One More Reason Why Deval Has My Support:

There's a very good blog on the Globe's coverage on a Deval campaign event in a Dorchester church where Deval faces challenges for his stance on supporting same-sex marriage despite church resistance to it in the community.

However, what the article does not explicate is that he was both gutsy and smart (two traits seemingly lacking his is two opponents) by facing his vulnerability here directly.

From the pulpit, Patrick dealt head-first and quickly with the subject, "I'm going to step into sensitive territory here, because some have tried to discredit me and divide us over the whole question of gay marriage. Don't let that happen."

In this period of Democrats wimps, it's nice to see a candidate that has a little guts and a progressive outlook. Most so-called liberals do everything they can to avoid the label. I think it's high time to start embracing it. If people see that it's not something to be embarrassed about, Karl Rove will never be able to beat a democrat from Massachusetts again, simply because they were from Massachusetts.

Squabbling Over the Governor's Race

I just got this email sent out by a Chris Gabrieli supporter - pleading for Massachusetts Democrats to sign a petition to get him on the ballot (since he didn't enter the race in time for the Massachusetts Democratic Caucus). Interestingly, Gabrieli decided to enter the race after being snubbed by Reilly. Anyway, here's the original email:

Hi,
Attached is a petition to allow Chris Gabrieli ballot access at the Democratic Convention in June. We believe this process can only serve to create meaningful dialogue among qualified and dedicated Democrats who seek to serve the Commonwealth as the next governor, to offer democrats enhanced choices for nomination, and to ensure victory in November.

Please sign and return to
James Donahue
493 Kingsbury Ave
Bradford, Ma 01835

lets give Chris a chance, he is a good Democrat !!!

Thank you

Well, that's not so bad, is it? Apparently, fans of Deval Patrick (and possibly Reilly, but does he have any real fans anyway?) weren't too happy:

The recent actions of the putative leadership of the Massachusetts Democratic Party are quite disturbing. The challenge is to question their actions without the rancor which could jeopardize our efforts to produce progressive leadership in the corner office.

In order to provide an orderly process, through which an individual can be designated as the nominee of the party, the Democratic State Committee promulgated what are known as "rules". For the 2006 election cycle two persons have sought out the Democratic nomination for Governor and, up to this writing, both have followed those rules.

The candidates organized their supporters, attended the caucuses which were open to all enrolled Democrats, and later counted their votes. Individuals at the caucuses mainly sought election by their fellow Democrats as delegates for Mr. Reilly, Mr. Patrick or as uncommitted delegates. It appears that the vast majority of the delegates chose Mr. Patrick.

After the caucuses were complete it appears that some of the party elders were unhappy. For no possible reason other than the disappointment of the few they decided that other candidates should be added.

Okay, so the person who responded clearly isn't too happy. She goes on:

There actually was a process to add persons to the convention who had not chosen to present themselves to the Democrats who attended the caucuses. The person seeking to bypass the grass roots Democrats would have to obtain the signatures of 500 of the 3000 delegates elected to the convention.

But, there was a loophole. A loophole the size of a noose. Beyond the 3000 elected delegates there are several hundred ex officio delegates to the convention. If they could be included in the number of eligible signatures the odds of a late entry would improve. So, in a classic inside move, it was reinterpreted by the few in order to disregard the many.

However, is that what Gabrieli is doing? Does she offer any insight or evidence?

It is my opinion the we should express our displeasure with the process by refusing to sign any document to expand the candidate pool and, redouble our efforts for our personal choice. Both men who played by the rules deserve this action. It is time that the "party fathers" realized that we are not their dependent children but rather their emancipated children. Although we can be found in the field of politics, the grass roots Democrats are not the sheep of the party, we are the shepherds.

Since this is the end of the email, I'm guessing that's a no. Now, I'm a fan of Deval Patrick. I've supported him since the beginning and am very happy to see his candidacy start to take off. He whooped Reilly at the caucus and is a more progressive candidate, plus I like the idea of a minority representing this state as Governor for presumably what is the first time ever.

