May 29, 1997
My trip to San Francisco....due to its length, it has a page all to itself.
June 16, 1997
The First Amendment, version 1.0.1?
Like a bad meal that won't stay put, the famous "Flag Burning" amendment has once again been resurrected as a cheap and easy way for Representatives to show how patriotic they are by proudly standing on the side of the Apple Pie, Motherhood, and the American Flag.
Too bad they are not true "to the Republic for which it stands" which last I checked included freedom of expression. Interestingly enough, the proposed amendment bans "desecration" of the flag, without bothering to define either "desecration" or "the flag." I guess if this amendment passes, we'll have to endure another conservative bogeyman, "judicial activism" as courts try to figure out if your star-spangled boxer shorts constitute a flag, and if accidentally soiling them after hearing about this amendment constitutes "desecration"
Personally, I think that every Congressman who voted for this silly amendment is guilty of desecrating the flag by wrapping themselves in it while making a mockery of the very ideals the flag supposedly represents.
April 15, 1997
Today is tax day, and I must dispel the myth propagated by conservatives that us liberals love taxes...I hate paying them, they stink...but I also hate paying money to the dentist every 6 months! The big question is whether the system can be made fairer...I believe the answer is "yes," but conservative proposals for big tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans is not the way to do this!
Speaking of conservatives, their latest "hot-button" issue is those crazy judges...under a proposal by House Majority Whip TomDeLay, federal judges guilty of "judicial activism" (read: decisions conservatives don't like) should be impeached. Add this to the intellectual respectability in conservative circles of Robert Bork's crackpot idea of having letting Congress overturn Supreme Court decisions by majority vote, and see the signs of a movement slowly descending into extremism.
If "respectable" conservatives like Bork and DeLay don't scare you enough, check out the latest on the militia movement. Since the flood of publicity about militias died down over a year ago, you can be forgiven if you assume they have slinked back into the fringes of American life...far from it, the militia movement is bigger, better organized, and more active than ever as they penetrate more areas of American society. Check out this chilling report from US News magazine for details.
The required "Ellen" commentary: It is a historical moment that will happen April 30th, but from of all this hype two truths remain: hundreds of Americans are coming out every day to their families and friends, which in the end is more profound and courageous than a celebrity being on the cover of Time magazine and secondly, "Ellen" isn't that funny of a show, lesbian or no lesbian.
The best album of this year so far is U2's "Pop." It lives up to the hype, it gets better every time I listen to it...don't be put off by the song "Discotheque," it is the worst on the album...why it was released as a single I don't know. But many of the other songs are stirring and profound...and dare I say it, beautiful. The final track, "Wake Up Dead Man" is possibly one of U2's best songs ever lyrically and musically. Try it, you'll like it.
January 28, 1997
It has been a while...since Thanksgiving to be exact. I have been pretty lax in writing lately, and for that I apologize...I have been kind of burned out on politics to tell the truth. Anyway, no grand theme to this letter, just a few bursts of thought...
The meter on my "Sorry I voted for Clinton" dial is slowly inching upward. This time, it is his Gestapo-like tactics to try and intimidate doctors and patients in California and Arizona from using marijuana to relive the pain of diseases like cancer and AIDS. Clinton needs to yank the chain on his out-of-control drug "czar" and teach him to heel! I would expect this kind of outrageous behavior from a Dole administration...I wonder who really won the election?
If you get a chance, check out TurnOUT!, a new "sister site" to Turn Left that is designed to be a "one-stop shopping" site for links to gay and lesbian political activist sites on the web. It is starting out small, but recall that Turn Left started out as a single page of links.
On that subject, Turn Left recently celebrated it's 2 year anniversary. It has gone from being the aforementioned single page of links to the hip, suave, and oh-so-cool site it is today. Thanks to everyone who visted. I have enjoyed running the site, but what keeps it going isn't the popularity or the awards, but rather the people who I have met via Turn Left. Turn Left has acted as the conduit to bring some very special people into my life over its 2 years, and that has been the most rewarding thing about it!
