When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Saturday, November 02, 2002
If you want cleaner politics and more humane policy, elect a better class of politicians. In Connecticut, my vote is going to Bill Curry for Governor (you too? c'mon to the giant Curry Rally the night before Election Day) and Joe Courtney for Congress.
Courtney-Simmons
I watched the Courtney-Simmons debate in New London last night. It was better run than some, by the League of Women Voters, and it gave each guy as much time on any particular question as he wanted (their time was cumulative, not apportioned to each q&a). Two of three questioners were women! (by contrast, at the Curry-Rowland debate I watched, there were no women in sight anywhere) .
Normally incumbents have an advantage in a debate, since, being in the thick of things, they have naturally a better grasp of legislative issues than an outsider no matter how closely he's been paying attention.
I was impressed: Joe Courtney sounded like an incumbent with his grasp of issues and Rob Simmons the outsider. Courtney, of course, had the advantage of having chaired committees during his time in the CT legislature, while Simmons was on the sidelines.
Do you want more affordable health care/insurance? Vote for Courtney.
Do you want to protect your retirement from plundering financiers? Vote for Courtney.
Do you really want a kinder, gentler nation? Vote for Courtney - you know the last Bush didn't give it to you and this Bush won't.
A little story
When I was studying political science at the University of Connecticut in the early '90s, so was Rob Simmons. We had one or two classes together, and I thought he was a pleasant person, though we disagreed on nearly everything. I was still new at graduate level studies and having a hard time doing all the reading. Rob urged upon me the sandwich method of study, where you read the introduction, the conclusion, and one sample chapter in the middle. That's enough so you can throw out something during class discussion with one or two erudite quotes from the book.
The professor asked our views on an issue raised in this one book (I've totally forgotten the book and the question).One student raised her hand and cited the views of two other authors on this topic, then gave her view. Rob raised his hand and cited the view of another writer, one who, it happened, wrote the foreword or introduction to the book. The professor snaps: I already know what the introduction says! Tell me what you think!
My conclusion: Rob is smart, but definitely not brilliant. He is not erudite. He does little original thinking.
He does what he's told (that's what 30 years of CIA experience does, I guess). The Republican leadership and their campaign coordinators tell him what line to follow and he follows it. Following the line works fine (like the sandwich method) as long no one wants to delve too deeply. Now, most of us are not in a position to delve deeply because we're not involved in the day-to-day policy making. We can't and dont want to know all the details. We have to rely on our elected representatives to know the issues and know what impact legislation will have. We expect better of our elected representatives.
An example of following the party line: Those automated phone calls from 'Laura' that were actually sponsored by drug companies who loved the Republican House bill that didn't do much at all for patients and did a lot for Pfizer... I called Simmons congressional office to complain and the one who answered the phone whined that it had nothing to do with him but wasn't I glad Rob supported campaign finance reform? I called the campaign office and the one who answered the phone whined that it had nothing to do with them either, and wasn't I glad Rob supported campaign finance reform? I snapped at him (sorry, but I did) that this behavior - campaign messages with the responsible committee not giving their name- are already illegal under current law. I snapped at him to call the Republican National Committee and make it stop. I had no doubt they were at least aware of it and probably behind it. The RNC has a 30+ year history of really nasty campaigning. They take a not bad guy and turn him into a mean dirty trickster.They did that with Tony Guglielmo in the early 80s and they're doing it with Rob Simmons.
So... do what you can to get those people out of office. They plan to ruin the country.
I haven't even gotten to the Curry-Rowland race. Out of time and space here. Vote Curry.
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
Support progressive Democrats
If you want cleaner politics and more humane policy, elect a better class of politicians. In Connecticut, my vote is going to Bill Curry for Governor (you too? c'mon to the giant Curry Rally the night before Election Day) and Joe Courtney for Congress.
Courtney-Simmons
I watched the Courtney-Simmons debate in New London last night. It was better run than some, by the League of Women Voters, and it gave each guy as much time on any particular question as he wanted (their time was cumulative, not apportioned to each q&a). Two of three questioners were women! (by contrast, at the Curry-Rowland debate I watched, there were no women in sight anywhere) .
Normally incumbents have an advantage in a debate, since, being in the thick of things, they have naturally a better grasp of legislative issues than an outsider no matter how closely he's been paying attention.
I was impressed: Joe Courtney sounded like an incumbent with his grasp of issues and Rob Simmons the outsider. Courtney, of course, had the advantage of having chaired committees during his time in the CT legislature, while Simmons was on the sidelines.
Do you want more affordable health care/insurance? Vote for Courtney.
Do you want to protect your retirement from plundering financiers? Vote for Courtney.
Do you really want a kinder, gentler nation? Vote for Courtney - you know the last Bush didn't give it to you and this Bush won't.
A little story
When I was studying political science at the University of Connecticut in the early '90s, so was Rob Simmons. We had one or two classes together, and I thought he was a pleasant person, though we disagreed on nearly everything. I was still new at graduate level studies and having a hard time doing all the reading. Rob urged upon me the sandwich method of study, where you read the introduction, the conclusion, and one sample chapter in the middle. That's enough so you can throw out something during class discussion with one or two erudite quotes from the book.
The professor asked our views on an issue raised in this one book (I've totally forgotten the book and the question).One student raised her hand and cited the views of two other authors on this topic, then gave her view. Rob raised his hand and cited the view of another writer, one who, it happened, wrote the foreword or introduction to the book. The professor snaps: I already know what the introduction says! Tell me what you think!
My conclusion: Rob is smart, but definitely not brilliant. He is not erudite. He does little original thinking.
He does what he's told (that's what 30 years of CIA experience does, I guess). The Republican leadership and their campaign coordinators tell him what line to follow and he follows it. Following the line works fine (like the sandwich method) as long no one wants to delve too deeply. Now, most of us are not in a position to delve deeply because we're not involved in the day-to-day policy making. We can't and dont want to know all the details. We have to rely on our elected representatives to know the issues and know what impact legislation will have. We expect better of our elected representatives.
An example of following the party line: Those automated phone calls from 'Laura' that were actually sponsored by drug companies who loved the Republican House bill that didn't do much at all for patients and did a lot for Pfizer... I called Simmons congressional office to complain and the one who answered the phone whined that it had nothing to do with him but wasn't I glad Rob supported campaign finance reform? I called the campaign office and the one who answered the phone whined that it had nothing to do with them either, and wasn't I glad Rob supported campaign finance reform? I snapped at him (sorry, but I did) that this behavior - campaign messages with the responsible committee not giving their name- are already illegal under current law. I snapped at him to call the Republican National Committee and make it stop. I had no doubt they were at least aware of it and probably behind it. The RNC has a 30+ year history of really nasty campaigning. They take a not bad guy and turn him into a mean dirty trickster.They did that with Tony Guglielmo in the early 80s and they're doing it with Rob Simmons.
So... do what you can to get those people out of office. They plan to ruin the country.
I haven't even gotten to the Curry-Rowland race. Out of time and space here. Vote Curry.
Palema
7:34 AM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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