Calling All Progressives to the Polls (Page 1 of 2)

January 24, 2008
By: Knoxville Voice

By Scott Strahan

As Knox County residents prepare to go to the polls Feb. 5 for the presidential preference and county primary elections, the importance of voter turnout and education is paramount. The Old City Progressives was created by local residents to encourage unity among progressives, and to develop a strategy for moving this city, state and country away from the destructive Republican policies and attitudes that have prevailed the past seven years. Our hope is to give citizens reliable and accurate information that will convince them of the importance of voting and, for anyone worried about the economy, education, civil rights or the environment, of voting as a group with a defined goal: to remove Republicans from every level of public office and replace them with progressive candidates.

The first major point we try to make is that when you vote for a president, you are not putting only one person in office. A new president appoints roughly 3,000 people who affect policy at every level. Many of those individuals are positioned to directly impact our every day lives. From Supreme Court justices likely to be appointed by the next president to U.S. Attorneys in each state, our freedoms are at risk.

The Supreme Court, which is already leaning toward the right, has begun reversing established law regarding abortion and civil rights issues. One more appointment by a conservative president would be devastating to issues of reproductive rights, immigration law, civil rights and other matters all progressives hold dear. We must band together because we know the 3,000 individual appointments made by a Democrat would differ greatly in values from those appointed by a Republican. We also know there would be a great deal of overlap between those appointees chosen by any one of the Democratic candidates, and that establishes solid reasoning to vote Democrat in November regardless of the candidate.

As with all socially responsible programs, Republicans seek to destroy education by privatizing it. No Child Left Behind is a deplorable piece of legislation which needs to be thrown out so a law that makes sense can be written. The true goal of NCLB seems to be to set schools up for failure allowing companies or religious organizations to take them over. Ask yourself, has the privatization of resources helped New Orleans after Katrina? Have private companies like Blackwater and Halliburton helped the progress, our international mage, or our security in Iraq?

Republicans seem to have finally come around on the topic of Global Climate Change. It has only taken four decades, exposing their shameful myopia with a Nobel Prize on the issue to former Democratic vice president Al Gore and mountains of irrefutable scientific evidence that finally made them budge. Now, however, they suggest they have the best ideas to resolve the problem. Once again, those ideas rely on the free market for the solution. How can we possibly trust them to address an issue as serious as this one when they have only just now decided to believe it exists?

Conservatives had their chance. They have had plenty of time to prove the invisible hand would lower health care costs and repair the environment and the economy. They have proven their beliefs to be spectacular failures. It is time for us to try something else.

There is a lot of interest in outsider candidates this cycle. It is certainly understandable considering the havoc wreaked by our leaders lately. Ron Paul has been the beneficiary of much of this unrest. As fantastic as it is to see a “fringe” candidate such as Dr. Paul become a serious force, this is not the year to gamble with a wild card, and Dr. Paul is not the candidate many believe him to be. Yes, he wants to end the war, and yes, he is talking about the legalization of medicinal herbs. Those things are appealing to many voters, as I learned when I took the stage between shows at Pilot Light recently to distribute Old City Progressive leaflets and was bombarded with catcalls for “Ron Paul! Ron Paul!” But he is also talking about the complete dismantling of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid and preventing any possibility of Universal Health Care — in the end, he is still a Republican.

Since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2002, roughly 4,000 troops have lost their lives. In that time, nearly 100,000 people have died as a result of insufficient or ineffective health care (see the Kaiser Commission’s annual report on Medicare and the Uninsured). Obviously, it is nothing short of irresponsible to suggest, as Ron Paul has, that one should be addressed at the expense of the other. In addition, Congressman Paul has voiced support for abstinence-only programs in schools, restrictions of abortion and gay rights, and the study of intelligent design in public schools (see the Web site Catholics for Ron Paul 2008 and the even more disturbing

(432) Comments

Posted By: Broxx on 5/8/08 at 9:54 p.m.

