Category: current events

As I hinted earlier in the week, I’m seriously considering switching candidates. I’ve been watching debates, subscribing to campaign blogs, reading stories and thinking. I’ve been doing a LOT of thinking. I came up with a list earlier in the fall, about the time we started up nonDependant, of things I thought about the race. Reading over it, I still think those things. Looking at the (now) 8 Democratic candidates, they fall into three categories:

• The Mavericks: Clark and Dean

• Old Washingon: Gephard, Kerry, Lieberman and Edwards

• Truth Wrapped in Comic Relief: Kucinich and Sharpton

We’ll start at the bottom. We all know that Kucinich, Sharpton and the recently departed Braun can’t win. The three of them, though, have had some of the funniest, best, and most pointed moments in the debates. Kucinich, although I disagree with him on a lot of his stands, especially Iraq, he still raises very well-thought out positions. Sharpton, again, don’t agree with him on a lot, and he has a lot of past to explain, has had some really nice moments in the debates. Braun running has been historic, but she’s never really made much of an impression. The trio has been entertaining, but I’m pretty sure it’s time for the other two members of the No Hope Club to drop out.

Old Washington has really pulled out the stops in this one. I almost feel bad lumping Edwards into this group, but he’s in Washington now, and that counts. Edwards is still a bit of an enigma to me, and I’ll be digging more up on him in the coming weeks (I have less than a month till our primary). The other three in this group have run traditional, by-the-rules, run-not-to-lose campaigns. They’ve been uninspiring, sniping, and petty. I’m extremely disappointed in the top three. Their relentless attacks on the front-runner have come across to me as petty and desperate. Their approach looks old and dated next to…

The Mavericks. Dean first, and then Clark, have captured my imagination. Neither have sold their soul to the Party; neither look to me to be beholden to anyone. This is a good thing. As liberal as Dean’s supporters are, he’s a fiscal conservative. He looks crazy next to the Old Washington set because he actually speaks the truth as he sees it and isn’t embarrassed by it. The same with Clark. Both have been lambasted by the other campaigns for their “gaffes” and “changing positions”, but I see that as men thinking about issues, and changing their minds as new information comes up. While Clark and Dean are vastly different in background, their level of grassroots support is not only impressive, it’s an inspiration to me. Comparing the percentage of donations under \$2000 is revealing as well. Almost 70% of Dean’s contributions are less than \$200, and almost 40% of Clark’s are (the data’s a few months old). The other graphs on that page are just as revealing. The Old Washington candidates are about even with President Bush, the king of the special interest, corporate donors. That means something to me. It means both Clark and Dean have the support of real people, and the candidates aren’t owned by PAC’s, corporations or other unsavory groups. Both seem to speak their conscience and reveal what they really think, which is risky, but I respect that.

Now, there is a lot at stake in this election. This isn’t just a referendum on a failed President. This is a campaign about the future of the political process. Like the television before it, the internet is revolutionizing the political process, evening the playing field and opening doors for candidates like Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. Candidates who found their base on the internet, and parlayed that base into mainstream exposure, and more support. It just makes sense. That others are following means that the internet is probably here to stay in politics. Now, how do we harness is and keep it from turning into the wasteland that television has become?

This also doesn’t explain who I’m voting for. Honestly, I still don’t know. Right now, it’s between Clark and Dean. I think Edwards is third, and Kerry is not that far behind. I have a few weeks left.

I was rolling through this whole thing. 17 Things You Don’t Know About Howard Dean is one of the funniest profiles I’ve ever read of a politician.

I was going to write a whole thing about why you should vote for whoever the Democrats put up against GW in November. I really was. But, I just can’t do it. Not because I don’t believe it – I do. I just can’t get started. There are so many reasons to vote against him. From his ties to big business and his “crony capitalism” to the war in Iraq – there’s just so much to cover that I can’t see myself writing it today.

There are so many themes to run against him on, from the economy, to the hundreds of lies he told during the lead-up to the war with Iraq (come on, don’t even try to argue this one – the U.S. Army War College, the Carnegie institute, The Washington Post and others have done a fine job of ripping this one to shreds I won’t even bother), to his complete incompetance in pretty much everything his administration has tried to do. I don’t care if “his heart’s in the right place” or he’s a Christian. He’s incompetant. There really isn’t much else to say. The evidence is out there. George W. Bush is not fit to be President. He never was, and never will be. He, and his advisors, have done more harm than good, created a deficit we will spend the next three generations getting out of, has damaged our relations with the rest of the world to the point that it may take the better part of a decade to repair them after he leaves office, has appointed lobbyists to enforcement positions from the very industries they’re supposed to enforce, and done more to damage the middle class than any administration I can think of.

Take a step back and review the last three years. What have they done that matters? What have they done that was any good at all? I can think of one thing: Afghanistan. But, they’ve blown the reconstruction so badly that we may never recover from that. And that’s the problem – even the “good” things they’ve attempted to do have been undertaken with such incompetant management that they’ve become failures.

