Howard Dean for President in 2004

As it always does, conversation at my family’s Passover seder turned to politics, and there was a discussion of various Democratic presidential hopefuls. When I mentioned my current favorite — Vermont Governor Howard Dean — the entire table (except Chris) responded “Who?”. OK, there’s that name recognition thing. Since some of you out there in LJ-land might not be following politics as closely as I am, and may not have heard of Dean (and I figure the readers of my weblog probably have), here’s the lowdown:

Official website: DeanForAmerica.com

Stands on the issues:

The Environment:

“As Governor, I ordered emission controls in Vermont to be more stringent than those required by Kyoto, I led the conservation of over 470,000 acres of Vermont land, and I created the nation's first 'energy efficiency' utility to provide statewide strategies for conserving energy.” — Dean’s Earth Day 2003 speech

Health Care:

Wants to guarantee coverage to all Americans — require states to cover everyone up to the age of 23, the federal government covers everyone 65 and over, expanding Medicare to include pharmaceutical coverage, and for the rest use current employer-based system, adding tax credits and federal subsidies for those currently uncovered.

Abortion:

Favors abortion remaining legal, is willing to say outright that the idea of “partial birth abortion” is “nonsense [...] simply a cynical example of political grandstanding”.

Gay Rights:

Legalized civil unions for gay couples in Vermont.

Gun Control:

Wants to keep and enforce the federal laws we have, use Insta-check to close the “gun show loophole” (I admit I’m not really sure what that means), and leave anything further to the states. This is actually a bit more restrictive than I’d like, but I expect it’s as good as I’ll get from a Democrat.

The Economy:

Wants to repeal the Bush tax cuts, return to a balanced budget. As governor of Vermont, Dean reduced income taxes, removed sales taxes on clothing, reduced long-term debt, and balanced the budget, while providing health insurance for all children and increasing school funding.

The War on Iraq:

He spoke out against the war.

Further reading:

• “Bush: It’s Not Just His Doctrine That’s Wrong” — editorial published through Common Dreams
• Address to California State Democratic Convention, March 15, 2003
• More speeches

Checks found, markers tested

OK, crisis averted, the checks turned up in Brooklyn. It cost me six bucks and a couple hours of travel time to find this out, and I’m an idiot for not having taken them any of the last three or four times I was over there, but at least I can pay rent and bills now, and I picked up my portable CD player and some more art supplies. This is my last pad of checks, so it’s time to order a set with my new address on ’em.

Stopped off at Christie’s bakery for one of the best Jamaican beef patties in the city (one of the things I really miss about my old neighborhood, though I guess it’s just as well for my waistline). Back near Union Square I picked up a pair of one-pound dumbbells at Omni Fitness, and an Extra Black Pantone Tria marker. Stopped off at a Starbucks for a mocha and some sketching; turns out the Tria ink soaks through even the thick paper in my Moleskine sketchbook. Grumble. I reverted to using my Pigma Micron super-finepoint, and then (since I’ve been meaning to push myself into using bolder lines) the brush end of my Staedtler Mars Graphic 3000 Duo, which works pretty darn well. The old man was done with the Duo (and yeah, his nose really did look like that, how could I not draw him?), the woman with the Duo and the Micron (except her glasses, which were done with the Tria).