I believe that in a democratic system of governance- government is pretty much in the hands of the people. We could set an agenda from the top that conforms to Jesus' command to love your neighbor as yourself. We could reform the way we elect leaders to mitigate the corrupting influence of big money, gerrymandering, lack of media access- I have proposed a 4-point plan in the archive of my web site timshipe.com.

We could set up a moral juridical framework for the global economy that forbade child labor, sweat shop labor, set environmental purity standards where we would like them for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we could have a foreign policy whereupon the wealthier countries united and organized around going around the world and digging wells and purifying water so that every child in the world had such access- and made it our main objective to stop any place on earth from suffering from a lack of food/nutrition.

What do you get when you endure nearly a decade under a Republican President and Republican-controlled Congress at the Federal level, a Republican Governor with a Republican-controlled Senate at the State level, and a Republican Mayor at the city level?  Absolute gridlock for any agenda that benefits anyone but multi-billion dollar corporations and the affluent.  Arrrggghhh!!!

Joe Scarborough of MSNBC asked Mike Huckabee about his sermon in Michigan. They spinned the affair as if folks were attacking Mike Huckabee just for giving a sermon, speaking in a church. They opined that there is a double-standard that allows Democrats to speak in progressive churches and praised for it, but that accuses Republicans of being radical 'right-wing religious nuts' if they speak in a church.

Mike Huckabee, for his part, gave a nice interview.

Throughout the whole interview, though, they completely forgot about the part where Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution. Talk about spin!

Apparently, Mike Huckabee, wants to amend the Constitution. That's what he told the Primary voters in Michigan.

Alright. We do not amend the Constitution so that "it's in God's standards." Who defines God's standards? The very fact that Mike Huckabee brings that up in the middle of a presidential primary race as a reason people should vote for him scares me to death.

I'm not opposed, of course, to God's standards. I and others argue God's standards here. What I am against, what scares me, is that a politician could presume to be so certain about what God's standards are that he would even suggest the Constitution too "meet those standards."

It's really time to step back, take a breath and remember what kind of government/society we live in. The Constitution stays. And Mike Huckabee can go back to preaching to his fellow Baptists, using the freedom that Constitution gives him.

Sorry. I couldn't not post this. Anne Rice is by far one of my favorite authors.

When I blogged my thoughts on the CNN/Youtube GOP debate, I noted that their dufus questions tended to be ideoogical rather than focusing on the issues that Americans are facing like the Dems are.   Having both debates in one night really made the differences stark!  I'm struggling with the question as to whether the GOP is really that out-of-touch or whether I am out-of-touch for not seeing that most Americans really don't care about their well-being and the economic and social health of our society as much as they care about ideological posturing.  I'm sure I'll f

I think it goes without saying that I am ecstatic about the outcome of the Iowa caucuses. The "establishment" candidates from both parties got their asses handed back to them on platters!

My candidate, John Edwards, did not win Iowa; though he did come in a strong second. But the message coming out of Iowa is that, after eight years of the George W. regime, Americans are ready for something very different. Iowa is, of course, only one state and their are many more battles ahead. But I am confident as the Primaries progress, we will see that same message resonate across the country.

In NYC, Giuliani kept promising an open government while, simultaneously, engaging the most closed government NYC has experienced in its history.

Now... press on Giulaini's campaign trail are experiencing some of the same frustratons NYC local press felt with him. That is, the frustration of a politician professing to be open, but being most closed.

I apologize. I know I said I will comment on Ron Paul's discussion on last Sunday's "Meet the Press." I will actually do that tomorrow, even though a new "Meet the Press" presidential candidate will be speaking.

Despite the fact we are in holiday season, I work (in my day job) with people who do not get to enjoy holidays -- i.e. the homeless. They take priority for me in my day job and in my heart. So please forgive me if I cannot follow through with my wider political commentary. On top of that, I came down with a very serious cold that distracted me from both my day job and from CfD. It is very difficult to concentrate on writing a blog post with a bad cold.

I do have thoughts about Ron Paul's interview and will share them tomorrow, hopefully before watching the new "Meet the Press" interview.

In the meantime, here is the James Kotecki reeport that was given on my birthday, Dec. 19.