PROGRESS REPORT
by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin
with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde
.February 2, 2005
THINK PROGRESS
Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing ThinkProgress.org
BLOGGING 101
A Beginner's Guide
STATE OF THE UNION
A Path Littered With Broken Promises
UNDER THE RADAR
THINK PROGRESS
Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing ThinkProgress.org
You've seen the rumors. You've heard the hype. Tonight it all finally becomes a reality with the debut of ThinkProgress.org, the newest blog on the block, brought to you by the people who bring you The Progress Report. While The Progress Report will still come to you once a day with an in-depth take on the day's news, ThinkProgress.org will update all day long with original and continual research from the writers of The Progress Report. There will also be insights from fresh new voices on the staff of American Progress, as well as a diverse array of guest posts from progressive religious activists, policy experts, and correspondents from middle America. And with our Think Fast feature, we'll give you a frequently updated list of the hottest news of the day. Another great aspect of the blog is reader comments. We want to hear from you. Talk to us about the posts – tell us we're wrong, agree with us, add a new piece of information you've uncovered. Discuss and debate something you've read in The Progress Report.
OPENING NIGHT: Debuting tonight, in tandem with the State of the Union address, ThinkProgress.org will give the public real-time access to our rapid response operation. And in honor of the launch, American Progress CEO John Podesta will be a guest blogger, providing live commentary throughout the entire State of the Union address. So log on and tune in tonight – and every day – for the blog the right wing doesn't even want you to think about.
OTHER BLOGS WE RECOMMEND: During the latest presidential election, political blogs played an important role. Here are a few that we would recommend, once you get your feet wet at ThinkProgress: Atrios, Josh Marshall, and American Progress senior fellow Eric Alterman run a few of the web's most popular blogs. DailyKos and MyDD are great "community" weblogs, and both the American Prospect and the Washington Monthly feature excellent blogging. Weblogs written by experts in their respective fields include DonkeyRising (by political analyst and American Progress fellow Ruy Teixeira), Informed Comment (by Juan Cole, professor of contemporary Middle East history at the University of Michigan), Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (by DeLong, a deputy secretary in the Treasury Department under President Clinton), TalkLeft (by Denver-based criminal defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt), and PoliticalWire (by political consultant Taeggan Goddard). Or, if you've never been to a blog, have no idea what we're talking about and are not sure you're comfortable with this whole discussion, don't worry, you're not alone. Read below for a quick course in Blogging 101. If you are a veteran, skip over the next section and go straight to our State of the Union Preview.
BLOGGING 101A Beginner's Guide
Some people are afraid of "blogs." We understand – the word is sinister – it sounds like "blob" or "flog," connotes science fiction villains, monsters of the deep, right-wing operatives. Actually, though, "blogs" are just the newest form of an old idea. They're a way to discuss things – politics and policy, in the case of our new blog – in an open forum where ideas can be shared and traded. The word is short for "weblog," meaning a journal or "log" available on the web. You can think of it as a space, like a village square, to go and hear different ideas and contribute your own (except even better, because you can do it in your pajamas, or from your desk at work). Weblogs can be about anything – sports, culture, media, books, technology, or politics. A distinguishing feature is that, instead of coming out once a day like a newspaper or magazine, weblogs are updated throughout the day, providing instant analysis and discussion of events in real time. Now, when political news breaks after The Progress Report has been sent, you won't be left twisting in the wind. You'll have a place to go – think of it as a forum, a community, a home: ThinkProgress.org.
WHAT IS A "POST"?: Blogs are updated by a process called "posts." "Posts" are short entries, usually no longer than 200 words, arranged by date and time with the latest entry on top. The activity of writing posts is called "blogging" (don't worry, it's legal) and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger" (or, if female, a "blogress"). Believe it or not, if someone says you are a good "blogger," they are actually giving you a compliment.
HOW ARE BLOGS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER WEBSITES?: In a word, you. Blogs like ThinkProgress are online communities, hubs for political discussion and debate, and you're eagerly invited to take part. While blogs usually have a few main "bloggers" who write the initial "posts," no blog is complete without reader participation. Just click the "Comments" link at the end of any post, then analyze, criticize, debate, or bloviate to your heart's content. We'll be reading.
WHO POSTS ENTRIES ON A BLOG?: Most of the entries at ThinkProgress will be written by the crack research team that produces The Progress Report. We'll also regularly feature posts from American Progress policy experts and assorted special guests; American Progress CEO John Podesta will join us live during tonight's State of the Union address.
