tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147502472009-07-10T13:30:57.811-04:00Contemporary and historical political review from a liberal point of view.D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-85683587225146551302009-07-10T13:28:00.003-04:002009-07-10T13:30:57.823-04:00

After all those visits to all of those healthcare specialists I finally get to declare myself medically fit for the Peace Corps. Or more correctly, I get to report that the Peace Corps thinks I am medically fit to enter.The letter finally came today and while not an invite to a country, it was a great relief just to get to this stage in the process. Now I need to wait for the last little thing -

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-84998609320138916352009-07-09T08:40:00.002-04:002009-07-09T10:09:14.832-04:00

It has been a few weeks since I had an update for or from the Peace Corps to post about. I had my last medical questions filled out and returned back in early June. I received a notice that the Medical Office was in receipt of them and that put me back in the position of waiting.That waiting may (or may not be) over soon. I received another update on my account this past Tuesday, July 6th stating

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-18045742863116415242009-05-13T23:57:00.008-04:002009-05-14T00:19:46.390-04:00

I just finished a fascinating article in the Atlantic titled, "What Makes Us Happy?" written by Joshua Wolf Shank. An incredible digest of the 70+ year Grant Study of Harvard students and its longtime director, George Vaillant.I am not sure that I had ever heard about it prior to reading the article, but it is truly worth the time to read and think things through. Since I've been trying to find

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-62565381606039684332009-05-08T23:33:00.006-04:002009-05-09T00:01:04.113-04:00

It has been some time since I have had any word on my application to the Peace Corps and honestly, without any news the whole idea recedes into the back of my mind if there isn't something new to ingest. Over the past week or two I have been more preoccupied with my upcoming vacation than with an update on my medical kit from Washington, D.C.An enthusiasm gap was settling in - will I ever get

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-72647521951264483652009-04-18T20:14:00.008-04:002009-04-18T21:58:48.217-04:00

Since there is no news on the Peace Corps front (patience... flexibility), I found myself wandering back to items in the political sphere again.From another web log I was directed to an article written by Tamim Ansary who claimed deep experience in the educational textbook arena for K-12 education. It was published in the November 2004 issue of Edutopia under the title, "The Muddle Machine:

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-87519542472104618282009-02-26T14:09:00.004-05:002009-02-26T14:26:54.687-05:00

After receiving my medical evaluation kit back in November of last year I have tallied the visits to the doctors, sifted through old medical records, scratched my temple to figure out what was being requested, done double and triple reviews of my documents in comparison to what the Peace Corps wanted returned; so finally today I sent the whole batch of papers back to their office. Hoooray!The

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-59552399582291761852009-01-26T16:36:00.002-05:002009-01-26T16:40:18.426-05:00

I neglected to post on Friday that the results so far of a more thorough eye exam is negative - that is the result was good for me and positive for my Peace Corps application. The ophthalmologist could not see anything on the retina other than a nevus that just should be looked at closely on further visits to ensure that it is not changing. That made me much happier. What I have left to do is

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-18459595937584633852009-01-20T14:50:00.004-05:002009-01-20T15:00:23.462-05:00

Today was the inauguration of the Obama presidency. I happened to be fortunate enough to view the broadcast of the event while still at work but I certainly wish I had been there front and center to witness it with my own eyes. What an impressive day, more so for those who have felt the brunt of an oppressive society during the last century.As I am an incredible devotee to the Presidency of

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-38962997195877007272009-01-15T20:58:00.002-05:002009-01-15T21:17:21.911-05:00

I was told earlier in the process, prior to the interview as a matter of fact, that using these words - patient and flexible - would get me places. They represent the need to understand that things operate differently in a different culture, that sometimes it takes all of your strength just to adapt to the most simplest and mundane changes that are bound to occur.This ideal of patience and

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-61986930934521599722008-12-30T15:52:00.002-05:002008-12-30T16:09:32.585-05:00

There was some travel time over the holidays which meant that if I planned rightly, I would have about an hour and a half to whittle away while sitting in the Raleigh airport. That came to pass so I opened up my Peace Corps folder (a very full-of-papers folder mind you) to go over details of my medical evaluation papers. I am still on the hook to have those completed and returned to the Peace

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-8063090404706795862008-12-11T09:59:00.004-05:002008-12-11T10:42:37.833-05:00

It has been quite some time since I have posted last here. Needless to say, I was quite happy with the outcome of the most recent election at the national as well as the state level. Now begins Obama's opportunity to reshape policy and direct national efforts in a liberal manner. I will hold judgement on his military endeavors until his administration actually makes decisions.But, for the

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-28949673444043168352008-10-23T09:36:00.002-04:002008-10-23T11:08:04.422-04:00

I voted last week by absentee ballot. I will be traveling home on the day of the election and there was no other means for me to get to the polls aside from voting early, so my right to suffrage has been exercised, and my ballot had Obama's name clearly marked. Our state happens to run elections on the scantron system so there is a sheet of paper marked with black ink - no confusion on who one

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-6148462877649008082008-08-15T09:36:00.008-04:002009-01-26T16:42:15.053-05:00

