In your face Wal-Mart!

The state board that oversees pharmacies voted Tuesday to require Wal-Mart to stock emergency contraception pills at its Massachusetts pharmacies, a spokeswoman at the Department of Public Health said.

Wal-Mart Must Stock Contraception in Mass.

Bull-sapien!

Raising Awareness about Human-Animal Hybrids

I would argue a slightly different angle to that. Despite all the accusations thrown around not many people actively think about the origins of their goods and services (and thus whether they are keeping others "down"). What I see in this argument is the relative security each group enjoys compared to the other. The higher amount of perceived security, the more happiness (which doesn't apply to the Sunbelt. I'm sure that has some scientific reason like greater exposure to the sun minus cancer). But seriously, happiness is objective and I sure don't need Pew to tell me who has it and who doesn't. I'll leave that to Cosmo.

Pew Research Center: Are We Happy Yet?

The Founding Fathers anticipated debates such as the one stemming from George W. Bush's illegal spying. Well acquainted with the excesses of mad monarchs named George and the excuses for tyranny peddled by their partisans, Benjamin Franklin warned, "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." James Madison understood how seductive the claims of national security could be, pointing out that wartime is "the true nurse of executive aggrandizement."

A good editorial is hard to find.

Madness of King George

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=56210

Here is a post from The Nation which I thought was fitting...

The War is Over

Technically we are still at "war", in that we have troops stationed in two foreign countries engaging in military activity. But the slight of hand that the administration has used is to conflate these military actions with the "war on terror" and thus be able to claim a never ending state of war.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are over. What we have now is post-war occupation and policing. If the wars weren't over would we be engaged in reconstruction activities? I don't remember the allies rebuilding parts of Germany in 1943.

Rebuilding starts when the enemy has been subdued and the war is over.

The other war (on terrorism) is a metaphorical war, like the war on drugs or the war on crime. Groups of people, "terrorists", wish to engage in committing illegal activities which may cause harm to others. The only effective response is some combination of policing and investigation. A traditional military response won't work since there are seldom military targets to attack. Thus, this is not a "war" as such, but an ongoing effort to maintain public order and security. It is what all countries do as a matter of course. Criminal enterprises are never entirely eradicated, that's why every society has a police function.

So we are not at war, anymore. We are engaged in an ongoing effort to prevent harmful and illegal actions by those who wish to pursue their own objectives. These people can be drug dealers, the mafia, or "terrorists". The techniques for countering their threats are the same and don't require extraordinary federal powers.

So let's not play into the hands of those making a power play and stop using their slanted terminology. The US is not at war. Let's not let those who wish to abuse their power continue to use this as an excuse for civil liberties abuses.

Posted by RDF 02/03/2006 @ 5:03pm

Discuss....

RE: 20 Year Plan for Iraq?

The United States is engaged in what could be a generational conflict akin to the Cold War, the kind of struggle that might last decades as allies work to root out terrorists across the globe and battle extremists who want to rule the world, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday

Yeah, I guess it would irresponsible to pull out now. Or like, EVER.

20 Year Plan for Iraq?

] Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston,
] conservatives are deploying a series of covert signals to
] identify one another, much like gay men do. My allies are
] the ones wearing crosses or American flags. The people
] sporting shirts emblazened with the "F-word" are my
] opponents. Also, as always, the pretty girls and cops
] are on my side, most of them barely able to conceal their
] eye-rolling

For your reading pleasure, "pretty girl" Ann Coulter's article on the DNC that USA Today passed up. Proceed only if you have a strong stomach.

As usual, Coulter presents the worst of conservatism, wasting time calling democratic women ugly*, hybrid cars "dinky", and the speakers "nuts." Why make real criticism when you can name-call!?

I totally agree with USA Today's decision in not printing this unprofessional, petty, vapid piece of pseudo-journalism.

-Tina

*For the record, I know plenty of cute democrats. Anyone seen Maggie Schutz or Chris Heinz?

Ann Coulter's USA Today Column

] One of the most commonly used tools for voter education
] is the voter information pamphlet. These pamphlets
] provide a great deal of information about ballot
] issues-and sometimes about candidates, as well. Voters
] may peruse the pamphlet at their leisure, and may even
] take it with them into the voting booth. Clearly, voter
] information pamphlets are a worthy voter education
] effort.

A summary of which states have official voter information pamphlets and how much some states spend on them. In most cases under a million a year.

Voter Information Pamphlets

The League of Women Voters put out this brief candidate guide. This is best example of non-partisan candidate information I've found so far, and while I'm glad this exists, I think its pretty sad that more information is not available.

I was thinking this morning that I don't really like the changes that have taken place in order to reform campaign finance. I think we're curtailed the freedom of speech. If I support a candidate then I ought to be able to say it, and I ought to be able to say it with a great big billboard if I so desire. This is America. I also think we've seriously violated people's personal privacy. I can find out what campaigns my employees and business partners have donated money to!! This is extremely dangerous and widespread abuse is only a matter of time.

What have we gained from this? Is the present election less corrupt then previous ones? I hardly think so. I haven't heard any explanation of that. I'm still walking into local elections knowing nothing about many of the races. Knowing none of the candidates.

There is a lot of bad speech in our democracy. A lot of signs on street corners that do not reveal anything about a candidate's competence, their voting record, their goals, even their party affiliation. A lot of our democracy goes directly to those who can generate the best name recognition by having the biggest marketing budget and simplest message.

But in my experience the answer to bad speech has always been more speech.

In California a booklet similar to the one the League of Women Voters put together here is put together by the government. Each candidate gets a least a page to state his or her case. Every office and referenda item is covered. You spend an hour looking it over and you walk into the ballot office knowing something about who you are voting for. Sure, people ignore them, chuck them in the trash, but at least its available. At least everyone gets a chance to tell you who they are, regardless of their budget. In Georgia its very hard to find out what all the races are and whose in them even if you really want the information. An uninformed Democracy is not a democracy at all.

Georgia Voter's Guide