President Bush Sign Patriot Act

"President Bush Friday signed legislation extending key provisions of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act until February 3, despite earlier objecting to anything short of a permanent renewal."

"He also signed a $453.3 billion defense spending bill that included a measure banning cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the White House said."

"Bush had initially threatened to veto legislation that contained that provision, but backed off after congressional votes showed overwhelming support for the amendment pushed by Sen.
John McCain, an Arizona Republican who was a former prisoner of war in the Vietnam conflict."

"On the Patriot Act, Bush had strongly pushed for a permanent renewal, but Congress passed a temporary extension to allow more time to consider civil liberties protections."

"The Patriot Act was a response to the September 11 attacks and expanded the authority of the federal government to conduct secret searches, obtain private records, intercept telephone calls, among other activities, to hunt for suspected terrorists."

"The debate over whether some of the provisions infringe too much on civil liberties became more heated after the revelation that Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct a domestic eavesdropping operation on Americans with suspected terrorism ties without seeking court approval."

"Among the civil liberties being debated in Congress are rules for "roving" wiretaps of suspects who use multiple telephones and court orders for records for businesses, libraries, bookstores and even personal medical records."

- CNN.com

My Comments: A one month extension. It's sort of a victory for both parties. The Patriot Act wasn't held up in the Senate, which is good for Republicans; yet it was onlu renewed for one month, a victory for Democrats.

The Democrats would never approve a permanent renewal of the Patriot Act, as it is now. Now they have a month to sort out the issues, without letting it expire. We'll just have to wait and see if one month will be long enough to come to an agreement.

I can't believe that the White House was against the "no torture" bill. Come to think of it, I can't believe we NEED a bill to ban torture!

-Adam

My Apologies, I Was Wrong...

Several days ago, I posted a story titled "NO President Should EVER Say This", in which I reported that President Bush, referring to the Constitution, said "it's just a goddamn piece of paper!" I have, after doing some research on the internet, determined this story to be completely false.

The story, which I picked up from the website Capitol Hill Blue , has been criticized online by Democrats and Republicans alike. The story never appeared on the news networks either, which should have been a huge tip-off!

Capitol Hill Blue's website says that each story posted must have two independent, confirmed sources. I cannot confirm or deny, however, that the rest of the stories on the site are true, but I believe that this story is false.

I give my sincere apology to anyone who was offended or misled by the story. While I'm not the original author, I still decided to post the story without finding secondary sources first. I did not intentionally mislead you, and I promise I never will.

Please accept my apologies. In the future, I will try to confirm the story through other sources before posting.

My sincere apologies. Thank you,

-Adam

2006-The Year Ahead

Now, many political sites out there are doing a "2005-Year in Review".

Well, I figure if you want to know what happened in 2005, you should have watched CNN more. What I'm going to do is have a "2006-The Year Ahead".

I'm pretty sure these will be some of the Top News Stories of 2006:

1. The Iraq War will continue...And more troops will die...
2. President Bush's approval rating will drop even more
3. Journalist Bob Novak's source in the Plame story will be revealed
4. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will be found guilty and go to prison
5. Karl Rove will be also be indicted and stand trial
6. The 2006 Elections will show the distrust in the Republican Party
7. The Democrat's will pick up several seats in Congress
8. The 2006 Elections will shed light on the 2008 Election results
9. There will be another Hurricane that will hit the Southwest
10. R. Kelly will release another music-sode of "Trapped In The Closet" (It'll be #83 or something!)

Things that might happen in 2006:

1. Talks of Impeaching President Bush will continue and escalate
2. Congress MAY introduce Impeachment Legislation
3. Donald Rumsfeld may resign
4. Katie Couric may take the CBS Evening News anchor job
5. I may move this site to it's own domain (maybe)

This has been 2006-The Year Ahead. Thanks for visiting The Future!!!

-Adam

Our First National Exposure!

First off, I have no idea how most of you got to my site. I'm listed on the search engines (most anyway), but what makes you type in something like "democrat views" is beyond me! Second, I don't mean to gloat, but I have tro in this case. Sorry, I don't do it often!

I found out just moments ago that the post I made about Bob Novak telling the press that the President probably knew his source, was reference to on cbsnews.com on December 15th.

The article ws talking about the same subject talk on the same issue. Go to: CBSNews.com's Public Eye. If you scroll to almost the end of the story, click on the hyperlinked words "joined the call" (the words are in blue, for those of you who aren't computer-savvy), you will be linked to the specific story here on Democrat Views!

Like I said, sorry to gloat, but I'm very excited! I'd like to thank CBS News for (somehow) picking my site. Thank you!

-Adam

NO President Should EVER Say This - PULLED

THIS STORY HAS BEEN PULLED DUE TO A LACK OF CONFIRMED SOURCES.

SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE OR CONFUSION.

-Adam, administrator

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

I hope all of you have a good day tomorrow. I hope you have great food, great presents, and great family discussions!

For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I sincerely hope you have a Happy Holidays, no matter what religion you are.

For those of who who celebrate the Winter Solstice instead of a religious holiday, please have a good one. Wait, that arleady passed, didn't it? Well, I hope you did have a good one!

Remember to celebrate well, however you happen to celebrate this type of year!

I don't plan on posting anything till a day or two after Christmas, but knowing this country, you better check in often, because you never know what may churn up over the holiday season!

