Clipmarks | earnric's 'government' clips

The results of republican leadership.

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:31:07 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: When you put people who don't believe in governance in charge, you should expect poor governance...

Clip Source: www.abcnews.go.com

Republican strategist Frank Luntz, an analyst for Fox News Channel, says the current atmosphere has been shaped by a series of traumas. The Sept. 11 attacks made the country seem vulnerable, he says, while Hurricane Katrina made the government seem incompetent and the Iraq war "has made us seem weak."

Tags: republicans, bush, government, incompetence

A distant "ally"

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:52:17 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: As I've said before, when the dust settles, Iran and Iraq will be closer allies than the US and Iraq...

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Top Iraqi officials are calling for a radical reduction of the U.S. military's role here after the U.N. mandate authorizing its presence expires at the end of this year. Encouraged by recent Iraqi military successes, government officials have said that the United States should agree to confine American troops to military bases unless the Iraqis ask for their assistance, with some saying Iraq might be better off without them.

In Iraq, the willingness to consider calling for the departure of American troops represents a major shift for members of the U.S.-backed government. Maliki this week visited Iran, where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, urged him to reject any long-term security arrangements with the United States.

Tags: iraq, us military

Support the troops...

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:24:28 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: ...Mr. President... and Mr. McCain... put your money where your braggadocio is...

Will it cost? Sure .. .but expenses at in-state "state" schools aren't outrageous.

And even if it is expensive -- 36 months active duty should be enough to earn any enlisted man a college degree: it helps them, and helps the country (which is sorely short of educated people...) Helping an entire generation get an education is a good thing: probably one of the best ways the government can spend its money ... and which group could be more deserving?

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

Webb is not suggesting that the government pay for everyone in the military to go to private college. He would more than double the GI Bill benefit for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering a living stipend of about $1,000 depending on where the veteran lives, and pay the equivalent in tuition of the most expensive state school in the veteran's home state.

Tags: veterans, gi bill, war

Moving toward equality under the law...

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:43:56 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Looks like a clear majority simply don't care if you are gay or str8... Looks like rationality is finally taking hold on this issue.

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Most say gay marriage private choice

Six in 10 Americans say the government should not regulate whether gays and lesbians can marry the people they choose, a survey finds.

As same-sex couples line up to get marriage licenses in California on June 17, the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that 63% of adults say same-sex marriage is "strictly a private decision" between two people.

That the government has the right "to prohibit or allow" such marriages was stated by 33%, and 4% had no opinion.

Tags: gay marriage

Sanctity and the government...

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:57:25 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: The blogger is right on point regarding the CA ruling allowing same sex marriages...

Clip Source: fogghorn.blogspot.com

"Many people are concerned that we need more conservatives in government so that we won't have judges who decide this way" was nearly the entirety of the commentary, the balance was the observation that it was the Constitution (hence not the judges) that stood in the way of preserving the "sanctity" of marriage. Regardless of the now apparently reduced sanctity of my own marriage, I continued to wait for my dear wife to have her X-ray with undiminished dedication.

Sanctity, of course is indeed a subject that our Federal Constitution excludes from the business of government. Establishing religious rules or laws based on religious rules is specifically forbidden and not applying any laws in a discriminatory fashion, whether based on religious taboos or not, has long been established in the law. What does CNN mean to imply here: that we should get rid of that nasty secular Democracy thing so we can all be holy? What else can we infer?

Tags: gay marriage, politics, stupidity

Majority seems to get it...

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:43:47 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: While I'm sure this is just 'one result' it would seem the tide is turning: people are realizing that private decisions -- like a person's choice of a mate -- should be respected by government.

Clip Source: www.azcentral.com

Six in ten Americans say the government should not regulate whether gays and lesbians can wed the persons they choose, a new survey finds.

As same-sex couples start lining up to get marriage licenses in California on June 17, the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 63 percent of adults say same-sex marriage is "strictly a private decision" between two people.

That the government has the right "to prohibit or allow" such marriages was stated by 33 percent, and 4 percent had no opinion.