Rear side. , <a href="http://www.techdis.ac.uk/community/user/view.php?id=1608&course=1">fine art nude photography</a>, [url="http://www.techdis.ac.uk/community/user/view.php?id=1608&course=1"]fine art nude photography[/url], http://www.techdis.ac.uk/community/user/view.php?id=1608&course=1 fine art nude photography, <a href="http://www.esnips.com/user/Uomre555">free famous people nude pictures</a>, [url="http://www.esnips.com/user/Uomre555"]free famous people nude pictures[/url], http://www.esnips.com/user/Uomre555 free famous people nude pictures, <a href="http://us.cyworld.com/John4s6">naked fat men</a>, [url="http://us.cyworld.com/John4s6"]naked fat men[/url], http://us.cyworld.com/John4s6 naked fat men, <a href="http://www.imeem.com/people/8BNTqAs/blogs/2008/05/08/TYXoQXWK/naked_babes">naked hot babes</a>, [url="http://www.imeem.com/people/8BNTqAs/blogs/2008/05/08/TYXoQXWK/naked_babes"]naked hot babes[/url], http://www.imeem.com/people/8BNTqAs/blogs/2008/05/08/TYXoQXWK/naked_babes naked hot babes,

Posted By: jcionof on 5/21/08 at 2:24 a.m.

Dpvscq <a href="http://zonlegtinjqg.com/">zonlegtinjqg</a>, [url=http://fnrdzdusjqql.com/]fnrdzdusjqql[/url], [link=http://mpcvegvkfnif.com/]mpcvegvkfnif[/link], http://krdnujwkonxo.com/

Posted By: Mik on 5/21/08 at 7:37 p.m.

[URL=http://abaculus.info/viagra-online.html]viagra online[/URL]
[URL=http://abaculus.info/buy-zenegra-online.html]buy zenegra online[/URL]
http://yourmedbuy.com/viagra-sale-online.html
http://yourmedbuy.com/order-cialis-online.html
http://yourmedbuy.com/free-cialis.html
<a href=http://yourmedbuy.com/viagra-sale-online.html >viagra sale online</a>
<a href=http://yourmedbuy.com/order-cialis-online.html >order cialis online</a>
<a href=http://yourmedbuy.com/free-cialis.html >free cialis</a>

Posted By: jonn3 on 6/2/08 at 9:05 p.m.

Thank You!, <a href=" http://www.imeem.com/people/Sy7wpGc/blogs/2008/05/28/ZroBzM2b/fioricet_buy_fioricet_fioricet_online "> Fioricet </a> <a href=" http://family.propeller.com/story/2008/05/05/debt-arbitration/#comments "> debt </a> <a href=" http://www.imeem.com/people/OzpYUdM/blogs/2008/05/28/ZMleORWk/ativan_buy_ativan_ativan_online "> Ativan </a> <a href=" http://health.propeller.com/story/2008/05/13/-viagra-aids-muscular-dystrophy/comment/2076060 "> viagra </a> <a href=" http://www.propeller.com/member/anhel_lopez/ "> online Casino </a> <a href=" http://www.propeller.com/member/dr.dole_dodwell/ "> Soma </a> <a href=" http://www.imeem.com/people/qw12lW6/blogs/2008/05/28/IPTI3JhB/prozac_buy_prozac_prozac_online "> Prozac </a> <a href=" http://travel.propeller.com/story/2006/12/12/discount-airfares-absolute-lowest-online-airfares/#comments "> airfares </a>

Posted By: whlmsj on 6/13/08 at 9:08 a.m.

OM0XKk <a href="http://anreecoysuqh.com/">anreecoysuqh</a>, [url=http://fueurrbdlcne.com/]fueurrbdlcne[/url], [link=http://xwnlsadexrad.com/]xwnlsadexrad[/link], http://ghsdrmgvzxak.com/

Posted By: merry on 6/22/08 at 6:46 p.m.

VdYPYq df1zv853gvrvb7gv94gmlas

Posted By: jaren on 6/23/08 at 7:13 a.m.

1kFHW6 dfv078fnw8f934ndvkg2l

Posted By: vmpfcoqbv on 6/27/08 at 6:46 a.m.

NpWw4D <a href="http://abmvdrirlqso.com/">abmvdrirlqso</a>, [url=http://thwnrxnhblth.com/]thwnrxnhblth[/url], [link=http://vtybuzukyafw.com/]vtybuzukyafw[/link], http://lllznaozmulc.com/

Posted By: ymgythvoxx on 6/28/08 at 6:13 p.m.

cm2iZp <a href="http://ylhbjirdblud.com/">ylhbjirdblud</a>, [url=http://iazjrmtolphz.com/]iazjrmtolphz[/url], [link=http://oxhwycmfmdam.com/]oxhwycmfmdam[/link], http://uutmctuqqqrj.com/

Posted By: find Bare babes on boats there on 6/29/08 at 4:28 a.m.