Merry Christmas! Hope it's a good one!!!

-Adam

Secretary Of Defense Announces Troop Withdrawal

This is Breaking News: Bush did the RIGHT thing!

Actually, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that President Bush has authorized a "Re-Deployment of Troops", or something like that. Basically, they're taking 7,000 troops OUT of Iraq.

There are currently over 138,000 armed forces personnel in Iraq. The withdrawal will be the first of several planned withdrawals in the coming year. This also means they won't be calling up more troops, two Army brigades that were to be called up, will no longer be needed. According to a count by CNN, this would reduce the number of combat brigades from 17 to 15.

Secretary Rumsfeld said, "The effect of these adjustments will reduce forces in Iraq by the spring of 2006 below the current high of 160,000 during the election period to below the 138,000 baseline that had existed before the most recent elections."

This means that the 20,000 troops The Pentagon sent to Iraq for the election will be coming home.

It's about time. It looks like all the "Democratic whining", or whatever the Republicans like to call it, worked, although they probably won't admit it!

But the calls for troop withdrawal by Democrats and even some Republicans have worked. There is NO doubt that our party's calls for troop withdrawal had some effect on the Bush Administration. Bush's numbers are still real low, and the only reason they raised a few points was because gas prices went down. Undoubtedly, some people use gas prices as their only measure of how a President is doing.

I'd like to see them home, but why don't they send some of the ones who are on their first tour to Afghanistan? Afghanistan isn't exactly a paradise, in fact, it sounds like it's been getting worse over there. The Bush Administration kind of went in there, chased some of the bad guys away, and never talked of it again. I don't want Bush, or God forbid a Republican wins in 2008, to send troops back to Afghanistan. That's why I think a few thousand should go over there.

Or course, Bush won't do that, so bring them home. Don't re-deploy them to Germany, or something stupid like that. Bring them home, let them have at least a year here, maybe two, before you send them to one of our many bases around the world.

But I hope that during the November 2006 Congressional Elections, you and the rest of the American people won't forget that there are STILL 130,000+ troops over there. Don't be overshadowed by the fact that only 7,000 have made it home.

Let's hope this trend continues...

-Adam
oregondemocrat@hotmail.com

GUEST POSTING - Politics Is Over-rated

Disclaimer: This is from a guest poster. The views may or may not reflect my views, or the views of any Political Party...

I dont know much about politics, but i think a lot of it is over-rated.

People need to realize whats best for *us*. And by us, I mean the U.S. Not about the war. Before we think about helping out other countries, we need to make sure WE as a country are stable to stand on our own. Then we can help others in need.

The system of the world totally blows. In the US, we have too many drugs. In Africa, they don't have enough. There's has to be SOME WAY a lot of the world's problems can be fixed. We can SOLVE THOSE, without establishing who is a DEMOCRAT and who is a REBUPLICAN.

Why should that matter? we're all Americans, and we are all humans. We ALL live on this planet TOGETHER. So why cant we, ALL of us, find way to improve where we live? If we dont, who will?

There's not a person in the world who wouldn't agree wth me. EVERYONE wants this in life because thats the way we make it! We keep thinking, hoping the other will change, or 'surrender', because thats the only way. Well its not. We have to meet half-way.

Everyone has to give little, not just wait to take. There will never be anything to take if you don't give!

-Molly, guest poster #1

Thanks, Molly!

Spy Court Judge Quits Over NSA Spying Story

U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of the 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, has resigned in protest over President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program.

Robertson sent a letter to Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts Monday, but in the letter, he did not give an explanation for his resignation. Two sources of the story said Robertson expressed concern with the authorization, and thought that it violated the workings of the Surveillance Court.

To read the full story, go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10538136

My Comments: This even more-so points to the fact that what President Bush did probably wasn't legal. Like I said in the earlier post, the government should be able to weed out those specific people, without spying on everybody.

The secret FISA court was considered the only body who could authorize surveillance and spying. No, Bush has over-ridden another part of government who had authority over him. Add that to a growing list.

We'll see where this leads.

NOTE: After clicking on the above link, you can scroll down a bit, and on the right of the page, there's a "Live Vote" asking whether Bush should be impeached. I'm not touching that subject right now, because I consider myself better than the likes of Kenneth Starr, but it should be noted that 85% of the people think that he should be impeached.

Just something to think about...

-Adam
Source: MSNBC.com

President Orders NSA To Spy On Americans After 9/11 - New York Times Reports

I found this on CNN. My comments will appear below the story.

"A story in The New York Times on Friday claimed that Bush secretly signed an order authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans who were communicating with individuals overseas to determine if they had terrorist ties.

"After 9/11, I told the American people I would do everything in my power to protect the country, within the law, and that's exactly how I conduct my presidency," Bush said in an interview with PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," which was scheduled to air Friday evening.

"Sources with knowledge of the program have since told CNN that Bush did sign the secret order in 2002. The sources refused to be identified because the program is classified.

"Pressed on the topic in the PBS interview, Bush said he understood people want him to confirm or deny the report, but he couldn't discuss specifics because "it would compromise our ability to protect the people," according to a transcript of the program.

"The NSA eavesdrops on billions of communications worldwide. While the NSA is barred from domestic spying, it can get warrants issued with the permission of a special court called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court.

"The court is set up specifically to issue warrants allowing wiretapping on domestic soil.

