Alberto Gonzales

The Senate voted to confirm him today, but the Democrats showed strong opposition. Although there was never any doubt that the Republicans would confirm him since they control the Senate, the 36 Senators voting "no" sent a strong message to the Bush White House and the world that we are serious in our opposition to the use of torture.

I think the Senate Democrats have laid the ground work for mounting a strong opposition to future right wing nominees.

Send a note of thanks to our Senators, Murray and Cantwell for voting "no". Here is the message I sent to both of them through their web sites:

Senators:

Thank you very much for having the courage to vote "no" on the vote to ratify Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. You took a principled stand for some of the most cherished principles in our constitutional system.

Although he was confirmed, I believe that the large number of "no" votes sent an important message to the Bush Administration: The American people will not tolerate any use of torture or violations of basic human rights by our government. Your vote helps to encourage me that the United States of America is still a place where the rule of law matters and that we can reclaim our reputation around the world. The United States can still exercise strong moral leadership in this world if we display the kind of commitment to protecting human rights that you demonstrated today.

Let us hope that Mr. Bush is more careful in future
appointments because of the vote you and 35 others cast today.

By the way, I don't get how John McCain, a former POW and victim of torture by the North Vietnamese, was able to bring himself to vote for Gonzales. I guess a man who wants the White House bad enough is willing to compromise on just about anything to stay in the good graces of the Party.

Social Security Reform

I will give the Bush White House this much: the State of the Union speech was well written and it gave some details about what the Bush agenda will be in the next few years. However, those details are not to impressive. For all of the talk about how much change this will bring to the Social Security system, it just sounds like a bad deal when you look at the details. According to the Washington Post:

Under the proposal, workers could invest as much as 4 percent of their wages subject to Social Security taxation in a limited assortment of stock, bond and mixed-investment funds. But the government would keep and administer that money. Upon retirement, workers would then be given any money that exceeded inflation-adjusted gains over 3 percent.

That money would augment a guaranteed Social Security benefit that would be reduced by a still-undetermined amount from the currently promised benefit.

In effect, the accounts would work more like a loan from the government, to be paid back upon retirement at an inflation-adjusted 3 percent interest rate — the interest the money would have earned if it had been invested in Treasury bonds, said Peter R. Orszag, a Social Security analyst at the Brookings Institution and a former Clinton White House economist.

State of the Union

Okay, the speech is tonight. Let me know what you think of what "W" had to say tonight. "Glittering generalities" or was there some substance? Sensible plan on Social Security or a false crisis being drummed up to privatize the system? A plan to get out of Iraq or wishful thinking?

By the way, call or e-mail your Senators now! Ask them to vote no on making Alberto Gonzales the new Attorney General! We don't need someone in that position that will play legal games with the definition of torture. We are supposed to be all about rights, due process, fairness. Send this guy back to Texas. He doesn't belong in OUR federal government - we have respect for the rule of law - we don't try to redefine it to torture prisoners. AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Blogs from Baghdad

The Iraqis have voted. For most it was a great day. In other parts of Iraq, few people tried to vote. There was violence and as of this posting about 36 were killed. In addition to listening to the news, I have found it interesting to log on to some of the blog sites from Iraqis. Just like in the good old USA, there are a variety of opinions.

One of them was proud and triumphant. This blogger clearly sees this as the beginning of freedom and independence for the Iraqi people. It is exciting to read what he posted, including the lines, "We could smell pride in the atmosphere this morning; everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the center. I couldn't think of a scene more beautiful than that."

One of them thinks that all of the emphasis on elections is a little misplaced. A Family in Baghdad .

There are others as well:

The Iraqi Letter to America has a very different viewpoint than most of us get of things. It shows the fear that a lot of Iraqis live with. He makes a really good point - that the people who have demanded that the elections take place are not the same people who are facing danger by going to the polls. He makes a strong case for how much is being demanded of Iraqi citizens:

Imagine that it is known that there were bombs on a number of the planes leaving JFK airport on a certain day. What should the authorities do? What would you do? Ask the people to go about their business, make a stand against terrorism, show courage and board those planes – telling them not to be intimidated by terrorists? The show must go on? Would that be a responsible thing to do? Later, when the worst comes to the worst… blame the terrorists for the unfortunate loss of life… and call it a day? Wouldn’t that be reckless and irresponsible? Yet, this is what we have.

Let us have a look at those different people urging the Iraqi people to go out and vote.

1. The US administration’s representatives in Iraq, the US army and the Interim government running the country from heavily defended fortresses… and cannot even protect those fortresses. Yet, they hope to protect more than 6000 polling stations across the country… where people are to go, to vote.

2. These people in charge do not venture out of their fortresses unless heavily armored and covered by a blanket of security. Yet they ask unarmed men and women to go out and expose themselves to danger.

3. Candidates who are not prepared to go out and take a risk and campaign for themselves. Some do not even have the courage to have their names published and be known. Secret candidates! Yet, they want Iraqis to take the risk and vote for them.

4. Many American super-patriots who are still shivering with anger or fear of attacks carried out on three buildings in their country more than three years ago. Yet, they ask Iraqi housewives (eg Rose) not to be frightened or intimidated by terrorists… in a country that is going through multitudes of 9/11’s regularly.

5. A country that is wisely taking measure after measure to protect its frightened citizens and ensure their safety through stringent finger print and eye retina scans for visitors… is so eager to expose Iraqis to grave danger.

6. President Bush who did not return to his seat of government immediately after those attacks, fearing for his safety. Yet, he asks Iraqis to show courage.

7. The UN Secretary General, who withdrew his entire staff from Iraq following one attack. Now he is asking Iraqis to vote in a dangerous situation and telling them that the UN will do everything to help them.

Reckless and irresponsible!

Isn’t it enough for Iraqis to live under the constant
threat of random violence, just going about their shattered lives? Governments should be less reckless and more responsible than that! People should be more caring for fellow human beings.

President Bush has called the election a success. The long and the short of it is that a lot of people voted in the places where it was fairly safe to do so. People did not vote in the dangerous parts of Iraq. Iraqis should be proud of the courage and determination they showed in going to the polls today.

The hard part, governing a nation and writing a consitution, still lie ahead. Let us hope that the Iraqi people can use the momentum and spirit of unity they showed in going to the polls today to carry them through that difficult task.

And maybe, someday soon, the American troops can come home!

Read the caption, it gets better...

Wow! This picture of Cheney at the ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland is real. I found it first on Al Franken's web site but the accomponying story can be found in the Washington Post.

Quoth the Washington Post:

At yesterday's gathering of world leaders in southern Poland to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the United States was represented by Vice President Cheney. The ceremony at the Nazi death camp was outdoors, so those in attendance, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, were wearing dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots. Because it was cold and snowing, they were also wearing gentlemen's hats. In short, they were dressed for the inclement weather as well as the sobriety and dignity of the event.
The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower.

Call on the Senate to Reject Alberto Gonzales

I am really thinking that the most important thing the U.S. Congress can do in the next couple of weeks is to reject the nomination of Alberto Gonzalez to become U.S. Attorney General.

Gonzales was involved with the infamous 2002 torture memo which tried to find legal loopholes for the CIA to conduct abusive interrogations on prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay (and eventually elsewhere). Even though he has a wonderful rags-to-riches story, and it would be a wonderful thing to have a Hispanic/Latino American in a position of power, his involvement in the torture memos should disqualify him from even being considered for the position.

After the scandal at Abu Ghraib, the deaths of almost 20 prisoners in U.S. custody, and the mockery our policy has made of the rule of law, it is time for the Congress to step in and reel in this President and his abuse of Executive Powers.

I've got a lot more to say on the subject, but not more time to write. Check out a recent piece in the NY Times by Frank Rich on the lack of coverage this story has been getting on American T.V. Does anyone have comments on this subject? Let me know.....

Inaugural Humor

I found a list of late night comic jokes about the inaugural. I figure I'll post these since I'm kind of brain dead. Man, oh man. You could feel the stress radiating off of all the students this week. Everyone with finals, papers, etc. I'm glad the WTP State Competition was last week.

