Politics

Three weeks ago Kerry said:

"I think we can significantly change the deployment of troops [in Iraq], not just there but elsewhere in the world. In the Korean peninsula perhaps, in Europe perhaps. There are great possibilities open to us. But this administration has very little imagination."

Yesterday

In a speech to a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kerry said such a large-scale redeployment of American troops, the most significant rearrangement of US troops since the early days of the cold war, "could impair the nation’s security" and hamper the campaign against terrorism.

I was thinking of creating a database and having a system to track John Kerry’s flip-flops. aThough having to buy a supercomputer with terabytes of storage is cost prohibitive.

I think obviously the time has come for a redeployment of our troops since we are no longer facing a cold war model. The world situation and troop and weapons capabilities have change so much since WWII and the Korean War. From the analysis I have read of critics of this it sounds too much like if Bush is for it were against it. I think the most ridiculous reason I read today of why we shouldn’t redeploy the troops was from an article the The New Republic. The author starts by saying this makes intuitive military sense and then says:

But though the plan seems like a good move on the surface, it is in fact a terrible idea. First and foremost, it would end probably the best thing America has had going in public diplomacy during the past 50 years–and at a time when public diplomacy is vital to U.S. security. Easily recognized by their jeans and baseball hats, military families have for decades been front-line ambassadors of American values and culture to the nations in which they have been stationed. Military personnel and their families come from every part of America; and they live, work, worship, and learn among citizens of the nations where they are stationed. Some live on base in military housing, while others live off base in whatever kinds of homes and neighborhoods the locals inhabit. But all spend time in the communities where they are stationed. Mandatory briefings, military public service announcements, and admonishments from commanders and teachers constantly remind them–even the children–that they are ambassadors of all things American. Locals and their American guests develop relationships and get to know each other as friends, neighbors, customers, tenants, and even congregants.

And the diplomacy works both ways. When those same military families return to the United States, they become, in effect, ambassadors to their fellow Americans of the countries in which they have lived.

Yeah we have developed so much good will in Germany that they have constantly opposed us on the UN Security Council. But regardless of that, the purpose of the military is not to be ambassadors-at-large. The job is to be both a deterrent to aggression and when necessary fight. We will not be totally leaving either Korea or Germany and if the needs warrant we can still temporarily forward deploy more troops there. What we do need to do is to beef up our troop rapid deployment capabilities since we have lost much since the first Gulf War and even then much improvement was needed.

Catholic attorney Leon Holmes did not expect his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas would hinge on what he co-wrote for a "church newspaper" six years ago.

"I was surprised. I was, yes," he said in an interview with the Arkansas Catholic, Little Rock diocesan newspaper.

Holmes submitted samples of his published writings to the Senate Judiciary Committee after his January 2003 nomination to the federal appeals court. Among the samples was a column by him and his wife, Susan, that appeared in the Arkansas Catholic in 1997.

Susan Holmes, who had conducted a Bible study about using gender-neutral language in Scripture, was the primary writer of the article titled "Gender-Neutral Language: Destroying an Essential Element of Our Faith," but Leon Holmes helped write portions of it and edited the piece.

In it, the Holmeses wrote, "The use of male and female to symbolize the relationship between Christ and the church is pervasive."

In 1997 the column was not controversial. "No one ever commented on it," Leon Holmes told the Arkansas Catholic. "There was never any feedback."

But in the spring of 2003, the column drew a lot of attention from U.S. senators and members of organizations working to keep abortion legal who felt Holmes did not support equality for women.

They only quoted two sentences from the column: "The wife is to subordinate herself to her husband" and "The woman is to place herself under the authority of the man."

From senators’ offices to law schools to ordinary citizens, calls came into the Arkansas Catholic office to get the full column.

Holmes’ other writings, specifically a letter to the editor in a Moline, Ill., newspaper in 1980, also drew anger. Holmes wrote, "The concern for rape victims is a red herring because conceptions from rape occur with approximately the same frequency as snowfall in Miami."
Attorney Leon Holmes

Looking back, Holmes said he regrets the letter’s tone.

"I have said there were things that were openly harsh and unduly strident," he said. "If I could go back and change some of those things, I would speak more softly."