However, without providing evidence that Gabrieli's candidacy is illegitimate, the email came off as being just as elitist as the '"party fathers"' the writer denounced.

Of course, this isn't the end of the story. Deval Patrick's supporters were in great numbers on this heated email exchange.

"Go Deval!!!" Was a common sentiment.

While I hope the Massachusetts Governors race doesn't become as diluted with democratic candidates as it was four years ago, I think it sets a bad precedent when the progressive candidate's supporters are trying to stamp out a third candidate.

My question: how in the world did I end up on this email list?

Talk about Setbacks!

Massachusetts had the perfect opportunity to do what few states have done (the only other one I can think of is Vermont). No, this has nothing to do with gay marriage. Massachusetts had the perfect opportunity to make sure everyone in the state had health insurance. I actually have to say that it appeared as if Mitt Romney not only was willing to budge on principals that seem out of character, he also seemed desperate for it to pass. I guess that's what happens when you're a terrible governor and need some big peice of legislation to tout as you run for President based on one term as a governor.

In any event, here's the Boston Globe article: It looks as if the Senate President gave up way too early.

Prisoner Torture

No wonder why Bush threatened to veto a bill that would ban torture by the US military. Just read this sorry tale and you'll understand.

Military interrogators posing as FBI agents at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, wrapped terrorism suspects in an Israeli flag and forced them to watch homosexual pornography under strobe lights during interrogation sessions that lasted as long as 18 hours, according to one of a batch of FBI memos released Thursday.

FBI agents working at the prison complained about the military interrogators' techniques in e-mails to their superiors from 2002 to 2004, 54 e-mails released by the American Civil Liberties Union showed. The agents tried to get the military interrogators to follow a less coercive approach and warned that the harsh methods could hinder future criminal prosecutions of terrorists because information gained illegally is inadmissible in court.

Democrats need to seize this information and spread it during the upcoming midterm elections: America cannot stand for torture. This President has abandoned the core values of American Freedom. How dare this President allow - indeed, encourage - torture! We need to gain a majority in both houses of Congress and impeach the corrupt figure-head.

According to the memos, the FBI favored a law-enforcement approach geared toward collecting evidence that could be used later in prosecutions, while military officials preferred a more psychologically and physically aggressive approach derived from counterinterrogation methods taught at the Army's survival school.

The FBI shouldn't be surprised. The administration has no intention of prosecuting any of the prisoners in Gitmo or elsewhere. They're being indefinitely detained, courtesy of the Patriot Act. There's no need to worry about using information gathered in Gitmo through torture in courts when those prisoners will never see a court in their lifetime.

Update: Iraq Turning Uglier

Merely minutes since I posted my previous blog, I find out more than 90 Sunni Mosques have been attacked and at least 50 people killed in reprisal for the destruction of an important Shi'ite holy shrine.

Iraq: Turning Ugly

If America loses support with the Shiite religious leaders, we'll never have the kind of legitimacy in Iraq to create a stable government (not that we have it right now). So, cataclysmic events like this are really bad news.

Here's an Informed Opinion on the situation in Iraq and its disastrous consequences.

Astonishingly, Sistani seems to be threatening to deploy his own militia, Ansar Sistani, if the Iraqi government doesn't do a better job of protecting Shiites and their holy sites. One lesson Sistani will have taken from the bombing of the Askariyah shrine in Samarra is that he is not very secure in Najaf, either. But all we need in Iraq is yet another powerful private sectarian militia!

Needless to say, things are looking bad in Iraq. However, people in America likely feel really bad for what is happening in Iraq. We don't want to abandon the country; a lot of people - maybe even most people - are willing to stick there and fight. Sadly, staying there will have no impact if an American presence has no legitimacy with the Iraqi people. While many would argue we already had no legitimacy, at the very least the country's Shi'ite majority were willing to work with us and its religious leaders accepted our presence and tried to remain out of the fight.

