The Gasoline Tax 'Holiday': Possibly the Stupidest Idea Ever

Ever since John McCain proposed the idea of a holiday from gasoline taxes this summer, I have been a little worried that people may actually buy into this idiotic idea. Unfortunately, my fears have become reality: this week President Bush and many prominent members of Congress stated that they would consider the gasoline tax as a possible solution to rising gas prices. Barrack Obama stands alone as the only presidential candidate (except probably Nader) who has the courage to point out the fact that this is an extremely stupid idea. The tax itself is less than 20 cents--about 5% of current gas prices--and would save Americans no more than $30 over the course of the summer. In all likelyhood though, it wouldn't save consumers anything: lower prices would drive demand for gasoline up, and because there is no way to increase supply, prices would continue to creep up. In part, as a result of the gas tax 'holiday'!!!

It also really worries me that these candidates are so quick to abandon their commitment to the environment. Rather than offer long-term, substantive solutions to rising energy costs, McCain has chosen to appeal to voters by making them think that he cares. The presidential candidates could have used this opportunity to encourage Americans to bike, or use alternative modes of transportation, including public transit. They could have used this opportunity to encourage more development of renewable electricity sources and more research into cars with better gas mileage. Instead, we got a stupid 'holiday'. The proposed tax break will not bring America out of its economic decline, it will not lower the cost of gasoline, it will divert tax money from vital transportation projects, which are currently funded by the gas tax, and it will not help solve global warming. I should have expected something this ludicrous and shallow from McCain, but I want to commend Obama for his determination to keep our focus on long-term solutions.

For more about this, click on the link above, or: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/29/gas-tax-holiday-splits-cl_n_99296.html

Roger Waters rocks out at Coachella

Maybe I'm still a little blown away from going to Coachella this year, but I found this article particularly interesting. Roger Waters, the ex-bassist from Pink Floyd, finished the 3-day event by playing Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. During the set, Waters also unfurled an inflated pig that said "Obama" with a checked box on the bottom. Check out the link for a video

DNC Ad Against McCain, Framing the Debate

The DNC just released it's latest ad against McCain. This is what we as Democrats need to be focusing on right now. The media and much of the country believe John McCain is a "moderate maverick" in the Republican Party. He's not. On foreign policy, healthcare, and the economy John McCain is indistinguishable from President George W. Bush, and we need to be saying so now. Not 3 months from now, not even next week, but now, before McCain has a chance to define himself for the media and for the country. I really don't care if you support Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama, or Mike Gravel (what ever happened to him anyway), the important thing is that as Democrats right now is our best, and possibly only, opportunity to show the country exactly who and what John McCain is, just another George W. Bush. Please don't waste it.

One Care Now

Last night, the local chapter of health care for all came and presented to Campus Democrats. They showed a video and talked about some legislation that is currently being considered in the state assembly. For those of you who missed the presentation, the title is the link to the video they showed. If you want to get involved, visit their website healthcareforall.org to find out more about the local chapter, volunteer to distribute petitions, or just educate yourself on this important issues for Democrats.

5 things to look out for in the PA primary

Good article from Politico talking about how to interpret the soon-to-be gathered results of the PA primary. They even got it down to understanding how the leads of either voter could dramatically change based on the time of day. Crazy!

The Legacy of Representative Walter Capps

The Santa Barbara Independent has an excellent article about the legacy of the late Walter H. Capps, which I encourage you to read.

The Campus Democrats of UCSB mention Walter Capps quite a bit. While the Campus Democrats existed at UCSB before he ran for political office, his race in 1996 galvanized our club into the organization that it is today. Because of his years of service and involvement to both our community and our causes, no one embodies the spirit of our organization more than Walter Capps.

The article is thoughtfully written, and sheds light onto the life, and caring persona of Walter Capps. I wish I had the chance to know Walter. However, we are fortunate that his legacy lives on not only through the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life at UCSB, but also through his wife, Rep. Lois Capps, who continues to fight valiantly for the most important issues of our day (healthcare, environmental protection, etc) and reach out to her community with open arms.

The Campus Democrats will work to always keep the legacy of Walter H. Capps alive. Enjoy the article!

SIMCONG's To Do List

I am in Professor Smith's Congress simulation class this quarter along with a ton of other Campus Democrats. Given that the Democrats will probably head most if not all of the committees and run Congress, I have compiled a list of things that I would like to see done this quarter. Some of these probably wouldn't happen in the real Congress, but in the alternate reality that is Smith's class, this is what I would like to see done, they are not really in order. Please feel free to add (or subtract if you disagree).

To Do:

1. Give D.C. a vote
2. Give statehood to all U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.)
3. Bring the Troops home
4. Change priorities in the War on Drugs from enforcement to prevention and rehabilitation
5. Pass Comprehensive Global Warming legislation (i.e. Renewable Electricity Standard)
6. Amend the Civil Rights Act to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity
7. Pull funding from No Child Left Behind. Increase funding to early childhood education, after school programs, and Music and the Arts
8. Create a single-payer healthcare plan
9. Repeal the $22 million subsidies to oil and coal companies
10. Send aid to the Sudan and Rwanda
11. Get rid of abstinence-only sex education; incentivise comprehensive sex-education.
    
12. Lower the voting age in federal elections to 16
13. Impeach Bush and Cheney
14. Welfare Reform along the lines of what Professor Crouch said
15. Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell
16. Instate publicly-funded elections (or another form of campaign finance reform, this happens to be my favorite)
17. Automatic voter registration
18. Fight "Real ID" (thank you Patrick)
19. Repeal the Patriot Act
20. Mandate Net Neutrality
21. Adjust Minimum Wage automatically to inflation
22. Bring back "Fairness Doctrine" in the media
23. Close Guantanamo Bay
24. Close "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation", formerly the School of the Americas
25. Address sub-prime mortgage crisis