Ok, some late night humor:

Late-Night Jokes About Bush's Second Inauguration
"Historians say the most commonly used phrase at inaugurations is 'My fellow citizens.' However, the most commonly used phrase at President Bush's inauguration is expected to be 'My fellow United Statesers.'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush is being criticized because his inaugural celebration cost $40 million. When asked about it, the president said, 'Sorry, but my daughters insisted on an open bar.'" –Conan O'Brien

"Some people are criticizing President Bush for spending $40 million on his inauguration, but hey, give the guy a break, he's excited. After all, this is the first time he's really been elected." –Jay Leno

"In preparation for his inauguration, President Bush was shown an original copy of the Constitution. When he saw the Constitution, Bush said, 'Oh, it's that thing from School House Rock.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Bush says being re-elected, he doesn't have the same pressure as the first time. He said he wants to enjoy himself in the Oval Office this time. Not as much as Clinton enjoyed himself." --Jay Leno

"Washington D.C. is on high alert for this week's inaugural event for President Bush. Anti-aircraft missals have been deployed near the capitol. F-16's are patrolling around the clock, and every bartender in town is on strict orders -- do not serve the Bush twins." --Craig Ferguson

"Traditionally the president's inaugural committee pays for these expenses; this time around it's stiffing the District of Columbia with a 12 million dollar security bill -- just their way of saying 'thank you' to the community that went nine-to-one for the president's opponent." --Jon Stewart, on security expenses for Bush's inauguration

"One week from tonight President Bush will be sworn in, once again, as president of the United States. This will mark only the second time in four years that he's had his hand on a book." --Jay Leno

"President Bush has been working on his inauguration, not the actual speech but the word inaugural." --Jay Leno

"Preparations are in high gear for the Bush inauguration and it's really beginning to look bad now for John Kerry. But everybody at the White House is very excited about the inauguration. Early today the Bush twins picked the designated driver." --David Letterman

"Various anti-Bush groups plan to protest his inauguration by lining the streets and turning their backs to his motorcade. You know it's not going to work though because he's going to get out to see what they're all looking at." --Amy Poehler

The Loyal Opposition

The proper role for those of us who did not vote for Bush is to both recognize that he IS the president, but to also stand up for what we believe in and make our causes heard. I believe fully that most of the causes championed by progressives will seem like "no-brainers" a couple of decades from now.

George Bush gave an important inaugural address, and perhaps an historic one. Time will tell. What does his stated committment to freedom around the world mean? To use some phrases that Martin Luther King was fond of, will we lead with "physical force" or "soul force"? Are we going to use our immense wealth and technology to better the condition of people around the world, or just blow stuff up until we get our way? Time will tell....

In case you are feeling like you've heard a lot of talk from Bush and the right this week, I've got a few suggestions that may balance things out a bit for you:

Tim Russert noted on MSNBC that many questions remain about the vision of liberty for the world that Bush outlined in his speech. This is especially true of how the rest of the world is looking at it. "The European press is very, very nervous this morning, because they believe it’s an indication the president believes he was right in Iraq. They are concerned we’re going to see the Iraq model imitated around the world."

The Christian Science Monitor pointed out that most of the rest of the world isn't thrilled with the prospect of four more years of Bush and believe he will make the world more dangerous. From their site:

In a new BBC World Service Poll of 22,000 people living in Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Europe, 58 percent of those surveyed said they believed US President George Bush will have a "negative impact on [global] peace and security."

Only 26 percent of those surveyed believed Mr. Bush was a positive force. The situation in Iraq was a key factor in many people's opinion of the US. The Guardian reports that the survey also indicates that, for the first time, the dislike of Mr. Bush is translating into a dislike of Americans in general.

The poll also showed how differently those in other countries and US citizens look at the global security situation.

Howard Zinn is always worth reading and he sounded a call to action. No more need to justify our luke-warm support for Kerry; now we get to actually articulate the things that we stand for. Editor of The Nation, Katrina Van Heuvel, has outlined a progressive agenda that is being enacted in states across the the nation. It counters some of what Bush called for in his Inaugural Address.

Also, John Nichols from the Nation had his answer to Bush posted yesterday afternoon, and he found a lot of hypocrisy in the "Bush Doctrine".

Finally, a voice from the political right: William Safire, a conservative republican writes a lot of interesting columns. It is too bad that he is retiring soon. Since he was once a speech writer for Nixon, his comments were well worth noting.

Oh, no! A bad poem by me!

Bush is going to be inaugurated (again!) this week.

I really think I've had enough to deal with in recent weeks without having to see his smug face looking out over his pre-screened group of adoring minions. But,

There he will be...

First, with his hand on the bible, taking the oath of office.
Then, turning to the cameras...

He will start to speak.
And he'll speak and he'll speak and he'll speak.

He will say things misleading.
He will say things deceiving.
He will say things in language thats mangled and garbled and full of cheerleading
For causes I hate, for issues contrived,
For people whose wealth simply can't be denied!
He will speak of his judgment, he will speak of his faith.
He will speak of the work that is yet to be done.
He will speak with a chuckle and a spark in his eye,
and when its all finished the news will be spun!

By Fox and by others who don't question why,
a man invades countries with out reason or fear
of the damage he'll do or the burden we'll bear
in lives that are lost and a mission unclear.

His legal advisors have written of torture
and come to conclusions repulsive, "You see
when we do it, we must. And it's right
because none can question our morals or might."

His words will then fly in the face of the facts
and all of the progress our world once had made
at working together as brothers and sisters
toward a greater resect for each other and our world.

Then the crowds will start cheering and the flags begin waving,
He's done it again, and will do it again.

While I sit in my anger and grief and despair
and I wonder "Where is the justice?" "Where?"

State Competition Blues

If you are not a part of my current "We the People" class of seniors, it might be hard to understand all of this. We are not happy people right now, because we felt the pain of disappointment in an unusually strong way. I think that many looking from the outside in will wonder if we were "sore losers" or "whiners". I don't think my students are any of those things. They are twenty wonderful people who joined me for a wild ride this year in quest of, well, something more than "Honorable Mention".

The 2005 Washington State "We the People" Competition is now history. This year, Mt. Rainier went into the competition with a very strong class and very high expectations. We had every reason to believe that we were in the hunt for coming out near, if not on top, this year. I really believed that for the first time in a decade, someone besides Tahoma High School would represent the State of Washington at Nationals in Washington, D.C. Perhaps this is why it hurt so much to come away with nothing more than an "Honorable Mention".

After the awards ceremony, my students were shocked, disappointed and experienced a really deep sense of loss. I think that it hit some of us (I include myself) so hard that we seemed to be experiencing the five stages of grief that accompany great trauma or loss.

Why? We really did not have any reason to hang our heads.

We had a great year; we had a lot of fun and my students learned a lot. Without taking anything away from my previous WTP classes, they became the most prepared and made the finest presentations of any group I have ever taken to the WTP State Competition.

I am very proud of my class this year. They did an awesome job at State, but the competition was tough. Once again, Tahoma High School finished first. Gig Harbor second. Evergreen High (from near Vancouver, WA) came in third. We were left in the nebulous category of "Honorable Mention". We haven't received our scored yet, and don't know how close we were to placing in the top three.

I felt bad for all of them because they could not come away with a more tangible reward for all of their efforts and achievements. We talked on the bus on the way home, and had some group counseling in class on Friday. I think that a lot of the class is working its way toward the state of "acceptance". For the first time ever, my class talked about wanting to send Tahoma H.S. a good luck card!

The simple fact is that we do have a lot to celebrate, and a lot to look back on with pride. We learned a lot, and not all of it was about the U.S. Constitution. We learned about teamwork and supporting one another. We learned that we love working with one another, and a lot of us wish that the semester could keep going. We do have a couple of weeks left, and we will find a time and a place to celebrate our year.

What's Goin' On?

I am very deeply into prepping my class for the "We the People" State competition. I know they are going to do MRHS proud. My class and I have been getting into the high stress & anxiety mode that seems to happen every year before competition. On top of all of this I'm now worried about snow. But as John Lennon once said, "You know it's gonna be, all right."