If Shi'ites are drawn into the fight, Iraq will get a lot worse. Right now, America's problems are coming mainly from a small segment of the population - the Sunni minority - which comprises less than a third of the total population. The Shi'ites are about 60% of the total population. If Shi'ite militias begin to fight Sunni insurgents or attack Sunni targets, Iraq will become totally destabilized and America will have no support in Iraq.

It is already to the point that America needs to leave. Iraq must decide it's own fate. When they do, America will owe it to Iraq to completely rebuild the mess afterwards - if Iraqis would even accept our aid. Many Americans will want to help more, but unfortunately there are consequences to actions that people often leave a sour taste. In the future, hopefully America will think twice about invading a country, especially without international support.

Things over at Progress Now

In Today's Heavy Hitter, I wrote about the upcoming Supreme Court case on abortion. My question: why does the Boston Globe use right-wing propaganda as the terminology to describe abortions in the third trimester?

Also, look for stories on Hillary Clinton and her gay opposition, Bush's veto threat, more Senator Santorum hypocrisy and what to call Vice President Dick Cheney (because everyone needs a nickname).

Finally, I'm preparing a big peice I'll be writing over the weekend for Ryan's Take, an in depth and progressive analysis of the current political situation.

Who's Reading?

It's the first time I've checked my site stat counter in a really long time and I thought I'd share some of the results!

Over all, I've had over 600 "unique" visitors - meaning, over 600 different people have visited this website. Of course, that pales into comparison when compared to some blogging behemoths - who get more visitors than that per day - but for an upstart like me, I'm pretty happy about it! Of the 600+, more than 340 people were "first time visitors," meaning they visited the site once. More than 270 were regularly visitors, meaning they visited several times... and this all only after I started counting around September.

I'm going to take this opportunity to thank my readers and promise more in depth analysis on this website. Hopefully, I'll continue to spark some free thought and debate among many of my readers.

Updates and Changes

I've enjoyed keeping up a regularly updated blog and I think I've learned a lot about blogging in the process. I have to say I've been pleased with the fact that some people have stumbled on this site, but I'm looking to expand its audience - if only for kicks and giggles. However, I also like writing certain posts that don't sit well with what blogging audiences typically like. To put it simply, Progress Now has been anything but short and sweet. I've been mulling over what to do and have come to some big conclusions.

Here's my plan: I'm going to keep this website - www.ryanpadams.blogspot.com - and write mainly longer articles that more resemble OP-EDs than blogs. I'm doing it because it's fun for me and it will hopefully spark some healthy debate along the way. However, I'm going to change it's name to Ryan's Take because it's going to remain personal and opinion-oriented.

Furthermore, I'm creating a new blog. I'm really excited about this; it'll replace the old name to this website - progress now - and have a web address that better suits that name: www.prognow.blogspot.com

The updates on the new website are going to be very different. They're primarily going to be short, witty and to the point. Hopefully, I'll draw people to interesting news articles and get some laughs along the way. The purpose will remain the same: to aid in the progressive movement, if only in a small way. I'll point out news articles that both reveal the ineptitude of the neo-con movement and hopefully rally people around intelligent discussions revolving around the progressive movement.

Eventually, I'll also be looking for help running Progress Now with other similarly minded people. I'm hoping to really build an audience on that website. I hope to find people that have diverse interests, yet similar philosophies, to explore a wide range of issues that are important to society.

But I don't live in Palm Beach!

Oh, wait, Ann Coulter... you do!

There is no doubt whatshowever that Ann Coulter lives in Palm Beach. The deed is in her name. Her neighbor is Bill Brooks, a town councilman in Palm Beach who knows her well and sees her across the fence sometimes daily. Her publicist last year confirmed that she was moving because of stalkers and, finally, her lawyer called me last year when I wrote the story about her moving to Palm Beach because she was unhappy we reported the name of the street she lives on. Never mind that it's two miles long and has at least 100 homes on it. And finally, a woman who looks just like Ann Coulter, whose name is Ann Coulter and who acted like Ann Coulter voted in Palm Beach last week.