I saw the re-mastered Star Wars last weekend...it was unbelievably cool, especially since it was the first time I have seen it on the big screen. Check it out....and imagine that Darth Vader is your favorite conservative!
November 26, 1996
"Things to be Thankful For"
Thanksgiving and the holiday season is upon us, and this time of year it is good to look back at things that we can and should be thankful for as the year 1996 draws to a close, in totally random order...
Bob Dornan is now a former member of Congress
Kerry, Harkin, and Wellstone retained their Senate seats
There are more openly gay citizens holding public office in America than any time in history
In spite of an overall drift to the right of the country, liberal ideals such as protecting the environment, opposition to racism, and consumer protection are now entrenched in society as a whole.
There has now been peace in Bosnia for a full year
The electricity works (this one is for you, residents of Cleveland and Kansas City!)
The Religious Right's ascent onto the American political scene is over, and the backlash is beginning.
Freedom of speech was protected on the Internet as a result of ACLU v Reno.
The way conservatives sputter helplessly with rage when they try to comprehend why Clinton was re-elected.
Macintosh computers, without which we would still be typing things like c:\MYDIR\FILES\LETR2DON.DOC to open files and run programs.
REM, for coming out with the best new album of the year.
America, for giving us the freedom to thank God for a good year.
America, for giving us the freedom not to thank God for a good year.
Public schools, the engines of democracy.
The Internet, for giving one person in the isolated center of the country the ability to publish to the whole world.
There are thousands of public servants, from firefighters, to police officers, to public health inspectors, to social workers, to nurses, to everyone in between whose job it is to protect us, and who do an admirable job of it.
All of the organizations such as the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Human Rights Campaign, and others who are fighting to protect and enhance our freedom.
"Congress shall make no law..."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
Progress
November 6, 1996
"Clinton's Victory a Victory for America"
Yesterday the voters of America said yes to Clinton. More importantly, they said no to many things as well...
NO, to the radical religious right, which saw their presidential candidate go down to defeat, lost an highly-touted initiative in Colorado, and in spite of spending more money on this campaign than ever, are further away from achieving their agenda than they were before November 5.
NO, to the extremes of the GOP. These self-proclaimed revolutionaries saw their agenda of cuts in education, medicare, the environment and consumer protection come crashing down as the American people elected a President who specifically ran on a platform of defending America from such plans.
NO, to the pundits and self-righteous hypocrites and conspiracy-mongers on the right who tried to move the race from focusing on the issues of America's future and instead tried to tar Clinton, and by association liberalism, with scandal.
NO, to gimmicky tax schemes and economic snake-oil. The American people want a honest balanced budget with real deficit reduction, as Clinton has proposed and accomplished.
NO, to bigotry. By electing a President who has resisted the call to jump on the "abolish affirmative action" bandwagon, a President who stands for equal rights for all Americans, regardless of skin color, ancestry, sexual orientation, or religion.
What did the voters say yes to?
YES, to economic growth. The economy has boomed during Clinton's first term and people want to keep a good thing going. They realized that Clinton is good for the economy as a whole, and by extension their pocketbooks as well.
YES, to sensible, achievable liberal legislative goals. The American people have shown that while they rightly mistrust the grand social schemes of the Left and Right, they do support moderate, bi-partisan efforts at improving education, health care, the environment, the minimum wage, and other liberal concerns.
YES, to Clinton as leader of the free world. Foreign affairs is not usually on voters minds. But people know that Clinton has been a fine President when America has been called on to lead the world and will be again.
YES, to the environment. In re-electing Clinton, the American people have shown that they want clean water, air, and national parks to pass on to their children.
YES, to education. In choosing a President committed to education and educational opportunity for all Americans over a candidate who advocated cutting education, the American people have shown they care about their childrens' future.
