MattGinsberg's blog

If you have been paying any attention to the news in the past 11 days then you are cognizant of the horrific riots taking place in Paris.  These riots have now spread all over France and spilled into Beligum and Berlin.  Some have likened these events to the riots in L.A. just over a decade ago, where there was racial violence performed by police.  The whole ordeal started when a pair of Northern African kids ran from policemen and jumped over a fence onto a transformer and died.  Since then, the whole situation has amplified into one of discrimination, immigration rights, racism and unemployment.  As of today, the violence has gotten to the point of hooligans shooting at police, and 10 policemen have been reportedly shot.  French PM Dominique de Villepin has issued a curfew to prevent more riots, but again there were riots and over 800 cars torched for the 12th night in a row.  Interior Minister, Nickolas Sarcozy, Villepin's major opponent for the 2007 Presidential election, has come under major criticism for the riots.  Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the Front National, the well-known extreme right party, has said that the riots are a result of increased immigration.   Read More »

I have had some success in recent posts with opening up a healthy discourse on current contentious issues.  The issue of marijuana legalization is as contentious as it gets.  Since the U.S. has had a failed drug policy for nearly three decades, finally people are taking the issue into their own hands.  In Denver this past week, Amendment 100 was passed, legalizing an ounce or less of marijuana possession for adults (21 and over).  Obviously litigation will ensue as this undermines state law, but it is important for a few reasons. 

One, the passage this amendment proves that refernda can make an impact on laws.  The fact that several interest groups concerned with this issue were able to get this amendment on the ballot and pass it, is a good sign for our democracy.  Read More »

As one can see from my past blogs, I've been known to rip the GOP on a number of issues.  This is not due solely to partisan positioning, it is due to my fundamental ideological differences with the status quo and current administration.  As some commenters have pointed out, progressives should not just complain about the current political landscape, but rather what wins elections and is most successful is offering a vision and a better strategy.  This is how Clinton won in '92 and the GOP in '94.  

What I think is most immoral about the majority party goes beyond the CIA leak scandal, the Harriet Miers fallout and even Tom DeLay's indictment.  The current attempt to cut billions out of social programs for the poor in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy by House GOP members is a sure sign of the Republican's yearn to destroy everything valued in our country.  Most notably, the cuts to higher education loans, now dubbed the 'raid on student aid' by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), is threatening to cut $15-billion of student loans in the next five years.     Read More »

I was watching CNN and saw that in light of the CIA leak case, Vice President Dick Cheney's approval ratings have dipped below 40% according to a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll released today.  This may not come as a shock to most who have seen the recent poll numbers for the President (38% and dropping).  However, it is interesting to note that this is the lowest approval rating of any Vice President in the history of the United States.  Another poll showed that Americans are very disatisfied with Congressional Republicans and would prefer Democratic leadership over Republican leadership by 13%.  The last time there was this historically large of a gap for the Republicans was during their impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1998.  Read More »

The culture of corruption that is America's Republican Party is now being exposed.  However, many people think this is just on the national level.  Much to the contrary, it goes much deeper than that.  

I went to Washington, DC in September and received training from the DNC.  I was lucky enough to meet with Gov. Howard Dean, and he told me that we not only need to clean out the Frists, DeLays and Roves, but we need to rid our great nation of this entire culture that has come to embody the Republican Party.   Read More »

On September 29th, military recruiters set up a booth at the Johnson Center at George Mason University.  The Johnson Center, a public facility within GMU, a public University in Virginia, has become the site of a blatant attempt to curtail freedom of speech by public officials. 

Tariq Khan, an Air Force veteran and Pakistani American, figured he would be allowed to peacefully protest assuming his first amendment rights.   However, just an hour later, Tariq was held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center with an untreated head wound and charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.  How could this happen?  Read More »

House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) was indicted today on 1 count of criminal conspiracy. Due to House GOP rules, he will have to at least temporarily step down as majority leader. This would make Roy Blunt (R-MO) the new majority leader in the House.

This news is just one story among many ethics troubles for the GOP. Earlier this week, Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) went under investigation for his handlings of a trust fund.  Read More »

The feds have finally made their first White House bust. David Safavian, the chief of White House federal procurement policy and former employee for Jack Abramoff - the sleazy Republican lobbyist who has recently been indicted for his corrupt cases involving Tyco and Tom DeLay.

Mr. Safavian was responsible for setting purchasing policy for the entire federal government, including relief for Hurricane Katrina. He resigned just days ago before he was arrested. Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department announced this only after Mr. Safavian appeared in court and was released without bail. This strategy was clearly intended to keep this story off television, which it did.  Read More »