Are you an immigrant? (take a POLL)
Sat Apr 08, 2006 at 03:24:22 PM PDT
I was curious about it for a while, but now with immigration issues front and center, I thought it would be a good time to see how many among kossaks are immigrants. Yes, I know America is a land of immigrants, so let's limit it to relatively new ones...let's say you, your parents and may be grandparents.
Oh, and by the way, if you see any mistakes as you read this - I mean language wise - you should know it is not because I was a C-student like our president. I think my English is still better than his, however it is NOT my native language. My story is below the fold...and I'll try to be brief.
Bush's numbers are down, down, down!!!
Fri Oct 07, 2005 at 02:43:39 PM PDT
Nice, very nice...now Bush is slipping among groups that represent his base: evangelicals, REPUBLICAN women, Southerners and so on...
Check this out!
Accoding to an AP-Ipsos poll:
Since November he is down 30 points among white evangelicals
28 points among Republican women
26 point among Southerners
20 points among suburban men
66% say country is on the wrong track (only 28% feel the country is headed in the right directions)
Job approval 39%
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted from Monday to Wednesday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Next thing we know, he will be under 30, no?
Fascinating and shameful logic
Tue Jun 21, 2005 at 08:43:21 AM PDT
How is this for the paradox?
Form WoPo editorial:
"War opponents have been trumpeting several British government memos from July 2002, which describe the Bush administration's preparations for invasion, as revelatory of President Bush's deceptions about Iraq....
The memos add not a single fact to what was previously known about the administration's prewar deliberations. Not only that: They add nothing to what was publicly known in July 2002."
Now Bush at the press conference with Blair:
(More after the fold...)
Minimum wage as a wedge issue.
Sun Mar 13, 2005 at 05:56:29 PM PDT
Why Republicans are able to get away with killing the minimum wage raise is beyond me. It should be a political suicide, but somehow it isn't. They are not afraid to vote it down every single time because they feel confident we won't be able to make a huge issue out of it. Why else?
Republicans are quick to argue that minimum wage raise will harm small businesses and economy. They always say that, don't they?
Here is a typical argument from the time Clinton was proposing (and did pass) a raise form $4.25 to the current level of $5.15:
Studies suggest that for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, a minimum of 100, 000 jobs are lost. A jump from the current $4.25 to the intended $5.15 is a 21 percent increase, amounting to over 200,000 newly unemployed. Other estimates would indicate a greater than 400,000 job loss.
Did it happen? Nope.
(more after the jump...)
SS: Only ignorant can be happy about Bush's "plan"
Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 08:11:28 AM PDT
This is how
NY Times starts today's installment on Social Security:
As he stumps for Social Security privatization, President Bush always gets a big round of applause for promising that the money in a private account could be passed on to one's heirs.
If those happy clappers only knew the details.
I think this is one of the most misleading selling points for SS privatization. It is also one of the most "attractive" features. The idea of money belonging to you, not government, meaning you can spend it the way you like, leave it to your kids...is kind of attractive on it's own, but it is a TOTAL LIE!
Below the fold there is a summary of what those who are cheering don't know (per NY Times article):
Jump...
If you don't feel too serious...
Tue Feb 22, 2005 at 05:54:20 PM PDT
Sorry, this is a not a serious diary. I just needed a break. Also thought it is a good way to vent...sure worked better than pounding my poor TV.
I suspect many of you are familiar with this site, but I just discovered it today. Below are my two quick creations. Jump over the fold and check them out...
It is official: Lieberman votes "yes" on Gonzales
Thu Feb 03, 2005 at 12:52:32 PM PDT
Via
Raw Story
Apparently he supports US policy that denies rights to Guantanamo Bay detainees.
"He called the decision "progressive" and "remarkably just", citing the fact the Bush Administration opted to provide the inmates with food, water, shelter, blankets and the ability to practice their religion.
Imagine that - it's ok to torture and deny rights as long as they a fed. This is his new definition of "progressive"?
He also channeled Bush all the way and said that Gonzales' defense of torture memos had to be understood in the context of September 11.
This is beyond disgusting.....
One not very happy nation
Sat Jan 22, 2005 at 09:25:45 PM PDT
Some results from the WSJ/NBC News poll (13-17 January).
Ruy Teixeira has more on this one as well as LA Times poll and CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, but here are a few questions he is not mentioning. As he says, a nation of unhappy campers...
1. Rate your feelings towards Bush:
Very positive - 32
Somewhat positive -19
Neutral - 9
Somewhat negative -15
Very negative - 25
(Looks to me like Republicans were over-represented in the sample...with very positive being that high compared to negative.)
2. Approve/disapprove of the job that Bush is doing:
Approve - 50
Disapprove - 44
(Still pretty low for the guy who just got re-elected. And it is even worse if it is coming from a sample that is somewhat heavy on Republicans.)
More below the fold...
Newspaper Headline of the Year and more...
Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 05:24:38 PM PDT
Not really an informative diary - just a few headlines/opinions from the last year that
made news one way or another
This was considered the least imaginable headline - it appeared in Financial Times on November 23, 2004:
"China tells U.S. to put its house in order."
Future of the industry as Todd G. Buchholz, author of "Bringing the Jobs Home", sees it (October 2004):
"They say in the future a typical factory will host three workers: a man, a computer and a dog. The computer will do all the work. The man will feed the dog. And the dog's job? To bite the man -- if he touches the computer."