YES, to the future. The American people have shown that they have the same spirit of their ancestors, a forward-looking vision that Bill Clinton embodied. They voted for the bridge to the future, not to the past.
September 13, 1996
"You must fight a battle many times to win a war"
The war is progressing nicely. Over 500 of America's largest companies now provide benefits to domestic partners, both of the same and opposite sexes. Even the ultra-conservative Coors Brewing Company has joined the bandwagon. In this triumph of both morality and capitalism, businesses are doing this because not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes economic sense as well. It is no coincidence that America's most competitive, growing and dynamic industry, computers and electronics, is perhaps also the most gay-friendly. Nothing succeeds like success, so liberals and anyone who cares about human rights needs to continues to encourage this trend.
However, not all is well. The US Senate voted recently to continue to allow businesses to fire someone simply because he or she is black. In other words, the mere fact that someone is a black is grounds enough to fire them, no matter what the circumstances, and it is all legal. A few states now have protection so that black people don't have to worry about being fired for the color of their skin, but so far only nine states have this protection.
Meanwhile, on the floor of the US Senate, distinguished Senators spoke of the many Biblical and social reasons to allow discrimination against blacks. Some citied appropriate passages from the Bible, others said that a law protecting blacks from discrimination would require that even those people who had a strong and rational dislike of blacks would be forced to hire them!
A few Senators said that similar arguments were used when a law was passed to prohibit sex discrimination against women, but opponents of allowing blacks the same rights said that it would dishonor the struggle of women for their deserved civil rights to allow blacks, too, these rights.
An aside on the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" . . . Newt Gingrich, when asked why he voted for this said that he did so "to protect the sanctity of marriage." One wonders if he was referring to his first or his second marriage . . . likewise, Senator Byrd of West Virginia said that to legalize gay marriage would undermine the entire basis of Westen Civilization. Those exact works were used in the debate over inter-racial marriages in the early 1960s. The more things change, the more they stay the same. America clearly isn't ready for "gay marriage" yet, and it will be up to the courts to drag a reluctant nation along, similar to how they did with Brown v Board of Education in 1954. Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
August 12, 1996
Jack Kemp...the right man for the GOP but the wrong man for America. . .
Dole and the GOP made a brilliant move with Jack Kemp. He is everything Dole is not; articulate, energetic, telegenic, and most of all, young and athletic. He will certainly energize both wings of the party. He has good credentials as a moderate conservative, one who actually cares about people, and he also is anti-abortion enough to satisfy the raw-meat portion of the Grand Old Party. Short of Colin Powell, Kemp is the best person for the GOP, and it is time for the Democrats to stop coasting and get down to business with their new, formindable opponent, without sounding desperate, like some did this past weekend.
That said, while Kemp is great for the GOP, he is bad for the country. Kemp is a strong supply-sider economically, and he will only succeed in further pulling Dole away from the real fiscal conservatism that Dole used to exhibit when he had a spine. That Kemp, an articulate and seemingly intelligent man can so fully believe in the utterly disproven and illogical ideas of trickle-down economics bodes poorly for our children's future should Dole-Kemp win office. The Democrats will have to make this contrast clear: during Clinton's watch, the economy is at its strongest since the 1950s, the budget deficit is the lowest since before Reagan, and the nation is doing well financially. Important thing is, we already tried supply-side, and it was a failure. It is sad that a smart man like Kemp hasn't learned from America's mistakes, and it is even sadder that Bob Dole has thrown his dignity and 30 years of fiscal responsiblity away on a spin of the roulette wheel.
July 26, 1996
"Suppose you were a Member of Congress. Suppose you were also a fool. But I repeat myself" - Mark Twain
Mark Twain uttered those words over a century ago; perhaps he was anticipating the 104th Congress, which spends most of its time coming up with inane, unconstitutional, and just plain ridiculous pieces of legislation. In addition to the well-known folly of the Communications 'Decency' Act, the 104th has distinguished itself by allowing members of industrial lobbies actually write their own legislation, accepting record amounts of special-interest money, and voting to cut off or severely reduce funding for such popular programs as environmental protection, PBS, AmeriCorps, and consumer safetly laws among others.