"In the New York Times report, the paper said the NSA has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants during the past three years as part of its war on terror.

"Bill Keller, the Times' executive editor, said in a statement that the newspaper postponed publication of the article for a year at the White House's request as editors pondered the national security issues surrounding the release of the information.

"I think the point that Americans really want to know is twofold. One, are we doing everything we can to protect the people? And two, are we protecting the civil liberties as we do so?" Bush said during the PBS interview. "And my answer to both is yes, we are."

My Comments: Go figure. I can understand them doing this, to a point.

Tell me, though, what does my dad's emails from Oregon to my uncle who's way outside London gonna tell us about national security? I'm assuming that most terrorists would live in bigger cities. Seriously, they could choose better who they need to watch.

The U.S. has a terror suspect list. They could, oh maybe, focus on these people. They could also check out those who recently were denied entry to the U.S. THis might be easier AND more lucriative than checking EVERYONE who communicates with those outside the U.S., especially since, I assume, they didn't find anything.

The President says he won't confirm or deny the story, due to national security.

UPDATE to Novak story: The President said he doesn't have "any idea" as to why Bob Novak said he would know who the source is. I guess we'll see who's right when the source finally comes out!

-Adam
oregondemocrat@hotmail.com
Source: CNN.com

Very Sad News - John Spencer Has Died

I was watching CNN and I just saw some horrible news...

John Spencer, who plays former Chief of Staff turned V.P. Candidate Leo McGarry, has died of a heart attack at age 58.

John Spencer co-starred in the West Wing since the first season, playing the Chief of Staff of President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet, who is played by Martin Sheen.

For those who watch the show will remember that last year, Spencer's character, Leo McGarry, suffered a heart attack just after resigning his post, but then came back as a consultant, then as V.P. Candidate to Presidential Candidate Matthew Santos, played by Jimmy Smits.

Spencer's other T.V. credits include L.A. Law and Trinity, while his film credits include Presumed Innocent, The Rock, and the Negotiator.

He will be missed.

-Adam

Vote In Our 2008 Primary Polls!

I've added two (2) new polls to this site. There's no time limit on them, but you can vote only once, unless you go over to your other computer, or a friends computer!

The 1st poll is about who you will vote for in the 2008 Democratic Primary. I came up with the 10 most popular and well-known possible candidates.

The 2nd poll is about who you think will win the 2008 Republican Primary. Again, I came up with the 10 most popular and well-known answers for possible candidates.

Please feel free to vote in BOTH polls! It should be noted that during the setup of these polls, I ended up voting twice!

The polls are located on the right-hand side of the page, just below the blog buttons.

There is NO time limit on these polls, so if you don't want to vote right now, you can come back and do it later!

-Adam

Al-Zarqawi Captured And Released?

This is just coming in from CNN:

Deputy Minister of the Interior says that the Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was in custody in 2004, but let go, because no one knew his identity.

al-Zarqawi was reportedly in a medical center, being treated for injuries after being picked up by the Iraqi military. No one knew it was Abu Musab al-Zaqawi, so he was discharged without suspicion.

However, a U.S. general siad that the military was indeed informed of Al-Zarqawi being there, but by the time they got there, the terrorist leader was gone.


-Adam

You Know, Mr. President, Please Tell Us!

Way back in the year 2003, well-known journalist Robert (Bob) Novak, relased the name of a CIA agent by the name of Valerie Plame in one of his articles. This came 8 days after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joesph Wilson, made accusations of the Bush Administration's handling of the Iraq War.

He claimed that the Bush Administration, in an effort to exaggerate the Iraqi threat, manipulated Pre-war intelligence to point out the threat to the United States from Saddam Hussein.

Now, Bob Novak says that he'd "Be amazed" if the President didn't know who his source was. Novak also said that the American people should "bug the President as to whether he should reveal who the source is."

Novaks's comments were from a Q & A session in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer.

Bob Novak had two sources for his article, which ended Plame's career, which lasted more than two decades. Turns out that if the world knows your a CIA agent, you pretty much are out of a job.

One of Novak's sources was Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (if you watch the West Wing, this is the capacity which Bradley Whitford plays!), who is also a senior advisor to President Bush. Rove is being investigated by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is heading up the investigation.

But Rove is not in as big of trouble as counterpart Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former Chief of Staff, who has been indicted for obstrustion of justice, perjury, and making false statements. Libby and Rove revealed the identity of Plame to Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper. Libby also revealed Plame's name to reporter Judith Miller. Libby has since resigned.

Novak's other source is not known to the public, but as quoted above, the President obviously knows. It is assumed that Novak is cooperating with Fitzgerald, but he has not publicly said so.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, urged the President to either identify the source or say that he doesn't know.

Sen. Schumer, in a letter to the President, said "Unlike Mr. Novak, who can claim an interest in maintaining the confidentiality of his sources, there is no similar privilege arguably preventing you from sharing this information."

Sen. Schumer also pointed out that "At one point, in 2004, you suggested that anyone who was involved in leaking the name of the covert CIA operative would be fired."

My Comments: The President of the United States doesn't have the ability to keep something secret, like a reporter can, especially when it can help Patrick Fitzgerald prosecute leakers. If he doesn't, I imagine that would be obstruction of justice, unless Executive Priviledge can be enacted (please feel free to comment if I'm wrong!).

If PotUS doesn't know, or if he says he doesn't know, then Bob Novak should say who it is. He actually should say who it is anyway, but he probably won't. Which is too bad, that means a more drawn out process.