Please reconsider. I know that a lot of people will never vote Democratic, but look again. Look what the President and the willing Republicans have done to our country, to our future… it ain’t pretty.

update (in response to my sister’s comment): the things I’ve written here aren’t personal. George W. Bush may be a “nice” person, and may be doing these things with the best possible intentions. The consequences of his actions and policies are concrete, and the only thing that matter to me now. His policies and actions are wanting. His Administration is a failure, and I can’t wait for vote against him, and for whoever ends up as the Democratic nominee.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

I posted the Declaration of Independance last week. I hadn’t read it or the Constitution in a very long time. If you haven’t read them either, why not? The first is moving in ways I find hard to explain. “… deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” – do you feel like you’ve given your consent to be governed? If not, come check us out, and see what we’re trying to do to take back the system.

Trying to think “outside the box”, I’ve come up with a political lineup sure to attract that middle third of the political spectrum that we’re courting at nonDependant. I had a this weird thought… how’s this for a Presidential ticket?

For President, John McCain. He’s a veteran, strong on defense, moderate and independant. He’s also the antithesis of George W. Bush. For running mate? Wesley Clark. I don’t think Clark’s ready for the Presidency, but he’d make a good VP.

I think it would work if they swoop in with their secretaries of Defense and State lined up before the election… they could take it in a walk. Who would they be? Albright at State and Powell at Defense. Yeah, I smell a winner.

I think I’m going crazy… but wouldn’t that be awesome?

As of 8:54 EST this morning, nonDependant is live to the world. I’m not sure what will happen, how fast or who will join up, if anyone. I don’t know that I’m really all concerned about it. Of course, I hope it’s successful, but it feels good to have just made the decision to do something and to have put the effort into doing it.

I hope you’ll check it out, and if you want, join us. If you don’t, that’s fine too. It’s an experiment. I don’t know what it will become, and right now, I honestly can’t tell you even what it is past the fact that it’s running Drupal, has a lamb in the bottom right corner of the page that I spent an evening outlining in Photoshop, and has several hundred lines of prose that Dawson and I slaved over. What happens now really isn’t up to either of us…

The last section’s been written, and I’m going to do some QA tonight before I turn it on tomorrow morning. I’m excited, nervous, terrified, etc. I’m terrified of both success and failure, but am unwilling not to try. It’s a weird feeling, like the night before a first date. I’ll post a big huge announcement here tomorrow morning when I flip the switch. I hope you’ll all check it out, see if it’s something you want to be involved in, and join us. Either way it turns out, success or failure, it should be educational (hopefully entertaining, but mostly educational).

In related news, I voted this morning. It’s funny how heavy that pen feels while drawing in those little circles. There were no national candidates on the ballot, but it was still interesting. There were folks handing out “sample ballots” with their candidate’s box colored in. I hate that they’re allowed in the parking lot of the polling place. I understand free speech and all, but it’s like running a gauntlet just trying to get in the building to cast my vote. I’m sure it’ll be a circus next November…

Oh, and watch the debate tonight on CNN at 7pm EST – should be a doozy. The last couple Democratic debates have been entertaining. I’m not sure how much I actually learned about each candidate during them, but it was interesting to see how different each of their styles are.

I’m starting a new website. I’m still going to keep blogging here, and keep lawver.net as my personal presence on the ol’ it-ner-net. The new site will hopefully be something else, something larger than just my family. It will hopefully become a community, large enought o influence things and diverse enough to stay honest.

Cryptic, huh? To clarify, ok, wait, to start to clarify I have to explain something else. I’ve been watching with a lot of interest the political process for the past couple years. I’ve moved around a little on the political map trying to define myself by a party, a candidate or a group. I figured out recently that I’m going about it all wrong. I don’t belong to one single party, candidate or group. I realized that the way things work today in politics is wrong. I have a sneaking suspicion that things have always worked this way, and people (or just me) are now waking up to it because we have access to vast new quantities of timely data, and a cacophony of new voices. We see things as they happen, before anyone can grab ahold of them and put their spin on it. Politics is not about right and wrong. It’s not about doing what’s best for the people politicians represent. It’s about power (thanks, Dawson, for helping me clarify that). Because money is so integrally tied to politics, money equals power. Those with money get things done, whether they’re individuals, corporations or large, well-organized groups. I realized that I am no represented. No matter who I vote for, they’re probably owned by those donors or by a party who’s only interest is the collection of power.

The political landscape is in sad shape. Maybe it’s always been that way, and I’m just waking up to it. Either way, it disgusts me in a way I’ve never felt before. I’m angier than I’ve ever been about anything in my life. I have a feeling that I’m not the only one. They say that the country is polarized between Right and Left. I think that for a very vocal minority, that’s true. I think for a good portion of the country, they could care less. For everyone else, which I have a feeling is a very large percentage of the country – the so-called “silent majority” that both parties try to claim – we feel helpless and unrepresented because the parties have moved so far to the deep corners of the political spectrum and are beholden to groups that we just can’t stomach supporting.