Most recently, the fine 104th (aided by our somewhat spineless President) passed into law the Defense of Marriage Act, which in addition to denying over 20 million Americans their rights also sets up a Constitutional crisis with regard to the "Full Faith and Credit" clause of the Constitution. One or the other has to give: either gay marriages performed in Hawaii must be legal everywhere, or 2 centuries of Constitutional precedent will be overthrown, and states can begin ignoring each other's laws and citizens' legal statuses will vary from state to state.
Finally, going for the gold in the Bonehead Olympics, an English-Only bill came out of committee and headed to a vote it will most likely pass. The law specifies that all official documents must be in English except for emergencies. I suppose the Republicans who voted for this bill (and they were most GOPers) want America to be like France, where official government agencies control what languages are spoken, and it is illegal to have certain signs in a "foreign" language. Perhaps the Republican Central Committee will decree that non-English text is "ungood." Some proponents of this bill say that multilingualism is breaking America down. We'll probably go down the tubes just like the strife-filled streets of Switzerland, where they have three official languages.
In spite of the recent terrorist bombing of TWA Flight 800, flying is still several hundred times safer than driving. Just a thought. Americans will have to ask themselves "what price security?" Israel, one of the biggest terrorist targets ever hasn't had a hijacking or bombing in decades due to their stringent security measures. So it can be done. The price is 3-hour waits at the airport and very vigorous and intrusive security procedures.
It was pretty cool watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics where all the nations paraded. I'm sure it gave conservatives fits seeing all this peace and harmony, but I enjoyed seeing every nation of the world come to one place in peace. Even our most hated enemies, such as Iraq, Iran, Libya, and North Korea came in peace, at least for 2 weeks.
June 18, 1996
I am increasingly frustrated and disappointed by our President. While I believed and continue to believe that Whitewater is a purely partisan witch-hunt, I am very concerned with the reports of the White House requesting files on its politcal enemies, a disturbingly Nixonesque thing to do. I have one question for whatever staffers thought to do this: what were you thinking?! The White House right now is teetering...the FBI files thing might be the fire that makes the partisan smoke of Whitewater become thicker. Clinton's 6 month joyride in the polls is over...it is time for him to re-capture the reason we voted for him 4 years ago; only time will tell if it is too late. Clinton still has a lot going for him, a cruising economy, and the fact that Dole is still old and boring with no ideas. It remains to be seen if in November I will be voting for Clinton or against Dole.
Good to see that Yeltsin is surging in Russia. He looks good heading into their runoff election. I am under no pretenses that he is some kind of great guy, but he isn't a Stalinist, and he will more or less keep Russia on heading down the road it is on now. I suppose, like in the US, Russian voters have to choose the best of a weak lot. Why is it that elections everywhere always seem to be like this?
With all the talk of the Presidential race, it is worth remembering that we will be electing the House and more than 1/3 of the Senate this fall. Things look much better for the Democrats then they did a year ago. Hopefully, most of the extremists will be voted out, and more moderate Republicans and Democrats voted in. I just hope Democratic fortunes don't peak too soon; the only poll that matters in in November. Between now and then, candidates will have to remind voters that it is the conservatives who want to put more guns on the streets, censor the Internet, wreck environmental laws, and prevent a raise in the minimum wage for working families. Some sharp campaign commercials could be made on these issues!
June 3, 1996
Well, the most awaited trial verdict in the last half-century came in last week. Well, if you are a Republican conspiracy theorist, maybe. For the rest of us, it was a big yawn. I am of course referring to the Whitewater trial. If the fact that Bill Clinton was once friends with a crook make him one too, then Dole should quit his race for President right now...remember, he was once a leading shill for America's biggest political crook of all time, Tricky Dick Nixon! The big scandal in DC right now isn't what a friend of a friend of Bill did 20 years ago in Arkansas, it's the enormous walking conflict-of-interest known as Ken Starr, chief inquisitor of the Whitewater investigation. Does the phrase "fox guarding the henhouse" ring a bell?