ANY OTHER BLOG TERMS I SHOULD KNOW?: Time to learn the lingo. A permalink is the unique web address for a single blog post; it's handy when you get excited about a "post" that a "blogger" has written and want to forward it to friends. A blogroll is a collection of links to other relevant "weblogs" or websites, often found along the sidebar of a blog. If you sign up with an "RSS reader," it means you have a "subscription" to a blog's "RSS feed." If you sign up for ThinkProgress's RSS feed, you'll be notified whenever we update the site with a new "post" (see above).
STATE OF THE UNION
A Path Littered With Broken Promises
Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution says: "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Tonight is one of those times, and at 9 p.m. EST the nation will tune in to hear President Bush deliver his fourth State of the Union address. Remember, you can't always believe everything you hear. It's worth remembering that in past years, President Bush has made bold, sweeping promises. But when the cameras stopped rolling, many of his sweet-sounding words turned out to be a lot of hot air. Here's a look at some of the past State of the Union promises that fell by the wayside. (For the full story, check out this research document we created.)
BROKEN PROMISE 2004 – NUCLEAR SECURITY: Last year, President Bush charged, "America is committed to keep dangerous weapons from dangerous regimes." Under Bush's watch, North Korea's nuclear arsenal is thought to have quadrupled. Charles Pritchard, formerly Colin Powell's top official dealing with North Korea, has warned for months that "the White House lacks an effective strategy to dissuade North Korea from building up its nuclear arms." And while the U.S. sat passively on the sidelines, North Korea may have sold nuclear material to Libya. In fact, instead of stepping up efforts to secure nuclear materials, a recent Harvard University report titled "Securing the Bomb: An Agenda for Action," finds "less fissile materials were secured in the two years after Sept. 11 than in the two years before."
BROKEN PROMISE 2004 – TAX CUTS: President Bush touted his massive tax cuts in last year's State of the Union, saying, "The tax relief you passed is working." Think again. President Bush drained resources from domestic programs for middle-class families to give a tax windfall to the nation's wealthiest. For example, the Bush tax cuts for the richest 1 percent of Americans will cost $148 billion this year alone. "That is twice as much as the government will spend on job training, $6.2 billion; college Pell grants, $12 billion; public housing, $6.3 billion; low-income rental subsidies, $19 billion; child care, $4.8 billion; insurance for low-income children, $5.2 billion; low-income energy assistance, $1.8 billion; meals for shut-ins, $180 million; and welfare, $16.9 billion."
BROKEN PROMISE 2003 – AIDS: One of the biggest promises in President Bush's 2003 speech was his dramatic pledge to "ask Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years" to "turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean." Congress approved only $2.9 billion to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases in 2005 and actually cut the U.S. pledge to the Global Fund (the international AIDS-battling group) to $350 million – almost $200 million less than last year's donation. The administration is also "blocking the Fund from receiving $88 million that Congress appropriated in the 2004 fiscal year."
BROKEN PROMISE 2003 – HOMELAND SECURITY: In 2003, President Bush said he would merge terrorist threat information from the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and the Defense Department together into a single location. The resulting national database "of potential terrorist targets such as dams, pipelines, chemical plants and skyscrapers" was scheduled to be completed in December 2004; however, the Department of Homeland Security announced in December that the effort "is far behind schedule and may take years to finish."
BROKEN PROMISE 2002 – TROOP TREATMENT: President Bush used his 2002 State of the Union address to call for better treatment of U.S. troops: "Our men and women in uniform deserve the best weapons, the best equipment, the best training – and they deserve a pay raise." Instead, soldiers were sent to Iraq without the proper body armor, armored vehicles, or even training. This culminated in a dramatic moment in 2004, when a soldier in Iraq asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld why he had to "dig through local landfills" to find scrap metal to properly arm his military combat vehicle. Rumsfeld's response? "You have to go to war with the Army you have."
BROKEN PROMISE 2002 – POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS: In his first State of the Union address after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush vowed to support local first responders, saying: "We'll increase funding to help states and communities train and equip our heroic police and firefighters." He didn't follow through. Last year's Homeland Security appropriations bill signed by President Bush cut funding for first responders by nearly $500 million and shortchanged programs vital to local fire departments. Today, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), budget cuts have left at least two-thirds of the nation's fire departments understaffed, and nationwide, firefighters "are arriving to fires later each year, with barely over a third of fire departments meeting standards for response time." In his most recent budget, Bush also eviscerated the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which puts police officers on the street, cutting it from $481.9 million to $97 million.
