Res Publica Defensor

Another Great Movie

2006-06-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Al Gore has just created an extremely significant film most of you are probably aware of. Its called An Inconvenient Truth and tells an amazing story of lies, deception, and a need for justice. It's not an action flick, but rather a documentary about global warming. As Democrats, we value the environment greatly and seek intelligent solutions to difficult problems. Al Gore, through this movie, presents a motherload of problems but, thankfully, gives us a few answers to them as well. Please visit his website here and we can build a better future. A must see movie.

Something we all should see. . .

2006-05-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a screening of Thank You for Smoking and loved every minute of it. Not only is it a hilarious movie with lines like "the great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese" but one with a good point: even if you argue your side of an issue flawlessly and achieve your definition of victory, you can still be wrong. Hopefully we can continue to improve our rhetoric skills so we can be the opposite of the films main charachter, winning while defending Big Tobacco, and achieve debate sucess fighting for a just cause.

Sorry

2005-12-10T14:01:00.000-08:00

Finals is next week -- no article.

Judge Upholds Most Serious Charges Against DeLay - New York Times

2005-12-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

The hot water is rising.

Framing

2005-12-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a piece building on a previous article’s section on finger pointing:

A deep vein of corruption and inaccuracy has snaked its way into the bedrock of the conservative party and we, as Democrats, must act. You may think that I will be advocating swift and merciless retribution against the GOP, who have not held back the reins when scandal erupts within liberal administrations, but instead I would take a different route.

The wrongdoings of many within the Republican Party must be noted and reprimanded, but we cannot frame our arguments as attacks on them or their actions specifically. We must present the problems being observed in the other party as blows dealt to America by the GOP instead of blows dealt to the corrupt politician. The currents system is not working and change is needed.

Take for example the current actions of Democrat and Senator John P. Murtha, who has come out criticizing President Bush and demanding an exit from Iraq. President Bush and his party seem to be wearing Kevlar when it comes to rough politics, and have responded with a salvo of their own ammunition. Vice President Cheney has now declared Representative Murtha’s action “revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety.” It is true that Murtha supported the war in Iraq originally and has as close as a year ago said that pulling out of Iraq could result in disaster. Now, however, he says trips to Iraq and Walter Reed Memorial Hospital along with a growing disillusion with President Bush’s handling of the war have helped to change his mind. This may be “revisionism,” but it certainly is not “shameless” or “corrupt.” It seems to me that a Marine Colonel, Murtha, would not be inclined to leave Iraq if there were not sufficient reasons to do so.

Indeed, there are many reasons to exit Iraq soon (although perhaps not right this minute), such as the ill equipped and overworked state of our troops, the recent call by the Iraqi Congress to create an exit strategy on the 21st, and the fact that their security forces will be, according to their self report, ready for action next year and at full strength. Still, these Iraqi soldiers seem to have the law enforcement capabilities of Charmin Two-ply and the county is bogged down with infrastructure failures and with terrorist attacks. I personally don’t think at this point a clear judgment call can be made about remaining in Iraq or leaving, but certainly Democrats and whoever call for such action must propose their ideas more intelligently.

We must point out wrongdoings and bad politics more adeptly and efficiently. In a news conference held recently Senator Harry Reid put forewords a five “chapter” rebuttal of the President’s actions surrounding Iraq. This is the kind of argumentation we need and also, in order to win back the Senate and House, surpass. Instead of framing the errors made by Bush as his problems we must instead portray them as harms to America. Democrats should eliminate critiques and implement damage/benefit analysis. The president was looking to invade Iraq and because of his unilateral approach we are now spending 5.6 billion dollars per month on our actions there.

With this type of method we can return to a good politician’s role: as defenders of America. Also, Democrats can no longer be seen or portrayed as cutthroats, while still demonstrating the misguided actions and significant problems created by the GOP.

-- Evan Larson
(Sorry about the late post, things were hectic)

Keeping Score in a War: The Human Toll

2005-11-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, this is Evan. I will be publishing a new perspective or current events piece ever Friday from now on, giving my take on issues from a Democratic standpoint. Hopefully, more weekly columns such as this one will be added as time goes on.

