New Hampshire Debates

Last night the two parties went at each other in debates. Kucinich and Gravel were excluded from the Dems and Hunter was excluded from the Repubs. Let ,me say that this just goes to show how much control the media has on the debates and that it is time for the people to decide the debates not corporations.

Democrats: Clinton took sizable hits from both Obama and Edwards. She looked frustrated and at times angry. Richardson stayed on his message and seemed to stay away from the fight. The winner was Obama and Edwards--they made the point that Clinton was not an agent for chance, but rather business as usual. Clinton was the loser--she showed that she was not the inevitable candidate that she had been painted to be.

Republicans: an interesting debate--McCain beat up on Mitt over Forgein policy and Giuliani beat him up on other issues. Huckabee was there and tried to insert himself into the fray, he tried to be cute and humorous--in my opinion he failed. Paul was Paul--stayed on his confrontational message--made his points and moved on. Thompson, to my surprise was quiet eloquent, made his points and showed that he can hold his own in these debates. It was like he finally woke up from a nap and jumped in.

Winner--IMO was Thompson. 2nd was Rudy and McCain. Loser was Huckabee. IMO he was never in this debate, he tried but it was too little.

I realize that I see this differently than most, but it is just my take on the debates.

Congressional Scorecard

It is time for us at the Inkwell to give you the scorecard for the Congress for Dec. 07. A review of past scores: Aug--step backwards, Sept--step backwards, Oct--step backward, and Nov was a no step.

Now on to the scores for Dec 07.

1--Dems cave on war funds--backwards

2--extend working age of airline pilots--backwards

3--Congress gives up on SCHIP--backwards

4--Sanctions for Darfur--forward

5--Passes weak energy bill--backward

6--makes no-call list permanent--forward

7--cut back on nukes--forward

8--9000 earmarks for war fund bill--backward

Total is 2 steps backwards for the month. They were sent to Washington for change, nothing changed! In the 5 months of our scoring the Congress has taken 5 steps backwards. And these are some of the people that are running for the presidency.........and you expect change? Good luck with that fantasy!

Announcement

The Inkwell 4 will be on hiatus until after the first of the year. We wish all readers the joy and friendship of the season. Thank you for your support. See ya next year!

Worldpress.org - World in Cartoons

Worldpress.org - World in Cartoons

Green Party USA

This is the issues that are important to the GP, I find that I am in agreement twith all the issues. I am have found party that I can truly support.

1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.

3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.

5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.

6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s work.

Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life.” We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.

7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want.

8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.

We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity.

9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.

10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.

The Last Democratic Debate

Finally! The last debate of the year....may I have an amen! The last dem debate was a well done one with all candidates giving ample time and really nothing new. A few zingers, but most stayed on message. The only loser was Dennis Kucinich because he was not allowed to participate. That was the only low point, since the whack job Keyes was allowed to participate on the Repub side, but that is another story.....I am sure. Everyone was polite and civil, no attacks, direct attacks.

Okay, let us look at the candidates:

Clinton--not much new....she was on message....the only problem was she wants to reform NAFTA. She was cool and comfortable.

Obama--he also was on message.....he was also calm, confident and collected...but nothing new.

Edwards--still strong on people power...he was confident and clear.

Dodd--Look good and spoke with authority.

Biden--Definately calm, cool, and confident spoke with authority.

Richardson--He was adequate...spoke with confidence...only one to link Iraq with the economy...a positive point. Good on environmental responses.

No movement in the polls will be seen as a result of this debate...all candidates were on their message...no screw ups...all had excellent answers...No real winner and no real loser. Biden would get my vote for the way he handles the questions hurdled at him.

We, political geeks and addictions, can now sleep at night without worrying about another debate looming on the horizon.

May the force be with you!

CHUQ

Last GOP Debate Of The Year

We at the Inkwell, have discussed the latest debate and these are our conclusions.

It is mid December and yet another debate, but the good news is this is the last GOP debate of the year and next the voters in Iowa will caucus shortly after the first of the New Year.

The ones who DID NOT win the debate were the people of Iowa. Why? Nothing new, nothing controversial, nobody's opinion will be changed by the debate. Candidates looked tired and unenthusiastic.

Mitt and Rudy--pandered and gave pat rehearshed answer to everything.

Huckabee was same jovial self, nothing new, with the exception that he tried to appear a bit sophisticated....did not work.

McCain gave clear concise answers.

Paul, IMO, was the winner, he was not cute, glib or anything beyond clear and concise with good positions.

Thompson appear calm and almost comatose.

Hunter and Tancredo---thinking....thinking....no one will care.

Keyes--who the f*ck is this yahoo?

Islamo-terrorists, global jihad, I slam extremism, all the fear stuff was at play, not as bad as some of the other debates but it was there. Oh yeah, Rudy mentioned 9/11--go figure!

You want to know who won? look at the polls....Huck leading...Mitt second and Rudy third. Why? Only because it was a snooze of a debate and the candidates will remain as they were before the debate. I personally think that Paul was by far the best debater on the stage.

May the force be with you!

CHUQ