with Nico Pitney and Mipe Okunseinde
.February 2, 2005
THINK PROGRESS
Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing ThinkProgress.org
BLOGGING 101
A Beginner's Guide
STATE OF THE UNION
A Path Littered With Broken Promises
UNDER THE RADAR
THINK PROGRESS
Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing ThinkProgress.org
You've seen the rumors. You've heard the hype. Tonight it all finally becomes a reality with the debut of ThinkProgress.org, the newest blog on the block, brought to you by the people who bring you The Progress Report. While The Progress Report will still come to you once a day with an in-depth take on the day's news, ThinkProgress.org will update all day long with original and continual research from the writers of The Progress Report. There will also be insights from fresh new voices on the staff of American Progress, as well as a diverse array of guest posts from progressive religious activists, policy experts, and correspondents from middle America. And with our Think Fast feature, we'll give you a frequently updated list of the hottest news of the day. Another great aspect of the blog is reader comments. We want to hear from you. Talk to us about the posts – tell us we're wrong, agree with us, add a new piece of information you've uncovered. Discuss and debate something you've read in The Progress Report.
OPENING NIGHT: Debuting tonight, in tandem with the State of the Union address, ThinkProgress.org will give the public real-time access to our rapid response operation. And in honor of the launch, American Progress CEO John Podesta will be a guest blogger, providing live commentary throughout the entire State of the Union address. So log on and tune in tonight – and every day – for the blog the right wing doesn't even want you to think about.
OTHER BLOGS WE RECOMMEND: During the latest presidential election, political blogs played an important role. Here are a few that we would recommend, once you get your feet wet at ThinkProgress: Atrios, Josh Marshall, and American Progress senior fellow Eric Alterman run a few of the web's most popular blogs. DailyKos and MyDD are great "community" weblogs, and both the American Prospect and the Washington Monthly feature excellent blogging. Weblogs written by experts in their respective fields include DonkeyRising (by political analyst and American Progress fellow Ruy Teixeira), Informed Comment (by Juan Cole, professor of contemporary Middle East history at the University of Michigan), Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (by DeLong, a deputy secretary in the Treasury Department under President Clinton), TalkLeft (by Denver-based criminal defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt), and PoliticalWire (by political consultant Taeggan Goddard). Or, if you've never been to a blog, have no idea what we're talking about and are not sure you're comfortable with this whole discussion, don't worry, you're not alone. Read below for a quick course in Blogging 101. If you are a veteran, skip over the next section and go straight to our State of the Union Preview.
BLOGGING 101A Beginner's Guide
Some people are afraid of "blogs." We understand – the word is sinister – it sounds like "blob" or "flog," connotes science fiction villains, monsters of the deep, right-wing operatives. Actually, though, "blogs" are just the newest form of an old idea. They're a way to discuss things – politics and policy, in the case of our new blog – in an open forum where ideas can be shared and traded. The word is short for "weblog," meaning a journal or "log" available on the web. You can think of it as a space, like a village square, to go and hear different ideas and contribute your own (except even better, because you can do it in your pajamas, or from your desk at work). Weblogs can be about anything – sports, culture, media, books, technology, or politics. A distinguishing feature is that, instead of coming out once a day like a newspaper or magazine, weblogs are updated throughout the day, providing instant analysis and discussion of events in real time. Now, when political news breaks after The Progress Report has been sent, you won't be left twisting in the wind. You'll have a place to go – think of it as a forum, a community, a home: ThinkProgress.org.
WHAT IS A "POST"?: Blogs are updated by a process called "posts." "Posts" are short entries, usually no longer than 200 words, arranged by date and time with the latest entry on top. The activity of writing posts is called "blogging" (don't worry, it's legal) and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger" (or, if female, a "blogress"). Believe it or not, if someone says you are a good "blogger," they are actually giving you a compliment.
HOW ARE BLOGS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER WEBSITES?: In a word, you. Blogs like ThinkProgress are online communities, hubs for political discussion and debate, and you're eagerly invited to take part. While blogs usually have a few main "bloggers" who write the initial "posts," no blog is complete without reader participation. Just click the "Comments" link at the end of any post, then analyze, criticize, debate, or bloviate to your heart's content. We'll be reading.
WHO POSTS ENTRIES ON A BLOG?: Most of the entries at ThinkProgress will be written by the crack research team that produces The Progress Report. We'll also regularly feature posts from American Progress policy experts and assorted special guests; American Progress CEO John Podesta will join us live during tonight's State of the Union address.