I've barely kept up with the news lately, BUT I HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO RECOMMEND TO MY WE THE PEOPLE CLASS! The U.S. is heavily involved in the court martial trial of the guy they are saying is the ring leader of the Abu Ghraib torture ring. The details are sickening and it remains hard for me to believe that this was just a "bunch of bad apples" that went nuts on some prisoners. Juxtaposed with the details of the 2002 torture memo associated with our Attorney General nominee, Alberto Gonzalez, it is kind of hard to think anything else. I just read a great editorial that points out that all of this, including more bad news from Guantanamo Bay makes the future of human rights in the United States look pretty bad. He does a great job of detailing the growth of due process rights from the time of the Magna Carta to the present.

ANOTHER ARTICLE MY WE THE PEOPLE CLASS SHOULD READ is on federalism. A Stanford Law professor wrote a piece called "The New Blue Federalism" and he makes a convincing case that liberals don't talk about the benefits of federalism enough, but that government at the state and local level is a great "labratory for democracy" and social progress. Not all of the answers have to come in the form of federal laws. (Liberals have had most of their big successes there since the New Deal.) Anyway it is a good read.

Sorry I haven't included any conservative writers this time around, but, well, ah, I've been too busy to read material from "Red America". (HEY! Maybe if we keep this "red" symbolism going we can somehow transfer the symbolism of communism to it and paint the Republicans as neo-commies! Just a thought for the partisan left....)

Help Kelly help the Tsunami victims

If anything good can come of this tragedy, it is all of the compassion and generosity that people of the United States and the world have shown to the victims of the tsunami in South Asia. If we keep this up, the world may come to understand that there is a lot of goodness in the people of America. So, here is a message from Kelly Hansen:

Hey guys..
The more I read about the tsunami disaster, the worse it gets. I am so overwhelmed with sorrow and grief for the lives lost. Can you really believe it? As our lives here seem so relatively uneffected, on the other side of the globe HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of HUMAN BEINGS are gone. dead. generations wiped out.

On top of all of this.. orphan children are being kidnapped and sold into prostitution. It's atrocious. I get so sick to my stomach. I don't care how horrible you are, no one should EVER do that. EVER. I can only imagine, being a mother, dying in a natural disaster like that, and having my BABY GIRL taken, beaten, starved, abused, and then commited to a life of prostitution. I'm furious at those bastards.

In an effort to help.. I'm making bracelets..and donations of 5 bucks (suggested) would be great, if you'd like one. i'll have them at school friday or monday.. and at the swim meet friday night. get one.. make a difference. PLEASE.. help me help others.
Thank You
Kelly

"The Audacity of Hope"

Senator Barak Obama - Rising Star of the Democratic Party. Check him out in the latest edition of Newsweek. Go there to read the article or scroll down, find the "Free Video" and click "launch" to hear his great speech to the Democratic Convention in July. It will inspire you!

Republican Rule

The new Congress will be sworn in next week. There is a lot of speculation and anticipation about what the New Year will bring. George Bush won the presidential election with enough popular support to claim that he has a good amount of “political capital” that he intends to spend.

Bush has put Social Security Reform at the top of his agenda. Will Bush get what he wants? The Democrats have a lot of ownership over the issue. After all, it was one of the signature pieces of FDR’s New Deal. They are highly skeptical of the direction Bush wants to take. Bush wants to allow younger voters to start putting some of their FICA payments into private investment accounts. Will his fellow Republicans give him what he wants? Maybe not so easily. Many in Congress see Bush’s second term as a chance to win back some power for the legislative branch that has been watching a tremendous increase in the power of the executive branch in recent years.

The Christian Science Monitor recently said that he will be "walking a high-wire" as he tries to balance the increasingly unpopular military involvement in Iraq with his domestic agenda, but he may succeed.

Also, there are new senators that are ready to mix things up. Several Republicans have moved from the House to the Senate and are ready to push their conservative views. NPR did an interesting story about Republican John Thune, who beat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in November's election. It is an interesting look at this new conservative face and what is coming up in this Congressional session.

Meanwhile, Democrats will try to make themselves heard on important issues as well. There will be lots of attention on new Illinois Senator Barack Obama. His speech at the Dem. National Convention gave lots of people hope for the future. I read a good Newsweek article about him last night. Check him out.

Has Bush Embarassed America Again?

Americans have reached deep into their wallets to make private donations to aid the victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. However the American government offerred very little initially. The initial amount offerred was $7 million dollars. Bush waited three full days to make a public comment. (He was on vacation at his ranch in Texas.) A high ranking U.N. official said that he was tired of wealthy nations being so "stingy" with their help to needy nations.

Many have said this is our opportunity to win back a lot of good will in the world. Opinions of the U.S. Government around the world are quite low these days, and we know have an opportunity to show that America cares about the rest of the world and the well-being of people in need. However, our government's response (unlike individuals who have been donating in record numbers) has been slow at best.

The amount of aid our government pledged was increased to $35 million, but a lot of criticism remained. (See the Chritian Science Monitor for a sampling of opinions.) Ralph Nader wrote a scathing review of our inaction and the New York Times opinion page came down hard on the Bush administration.

On Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that our government was increasing our share to $350 million, but this came after days of public criticism.

So, here is my question. Has Bush embarassed America again? Has his response reinforced the stereotype of us as materialistic, greedy, and uncaring? Or do you think this is much ado about nothing?

Since we are the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation; since we consume 25% of the world's energy resources; since we enjoy cheap consumer goods thanks to cheap labor in other nations; do we have an obligation to help more than other nations?

Governor Gregoire

It's official. At least we think so. Christine Gregoire has been pronounced Governor-Elect of the State of Washington. Republicans are no doubt feeling that their candidate has been robbed. Democrats are jubilant. Any thinking person knows that yes, Dino, this has been a "mess". However, no matter which candidate won, at least half of the state would be seeing this as an illegitimate and unfair election.

It was close, but the laws of the State of Washington have been followed. The only thing left for Mr. Rossi to do is to appeal the results in court or before the legislature. Read up on exactly what happened. I had a good link in a previous posting and today's Seattle Times had a good Q & A article to explain things.

I think that becoming the governor of the State of Washington in 2004 has to be a lousy job. The State has a huge budget deficit, nobody wants new taxes, and most voters are expecting more out of our government. The people of the state are being realistic. At least when Ron Sims ran for the Democratic nomination earlier this year, he talked frankly about the need to overhaul the State's tax system. Neither Rossi nor Gregoire seem to have the nerve to make the voters swallow the bitter medicine that will be needed to face up to our State's needs.

Read up on this and tell me what you think.

South Asia Tsunami Disaster

The news and the images of the disaster victims from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and the other affected nations make our problems seem small by comparison. I spent some time looking at the images and reading stories about this last night with my wife at the New York Times site. There are some good graphics and moving images along with the news stories. It is very sad and it made us want to do what we could to help. As I write this, the number of dead is being reported at 70,000 and still climbing.

Unfortunately the only thing most of us can do now is to contribute money to help. There are a lot of good organizations out there helping these victims. If you or someone you know wants to make a donation, click here to see a list of groups accepting donations.

Governor Gregoire?

Well, I'm not so sure it is over yet, but for now, the official results of the gubernatorial election say that Christine Gregoire defeated Dino Rossi by 130 votes. The Sunday edition of the Seattle Times did a good job of trying to explain how we got to this point and what might happen next.

After considering what has happened, do you think the election is over? Do you think Gregoire is the deserving winner? Was the recount fair or at least as fair as possible? These are important questions...

The Land that Due Process Forgot

Guantanamo Bay has become a national embarassment. Many of us were uncomfortable with the detention of "enemy combatants" from the very beginning. A case is making its way through the justice system that may deal another blow to the Bush Administration's scheme of hiding these people from any accountable justice system.

The Administration's strategy and rationale are simple: hold these 550 prisoners somewhere that none of the rules apply. They claim that the Geneva Conventions don't apply because they are not "prisoners of war". The U.S. judicial branch has no jurisdiction because they are not U.S. citizens being held on U.S. soil. So, the president as commander-in-chief, gets to make the rules about how they are treated.

