ADVANCE DEMOCRACY ACT PASSES HOUSE

For those of you who have followed the happenings of this blog for some time, I am pleased to report that the ADVANCE DEMOCRACY Act of 2005 passed the House of Representatives last Thursday as part of the State Department's reauthorization legislation. As I have written here and here before, the ADVANCE bill is a groundbreaking achievement in that it mandates that the State Department give up its old ways of coddling dictators and promote freedom in nondemocratic regimes.

You might ask how? Through a number of innovative methods including mandating that ambassadors spend a substantial portion of their time at the universities in the country which they are stationed for the purpose of explaining American policies to the young people. As we know anti-Americanism is rampant across the world, but it is misinformation and half-truths that drive these beliefs. Onward to the Senate!