Political Cartel

Pack the U-HAUL: Political Cartel Is Moving

Published on 2008-03-18 23:22:00

THE POLITICAL CARTEL HAS MOVED. CLICK HERE TO BE REDIRECTED.____It comes a time in when every blogger must grow up and buy her/his own domain name. Well, I am pleased to announce that we at the Political Cartel have done just that!Political Cartel can now be found at www.politicalcartel.com.So update your bookmarks and your blogroll links. Tell your friends, family, and even your deranged neighbor.We here at the Political Cartel thank all of you for you knowledgeable contributions during are s

Obama's Speech

Published on 2008-03-18 17:51:00

Barack Obama gave the greatest speech I have ever heard today. Here is the link. I hope you would take the time to listen to it.

Iraqi Deaths Due to U.S. Invasion

Published on 2008-03-17 12:12:00

Estimated Iraqi Civilian Deaths Due to U.S. Invasion of 2003: 1,189,173 (est.)The number of Iraqi civilian deaths is often overlooked by Americans and misrepresented by the Bush Administration, who advocates the statistic provided by the Iraqi Study Report as an estimate of the number of Iraqi civilian deaths since the invasion. The number of Iraqi civilian deaths according to the Iraqi Study Report is 82,199 - 89,710 (as of today). The problem with the Iraqi Study Report is the statistical meth

On Liberty and Authoritarianism

Published on 2008-03-17 11:37:00

The United States of America was founded on liberalism. In a liberal democracy such as ours, the essential political philosophy begins with the assumption that the citizens have natural rights. Our Constitution recognizes this from the very beginning with the phrase "We the people" and it specifically states it again in the 9th amendment: "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Laws will always be nec

Obama's Pastor

Published on 2008-03-15 15:33:00

People need to get over this. I guess since we don't have another primary until late in April, we need a good news story. The Christendom in this country is a very diverse association. People are going to say things that not everybody, or even most people, believes (e.g. "God hates fags"). Even within individual sects, there is still a considerable amount of diversity. Take this very blog. All three of us attend churches of Christ, yet how fundamentally different do we interpret the religious

36 Hours Left to Vote!

Published on 2008-03-15 15:07:00

We are down to the last 36 hours of voting in the 2008 Political Blogging Scholarship competition. I am currently in second place behind a PhD candidate from South Carolina (the guy from Yale is pretty far behind both of us). I need to get about 250 votes to take the lead by Sunday night at midnight when the polls close.If you haven't voted already, or if you are at a different computer, please go to the voting site at CollegeScholarships.org and vote for David Manes.If you have voted already,

Everyone Wants to be a Victim

Published on 2008-03-15 12:40:00

Victims get lots of sympathy in America. If you can prove that you have been victimized, you can mobilize your fellow victims and others who pity you to help avenge your losses. In our society, there really have been some major groups that have been victimized. African Americans can nearly all trace their heritage to slaves who were forcibly brought to this country and victimized for generations. Women have been relegated to second-class status in almost every country since the beginning of

Actually, They Hated Each Other

Published on 2008-03-12 23:42:00

From NPR:"A Pentagon-sponsored study of 600,000 Iraqi documents captured after the 2003 invasion shows that no direct operation link existed between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. The Bush administration claimed such a relationship to support its arguments for invading Iraq, though the U.S. intelligence community had conflicting evidence on the issue. The study of the documents reportedly was completed last year by a federally funded think tank, the Institute for Defense

The Spitzer Case: Is it as Bad as it Seems?

Published on 2008-03-12 15:09:00

The most recent scandal to engulf the political realm is that of (former) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution "ring." In other words, he's been sleeping around. Highly ironic considering his promise to help fight prostitution and other social ills in the state of New York. This scandal has given the media something to be excited about. And since its a critical election year, the reaction by the media is as critical as ever.Amongst all the media hype, well known Ha

U.S. Middle East Commander Checks Out

Published on 2008-03-11 17:50:00

From BBC News:"The commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, Admiral William Fallon, is to retire from his post early. He cited the "embarrassing situation and public perception of differences between my views and administration policy" as the reason for retiring. He was the subject of a recent article by Esquire magazine, which said he was opposed to the use of force against Iran over its nuclear programme. The 63-year-old admiral became head of the US Central Command a year ago."Th

The Republican Vice Presidential Ticket: Rice?

Published on 2008-03-10 21:04:00

I read an interesting article today speculating on McCain's vice president pick. The New Yorker feels that Condoleezza Rice might be the best pick for McCain in the November election and they made some valid points. One, she would partially offset the black vote should he run against Obama and would partially offset the female vote should he run against Hilary. Sure, more of each will be attracted to the other candidate but as close as I think the race will be, all that matters is if either c

Check Out Blog

Published on 2008-03-10 17:01:00

I am extremely conflicted about Wal-Mart these days. There are many things I love about Wal-Mart - the fact that they sell everything, that it is open 24 hours, and the bin of $5.00 DVDs. That last one makes me especially happy. But then there is the obvious dark side: outsourcing, vertical monopolies, unfair trade practices, low wages, poor labor relations, multinational exploitation, and so forth. I guess I am probably like most people in that I love Wal-Mart on the micro level (when it's

Blog Knowledge. I'll take it.

Published on 2008-03-09 23:04:00

TV ReviewsI don't know if this means that we, at the Cartel, are too good for ourselves, or if we're just that good. Whatever, consider yourself -- those of you who read this stuff -- geniuses!

