The text of an e-mail I just sent to Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger: Dear Representative Ruppersberger, Like many Americans, I have been following the health care debate the past year. I believe that the health care system we have is broken and badly in need of repair. I find it appalling that in this, one ofContinue reading “On Writing My Congressman”
Category Archives: Politics
On the Path to Health Care Reform
So. Where does health care reform go from here? (For those reading at some future date, the context — Martha Coakley lost a special election in Massachusetts, depriving Democrats of the 60 vote majority they had in the Senate). As strange as this sounds, I think that health care reform is in a better positionContinue reading “On the Path to Health Care Reform”
On Rudolph Guiliani, Terrorism, History, and Narrative
Rewind two weeks. Mary Matalin, Republican strategist, said President George Bush “inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation’s history.” Rewind almost a year, back to March. Bush’s former press secretary, Ari Fleischer, chastises Chris Matthews with a “How dare you” when Matthews presses Fleischer on whether or not 9-11 happenedContinue reading “On Rudolph Guiliani, Terrorism, History, and Narrative”
On Historical Revisionism and 9-11
The Orwellian mindset of the Bush Administration lives on. According to Mary Matalin, George Bush “inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nations history.” Ms. Matalin, who was President on September 11, 2001? It wasn’t George Bush’s predecessor. Ms. Matalin, who was given a Presidential Daily Briefing on August 6, 2001Continue reading “On Historical Revisionism and 9-11”
On Health Care Bills and Their Length
Ten and twelve year-old children can read through J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. I heard an interview on NPR where one young girl read through the final book twice in twelve hours. Harry Potter, massive tomes that they are, are often and avidly consumed by children. So, why are Republican Senators having such a difficultContinue reading “On Health Care Bills and Their Length”
On Political Surveys
Three months ago, I received a survey from the Heritage Foundation. They wanted input on how I (or rather, “Ms. Allyn Gibson,” as that was how the survey was addressed) felt about taxes. Specifically, they wanted to know how I felt about the sunseting of the Bush tax cuts over the next two years. IContinue reading “On Political Surveys”
On Last Night’s Elections
Yesterday was, in some parts of the country, Election Day. I’ve sat down to read about elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York, and Maine. I’ve not even had my coffee yet. It’s still brewing. The Democrats were crushed at all levels of state government in the Old Dominion. The Republican candidate for governor pulledContinue reading “On Last Night’s Elections”
On the Fissures in the Republican Party
If you’re any sort of political junkie, today has been endlessly fascinating. In upstate New York, a bizarre 3-way special election campaign to fill a House of Representatives seat has been waged. The Democratic Party put up Bill Owens, the Republican Party put up Dede Scozzafava. One of New York’s minor parties, the Conservative Party,Continue reading “On the Fissures in the Republican Party”
On Reading Republicans
Recently, for Sooper-Sekrit reasons, I have been following the post-Senate career of Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania (though he didn’t really live there). This has meant, for instance, reading Santorum’s newspaper column for the Philly Inquirer. I feel a thousand brain cells cry out in terror, and then suddenly silenced, every time IContinue reading “On Reading Republicans”
On the Fall of John Edwards
John Edwards. As long-time Allynologists know, in the Democratic primaries of 2008, John Edwards was my candidate. I donated money to his campaign. I blogged about Edwards, his positions, and his media coverage, like how Edwards most resembled the Viking berserker, or how Edwards was the heir to Teddy Roosevelt’s mantle of progressivism. And IContinue reading “On the Fall of John Edwards”