Netanyahu won the election in Israel...a big dissapointment to anyone striving for peace. However, we must respect the democratic decisions of our friends, and continue our work as mediator. Netanyahu has been putting out good signals regarding peace as of late, and we should give him a chance to make good on them. Hopefully his campaign rhetoric was just that, campaign rhetoric. Time will tell.
Dole, getting desperate, has been trying hard to play the "character" card in the Presidential race. And it is only the beginning of June! My prediction now is that this will be the most uncivil and vicious campaign in the history of American politics, one which will make the smearing of 1988 look clean in comparison. Desperate men do desperate things. Once Dole starts hitting hard, Clinton will as well, and the battle will be joined. It is sad that a respected elder statesman such s Dole has already started to sink so low. He knows that he cannot win on the issues that actually affect Americans. How low will he go?
Turn Left continues to expand. We've recently welcomed nationally-syndicated columnist Norman Solomon on board. He will be contributing his weekly column on the right wing media bias. In addition,
Liberals United is sponsoring a new weekly column of mine, which you may have seen on Turn Left, called (duh!) Turn Left Weekly which every week will contains hard data, quotes, and other information backing the progressive cause. Finally, our interactive system has been upgraded and is now much faster and better than before. Turn Left remains the most popular of the independent non-commercial political sites on the web, and I thank you all for helping make this happen!
May 1, 1996
Is there reason to be hopeful again in the Middle East? The recent cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as the PLO finally removing the call for Israel's destruction from its charter are positive steps. Israel's ruling party responded in kind by passing a resolution accepting the idea of a Palestinian state, and Israeli troops will withdraw from the last major town they occupy in the West Bank, Hebron. Peace is ever so fragile, however. Radicals on either side do not want peace...Pseudo-Islamic (pseudo because real Islam does not teach people to blow up civilians) guerillas could strike again, and Israeli citizens could elect a hard-line conservative government in the upcoming elections. Both of these would be tragedies. For our part, we need to encourage President Clinton to continue the strong US role in the peace process. Peace in the Middle East benefits us all, even those of us living 6,000 miles away.
So gas prices are up by 25 cents or more per gallon, and of course, the Republicans blame the 4.3 cent tax increase in 1993. Of course the oil companies would never engage in profiteeering and price gouging. Never. No way. Right?
On other economic matters, on area where I think there should be bi-partisan cooperation is in states repealing any sales tax on groceries. I grew up in Nebraska, where they have no sales tax on food, and was shocked when I moved to Kansas, where they have a stiff 6.9% tax on groceries. What a horribly regressive tax on a necessity of life! I think both sides should work together in states with such taxes to repeal them. Democrats: repealing this tax helps the poor, Republicans: you never met a tax break you didn't like! Lost revenue could be made up by increasing taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
Any readers from Chicago? I'm visiting the Windy City this summer to see my beloved Cubs play, and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for great brew-pubs (as in places that make their own beer). If you do, I would be much obliged if you could let me know. Beer recommendations are welcome also!
April 1, 1996
No matter how much Coca-Cola or Sony spends on a web site, the most interesting and enjoyable sites on the web are personal home pages. I like seeing pictures of people, reading their opinions, seeing what music they like. Individual home pages are also a great antidote to the corporate mega-sites and self-righteous web design geeks. Personal home pages add a certain down-home style to the web that the million-dollar art school grad-Shockwaved-Java jockeys can't duplicate. For every fortune 500 company setting up shop on the web, there are 1,000 smaller pages that make the web worth being on in the first place. We should not forget that.