In the end, opposition to Holmes’ appointment was based on his writings, most at least 15 years old, and his work to end abortion. Holmes has been active in the pro-life movement in Arkansas for more than 20 years and has given legal advice to many groups that are trying to reverse the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision.

It was the pro-life movement that drew Leon and Susan Holmes, members of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, to the Catholic Church in the early 1980s. The couple and their five children became Catholic at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock in 1989
[Full Story]

So the message is that if you are a Catholic lawyer and might be a judge one day, never write anything especially if it uses phrases from the Bible or actually reflects some aspect of Catholic teaching.

Mainly Muslim Turkey should seek its future in an association of Muslim nations rather than try to join a European community with Christian roots, the Vatican’s top theologian said in an interview distributed on Wednesday.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, doctrinal head of the Roman Catholic Church, said Turkey had always been "in permanent contrast to Europe" and linking it to Europe would be a mistake.

He also told a French magazine that the European Union should continue to debate the issue of its Christian heritage, a discussion that appeared to be closed in June when the EU adopted a constitution that avoided any mention of Christianity.

Islamic Heritage

A secular state with a majority Muslim population, Turkey has been introducing political reforms to bolster its bid to open entry negotiations with the EU, which is due to decide in December whether to launch accession talks.

"In the course of history, Turkey has always represented a different continent, in permanent contrast to Europe," Ratzinger said, noting that the Ottoman Empire once threatened Vienna and fought wars in the Balkans.

"Making the two continents identical would be a mistake," he said. "It would mean a loss of richness, the disappearance of the cultural to the benefit of economics."

The German-born cardinal said Turkey "could try to set up a cultural continent with neighbouring Arab countries and become the leading figure of a culture with its own identity".

Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said this would not exclude cooperation between such a Muslim community and the European Union.

Both could work together to fight "fundamentalism", he added.
[Full Story]

Remember that "Axis of Evil" speech that was so criticized for the countries chosen? How he was ridiculed for having Iran, Iraq, and North Korea on the list. Funny how since then two of these countries have gone further down the road of building nuclear weapons and becoming a larger threat and Saddam had enough yellowcake uranium ore for 142 nukes.

Now what interest me is the steps we need to take to get Iran to stop weapons development. Last October the British , French and Germans brokered a deal with Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Since then Iran has pulled the seals placed on their centrifuges used to enrich uranium and are starting production on new centrifuges. Sounds much like the North Korean deal brokered by JImmy Carter where for in return for them pretending to stop production we were to pretend that they did stop production. We need to take action both diplomatically and though sanctions, but as usual Europe is dragging its feet.

We have a case where to get a resolution passed will be extremely difficult seeing that China and Russia, who are supplier to Iran’s nuclear program, will probably veto any proposal made by the security council. This is similar to what happened when Germany and France opposed the Iraq war since they had such strong financial ties there – not to mention the food for oil scam.

Senator Kerry says that if he is president he will forge coalitions and that his foreign policy is to operate only under U.N. auspices.

“I PLEDGE to you, on your behalf and on behalf of the other 96% of humanity, that within weeks of being elected I will return to the United Nations, and not only rejoin the community of nations but also turn over a proud new chapter in America’s relationship with the world.”

Why is it that he can pick a Vice President known for campaigning about "two Americas" and then believe that nations in the world can come to a consensus on anything? Europe and Asia are not echo chambers of each other and countries will always pursue their interests as they see them. I think it will be difficult for anyone to get Russia and China on the same page with us on this and even if that happens – would Iran be afraid of the toothless tiger known as the United Nations? Regardless, this will be a tough situation for whoever is president.

Reference: Weighing a strike on Iran.

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John
Kerry (news – web sites), D-Mass., and his wife,
Teresa Heinz Kerry, leave San Felipe de Neri
Catholic Church in Albuquerque on Sunday,
Aug. 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

John Kerry in a speech to the UNITY 2004 Conference:

I believe I can fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror that reaches out to other nations and brings them to our side and lives up to American values in history.

What is a sensitive war on terror? Do you put happy faces on bombs and missiles? Do you have people knit missile cosies? Do you throw adjectives like thoughtful, smarter, strategic, proactive, sensitive till the terrorist gives un in exasperation or boredom?