(Read on...the rest is below the fold)
Why voting is so backwards in US?
Tue Dec 28, 2004 at 05:26:41 AM PDT
Election 2000 was my first election in this country: I became a citizen in 1999 and was now eligible to vote. It was a mess. My first election was supposed to be perfect with my candidate cruising to victory. It was not, and he didn't - instead it was a mess...
As a result, Help America Vote Act was introduced, which left us with paperless electronic voting machines. Great!
In addition, leading manufacturers of these machines are rabid Republicans.
In addition to that, the software that is used in these machines is proprietary and there is no way to tell if it does what it suppose to do, which is count votes accurately, or gives 3 (or is it 4?) out of 5 votes to Republican candidate.
(More below...)
NC is in a hurry to buy new voting equipment. Not so fast!
Sun Dec 19, 2004 at 01:34:37 PM PDT
This is what already happening in North Carolina. According to
Charlotte Observer:
Makers of voting machines are focusing on North Carolina's election officials who will be looking for new machines after problems with state and local votes in November.
Companies are bringing their latest machinery to Raleigh on Monday so a commission on electronic voting can examine them as they work toward setting standards before the 2006 primaries.
New machines would cost about $80 million, and North Carolina plans to allow just a handful of companies to operate in the state. Accuracy is a key ingredient officials are seeking.
More below...
Let's frame it: Kerik values=Bush's values
Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 04:59:25 PM PDT
Elisabeth Bumiller - always quite enthusiastic Bush's cheerleader - has an article in today's NY Times titled
"In Kerik, Bush Saw Values Critical to Post-9/11 World"
I am sure she was trying to be nice and helpful, and write something positive about this pathological joke of a nomination - it is a syrupy piece. But how she misses the irony of having Kerik and "values" in one sentence is beyond me.
(more below the jump)
Kind of out of the blue: Roemer for DNC chair?
Tue Dec 14, 2004 at 12:54:42 PM PDT
According to
CNN
Reid and Pelosi are backing former Indiana congressman and 9/11 commission member Tim Roemer in the multi-candidate race, according to senior Democratic party sources.
With their support, Roemer immediately has an advantage over the declared candidates, former presidential candidate Howard Dean and former Clinton aide Harold Ickes.
Reid is strongly encouraging a Roemer bid, according to the sources.
Roemer was not immediately available for comment.
Roemer's experience on the 9/11 commission, together with the fact that he comes from a "red state" -- one that voted for President Bush -- were decisive factors in Reid's decision to back him, the sources said.
How is that for a patriot?
Mon Dec 13, 2004 at 10:52:35 AM PDT
A lot of talk everywhere about Kerik and embarrassing withdrawal of his candidacy - mafia ties, arrest warrant, bribes/gifts, extramarital affairs, illegal nanny, tax evasions, you name it. Not so perfect candidate for Homeland security department, even by Repub's low standards...
But something caught my eye in current
Newsweek issue
After the invasion in the spring of 2003, Kerik was sent to Baghdad to organize the Iraqi police. But Kerik didn't seem to show much interest in Iraqis, said a senior U.S. official who worked with him.
(More below the fold)
Ukraine crisis, or is it US?
Thu Nov 25, 2004 at 07:48:57 AM PDT
Double standard towards what is happening in Ukraine and what happened in US only three weeks ago continues to bother me. A lot!
Here is an excerpt from today's WP editorial
"Mr. Putin, who has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars into the prime minister's campaign, is backing the imposition of an authoritarian system along the lines of the one he is creating in Russia -- with a propagandistic regime, controlled media, official persecution of dissent, business executives who take orders from the state, and elections that are neither free nor fair."
In what kind of a parallel universe these guys live? What about us here? If you apply the same criteria to US, we are already as close to authoritarian system as one can be.
Let's see...(more below the fold)
Follow-up on Ukrainian elections
Mon Nov 22, 2004 at 08:37:35 AM PDT
I posted about it yesterday and several diaries addressed this issue/offered updates. Now, with 99% of votes counted, Putin's favorite Yanukovich is leading. This is in spite of the fact that late exit polls from yesterday had pro-western economist Yushchenko leading by impressive 11%. By the way, Washington was backing Yushchenko, as pro-free market, pro-reform candidate. So now they are in the position to question the results based, among other things, on the discrepancies between exit polls and final count. Isn't that ironic? As KumarP pointed in
his diary there is an obvious double standard here...
This is the link and an excerpt is below the fold.
Ukrainian election today: exit polls vs. actual numbers
Sun Nov 21, 2004 at 06:07:55 PM PDT
It would be interesting to see how it plays out in Ukrainian election. On October 31, in a first round of voting, economist Yushchenko (liberal and an advocate of gradual moves towards integration with Europe) beat Yanukovich, who is backed by Ukraine's outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and Russia's Vladimir Putin, by the tiniest of margins.
Today, after a second round of voting, the final result of the Ukrainian "National" exit poll puts liberal challenger Viktor Yushchenko at 54 percent, with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich at 43 percent. Pretty impressive margin! The "National" exit poll was organized by a group of international and Ukrainian sociological centers. 30,000 people were polled. However with about 9% of votes counted, Putin's protégé leads 53% to 41%.
Bush failed to ban cloning!
Sat Nov 20, 2004 at 12:13:33 PM PDT