Well, there is a reason I finished second-to-last in the office NCAA basketball pool this year...UMass did much better than I expected. Congrats to them for a fine tournament effort. As for my Jayhawks, they were done in once again by their own poor shooting and spotty play. KU is becoming like those old Nebraska football teams (before they bacame double champs), where they team would be great during the regular season then choke when the chips were down. Oh, well, it's baseball season....
And with that, the baseball predictions: AL- Seattle, Cleveland, Baltimore, with New York as wild card. Indians win pennant. NL - Atlanta, Houston, and San Diego, with New York, Chicago, and St. Louis fighting for the Wild Card. Atlanta will win the pennant, and we'll see a rematch of last year's series, but this time Cleveland will win.
I saw a Pat Buchanan speech where he was railing against "godless evolution" and I wondered why we never hear much about "godly evolution?" I believe fully in the proven scientific fact of evolution, but I also think that evolution occured because God designed nature to work that way.
Did you see that Dole made a Freudian slip recently when he admitted to a crowd at a rally that he disliked Clinton personally? How does Dole expect to work with Clinton at all the next 6 months...perhaps he doesn't. One doesn't expect these two to become best friends, but they are both supposed to be working to get something accomplished for the nation, and Dole's whining doesn't help.
March 14, 1996
For those who haven't noticed, the new interactive areas of Turn Left are up and running. Improvements include a fully-threaded message board, chat, and a new interface. Take a look and weigh in with your opinions
Well, Bob Dole has the GOP nomination wrapped up, but thanks to a vibrant Pat Buchanan, we'll still have the pleasure of watching the GOP shred itself to bits. I am eagerly awaiting Pat's big speech in San Diego this summer.
Meanwhile, Clinton continues to look presidential. He made some excellent points about government-private sector cooperation at NetDay last weekend in California, though the required silly photo-op of him and Al Gore pulling wire made me laugh, though unlike certain GOP congressmen, Gore probably knows RJ-45 from RJ Reynolds.
Well, I have my five bucks on Kentucky for the college basketball championship. Their conference title spanking should wake them up and make them a dangerous team. The same happened to Kansas, who ought to shake out of their rebounding funk and make a decent run at the Final Four. The biggest dissapointment will be overrated Massachusetts, who after a few early wins will have to play teams with talent for once.
February 28th, 1996
The Republicans are asking for an open-ended extension of the Whitewater investigation. For a party that is supposed to want frugal government, the Republicans are sure wasting a lot of taxpayers money (over $50 million at last check) on this purely political witch hunt. The Whitewater hearings have now gone on longer than Watergate and Iran-Contra combined (and let's remember, those were genuine scandals!). It is a sad comment on our democracy that the mechanisms of the government are being put to use as a bludgeon to attack politial opponents...I'd expect to see something like this in the old Soviet Union. Maybe Al D'Amato can catch the next flight to North Korea and put his expertise to use where it still would be appreciated.
Speaking of Republicans, how about that barn-burner of a race! Now Forbes has risen from the dead to claim the elusive "front-runner" status with his victory in Arizona. Forbes is actually the most moderate of all the Republican candidates on social issues. Expect the Radical Right to start raising Holy Cain if the Forbes express actually keeps puffing along.
Site news...Turn Left was recently named as the third best political site on the entire Net by IWay magazine, beating out dozens of professionally-produced and lavishly financed sites. I say this not to toot my own horn, but rather to illustrate the power of the Web. I encourage anyone reading this with an opinion to go out and make your own site, to enjoy your Constitutionally protected freedom of speech (which will be secured once again when the courts overturn the repressive law Congress recently passed, but that's another rant).
Someone once said that freedom of the press was guaranteed only to those who own one...and now every one of you with a computer owns your own press...go make use of it!
That being said, not everyone has the time or inclination to set up their own web site...but if you have written something that you want to see posted on this site, please send it in. I've created a new section, the Liberal Militia for third-party essays, stories, and cartoons. So write that opinion piece, and mail it to me. If I like it (and I like a lot of things ;-) I'll post it for the whole world to see, with a link back to your home page or e-mail address so you can receive reader comments. Please send articles in text, WordPerfect, or Word formats. Pictures can be anything (I have a program which reads over 100 graphic formats!).