Every American should be outraged for two reasons: 1) this subverts the very spirit of the rule of law, a cherished principle of our government that we have been trying to encourage the world community to commit to ever since the days of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points; 2) it is a dangerous violation of our system of checks and balances. The presidency was never meant to run wild with due process and make its own rules. Any immediate threat that might justify emergency powers had abated. The Supreme Court was correct in reigning in the President's powers in the cases decided in June regarding U.S. citizens being held (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld). The courts may make similar rulings with regard to foreigners soon.

We as citizens should demand the balance of power between the branches be restored.

Christmas & the First Amendment

The yearly battle over how to celebrate the holidays in public schools has resurfaced again this year against the backdrop of the recent election that highlighted the divide in the United States over moral issues and the place of religion in public life. The Christian Science Monitor published an interesting article today on the subject of how difficult the issue has become for some schools.

Part of the problem of course is that rather than understand the law, many administrators and teachers are quick to ban anything that might be controversial. (I submit that this is often the case with other school issues as well.) This year we saw controversies over the "pagan holiday" of Halloween. The Washington Post also published an article about Christian groups filing lawsuits to have religious themes reintroduced into school celebrations of the winter holiday season.

What do you think? Have schools been appropriate in observing Christmas and abiding by the First Amendment or have they swung too far to one side or another? I used my "Charlie Brown Christmas" t-shirt as a discussion starter in one of my classes last week.

What should I say to my students as they leave for break? Happy Hannukah? Merry Christmas? Happy New Year? Happy Holidays? Wonderful Winter Break? Be of Good Cheer for Whatever Reason You Might Have For Being of Good Cheer?

Rumsfeld-Piercing Questions

Our good friend Donald Rumsfeld is staying around for the second term at the request of President Bush. Is this bad for our troops? Rumsfeld was one of the big proponents of a smaller, lighter, and quicker military which proved to be good for invading a country, but really bad at occupying and subduing one. As soldiers keep dying, the misinformation from the Bush administration keeps coming.

I hope you all heard the exchange at last week's press conference in Kuwait. Rumsfeld was asked point-blank by soldiers about the lack of armor on Humvees with one reservist claiming that they had to go digging through local land-fills to find armor for their vehicles. (Click here to watch the clip.)

Rumsfeld's answer that the Army couldn't produce the vehicles any faster has proven to be quite misleading and suddenly the military is finding a way to produce 100 more armor plated Humvees per month. All politics aside, does anyone in the United States really believe the Bush administration is not lying to us about the war? Should Rumsfeld resign over this? Should Bush fire him? John McCain and former General Schwarzkopf blasted Rumsfeld on national T.V. over the weekend. What do you think about this?

If you want to read a good rant on this issue, check out the guest column in yesterday's Seattle Times by a local teacher and Vietnam veteran Steven Simpson.

More human rights concerns

The government of China just doesn't get it. It really is shocking to me to see how stubbornly this government clings to power by suppressing the free exchange of ideas. Many of you are too young to remember the Tiananmen Square uprising, but the memories of the 1989 protests by students who wanted more democracy in China still haunt me. They were crushed by the Chinese military and hundreds died in pursuit of liberty.

Today we get news, that is so commonplace that it doesn't get many headlines. Three Chinese intellectuals who have been critical of the government in their writings (mostly on the internet) have been jailed. Although it is believed that they were released after the police copied everything on their computer hard drives, it is said that these detentions are indications of a new crack-down in China on those who favor democratic reforms.

They are brave people. Here is how they are described by the Washington Post:

The detained dissidents -- Yu Jie, 31, an essayist who once called on the party
to remove Mao Zedong's embalmed body from public display; Liu Xiaobo, 49, a
well-known writer who has already been jailed three times for criticizing the
party; and Zhang Zuhua, 48, an author and political theorist -- represent the
more daring end of a spectrum of prominent intellectuals who favor greater
political openness in the country and have been under official pressure in
recent weeks.

I found the word's of Yu's wife to be quite defiant in her bravery:

Reached by phone Monday night, Yu's wife, Liu Min, said police told her
that her husband was "suspected of endangering state security." The officers did
not provide details, she said, but one said she should have stopped her husband
"from writing essays on the Internet."
She also said police were preventing her from leaving her home and had ordered her not to tell "outsiders" about her husband's arrest. "They severely threatened me, but I'm not scared. I have to save my husband," she said.

International Human Rights Day!

December 10th is Human Rights Day!

Shame on me for not talking about this in class this week!

Oh well, my mind is getting older and more feeble with each passing day. So, at least here on my blog, let us honor and rededicate ourselves to the cause of human rights. December 10th commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948.

I encourage everyone to visit Amnesty International's website and write a letter or sign an online petition on behalf of human rights. Also, the more you know about rights, and the more you talk to others about them, the more awareness we create. So read something about rights, or is you are feeling kinda brain-dead, simply visit UNICEF's site that has posted it's top cartoons about the rights of children.

As we recognize this day, human rights issues are very much in the news. For one, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Wangari Maathai today. Her environmental and political actions are inspiring.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Zimbabwe's President Mugabe banning human rights groups from his country, and the continuing crisis in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

Don't let the day go by without doing something!

Some American Heroes

There are a lot of American heroes, but a few that stand pretty tall in my book are Kristen Breitweiser, Beverly Eckert, Mary Fetchet, and Carol Ashley. Their husbands were killed in the 9-11 attacks and have fought tenaciously to get the 9-11 Commission up and running and a reform bill enacted.

Over the last two years, I've seen these women on T.V. and radio a number of times and I've been so impressed by their intelligence and their commitment to turn their grief into action to make the United States a safer and better place. Breitweiser and Eckert were interviewed this morning on NBC, and you can access the video by visiting MSNBC's news video page on the internet. I highly suggest watching it for some insight into the power of citizen action. (From their homepage, select "News Video" from the menu on the left side. From there open up the "News" menu on the video page, and double click on the video clip titled "9/11 kin react to the bill". If you don't have a high speed connection, it might be difficult.) Fetchet and Ashley are featured in a story by the Washington Post.

I've gotten to read several analyses of the bill in the last few hours, and I think it is a good first step, but a lot of important measures that could be taken were stripped out of the bill. As for the new "Director of National Intelligence", I think it is only going to work if Bush appoints someone who will stand up and tell him the truth, not just what he wants to hear. I still fear that "W" only hears what he wants to hear, and that has been his achilles heel.

For more information, NPR has a "primer" on the bill, giving some background. They also have an audio report that addresses some of the civil liberites concerns some folks have with this bill. Check it out. "We the People" is all about this stuff!

Intelligence Bill Finally Passes

It has been a long and winding road for the intelligence bill that finally passed Congress.

It is a very interesting story. The best part, of course, started with ordinary citizens. Of course, these ordinary citizens were the families of the September 11th victims. They demanded that the government do something to investigate attacks and whether the government could have done something to prevent them. President Bush and many in Congress ignored their pleas for a long time and went on the record as being against the creation of the commission.

To make a long story short, these people went to their representatives in Washington, D.C. and made sure that their voices got heard. Now granted, since they were the families of 9/11 victims, they probably got more attention than most of us would get, but they still had to fight hard and learn the system to get the government to move on their requests.

The 9/11 Commission Hearings were fascinating and their report that was made public this summer was a best-seller. Not all of their recommendations have been included in this bill.

My big complaint is that again, the media has done a poor job of covering this story. I've had a busy last week or so, and I haven't had the time to dig deeply into what this bill is all about. In following the news, the way most people do, all I've been able to learn is that there was a lot of in-fighting among Republicans on this bill. There were, if fact enough votes to pass the bill (many Democrats supported it along with most Republicans) but but House Speaker Dennis Hastert wouldn't bring it forward for a vote without the support of two key Republican Committee Chairs.

But that shouldn't be the part of the story that gets most of the coverage. In the short amount of time I had to learn about this bill, most of what the media gave me was the politics of the story, not the facts and information about what the bill will do. Those are my real concerns. Will the intelligence reform bill make the U.S. safer?

In a nutshell, here is what I know:
1. The bill will create a new cabinet level position. This "Director of Intelligence" will be responsible for coordinating all of the 15 government agencies that collect intelligence.
2. The Pentagon opposed parts of the bill because they believed it took away some of their authority to collect and use intelligence data, and might harm military efforts.
3. Two well-meaning Republican members of the House frustrated the President and Republican leaders of the Congress by refusing to compromise on certain provisions before today. (One of them is Rep. Duncan Hunter from CA; he actually has a son serving in the military in Iraq.)

