Conservative Party of the U,S,

I was just looking up political parties when I found this, The American Conservative Party. At first I thought they could be, if they got enough public attention, the alternative to the faltering GOP. I started to read their platform page and thought that they were more in line with mainstream public opinion. They believe in small government, of course since they are conservative, that just gets out of people's lives. Unlike the GOP, the Conservative Party believes the government should not be deciding how people live their lives, so the ACP (American Conservative Party) believes that gay marriage is okay and so is abortion since the government should just get out of the way. It was their seemingly liberal social views that made me think they would be more acceptable to the American people than the current conservative party. However, I got to their stance on "Citizen Responsibilities" which kinda freaked me out. They say "Each adult citizen is responsible for the health, education and welfare of himself or herself and their family." If the ACP had their way they would effectively do away with Medicare and Medicaid, public schools and universities, and all forms of government assistance (I wonder if this includes corporate welfare?). I really don't see a party like this ever gaining popular support, and if this is what it means to be a conservative (either the ACP kind or the GOP kind) I am glad not to be one. But it goes on. They believe in preemptive strike, so we can just attack anyone for no reason other than "They looked at us funny!" Their "Education" section calls for the termination of the Head Start program, the Board of Education, and calls for the establishment of an Institute for Educational and Academic Standards which would affectively have no power over anything (talk about the pointless expansion of government). And then in their "Taxes" section they believe a flat tax would be the best option. Honestly, that is horrible. According to economist William G. Gale from the Brookings Institute, a flat tax "would raise burdens on low- and middle-income households and sharply cut taxes on the top 1 percent." Basically a flat tax would screw over the middle class and be a gift to the rich. I really hope these people never win an election...anywhere......ever.....

Stop the Madness

Nearly 147 Afghani people were killed in a U.S. airstrike, many of them women and children, on the wester province of Farah. One of the houses bombed had a family of 13 seeking shelter inside from the attacks, as reported by the Red Cross. President Karzia of Afghanistan said that the airstrikes, which have claimed 552 of the 828 lives lost last year, need to stop. He added further that "Terrorism is not in Afghan villages, not in Afghan homes. And you cannot defeat terrorists by air strikes." Karzia also called for greater support of Afghan forces.

After the strikes nearly 2,000 Afghans protested in the provincial capital demanding the removal of U.S. troops.

For more on this story:

U.S. says Afghanistan civilians killed in airstrikes - Reuters

Up to 150 Afghan Civilians Killed in US Attack on Western Province - Democracy Now!

After US Strikes, Afghans Describe "Tractor Trailers Full of Pieces of Human Bodies - Rethink Afghanistan

We Will Be Heard!

At the first Round Table on Health Care Reform, lead by Sen. Baucus, 8 brave men and women stood up for the American people and made their voices heard. Sen. Baucus invited the normal crowd of HMO lobbyists and not one single voice for single payer. These men and women stood up, and told Sen. Baucus that single payer needs to be on the table. Single payer is the only way to achieve truly universal coverage, and reign in health care costs. Single payer is the solution supported by the majority of Americans and health care professionals. So why aren't we discussing it? It might just have to do with the grip the health insurance agency has on congress, or maybe they just don't care that 22,000 Americans die each year because they don't have health insurance.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Loan Industry Wins, Homeowners Lose.

The Senate recently defeated, with the help of Sen. Landrieu, an amendment to a bankruptcy reform bill that would allow homeowners to negotiate for lower mortgages, thus keeping more families in their homes. Allowing these homes to get foreclosed will damage the value of neighborhoods and put many hardworking families on the streets. But should I have expected differently from a senator who received $2,000,000 in contributions to her campaign from the banking and real estate industry?

Call Sen. Landrieu's office and let her know that you are disappointed with her vote against the amendment.

Link to the story:

Cramdown Vote: Banks Bought Senators on the Cheap - Huffington Post

They're Back

President Bush's Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is trying to cover her and the administration's butt on the issue of torture. Fact is, Bush okayed the usage of torture and there is no excuse for it.

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No More Dead Soldiers!

We are finally seeing some movement to bring an end to what seemed an endless occupation of Iraq, but at the same time as the Obama administration is putting an end to one of the largest mistakes of the Bush era we see Obama taking some major steps in the wrong direction. I'm talking about Afghanistan. We have been in Afghanistan since 2001 (two years longer than in Iraq), and yet no one is talking about it. The war in Afghanistan is just as impossible as the war in Iraq was irresponsible. The purpose of the war in Afghanistan seems to have been an attempt to squash the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and it has been remarkably unsuccessful. With military men and women who have little to no knowledge of the culture or language of the Afghan people, and no way to distinguish between Taliban members and civilians the war has been remarkably unsuccessful in making Afghanistan or the world safer. Too many Americans and Afghans have died in this ghost hunt, and it needs to end. There is, as Afghan war veteran Reyes said, no military solution for what is a political problem. Afghan people are joining the Taliban because of the American military presence which has destroyed their homes and families. They join the Taliban because they face major economic instability in the region. No mount of bloodshed or bullets will end this war. We need to stop throwing away the lives of American servicemen and women, and innocent Afghan civilians.