So, her statement to your reader is absolutely a bold-faced lie.

Say it isn't so!

I just don't know if Orange is her color...

Here's hoping she has an all-male jury. I don't know what I'd do if I had to live without her hate for five years. Throw a party?

Well, maybe she ran too fast for the Sherriff, but I won't let that ruin my dreams tonight.

She's soooo blond...

Who could have thought it possible that Republicans living in Florida could be practicing voter fraud? Well, I know this may come as a shocker, but it seems like Ann Coulter has just been caught with her hands in the cookie jar. Although, I have to say, I'm impressed with the fact that she'd walk the walk. Seriously, I didn't think talking head neocon wingnuts would even bother voting, never mind trying to vote twice! I guess she really could be a true believer after all? Or maybe she's just crazy.

The owner of the Indian Road home where Coulter is registered, Realtor Susanne Frisbie, told Page Two this week that Coulter never lived there. Frisbie was Coulter's real estate agent and allowed her to forward mail there.

Registering to vote at the wrong address is a felony that could fetch up to five years in the slammer.

Here's hoping the law comes down hard!

Tolerance and the Olympics

Pardon me from likely pissing off a lot of other extremely progressive and liberal-thinking people out there, but I was a little disappointed by Bryant Gumbel's comments on the Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy.

Bryant Gumbel had this to say on his HBO show:

Count me among those who don't like them and won't watch them...So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something's not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what's called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they're done, when we can move on to March Madness for God's sake, let the games begin.

Thank you Bryant Gumbel for exploiting all the prejudices so many people are crying out against when it comes to sports. Apparently, Figure Skaters aren't real athletes because they sit in "kiss-and-cry areas." Well, maybe real men don't cry in baseball, but can Cal Ripken do a quad? How about a triple axel? Can he even do it on the ground? I doubt it.

Now, I'll agree with Gumbel: I don't think a lot of the events at the games are particularly great sports or displays of athletic talent. Skeleton? Bobsledding? However, here's something I realize that Gumbel doesn't seem to understand: just because I don't like something or find it particularly athletic doesn't mean I have the right to belittle everyone who does. I'm not a big hockey fan, but I'm not about to suddenly condemn the talent of hockey players.

Okay, well, Gumbel will say 'at least hockey players are athletic; you don't need to be athletic to play Curling.' Maybe he would be right. However, Curling does involve a great deal of skill. Similarly, you don't need to be athletic to golf, but you do need tremendous skill. Is Bryant Gumbel calling out Phil Mickleson or Tiger Woods because they don't play a real sport? Not everyone is blessed with great athleticism, should people be condemned for choosing sports that don't require you to be 6'10" to have a chance of playing at an elite level? Does he support freakish genetics as a prerequisite for being eligle to compete at high levels of so-called real sports?

Think about it. In the NBA, there are dozens of players who aren't even athletic. They just happen to be tall. If someone tries to go for a layup, those tall players are able to swat the ball out of the air. That's all they have to be able to do to play in the NBA. There are people from when I was in high school who were more athletic than some players in the NBA, yet they'll never get paid the big bucks because they happened to be less than six feet tall.

Personally, I think the Olympic games are a breath of fresh air. Olympians aren't regular people, but the only thing that seperates an Olympian from an average Joe or Jane is the fact that they train every day, despite the fact that most Olympic athletes also work or go to college. Most Olympians will never make enough money to pay for their training and equipment, but they do it anyway. The Olympics are great because they give these hardworking, nearly average Joes from around the world a chance - once every four years - for a little recognition in their field. Is that so bad? Apparently, to Bryant Gumbel, yes.

