] Mr. Schwarzenegger, who immigrated to the United States
] from Austria 35 years ago, on Sunday endorsed an
] amendment to the Constitution to allow immigrants who
] have been citizens for at least 20 years to run for
] president. Mr. Schwarzenegger became a citizen in 1983.

I fully endorse this amendment. :)

Schwarzenegger Backs Amendment to Allow Immigrant Presidents

] Technology has the potential to empower Americans by
] creating new high quality jobs, making America more
] competitive, and improving the quality of life. However,
] to realize this potential, we need a government committed
] to encouraging innovation and the widespread deployment
] of technology.

I decided I didn't know enough about Kerry. Turns out he has a very strong technology business platform. Much stronger then Dean, Clark, or Edwards, who tend to talk about steel workers when the subject of the economy comes up. I obviously have misgivings about his feelings on Intellectual Property, but his overall picture is better then what I've seen from any of the candidates with possible exception of Lieberman.

:: John Kerry for President - Technology Plan to Create Jobs and Empower Americans to Lead in the 21st Century ::

] President Bush took advantage of the Congressional recess
] today to bypass Senate Democrats and install Alabama's
] attorney general, William H. Pryor, on a federal appeals
] court that oversees three Southern states.
]
] The president named Mr. Pryor, who has gained prominence as an
] outspoken opponent of legalized abortion and as an advocate for a
] greater Christian influence in government, to the United States Court
] of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Well, this pisses me off.

There is, at first glance, an extreme hypocrisy in telling the Iraqi governing council that you are a methodist, and that you would like to be able to practice your religion in their country, while on the other hand appointing a fundamentalist from Alabama, whose track record clearly shows that he is opposed to freedom of religion, to a federal appeals court in your own country. The only way to resolve this inconsistency is to accept that Bush doesn't actually believe in freedom of religion. He believes in the propagation of the Christian faith, and he sees freedom of religion in the middle east as a stepping stone toward achieving that goal.

It is very very well established in history that religious states fail because they are religious states. History is very agnostic in the consistent failure of religious states due entirely to the corruption that "ultimate truth" brings to bare on a society when it carries the force of arms, regardless of what religion we're talking about or who runs it. This is not really a matter of opinion.

There are many people on this planet whose religious beliefs do not allow them to accept this fact, no matter how consistent and comprehensive the historical record has been. There is only one way to think about those people. They are irrational. Irrational + Powerful = Dangerous.

Bush Seats Judicial Nominee That Senate Democrats Blocked

] The poll, taken Feb. 16-17, indicates that if the
] election were held today, Kerry would be chosen by 55% of
] likely voters, compared to 43% for Bush. In the last
] polling, Feb. 6-8, Bush held a 49-48 advantage.

Do people prefer the Dems right now simply because they've been seeing them a lot on Television, or is something sustainable going on here?

USATODAY.com - Top Democrats lead Bush in poll

] Today my candidacy may come to an end--but our campaign
] for change is not over.

Dean throws in the towel

In light of Bush's recent interview I figured I ought to go back and meme something I ignored last time. This is a collection of "pork" projects from a recent spending bill. Some of them you will find that you like, but thats not the question. The question is whether they ought to be publicly or privately funded.

These are not the programs Bush cut, but they are examples of the sorts of things we are paying for that conservatives would like to cut. Bush has also claimed that many of the programs that he has cut are programs that are redundant. Even if you like them, its possible that other, similar things are getting money. This is ONE appropriations bill. These things add up...

In reading this, part of me thinks, damn, if these idiots are getting federal funding I'm sure I can. I ought to learn to write grant proposals! :)

[Politech] Heritage Foundation's federal pork taste test

The brother of Iran's reformist president was among those who resigned. He said, "This is the end of the reform movement."

One-Third of Iranian Parliament Quits in Protest

] Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday
] that people concerned about losing freedom to government
] anti-terrorism efforts should speak out.

The court system is influenced by public outcry.

[Politech] Justice Ginsburg warns against apathy

] If Dean could actually raise enough money online to match
] in aggregate the much larger and fewer donations Bush has
] bought from the plutocrats with his tax cuts, it would
] shake the system to its rotten core. Worse, if
] information from the Web and the Blogosphere were to
] start defining enough personal realities to contest the
] great mass of tube-zombies at the polls, the gazillions
] presently spent on television campaign ads would start to
] wither. An enormous amount of power and money might be at
] stake.

Barlow's argument is similar to one I offered Rattle after Iowa: that the Dems have lost the election because doing so is preferable to loosing control of their party to Dean's new infrastructure. Rattle countered that he thought Dean might have intentionally flamed out and is in the process of handing the infrastructure he built off to the old heart of the party. I'm still not sure which one of us is right.

BarlowFriendz: The Counter-Revolution Has Been Televised

bucy wrote:
] The only thing I know about Kerry is he was one of the
] sponsors of the Key Escrow bill a few years back...

Despite with the Dems may say about civil liberties they sure seem to oppose crypto proliferation.

RE: Kerry Carries 39% of NH