Is this bill a good idea? I don't know and it frustrates me. The original proposal by the 9/11 committee seemed like a wise recommendation, but I can't tell you, at this point, what Congress has done to their recommendations in this bill.

The press needs to do a better job of informing the public on crucial details, and stop focusing on all the political drama.

Only 6 Days Till the Election!

Yes, that's right. In six days the Electors selected to this year's Electoral College will be casting their votes for President and Vice-President.

I still have my Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers on both cars. Do you think it will help to push the Dems over the top?

PS - Yesterday Ohio certified their election results - Bush won by almost 120,000 votes; there are still a few legal challenges pending regarding voting irregularities. The conventional wisdom is that those challenges won't get too far.

Bush picks Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the new Director of Homeland Security! (Well, actually he is the former police commissioner of N.Y., Bernard Kerik, but there is a resemblance, eh?)

Torture at Guantanamo Bay

It is very hard for me to try to be even-handed on this one folks. I was disappointed and sickened by what the International Red Cross has been discovering at our prison for "enemy combatants" at Guantanamo Bay. Again, my country is violating some its most basic principles in order to fight the "war on terror". We are better than this. We don't need to torture people to bring terrorists to justice. In fact, our violations of human rights and international laws create more hatred for the United States.

What is this all about? In case you missed it, some concerned individuals leaked to the press a report that the International Red Cross made to our government about what has been going on with the 550 or so prisoners we are still holding in Guantanmo Bay Cuba. According to the New reports, "the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion 'tantamount to torture' on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

While not the worst forms of torture imaginable, the methods used have been classified as such. According to the Times, the Red Cross made these findings in June and that U.S. interrogators "had found a system devised to break the will of the prisoners at Guantánamo, who now number about 550, and make them wholly dependent on their interrogators through 'humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, use of forced positions.' Investigators said that the methods used were increasingly 'more refined and repressive' than learned about on previous visits."

Some of the tactics were mentioned in the report. "It said that in addition to the exposure to loud and persistent noise and music and to prolonged cold, detainees were subjected to "some beatings."

A final disheartening aspect of the report is that medical professionals seem to have been a part of the ill-treatment:

also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were
participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called "a flagrant violation of medical ethics."
Doctors and medical personnel conveyed information about prisoners' mental health and vulnerabilities to interrogators, the report said, sometimes directly, but usually through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T. The team, known informally as Biscuit, is composed of psychologists and psychological workers who advise the interrogators, the report said.

How can a society based on due process protections allow our government to do these things? Share your thoughts with me.

FBI Reports More Than 7,400 Hate Crimes

How far does this society have left to go to achieve the dream of equality? That is a good subject for debate. Affirmative action remains a hot topic, and the direction of the civil rights movement decades after its major achievements is unclear. However this news item should give us some poise. According to an article by the Associated Press:

Over 7,400 hate crime incidents occurred nationwide last year, more than half of
them motivated by racial prejudice most often against black people, the FBI
reported Monday.
Hate crimes motivated by anti-black racial bias totaled 2,548 in 2003, more than double such crimes against all other racial groups combined. There were 3,150 black victims in these cases, including four who were murdered, according to the annual FBI report.

Some other information included in the article shows that African-Americans are not the only targets:

The report shows that crimes categorized as anti-Islamic remained at the about
same level in 2003 - 149 crimes - as the year before. There had been a spike in
such crimes immediately after the 2001 terror attacks, helping drive the overall
hate crime number much higher that year.
By far the most hate crimes based on religion were directed at Jews, with 927 incidents in 2003, about the same as in 2002. The report also found more than 1,200 hate crimes based on sexual orientation, including 783 against male homosexuals. That included six murders.

You can read this article at the following link:
http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1152/11-22-2004/20041122084503_13.html

Especially for Jon Maus

I couldn't help but think of you when I saw this Jon. And just in case anyone is wondering, I don't think Atkins has a prayer of winning this case.

Atkins Diet Company “Pleads First Amendment,” Seeking Protection from Heart Disease Claim in Florida Court

Atkins Asks Court to Find Life-Threatening Diet Advice Protected Under Free Speech Guarantees; Judge May Rule Next Week

West Palm Beach, FL—Rebuffed in its first attempt last month to have a Florida court throw out a landmark personal injury lawsuit challenging the safety of the controversial Atkins Diet, Atkins Nutritionals has submitted a motion arguing that “the ideas and information in a generally circulated self-help book and an associated website are fully protected by the First Amendment even if they cause harm to some readers,” even speech with potentially life-threatening consequences.

Atkins contends that the First Amendment permits it to make false and misleading statements in the course of its business, without incurring liability to its customers. But Dan Kinburn, Gorran’s attorney and senior counsel for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, notes First Amendment free speech guarantees do not apply in cases of false speech. “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, you can’t run false ads in magazines, and you can’t tell people anxious to solve a health problem that it’s safe to follow a dangerous diet,” he says.

http://www.pcrm.org/news/update041119.html

If you are in the mood for a rant...

...and won't be insulted by some jabs at pro basketball players, humvee owners, Congressional Republicans, and American selfishness you may want to take a look at an op/ed piece written by Thomas Friedman for the New York Times last week. It has been making the rounds on the internet and I think a lot of people shared his outrage.

It's a good piece of writing and I'd say I agree with him about 75 - 80%. Let me know what you think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/25/opinion/25friedman.html?oref=login

Medical Marijuana

The Supreme Court finally is going to hear a case on this issue tomorrow morning. The issue boils down to this. Does the federal law banning marijuana as a legal drug trump the laws in states such as Washington and California where it has been legalized for medicinal purposes?

The following article is very good. It goes into all of the Constitutional issues involved and the relevant case law. I love that kind of stuff! Plus it has a cool map of which states have acted on this issue. Read it and tell me what you think of this issue.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1129/p02s01-usju.html

For some reason, I love that the case is named Ashcroft v. Raich. I guess it is the possibility of his name being associated with losing something.

Challenges to Democracy - Part 3

Iraq:

Elections are scheduled for January 30th. George W. Bush and interim Prime Minister Aiyad Allawi have insisted that the election will take place on that date.

However, there are a significant number of individuals and groups calling for a delay in the elections because of the on-going violence. They say that many voters will be too afraid to go to the polls, and important towns and cities will be left out of the process.

The answer from Allawi, seen in some parts of Iraq as a pawn of the Bush administration, is that they will not give in to what the insurgents want: a disruption of the process leading Iraq back to independence.

Is it better to have an election sooner, that may leave significant numbers of people out of the vote and risk more lives being lost; or is it more important to forge on ahead and not let the insurgency feel they are succeeding in their attempts at disrupting the process. This is a tough question. What do you think?

Check out more info about this first at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1129/p01s02-woiq.html

Challenges to Democracy - Part 2

Ukraine:

As I mentioned in a blog below, many Ukranians are up in arms over the outcome of last weekend's Presidential election. It appears that there was considerable vote fraud, and Ukranians have been bravely protesting the results in the streets. What makes this election especially interesting to the United States is that the Kremlin (Russian President Vladimir Putin) was backing the candidate who won the election. Influence over the Ukraine (which was formerly a part of the USSR) is considered very important to Russia, both politically and economically. Our Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has called the results of the election "unacceptable". How will this all impact our relationship with Russia?

A few details:

The election results were declared official on Monday

Numerous election monitors have reported widespread voting fraud and irregularities

On Thursday, Ukraine's Supreme Court has put publication of the election results on hold until the allegations of fraud and abuse can be investigated.

Today, the Parliament called the vote an inaccurate representation of the will of the people and the results invalid. (But parliament doesn't actually have the authority to overturn the results of the vote.)

Some in the country are calling for the entire election to be redone. Avoiding violence is a concern.

Details are all over the news, including the following link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6374820/

Challenges to Democracy - Part 1

Democracy is a great system, but we no it is not perfect. That is why so many of the principles constitutionalism, natural rights, and republicanism are so important. There are three examples of the news this weekend that show some of the difficulties democracy can face.

