Category: Political Rants

This is powerful stuff. Somebody emailed me a copy of Walter Cronkite’s 2004 commencement address at Pomona University. It contained some pretty blunt observations, such as: We are plagued with the Iraq war — a possibly improving economy — but still a tragically large population of unemployed or under-employed — and an environmental crisis that… Continue reading Cronkite at Pomona

In the March 21, 2004 Washington Post, Gene Weingarten wrote a very good column, with his tongue firmly in his cheek, explaining why we need a Constitutional amendment against gay marriage. It’s amusing and worth reading. I’ll respect the Post‘s copyright and not copy it here, but I can’t resist repeating the additional amendment Weingarten… Continue reading A Good Constitutional Amendment

I’m sure many people, with tongue partially in cheek, might suggest the two are equivalent, but the Army is serious about it. Using a loose definition, I suppose torture is a form of “technology” used to extract “information”. And in the miiitary world of doublespeak, it’s probably not any more outrageous than many other common… Continue reading Torture is "Information Technology"?

Kentucky held its primary election today (as did Oregon and Arkansas). Not surprisingly, with the presidential nominations for both parties already a done deal, and few local races with any primary competition, turnout was low. Approximately 13% of registered voters felt compelled to exercise that right that supposedly makes us so much better than other… Continue reading Primary Prattle

I went to a fundraiser tonight for Congressman Ben Chandler, who’s running for re-election after being elected in February to the unexpired seat vacated by our sleazy current governor. It was quite a different experience than Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s recent appearance in his presidential campaign. It’s really ironic that a candidate who’s certain to lose… Continue reading Depressing Democrats

I’ve got mixed feelings about James Carville, aka the Ragin Cajun. It’s hard to forgive him for helping elect one of the worst governors Kentucky has ever had (althought that title is being seriously challenged by our current one). But the guy’s good at his job, even when the job is getting sleazeballs elected. Here’s… Continue reading Quote of the Week

Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was in town Tuesday, campaigning for the upcoming Kentucky primary. He gave an extremely energetic speech at the Kentucky Theater. I’ve been to a lot of political rallies in my rabble-rousing lifetime, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a politician fire up a crowd the way Dennis did.… Continue reading Dinner with Dennis at DiMartino’s

If you find yourself as confused as I am about just how the mind of the average Republican works (rumor has it some of them actually do have minds, although probably not hearts), this might be helpful. A friend forwarded me this list of Republican beliefs that makes it all much clearer.

At a time when questions are being raised about how widespread the American abuse of Iraqi prisoners is, I received this report from an organization which has some good information and no political axe to grind (other than a desire for compassion and humanity). The Christian Peacemaker Team, an ecumenical international group committed to nonviolence,… Continue reading Iraq Prison Report

OK .. I know I said I’d filled the political rant quota for the week, but I got this and had to share: We would be better off if the president pursued policies that prevent casualties — American and Iraqi — instead of policies that prevent us from viewing the images of them. From a… Continue reading Quote of the week