It is interesting seeing the headlines the media is using in covering President Bush’s speech today at the Knights of Columbus 122nd Convocation in Dallas. Most of the headlines are like this one Bush Woos Catholics on Conservative Theme. The coverage is almost totally on the list of pro-life achievements that he delineated in his speech. While Pres. Bush did cover topics considered conservative by the media he also talked more about topics usually considered the domain of Democrats. Some examples are.

Pope John Paul II has been a unique and commanding voice for the cause of the poor, the weak, the hungry, and the outcast. He has challenged our nation, and the entire world, to embrace the culture of life. He’s called upon us to uphold and affirm the dignity of every person, rich and poor, able and disabled, born and unborn. He’s called us to love and serve our neighbors in need. Few organizations have worked harder and done more and met this challenge than the Knights of Columbus. (Applause.) I know you’re proud of your organization, and you should be.

Last year, the Knights raised and donated a record $130 million to charity. That’s a phenomenal record. (Applause.) You also volunteered for an unprecedented 61 million hours of community service. (Applause.) You obviously have heard the call.

…I was pleased to hear this story about the Knights in Corpus Christi, Texas, at the Mother Teresa Day Shelter. They’re a daily presence there — they’re mopping the floors, collecting laundry soap, blankets, and food for 130 homeless men and women. They’re not giving the orders, they’re serving the people. Patricia Henry, the shelter director, put it this way: "If I need help, I just give the Knights a call." (Applause.) Such a powerful example. Americans across this great land know that they can do the same, that they can serve our country by helping someone in need.

…We’re grateful for your service to the men and women in uniform and to our nation’s veterans. You’ve sent hundreds of thousands of prayer books to those working to make our country more secure and to bring freedom in parts of the world that are desperate for freedom. You bring comfort and strength to our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. I want to thank you for taking time to visit our wounded and disabled veterans, for providing comfort to their families, to give them a word of thanks.

…See, you’re — the Knights are soldiers in the armies of compassion. You’re foot soldiers. You’ve heard the call. You’re helping this nation build a culture of life in which the sick are comforted, the aged are honored, the immigrant is welcomed, and the weak and vulnerable are never overlooked. (Applause.) You have a friend in this administration. You have somebody who wants to work with you to change America for the better.

…Because we measure, we know that now more minority children are learning to read at grade level, and that’s good for America. I want to thank the Knights — (applause) — I want to thank the Knights for their help in helping low-income parents in Washington, D.C. escape from schools — have their children escape from schools that will not teach and will not change. Because of the work of the Knights of Columbus, and other concerned citizens in our Nation’s Capital, poor parents now have a choice. They’ll have a $7,500 scholarship so they can afford to send their school — their child to a private school or parochial school, their choice to make.

…I want to work with the Knights for reasonable and compassionate immigration reform, to bring good, hardworking people out of the shadows of American life, and to ensure that America is always a welcoming nation. I recognize, like you recognize, that amidst the great prosperity of America, amongst our great wealth, there are pockets of despair in this country, and we’ve got to do something about it. We must address despair so America is hopeful for every single person.

…Government can hand out money, and of course, there will be arguments whether we’re handing out enough or not. But what government can never do is put love in a person’s heart, or a sense of purpose in a person’s life. You see, in order to heal — help the lonely, it works every time when a loving soul puts their arm around and says, what can I do to help you; how can I help you in your life; what can I do to make your life better. Many are called by God to do so, and government must stand on the side of those millions of acts of mercy and kindness that take place on a daily basis.

…I’ll tell you another program that’s important is to help the addict, is to help the person so stuck on drugs that they can’t realize the great human potential that God has given them, and they need desperate help. I believe that some counseling programs work, no question about it. But I also know programs that change the heart work. When a person changes their heart, they change their habits. Government is not good at changing hearts. The Almighty God is good at changing hearts — (applause) — which happens to be the cornerstone of effective faith-based programs. And therefore, when it comes to spending federal money to help addicts, I’ve asked the Congress, and the Congress has agreed to allow us to use vouchers to go to the person who is seeking help. That person can use that voucher at any kind of program he or she chooses, including faith-based programs to help heal hearts and save lives.

