Thoughtful Dems

Welcome back to campus after what I hope was a fun and restful spring break. After a week off, I’m sure you’re all eager to get involved and get active in all that’s going on around campus. Thankfully, College Democrats is happy to provide you with plenty of outlets for your pent-up activist energy: look [...]

A fair chunk of this guy’s Spring Break was spent working on a massive paper due later this month. It has to do with the theoretical knowledge economy that has been developing for decades, roughly since the mid 1950s. What can be said in short about the knowledge economy is this: unless humanity gets their act [...]

“What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections – drowning out the voices of average Americans. The president has long been committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests and their lobbyists over government.” -White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Secretary Gibbs quickly [...]

If anyone is looking for a sign that the economy is on its way to recovery, they need only look to the recent drop in Michigan’s unemployment rate – that’s right, a DROP. In January, the unemployment rate in Michigan went from 14.5% to 14.3%. A drop of .2% is incontrovertibly small, but when you consider [...]

Barack and Michelle get down during the Governor’s Ball on February 21, 2010. If I may say, this is some of Michelle’s best hair to date. Don’t believe me? Check the Look Book. Also, some of the best dancing I’ve seen since this (4:11).

Check out UMCD’s entry to the University of Michigan’s census video contest:

Dear Sarah Palin, Lately you have been in the news a lot lately, almost more now than when people thought you were going to be the vice president. I have been noticing that almost all of the press you have been receiving has been bad press, for small things that you have done. Below i have [...]

On MetaFilter, under a thread regarding the rising numbers of right wing extremist groups, a couple comments went down like this: blue_beetle: “The greatest thing we learned from the recent election was that a black president can be just as mediocre as a white president.” kirkaracha: in response – “By this point in his presidency George Bush [...]

Currently, there is proposed legislation in Kentucky that would encourage teachers to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of scientific theories,” including “evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” Now, it’s not surprising that this legislation is being proposed in Kentucky where creationists have long fought to have their “viewpoints” taught in schools [...]

Today, the Washington Post reported that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) has issued sent a legal opinion to the commonwealth’s public colleges and universities notifying them that they do not have the power to protect students and employees from the discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression in their anti-discrimination policies. [...]

Today is a great day to be a Washingtonian.  After decades of fighting for equality, gay and lesbian couples can now wed in our nation’s capital.  This morning, same-sex couples can begin applying for marriage licenses.  The first weddings will take place on Monday, because the city mandates a waiting period of three business days before [...]

In light of recent articles in the Washington Post and the New Yorker on the expanded use of unmanned arial vehicles (UAVs), it seems worthwhile to discuss our nation’s increased reliance on them in the War on Terrorism. Probably the most controversial UAV is the Predator drone (MQ-1 variant pictured above), which has been used frequently [...]

So yesterday, the Dems had a health care panel for their Kick Ass Thursday (main meeting of the week), brought in by Organizing for America. Heard some new ideas, some old ones, it was a good mix. Later in the meeting they mention the catchy phrases that the Republicans manage to conjure up, particularly “Death Panels,” [...]

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Michigan Senate, a shout out to you, Moving backwards is not something everyone can do. University [...]

It may still be February, but with only 250 days until Election Day, the time to begin working to elect Democrats in November is right now. We have no time to waste. Please see the announcements below for ways in which you can help us “do it again” in 2010. I. Organizing for America Panel on [...]

This is not the dog featured on the front page. Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). + [...]

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Last week, the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America campaign teamed up with the Hip Hop Caucus on a bus tour co-sponsored by the College Democrats of America. The tour is bringing together leaders from the faith, business, and climate communities alongside entertainers and prominent figures, including DJ Biz Markie, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, actress [...]

What: A bipartisan forum arranged by the White House to discuss solutions to America’s healthcare problems When: Thursday, February 25, 2010 10:00am-4:00pmEST Who will be attending: President Barack Obama, and leading members of Congress on both sides of the aisle (including Senators McConnell, McCain, Grassley, Reid, Durbin, Dodd, and Schumer and Representatives Boehner, Cantor, Pelosi, Hoyer, [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). + The NCAA has submitted a Notice of Allegations declaring [...]

“America will not endure government-run health-care, a new and expensive entitlement” -Mitt Romney Above is Mitt Romney signing a bill that did something.  I can’t remember what it was.  I think it was being the most blatantly hypocritical jack-ass in the history of mankind.

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). 1) Apparently some guy name John Dingell is running for [...]

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Girlz r dumb!!!! According to Feministing, Representative Charles Van Zant (surprise! – R) of Florida recently introduced a bill with the goal of criminalizing abortion. While that sounds charming enough on its own, the bill has a special, almost unexpected quality to it, as it would prefer to see those who provide to get abortions [...]

If you are like me, you may have 2 or 3 main social networking portals through which you let your universe know whats going on. If you are really crazy about web 2.0 networks, you may have many many more. In either case, you may end up spending an undesirable amount of time updating them [...]