Representative Mike Pence, attempting to show the success of the war in Iraq, now declares a victory for the US, 25 to 1. He justifies this by saying that we have lost only 2000 troops while we have killed somewhere around 50,000 – 60,000 insurgents. This accounting uses a primitive criterion for victory and discounts the greatest damage done by the war in Iraq, the deaths of innocent civilians. Instead of holistically looking at the impact of soldiers’ deaths, the cost of the war, and all casualties related to the war, Mr. Pence instead feels that killing more of the enemy then they kill of you constitutes success. Iraq Body Count, on the other hand, keeps track of how many Iraqi civilians have died. The non-profit now says that, after continuously tallying up the deaths reported by the government and news sources in Iraq, a minimum of 27,101 civilians have died. However, the maximum could go as high as 30,545. All deaths that are listed are ones that the Geneva Convention requires the occupying power of a country to prevent, such as “breakdowns in law and order” or our troops fire. The site, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/, reports that our soldiers were responsible for up to 7,299 civilian deaths at the beginning of the war and “major combat operations.” These are grim numbers reflecting the overall failure of the war.

Back to Mr. Pence's 25 to 1 ratio. If you factor in all the deaths the US was obligated to prevent, and those of our own soldiers, we lost one person for every two insurgents killed, grim odds for a war against a seemingly endless stream of insurgents. These insurgents stem from the dislike held for the United States in Iraq. The war in Iraq can not be deemed a positive action if the United States has not succeeded in “winning the hearts and minds” of the Iraqi people. Indeed, in order to win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq they must still have the bodies that contain the hearts and minds. Our occupation will seem even worse to Iraqis if we are incapable of protecting their families. This ever growing Iraqi displeasure with the United States will hinder any progress in the war on terror and the war in Iraq.

Beyond the human cost of the war, the United States is also forced to pay massive amounts of money for our actions in Iraq. In fact the United State’s total expenditure for the war now tops 222 billion dollars according to the National Priorities Institute. They go on to observe that this money could have given every child in the world basic immunization for seventy-four years or have “fully funded global anti-hunger efforts” for 9 years. Our actions in Iraq are failing and money is being sucked from America in great gulps by the war effort when other humanitarian projects could have been funded. The war in Iraq is not a victory for the citizens of Iraq or for the citizens of the world and the US for that matter. At least Rep. Pence can savor our glorious success.

Governmental Mildew

2005-11-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I am Evan Larson I’ll be working with Jonathan to help grow our new YDA High School Caucus. Jonathan and I will continue to contact new members for the Caucus and hopefully this movement will be able to better serve the young democrats of the nation as a whole. Feel free to contact me with any questions at evan.ubergeek@gmail.com. Here’s an article I recently wrote on the current and disastrous state of affairs in Washington:
These are dark days. But, as we all know, it is darkest just before - - it goes pitch black. Kidding aside, our government is weak and floundering. Leadership on both sides of the bench is not representing the needs of the country and is failing all Americans. I, being a democrat, believe that hope lies in our nations Democratic party whereas a young republican would see the conservative party as the country’s chance for improvement. However, there is one thing we must agree upon – there is a need for change. No longer can we allow ourselves to settle for mediocrity and flaccid government, the world and our country needs help now.
Corruption is rooted in the conservative behemoth and the democrats are unconscious. The plethora of scandals surrounding Tom Delay reeks of deeper rot within the GOP*, which has been falling from its standards of both responsible politics and reduced spending for years. On the flip side, Democratic leaders in congress face an appalling record with the public: a mere 28% of Americans feel they represent their views. Both sides now sling accusations at one another without responding to the other side’s suggestions and contentions. Democrats complain about the motives for the invasion of Iraq and republicans point fingers at some democrats for changing sides on the issue. When government cannot reach a consensus on issues and resorts to personal attacks, everybody loses. As Gandhi prophetically said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” and nobody, it seems, wants to turn the other cheek or sit down and discuss the matters at hand.
And it is not as if the government has little work to do. We have invaded Iraq and now have to deal with the infamous “Pottery Barn Rule”: you break it, you bought it**. We must talk about an exit strategy from Iraq and plan steps to help develop a future for the poor youths of France and rebuild New Orleans. Now is not the time to allow our government to let go of the reins and relax into a political doldrums of the “Blame Game.” The great philosopher Anonymous put it best “He who slings mud only loses ground.”*** We cannot allow such poor politics to continue while the world is so troubled. No matter how overjoyed we as democrats may feel at the opportunities to attack republicans for wrongdoings, we cannot lose sight of a need to make progress. Sacrificing the betterment of the world through good politics for political vindication is the worst possible choice. Let us stop misdeeds within government. Speak out, and maybe we can make the world a little bit better. Alone in the dark a candle burns.