Posted By: ek free amateur video 1 on 6/29/08 at 4:44 a.m.

Posted By: find Vida guerra pleyboy on 6/29/08 at 5:01 a.m.

Posted By: Hot naked asian girls on 6/29/08 at 5:17 a.m.

Posted By: find Amano shrimp there on 6/29/08 at 5:31 a.m.

Posted By: Mature wifes there on 6/29/08 at 5:40 a.m.

Posted By: find Barba topless there on 6/29/08 at 5:49 a.m.

Posted By: find pk hot bodies 1 there on 6/29/08 at 5:58 a.m.

Posted By: find Felt christmas stocking kits there on 6/29/08 at 6:07 a.m.

Posted By: Women wetting their pants there on 6/29/08 at 6:16 a.m.

Posted By: Anime lesbian sex there on 6/29/08 at 6:25 a.m.

Posted By: German nudists there on 6/29/08 at 6:43 a.m.

Posted By: find Miss nude france there on 6/29/08 at 6:50 a.m.

Posted By: find Rebecca loos nude there on 6/29/08 at 6:57 a.m.

Posted By: find tl free movies 2 on 6/29/08 at 7:04 a.m.

Posted By: find Bookworm bitch on 6/29/08 at 7:11 a.m.

Posted By: find Cheap scrubs for nurses there on 6/29/08 at 7:18 a.m.

Posted By: Male mutual masturbation stories on 6/29/08 at 7:25 a.m.

Posted By: Tranny trailers on 6/29/08 at 7:39 a.m.

Posted By: Sexy asian videos on 6/29/08 at 7:46 a.m.

Posted By: find Yellow discipline piss there on 6/29/08 at 7:53 a.m.

Posted By: find Enema picture there on 6/29/08 at 8:07 a.m.

Posted By: find Teen pic post on 6/29/08 at 8:14 a.m.

Posted By: Street sluts on 6/29/08 at 8:21 a.m.

Posted By: Plump chicks on 6/29/08 at 8:28 a.m.

Posted By: find rk sexy movie 1 on 6/29/08 at 8:35 a.m.

Posted By: Sex chromosomes on 6/29/08 at 8:42 a.m.

Posted By: find Drawn sex cartoon desire there on 6/29/08 at 8:49 a.m.

Posted By: find Avatar the last airbender xxx on 6/29/08 at 8:56 a.m.

Posted By: find Ftv gals on 6/29/08 at 9:03 a.m.

Posted By: Midget penis on 6/29/08 at 9:10 a.m.

Posted By: West midlands escorts there on 6/29/08 at 9:17 a.m.

Posted By: Exhibitionist couples there on 6/29/08 at 9:24 a.m.

Posted By: Chyna porn on 6/29/08 at 9:31 a.m.

Posted By: find How to stop a pregnancy on 6/29/08 at 9:38 a.m.

Posted By: Sexy soles on 6/29/08 at 9:45 a.m.

Posted By: find Feline hiv on 6/29/08 at 9:52 a.m.

Posted By: Kissing crane kriss blade there on 6/29/08 at 9:59 a.m.

Posted By: Mature touch on 6/29/08 at 10:06 a.m.

Posted By: find Ardyss girdles there on 6/29/08 at 10:20 a.m.

Posted By: find Erie pa escorts on 6/29/08 at 10:34 a.m.

Posted By: Sexy fur there on 6/29/08 at 10:41 a.m.

Posted By: Bondage electric torture there on 6/29/08 at 10:48 a.m.

Posted By: find Vintage postcards for sale on 6/29/08 at 10:55 a.m.

Posted By: Cuckold personals on 6/29/08 at 11:02 a.m.

Posted By: find Guy models there on 6/29/08 at 11:09 a.m.

Posted By: Poems by ee cummings there on 6/29/08 at 11:16 a.m.

Posted By: find Antique sex there on 6/29/08 at 11:23 a.m.

Posted By: find Xxx daily thumbnail post there on 6/29/08 at 11:30 a.m.

comment5, http://groups.google.mu/group/rt-free-amateur-video-2/web/fotos-hombres-desnudos-gay find Fotos hombres desnudos gay there, 472023, http://groups.google.co.uk/group/is-wet-sex-3/web/saw-palmetto-prostate Saw palmetto prostate there, 0615,