Partisan Free Politics

President Bush's steadfast support of Alberto Gonzalez has been an example of the major problem that arises when loyalty trumps all other qualities, be they competence, political viability, bipartisanship, or anything else. Whether an individual supports or opposes Bush, there is little likelihood that you can be proud of or confident in the performance of Alberto Gonzalez. This is something that should have happened long ago . Now is an opportunity for Bush to be a uniter not a divider. Nominating someone who is not a Bush loyalist, not an insider, but a moderate bipartisan bridge who could, heaven for bid, even be retained under the next Administration, even if it is a Democratic ...

• Comments (7)

Pakistan is a diverse nation struggling under the rule of a Secular-Progressive Military Dictator. Even as President Musharaf has installed himself as 'President for Life' (however short that may be); he has also enacted legislation such as the Women's Protection Act (which ostensibly makes rape illegal), and brought large amounts of economic aid to the country. While I am not and nor feel the need to defend the man, he is said to see himself as an Ataturk type leader (I see him as very Pinochet-esque). To the point. As Pakistan continues to roil internally, trouble is brewing on the Eastern front. In November of 2006 a bi-partisan Congress passed the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act, granting ...

• Comments (0)

In a previous post "Sicko = Excellent Propaganda Film", I described my impressions of health care, by relating the story of what happened, when I broke my back almost two years ago. By coincidence, I am still uninsured and recently found myself going to the hospital. (disclaimer: I'm loaded up on painkillers right now, I take no responsibility for grammar or coherence)... So this past Thursday I found myself (like most Thursdays this sumer) playing softball on the mall, within sight of many a national monument. It was the top of the second, my team, the Muckrackers, was already behind by three runs. I stepped up - prophetically told someone that their smoking was going to cause me ...

• Comments (1)

In ancient Greece, newspapers, radio and television provided the foundation necessary for Democracy to be born, thrive and flourish. In his most famous televised State of the Union address, Pericles said, “We… regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a harmless, but as a useless character”. 2,639 years later, those words enunciated first on Ancient Greek C-Span, still resonate in their grainy black and white footage. That same mass media model: Connected Socrates, Plato and Aristotle with the education and audience necessary for them to further transform the lives of thousands of Greeks from decadent ...

• Comments (1)

In the interest of moving things forward, I thought I'd start a thread on the content and direction of Partisan Free Politics (as well as some basic bloggery-nonsense). My vision for this project (and please feel free to disagree) is to foster a partisan-neutral, issue-oriented community capable of holding its own against the partisan-frenzied mobs that dominate the political blogosphere. We (and not just the Millennial generation) have before us an unprecedented opportunity; to communicate, organize and impact the world through diffuse organic power structures. The source of this power is not derived from the internet - though the internet helps - it is derived from the discovery of a common ground (civic engagement). To that end, the authors of ...

• Comments (1)

As acting Media Director and in an effort to open up lines of communication and clear up some confusion about the new stuff PVS has going for 2008, I've compiled a list of exciting new initiatives and programs that we are working on for this Presidential election season It's kind of long, but broken down into 11 sections. Feel free to e-mail media@votesmart.org for clarification or more information on any of these. Carolyn Holmes 1) Blog / Blog Outreach Program We’ve started a blog, the Voter's Speakeasy (www.votesmart.org/blog), that will mostly cover updates on internal matters, and will serve as a forum in which people can stay connected with the day-to-day goings on of PVS. We have asked the department heads to regularly ...

• Comments (5)

Well to be precise, he doesn't actually carry it himself (to my knowledge,) but he does have a whole city full of armed guards. Shelly Parker, who lives in one of those parts of DC that interns (and Mayors) are generally told not to go in, on the other hand, isn't allowed to possess one. Ms. Parker isn't an ex-con, she has no mental disabilities, by all accounts she is an upstanding member of her community, the only thing that precludes her from legally possessing a firearm in her home is that her home is within the District of Columbia, which has an almost complete and total ban of private gun ownership. Ms. Parker's concern for her safety ...

• Comments (3)

It was brought to my attention that some of the posts on this blog cast project vote smart in a negative light. Unfortunately, that is the cost of having an insider conversation about what each everyone of us agrees to be a vital and necessary organization. Dialogue, however virulent, is a necessary part of democratic social orders. With that caveat, I wanted to start a positively oriented post, to let our friends in Montana (some of whom are avid readers of this blog ) know that this "two-way medium" - can work in their favor. While in Montana I started to comprehend the genius behind PVS, but it wasn't until I moved to our nations capital - that I came ...

• Comments (9)

Here goes my long-awaited, much-anticipated blogging debut. Andrew asked for a Texan perspective, but I don’t really think I reflect the “typical” Texan viewpoint. Nevertheless, I will write. I came across this article today in the New York Times: It’s not exactly about a policy issue, but I think I could picture the group talking about this around the fire. Besides, I’ll work my way to the policy stuff. Patience, please.The article is about women in Mauritania who are deliberately overfed, because, to them, obesity is a desired quality in women. It’s a sign of affluence and, yes, beauty. Young girls are forced to eat calorie-rich and fatty foods, often to the point of throwing up, ...

• Comments (5)