Wake Up gemutlichkeit!
Since this community has become a good place to watch grass grow and die as of late, I wanted to try to inspire a little conversation. I realize that when I first put this community together, that I wanted this to be an oasis from overtly political diatribes, and the sort, but in reading this article in The Nation I realized that it was a collections of people's ideas to bring life and legitimacy to the Democratic Party. A party in my opinion that has been lacking either for generations.
I hope it will be a good springboard for positive thought and conversation, and look forward to hearing from all of you.
--D.
A People's Democratic Platform
"The Democratic Party platform to be presented at the upcoming convention has been tailored to suit the positions of the presidential nominee and to raise as few contentious issues as possible. That may be good strategy as defined by political pollsters and strategists, but to our mind it represents a missed opportunity to put forward and debate some fresh, possibly unconventional ideas. So we've asked a disparate group of people--ranging from retired newsman Walter Cronkite to hip-hop activist Bakari Kitwana--what plank each of them would like to propose. Their answers were by turns provocative, quirky and unexpected. We offer them in the hope that voters will be stirred to come up with their own "planks" and then try to turn them into reality. --The Nation Editors"
Howard Dean
Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont, is the founder and honorary chair of Democracy for America.
The Democrats need to stand up for universal healthcare and get it passed. We are the last industrialized country in the world that doesn't have it. It's inexcusable. It will make a big difference not just for people who are struggling but also for the business community. The difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is the argument about how much collective responsibility we have for each other. The Republicans essentially don't believe we have any, and I think we do. Universal healthcare could be paid for by getting rid of the President's tax cuts, which have simply been a huge wealth transfer from poor and modest-income people to big corporations and the top 1 percent. Those tax cuts have done nothing but harm America by creating an enormous deficit. By eliminating them we can pay for health insurance for every American--that's how expensive they are.
George McGovern
George McGovern, a former US senator from South Dakota, was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee.
Since we were promised a peace dividend once the cold war ended, since no country is now threatening us and since the terrorist threat is not a military one, the present $400 billion military budget should be cut in half, to be achieved with 5 percent annual reductions over the next ten years.
To be continued. . .
x-posted in my personal journal
George Michael - Patience - Precious Box
I hope it will be a good springboard for positive thought and conversation, and look forward to hearing from all of you.
--D.
A People's Democratic Platform
"The Democratic Party platform to be presented at the upcoming convention has been tailored to suit the positions of the presidential nominee and to raise as few contentious issues as possible. That may be good strategy as defined by political pollsters and strategists, but to our mind it represents a missed opportunity to put forward and debate some fresh, possibly unconventional ideas. So we've asked a disparate group of people--ranging from retired newsman Walter Cronkite to hip-hop activist Bakari Kitwana--what plank each of them would like to propose. Their answers were by turns provocative, quirky and unexpected. We offer them in the hope that voters will be stirred to come up with their own "planks" and then try to turn them into reality. --The Nation Editors"
Howard Dean
Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont, is the founder and honorary chair of Democracy for America.
The Democrats need to stand up for universal healthcare and get it passed. We are the last industrialized country in the world that doesn't have it. It's inexcusable. It will make a big difference not just for people who are struggling but also for the business community. The difference between the Republicans and the Democrats is the argument about how much collective responsibility we have for each other. The Republicans essentially don't believe we have any, and I think we do. Universal healthcare could be paid for by getting rid of the President's tax cuts, which have simply been a huge wealth transfer from poor and modest-income people to big corporations and the top 1 percent. Those tax cuts have done nothing but harm America by creating an enormous deficit. By eliminating them we can pay for health insurance for every American--that's how expensive they are.
George McGovern
George McGovern, a former US senator from South Dakota, was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee.
Since we were promised a peace dividend once the cold war ended, since no country is now threatening us and since the terrorist threat is not a military one, the present $400 billion military budget should be cut in half, to be achieved with 5 percent annual reductions over the next ten years.
To be continued. . .
x-posted in my personal journal
George Michael - Patience - Precious Box