Joe Biden, Sarah Palin

Last week, both the Democratic and Republican candidates picked their running mates. This is important, on both a government and election level.

We ARE talking about a member of the cabinet, after all. A part of government. I mean, look at Dick Cheney's ill-fated level of involvement with Bush's first term. That turned out to be a very important choice, one I wish we'd looked at more closely in 2000.

The VP can also be shown to "balance a ticket," as both McCain and Obama have done. Obama chose the veteran Joe Biden, with the numerous years of Washington experience that Obama lacks. McCain chose Sarah Palin, a first term Governor from Alaska, who brings youth and a sense of progressive inclusion.

I honestly think the election aspect of a Vice President is overhyped. It's important...but really, I don't think it'll sway the election. McCain and Obama are offering two distinct roads, and this is a moment in history where we find out what America really thinks. That will not be influenced by "youth" or "experience" in their choice for VP.

On a side note, the Libertarian Party is on the Ohio ballot now, whic is an interesting twist. The Green Party is now suing for the same ballot access based on the court decision last month that let the Libertarians in...let's see what happens.

3rd Parties

Since digging through the websites of the two national parties last week, I've been doing some searching and some reading on 3rd parties you can find here in Ohio. It's really about time we had some viable alternatives.

Bear in mind...these lists and write ups are not endorsements...just trying to give you a heads up on what else is out there. They're also listed in the order I found them...no special preference. I will confess that in some cases you might be able to read my actual thinking on the party and it's beliefs...sorry, but I'm human and do my own editing.

• There's the Green Party. Their introduction reads "The Green Party is composed of grassroots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, nonviolent resisters, and regular citizens who've had enough of corporate-dominated politics. Our goal is to be the electoral wing of the nation-wide movements against war and corporate power." They also give a list of their Ten Key Values to show how they differ from other parties.
  
• There's also the American Reform Party. The main page has a long list of goals over a variety of subjects from economy to health care to immigration. Some of them include normalization of ties to Cuba, a single-payer national health care, and cracking down on immigration.
  
• Then we have the Constitution Party. This looks like a pretty robust website, and one of the first things you see is a news reader that says (at the time of this writing) a blurb about the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Not in a positive way. There's also a lot of anti-Huckabee language on here. They list seven principles of the Constitution and their interpretation of them (ie, Family = Husband, wife, plus children; Life = Protection from conception to natural death).
  
• Following them, we have the Independent American Party. The main page seems to be pretty much a blog, with little articles and stuff like that. They have a long bullet point list of purposes, ranging from "To restore our Constitutional Republic, restore Constitutional Law, and restore all rights, liberties, and properties rightfully belonging to the people and to the states" to "To preserve and honor our Judeo-Christian heritage, and the rights of all religions."
  
• The Libertarian Party seems to be all about getting on the ballot, according to the home page. Their six principles seem to revolve around tiny government and personal responsibility. "#2 Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own." "#5 Sound policy requires that we consider long-term effects and all people, not simply short-term effects and a few people."
  
• Next up is the Natural Law Party, which evidently has no current national-level activity. I looked into their history and explanation a bit...near as I can surmise (and I welcome correction if I'm wrong) it looks like they're based on the principle that natural laws (eg, gravity) don't change, and we should thus adjust public policy to be more in line with them. Their statement of purpose is straight forward, but I'm already out of space.
  
• While it's not a party per se, Independent Voting did show up in my searches. The organization has a stated goal of making independent (non GOP or Democrat voters) more of a driving force in politics. Their efforts include a magazine, legal and monetary support to local independent activists and organizations, and a general dissemination of information. Probably the best website I saw during this search.
  

...and Now for Some News...

Solider Loses Custody of Child Because of Iraq Tour, from NPR

Gunman at Northern Illinois University Named, from NPR

Kenyans to Review Polls, from BBC

Kosovo Pledges to Protect Minorities, from BBC

Parents, Principals, and Teachers Working Together, from WCBE

Cincinnati Neighborhood Summit Saturday, from WVXU