Better yet, I call for this source to come forward himself. I'm personally thinking that it could be the Vice President himself. If not him, then it's Andrew Card, President Bush's Chief of Staff (the capacity which is currenty played by Allison Janney on the West Wing!). It's got to be a TOP official, because it wouldn't be a big deal if the source was the East Wing janitor (C'mon, what would you really find in the First Lady's Office?), nor is it that new chef the White House just got.

There's a good chance DCoS Karl Rove will be indicted soon.

When this source comes out, or when the leak is leaked, hopefully everyone will be indicted, and this will all be over!

You know, Mr. President, so please tell us! We're all waiting!

-Adam
oregondemocrat@hotmail.com

"Guest Views" Posting

Anybody here who would like to guest post, please contact me. If you have something political to say, this is your time. I will give you credit for it.

To participate, please send your IDEA ONLY with a description of what you plan to put in it. The post can be about anything under the sun, as long as it conforms to general Democratic views. Those who consider themselves Democrats, but disagree with a certain party view, THIS is your time to get the word out.

Likewise, if you are a Democrat, and don't agree with a certain view of our party, you may send me an email, also.

I've had an increase of traffic lately, so a generous handful of people will see it.

If I like the idea, I will email you back, asking for the story. Please type IN the email, I don't want any attachments. IF for some reason, you have limited character limits in your email's, contact me, and I will accept an attachment. I don't have Microsoft Word, so make sure it's in WordPad.

Full credit WILL go to you, my name will not appear in the post. Your name, first and/or last, screen name (if applicable), & email (optional) can appear in the post. Make sure it's structured. If it's not, I'll structure it, but it may not come out as you intended.

This will be pretty much open to anybody. You don't need to be a member of Blogger/BlogSpot to sumbit.

Special circumstances: I have at least ONE reader who is Conservative. IF you are Conservative, but share one (1) or more views with Democrats/Liberals, feel free to email me, too. Republican/Conservative's who share NO views with Democrats/Liberals need not apply, UNLESS you have a good reason for me to post an opposing view on my site. Even if you don't think you do, it won't hurt to type a few lines in an email and send it off!

Don't assume just because you end up reading this post four days after it's posted, that this offer is closed. I may post more than one "Guest Views", although probably not at the same time. So send in those ideas!

My email is on here at least three times, so look for it, and send me those ideas! Any questions, or IF you can't find my email address, leave a comment here, or email me!

-Adam

"Lord Of The Rings" Star Blasts Bush

Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn, expert swordsman and heir to the Gondor throne, blasted President Bush in the latest issue of Progressive magazine. Instead of writing, I'm going to post what was written on MSNBC.com:

The following article was posted online at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9916567


Viggo Mortensen isn’t backing off his stinging critique of George Bush.

The “Lord of the Rings” hottie took some heat for criticizing the president’s policies lately, and in a recent interview, Mortensen is unrepentant.

“I’m not anti-Bush; I’m anti-Bush behavior,” Mortensen told Progressive magazine. “In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.”

Mortensen also blasted the administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina and discussed why he supported anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who has protested the war in Iraq since her son was killed there. “Cindy Sheehan and how badly Katrina was bungled are two shots to the heart,” he said. “I hope the beast does fall down soon."


I think Viggo Mortensen did a great job in the "Lord Of The Rings" Trilogy! And now I like him even more, now that I know he is liberal! Cool!

-Adam

Why It Was Right For Tookie To Die

Stanley "Tookie" Williams was executed 22 1/2 hours ago. And you know what? I feel NO remorse for him!

No, you don't have to check, I AM a Democrat! But not all Democrats are against the death penalty. In fact, California, which is one of the Blue-est states in the country, supports the death penalty at a rate of about 70%! So, most agree that people like Tookie should've died!

For those of you questioning why Stanley Williams had to die, read my previous posts.

I think that my first "Weekly Article", which will start appearing on here shortly, will be about the death penalty. But for today's post, I will explain why "Tookie" Williams had to die.

He killed Four (4) people! Writing childrens books won't change that fact. He did the ultimate crime against man! What gives him the right to end others' lives? The answer? Nothing! Williams did the crime, and he must do the time. But this time, the "time" was death.

Put yourselves in the shoes of the families of the victims. Someone took the like, NO, someone INTENTIONALLY murdered, one (or in the other case, four!) member of your family, someone you loved! I'd want them to die! I'd love to do it myself, but that would never be legal, so we resort to the Government to get justice for us.

Many of you out there, for some reason, don't support the death penalty! This strikes me as funny. Republicans are considered the religious party, and the Bible says that one man should not take another mans life, but they're ALL for the death penalty. The Democrats are less religious (but many of us still are!), but many of them don't believe in the death penalty. That's messed up. It's backwards!

Everybody should support the death penalty. If the Republicans can do it, then the Democrats can do it. But actually, most Democrats do, I think. It's just that the people we elect don't always believe in it. But some Republicans don't believe in it, either. Wasn't it a Republican Governor who commuted all 180+ death row inmates in Indiana before leaving office?

We should support the death penalty. Stanley Williams did a bad thing, and we have juries so that a fair punishment can be carried out. They've fried people for doing MUCH less than what Williams did, and they were executed. But suddenly, writing books, denouncing that you were in a gang, but not denouncing killing people, will save your life?