Woe to those currently held captive in the fighting taking place through Georgia and South Ossetia, this cannot be a happy time for anyone unsure of what the next hour let alone the next day will bring.Russia took umbrage at Georgia's flagrant intrusion into the disputed territory of South Ossetia. Its response was to repulse the thinner, weaker Georgian army and then intrude on Georgian

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-58068253917464666592008-07-10T13:01:00.004-04:002008-07-10T13:30:12.320-04:00

The deed was done. Yesterday the Senate passed the FISA bill that exculpated the telecommunication companies from complying with the Bush Administrations patently illegal requests to eavesdrop and drag net communications with warrants. The Congress humbly asks the corporations to please not do this again, here are the new rules which nicely round over the oh-so-tough edges of the old Foreign

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-9147674038982254822008-07-04T17:13:00.003-04:002008-07-04T17:53:37.742-04:00

A happy 4th of July, 2008, to you America.Almost.There are several things that just don't seem right about the United States. Much like a trash can collecting far too many flies on a hot summer's day, the contents emanate a foul smell as of late. Unfortunately the contents in the rubbish heap have been added to again and again since 2001 under the Bush Administration with a little help from his

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-9088867454714963292008-06-19T09:20:00.003-04:002008-06-20T09:06:40.945-04:00

There continues to be a flood of articles reviewing how damnable the United States treatment has been to detainees of invaded and occupied lands. While these cases are extremely well documented in various press, it never hurts to review some excellent reporting on the subject.Easing of laws that led to detainee abuse hatched in secret by Tom Lasseter for McClatchy examines who created these

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-51521574212454025682008-05-01T09:48:00.002-04:002008-05-01T10:28:19.080-04:00

In a prior post, I had lamented the current system of around-the-clock campaigning for the Presidency due to the primary structure of both political parties. Longing for contentious conventions and multiple ballots and slates of names for the nomination appeared to be exciting and energizing to the process.It would appear that the Democrats are not far removed from that occurrence which would

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-84475640534136828622008-02-17T11:28:00.006-05:002008-02-18T11:03:19.680-05:00

There are only so many descriptors that can be used regarding the Senate's capitulation to the Administration's request for telecommunication companies' immunity before redundancy sets in - the words lose their meaning against the face of the audacity of the crime. The adjectives become hollow. The cynicism just becomes a granted and mundane part of the cycle.For the time being the denouement

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-35250588208050993312008-01-20T11:13:00.000-05:002008-01-22T18:19:20.439-05:00

For just the briefest of moments there was general reflection by the media one year after the President's announcement that there would be an increase in troop levels inside of Iraq. The review of progress, the history of the surge in combat forces operating inside and outside of Baghdad, the numbers of murdered and bombings, in short a 90 second review of 12 months within the borders of

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-84314131029305314872008-01-05T09:28:00.000-05:002008-01-05T14:46:47.155-05:00

With the Iowa caucuses over and the New Hampshire contest shortly around the corner, there appears to be little concern to the process itself and what it has done to the political process of selecting the best candidate to represent the banners of each political party.What it was over 150 years ago was a system of political control by party bosses at the local and / or regional level. The

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-24577775460961074602007-12-07T09:27:00.000-05:002007-12-08T13:58:16.936-05:00

If there was a reason why the Constitution of the United States was important, the speech delivered by Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney on December 6th provided the reason behind the founding text and the need for the very first amendment under the Bill of Rights. Whereas John F. Kennedy needed to assure the American public that his religion would not interfere with his political judgment and

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-81451883384678350862007-10-13T18:10:00.000-04:002007-10-14T12:26:39.430-04:00

Vladimir Putin is at it again. Challenging the American hegemony in Western (and Eastern) Europe.Putin's remarks preceding the summit regarding missile defense deployment made for some rather uncomfortable delegation members, including U.S. Secretary of State Rice. After postponing his appearance for some forty minutes President Putin appeared before the gathered press and made light of the

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-86528838361422261582007-08-24T18:14:00.000-04:002007-08-26T21:58:51.921-04:00

How long will he last? That is the question for the week of August 20th, as pot-shots and verbal barbs passed back and forth between the Iraqi Prime Minister and officials stateside.Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois spoke out first, albeit tepidly, by saying that his opinion on the matter of political progress within Iraq was rather dim."While we believe that the “surge” is having measurable

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-63510125322187507072007-08-17T09:30:00.000-04:002007-08-18T09:45:52.362-04:00

If the White House and General Petraeus are in agreement, then the report to Congress to be delivered on September 15, 2oo7, may cite that the surge in troop levels is working just as expected. That is not a very large 'if'; both President Bush and General Petraeus have a large stake in assuring the public that their actions are finally having the intended effect as opposed to all prior actions

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14750247.post-42316436336739197512007-07-09T22:21:00.000-04:002007-07-09T22:22:17.517-04:00

After months and months of withholding comment due to an on-going investigation, President Bush finally stepped forward to commute the sentence of I. Lewis Libby after his conviction and loss on appeal of his sentencing to thirty months in prison. When speaking of the commuting of the sentence of the former chief of staff for Vice President Cheney, Bush said that while the conviction would stand,

D.Boyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535642432386832769noreply@blogger.com1