Here are some educational videos on the situation in Afghanistan and why Obama's escalation of the amount of troops in Afghanistan is not the way to go. The videos contain interviews with Afghan people, veterans of the war, and experts in the region.

For more information about the war in Afghanistan go to

RethinkAfghanistan.com, and click on the button on the

right of this screen.

No Free Ride for Obama

This is my message to all the other liberals out there. Just because Obama is in office now doesn't mean we can give up. In fact, we need to double our actions. Just because we've got a Democratic Congress and we got Obama in the White House doesn't mean our problems will magically fix themselves. We need to make sure we push our Representatives and Senators and Obama in the right direction. We need to remind them that we voted them in to bring the change we need in Washington. Unfortunately we have had a few set backs. Sure, Obama made the move to close Gitmo, but he still seems willing to try them in military courts where they will not receive all the rights that make America....well America. And though Obama has ordered a stop to torture he is unwilling to put the man who gave the okay to the usage of torture on trial. And while Obama has made a solid commitment to put an end to the war in Iraq he is asking for troops in Afghanistan. The Obama administration wants to sign health care reform into law by then of this year, but we have seen them totally ignore single-payer as a solution. We've made a lot of progress, but we can't stop here. We need to be vigilant. We can't back down now that we are here. We've got to be ready to fight for health care reform, an end to these wars, real solutions to the economic crisis, and human rights. We can not afford to give Obama a free ride; it's not enough to just be better than the Republicans, we need to do what's best for this country.

Government is EVIL!

The "recent" Tea Parties and their overwhelming anti-government sentiment has got me thinking, is government really evil? So I've decided to take a look at what the government really does, and see for myself it is really as bad as they say.

One of my friends, you know who you are ;), made the statement once that she could not think of one government program or agency that worked. I, being my liberal self, was taken off guard by such a statement and couldn't believe that she couldn't think of one, I mean not even ONE. I mean there's the ..... uhhh ..... wait.... there's the ...... Okay, so I have a dilemma, as you can see. I couldn't think of any government agencies or programs that were beneficial. So my question, are there any good government programs, or are they all just wasteful inefficient jokes funded by the tax payers dollar?

So I went on search to find good government programs. Turns out my family and I deal with, and in some cases even depend, on government agencies everyday. I attend one of the best schools in the country, and it's made possible because the government funds it. I use electricity, and the FERC makes sure that the electric companies don't charge my family too much money. I know that the water I use is safe because the local government makes sure it meets safety requirements. I can be sure that the food I buy from the store is safe because it meets FDA requirements. I'll be mailing my mother a mother's day card for virtually no cost because we have a nationalized postal service. I can find out what the weather will be like tomorrow because of the National Weather Service. Today we had the fire alarm go off and the fire department came to make sure we were safe, and they are a government provided service. My parents can drive across the state to pick me up on safe roads and bridges constructed by the government. My uncle is receiving treatment in a hospital for his multiple strokes because he is insured by Medicaid. He has access to some of the best medical treatments because of the National Institute of Health, a government agency, and the government's funding of university research. The FDIC makes sure that if my bank goes under that my money is insured. The list goes on and on.

Turns out, the government is EVERYWHERE and you know what I kind of like going to a great school, having my uncle receive the medical treatment he needs, and being able to send my mom a letter for 43 cents through USPS compared to $4 through FedEx. We all go through our daily lives without noticing all the little things we depend on to make our lives easier and safer. Our government has really done a lot of good, and it is agencies like the NIH, which has produced a wealth of medical knowledge, Medicaid/Medicare, which insures the poor and elderly, Social Security, which helps to make sure we can retire and still pay the bills, and so many more that prove that government is not inherently evil. The government is a necessary institution that insures our safety and well being.

I think that if the political right would just take a minuet and look at how it is the government that makes our standard of living possible that maybe they wouldn't be such anti-government crusaders. I mean, the majority of the Tea Parties were thrown in public venues, paid for by tax payer dollars. The protesters were protected by the police, a government agency. I mean really, it is our government and it's spending that made the Tea Parties possible.

For an unapologetic defense of government I would highly recommend GovernmentIsGood.com