"The only thing we have to fear is
--
Internet muse.
Daring, bold, never sold.
My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
The Politics of Fear
The Politics of Fear
"The only thing we have to fear isfear itself four more years of George Bush."
--Franklin D. Roosevelt Ted Kennedy
"The only thing we have to fear is
--
July 27 Convention News
July 27
Convention News
WP: Dems Show Unity Against Bush
THE SPEECHES
Photo credit: Ron Edmonds AP
USA Today: Obama condemns politics of division
Barack Obama- FULL TEXT (WP)
"Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."
Howard Dean- FULL TEXT (CLG)
"We’re not going to be afraid to stand up for what we believe. We’re not going to let those who disagree with us shout us down under a banner of false patriotism."
Ted Kennedy--FULL TEXT (NYT)
Ron P. Reagan Speech VIDEO FULL TEXT ... RON REAGAN'S QUESTION
Ilana Wexler was smart, adorable and a wisecracker to boot. (LA Times article)
Howard Dean delivers emotional speech to 500 supporters Dean claims Kerry won't win the election despite his wife, but that Kerry is going to win the election because of his 'fantastic' wife. One line in the article quoted from Will Marshall, president of the centrist Progressive Policy Institute, made me scratch my head, because common sense tells me people usually "go" with what makes them feel good: "There was almost a collective decision in the Democratic mind to say, ‘OK, this guy (Kerry) will do'...Kerry was the beneficiary of a kind of sober decision by tens of thousands of Democratic activists that the most important imperative was to beat George Bush, not to indulge in votes that made you feel good..."
At MEDIA MATTERS, read how FOX News' Bill O'Reilly lied about Howard Dean's Iraq position.
WP: Howard Kurtz on FOX's Convention. Kurtz also provides a footnote from the bloggers at BOP.
Check out this Byron York article, "RFK Jr. Uses the F-Word", at the National Review. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. allegedly told an audience in Cambridge, Mass. Monday that President Bush has brought fascism to America. There's a rant about Al Franken and Joe Conason in the same piece.
Can you imagine conservative columnists saying that Kerry may win because voters need a breather? Josh Marshall is seeing it happen in places like this one.
At Daily Kos:
- DNC: Keep it Bland
- Open thread on Convention Speeches
A FIRST: Jeralyn has a photo of Atrios at her site.
Amy Sullivan and Kevin Drum have some interesting blogging about the Convention at Washington Monthly.
Don't miss Tom Tomorrow's coverage of the Convention.
Jesse Taylor calls CNN's John King on one of his 'breaks' with reality (regarding the hall's response to Al Gore's speech last night).
According to Holden at Eschaton, actor Richard Dreyfuss got a standing ovation when he spoke about Dick Cheney as the "enemy of thoughtfulness" and urged the California delegates (at a breakfast in Boston) to "counter the Republicans" upon every attack and to "be consistent and in their face".
Today's Speakers
Tuesday, July 27
A Lifetime of Strength & Service
Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic Leader
Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church, New York City
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois, U.S. Senate Candidate
Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry
Convention News
WP: Dems Show Unity Against Bush
THE SPEECHES
Photo credit: Ron Edmonds AP
USA Today: Obama condemns politics of division
Barack Obama- FULL TEXT (WP)
"Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."
Howard Dean- FULL TEXT (CLG)
"We’re not going to be afraid to stand up for what we believe. We’re not going to let those who disagree with us shout us down under a banner of false patriotism."
Ted Kennedy--FULL TEXT (NYT)
Ron P. Reagan Speech VIDEO FULL TEXT ... RON REAGAN'S QUESTION
Ilana Wexler was smart, adorable and a wisecracker to boot. (LA Times article)
Howard Dean delivers emotional speech to 500 supporters Dean claims Kerry won't win the election despite his wife, but that Kerry is going to win the election because of his 'fantastic' wife. One line in the article quoted from Will Marshall, president of the centrist Progressive Policy Institute, made me scratch my head, because common sense tells me people usually "go" with what makes them feel good: "There was almost a collective decision in the Democratic mind to say, ‘OK, this guy (Kerry) will do'...Kerry was the beneficiary of a kind of sober decision by tens of thousands of Democratic activists that the most important imperative was to beat George Bush, not to indulge in votes that made you feel good..."
At MEDIA MATTERS, read how FOX News' Bill O'Reilly lied about Howard Dean's Iraq position.
WP: Howard Kurtz on FOX's Convention. Kurtz also provides a footnote from the bloggers at BOP.
