President Obama recently called for a two-state solution in Palestine based upon the 1967 borders with mutually agreed land swaps. After his moderate, reasonable statement was issued, many on the far-right went into overdrive, denouncing Obama as being “anti-Israel.” Mitt Romney actually went so far as to say that Obama had “thrown Israel under the bus.”

Are these statements really true? Is Obama really anti-Israel?

Hardly.

The fact of the matter is that Obama is merely pursuing what is best for Israel, which is not, by the way, the continued occupation of the West Bank that Netanyahu’s Likudniks advocate. Obama clearly sees that Israel cannot retain its status of being both a Jewish and democratic state unless it works towards a two-state solution on grounds that are fair to both parties (the 1967 borders).

On the other hand, the hawkish, uncompromising stand that Romney and conservative pundits (Glenn Beck anyone?) advocate will inevitably lead to a protracted span of occupation in the West Bank. Such a state of occupation will lead to increased isolation of Israel from the world community and increased support for efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state. Such a state of affairs could hardly be considered “pro-Israel.”

So why don’t you decide? Who really has the best interests of Israel in mind? Glenn Beck, Mitt Romney, and their ilk, or supposed “Israel basher” Pres. Obama?

I think you know what I think.

Hello all, it’s been a while since this site was updated, but I guess now is a better time than never.  First off, we had a pretty awesome ride this last year: we helped Democrats make some of the biggest gains in Utah County in the last 20 years and assisted our own LDS champion, Harry Reid, in holding on to his seat despite a massive GOP effort to oust him. Yes, the national party lost the House, but such things are cyclical. In other words- the sun will come out tomorrow.

Speaking of the sun coming out, President Obama is ramping up his race for 2012, and we should have many significant opportunities to work for his reelection. Obama truly has presented a moderate, reasonable vision for the future of our great nation, and we have the great opportunity to help him continue to pursue his vision for a  centrist,  yet progressive, America.

Anyway, enough with the pontificating. We just wanted to give a shout-out to all you guys and gals. Hope you’re having a great summer; as Ron Burgundy said, “Stay classy!”

BYU College Democrats Officer Team

Hello, BYU Democrat friends!

Thanks to all of you who came out to the phone banking activity for the Utah County Democratic Party last week. We had a good time and helped the party out a lot in their fundraising efforts, so they were very appreciative. (It also never hurts when you get free pizza for making a few calls!)

This week we’ll have the great opportunity to view Michael Moore’s 2007 documentary, Sicko, a film that is especially poignant in the face of Congress’ current health care negotiations. The movie centers around the health care crisis facing the United States and compares our current system to those of other advanced (and even not-so-advanced) nations. While Moore is certainly a polarizing figure and each of us may not agree with all of his views, it is extremely interesting to listen to his arguments and see how our broken health care system has so negatively affected many of our fellow Americans. The film is rated PG-13 (for brief language) and runs about two hours. We will view the first half of the movie this Tuesday, November 3rd at 7:00 p.m. in 270 SWKT. We will plan on finishing the film next Tuesday, November 10th at our regular meeting time, schedule permitting.

Also, next Saturday, November 14th at 8:00 a.m., we will be volunteering for Rural Housing Development (RHD). We will be helping low-income families build homes that they can live in at an affordable price. This is a great cause and we’ll be doing a lot of good, because these families need our help — especially going into the winter months. We will be working through the Y Serve office and they would like to have the names and BYU ID numbers of as many volunteers as possible prior to the project. So if you think you may be interested in volunteering to help these families on the 14th, please respond to this e-mail with your name and BYU ID number and we will put you on the club’s sign-up list with Y Serve for the project. This is a great opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters and really help out some people who desperately need it. I really hope you can make it. Please respond as soon as possible.

Finally, the next big debate will be going down on Thursday, November 19th at 11:00 a.m. in the Varsity Theatre, so mark your calendars! The presidents and vice presidents of both clubs will be debating and we will be covering a number of current issues, so it should be a great event. There aren’t a lot of classes scheduled during that hour, so I hope you all can make it out! We need your support!

Thanks for all you do as members of the club. We appreciate your dedication and willingness to serve, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to make a difference and do good in the future. Please respond for the RHD service project ASAP so we can get a list of volunteers going. Thanks again, and see you tomorrow night!

Best,
Steve Pierce

Welcome to the new and improved BYUDemocrats.org! As you may have noticed, we have a new layout and we’ll hopefully be adding some new features soon, as well as keeping you all updated on upcoming club activities in the fall. We are going to be making a big push this year to be more web-savvy as a club, so this site and our Facebook group (as well as our weekly e-mail updates) will become the life blood of the club and the best way to stay connected. So check back for updates, join the Facebook group, and we’ll see you in the fall!

Steve Pierce

This week’s activity will be simple because we are getting ready for the soccer game against BYUSA

So on Wednesday we will be watching President Obama’s address to the joint Congress.  If you have not seen this yet I strongly recommend coming to watch it because it was a great speech that provided a lot of information relevant to the next few years for this country.

We will be meeting at 7pm on wendesday in 270 swkt

See you there

Now for the soccer game…

CALLING ALL SOCCER STARS (and non stars)

The Soccer Showdown is coming up on March 14th @ 2:00 PM! 

The College Republicans and the College Democrats are teaming up for a game against BYUSA. The game is being played for fun, as well as for a Food Drive Competition between all three organizations.

WE WANT YOU!

In preparation for the game, we are having tryouts/a practice this Saturday, 3/07/09, at 12:00 PM at DT fields.  All official members are welcome to come and play, as well as individuals who helped campaign last semester.  We want the very best team, so we can put BYUSA in their place.  So come out and show us what you got, or just come to have a great time playing!

p.s.  this is totally for fun so come and play even if you are not as good as PETER SNYDER…who is amazing