Heck, if I commit a crime ever, which I hope I never do, I'll do him one better. I'll direct a movie about what I did, and say that it's wrong! I'll be granted a pardon by the President himself! C'mon people!

He did the crimes. He was guilty. I don't know who else could've done it! At the trial, Williams said "You should have heard the way he sounded when I shot him". And he commited four murders all for $200! How sad!

Tookie's co-author of the books, Barbera Bechnel, called Gov. Schwarzenegger a "cold-blooded murderer". Now, I don't share many views with the governor, but no one should be called that, unless they DID murder someone in cold blood, like Williams did! And she pointed out a "conspiracy" to kill Williams, which any logical person knows isn't true. She has the right to her own views, but c'mon, you've got to be kidding me! Some people can't accept it when someone does something bad.

So far, this hasn't been blown into a race-related thing. If it does become that, it's definately not true! The government doesn't do that anymore. Anyone who thinks that if there were more people of African decent on the jury, that the judgement would be any different, is crazy. IF that happened, those people wouldn't hold up their civic duties. It's wrong to judge someone based on race!

So anyway, Stanley "Tookie" Williams did something bad, and now he's been executed for it! Someone on the radio suggested that a page be added to each of Williams 9 books, explaining that on December 13, 2005, he was executed for his crimes. She said that would get the point across that violence is wrong! I doubt it will happen, but it's an interesting thought, none-the-less.

-Adam

Stanley Williams Executed

Stanley "Tookie" Williams, co-founder of the Crips gang, who was convicted in 1981 of 4 murders in 1979, was executed at 12:35 am PST on Tuesday, December 13, 2005.

"Tookie" was found guilty of mudering a convience store worker, then killing a couple and their daughter a week later. Williams maintained his innocence.

Reports from witnesses of the execution say that the correctional officers in charge of setting him up for the execution, had trouble putting in the I.V. in his left arm. Those who are executed by lethal injection hace an I.V. placed in each arm, so in the event one fails, there is a backup. Witnesses say it took several minutes to get the I.V. in the correct place.

Williams reportedly said, "Haven't found it yet?" to the guard in charge of placing the I.V. in his arm.

Most of the time Williams looked only at his guests. Those being executed are allowed to have a few guests to witness the execution. However, at one point, Williams turned his head and stared at the members of the press who were there as witnesses, also.

Stanley Williams chatted with the officers as they were preparing to end his life, witnesses report.

As they were prepping him, Williams what holding a in-audilbe conversation with three supports of his, who where in there as witnesses, including Barbera Bechnel. At one point, one of the three pumped his fist in the air, as a symbol of black power and mouthed the name "Tookie".

As the three witnesses left the witness room, all in unison they yelled "California just executed an innocent man!"

Williams very last chance to be spared from death came to an end when the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear an appeal. This announcement came just 5 hours before WIlliams was to be executed. At literally the last moment, Williams' attorneys asked Governor Schwarzenegger to grant clemency for Williams, which Schwarzenegger denied to do just hours before the execution.

According to witnesses, Williams breathing became labored, his chest rising and lowering rapidly. He then appeared not to move. He remained like this for several minutes before the officel in the witness room announced that Williams was pronounced dead at 12:35 am PST.

After the execution, Barbera Bechnel, one of the witnesses, virtually announced a campaign to get back at Gov. Schwarzenegger, who according to her, is "A cold-blooded murderer". She also suggested that a conspiracy took place between the Prosecution, the Governor, the State's Supreme Court, the Federal Appeals Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States, to execute Williams, who she claimed was an innocent man.

The crowd of supporters outside San Quientin State Prison bacame very quiet after the death was announced. A few minutes later, however, the crowd started chanting and yelling various things. To their credit, they didn't become rowdy.

So the controversy surrounding the possible death of Stanley "Tookie" Willams is over. The argument whether or not he should have been executed is another story, which will no doubt start tomorrow.

-Adam

100 Visitors

WOW!

I set this site up less than a week ago, and I just had my 100th visitor.

Thank You to all who came here (if you're reading this, that includes you!) and took the time to read my posts!

I dont know how you all got here, since I don't think anyone links to my site, yet.

Anyway, thank you and please come back soon!

-Adam

Breaking News - Williams WILL Die!

Stanley "Tookie" Williams was turned down an appeal by the California State Supreme Court yesterday. Today, he was turned down an appeal by The Federal Appeals Court. Not long after that was reported, the report everyone had been anxiously waiting for was handed down:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied Clemency for Stanley "Tookie" Williams. Williams was convicted in 1981 of 4 murders he convicted in 1979. Stan Williams had maintained his innocence.

Two days ago, Williams attorney's asked Gov. Schwazenegger for Clemency in a last ditch effort to spare his life, which was denied at about 12:30 pm Monday.

Governor Schwarzenegger said in a statement that he couldnot find "significant evidence" to overturn the decision the juy had made 24 years ago.

Williams will die at 12:01 am Tuesday, December 13, 2005, less than 11 1/2 hours from now.

This IS a political OPINION blog, but I won't post my opinion on this issue until tomorrow, not out of respect for Williams but out of respect for the families.

Come back tomorrow for updates and my opinion on this touchy, sad issue.

-Adam

Weekly Column

I'm gonna undertake a huge...undertaking!?!