* See Jonathan’s article on the subject at Res Publica
** See Al Franken’s book The Truth
*** It might have been a Fat Albert line also . . .

$ 7 Billion Cost with FCC Compliance

2005-10-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

This morning's New York Times had a very interesting article regard a 1994 law that requires certain standards at colleges and universities to allow the Federal Government to monitor electronic communications made by students and faculty. The real problem is not necessarily the intrusive nature of the required compliance, but rather the associated cost, which will degrade the quality of education in a system that is already serious under funded.

The 1994 the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, in essence requires school communication engineers to rewire their systems to allow electronic (phone and internet) monitoring to be much easier for the Federal Government. While this may seem intrusive, due to the required court warrants, civil liberties are not really at stake.

Many schools, especially public schools, are going to find it expensive to meet the requirements. The $7 Billion figure offered by the New York Times doesn't include upkeep or installation. What is needed is some form of grant or aid to reimburse schools for associated cost. If the Federal Government is truly concerned with national security they will realize that 1. Having a well educated population is vital and that 2. Schools are far more likely to comply if they receive funding which allows them to do so.

I highly recommend you read the article.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/technology/23college.html?hp)

Harriet Miers: Friend or Foe?

2005-10-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

It seems that our fearless leader is in a bit of pickle. President Bush has nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the highest court in the land but seems to lack support from both sides of aisle.

Republicans like Judiciary Committee Chairman, Arlen Spector, have questioned her abilities. Chairman Spector commented that Miers needed a "crash course on constitutional law." Commentary like this can be expected, yet expected from the Democrats, not the Republicans. But when examining Miers, we need to ask the question: Friend or
Foe?

Harriet Miers has a mixed record at best. She has donated to Democrats like Al Gore in the past and as today's major newspapers report, she supports affirmative action for both minorities and women.

On the other hand, Miers has also supported a Constitutional Amendment banning abortion. This mix of political incoherence is a sign that this nomination process will be interesting.

But the real question for us Democrats, is if she is a friend or foe. If Miers supports the principle of stare decis, than we might get lucky. We would have a nominee who won't rule to abolish abortion and who is in favor of affirmative action. Even though Miers is a Republican, she might be our best hope and President Bush's worst mistake (Ike and Earl Warren.)

I personally don't believe that Miers is qualified enough for the Supreme Court, but given our minority in the Senate and midterms being a year a way, we have little recourse. I won't say that we should support her, but I urge fellow Democrats not to act so rashly and look at the scenario as a whole.

This is President Bush's appointment meant to appease minorities and women. Democrats should be weary of Miers, but also realize that her nomination may have prevented a real ideologue like a Robert Bork from being nominated.

Mr. Delay, Shame on You

2005-10-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Mr. Delay appeared before Texas Superior Court Judge Rob Perkins. Instead of facing up the charges, Mr. Delay instead attacked Judge Perkins because of his campaign contributions to the Democratic Party. It seems that the only justice Mr. Delay is concerned with is justice from his own set of cronies.

The fact is that Texas has partisan judges and Mr. Delay is being tried in Travis County where the capitol of Austin is located. Austin is predominantly Democratic. For these reason Mr. Delay is asking for Judge Perkins to recuse himself and for a change of venue.

Think about this logically. Mr. Delay doesn't like Democratic judges and Democratic juries. He won't be happy until he is in Republican country and has a buddy presiding over the proceedings. Tom Delay, you should be more concerned with the American people, than covering your own behind by having your trial in a Republican controlled area. Ronnie Earl, Travis County District Attorney had this to say, as in today's New York Times:

"What this means is that if a judge had contributed to Crime Stoppers, that judge could not hear a burglary case," Mr. Earle said. "Carried to its extreme, this is what I think this motion means."

It's time to face the music Tom Delay. It doesn't matter if a Democrat or Republican is playing the instrument, it's time to face the music.

Res Publica Defensor

2005-10-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

Res Publica Defensor

Defender of the Commonwealth

Hello all,

Unlike my other blog, which is focused on Congress Debate, this one will serve as a venue and forum for arguments, opinions, and current events. I chose the title Res Publica Defensor (Defender of the Commonwealth) because I hope to highlight important issues that are overlooked and also to provide input from the high school standpoint.

Jonathan Padilla
Vice President, California High School Democrats
President, Bellarmine Young Democrats