It seems like it is pretty much universally agreed that, although the Super Bowl this year was extremely exciting, the Super Bowl commercials were a special breed of sucktastic adverting. Notably, it seems like the ad agencies when full sexist when crafting this years ads,  thus dropping any sense of dignity and tact. Specifically, the above [...]

Devin Parsons featured with chocolate. The College Democrats at the University of Michigan are always honored to have the occasional celebrity amongst our midst.  A piece was written about our illustrious Daily Daily contributor, Devin Parsons, on Annarbor.com.  Devin’s witty use of rhyme has garnered special attention for its particular verse on Asian carp. “Now on to [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). +Front page sports a picture of Pangea Piercing workers doing [...]

What is a tremendous loss for the state of Pennsylvania (and the nation at whole) might not turn out so bad for the more junior members from the Pennsylvania Delegation.  Projected to lose a seat in 2010 redistricting, Murtha’s death will be an easy excuse for the state house to simply cut that seat. Maybe sometime [...]

The Conservative Political Action Conference is underway, and it’s proving to be even more female-empowering and progressive than anticipated. Let’s begin with this speaker mocking U of M’s class on Native American feminism. (Just for fun, count the number of ways that’s offensive to you personally.) Now we’ll move on to the Nancy Pelosi piñata that guests [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Despite the current atmosphere of high economic stress, The President still [...]

Set the tune of OneRepublic’ Apologize, I give you the greatest tribute to American Democracy… and the most clever.  Honestly I can’t do anything but encourage you all to watch it.

Jessica Valenti, author and founder of feministing.com, visited campus on Tuesday. In addition to proving that there can be successful events held in the Union Ballroom, she addressed feminism as it relates to our web-savvy generation. Valenti emphasized the impact of the blogging community, particularly as a tool for young activists with limited resources. Consider this [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). + The University remains insistent on selecting a student health [...]

So I saw this campaign ad for an obviously Republican candidate for Michigan Governor. As a nerd, it naturally resonated with my mental waves, and thus I thought about this ad well into this afternoon as I studied, go figure, the digital divide and intellectual property issues for class. This Superbowl ad is definitely strong [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). +The recently formed MSA party, MForward, makes the front page [...]

Fearing that his viewers weren’t fully up to date on the latest climate research, Glenn Beck decided to air his simple formula for climate change: One storm+lots of snow-bananas growing in Minnesota= Global warming isn’t real. Thankfully MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan was at the ready to counteract Beck’s misinformation. Beck provided a childish, [...]

Disclaimer: The views presented herein are not representative of the Michigan Democratic Party, College Democrats of America, U of M College Democrats, or any other individual or body besides myself. + Surprise! The University opens the first new residence hall in 40 years and interest in dorms increases. + I’m not ashamed to say that I learned [...]

Ann Arbor, MI – University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman announced yesterday that President Barack Obama will deliver the keynote address at the 2010 University of Michigan Spring Commencement.  Following the announcement, College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD) Chair Samuel T. Marvin released the following statement: “We are honored that President Obama accepted [...]

President of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. (via nyt) Just last week, the appeals division of the International Criminal Court suggested that the charges of genocide against the President of Sudan, which were previously dropped for not meeting the threshold of evidence, should be reexamined.  Already, the Sudanese President has evaded the International Criminal Court’s arrest [...]

***DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC).*** Sadly, I must confess, I really have not been paying [...]

Source: Holland Sentinel 1) Check out this letter! 2) Check out that ad 3) Post #1

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). +The Michigan Review had a front page article about the College [...]

This week, Senator Dick Shelby of Alabama announced a blanket hold on all administration nominees that require Senate approval. In total, that’s more than 70 officials that have been placed on hold arbitrarily for absolutely no reason germain to their qualifications for office. According to Professor Gary Jacobson of U.C. San Diego, an expert on [...]

I beg to differ: Trust me, after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money. - RNC Chairman Michael Steele at a forum at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. I’m sure most of the students there could relate.  (Source:  Daily Intel)

Tonight’s top stories: + Asian Carp threatens to take over the Great Lakes. + Sarah Palin answers “all of them” to yet another question. + Bill Gates joins Twitter which promptly crashes. Coincidence? + New Jersey legalizes medical marijuana. + And secret, backstage footage from the Grammy’s.

We all recognize that, generally speaking, Republicans are worse on civil rights issues than Democrats. And so it was really no surprise that this was reflected in lower grades for Republicans in the NAACP’s annual report card, released earlier this week. What was surprising, to me at least, was just how large of a discrepancy [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). + Our very own Governor Granholm delivered her final State [...]

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein reflect only the views of the author and do not represent the opinions of the College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UMCD), the Michigan Federation of College Democrats (MFCD), the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), or the Democratic National Committee (DNC). + H1N1 hasn’t been eradicated just because you’ve exhausted all [...]

Detroit Businesswoman and Likely Gubernatorial Candidate Denise Ilitch A poll recently conducted by a Lansing based firm, EPIC/MRA, has the Capital City abuzz with Gubernatorial speculation. I look forward to every poll that EPIC/MRA comes out with because it allows me to mention the firm’s president, Bernie Porn. I can only imagine what kind of google alerts [...]