Check out this Byron York article, "RFK Jr. Uses the F-Word", at the National Review. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. allegedly told an audience in Cambridge, Mass. Monday that President Bush has brought fascism to America. There's a rant about Al Franken and Joe Conason in the same piece.
Can you imagine conservative columnists saying that Kerry may win because voters need a breather? Josh Marshall is seeing it happen in places like this one.
At Daily Kos:
- DNC: Keep it Bland
- Open thread on Convention Speeches
A FIRST: Jeralyn has a photo of Atrios at her site.
Amy Sullivan and Kevin Drum have some interesting blogging about the Convention at Washington Monthly.
Don't miss Tom Tomorrow's coverage of the Convention.
Jesse Taylor calls CNN's John King on one of his 'breaks' with reality (regarding the hall's response to Al Gore's speech last night).
According to Holden at Eschaton, actor Richard Dreyfuss got a standing ovation when he spoke about Dick Cheney as the "enemy of thoughtfulness" and urged the California delegates (at a breakfast in Boston) to "counter the Republicans" upon every attack and to "be consistent and in their face".
Today's Speakers
Tuesday, July 27
A Lifetime of Strength & Service
Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic Leader
Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church, New York City
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois, U.S. Senate Candidate
Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry
Strength and wisdom
"Strength and wisdom are not opposing values."
--William Jefferson Clinton
26 July 2004
Who Is Barack Obama?
Who Is Barack Obama?
Photo credit: www.senatedem.state.il.us
Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention. For those of my readers who are not familiar with Mr. Obama, I thought I would provide you with some factual reference and links.
Mr. Obama is forty-two years old. He is an Illinois state senator. Last March, he won the Illinois primary as the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate. Many voters had been drawn initially by Obama’s early opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
William Finnegan has written a definitive piece on Obama at the New Yorker. He has written that Obama "was a black child, by American lights, but his mother and his grandparents—the only family he knew—were “white folks,” and his confusion was acute."
Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa.
Mr. Obama wrote his memoir titled "Dreams from My Father" in 1995.
He went to Columbia University. After college, Mr. Obama became a community organizer in Chicago.Obama left organizing to attend Harvard Law School, and in 1990 he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he practiced civil-rights law in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation for a small public-interest firm. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, although he declined to pursue a tenure-track post, hoping to save time for politics. And when he got the chance to run for the state senate in his district, he jumped at the opportunity.
As Illinois state senator, Obama led a campaign for death-penalty reforms that resulted in unprecedented legislation, requiring the police to videotape all interrogations in cases involving capital crimes.
Mr. Obama's wife, Michelle, now works at the University of Chicago Hospital, as executive director of community affairs.
On a light note- According to Jay Rosen at Press Think, Mr. Obama, who is an unusually confident politician, has suggested he might need blogging tips!
Photo credit: www.senatedem.state.il.us
Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention. For those of my readers who are not familiar with Mr. Obama, I thought I would provide you with some factual reference and links.
Mr. Obama is forty-two years old. He is an Illinois state senator. Last March, he won the Illinois primary as the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate. Many voters had been drawn initially by Obama’s early opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
William Finnegan has written a definitive piece on Obama at the New Yorker. He has written that Obama "was a black child, by American lights, but his mother and his grandparents—the only family he knew—were “white folks,” and his confusion was acute."
Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa.
Mr. Obama wrote his memoir titled "Dreams from My Father" in 1995.
He went to Columbia University. After college, Mr. Obama became a community organizer in Chicago.Obama left organizing to attend Harvard Law School, and in 1990 he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he practiced civil-rights law in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation for a small public-interest firm. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, although he declined to pursue a tenure-track post, hoping to save time for politics. And when he got the chance to run for the state senate in his district, he jumped at the opportunity.
As Illinois state senator, Obama led a campaign for death-penalty reforms that resulted in unprecedented legislation, requiring the police to videotape all interrogations in cases involving capital crimes.
Mr. Obama's wife, Michelle, now works at the University of Chicago Hospital, as executive director of community affairs.
On a light note- According to Jay Rosen at Press Think, Mr. Obama, who is an unusually confident politician, has suggested he might need blogging tips!
Who is Viktor Bout?
Who is Viktor Bout?
..and why do they call him the "Merchant of Death"?
People are talking about Viktor Bout.
Laura Rozen, who has some excellent Convention commentary at her site, has been talking about Viktor Bout.
Douglas Farah was the first journalist to interview Bout.
