4/29/2005 12:27:00 PM|W|P|Chris Woods|W|P|Most of you from the midwest who read this know what the Drake Relays are. For those of you who don't, here's a run-down. The Drake Relays are hosted by Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and are one of the biggest international track and field events. The Relays, in their 96th year, are still going strong and manage to attract thousands of people from Iowa, the United States, and the entire world. Many Olympic athletes compete in the multitude of events offered. Ok, that was the boring part. The fun stuff is all the parties that go on and entertainment provided. So, for any of you in Central Iowa looking for a good time, stop by the Drake Relays. The bars are open with tons of events and cheap drinks. Downtown Des Moines on Court Avenue is a huge block party with free bands outside as well as other bands playing in all the clubs (you must be 21 and over to enter most of the clubs). Anyway, the long and short of this post is this: I probably won't be posting at all this weekend due to a certain liquid-induced haze that will envelope the next 48-72 hours. Look for more updates next week. Until then, party on!|W|P|111479599021084238|W|P|It is time for the Drake Relays|W|P|christopherdwoods@gmail.com4/29/2005 09:25:00 AM|W|P|Anonymous|W|P|Heard through the grapevine that US networks have refused to shown the following ad created for the UN Mine Action Service: High Res WMV Low Res WMV A warning: this one's not for the faint of heart. But, if you can stand it, it's the most impressive PSA I've seen in quite a while.|W|P|111478480606379914|W|P|Effective PSA|W|P|4/28/2005 04:40:00 PM|W|P|Chris Woods|W|P|I'm sure you're all familiar with the so-called "Nuclear (or constitutional, as the GOP wishes it would be called) Option" that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has promised to use if Democrats don't stop fillibustering 10 Bush Regime judicial nominees. Evidentally, Frist and the GOP have decided its time to compromise, especially considering that 66% of Americans don't think the rules should be changed. However, I wouldn't call this a compromise:

"Frist, the Senate majority leader, said he would "guarantee" up to 100 hours to debate any nominee to the appeals courts or U.S. Supreme Court. But Frist also said he would require that they all get a confirmation vote, meaning filibusters against these candidates would be banned. "It may not be a perfect proposal for either side, but it's the right proposal for America," said Frist as he stood in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, called the proposal a "big wet kiss to the far right," which has pushed to ban judicial filibusters and get more conservatives on the bench."

Reid is exactly right. This is not a compromise, this is a slap in the face to Democrats. We have principled reasons to be opposed to these guys having positions in America's federal judiciary. A compromise would be offering some new guys and giving us lots of time for debate. But Frist isn't doing that. He's worried about his 2008 Presidential run. Well, we won't fall for that. By the way, check out the student fillibuster of Frist at Princeton University (graduated from Princeton in '70).|W|P|111472552941127647|W|P|You call this a compromise?|W|P|christopherdwoods@gmail.com4/28/2005 01:56:00 PM|W|P|Chris Woods|W|P|Big news coming out of CNN: Judy Woodruff is leaving! FishBowlDC's got the report here.|W|P|111471463424065523|W|P|Woodruff to leave CNN|W|P|christopherdwoods@gmail.com4/28/2005 01:17:00 PM|W|P|Chris Woods|W|P|I'm back. I'm sorry I left. Let's just say school has been overwhelming, I've joined a fraternity, ran for student office (and lost), and am now coasting during the last few weeks of the semester. I worked hard to find a guest blogger, but every option fell through. Chase did what he could. But I am back now, and hopefully with summer coming, I will be able to do a lot more blogging, which I really do love. Over the next few days and weeks posting will probably be light as I get back into the habit. I'll also be doing a full review of the Political Forecast and its mission and how its working. I'll probably tweek the layout a bit, update my links, and technical stuff like that. I'm hoping I will be able to add new features and maybe even introduce some new bloggers. I want this place to become some kind of progressive community. We'll see how that works. I'm not making any promises here folks, but I want good stuff to happen. Essentially, what I need from readers are questions, comments, and feedback. Feel free to drop an email to me (thepoliticalforecast@gmail.com) or just leave a comment here. I need your guys' help. Except some real posts soon, and make sure to watch Bush's press conference on Social Security tonight. I'm sure it'll be full of lies, exaggerations, and eveything else we've come to expect from this regime. ThinkProgress will post a rapid response to the conference, so I'd say check them out.|W|P|111471277791042395|W|P|The Political Forecast is back|W|P|christopherdwoods@gmail.com4/02/2005 02:08:00 PM|W|P|Anonymous|W|P|God Bless the soul of John Paul II. Though I didn't always agree with him, I always respected him.|W|P|111247251666025669|W|P|Stat crux dum volvitar orbis|W|P|