Washington State: Getting an accurate vote count is difficult. The recount for our governor has put Dino Rossi ahead by 42 votes. By my calculation that is 42 votes out of 2,808,342 votes cast. It is truly mind blowing. Gregoire's campaign now is calling for a hand recount, which they will have to pay for under state law, and that means that we won't have a winner declared until sometime around Christmas.

Rossi won the first count by 261. It seems to me with almost 3 million votes to count, that a hand recount will probably result in yet a different result. If Rossi wins, then I think Gregoire will have no choice but to concede the election. If Gregoire comes out on top in the hand recount, Rossi will undoubtedly take action demanding the first tallies be recognized as the legitimate.

What are the consequences of such a close elections? Besides the issue of who the actual governor will be, what are the positive and negative impacts this election will have on political participation in this state?

Thursday's papers had lots of info on the election. If you want to access an it on the web try the link below.

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=recount25m&date=20041125&query=Rossi%2C+Recount

Laws and Sausages

No one wants to take the blame for the mess Congress got itself into this week. Former German Prime Minister Otto Von Bismark once remarked that "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." Well, it is still true.

Congress passed a $388 billion omnibus appropriations bill a few days ago that no one had time to read. It was over 3,000 pages long and included an outrageous provision that would have allowed members of a Congressional committee to pry into anyone's IRS records. They say that they are going to undo that little invasion of privacy in a special session, but a closer look at the bill shows that it had a lot of other things in it that people should be upset about. It spent money on all sorts of things to make individual members of Congress look good to their constituents back home. According to the New York Times, the bill is "a cornucopia full of money designated for specific highway projects, locks and dams, parks, libraries, airports, museums, zoos, hospitals, schools and universities in every corner of the country." Here is a sample of a few of the goodies that members of Congress snuck into the bill to make the people in their home states and districts happy:

In earmarking money, Congress left little to chance - or to the judgment of
officials in the executive branch of the government. It set forth long lists of
specific projects to be financed with federal money. One list itemizes 1,032
economic and community development projects. Some of the grants are relatively
small: $20,000 for a jail in Winston County, Ala., and $25,000 for a park in
Chambersburg, Pa.

Another part of the bill sets aside $15,000 for
cameras to be installed in police cars in Berryville, Va., and a similar amount
for the Police Department of West Buechel, Ky.

Critics of such local
projects sometimes refer to them as pork barrel spending, or simply pork. The
2005 spending bill includes $1 million for the Missouri Pork Producers
Federation, to see if hog waste can be used as a source of energy.

The
bill also includes $1 million for seafood marketing efforts in Alaska, $269,000
for harvesting seafood in Mississippi, $200,000 for a new seafood plant on the
coast of Oregon, $4 million for "shrimp aquaculture" in seven states and
$443,000 for research to develop "baby food containing salmon," plus $236,000
for blueberry research in Maine and $133,000 for maple research in Vermont.

This process has gone on for years and it needs to be fixed. The problem is that too many members of Congress help themselves at the expense of the tax paying public. They wait until the end of the year and take numerous bills that haven't passed and roll them all up into one piece of legislation that is needed to keep the government running. There is very little accountability in the system. It is too bad that this issue was given almost no attention in the recent elections.

Happy Thanksgiving! At the Coraggio house, instead of turkey and football, it will be potatoes and Halo! Hope you all enjoy the holiday!

This coulda been us on November 3rd! Many Ukranians are outraged by the election fraud which they believe allowed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich to be re-elected. International observers have agreed. The winner is the guy Russia's President Putin is backing, so I don't think these people have a "Democrats chance in Ohio" of getting what they want. 

How we win State...

This post is mainly for my current 12th grade WTP class, but if anyone else has some suggestions, please feel free to post your comments.

During WTP class on Friday, many of you weren't there, but those of us who were talked about how we go about winning State. We know that we are on track, but there lies a lot of hard work ahead. We will do it though if we not only work hard, but work smart. So, in the best tradition of civic discourse, I'd like to have your input on how we do this.

Based on my years of teaching/coaching teams, I have some ideas. Please comment here and give me your feedback. Do you have other ideas? Things you think will or will not work? Post your ideas!

First, I think there are a few important things I can do:

1. Be hard on all of you in terms of getting those speeches written and revised BEFORE winter break. January 13th seems like it is far away right now, but it isn't with the goal that we have.

2. Require that each group meet with me outside of class once a week. I have found this time to be very valuable – fewer distractions – I can help with more specific needs. It is kind of hard to find that much time, but I think it is worthwhile.

3. Drill you with follow-up questions as much as possible. It is the most important practice we can do.

4. Schedule some good guest speakers & helpers to work with you. Brian Snure has already told me that he would like to work with one or two of the groups on Friday afternoons, which is when we have free time. I think he’d be a good resource. I’ve also already booked Julia Patterson, Dave Upthegrove, and Congressman Adam Smith to visit with you in during December. I’m trying to get some people that specialize in Constitutional law to visit with us as well. Shay Schual-Berke can also visit. Health care is her big issue (she was a doctor) and I think she can help us understand that issue.

5. Put together some events like our District Qualifier to help us practice. Maybe some of you know a group that would like to hear our presentations. I’d like to do one before winter break and one after winter break.

What we do?

Stay on top of the news and current events. Learn about important issues that you may not completely understand.

Read important historical texts. There are some readings, court cases, speeches that are important for all of us to cover that we haven’t yet. Federalist papers, anti-Federalist papers, de Tocqueville, M. L. King and others are required reading for this kind of subject.

I think Tom Ellington had two good ideas he shared with us in October:
a) each unit create an extensive “things to know” list from their unit that they share with everyone else in the class
b) each unit creates a timeline of important events, court cases, laws, etc. that are important to your unit.
I think that these can kind of be done together to save some time.

Finding someway not to forget everything over winter break and keep moving forward. Some of us will be out of town and some will be here. Tahoma has usually scheduled regular practice sessions over winter break.

Not burning out and having fun with each other as we take on this challenge. Maybe we can find some ways to have fun and get rid of some stress together.

Let me know what you think. I’m very excited about the time between now and January 13th. I’m so impressed with how much you have learned and accomplished. I’m awe-struck at the thought of how good you guys can be.

Keep the faith!

My Class Will Win State!

I know that the State Competition for We the People is not until January 13th, but after the performance by my class on Wednesday evening at the District Qualifier, I can say with confidence that my class will win the State Competition this year.

They are a great group of students, they are well on their way, and I sense the motivation and desire in them to do what is necessary to win.

I'm looking forward to working with them!

Mess with Texas!

That is what the U.S. Supreme Court did today! The case was Smith v. Texas.

The judicial system by which the state of Texas executes criminals is an embarassment to the entire nation. According to the New York Times, "Of the 943 executions in the country since 1976, Texas has carried out 335, more than the next six states combined. It has 457 people on death row, second to the 635 in California, which has conducted 10 executions."

I have been passionately opposed to the death penalty from the time I was a very young person, and I've only become more convinced that it is a barbaric practice that needs to be abolished if we are to develop a civilized society that doesn't teach its children that killing is the answer.

BUT, you don't have to be opposed to the death penalty to be appalled at what has been going on in Texas for decades.

The Times article states, "The errors committed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in upholding the death sentence of LaRoyce L. Smith were so clear to a majority of the Supreme Court that the justices decided the case in the inmate's favor on the basis of the briefs, without hearing arguments."

According to an AP report, in this case, Smith v. Texas, "The Supreme Court on Monday overturned the death sentence of a convicted Texas killer because jurors in his trial did not consider his learning disability and other evidence."

"There is no question that a jury might well have considered (Smith's) IQ scores and history of participation in special-education classes as a reason to impose a sentence more lenient than death," the court wrote in Monday's decision.

The Supreme Court went on to reprimand the Texas high court according to the Times:

The justices said Monday that the Texas appeals court ignored problems the Supreme Court had already identified and that it should have known, when it affirmed the sentence last April, that the jury instructions made the death sentence unconstitutional. The state court "erroneously relied on a test we never countenanced and now have unequivocally rejected," the justices said.

