A careful and thoughtful analysis

missing only a conclusion. At least one which enumerates a solution.

I would imagine that all these domestic "terrorism" bills could be said to be self preservation in action. With an approval rating so low one might need some form of protection from an increasingly dissatisfied mass.......

So, as to a solution....I see none that doesnt require years to bear fruit frankly, dismissing out of hand any call to arms domestically of course. If we start with the premise, proven well by this article, that our two party system is broken and unresponsive to the wishes of the people, then it behooves us to take one of two steps.

Either we endeavor to take back the democratic party from the usurpers who have stolen it or we look elsewhere for a party that we can support, one that supports us. I have chosen to look to third party politics as a long range solution. I believe, that as we sink deeper into a nation that wages perpetual war, not only upon the third world for its dwindling resources, but also upon the American worker in order to wring every last drop of profit from every possible source, we will see rising support for such new politics.

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments) on Thursday, November 1, 2007 at 9:46:18 AM
 

shame and duplicity?

As usual a well constructed readable and thoughtful piece. Your thoughts are one of the highlights of the site.I do wonder at the importance/interpretation you place on poll figures when they are nearly always contradicted by election results. If you look at all the votes cast at the last election (the election that allegedly) gave the Dems a mandate and then compare it to:-

·          The number of citizens entitled to vote will notice a glaring discrepancy. It is reasonable to assume that the % that didn’t vote didn’t feel sufficiently interested to vote. Ergo they were prepared to accept Status Quo.

·          In Australia where voting is mandatory the ‘informal’ vote (screw ups deliberate or otherwise) is usually less than 10%. It has been noted that polls rarely reflect accuracy of the election.  Voter lack of engagement with the issues. In other words voters often vote differently to answers give to pollsters. The Current 12% difference consistently given in polls on an election that is 3 weeks away is unlikely to translate in the election (the biggest swing since WW11 was just under 7%). Even with the pollsters admitted statistic error factor of 1.5-2% there is a massive difference. Transposing you 24% poll into 74% in favor of democrat policy is an unrealistic stretch. For a fuller description see my responses to Steven Leser’s Democratic party strategy  regarding Iraq

·          If it was the view of the actual majority of US citizens then why did the Dems get such an ambivalent majority in the Reps and not enough in the Senate to manage a Veto over ride? Might I suggest a truer interpretation would be that the public is unhappy with the strategies of GWB but not yet prepared to accept unrestricted Democratic power. This would include their self interests and what to do about Iraq. (one could include here national pride and innate fear as generated and fostered by those who stand to benefit.

·          I have offered some possible? Solutions.

·          The previous commenter is right everyone is critical but no one is offering objective doable solutions.

I look forward to your thoughts on this.

by Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 531 comments) on Thursday, November 1, 2007 at 6:43:57 PM
 

Iran

When Hitler said he would eliminate the Jews it was not mere rhetoric. Iran's leaders want to eliminate Israel. Probably that doesn't disturb you. Also, what would prevent Iran from giving small bombs to Hizbolla and Hamas both who wish to eliminate Israel. Iran gives them plenty now. In Philadelphia amid a pleasant home friends and safety it is easy to poo poo the threat.

by philip rosen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 93 comments) on Saturday, November 3, 2007 at 6:37:56 PM
 

which leaders would that be?

and what bombs are they handing out? Several assumptions made in arriving at a conclusion unsupportable by any factual information makes for a tenuous political stance.

Amadinajhad has been criticised within his own country for his remarks about the holocaust. There is no proof whatsoever that Iran is seeking to make a bomb either. Of course, given Israels abominable treatment of Palestinians over the decades one might assume a general "resentment" to be inevitable among the those in the arab world, would nt you think?

So one might rather correctly blame Israel itself for the way it is hated by arabs.....There are now several history books relating the way Ben Gurion decided, and in the mid thirties, to oust about one million arabs from what was then Palestine in order to give the new Israeli citizens to come a clear majority.....'The Red House' is one such....

by ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2377 comments) on Sunday, November 4, 2007 at 4:47:24 PM