PartyNeutral returns in all its glory after about a year and a half buried in the obscurity of Blogger. Which we don't mind all too much. If you're new to the system, this is a daily news analysis blog which covers the primary stories of the day--whether they be human-interest, political, worldly, or just interesting. Anyway, today was a busy day: we had the fallout from the Democratic debate, bad news about American soldiers missing in Iraq, Paris Hilton is in jail, and William Jefferson (D-La) looks like he'll finally be headed there to join her.
To lead off, the Democrats either "clashed and debated" (Fox) or "clashed and debated" (CNN)--no matter which way you cut it, the debate last night was contentious, although not vitrolic. The general consensus was that no clear winner emerged, in a manner similar to the first debate; Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton both came off stronger than they had in the previous showing, with Joe Biden continuing to solidify a lead in the second tier. John Edwards was incendiary with respect to attacking others, but his own positions oftentimes came up weak; he did not give nearly as well as he got. DailyKos's straw poll disagrees with my assessment (click see results), although many commentators see the debate as a draw (at best.) Gravel continues to be incendiary, but PartyNeutral did not notice nearly as much wit from him in this debate. Richardson and Dodd both continue to put up smart policy proposals, but are either stymied by the format or by the depth of their own plans this early. Look forward to the Republican debate tomorrow night. It should prove to be interesting.
After finding the body of one abducted American soldier in the Euphrates River, it appears that his two companions, who he was captured with, have also been killed. A group linked to al-Quaeda claims responsibility, although there is no confirmation beyond the video which they have put out for distribution. This type of news is often the hardest to swallow; it is one thing for U.S. soldiers to die while on patrol, but being captured is often a difficult reality for families and fellow soldiers to deal with. al-Quaeda is also refusing to release the bodies of the American soldiers, a genuinely dishonorable move by all accounts of the laws of war and the rules of battle.
On a lighter note, Paris Hilton is now in jail. Which is great news for everyone, everywhere. There isn't much of a negative effect on society for incarcerating Paris; it saves us from one of a few drunken, out-of-control party girls, although we must say we thoroughly enjoy reading about their nightly escapades on TMZ the next morning. Hopefully she'll do something ridiculous in jail, like smuggle in coke or try to escape, or something, for excitement.
Before diving into the final piece, a bit of background on William Jefferson, a Democrat from New Orleans, Louisiana. The Feds investigated him for corruption and taking bribes, which, while not standard in today's Congress, is not especially unusual. Somebody gave him a $100,000 cash bribe, an undercover-style sting which was designed to see if he'd take it. He did. It wound up in his freezer. The Feds raid his house, he claims he has no idea where the cash came from. Which brings us to today: he's been indicted. Which is fantastic, and it's ridiculous that he's even been allowed to run around unindicted this long. He's crooked. That's kind of clear. I suppose all of the recent shake-ups at the Justice Department have prevented them from putting together a solid case on him, but still. The Bush administration is supposed to be tough on terror, but even tougher on any Democrat they can possibly slander--and this time it was true! Not really slander at all! Apparently, Rove is getting lazy, or something.
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