Democratic Nomination

I applaud Hillary Clinton for sticking it out this far. It takes quite a bit of guts to hang in there when everyone is telling you to get out. I do respect her ability to stick to her guns and keep pressing forward.

But...it's over. Very over.

She's done well enough to drag this out. Each time she needed a victory to survive, she's gotten it. I'm not sure how, since the more I've learned about Clinton the less I've wanted her to get the nod.

I'm still behind Obama. I think his unwavering poise (contrasted with Clinton's "You always give me the first question!" whining in the debates), his ability to talk tough truths (telling a teacher's union they'll have to accept merit pay, for instance), and the way he hasn't really run from anything (denouncing Wright as a wild and crazy man with misguided views, admitting his campaign has been too negative).

I hope Hillary has plans to bow out before the convention, mayhaps at the end of this month. I really don't want to see a divided party as the end result of this insane year of primaries, because that's precisely what John McCain wants.

What's wrong with John McCain? Not a whole lot...except he's absolutely not enough of a course correction after Bush. Eight years ago, McCain would have been fine I believe. Right now, we need to pull a 180 degree turn and McCain is not up to that task. Sorry bud.

A Closer Look at Clinton

Since she isn't my favorite, I'll look at her first. Here are a few stances she has on her issues.

Clinton:


War in Iraq: Near as I can tell, didn't vote for the war PER SE, but voted for authorization because the Administration apparantly mentioned they'd try and use diplomacy first. As far as ending the war, she says she'll do it, starting phased redeployment (wow that's a loaded term) within the first 60 days of her administration.


Education: Clinton issues a press release about NCLB I found on the Senate website (yay Google!). It says essentially that it's a wonderful thing, but now it needs to be revamped based on what's happened in the last five years and then funded appropriately. I didn't see much in the way of college level positions, but really...if we're doing a good job at the high school level, the kids will be able to get into college.


Bipartisanship: Every candidate talks a big game about bipartisanship, because all the polls tells them we're sick to death of partisan bickering. I couldn't find any specific statements about this from Clinton. I also can't remember any big across-aisle reaches from her (I could be wrong there). I do know she makes conservatives foam at the mouth (for reasons I don't really understand...) and that's not conducive to getting things done.


Diplomacy: That same article I cited under ending the war in Iraq mentions quite a bit about diplomacy as part of her rebuilding plan. If that is any indicator on how her diplomatic efforts in other ends of the world, it makes quite a bit of sense. Also, the campaign ads I've been seeing (since she HAS to win in Ohio, more or less) mentioned an "end to cowboy diplomacy," which I'd be ok with.




...And Now for Some News...

Obama Wins Mississippi Primary, from NPR

Governor Spitzer Resigns in Scandal, from NPR (he was caught by the same tactics he pushed for as NY Attorney General...irony, eh?)

British Air Strike Kills Afghan Civilians, from the BBC

Rwandan Priest Gets Life Term on Appeal, from BBC

Columbus Appoints Homeless Advocate to Mayor's Office, from WCBE

Union Vote at Ohio Hospitals Called Off, from WVXU

Columbus Government

Since I've moved, it's time to get acquainted with a new set of government officials. Let's start with the Mayor of Columbus and the City Council.

The city's website is pretty simple: http://www.columbus.gov/. I love it when it's that simple. The main page here has all kinds of links that are just pretty spiffy. The central features have some interesting news bites...hrm. Have to look into that.

The Mayor's Page has a lot of the same information as the main city page, but also has contact info for the Mayor.

The City Council has a main page, that branches off into all sorts of information about the council and it's individual members.

City Attorney has his own page.

As does the City Auditor.

Clerk of Courts has her own webspace.

And a list of Judges.



I think that covers it all. Now to update my sidebar links...



...and Now for Some News....

McCain, Clinton Win in Florida, from NPR

Army Balks at VA Help for Soldiers, from NPR

Afghan MPs Back Death for Blasphemy, from BBC

EU Leaders Call for Transparency, from BBC

Organizations Worried Over State Budget Troubles, from WVXU

Displeasure 3x!

Three things have really, really disturbed me today:

1. Bush, making a tour of the Middle East with an apparant aim of starting World War Three
2. Obama, Clinton, and Edwards wasting time on a ridiculous point of history
3. Blogger not letting me into my account all day for unknown reasons.

First of all, I had to shut off NPR's Morning Edition this morning because of a speech the President made while on his Middle East tour. I couldn't listen to it. He was saying bad things about Iran, and calling on our allies in the area to help stop Iran from doing bad things. Sounds a lot like the run up to a recent unnecessary war. Does Iran sponsor terrorism? Yes. Why? Who cares; it's unacceptable. Is the proper way to deal with it by pissing them off more and instigating war? No. I'd love to see our country try to use actual diplomacy, instead of justifying war in advance. I'll be writing letters over this.

I again killed the radio a couple hours later after listening to coverage on the tiff between Obama and Clinton over who deserves credit for the Civil Rights Act. As soon as I realized Obama was accusing Clinton of downplaying MLK's role in the civil rights act, I shut the radio off. The clip I heard of Hillary's statement praised LBJ, yes. For passing a piece of legislation, which . I didn't hear praise for being the father of the whole movement. Even if she HAD said words to that effect...why would Obama debate such a ridiculous point? Dr. King is the undisputed father of that Act, of the whole movement no less.

I learned in high school that when someone made a ludicrous statement, you ignored it. This would have served both candidates well.

As for Edwards trying to put in his two cents on the issue, I'm not going to touch that. Politicians...really do disgust me.

At this rate, I'll be voting for John McCain.

Blogger? Whatever. I got in at last, and really...it's small potatoes compared to the rest of this.