If you don't know about Bout, check him out. It's another one of those extremely interesting stories we find floating through the blogosphere.
..and why do they call him the "Merchant of Death"?
People are talking about Viktor Bout.
Laura Rozen, who has some excellent Convention commentary at her site, has been talking about Viktor Bout.
Douglas Farah was the first journalist to interview Bout.
If you don't know about Bout, check him out. It's another one of those extremely interesting stories we find floating through the blogosphere.
Jimmy Carter Gives Heartfelt Speech
Jimmy Carter Gives Heartfelt Speech
The Honorable James Carter
President of the United States
Speech given at the Democratic Convention
Boston, Massachusetts
July, 26, 2004
Photo credit: cnews.canoe.ca
"At stake is nothing less than our nation’s soul."
--former president Jimmy Carter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He says he's doing everything he can to put John Kerry in the White House with John Edwards beside him. After seeing former President Jimmy Carter speak at the Democratic convention last night, I was convinced of his commitment. He waxed nostalgic for days past, when he believed that the goodness, honesty, compassion, decency, and competency of the government was more reflective of the nature of the American people. He stressed the fact that he preserved the peace for this country in the U.S. Navy under two other former presidents, a Democrat named Harry Truman and a Republican named Dwight D. Eisenhower, both of whom had faced active military responsibilities with honor.
They knew the horrors of war before they'd come to office.
They'd used restraint, wise judgement, and possessed a clear sense of mission due to their experience in the field.
They never put an American soldier at risk in wars in which the nation's utmost vital interests had not been threatened..
..nor did they mislead the citizens of the nation.
He stressed that John Kerry had shown up for duty and served with honor and distinction in the Navy. Like Truman and Eisenhower before him, John Kerry knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities of leadership.
In the war on terror, Jimmy Carter convinced me that he truly believed John Kerry would restore good judgement and maturity to our Oval Office. I think, after all is said and done this election year, there is no greater issue on the American mind than national secrity. After 9/11, we are a changed people who have lost our sixties-era innocence of belief that the world is going to be, by its own nature, existing in a state of permanent peace.
The fact that we are changed does not mean we are afraid. It means we are aware and alert to a reality we never fully knew existed before that beautiful autumn morning three years ago in New York City. Our finest Intelligence agencies didn't even grasp the reality. Knowing we are vulnerable to violence borne of such bitterness that exists ouitside our borders doesn't mean we need a war president to plot more unnecessary wars which will, no doubt, create more bitterness.
We have a great challenge facing us that should not be ours to face alone. This is an international challenge.
If our government cannot be truthful in their commitment to a measured peace or respectful, by its actions, for civil liberties and human rights, our nation shall fall from grace as an esteemed global leader.
The fall has already begun.
Our credibility has been shattered.
We are once again becoming an isolated nation, which not only endangers our freedoms as Americans as regular (now vulnerable) travelers of the world outside our borders, but takes us backward in the economic strides we've made in the world. If Americans are "safer" today because of Bush's wars, that safety zone doesn't go much further than the borders of their own American homes. We've made little progress in protecting our own homeland. You'd have to be delusional to miss the fact that new terrorists are being recruited and Iraq is on the brink of civil war while our troops still carry the full risk of their security issues.
Last night, Jimmy Carter said his words with bright-eyes and a smile that had the wisdom of many years of service to our nation and the good of mankind behind it. He told us that, "without truth — without trust — America cannot flourish".
"Trust is the sacred covenant between a president and his people and when that trust is broken, the bonds that hold our republic together begin to weaken."
There was a time Mr. Carter felt that we understood the positive link between the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human rights. He believes this has been severely damaged by extremism in our recent foreign policy, which has disunited our nation from our allies. He spoke of the fact that, for the first time since Israel became a nation, the Middle East process has come to a "screeching halt". Radical departures from pre-9/11 policies (which were based upon key American principles and values) have squandered our opportunity for much-needed world cooperation in the war on terror. Carter believes that John Kerry will recommit our nation to common-sense principles that should transcend partisan differences. such as commitment to human rights; historic self-confidence (vs. fear and war-mongering); and a political agenda commited to uniting the country. Above all, Mr. Carter stated that in the world at large, we cannot lead if our leaders mislead.
Mr. Carter's core message on national security defined John Kerry's mission well. The issue is "whether America will provide global leadership that springs from the unity and integrity of the American people or whether extremist doctrines and the manipulation of truth will define America’s role in the world."
