats managed to succeed electorally in 2006 and 2008 based on anti-lobbyist rhetoric though they are by no means free from the influence of interest groups. These interests often have a detrimental effect on government policy and impede the most responsive branch of government from accurately reflecting the people's will.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Lobbying _859091 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:22:21 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/15/857639/-What-the-Democratic-Party-should-do <p>Its not news to most people that the Democrats are in trouble. They have had two straight landslide elections, bring with it the largest congressional majority any party has been given since the 1970s. The initial problem was that the base was not energized, compared to the Republican counterpart. Republicans were riled up by Fox News and claims of socialism creeping into the country. Democratic activists were disappointed over their losses on key components of the health reform debate. The passage of health-care legislation has greatly improved the mood among the base, though there is little evidence that independents have been swayed. I would attribute the failure of the Democrats to maintain there position to several factors.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Democratic Party DemocraticParty Obama _857639 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:12:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/14/857354/-The-Forgotten-Green-Deal <p>When Americans talk about the direction that the country is going on, they will overwhelmingly tell you that the economy is their biggest concern. At this point, the Democrats have been content to just tinker at the edges, trying to preserve existing jobs. But what the American economic system needs is a makeover.</p> rss@dailykos.com (cadetcap) Climate Change ClimateChange Economy Hillary Clinton HillaryClinton _857354 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:45:03 +0000