Okay, so here's the part that could piss off my fellow liberals: I find the fact that he brought up race to be very annoying and misguided, at least in the way he did it. Bryant Gumbel had the perfect opportunity to constructively criticize the Winter Olympics by making the point that there isn't enough parity at the games. Where are all the black people? It is an important issue, but he did it no service by using that as an example to condemn the entire games.

Well, did he ever consider the fact that the Winter Olympics take place in cold climates may have something to do with it? I don't think there are too many mountains to ski on in Africa. Even in the US, most African Americans live in urban areas and in the South. There aren't too many mountains in those areas either, never mind snow. Just look at the countries that do well at the Winter Olympics: Norway is currently leading the medal count, despite the fact that it's a small country. Similarly, Australia is only competing in one event at Turino, despite the fact that they do exceedingly well at the Summer Olympics (and they are also a small country). Norway is cold; Australia is hot. Do the math. So there you go: perhaps region has more to do with Olympic participation than racism.

However, that doesn't mean race isn't at play here. In fact, Gumbel did the issue a disservice for not adequately addressing the issue. He could have used his influence to discuss the socio-economic reasons for the lack of parity in the US. Winter sports are expensive. To train as an Olympic Runner - a summer sport - requires a nice pair of sneakers and a visit to the local track field. To train as an Olympic Figure Skater requires a professional coach, professional choreographer, rink time (which can cost tens of thousands) and expensive equipment. Hockey is just as expensive, with equipment costing hundreds of dollars (and that's if you buy it used) and travel teams being exceptionally expensive (thousands of dollars per season). The fact is that African Americans, in general, have less money. Gumbel should have made that the issue: it is unfair that there isn't equal access to these winter sports for everyone. Cost makes them prohibitive - for everyone! More Americans of every sort would be at the Olympics if they could afford it.

Gumbel shouldn't have lashed out at the Winter Olympics for a lack of parity, he should have called out society and politicians that could actually do something about it. Instead, he belittled the games in an attempt to make them seem unworthy of attention. As if the ratings weren't low enough already!

If Gumbel claims to care about sports, he should recognize that people like different things and not condemn people for enjoying being able to watch people ski or dance on ice once every four years. If anything, it is an example of extreme intolerance. If he wasn't so quick to condemn the Olympics - so quick to ignore them - maybe he'd find something worthwhile to see.

If enough people concur with Gumbel's misguided opinions, no one will be able to recognize the extreme skill and hard work displayed by hundreds of worthy Americans and thousands of people from around the world - all trying to do their countries proud. NBC won't give people the chance. It'll be a very sad day for hardworking people to never get any credit for all their effort. In fact, it could be enough to bring some sports to extinction. It's sort of odd to hear a sports show host making these sorts of illogical opinions.

Update: an African American just won gold in speed skating. Maybe if Gumbel tuned in, he'd have noticed that.

A Culture of Corruption

The Republican Leadership has gone too far.

Senator Frist, the Majority Leader and a likely Republican candidate for President, has done some pretty shady stuff over the past few years. He's currently under investigation for insider trading, but that pales in comparison to something like this.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert engineered a backroom legislative maneuver to protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits, say witnesses to the pre-Christmas power play.

The language was tucked into a Defense Department appropriations bill at the last minute without the approval of members of a House-Senate conference committee, say several witnesses, including a top Republican staff member.

For those of you who don't know what a conference committee is, it's a committee comprised of both Senators and Representatives who work towards taking two slightly different bills and turning it into a cohesive bill that both houses can vote on to pass law. It is almost unheard of that someone would step in, late at night, and change the conference committee's unified bill without anyone else's knowledge. The only other time this happened, as far as I can remember, is with the Patriot Act.