February 19th, 1996
Well, it is the eve of the New Hampshire caucus, and the Republican candidates are tearing into each other with a viciousness that austounds even me; none of them are above the fray. I have mixed feelings about this whole thing...as a liberal and a Democrat, I am glad knowing that the Republicans are helping re-elect Clinton, but as an American citizen, I am distressed seeing our democracy sink to new lows.
In a race between Clinton and Buchanan, who do you think the Wall Street Journal would endorse? I predict that this mainstay of conservative economic Republican corporatism would probably grudgingly endorse Clinton. And remember, the Wall Street Journal is about as anti-Clinton as a paper gets. Has the world gone topsy-turvy or what!
You may begin to notice some changes on this site as I implememnt some of the new Netscape 2.0 features, such as JavaScript, and eventually frames (as soon as I figure out a reason to have them other than "gee whiz"). As always, I will keep the site looking good for older browsers as well. If you are having trouble viewing any area of Turn Left, please let me know, and if you are using Netscape 2.0, let me know if you like or hate the new features.
User feedback does make a difference...just last week I fixed a bad bug which prevented the front page for showing up on Compuserve's browser. Apparently the long pop-up list I had been using choked their browser, making this site inaccessable for Compuserve subscribers. Thanks to an alert viewer, I was able to fix this!
February 13th, 1996
Well, the Iowa caucuses are in the books, and we can say goodbye to all the Republicans except Dole, Buchanan, Forbes, and Alexander. Buchanan did very well; going into New Hampshire, he has the momentum, and a first-place finish is not out of the question for him. I have a special affection for Pat; not only is he the most interesting and combative of the Republican candidates, but Clinton would beat him by a two-to-one margin!
Turn Left has been mentioned everywhere from Mother Jones to the New York Times, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have been picked as "Wacko Web Site of the Week" by my conservative opposite number, The Right Side of the Web. This is sort of like being called a pervert by J. Edgar Hoover!
I should weigh in with my opinion of the internet censorship bill. It stinks! Both parties failed this test; Clinton, Gingrich, and Dole are equally guilty in my opinion. This bill was created by people with no knowlege of what it is they were regulating, and is a total moral, economic, and social disaster.
February 6th, 1996
Today is February 6th, Ronald Reagan's birthday. As one conservative said, "The American people owe Ronald Reagan a debt that they will never be able to repay." Ironically correct, don't you think? In addition to the huge budget deficits, Reagan left an 8-year legacy of distaster across the American landscape. He caused the savings and loan crash/bailout, costing taxpayers untold hundreds of billions of dollars. He left a legacy of supply-side (voodoo) economics that made the rich richer and poor poorer, and shrank the middle class. Let's also not forget the Iran-Contra scandal, which happened under Reagan's watch. All in all, a debt we will never be able to repay indeed!
I encourage anyone looking for the antidote to Rush Limbaugh to read Al Franken's new book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Once you get past the title and obligatory fat jokes, this book is an extremely humorous and incisive look at politics in America today, and the numerous contradictions within the radical right. Consider it the liberal answer to Rush's books, but much more well-written!
This isn't a computer column (well, it isn't a sports column either, and that hasn't stopped me ;-), but I just wanted to mention to anyone following the popular presses' coverage of the Apple story, "don't believe the hype." There are going to be Macs for a long time to come, and Apple, an 11-billion dollar company isn't going to go "poof". Even in its undisputable weaker condition today, Apple still manufactures excellent computers, and its operating system, the MacOS, retains its ease-of-use and performance edges over Microsoft's Windows95. The superiority of the Macintosh is the only thing Rush Limbaugh and I agree on!