I will consider this a learning experience for you and me. I'm a member of the Democratic Party, but even I don't know where my party stands on every issue. I've decided to find out.

Starting in a few days, I will start a weekly column that will last until I run out of topics. Every week, I will post a column with will inform you of the Democratic Parties' OFFICIAL view on each issue. For those of you who are Democrats, this will help reinforce our beliefs. For those of you who AREN'T Democrats will see where our party err's.

This will also be a learning experience for me.

As I said, this will cotinue every week, until I run out of issues. If you have an issue that you would like for me to cover, even if I haven't gotten there yet, please email your idea to me at: oregondemocrat@hotmail.com, and I may use your idea. Wouldn't that be great!

BTW, you don't have to be a Democrat to email me with ideas. I appreciate the views of those who don't agree with me!

I will continue to make posts about current political issues while this is going, so come back more than just once a week! The reason I need a week in between is that I need time for research.

Oh, and if I don't agree withthe parties' official position, I will inform you of my views on the subject!

-Adam

Which Station Do You Watch?

I want to take a poll. I know many of you come here, read, and leave. This is fine, but I'd like if you'd comment on this one.

I want to know what channel you watch. The nominees are:

NATIONAL or LOCAL AFFILIATE:
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX

NATONAL:
CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, Regional (NWCN, etc.)

Or, if you don't watch T.V. news, tell me what paper you read.

Please post your answers in the comments section. You may have noticed that Comment Moderation was on earlier. It is now OFF. Please, feel free to post.

I currently watch CNN, MSNBC, and local news. I watch FOX News or Regional news when nothing else is on!

-Adam

Stanley "Tookie" Williams

So, in the next day or so, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will decide whether or not to grant clemency to Stan "Tookie" Williams, who co-founded the notorious "Crips" gang.

Back in 1979, Williams killed 4 people in a one week period. He killed a former soldier who was working at a 7-eleven when Wiliams and friend(s) robbed the place. Tookie took the cashier, after he had given up the money, into the back room and shot him in the back twice in the back with a shotgun. A week later Williams and firend(s) robbed a motel, which was run by a married couple. Williams killed the couple AND their daughter.

Stan Williams had been held on death row since 1981. On Thursday, December 8, Williams' lawyers had a clemency hearing with the governor. Clemency from the governor is Williams last chance to avoid the death penalty, as all of his appeals have been exhausted. Williams maintains his innocence, but at the same time, tells the governor that he "is a changed man".

Williams is the author of 9 childrens books, dealing with staying away from gangs. He has been nominated 4 times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Stan "Tookie" Williams is scheduled to be executed Tuesday, December 13, pending that he doesn't recieve clemency from the governor. Williams is 51 years old.

When the decision is handed down, come back here to see my views on the issue.

MSNBC was granted an interview with Williams, you can read it here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10404019/site/newsweek/

-Adam

Foul Comments

If you've been here, you probably don't like what Republicans stand for. That's OK, but what I dont appreciate is foul words in the comments section. I try to keep this site clean, so those of all ages can read what's here. However, I recieved a comment with a word in it I didn't care for. The peron who posted that CAN STILL POST HERE. I have not banned anyone, and I won't. Here's what I posted inthe comments section in response to the comment, please read it:

This is a notice for everyone:
Please do not post foul words on my site. Myself, my family who views this page, and others who visit this site do not appreciate bad language.

AS LONG AS YOUR POSTS DO NOT CONTAIN VERY BAD LANGUAGE, THEY WILL BE POSTED. I promise, I will post every single one, no matter if you agree with me or not.
Please don't bother posting if all you're going to do is cuss. However, if ou can get your point across without cussing, please post, I WILL NOT DELETE POSTINGS JUST BECAUSE I DON'T AGREE WITH THEM!

Thank you, and enjoy the site!

-Adam

Political Song - Unbiased

I wrote a political song. I only have the first 2 verses, but I'll try to come up with more. I'll also try to write a biased song, which will point out all the problems with the Republican Party.

Hope you like it!

I'm a Democrat, that's what I'm thinking,
I'm A Democrat, not votin' for Lincoln.
I'm a Democrat, that's how I feel,
Change the Constitution, bring back Bill!

I'm a Republican, that's what I like,
I'm a Republican, I voted for Ike.
I'm a Republican, that's what I say,
I'd vote for W any day!

-By Adam G

-Adam

Withdrawl Isn't Failure

A timed, steady withdrawl is NOT failure in Iraq. John Murtha's view isn't"pull 'em all out now". He wants a steady withdrawl. Pull half of them out by next year, then slowly retract the rest, every few months. Some wil still be there fo years, without it being a full out invasion. This way, the Iraqi troops that aren't at full capacity yet will be ready by the time we're all gone.

That's another thing, there are curently more Iraqi troops than U.S. troops, and they out nember us by about 30,000. And some have been trained for over 2 years. How could they NOT be ready? Most of our troops over there haven't had 2 years training. We're using National Guardsman over there! They didn't sign up, nor are they qualified for this!

Bush wants all the troops to march out of there when all the insurgents are gone. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! Currently in the United States, there are people who want to bring down te government, just like Iraq. And while those in the U.S. don't use IED's, the Iraqi's will probably calm down once we leave.

OK, stick with me on this next part.