Furthermore, the very fact that this bill is now tied into military spending is outrageous. What do vaccines have to do with the military? Very little. Sometimes the military gives out vaccines, but this amendment affects far more vaccines than merely those given out by the military. It effects everyone. And now that it is tied into the military budget, it becomes too hard for many to vote "no." Politicians in the U.S. don't like to vote no on military spending, even when these shady amendments are added, because of the negative publicity.

The real reason Frist did this is because he knew he didn't have the votes for it to otherwise pass, so he hoped no one would know about the changes and few would have the courage to vote against a military spending bill. He's a first rate scum bag who looks out for his friends: the health care industry.

In other news, read what happened to Tom Delay. No, he wasn't thrown in jail (yet). No, he didn't resign from Congress. No, he didn't back out of his reelection campaign (where he may lose if he stays in). So what happened? Why, he got rewarded with one of the most important and prestigious positions in the House of Representatives: he's now a member of the Appropriations Committee - the Committee that controls spending. While not quite as powerful as his old position, he's still in position to raise more money than Scrooge McDuck buying a lotto ticket with his lucky penny. Naturally, he'll need to keep as many lobbyist allies as possible, so he's also on a Judiciary Subcommittee that's in charge of his friend Jack Abramoff's case.

Indicted Rep. Tom DeLay, forced to step down as the No. 2 Republican in the House, scored a soft landing Wednesday as GOP leaders rewarded him with a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee.

DeLay, R-Texas, also claimed a seat on the subcommittee overseeing the Justice Department, which is currently investigating an influence-peddling scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his dealings with lawmakers. The subcommittee also has responsibility over NASA — a top priority for DeLay, since the Johnson Space Center is located in his Houston-area district.

Here's what one top Democratic strategist had to say:

Allowing Tom DeLay to sit on a committee in charge of giving out money is like putting Michael Brown back in charge of FEMA — Republicans in Congress just can't seem to resist standing by their man.

The good news is with this massive corruption Americans will soon come around to realizing they can't trust these Republican leaders and need a complete shift in political power in both the House and Senate.

Our New Allies on Civil Rights

Here's a list of our new allies in Human Rights:

Cameroon, China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Sudan and Zimbabwe

Of our new allies, not a single one is even "partly free" according to Freedom House.

Our new allies joined the US in blocking gay and lesbian NGOs from serving on a UN panel specifically designed to hear from NGOs, "The U.N. panel is a think tank of nongovernmental agencies from around the world." Congressman Barney Frank, openly gay, seemed to be very disappointed in Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Chile, Peru and Romania were among those who voted for inclusion, while the United States did not. Wow.

New Bedford Hate Crime - 3 Shot at Gay Club

Here is a good reason to support gay rights. An 18 year old went into a gay club in New Bedford, near where I go to school and shot 3 people. Luckily, no one died instantly. However, two people were seriously injured and air-lifted to Boston. Homophobia, sadly, is alive and thriving. Society must reject homophobia and embrace a more peaceful, accepting and loving community.

Should Only the Rich Be Elected?

That's certainly the impression I got from this Boston Globe News article on Representative St. Fluer of Dorchester. St. Fluer is Attorney General Thomas F. Rielly's choice for a running mate and has had some serious financial problems over the years, as the article clearly indicates.

The article seemed particularly one-sided and sensational, as if I were reading the Boston Herald. St. Fluer's response to the financial difficulties wasn't reported until page two and even then seemed to pale in comparison to the critiques.

If the public and media wants to increase access to the political process for ordinary citizens, perhaps it should create a fair and balanced news story if there happens to be an ordinary citizen - as opposed to a multi-millionaire - elected. Instead, it seemed like the Boston Globe merely wanted to embarrass a public official and potentially damage a campaign in order to make more profits.

UPDATE:

One day later and St. Fluer is forced to withdraw from the campaign. Score one for elitists! I found it refreshing that someone had a chance to be Lt. Gov. who had difficulty paying off her student loans and who lived in Dorchester, rather than a multi-millionaire from Milton. I guess the Boston Globe felt otherwise.