I think "Government is not good at changing hearts." nails my views on the matter. The safety net imposed by the government soon becomes an all-embracing cocoon of reliance and dependence. The human connection is lost behind a wall of desks. Love of neighbor and the preferential love for the poor requires not a vote for increased funding but personal involvement through prayer and action. Groups like the KoC are a model for what can be done. The intentions of social government programs never achieve their goal. Where is the exit strategy on the war on poverty? If we don’t touch the poor how can we be touched by the poor. Charity through taxation is a sterile environment that lets us get off by saying "I gave at the office."

(CNSNews.com) – Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has replaced his religion adviser with a woman who was one of 32 clergy members to file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the atheist who challenged the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

According to the Catholic League, Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson’s amicus brief on behalf of atheist Michael Newdow "shows infinitely more concern for the sensibilities of atheists like Newdow than it does for the 90 percent of Americans who believe in God." Peterson replaced Mara Vanderslice as director of religious outreach.

"[Democratic National Committee chairman] Terry McAuliffe says the appointment of Rev. Peterson as the new Senior Advisor for Religious Outreach ‘reflects the DNC’s commitment to reaching all people of faith,’" said Catholic League President William Donohue.

But Peterson’s background makes one question whether the Democrats have lost their minds, he said.

"He (McAuliffe) also notes that she ‘will act as liaison to religious organizations.’ Upon learning of this appointment, we decided to find out who this woman is. And what we found will make people of every faith wonder whether McAuliffe and the DNC have totally lost their senses," Donohue said.

"And this is the person the Democrats want to dispatch to meet with the heads of religious organizations? Are they out of their minds? Would they hire a gay basher to reach out to homosexuals?" he asked.
[Full Story]

I wanted to make some comments about Sen. Kerry’sspeech at the convention. This was an okay speech with nothing really memorable to be repeated and it was delivered as best as a droning John Kerry can muster. Thankfully there was no five minute kiss of his wife at the end ala Al Gore. TS O’Rama shared with me a line he had heard about the convention "No platitude left behind!" That pretty much sums it up.

As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House.

I have heard that one before. I remember hearing on the radio as Bill Clinton said "Mine will be the most ethical administration in the history of the Republic!" And Mr. Kerry is off to a great start with advisors such as Sandy Berger and Joe Wilson. Oops I forgot they have been textually airbrushed out of his campaign site. And isn’t the word credibility an antonym for flip-flop? Referring to the economy he said:

We can do better and we will. We’re the optimists.

How many optimist talk about a "jobless recovery" when the unemployment rate is slowing declining? How many optimists do you know that release misery indexes? According to factcheck.org "The original "misery index" is simply the jobless rate added to the inflation rate. The term was coined by economist Arthur Okun, an economic adviser in Lyndon Johnson’s administration. It was widely used during the "stagflation" of the ’70s and ’80s when stagnant economic growth kept unemployment high and inflation reduced the buying power of wages." Now computing the classic "Misery Index" shows the index as being lower than Clinton’s first four years. To get the results Kerry wanted they used highly selective indicators.

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That’s the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.

Here is the reality: that won’t happen until we have a president who restores America’s respect and leadership — so we don’t have to go it alone in the world.

And we need to rebuild our alliances, so we can get the terrorists before they get us.

Government by a consensus. Why do we even need a president to lead us? One committee can just send its recommendation to another committee in a different government. Of course an elephant is a horse designed by a committee Leadership is the ability to make a decision and do what is right whether everyone or no one agrees with you. Sure we need to work within the framework of other governments to achieve our missions. But the process is not the end all. To say that it is a failure to have only 33 countries as part of the coalition forces in Iraq is just plain silly. Just because France and Germany, two countries with extensive economic ties to Iraq, didn’t sign on. To aim for one hundred percent agreement on world affairs is a fool’s dream. We need a president who is a leader and not a committee chairman. As Margaret Thatcher said "To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects."

We will add 40,000 active duty troops – not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives – and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists.

Not in Iraq? In May of 2004 Mr. Kerry called for 40,000 more U.S. Troops in Iraq. "The extra troops are needed in Iraq to ease pressure on soldiers and National Guard troops battling insurgents in the Middle Eastern country. Half of the 40,000 troops would be used as military police and for civil affairs, tasks now mainly carried out by reservists, while the other 20,000 would be combat troops." Sounds like a flip-flop to me. I guess his leadership did not get past the parties’ leadership and into the platform.

