Clipmarks | deb2012's 'politics' clips

Where have all the leaders gone?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:49:51 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: Lee Iococca says:

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing.

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening.

What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Tags: politics, leadership

Stop Mugabe

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:10:36 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: http://www.avaaz.org/en/
The World in Action

Clip Source: www.avaaz.org

After a terror campaign and a sham 'election' last Friday, Robert Mugabe has declared himself President of Zimbabwe. The country is in crisis and its fate depends on talks between Mugabe and the winner of the first round election -- Morgan Tsvangirai.

If Governments from around the world do not recognise Mugabe, his position will be weakened, and he could be pressured into a deal with Tsvangirai that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people.

We must inundate our leaders with messages calling on them not to recognise Mugabe's government. If they have made that statement already, call on them to strongly push other governments to do the same. Please use the tool below to send a message to your own leader. Just select your country and it will automatically fill in the recipient's name and email address:

Select your country below to send your leader a message!

Tags: social action, politics

How Congress spends your money

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:27:16 GMT

clipped by: deb2012

Clip Source: investorshub.advfn.com

Tags: government, taxes, politics

Tax cut 2 step

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:03:54 GMT

clipped by: deb2012

Clip Source: www.republicansforobama.org

Obama wants to cut taxes for families earning under 150k a year. To help pay for this, he wants to raise taxes on those in higher tax brackets, and on capital gains.

McCain is already trying to confuse the issue and convince nervous middle-income voters that the Democrats are coming for their money, saying that Obama will raise taxes on "hard-working families." Yes, this is partially true-- hard working families in the top 5% of earners would have to pay more under Obama's plan, but you'll never hear McCain admit to this. Instead, he'd prefer to lie to lower and middle-income earners and make them think that the government is going to take even more of their money now.

My party always lies like this-- they convince lower-income people that Democrats are proposing to raise their taxes, when they're just not.

Tags: politics

Anti-statist societal styles

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:46:05 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: willhelm made me curious

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

General:

Tags: politics

Barr (libertarian nominee) on economy

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:16:06 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: http://www.ontheissues.org/Bob_Barr.htm

Clip Source: www.ontheissues.org

Earmarks are an outrageous abuse by Congressmen to buy votes

Remove both earmarks and cut the underlying spending

Allow $3 on 1040 form to pay off National Debt

Supports balanced budget amendment & line item veto

Tags: politics

McCain on Economy

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:11:48 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: http://www.ontheissues.org/John_McCain.htm

Clip Source: www.ontheissues.org

Bailing out Bear Stearns necessary to protect economy

Key is to not to bail out homeowners who speculated

Things are tough now, but we're better off than in 2000

Impose some fiscal discipline to revive the economy

Will be able to reduce war costs & have a stable Middle East

Reform insurance to cover violent weather patterns

Republicans have forgotten how to control spending

Veto all pork-barrel bills and announce pork spenders

May have to go further to fix the subprime lending situation

Recession is partly psychological and not inevitable

I'm well-versed in economics; I was at the Reagan Revolution

FactCheck: Said--then denied--he needed economics education

To avoid recession, stop out-of-control spending

Loss of economic strength leads to losing military strength

Congress spends money like a drunken sailor

AdWatch: Outrageous to spend $233M for bridge to nowhere

FactCheck:Bridge-to-Nowhere never built; would serve 200,000

FactCheck: Criticized "Woodstock museum," but skipped vote

Tags: politics

Obama on Economy

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:07:23 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm

Clip Source: www.ontheissues.org

Can't do anything at home with $12 billion a month on Iraq

Protect consumers with Credit Card Bill of Rights

More accountability in subprime mortgages

Bush stimulus plan leaves out seniors & unemployed

Voted against limiting credit to 30%, because 30% too high

Account for every single dollar for new proposed programs

Help the homeowners actually living in their homes

Lack of an energy policy is a financial burden

Bush & GOP dug budget hole; need years to dig out

Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don't need them

Take China "to the mat" about currency manipulation

Rejects free market vision of government

Regulate financial instruments to protect home mortgages

Government regulation needed for when markets fail

Return to PayGo: compensate for all new spending

Supports federal programs to protect rural economy

Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs' effectiveness

Require full disclosure about subprime mortgages

Tags: politics

Newt on What might have been

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:22:08 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: Gingrich has an amazing knowledge of history and the reasons leaders succeed or fail in times of danger

Clip Source: newt.org

Imagine that on the morning of September 12, 2001, the shocked national political leadership in both parties had understood the necessity to take a deep, long look at the Irreconcilable Wing of Islam.