If that isn't enough to convince you something is seriously wrong in Texas, the AP report concludes with this:

Earlier this year, justices lifted inmate Delma Banks' death sentence and delivered a strong rebuke of Texas officials and lower courts for failing to ensure he received a fair trial. The court said prosecutors hid key information that might have helped Banks' case.

And last year, the court sided with a black Texas death row inmate, Thomas Miller-El, who claimed prosecutors in Dallas County stacked his jury with whites. The Miller-El case will be reviewed by justices for the second time next month because an appeals court again found that he should face the death penalty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/politics/16scotus.html

http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1154/11-15-2004/20041115091501_06.html

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Why is there never enough time to do everything?!? Why are there so many papers left to grade? Why can't I survive on two hours of sleep? Why won't Ashcroft shut up and leave yet?

All of these questions have been bothering me this weekend.

I have an awesome We the People class this year

I do. Today they made a presentation in front of the Rotary Club as a warm up for the 9th Congressional District "Competition". (We have no challengers again this year.) My class is making excellent progress, and a number of people familiar with the program have commented to me that they have an excellent chance of making a run at the State Championship.

I wonder -- Would some of you who have been in the program in past years would be interested in helping them as they prepare, or simply offer them advice via this blog?

Our District Competition is Wednesday evening, Nov. 17th at 7:00 in the MRHS library.

Our State Competition will be January 13, during the day in Olympia.

Bye, Bye Ashcroft

As you may have heard by now, Attorney General John Ashcroft is resigning. He made himself into one of the most controversial members of the Bush Administration, and a favorite target of the left.

With this turn of events it is an excellent time to review the debate over the Patriot Act. Any of the articles out there about Ashcroft and his legacy would be a good start. It is vital that ALL of my WTP students understand the controversy over the Patriot Act.

Why was Ashcroft such a lightening rod for criticism of the Bush administration? In case any of you have forgotten why, let me sum it up for you. Ashcroft had a leading role in crafting the Patriot Act and zealously used it to prosecute the war on terrorists here at home. You can certainly make one very strong argument in favor of his leadership of the justice department, and he made it in announcing his retirement: there have been no new terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

However, at what cost? Ashcrofts critics point out that he severely limited civil liberties and engaged in unfair profiling of Arab and Muslims living in the U.S. A great place to start with understanding these criticisms is with an interview Newsweek has on their website. Constitutional scholar David Cole from Georgetown University calls Ashcroft the worst Attorney General in American history. Read his criticisms carefully. You can find them at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6454887/site/newsweek/

Ashcroft was also controversial because of his combative style. In December of 2001 he lashed out at those who raised concerns over civil liberties and questioned their patriotism during testimony before a Congressional committee.

"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my
message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our unity and
diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to
America's friends.”

Just this past summer he ridiculed librarians who had concerns over the loss of privacy for patrons' records.

So, I'm happy he is gone, but unfortunately Bush has not used this occasion to reach out to those of us in "blue" America by picking a moderate to replace Ashcroft. Nominee Alberto Gonzales is equally fervent in his approach to fighting terror suspects at home. More on him another time.

17 Reasons

Thanks to Yosef for posting Michael Moore's "17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists". (It is one of the 9 comments under the smiling picture of Bush.)

I appreciate you and the rest of the Kerry supporters sharing your grief. I, too, had some pretty depressed hours over the past few days. But hey, those of you Bush supporters, feel free to weigh in here! Maybe you can convince some of us that it really won't be so bad.

I mean, Ashcroft seems to be on his way out. That's a good start!

Red and Blue America, county by county. USA today has a pretty cool section with interactive election maps. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/front.htm?POE=HFQLCAMP 

He is laughing at my pain... 

Bush receives Kerry's concession call. 

Can we all just get along?

Well.

Well, well, well.

The election is over and the guy I wanted to win has conceeded. Bush and Kerry both spoke today and eloquently called for the people of the nation to come together in a spirit of unity.

Those were nice words, but I'm not so sure it is going to happen that way. I have a lot of thoughts on these issues, but first, what do you think? Will Bush reach out to Democrats? Will Democrats give him a second chance? Or has the bitterness and the harsh rhetoric of the past year left scars that will not heal anytime soon?

(I hope you all remember that this all goes back to those ideas of general welfare and civic virtue. Remember that many of the Framers feared diversity and nation full of factions would poison the spirit of republicanism!)

Indecision 2004

I think Jon Stewart and the Daily Show got this one right. It looks good for Bush, but Kerry still has a slim chance of pulling out a victory in Ohio.

I need to go to bed. Nothing will be decided soon.

One last interesting observation - more voters (according to exit polls) cited cultural issues as their main concern in this election. More than the Iraq War, more than terrorism, more than the economy. Why do these cultural issues stir such passion?

A nail-biter!

Wow. This is close. I'm very nervous about the results. Ohio and Florida are still the big prizes. I'm getting a feeling they are starting to look like they might go to Bush. At least NBC has put Washington and Oregon in the Kerry column.

Patty Murray has been declared the winner. I'm happy for her and for our state. I think she has been a great member of Congress.

So far things look good for Rossi. Ultimately, I voted for Gregoire because she was making stronger statements about supporting teachers and the schools, but I can live with Rossi. I don't think it is going to make a lot of difference which one wins. I think the budget is so tight in our state that they will have few choices about how they govern.

Back to the T.V.!!!

Say it isn't so Florida!

They have to count 1.6 million absentee ballots yet!

Electronic voting machines are failing in southwestern Florida. They are trying to get software guys to fix this as I write. There is no paper trail for these votes! I say we give up the war in Iraq and attack Florida if they screw this up again!

Still to close to call

No surprises yet - Bush is winning where he is supposed to, Kerry is winning where he is supposed to and Coraggio just got finished voting for a lot of Democrats! I didn't even have to wait! The poll workers have said it is very busy, and our state is looking at a record turnout of almost 85%.

The voter turnout among minorities in Florida is encouraging for Kerry. Bush is looking very strong in Michigan - it used to be a Democratic strong-hold.

Keep your eye on these states - also, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

And this is interesting:

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC is reporting that there is concern at the White House tonight....
"Discouragement" at the White House. That’s the term used by NBC’s White House Correspondent David Gregory in his 7:05 PM report, describing the reaction of President Bush’s “top advisors” in a war room within the war room at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. David’s sources report a “tense” set of advisors, who have already determined an unwanted “tightness in the race,” not unlike what they saw in the waning days of the 2000 Gore-Bush vote.


How do you think this will turn out?????

First Results

They are already projecting winners in several states and Bush is leading 39-3 in the electoral vote!

Of course none of these states are surprises, and the old South of the Confederacy is expected to go for Bush.

I don't like that they are calling any states before we on the west coast get to vote! The networks had pledged not to do this a few years ago, but I guess the competition in the news biz is too great.

Ohio closed its polls, but they are still open for voters who haven't gotten in. I finally get to vote. Even though I'm a die-hard democrat it did my heart good to see 5 or 6 of my students out on Marine View Drive waving signs in the cold and the rain for Bush. You ARE good Americans!

Almost votin' time!

Ok, school is over and I can't wait to get to the polls. I am surprised how nervous this election is making me. First I've got Amnesty International though.

It is very cool that a bunch of students are doing last minute electioneering. My current WTP class is split half and half between Dems and Reps. A lot of people are going out to wave signs. Others are doing some canvassing.

It is so exciting that so many people are voting. I do hope I don't have to stand in line forever.

A day at the polls

Well, the big day is here and it already looks like we will in fact have a record turnout for this election. I’m not going to make it to the polls until after school today. What has been your experience out there? Long lines? Anything unusual? Let me know.

It was really cool reading the posts from so many of you. I haven’t had a chance to respond much to people, but I really enjoyed hearing from you.

I’m going to try to post several times today, so visit this blog site early and often! Give me your comments as the day goes on….

Dump the Electoral College?

We talked about this in class today. What do you think about the electoral college?

There was an interesting column written in the Seattle Times Saturday. Here are a few of the quotes from it:

"Why is it that the people of Afghanistan can vote directly for the Afghanistan president, unlike Americans, who cannot vote directly for the American president?

Why is it that Iraqis can vote for their president, but Americans cannot vote for the American president?