What exactly is the point of National Guard and Reservist other than to supply a ready force when we need to expand those troops? I agree we need to expand the military which was cut back drastically starting at the end of the Bush-41 years and even more during the Clinton years. Now I am glad to hear he will support the newest weapons and technology to our troops. This of course is a drastic change to his years in the senate of voting against bills that contained appropriations for the B1, B2, F-14, F15, F-16, Harrier, Apache, Patriot Missile, Aegis, Trident, M-1, Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Tomahawk. Now I know these spending bills did not only have only these item in them, but his senate record just doesn’t support weapon systems including him being a great advocate of the nuclear freeze.

To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way.

Today I was shopping in Wal-Mart at the self serve checkout. The person in the aisle next to me must have made a mistake because the computerized voice talked about an error and said "Help is on the way." I looked around but I did not see John Kerry coming.

You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory. The stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of you here and all across our country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head. It was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men I served with and friends I grew up with. For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in. Our strength. Our diversity. Our love of country. All that makes America both great and good.

That flag doesn’t belong to any president. It doesn’t belong to any ideology and it doesn’t belong to any political party. It belongs to all the American people.

Nice words from the strongest opponent of the Constitutional amendment to prevent flag desecration Now I am not any great supporter of that amendment since I believe that it would probably invoke more flag burning than anything, but then again I probably also wouldn’t make a speech about Old Glory and also place an upside flag on my book cover.

My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it’s not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.

Of course he couldn’t act on those principles since he said in the past that a lawmaker should not "legislate his personal beliefs." Or does he have principles not based on beliefs?

For four years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by.

You mean like saying life begins at conception and then voting for partial birth abortion?

You don’t value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.

I think we need to rid our tax code of corporate welfare. Something like a flat tax or a national sales tax. Sen. Kerry worked on legislation to punish companies for moving offshore. One company that ended up getting an exemption was H.J. Heinz. I am sure I heard that name recently somewhere.

We believe in the family value expressed in one of the oldest Commandments: "Honor thy father and thy mother." As President, I will not privatize Social Security.

Gee, I didn’t realize that the ten commandment came out one at a time and that some were newer or older. Did after the first commandment come out "I am the LORD your God…" that the Israelite said "Hey this is good stuff, we want more" By the time the series came to coveting thy neighbors goods did they said "no more, enough already." Another question I have is that when SS goes bust because new workers never enter the workplace because they were not chosen to leave the womb, how are we going to fund this pyramid scheme? Without some form of privatisation it will give no honor to they mother or father to have a SS check with a big fat zero on it. President Bush and his advisors need to get this discussion back on track (third rail or not).

What does it mean in America today when Dave McCune, a steel worker I met in Canton, Ohio, saw his job sent overseas and the equipment in his factory literally unbolted, crated up, and shipped thousands of miles away along with that job? What does it mean when workers I’ve met had to train their foreign replacements?

I bet there were a lot of sad stories for buggy whip manufacturers too. Companies need tough love by the government and we can no longer subsidize industries that are on the down swing. Infusing them with cash does not help the fact that either they are not innovating or that their time has just gone. One of the big government mistakes made by President Bush was when he enacted the steel tariffs that just tossed government money down the sinkhole of American companies who could no longer compete on the world market. As Walter Williams mentioned it would have been cheaper to spend the money pensioning the 23,000 steel workers with a salary of 45,000 a year for the rest of their lives.

What does it mean when twenty five percent of the children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution?

Junk science alert. Michele Malkin has the details.

Oh and of course you could not hear a major speech from a Democrat without a little class warfare thrown in.

And let me tell you what we won’t do: we won’t raise taxes on the middle class. You’ve heard a lot of false charges about this in recent months. So let me say straight out what I will do as President: I will cut middle class taxes. I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education.