Jimmy Carter seemed confident and credible in what I believe was the best speech of the Convention to date. I believe he convinced many Americans that he truly trusts John Kerry to lead America back to greatness.
President of the United States
Speech given at the Democratic Convention
Boston, Massachusetts
July, 26, 2004
Photo credit: cnews.canoe.ca
"At stake is nothing less than our nation’s soul."
--former president Jimmy Carter
He says he's doing everything he can to put John Kerry in the White House with John Edwards beside him. After seeing former President Jimmy Carter speak at the Democratic convention last night, I was convinced of his commitment. He waxed nostalgic for days past, when he believed that the goodness, honesty, compassion, decency, and competency of the government was more reflective of the nature of the American people. He stressed the fact that he preserved the peace for this country in the U.S. Navy under two other former presidents, a Democrat named Harry Truman and a Republican named Dwight D. Eisenhower, both of whom had faced active military responsibilities with honor.
They knew the horrors of war before they'd come to office.
They'd used restraint, wise judgement, and possessed a clear sense of mission due to their experience in the field.
They never put an American soldier at risk in wars in which the nation's utmost vital interests had not been threatened..
..nor did they mislead the citizens of the nation.
He stressed that John Kerry had shown up for duty and served with honor and distinction in the Navy. Like Truman and Eisenhower before him, John Kerry knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities of leadership.
In the war on terror, Jimmy Carter convinced me that he truly believed John Kerry would restore good judgement and maturity to our Oval Office. I think, after all is said and done this election year, there is no greater issue on the American mind than national secrity. After 9/11, we are a changed people who have lost our sixties-era innocence of belief that the world is going to be, by its own nature, existing in a state of permanent peace.
The fact that we are changed does not mean we are afraid. It means we are aware and alert to a reality we never fully knew existed before that beautiful autumn morning three years ago in New York City. Our finest Intelligence agencies didn't even grasp the reality. Knowing we are vulnerable to violence borne of such bitterness that exists ouitside our borders doesn't mean we need a war president to plot more unnecessary wars which will, no doubt, create more bitterness.
We have a great challenge facing us that should not be ours to face alone. This is an international challenge.
If our government cannot be truthful in their commitment to a measured peace or respectful, by its actions, for civil liberties and human rights, our nation shall fall from grace as an esteemed global leader.
The fall has already begun.
Our credibility has been shattered.
We are once again becoming an isolated nation, which not only endangers our freedoms as Americans as regular (now vulnerable) travelers of the world outside our borders, but takes us backward in the economic strides we've made in the world. If Americans are "safer" today because of Bush's wars, that safety zone doesn't go much further than the borders of their own American homes. We've made little progress in protecting our own homeland. You'd have to be delusional to miss the fact that new terrorists are being recruited and Iraq is on the brink of civil war while our troops still carry the full risk of their security issues.
Last night, Jimmy Carter said his words with bright-eyes and a smile that had the wisdom of many years of service to our nation and the good of mankind behind it. He told us that, "without truth — without trust — America cannot flourish".
"Trust is the sacred covenant between a president and his people and when that trust is broken, the bonds that hold our republic together begin to weaken."
There was a time Mr. Carter felt that we understood the positive link between the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human rights. He believes this has been severely damaged by extremism in our recent foreign policy, which has disunited our nation from our allies. He spoke of the fact that, for the first time since Israel became a nation, the Middle East process has come to a "screeching halt". Radical departures from pre-9/11 policies (which were based upon key American principles and values) have squandered our opportunity for much-needed world cooperation in the war on terror. Carter believes that John Kerry will recommit our nation to common-sense principles that should transcend partisan differences. such as commitment to human rights; historic self-confidence (vs. fear and war-mongering); and a political agenda commited to uniting the country. Above all, Mr. Carter stated that in the world at large, we cannot lead if our leaders mislead.
Mr. Carter's core message on national security defined John Kerry's mission well. The issue is "whether America will provide global leadership that springs from the unity and integrity of the American people or whether extremist doctrines and the manipulation of truth will define America’s role in the world."
Jimmy Carter seemed confident and credible in what I believe was the best speech of the Convention to date. I believe he convinced many Americans that he truly trusts John Kerry to lead America back to greatness.
Future for the DNC? Kos continues the conversation.
Future for the DNC? Kos continues the conversation.
It's obvious the DNC and the campaign committees will still always exist in some fashion. But to what effect?
It's obvious the DNC and the campaign committees will still always exist in some fashion. But to what effect?
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