Abortion Politics

Posted by admin - 30/11/07 at 07:11:40 am

As the presidential election heats up, I continue to hear about the candidates’ views on abortion. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what is true and what’s just political mud.

As I research the issue, I’m saving my findings at a Squidoo lense called Abortion Politics. Feel free to check it out and suggest other links and news articles.

While we’re on this touchy subject please tell me, how does a candidate’s position on abortion affect your vote? What issues are most important to you? Do you have any deal breakers?

The Future Has Always Been Crazier Than We Thought

Posted by admin - 28/11/07 at 03:11:46 pm

View Video By Clicking Here -> Nassim Nicholas Taleb talks about The Black Swan

Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Unpredictability, 9/11

Bangkok Protests: Thursday Update

Posted by admin - 22/11/07 at 02:11:45 pm

When news spread last night that Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was to give a radio address at 7:30 a.m. today, rumors swirled that he would use the occasion to announce his resignation. Instead, he refused to cave in. “Don’t even think I am going to quit,” he said. “The country needs a leader, and the world is watching us.”

As protesters occupied Government House for the 10th straight day, Samak proposed a nation-wide referendum to find a way forward.

The state of emergency continues, and more and more countries are warning their citizens to exercise caution here — or not to come at all. The majority of Bangkok is unaffected by the demonstrations. Still, there are concerns about what the turmoil means for the Thai tourism industry.

Here’s a roundup of the latest media coverage:

New York Times: “Thai Leader Promises Referendum”

Economist: “An emergency in Thailand: The army is called in as pro- and anti-government protesters clash”

Bloomberg: “Thailand May Miss Tourism Targets as Unrest Spurs Cancellations”

Reuters: “Defiant Thai PM refuses to quit”

AP: “Thai protest leader wants to reduce voters’ power”

Wall Street Journal: “Thailand’s New (Old) Politics”

Telegraph: “Bank steps in to support the baht as Thailand plagued by political unrest”

Notable blog posts:

Bangkok Pundit: “Resign, No; Dissolution, No; Referendum, Yes UPDATE”

2Bangkok: “PAD’s ‘final war’”

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Michelle and Hillary!

Posted by admin - 19/11/07 at 07:11:51 pm

The last two days at the Convention have been electrifying! Both Michelle and Hillary’s speeches made it clear that this Democratic Party has two women who are amazing in their own right, who can hold their own in terms of policies and who are inspiring and transformational leaders.

On Monday, Michelle showed us that her family is just like any other family working hard to build a better future for their children. In that way, I believed she connected with Latino families. We have the same aspirations as everyone else: a good education for our children, good jobs and opportunities for economic growth. That’s the message that Latinos need to hear…we are in it together and we will win together!

Hillary showed us that the issues that she has fought so hard to champion are the issues that she will continue to fight for with Obama as President. I predict that she will be our champion for universal healthcare; it’s an issue that she loves and she knows how to fight for . . . she will continue to be our leader in the Senate and in the Democratic party!

Our NJ Delegation is inspired to fight for those issues for working people in NJ. Issues like a living wage for workers, the right to organize into unions, the right to have healthcare and a pension . . . those are the issues that matter to all working people in NJ.

Latinos voices were heard on the floor of the convention loud and clear; several Latino members of Congress spoke about the differences between Obama and McCain. They set the record straight that although McCain did talk about immigration reform, he is now being a real maverick by denying his support for his own immigration stands. Unfortunately, it looks like Senator Menendez will not speak on the convention floor; that was a lost opportunity for the Obama campaign as he is a respected voice for all Latinos in the US. However, I believed that he remains committed to making sure Latinos know that the real McCain is not what Latinos need to build their American dream.

We are all committed to make sure Obama wins NJ!

John Edwards admits to affair

Posted by admin - 16/11/07 at 06:11:47 pm

John Edwards has admitted to an affair

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards has admitted to an extramarital affair that is certain to end his political career.

Edwards ran for the highest office in the land this past primary season and now finds himself dogging questions about his conduct during what will prove to be his last campaign.

His timing is worth noting. Tabloids were running stories detailing the affair as early as February, but the mainstream media never grabbed hold of the story. The former Senator from North Carolina admitted on ABC News show Nightline on Friday August 8 and said “I am responsible for it. I alone am responsible for it.”

With the 2008 Olympic Games beginning in Beijing, Edwards admission of the affair is likely to get lost on the massive world media coverage of the athletic contests conducted in China.

The woman in the middle of this story, Rielle Hunter, had been brought into the Edwards presidential campaign inner-circle because of the fact she was creating a documentary on the Edwards campaign.

Most notable of his interview quotes detailing the affair was Edwards’ assertion that the entire cheating fiasco was the result of “an egotism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you want.”

