Days before the election, President Bush is falling back on a tried-and-true topic for mobilizing the base: fear of gay marriage.
“For decades, activist judges have tried to redefine America by court order,” Bush told a Georgia crowd Monday. “Just this last week in New Jersey, another activist court issued a ruling that raises doubt about the institution of marriage. We believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and should be defended.”
The court ruled that the state must extend to same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits as married couples enjoy, either in marriage or civil unions — it’s up to the Legislature to decide.
In fact, Bush has expressed support in the past for civil unions for gay couples. “I don’t think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that’s what a state chooses to do so,” Bush said in a TV interview in 2004.
But that doesn’t make for a good applause line on the stump.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
I’m not big on voting machine conspiracies, but I was surprised to learn that a small software company with ties to the Venezuelan government — Smartmatic Corp. — owns a leading American manufacturer of electronic voting systems. The company denies that the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has any role in its operations. But Venezuelan authorities picked this little-known company — which didn’t have any experience in voting technology — to replace that country’s elections machinery just before a referendum that confirmed Chavez as president in August 2004, the New York Times reported. The company has since been restructured into an elaborate web of offshore companies and foreign trusts, the Times reported. The company’s acquisition of Sequoia Voting Systems of Oakland, Calif., is now being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviewed the Dubai port deal.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The "radical center" sounds like an oxymoron in the context of our nation’s polarized politics. But Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne (in photo) sees a middle-of-the-road political bloc that could take advantage of any opening that Republicans provide in the midterm elections: "Adventurous policies designed to create enthusiasm on the right turned off a large number of less ideological voters." So with centrists upset with the GOP, he concludes: "This looks to be the year of the radical center. If it is, the Democrats will win. And if they win, their task will be to meet the aspirations of a diverse group of dissatisfied and disappointed Americans. Not an easy chore, but one that certainly beats being in the opposition."
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Bill Cosby isn’t backing off his criticism of some African-American parents. At a forum last weekend in Los Angeles, he said that some parents aren’t involved enough in their children’s education and don’t know what their children are doing, Associated Press reported. "We’ve got parents who won’t check the bedrooms of their children to see if there’s a gun," he said.
Cosby also chided teachers for not doing enough to help kids, especially when they aren’t able to offer clear explanation about why courses such as English and algebra are important.
"If you teach English and you can’t answer this child, then you’re in trouble, and we’ve been in trouble," Cosby said.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The following satirical headlines come from borowitzreport.com:
BUSH PROPOSES MAKING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ‘GUEST WORKERS’; Would Be One-Day Citizens on November 7
BARACK OBAMA IMPERILS DEMOCRATS’ LOSING TRADITION, PARTY MEMBERS FEAR; Dean Reassures Dems: ‘We Can Still Screw This Up’
BUSH: I WILL STAY THE COURSE OF NOT USING THE PHRASE ‘STAY THE COURSE’; But Will Not Cut and Run from ‘Cut and Run,’ President Says
McCARTNEY DIVORCE ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR, EXPERTS FEAR; James Baker Calls Beatle Split ‘A Heckuva Mess’
U.S. CEDES CONTROL OF IRAQ TO JERRY BRUCKHEIMER; Megaproducer to Guide Nation’s Transition to Disaster Film
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
A recent study reported by Pew Internet and American Life project reported Internet penetration increased from 66 percent to 73 percent in American homes between March 2005 and March 2006. The increase may seem small, but consider also there was a 40 percent increase in broadband Internet users, twice the growth rate from the previous years. And people aren’t just viewing content; the study reported that 31 million people, or 42 percent of Internet users, have posted content to the Internet.
This is largely age related as well. More than 51 percent of users who posted information were under 30, and those with annual incomes less than $50,000 were slightly more likely than higher income homes to post information on-line, indicating more of a level playing field. Either that or it’s mostly teenagers posting YouTube videos and MySpace journals.
Posted by Angie Holladay