Imagine that the President and Congressional leaders on a bipartisan basis had mandated a series of public hearings on the scale of the radical Wahhabist financing from sources in Saudi Arabia, the degree of Iranian and Syrian support for terrorism, the various propagandizing and recruiting efforts that were underway to attract terrorists at a rate faster than we could kill or imprison them.

Imagine that on September 12, 2001 the news media had begun a series of informative, in-depth explorations of the Iranian war against America

With this starting context, an alternative history might well have played out

The key debate for the next year ought to be the larger war, the real enemies, the need for a real strategy, and solutions to the scale of the challenge we face.

Tags: history, politics, war, 9/11

Candidates on NUCLEAR energy

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:37:22 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: for me, Clinton wins this one.

Clip Source: uk.reuters.com

McCain supports it wholeheartedly

can use nuclear power more extensively

supports the Yucca Mountain storage facility

OBAMA

Clip Source: uk.reuters.com

believes it is unlikely

the United States can achieve its goals

without nuclear power

will make safeguarding nuclear material

a top anti-terrorism priority

opposes using Yucca Mountain

as the nation's main disposal site.

CLINTON

believes that energy efficiency and renewable sources such as wind and solar energy are better options

because of unresolved concerns about the cost of producing nuclear power, the safety of operating plants, waste disposal and nuclear proliferation.

opposes new subsidies for nuclear power

Clip Source: uk.reuters.com

opposes Yucca Mountain

Tags: energy, nuclear, politics

2000 campaign re-visit

Sun, 04 May 2008 19:16:53 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: clipped from a 2000 article "What Presidents are for"

Of course today none of this applies to Obama....

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

Bush aides argue that experience can be overrated. Former governors Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton all came to the Oval Office without foreign-policy credentials. "Foreign-policy decision making is not that different than other decision making," says Rice. "For chief executives, in government and out, judgment is more important than detailed knowledge."

Tags: politics

Powerful China

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:48:33 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: Will this really be the next great world power? China only goes backwards as they suppress their creative and dissenting population. Maybe the worlds producers, but not world leaders.

Clip Source: time-blog.com

Lawyers for jailed dissident Hu Jia

went in on Monday to try and see their client

the detention center told the lawyers that Hu was not available because he was going through a routine physical check up

They went back yesterday afternoon

but were again refused permission to see him, this time because they hadn't seen him the day before.

"The detention center told us that we had already missed the deadline for appeal

Tags: politics, china

McCain on reducing oil prices

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:31:11 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: author says strategic petroleum reserve orders by Bush increase prices at the pump

Clip Source: www.cato-at-liberty.org

Reporters are lighting up my voice mail and inbox with queries about what I make of Sen. John McCain’s call today for suspending SPR fill orders and the federal gasoline tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day in a bid to get gasoline prices down. Color me tepid.

John McCain is absolutely correct to blame the SPR for helping to drive-up world crude oil prices

John McCain of all people should know that federal gasoline tax revenues are steroids for localized pork and special-interest subsidy

A short term moratorium on taxes, however, would probably have little impact on pump prices.

Oil economist Phil Verleger, for instance, thinks that federal fill orders for the SPR has driven up the price of crude by at least $10 a barrel and perhaps as much as $30.

Now’s a good time to dump the all federal inventories on the market and shut the SPR down once and for all.

Tags: politics, energy

Cindy McCain

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:18:37 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: Cindy McCain's Assets From Beer Distributor Are In Her Name, But Have Given Candidate Wealthy Lifestyle

Clip Source: wcco.com

As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career - even if the millions remain in her name alone.

Although Cindy McCain's business connections have benefited John McCain politically, they appear to have had little impact on his personal fortunes.

Tags: politics

China officials tightening their grip

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:36:51 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: before the Olympics by imprisoning more activists

Clip Source: time-blog.com

Activist Hu Jia, about whom we have written often (and whose wife Zeng Jinyan--who is under house arrest-- we tried to see in February but were impeded by the police) has been found guilty on a charge of "inciting the overthrow of state power"

He was given a sentence of three and a half years. Although his family knew prospects were grim, they were nourishing some small hope that he might receive some sort of suspended sentence as happened in the case of public interest lawyer and writer Gao Zhisheng. Gao was convicted on the same catch-all charge and got a three year sentence. Given everything else that is going on, this is further confirmation that the authorities are heading down the road of seriously tightening their grip ahead of the Olympics rather than any relaxation, as once (naively?) postulated. For my take on why that was inevitable, see this week's magazine, which comes out today. I'll get up a link once it is available.

Tags: politics