Edwards’ entire statement:

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up — feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.

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Presidential Poll

Posted by admin - 13/11/07 at 10:11:48 pm

I must also congratulate Gov. Sarah Palin on being the first women chosen as the Republican VP nominee. She seems tough, smart, and energetic.

OK, now that the two main presidential tickets are set, let’s take a poll! Granted, we haven’t seen any debates yet, but what’s your call based on what you know so far? Vote on the right side of the page.

Google is evil

Posted by admin - 09/11/07 at 09:11:28 pm

Zooko gives us an interesting pair of searches. What happens when someone in China does a google search on Tiananmen?

  • http://images.google.cn/images?q=tiananmen
  • http://images.google.com/images?q=tiananmen


Google has the best search software in the world, in large part because it has the best AI software in the world and best massively parallel software in the world. Unfortunately, as one would expect from a company whose motto is “Don’t be evil”, Google is evil.

“… one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”

Posted by admin - 03/11/07 at 02:11:15 pm

Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, white, black, brown, red or yellow, as an American you had to feel proud last night. To see that as a country we have come to a point that one of the two mainstream political parties would nominate an African-American person for the office of the Presidency of the United States of America was a big step.  Whether you think Barack Obama is good or bad, whether you vote for him or not, what he has accomplished within one lifetime of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech is truly amazing. Similar to what he said last night, it is not just about him either.  It is about us as a country as well.  Our country has grown enough where truly the color of a persons skin is not the determining factor on what a person can accomplish. I am not naive. I know that there are still people in this country who are going to decide to support Obama or not strictly on the color of his skin.  For those people I feel sorry. Support or don’t support Obama because you think he is or is not the right person for the job, but not because of the color of his skin. 

I was reminded exactly what a huge step this was in reading Adam’s Emergent Chaos blog today.  He has republished the testimony of a woman to the credentials committee of the 1964 Democratic national convention.  I don’t want to reprint the whole thing, so please click here and than hit back on your browser when you are done.

Back already? What do you think?  Can you believe that this horrific story was just over 40 years ago.  Not to brag about my age, but I was alive when this happened.  I remember being bussed to a different neighborhood for school.  There were race riots in 1968.  Can this be the same country? 

And now we have a woman as the VP candidate for the Republicans.  This is probably almost 20 years after Geraldine Ferraro ran for the Democrats, but is nevertheless quite a milestone. 

Whomever you vote for this election day, it is a proud day to be an American and that old adage of anyone can grow up to be President is truer than ever!

Political Debate: The Morning After

Posted by admin - 02/11/07 at 06:11:57 pm

Last night, the most recent Republican debate took place in Columbia, South Carolina - with all of the Republican Presidential contenders, including Ron Paul, present and accounted for. Televised on Fox News, the hot topics for the debate were the economy and illegal immigration, which are the two biggest issues on the minds of voters in Michigan and South Carolina. John McCain came into the debate as the front-runner, after his victory in New Hampshire, while Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee squared-off more than once, particularly on plans for settling immigration problems. Mitt Romney drew chuckles from the crowd with emphatic one word answers and was adamant that voters want change, rather than Washington political expertise. Rudy Guiliani tried to steer the topic towards national security and the war on terror, areas he feels are his strong suits, while Ron Paul did little to add momentum to his campaign. In fact, news reporters commented on his awkward showing.

Probably supporters of each candidate, with the possible exception of Ron Paul, will say that their man did well. It remains to be seen which candidate will take Michigan and South Carolina. I’m not forecasting anything, after the results in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it appears that Michigan is critical for BOTH Romney and McCain. Fred Thompson is hoping for a good showing in South Carolina, where he has campaigned heavily.

While we may not have seen any startling revelations at last night’s debate, I believe the best line of the evening simply has to go to Fred Thompson, talking about his immigration plan. Thompson told voters he has one of the toughest proposals to fight illegal immigration by reinforcing the nation’s borders. He said, “We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates and we get to decide when to open the gate and when to close it”. Sounds Presidential, doesn’t it?

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama received endorsements from both John Kerry and Jesse Jackson. It remains to be seen whether this will help or hurt his campaign. It’s no surprise that Kerry didn’t endorse John Edwards, his running mate in his failed 2004 Presidential campaign. There’s no secret that during that campaign the two men were at odds with each other over many issues. The snub to the Hillary Clinton campaign brings back memories of Kerry’s complaints that the Clinton’s were not as supportive of him as he would have liked. Apparently Kerry knows how to hold a grudge pretty well. Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Clinton front as Hillary and her advisors plan her next steps carefully before Super Tuesday.

So for now, it’s back to Michigan for the Republican hopefuls.

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