Tuesday, December 16, 2003
2-Party System
Vulf brings up a valid point when it comes to the shifting of politics via information technology. But, I think that information technology is not an end in itself. Dean can get a million people registered on his MeetUp.com site but if someone is a member of the United Mine Workers of America, odds are they are going to vote the way of their union. If Dean can convince the union that his stance on issues is worth an endorsement then he will get that vote.
If one takes a pluralist theory perspective, broad-based coalitions always win out over the majority. If Dean manages to isolate portions of these coalitions then he will find himself drifting out of the mainstream and into the footnotes of political history.
I actually do think that a viable third party is possible, but it will have to be a party that is able to deconstruct discourse over Left and Right and lead a discussion in terms of overall values as they apply to balances between Liberty and Equality and between Community and Efficiency on a local and on a global basis.
--LOBO
If one takes a pluralist theory perspective, broad-based coalitions always win out over the majority. If Dean manages to isolate portions of these coalitions then he will find himself drifting out of the mainstream and into the footnotes of political history.
I actually do think that a viable third party is possible, but it will have to be a party that is able to deconstruct discourse over Left and Right and lead a discussion in terms of overall values as they apply to balances between Liberty and Equality and between Community and Efficiency on a local and on a global basis.
--LOBO
Saddam Caught
The capture of Saddam is a great accomplishment because it is going to make Iraq a safer place. Seeing Saddam captured will certainly take the air out of Saddam loyalists and will give some relief to the people he has terrorized in the past. The best outcome that may occur is that hopefully attacks on U.S. forces will slow down and intelligence will begin to flow more freely now that Saddam has been caught.
Will this have any affect on global terrorism? No, not really. Is Saddam going to fess up and tell us where the WMDs are hidden? No, because it's looking like there are none. Will the U.S. try to get him to implicate other governments so the U.S. can go on another WMD hunt? Probably.
My prediction is that Iran will start to become mentioned more and more over the next few weeks and months.
One last note, of course Saddam is going to be disheveled and hiding out in a hole somewhere. What, did anyone expect him to be wearing full military regalia and living in one of his palaces?
--LOBO
Will this have any affect on global terrorism? No, not really. Is Saddam going to fess up and tell us where the WMDs are hidden? No, because it's looking like there are none. Will the U.S. try to get him to implicate other governments so the U.S. can go on another WMD hunt? Probably.
My prediction is that Iran will start to become mentioned more and more over the next few weeks and months.
One last note, of course Saddam is going to be disheveled and hiding out in a hole somewhere. What, did anyone expect him to be wearing full military regalia and living in one of his palaces?
--LOBO