...How important can the Electoral College be when America does not export the Electoral College to other new democracies? If the Electoral College is so important in America, then shouldn't Afghanistan have an Electoral College? Shouldn't Iraq have an Electoral College? The answer is that they don't because it's not relevant.

Let the democracy that George Bush is exporting to other countries be imported to America so that Americans can vote for the president directly. "

My point is that the electoral college makes a lot of people feel disenfranchised. This patchwork system that the Framers worked out as a compromise now has morphed into a system that is confusing and less democratic than it could be. I know that if the candidate I am favoring loses, I would be able to deal with that loss a lot better if I knew it was because most Americans really wanted the other candidate to hold that office. This system is too much of a game as I see it. What do you think?

There are organizations dedicated to voting reform. Not all of them call for an abolition of the electoral college, but they do have interesting ideas. Check them out at their websites:
http://www.fairvote.org/e_college/
http://www.reformelections.org/learn/related_links.php
http://www.nvri.org/

Now there are those out there who believe that the Electoral College has served us well. Their views are important to consider as well, but in the end I think the time has come for a change.

William Raspberry published a column calling for reform a couple of weeks ago.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40886-2004Oct17.html

For another viewpoint, David Broder is skeptical of electoral fixes. Check it out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50016-2004Oct20.html

War is always a crime

Why is this not in bold-face on the front-page of every U.S. newspaper? American and Iraqi researchers, led by doctors from Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, write in the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, that more than 100,000 Iraqis have died since the US-led invasion of the country than would have died otherwise. These new figures are much higher than any previous estimates, which generally said that between 10,000, and 37,000 Iraqis died directly or indirectly as a result of the March 2003 invasion. The Times of London reports Friday that the survey attributes most of the extra deaths, many of whom were women and children, to "airstrikes by coalition forces." The international team that did this study by visiting homes of people in Iraq say that their estimate is conservative. British and U.S. officials are not responding seriously to the numbers but are conceding that they were done by a respected and reputable group. People need to demand answers. People need to understand the nature of war and the suffering it causes.

It must be evident to anyone that the war in Iraq has been out of proportion with any risk posed to anyone inside or outside of Iraq. I fail to understand how anyone can look at what has gone on in Iraq and not believe it was a mistake. Yes, Saddam is gone. (Those of us involved in the human rights struggle had been protesting his rule since the late 1980's. No one paid attention until he invaded Kuwaiti oil fields.) The world benefits whenever a despot is deposed.

We, however, defied the United Nations best judgment, using faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction which provided the rationale for this war and launched a violent assault upon Iraq without exhausting every other avenue available to us.

The results have been a nightmare-come-true. Over 1,100 American deaths. Over 8,000 Americans wounded. Now, we must face the fact, that we may have caused, directly and indirectly, the deaths of 100,000 deaths in Iraq. Even Saddam didn't kill at that pace.

My bottom line: If Bush loses on Tuesday, it will be because enough U.S. citizens have seen the truth in what Winston Churchill once said:

“Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

If Bush wins, it is because too many of us have wrapped ourselves in the flag, and turned a blind eye to the folly of war.

Death Penalty for Teen Offenders?

Lee Boyd Malvo, the teenage partner of assassin John Allan Mohammed that terrorized the East Coast over a year ago has been sentenced to life in prison. He was 17 at the time he took part in the shootings.

This brings to light a question that was argued before the Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago. Should 16 and 17 year old murderers be sentenced to death? While the Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty does not, in and of itself, constitute cruel and unusual punishment (Gregg v. Georgia, 1976), they are re-visiting the practice of applying capital punishment to teen offenders.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=scotusexecute14&date=20041014

Why might the Court reverse itself? In a recent decision, Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Court ruled that it WAS a violation of the 8th Amendment to execute offenders that are mentally retarded. Does it logically follow that teens should not be given the ultimate punishment?

What do you think? Should the Court revise the meaning of “cruel and unusual punishment” with respect to juvenile offenders or do you think this is a matter best left up to the Congress and the individual states to decide?

Civil Discourse, factions, and Jon Stewart

There has been a lot of discussion about the intensely bitter debate that we have seen this political season. Is it a sign that our republic is in decline? Can we overcome the insults and personal attacks to come together as a nation? Whose fault is this? Does it take a late-night comic like Jon Stewart to public smack around the “partisan hacks” that masquerade as journalists these days? I hope that all of my current “We the People” students are forming ideas about this topic. The Framers feared this sort of thing would tear apart our republic.

In reality, this nasty tone has been building for years. One factor may be the rise of iconoclastic political commentators. People like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Moore, Al Franken, Ann Coulter and others have developed large audiences by using humor and outrageous statements to make their political points. (Except for Ann Coulter. I've never found her to be funny or clever. My guess is that if she was overweight and her face was more asymmetrical that she would have never landed herself a job as a TV commentator.)

You can make an argument that these entertaining political writers, filmmakers, etc. are doing good because they reach people who might not otherwise be paying attention. Hopefully a lot of those people go beyond the infotainment they provide and search for some real and serious discussion of politics.

Others say that we sowing the seeds of destruction by spreading political hatred. I encourage you to read a piece republished in today’s Seattle Times by Gary Alan Fine. (He is John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University – a big shout out to Jessica Joslin!) He makes some excellent observations about today’s political climate.

When I was young, my parents insisted that I show respect for the president,whoever he was and whichever party he represented. He was the president of all Americans, and we collectively selected him. My parents were not alone.

The hatred that has spewed across the land — first in conservative "red" territory under Clinton, then in liberal "blue" regions under Bush — has the potential, if allowed to continue, to erode the very possibility of political compromise.

Professor Fine continues:

I believe that our parents were correct for two reasons.

First, a nation consumed with bitter partisanship makes compromise and political transition more difficult. Hatred easily translates into mistrust and suspicion. The remarkable aspect of American politics is that despite a vibrant two-party system,
electoral losers lose gracefully and winners win with admiration for those over
whom they have triumphed. But intense anger in the system has the potential to
make a transfer of power difficult and has the potential to create political
deadlock when such vitriol enters the halls of Congress.

Second, the translation of policy difference into claims of extremism ignores that our two major parties are, in general, quite similar in their policy prescriptions. Both parties support national defense, economic growth through capitalism, protection of the environment, participation in global peacekeeping organizations, quality education and aid to families in need.

He concludes that:

We surely can judge what a politician has done during a political career and what policy prescriptions he or she is proposing, and we can be noisy in our support or rejection. We should judge the recent past and the alternative
futures proposed. This is productive civic engagement; anger and vituperation
over imagined youthful failures is not.

Understanding this may help us step back from the precipice of our politics of passion. Intense anger may satisfy our lust for absolute certainty. But in a society in which we must negotiate, this anger hardens our souls and debases our options. Politics becomes war, not persuasion.

If you'd like to read the piece in its entirety, click on the following link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002070413_polhatred24.html

For a similar view from a Christian pastor, Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, click on http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1025/p09s01-coop.html

Her conclusion is wonderful:

So in a divided nation where passions are running high over war, a tight presidential race, joblessness, and antagonistic media, let us remember the
common good....

But being civil to an adversary does not mean sacrificing core principles, because in challenging an adversary, you can separate what that person says from who they are.

A word to the wise: Reserve your passions for loving, speak forcefully to what you believe, and always reserve for yourself the possibility that you might just be wrong.

What do you think? Follow the directions at the top of my page to post your comments!

Who is gonna take this election?

Well, I haven't posted anything here in a long time. I had a busy summer and the school year is a little crazy. My son Anthony is sophomore at MRHS now and is the treasurer of Amnesty International. My wife is teaching 1st grade in the Kent School District. My youngest son is doing well in 7th grade and might be the most anti George W. of the whole darn Democratic family.

Anyway, I am wondering what you are thinking about the upcoming presidential election. It is less than two weeks away, and may be as unbelievably close as in 2000. Have you gotten "into" this election? Who do you think is going to come out on top? Would you like to persuade any other visitors to this site that they should vote for Bush or Kerry?

Respond here and let us know what you think!

I am very nervous about the whole thing. I am planning on doing some canvassing for Kerry this weekend. I encourage you to get involved. It is going to be close, and for a lot of reasons, I think this is an extremely important election!