The Problem With "Progressive" Blogs

Those who like to call themselves liberals commonly use the term "partisanship" as a means of attacking conservatives who simply follow the Republican party line. Partisan conservatives oppose Democrats simply because they are Democrats. They don't really follow many of the principles of conservativism, such as a balanced budget and fiscal responsibility, they just attack the opposing party with their only goal being to get their friends into office.

In recent years, this partisanship has infiltrated the progressive movement as well. Air America Radio, for example, does not stand for any really progressive issues, other than those which are designed to get Democrats elected. They remain silent on issues which do not help Democrats. In a way, they can't be faulted for this, because when Al Franken (the only person on that station that I like and respect) first started the station, he claimed to be the Democratic equivalent of Rush Limbaugh. In saying that, he admitted that he was partisan, and not really progressive. I don't listen to them very often, so it is possible that this has changed recently.

Blogs like Eschaton and Daily Kos, however, do in fact claim to be progressive, when they are really exactly the same thing as Air America Radio. Whenever possible, they link only to other partisan Democrat sites, and they never write about issues with any goal other than getting more Democrats elected. For example, Atrios did not begin writing about the secret CIA pisons until Republicans made an effort to turn it into a political issue. A network of secret CIA prisons is not in itself a partisan issue because the CIA is not a partisan elected group. Then, Republicans began an investigation into a leak in the CIA which lead to the Washington Post story about the secret prisons with the expectation that a Democrat was involved in leaking classified CIA information. As soon as that happened, Atrios could not stop writing about it.

I understand the desire to get Democrats elected, but to do so and still call yourself progressive is disingenuous. Atrios and others like him are nothing more than partisan hacks.

I should mention that I have found a lot of very good progressive blogs which are an exception to this, such as ZNet and Not The Country Club, but they are certainly rare exceptions.

Bush Denies Torture?

According to Bush:

"There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again, so you bet we will aggressively pursue them but we will do so under the law." [link]

Under the law? I guess so, as long as torture is still legal! As I wrote in a previous post, the president has threatened to veto the law banning torture if it does not include a provision making the CIA exempt. Now, with the recent stories of a worldwide network of secret CIA prisons, it all makes sense.

I think the threats are nothing more than that. It would be political suicide for Bush to use his first veto since taking office to veto a bill banning torture. I think that he is just trying to use the threat to force the senate to ammend the bill as he wants. If the house can pass it in it's current form, preferably with more than a 2/3 majority, I don't think that Bush would have the audacity to veto.

If it passes, I doubt the secret CIA prisons would close, but at least there would be a legal means to punish those responsible.

Secret CIA Prisons

A secret network of camps, used to "concentrate" those deemed enemies to the state? This, I hope, will prove to be scandalous, but who knows [link].

Preventing STDs Is Immoral?

Conservatives are opposed to widespread use of a vaccine which has proven to be virtually 100% effective in preventing the Human Papalloma Virus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer [link].

Are they insane?

According to the article, 3,700 women die each year from cervical cancer, but conservative groups are concerned that vaccination against a sexually transmitted disease will encourage sex.

I think the real issue here is that conservative Christians see STDs as divine punishment for immoral activity. If they get HPV, they must deserve it. It is the same with HIV and AIDS, also known as God's punishment for homosexuality.

Of course, I am certain that if hetersexual white males could be harmed by HPV, the vaccine would be mandatory for every single man, woman, and child.