ANY OTHER BLOG TERMS I SHOULD KNOW?: Time to learn the lingo. A permalink is the unique web address for a single blog post; it's handy when you get excited about a "post" that a "blogger" has written and want to forward it to friends. A blogroll is a collection of links to other relevant "weblogs" or websites, often found along the sidebar of a blog. If you sign up with an "RSS reader," it means you have a "subscription" to a blog's "RSS feed." If you sign up for ThinkProgress's RSS feed, you'll be notified whenever we update the site with a new "post" (see above).
STATE OF THE UNION
A Path Littered With Broken Promises
Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution says: "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Tonight is one of those times, and at 9 p.m. EST the nation will tune in to hear President Bush deliver his fourth State of the Union address. Remember, you can't always believe everything you hear. It's worth remembering that in past years, President Bush has made bold, sweeping promises. But when the cameras stopped rolling, many of his sweet-sounding words turned out to be a lot of hot air. Here's a look at some of the past State of the Union promises that fell by the wayside. (For the full story, check out this research document we created.)
BROKEN PROMISE 2004 – NUCLEAR SECURITY: Last year, President Bush charged, "America is committed to keep dangerous weapons from dangerous regimes." Under Bush's watch, North Korea's nuclear arsenal is thought to have quadrupled. Charles Pritchard, formerly Colin Powell's top official dealing with North Korea, has warned for months that "the White House lacks an effective strategy to dissuade North Korea from building up its nuclear arms." And while the U.S. sat passively on the sidelines, North Korea may have sold nuclear material to Libya. In fact, instead of stepping up efforts to secure nuclear materials, a recent Harvard University report titled "Securing the Bomb: An Agenda for Action," finds "less fissile materials were secured in the two years after Sept. 11 than in the two years before."
BROKEN PROMISE 2004 – TAX CUTS: President Bush touted his massive tax cuts in last year's State of the Union, saying, "The tax relief you passed is working." Think again. President Bush drained resources from domestic programs for middle-class families to give a tax windfall to the nation's wealthiest. For example, the Bush tax cuts for the richest 1 percent of Americans will cost $148 billion this year alone. "That is twice as much as the government will spend on job training, $6.2 billion; college Pell grants, $12 billion; public housing, $6.3 billion; low-income rental subsidies, $19 billion; child care, $4.8 billion; insurance for low-income children, $5.2 billion; low-income energy assistance, $1.8 billion; meals for shut-ins, $180 million; and welfare, $16.9 billion."
BROKEN PROMISE 2003 – AIDS: One of the biggest promises in President Bush's 2003 speech was his dramatic pledge to "ask Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years" to "turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean." Congress approved only $2.9 billion to fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases in 2005 and actually cut the U.S. pledge to the Global Fund (the international AIDS-battling group) to $350 million – almost $200 million less than last year's donation. The administration is also "blocking the Fund from receiving $88 million that Congress appropriated in the 2004 fiscal year."
BROKEN PROMISE 2003 – HOMELAND SECURITY: In 2003, President Bush said he would merge terrorist threat information from the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and the Defense Department together into a single location. The resulting national database "of potential terrorist targets such as dams, pipelines, chemical plants and skyscrapers" was scheduled to be completed in December 2004; however, the Department of Homeland Security announced in December that the effort "is far behind schedule and may take years to finish."
BROKEN PROMISE 2002 – TROOP TREATMENT: President Bush used his 2002 State of the Union address to call for better treatment of U.S. troops: "Our men and women in uniform deserve the best weapons, the best equipment, the best training – and they deserve a pay raise." Instead, soldiers were sent to Iraq without the proper body armor, armored vehicles, or even training. This culminated in a dramatic moment in 2004, when a soldier in Iraq asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld why he had to "dig through local landfills" to find scrap metal to properly arm his military combat vehicle. Rumsfeld's response? "You have to go to war with the Army you have."
BROKEN PROMISE 2002 – POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS: In his first State of the Union address after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush vowed to support local first responders, saying: "We'll increase funding to help states and communities train and equip our heroic police and firefighters." He didn't follow through. Last year's Homeland Security appropriations bill signed by President Bush cut funding for first responders by nearly $500 million and shortchanged programs vital to local fire departments. Today, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), budget cuts have left at least two-thirds of the nation's fire departments understaffed, and nationwide, firefighters "are arriving to fires later each year, with barely over a third of fire departments meeting standards for response time." In his most recent budget, Bush also eviscerated the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which puts police officers on the street, cutting it from $481.9 million to $97 million.
posted by T. Scott Brineman at 10:46 AM
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