"The Senate is rushing to vote on whether to declare war on Iraq without pausing to ask why. Why is war being dealt with not as a last resort but as a first resort? Why is Congress being pressured to act now, as of today, 33 days before a general election when a third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives are in the final, highly politicized, weeks of election campaigns? As recently as Tuesday (Oct. 1), the President said he had not yet made up his mind about whether to go to war with Iraq. And yet Congress is being exhorted to give the President open-ended authority now, to exercise whenever he pleases, in the event that he decides to invade Iraq. Why is Congress elbowing past the President to authorize a military campaign that the President may or may not even decide to pursue? Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?"

Senator Byrd's remarks in the Senate today.  He questions why we're in such a rush to war so close to elections, and without the neccesary evidence to take a dangerous, precendent-setting step.

"Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren introduced THE DIGITAL CHOICE AND FREEDOM ACT OF 2002 and it's frighteningly well balanced. If it passes, it will groundbreakingly establish that fair use applies in the digital realm. It will allow for the development of tools to permit legitimate users to act in non-infringing ways (such as copying to a MP3 player or playing a CD on Linux)."

Looks like some folks are willing to stand up for consumers.  A good summary of this legislation, as well as a press conference being held today is available at The Register.  Also, a ZDNet story here.

"We do not seek to impose democracy on others, we seek only to help create conditions in which people can claim a freer future for themselves. We recognize as well that there is no "one size fits all" answer. Our vision of the future is not one where every person eats Big Macs and drinks Coke -- or where every nation has a bicameral legislature with 535 members and a judiciary that follows the principles of Marbury vs. Madison.

Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey show that freedom manifests itself differently around the globe -- and that new liberties can find an honored place amidst ancient traditions. In countries such as Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, and Qatar, reform is underway, taking shape according to different local circumstances. And in Afghanistan this year, a traditional Loya Jirga assembly was the vehicle for creating the most broadly representative government in Afghan history."

A speech given by Condoleeza Rice to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.  In it she does a very good job of articulating her views, which seem to form the basis for Bush's National Security Strategy.  It takes many of the points from the preceeding documents (PNAC and DPG) and moderates them, and does a much better job, I think, of presenting a reasonable vision for responsible use of American power.  If what she puts forward here were actually followed, and not corrupted by oil and various other commercial/religious interests, it would seem to make a lot of sense.  I'm just not sure thats possible with the current administration.

Oh, and CSPAN is cool.

[via MetaFilter]

"A search of the White House Web site indicates Bush has not made an unprompted mention of bin Laden's name since March 8. That day, at a GOP gathering in Florida, the president spoke of "this bin Laden fellow," and vowed: "We're going to find him." The last time Bush spoke the hated name in any public forum was a July 8 press conference, in which he was specifically asked if he would find bin Laden. "

An interesting article on some of the word games being played by the Administration.

[via MetaFilter]