Rote v. Socrates, round 2

Published on 2008-03-06 15:34:00

The topic of education and intellectualism in America has been a popular topic as of recent posts here. David, a couple posts back, talked about America's anti-intellectual proclivities and the dangers of pure pragmatism. It's interesting to debate the very system that has taught us, essentially, how to debate -- at least that's what we'll assume.While finishing up Amy Chua's latest book Day of Empire, I came across a particularly insightful part where Chua talks about the education woes in the

Ethnonationalism

Published on 2008-03-05 19:26:00

Initially, I too thought it was commensurate with hyper-nationalism or ethnocentrism, two very negative aspects of statecraft. However, after reading through Jerry Z. Muller's recent article in Foreign Affairs about the driving force of ethnonatinoalism, the enduring power of ethnic nationalism happens to be an extremely good thing for international relations and the globalizing world. In case you were wondering, ethnonationlism is a form of nationalism wherein the dominant ethnic group defines

Next?

Published on 2008-03-05 13:01:00

What is next for the Democratic primary contest between Senators Obama and Clinton? Both candidates are still competitive for the nomination, so neither will drop out any time soon. Obama still retains a significant lead, especially with the pledged (representative) delegates, but Clinton is close enough that she will stay in the race for a long time. The Democratic Convention will be August 25-28 in Denver, and there are very few important states that haven't voted yet. Here is a rundown of

Tuesday's Winners and Losers

Published on 2008-03-05 11:49:00

In the same vein as Denney's post a while ago on winners in Iraq, I would like to present some ideas about who may have really won and lost in yesterday's "Critical Tuesday" primaries. Winners:John McCain - Not only did McCain sweep all of the Republican contests, but he officially gained enough delegates to become the nominee. His only real remaining opponent, Mike Huckabee, is dropping out of the race, and now McCain stands alone as the Republican nominee. This is an incredible benefit to hi

Intellectualism in America

Published on 2008-03-03 14:55:00

What is intellectualism? Who is an intellectual? There are many different definitions out there, but here is the best one that I could come up with - an intellectual is a person who places a great deal of value on thoughts and ideas. The Western world has a long and interesting history of intellectualism, but in modern America, most people are not only unintellectual, but increasingly anti-intellectual. Intellectualism in America is being crowded out by two inferior forces, an obsession with pra

Times Endorsement

Published on 2008-03-02 08:33:00

Thank you very much to the Arkansas Times Blog that recently endorsed Political Cartel in the 2008 Political Blogging Scholarship contest. The race is very tight right now between all three contestants, and I could really use your help. It will just take 3 seconds of your time to click on the link below and vote for David Manes. Thank you!CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR DAVID MANES

Penny-Paying Students Given Detention

Published on 2008-03-02 08:16:00

When I read about this kind of thing in the news, I get very excited. Maybe I can see my old rebellious high school self in kids like these 29, who got detention for paying for their school lunches with pennies.The students at Readington Middle School were protesting in a completely legal, legitimate, and peaceful way that they felt that their lunch period was too short. Their civil disobedience got them all detention since the lunch ladies were not happy about having to count that many pennie

Bush Should Keep Out

Published on 2008-03-01 09:01:00

This may sound even harsher than I mean it, but President Bush should stay out of the 2008 presidential race. Bush recently jumped in to attack Obama's proposal of using this opportunity to open a dialogue with Cuba, now that Fidel Castro is stepping down and a new leader is rising.Bush needs to keep out of this race, especially with his foreign policy criticisms for a couple of reasons.First of all, President Bush has had a disastrous track record as far as foreign policy goes. Even those who

Political Cartel Blogging Endorsements

Published on 2008-02-29 00:04:00

Over the past few days, Political Cartel and I have recieved an incredible amount of support and praise as the competition for the 2008 Political Blogging Scholarship rages on. Friends, family, aquantances, and even strangers are stopping by Political Cartel and they like what they see. Here is a list of just a few of those fellow bloggers who support PC and what they are saying:Mark Elrod - Mark Elrod's Lame-O Weblog (and part II)Taegan Goddard - Political WireChris Berry - TheChrisBerryPatri

Arkansas Has Gas

Published on 2008-02-28 20:20:00

In the last couple years, interest in Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale natural gas has grown significantly. Chesapeake Oil quietly purchased mineral rights to more than 2 million acres of land and are drilling at a prolific rate in White County. In the first year of drilling, sales taxes for the county (its only source of revenue) rose ten percent. Drilling has only picked up since then and royalty checks are yet to be received from leasers. The county has the potential to make a lot of money! Th

Why Huckabee Is Still Running For President

Published on 2008-02-28 07:55:00

(All this from a Democrat, so take it with a grain of salt. But I think I might be onto something here.)I believe that Mike Huckabee is still running for President. He must realize, of course, that the longer his campaign drags on against McCain, the lower his chances get for being asked to be the Vice-Presidential candidate on a McCain-Huckabee ticket. So why is he still running and not kissing McCain's butt for the VP slot like we would expect? Huckabee is still running for President. In

Amnesty Hating Xenophobes: Listen Up

Published on 2008-02-27 15:52:00

For those hardcore political right-wingers who fear that the influx in immigration is leading to, what the late 1920s Representative John C. Box, of Texas, said about the influx in Mexican immigrants, a "distressing process of mongrelization," listen up. Americans are ethnically interbred, but that is what being a part of the great melting pot is all about. Americans need to stop worrying about the influx in Latin American (especially Mexican) immigrants to the United States. It's been thirty-