President Bush is NOT nearly as bad as Sadaam Hussein. But imagine that the French, Germans, and Spanish agreed that the United States was going in the wrong direction, and decided to relieve us of our current U.S. government. They invade, and the top people of our government go into hiding. Our troops don't know what to do, and we, as citizens, are completely dumb-founded. There would probably be several of U.S. that rebel, bacause while many of us don't like President Bush, and he did scare many of you into voting for him, we don't want things to change.

So several "insurgency" groups pop up all over the U.S., trying to kill the troops, so the leaders would get the point that this is futile, and they ould withdraw. Except that they don't. Infact, they plan elections with candidates that they support, and bring MORE troops in. This has happened, and is currently happening, in Iraq. Prety scary, huh?

But back to reality. Everybody, I hope, would love for our troops to come home tomorrow. By thatwon't happen. But withdraw isn't failure,because we're not "up and leaving", we'd be doing EXACTLY what the Iraqi's want us to do. Project yourself back to the invaded America. After they've been there SO long, would you just want them to: 1. Stay there for years, 2. Up an leave at once, 3. Do a planned withdrawl, weaning the Iraqi troops to take over themselves.

I'd pick #3, but that's just the view of this Democrat. Comment on this post, and tell me what YOU think!

Register To Vote

I encourage ANYONE who is not regstered to vote to do so, no matter which party you register for. You may register to vote at your local elections office, or online through either the FEC (Federal Election Commission's website) or through either the Democratic or Republican National Committee's websites. By law, the Democraic and Republican websites MUST give you a choice on which political party you wish to register with. You don't have to register for a political party, but it'll make it a lot easier when the primaries come around in early 2008. Please, please register, even if your views aren't reflected here.

Don't know which political party you should associate with? Visit the Democratic and Republican websites and see where they stand. You don't have to agree with every issue, just visit each one to get an overall feel by viewing each parties Platorms and History. And please, don't just say "My wife / husband / dad / mom / brother / sister is a Democrat / Republican / Independent, so I'll just vote that way. Believe me, they'll respect you more if you form your own views. Plus, you'll have interesting conversations on holidays!

http://www.democrats.org/ - Democratic Party website
OR
http://www.rnc.org/ - Republican Party website
Don't agree with either? Try the Independent Party
http://www.usiap.org/

Remember, in 2006, some Governors, 33 Senators, and ALL the Representatives will be up for re-election. Register now and send a message next November that you either support change, or reaffirm the current course, depending on how you vote.

-Adam

November 4, 2008 - Election Day

November 4, 2008 could possibly be one of the mot important days ever!

The nation had a chance to take President out of office November of 2004, but didn't. I disagree wit the "majority" of Americans. I put that in quotations because, unlike the 2000 elections, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report stating that there was a good chance that the 2004 elections were stolen. However, they don't say whether it was stolen by everyday hackers, or Republican agents.

I recommend that you search the internet for the GAO report. I'd list it here, but I don't remember where I found it.

Anyway, now we have a chance to "CHANGE the course", and given Bush's recently poll numbers, a majority, and please note that I DIDN'T use quotations, want a change in the government. In a recent question, 60% of those asked say they want the next president "competely different" than our current president, while only 38% said they want someone who "is the same". Last time I checked, 60% is a HUGE majority, and even if 10% change their minds, a majority will still want some one way different than what we got now.

Which brings me back to November 4, 2008. On that day, we have the ability to choose someonw who will support the current rhedoric, pending that there is some "rebirth" in the Republican Party, which I doubt, or we can make a change. Let's make a change!

I personally support Hillary Clinton. I know not everyone in the Democratic Party supports her, especially conservative Democrats in the South. But Mrs. Clinton has a lot of experience already. The First Lady doesn't just sit around and clean the Execuative Mansion. There is a lot of politics involved. She's also done a great job as the Junior Senator from New York, as many of her constituients would probably agree. Yes, as the Republicans have pointed out, in the past year of so, she has made a shift to the center, to try to appeal to all members of the Democratic Party, but Republicans do the sam thing, they just don't talk about it.

If, for some ungaudly (ungodly?) reason, if she isn't selected as the Democratic nominee, I support Bill Richardson. Governor Richardson has tons of experience. He has served his country as a Congressman, the U.S. Ambssador to the United Nations, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy under the great President Bill Clinton. He is currently the Governor of the hotly-contested state of New Mexico, which went red in 2000, but blue in 2004. Gov. Richardson has served the people of New Mexico well, and would make a great President. Richardson is so clean, the Republicans can only talk about the fact that he supposedly "lied" about being drafted by the A's, the professional basebal team. Richardson actually DID think that he was drafted to play, but he never did. I don't remember why he didn't.

Now of course, my dream realistic dream ticket would be Clinton-Richardson or even Richardson-Clinton. My unrealistic dream ticket would be (Bill) Clinton and John Kerry, but I don' think that will, and certainly Constitutionally CAN'T, happen. But could Kerry-Clinton happen? Hmmm? Anyway, back to reality, Hillary Clinton running with Bill Richardson in EITHER combination would work well, and almost guarantee a win. The only ticket that would give them a run for their money would be Guliani-McCain or McCain-Guilani. That'd be a great ticket.

Now here's the interesting part. If one of those Republicans ran with one of those Democrats, that would make a GREAT ticket. I would prefer that the Democrat be President and The Republican be Vice, but I MIGHT be persuaded to vote for them if it was the other way around. Senator Joe Biden, D-Delaware, as said on record that he would love to be on a ticket with John McCain, R-Arizona, in either capacity. I might be persuaded to vote that ticket, also.