I’ve offered a comprehensive plan…[that] starts with a tax cut for the middle class.”, “We will lower the tax burden on the middle class…”, “I will not raise taxes on the middle class.” No these are not John Kerry’s press statements but campaign promises from another Democratic candidate – Bill Clinton in 1992. I remember that I intellectually softened the blow of his presidency by thinking that at least he might be a new democrat that with tax cuts which would spur parts of the economy. Fool me once ….. I also wonder if John or Teresa refunded the Bush tax cut money they received back to the Government? With Democrats it is always "you first."

And our energy plan for a stronger America will invest in new technologies and alternative fuels and the cars of the future — so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Here is another blast from the Democratic past – Jimmy Carter.

Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 — never. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980s, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade — a saving of over 4-1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day.

"Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation’s history to develop America’s own alternative sources of fuel — from coal, from oil shale, from plant products for gasohol, from unconventional gas, from the sun."

What no alternative fuels yet? I found that one of the most annoying things about politics is that I suffer with a memory. How much easier it would be to forget what was promised and said in the past and to live as one with short-term political memory. All of these concepts of alternative fuels usually ignore infrastructure and current equipment. Even if a good source for alternative fuels were found tomorrow we would not see any implementation during even an eight year Kerry administration. What needs to be done right now to reduce foreign oil dependence is using oil sources already within our territories; offshore or in places such as Alaska. Sen. Kerry has voted repeatedly against domestic drilling in ANWR. I have no attachment to having to fuel my car with gasoline, but I do want to put something in it that will actually get me to work.

What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson’s, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and AIDS? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?

What if millions have to die on the altar of the petri dish so that you and I might theoretically live longer? What if we have a president who believes in junk science?

What was the most interesting parts of the speech was not what was said, but what was unsaid. If you took all the speeches delivered at the convention you could not extract the parties platform from them. There was not much red meat for anti-war activists to hear that John Kerry would expand the number of military personnel. There was some parts tossed in about the environment, but not the Republicans want dirty water and air pollution rhetoric of the past. No mention of affirmative action. Here they were in Massachusetts the first state with same-sex marriage and neither Johns mentioned this issue. No mention of FMA or their belief that the state’s have the right to decide individually on same-sex marriage. No red meat for the abortion activists, no women rights or choice cliches. No mention of the importance of appointing federal judges. He did say "And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States" which I guess is a reference to keeping Roe v. Wade. I just have a hard time buying Democrats as the guardian of the Constitution and states’ rights. The race card was not even pulled, just a mention of "This is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, group from group, region from region." That is good news. I hope it means that we won’t have any "when you don’t vote another church burns" or the NAACP’s commercial blaming Bush for the 1998 dragging death of James Byrd.

Howard Dean in his speech at the convention said "we will never again be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats — never, never, never." But judging by the speeches of both Johns they are afraid to be what the Democrat party has come to be as defined in its own platform. Their prime time speeches were not the same as what they fed party faithful during the primaries. "A Remarkable Promise," the nine-minute film biography of John Kerry was shown prior to his speech. This was put together by director James Moll and had as an advisor Steven Spielberg and as narrator Morgan Freeman. I won’t get into the controversy of the re-enacted scenes from Kerry 8mm home camera but like the speech it was remarkable for what it didn’t say. A big build up on his Vietnam experience, time as a prosecutor and so forth. No mention of his anti-war activists and his time as the spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War or his winter soldier testimony. They mentioned his time as Lieutenant Governor, but completely avoided the "D" word. You know Governor Dukakis. The official John Kerry site in their biography also doesn’t mention the "D" word. Of course the whole convention even being in Massachusetts totally avoided the "D" word or any speeches by the "D" word and who can blame them? If Democrats are so proud of their advocacies then why does abortion have to hide under choice. Why does the word cloning have to hide behind "somatic cell nuclear transfer?" Why does their total support of not only the homosexual lifestyle and same-sex marriage have to hide behind states’ rights?

As mentioned in another post the parties platform that was voted on now has the 2000 tolerance on abortion plank removed. There is now no more room for tolerance or discussion of this issue since abortion now has full and total support. But again the public was not informed of this via any speeches.

Possibly the organizers of the Democratic Convention also didn’t like John Kerry’s speech. On their official page they have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s highlights. But no listing of highlights for Thursday.

Mark Winsor has some interesting ideas for a plafform of a Christian Republic Party.