Tags: gay marriage

Sadr exerts religious influence

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:04:37 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: This is the problem -- Sadr has more control over his followers than the government has over it's citizens ... it's been like this for decades, under Saddam. It isn't going to change in the near future...

Clip Source: www.voanews.com

The powerful cleric said Monday the forces were obeying their religious leaders and should be honored for their devotion.

Iraqi officials dismissed 1,300 soldiers and policemen Sunday for refusing to fight against Shi'ite militias in Basra and other Shi'ite strongholds. Authorities have admitted some of the soldiers and police handed over their weapons and equipment to the militias, including al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

US Army soldiers and Iraqi security forces secure the area of a roadside bomb attack near Tayaran Sq. in central Baghdad, 14 Apr 2008

Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is demanding the Iraqi government reinstate all security forces fired for abandoning their duty in recent fighting.

No nation...

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:02:17 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: There is no nation-state when religious offiliation trumps nationalism...

Not that either form of dogma is "good" ... but for the political process to work, people have to believe they are first part of a nation... For many Iraqis religious affiliation defines their identify...

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

American and Iraqi officials had been casting around for some sort of political solution to end the violence since Sadr's forces fended off an assault by Iraqi government troops last month. Those clashes were sparked after a failed campaign by Iraqi security forces against the Mahdi Army in Basra. During the fighting in Basra an estimated 1,000 men from Iraqi security forces either refused to fight or outright switched sides and joined the Mahdi Army, leading the Iraqi government on Sunday to announce the dismissal of some 1,300 soldiers and policemen.

The Waste on drugs

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:59:54 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: The federal war on drugs has been a disaster from so many perspectives it boggles the mind.

Can you think of a better way to spend $500 BILLION? Not to mention filling our jails (more than 70% of people in jail are there on drug related offenses - most of them minor)...

Clip Source: www.rollingstone.com

All told, the United States has spent an estimated $500 billion to fight drugs - with very little to show for it. Cocaine is now as cheap as it was when Escobar died and more heavily used. Methamphetamine, barely a presence in 1993, is now used by 1.5 million Americans and may be more addictive than crack. We have nearly 500,000 people behind bars for drug crimes - a twelvefold increase since 1980 - with no discernible effect on the drug traffic. Virtually the only success the government can claim is the decline in the number of Americans who smoke marijuana - and even on that count, it is not clear that federal prevention programs are responsible.

Tags: drugs, government

al-Sadr ... Negotiating from Iran

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:17:34 GMT

clipped by: earnric
clipper's remarks: Sadr continues to play the political/religious card to his advantage... Forcing the government to deal with his (illegal) organization/militias will simply empower him in the eyes of the populace

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

BAGHDAD - Aides to Muqtada al-Sadr called Monday for dialogue to resolve a violent standoff with the Iraqi government, saying that the radical Shiite cleric would disband his militia if senior religious leaders ordered it.

Aide Hassan al-Zarqani said from Iran that al-Sadr will consult Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other top Shiite clerics if the government continues to pressure al-Sadr to disband the militia or see his candidates banned from upcoming elections.

Study Group Recommendations - Troop Withdrawal

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 03:55:34 GMT

clipped by: earnric

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Announce a plan for American forces to begin pulling back, whether the Iraqis are ready or not, to signal to the Iraqis that Washington would not prop up the Iraqi government with military forces endlessly.

Gradually pull back the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq, starting next year and ending by the first quarter of 2008. Afterward, American combat forces could be deployed “only in units embedded with Iraqi forces.” While numbers are still approximate, phased withdrawal of combat troops over the next year would leave 70,000 to 80,000 American troops in the country, compared with about 150,000 now, for a long time to come.

Special operations forces would remain to battle Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Link American withdrawal to the performance of the Iraqi military, leaving open the possibility that American troops would stay longer if the Iraqi government takes on the militias, but threatening accelerated withdrawal if the Iraqi government fails to act decisively and control the violence.

Significantly increase the number of American military personnel supporting and embedded with Iraqi troops. As this proceeds, United States combat forces can begin leaving Iraq.

“The Iraqi government should accelerate assuming responsibility for Iraqi security by increasing the number and quality of Iraqi Army Brigades.”

Tags: iraq, troops, study, group