To sum thing up, we need a change. The Democrats I mention above will definately change the course the U.S. is going. The Republicans I mention might do the same, but may need some Democratic guidance.

Of course there are other Democrats and Republicans running in 2008, but these are my favorites. If either Clinton or Richardson get elected to EITHER capacity, it will be the first time a woman or Hispanic will have been elected to the highest or second-highest office in the country. I'd vote Democrat in 2008, but that's just me!

-Adam

Iraq - The "Good" News

As a Democrat, I again find something the Republicans do, stupid!

The United States is paying millions of dollars for Iraqi journalists to write stories about events that really didn't happen to make the Iraqi's think that the U.S. was making headway in the war. Can you believe this! Actually paying newspaper in Iraq to carry pro-occupation stories!

However, these stories are proportedly written by the Administrations spin-doctors, not by the journalists themslves, who then put Iraqi journalist names on them. It was reported that the U.S. military gives Iraqi journalists monthly payments (through PayPal, maybe?) to put these stories in their papers! It figures, they don't even trust the good Iraqi's to trust us!

It doesn't really infuriate me like I thought it would, but it just makes me shake my head and think, "God, what else could they do toscrew up this country ANY more than it is now. I'm almost thinking we need to cut our losses and run, instead of doing a steady pullout.

And, as an expert on T.V. pointed out, we're obviously not forcing our First Amendment on them!

-Adam

Air Marshals Did A Great Job

Did everyone catch the excitement in Miami today? A guy on board flght 924 supposedly was bipolar and ddn't take his medication. Now, I may be wrong about this, and you can email me if I'm wrong, but missing one medication shouldn't have pushed him over the edge. His wife, being married and devoted to him, is the one person who is to make SURE that he take his medication. Someone with a disorder like that may think that they don't need medicine, but she's there to make sure that he does.

Anyway, the guy ran off the airplane yelling that he had a bomb, and was reaching into his bag as the agents were pointing their guns at him. As my dad said, once the agents unholster their gun, they're gonna shoot somebody. He got fair warning, but EVEN though he was bipolar, you'd think he'd know when there were guns pointed at him!

Anyway, he wasn't even supposed to fly! An expert on T.V. said that people with bipolar disorder are told whether or not they are supposed to fly. And he was told that he shouldn't fly! But he did anyway.

The agents did the job that they're supposed to do. That's it, but people will make more of it than it really is. FOX News will spin it to the effect that "President Bush ordered more flight marshals, and he alone is responible for this heroic display of safety on the part of the agents". Or something like that.

-Adam

Rep. John Murtha, Try #2

I accidently deleted a really good post before I could post it. Crap!

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, has got it right. We need to bring the troops home. Sure, it would be GREAT if they came home tomorrow, but that can't, shouldn't, and will not happen. The country of Iraq, as horrible as it was before we went in, is a mess now, and we need to clean it up before we leave. I support the plan that half of the troops are pulled out by this time, if not earlier, next year.

The Republicans say that we can't leave until the military and police are properly trained. I think we need to institute some "tough love", by telling them that they have a year to learn this stuf before they have even more responibilities. That will get them to learn faster, without putting them throught a "crash-course". The Fench didn'tstay for years and hold our hands after the Revolutionary War until we were ready, and we had a country, at the time, that waqs twice as huge as Iraq.

Many countries have offered help in training troops. Even more WOULD help, but they don't want to support a country support a country that really is lead by people who are not picked, but promoted, by U.S. leaders. Once countries see that the Iraqi's have control of they're onl country completely, with the U.S. just assisting, Iraq can ask those countries prsonally, and I bet more will help.

I know we're not supposed to play favoritism, but at least bring the troops home that have children. It's bad for all the mom's and dad's serving over there, but it's even worse for the children. an you imaging not know who this man is your mommy keeps talking about, and when he comes home, you don't know what to think! Believe it or not, it WILL bost morale. The troops over there, knowing there friends are home with there family and out of harms way, will make them feel better.

The U.S. needs to succeed, as President Clinton said on Larry King Live tonight, but we DON'T need to "stay the course", because President Bush lost his RoadmapTo Peace" long ago.

-Adam

Welcome To Democrat Views

Hi! Welcome to Democrat Views! I joined this place so I could post my own views on a conservative site, but the nice people here also gave me room for my own blog. Isn't that kind? OK, let's see. What I'll post here is Democratic issues.

I'm a Democrat, as I associate with most Democratic standpoints, but I'm not up on all the specifics, so I'll mainly be posting thigs in response to recent news stories, which may either appear on T.V. or on the internet. I watch the news A LOT! I mainly watch CNN or MSNBC, but I sometimes find myslf on FOX News, arguing with Sean Hannity or John Gibson.

I'm 19, and voted in my first election in 2004, and also experienced my first Presidential loss. But the next time I vote for a President, that person will win, I'm pretty darn sure of that! If you don't believe me, look at the recently CNN/USA Today/Gallup OR Zogby polls. I personally take place in the Zogby polls (they email me about once a month to fill out a survey).

Anyway, as the decription says, I probably won't be updating every day, because a current hobby that I have picked up is posting on the T.V. show "Lost" related forums. I post as "amg503" on those sites, so if you read this, give me a hollar. Enjoy!

-Adam