Now that I’ve told you how I feel, let’s talk about what I want to do about it. I want to create a community. I don’t want a community defined by political parties, toxic buzzwords or preconceived notions. I want to find the silent majority. I have a feeling that it’s this great chunk of the American populace in the middle places of the political spectrum that’s just waiting to find a way to do something, or so disgusted with the process that they’ve dropped out of it. How do I find this mythical group? Since I’m not a terribly smart guy, or that organized, I’m falling back on what I do. I build websites and applications. Since I don’t have the time right now to learn PHP, I’m relying on software that already exists (Drupal), and trying to tweak it enough to make the site what I want.

I’m hoping the site can turn into a place where people can talk about what’s important to them – the issues that really matter – without resorting to name calling, tired old arguments and party lines. I hope that by honestly discussing issues, we can come to some consensus. If we can find out what the silent majority wants, or at least the things that most of us can agree on (I have a feeling it’s things like campaign finance reform), we might be able to exert some influence on the process. I want politics to be about the greater good – independant of campaign donations and bought influence. I think the internet is the way to pull it off. The web allows for instant and cheap communication, and communities independant of geography. It allows for connections that none of us thought possible even 10 years ago.

I’m planning on launching the site in the next couple of weeks, once I get the templates and features ironed out. I have no expectations for this project – just hope. I hope it turns into something useful, powerful and real. I hope it becomes something larger than just a couple people shouting into the void. I really hope it becomes a community, and that community can come together behind common goals and get things accomplished. I don’t know what those things are yet… but I want to find out. If you’re interested in helping out, drop me an e-mail, or better yet ping this post or leave a comment.

More coming at some point (maybe not, I’m not afraid of failure at this point, just never starting) on this, but this community thing I’m trying to start? It’s more of a quest for community. It’s a quest to find the absolute political middle of my country. Right now, I believe the following things about the political landscape today:

• The Republicans and Democrats are more concerned about winning than being right.

• The right and left in this country are worried about the loudest and most loyal of their constituencies. Those groups are not moderate, and are not usually willing to compromise with the other side.

• This means that the majority of Americans – those a certain distance from the middle – are under or unrepresented by the folks they elected.

• The two party system means that those candidates that get party support are not going to be moderate for the most part. They’re going to be the ones who can raise the most money from the party’s loyal constituents.

• The moderates in this country are unorganized, misled and getting the shaft.

• It’s not wrong to compromise.

• Being right is more important than winning.

• The under-represented middle will decide the election in 2004 – and if they don’t get their act together, we’re going to get screwed again.

• It’s not wrong to be a moderate. Moderation is good. Good ideas are more important than who came up with them.

There are lots of things that led me to realize these things… and lots of pieces of information and events that led me to these conclusions. What does it mean? It means I want to find a way to find those in the middle, find out what’s important to them, find what we can all agree on, and if we can’t agree on everything – find those things that are important to us and start a conversation.

I know, it’s crazy. It’s insane. It’s too big to even think about starting. I’ve downloaded several open source content management systems, have installed several and am still looking. I know… geek’s answer: software will solve everything. But, it’s where I start. Got any suggestions? Am I as crazy as I think I am?

I watched the debate last night, after a long day of doing nothing (God bless vacation time!). Here are my impressions:

• I’m sorry Bob Graham dropped out, but not too much. He seems like an honest and reasonable guy, but he didn’t really strike me as presidential in the debates I watched.

• In 2000, I didn’t like either choice – Gore or Bush. I liked McCain, but he dropped out in South Carolina, and left us with W. But, of the nine Democrats left in the race, there are real differences between the candidates, and they are polar opposites of our current President. It’s exciting to watch.

• To me, Howard Dean is losing ground. Maybe it was just this debate, but he’s starting to look a little wooden, and I’ve heard all of his answers before. I don’t know if it’s just Dean Burnout, but he’s slipping in my mind.

• Wesley Clark is moderate enough to win against Bush, but not liberal enough to win the nomination. That’s a little depressing, but unfortunately a fact of life. Apparently, to win the nomination, you have to go way out on the left, and then spend the rest of the campaign swimming against the current to get back to the middle. I think that the Democrats need to start that transition now. Bush is not a moderate, and his actions are eroding his support in the middle. If the Democrats speak to the middle and not the party faithful now, they get a head start on next year, and we can pick a candidate that will energize the moderates in this country, who make up an overwhelming majority of the voters in this country.

• This debate format sucked. I could try to say something intelligent about it, but I’m not awake yet.

• Sharpton was flatter than in other debates.

• Speaking of moving to the middle, Kucinich needs to drop out soon. No matter what the question, he comes back to the “I voted against the war. I’m the ONLY ONE!!” line, and the even worse “Bring our troops home now!” Kucinich is interesting, but too far out on the fringe to do anything in the race. He needs to drop out.

• I don’t think we’ll see too many more folks leave the race until New Hampshire, although I could see Moseley-Braun and Kucinich leave before then.

• For winners? I think Kerry and Gephardt gave their best performances, and Gephardt for the first time actually looked like he had some fire. Kerry gave his most fiery performance and, in my mind, pulled even with Dean and Clark.

I’ve been thinking about each candidate, their strengths and weaknnesses, and may write up what I see in the near future if I can find the time. Oh, Lazyweb, does such a thing already exist?