January 28th, 1996
Reagrding the flat tax, I'm all for it, as long as unearned income (dividends, income from stock, etc.) are taxed the same as earned income. To avoid income being taxed twice, any money that is saved or invested should be exempt from taxes, just like 401k savings are today. This way we have the simplicity of a flat tax, and the biggest loophole for fat cats is shut tight!
Without a doubt the dumbest commercial of the year so far is the inane Dominoes "Gus and the Guys" spots. They are so bad I have taken to changing the channel whent hey come on. This is worse than the Pizza Hut Rush Limbaugh commercial of days past!
In the new today, a local militia member (in Kansas City) was arrested for having several explosive devices and detailed plans to (another!) Oklahoma City federal building. According to the article, the "Brigade Commander" of the unit said that the building was one of those secret concentration camps. I was surprised that he didn't mention black helicopters and the New World Order while he was at it. Thankfully the authorities caught this loon in time, but it just goes to show that the militia movement is the single greatest threat to American democracy in the 1990s.
January 15, 1995
The Blizzard of 96....I guest I have to mention it since everyone else has. My take on it: who cares? It's been sunny and in the 40s here in the central US for a week, and the only effect of this storm is that I have to scroll furthur down the page on Pathfinder to read some real news. Not to belittle the consequences for the folks out East, but when Minneapolis or Chicago gets hammered, we don't have to read end-of-the-world stories about it for a week!
Hillary Clinton...never in the history of American Politics has there been such an attempt at character assasination against a first lady as is going on right now. If she were a private citizen, Hillary could win millions of dollars suing her attackers for libel, because there is no truth in any of the accusations against her. Instead, the desperate Republicans, unable to dent Clinton, are attacking Hillary. What's next, a William Safire column saying that Chelsea cheats on her schoolwork or that Socks once attacked a bird?
Super Bowl XXX, Cowboys and Steelers, just like the 70's. I plan on hanging out at the disco, and slipping into a leisure suit to get in the spirit. My pick...another Super Bowl over by middle of the 2nd quarter. I hate the Cowboys, but they are the best this year and will beat the Steelers 38-20.
Interesting debate in Iowa the other night. Dole must of enjoyed it, because everyone was picking on Forbes instead of him for one night. The campaign is becoming more and more shrill as the candidates realize that in a month, the show will be Bob Dole and Somebody Else...and everyone desperately wants to be Somebody Else. Kinda reminds me of rats fighting on a sinking ship.
As you may imagine, I receive lots of e-mail running this site. Today, I received a long letter from a Rush Limbaugh fan in which "His" words were quoted as if from the Bible, with page number and paragraph markings listed in book-verse style. Well, we have freedom of religion, so I just wished this poor soul well.
January 9, 1995
1996 has been here for almost long enough for me to begin remembering to write 96 instead of 95 on my checks, which means that Turn Left is approaching its 1-year anniversary. With your help, Turn Left grew faster than Newt's approval ratings shrank! We are now the largest of the "non-professional" political sites on the Web. Thank you all...and keep checking the What's New page for new additions to the site.
This isn't a sports column, but I have to congratulate my favorite college football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers for winning their second stright Mythical National Championship. Of course, my pro team, the 49ers lost three days laters, but, hey, that's life....and its only 40 days til pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training ;-)
Politics...I am not a big fan of Bob Dole, but he occasionally shows a little principle, as he did in the recent budget/shutdown battle. While Gingrich and the Congressional frosh whined like the babies they are, Dole worked with Clinton to solve this thing, and got an agreement to re-open the government. Meanwhile, the Newtoids are stomping on sour grapes, saying that, well, they just won't fund anything they don't like anyway and they don't have to compromise on anything. Grow up, children!
Stuff from the rumor mill...Rush's TV show ratings have dropped tremendously in the past year, and it may be gone soon. His radio show is still doing OK, though ratings are dropping as well; Kansas City's biggest "Rush Room" was recently closed. Seems there weren't enough patrons anymore to make it worthwhile. Rush is on his way to being the Father Coughlin of the 1990s.
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