Unwanted House Critters

Well, it appears that I’ve got signs of at least one unwanted house critter — though you know if there’s one, there’s more.

The clues:

• Some thing’s definitely been imbibing in the bird seed I’ve got stored in the basement and it’s not the birdies I bought it for, which makes me very grumpy.
• Needy and Pugly have both been interested in some thing beneath the stove.
• Pugly has been barking at the wall between the kitchen and the living room for no apparent reason. (There goes my theory that he’s gone insane.)
• Two nights ago, Needy was very interested in the skittering of some little feet along the sloped part of my bedroom ceiling over my bed, which is just too chilling to think about.

Needy and Aloof really aren’t mousers. They really are the kind of cats that prefer to be given their kibble at regular intervals and aren’t really happy that they’ve been put on a diet. They don’t like wet food. So I don’t see them actually knowing what to do if they see an actual unwanted house critter.

Pugly is probably more likely to to be a good mouser, but that’s kind of icky to think about.

So, I guess I’ll be researching what to do about unwanted house critters.

I don’t know that I’m all that excited about the whole catch them and set them free thing because couldn’t they just come back? And wouldn’t I have to, you know touch them?

I’m not excited about the whole idea of poison or slow death either. I’d rather put up an eviction notice.

Tags: mice, rodents, rats, little red house, the cats, the puppy

Exercise Your Mind - 11/08/06

Election 2006

• You have your marching orders…. — Nicole Belle @ Crooks and Liars reminds us of the Republican’s “Contract with America” when they took control of Congress in 1994.
  

  This year’s election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public’s money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

  Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act “with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.” To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.
  

  Let’s hope that the Democrats learn from the Republicans’ mistakes.

• A Remedy for Negative Political Ads — Paul Silver @ Donklephant has a remedy for all of those negative, deceitful ads since there’s not likely to be any law regulating truth in political advertising anytime soon.
  

  Perhaps the solution lies in changing the geometry of the question. Instead of trying to regulate the content of ads, we use public funds (or funds from the Parties) to run a frequent public service message that corrects the inaccuracies of any recent ads - perhaps produced by the Factcheck.org folks. Since a candidate would not want to have the airwaves filled with objective criticism they would be inclined to stay as reasonable and civil as possible.

• A Remedy for Election Tampering– Paul Silver @ Donklephant also thinks there should be a reward for information leading to a conviction in crimes related to election tampering.

More

Tags: 2006 election, Republicans, Contract with America, Contress, ethics, scandal, Democrats, negative political ads, election tampering, politics, factcheck.org, DHS, TSA, passports, Hasan Elahi, FBI, mental illness, anxiety, depression

Work Your Brain — 11/1/06

Tales of the Detainee Kind

• The Case Of Bilal Hussein — Justin Gardner @ Donklephant reports on Bilal Hussein, an AP war photographer, accused by the U.S. military of helping some insurgents kidnap a couple journalists. Only those journalists have been rescued and they say Hussein is a hero. The AP wants to know why he’s been detained since April with no charges having been filed against him while right-wing bloggers call for his head.
  

  Six months is more than enough time to get some facts together and make a case against Hussein. The military hasn’t done that, and they should…or else they should release Hussein without charge.

  As Gardner points out, Hussein isn’t the first journalist to be treated as such.

  More

  Tags: detainees, Bilal Hussein, Abdul Rahim Al Ginco, Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo, al-Qaeda, Insurrection Act, FEMA, Lynne Cheney, Bill O'Reilly, liberals, rightwingers, patriotism, pragmatism, American soldiers, Republicans, Democrats, GOP, Georgia, Genital Cutting, abortion, pro-choice, pro-life, TSA, airport security, bomb-making materials, Christopher Soghoian, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University, fake boarding passes, Ed Markey, FBI, Police State

  comments See also in Politics & Causes, In the News, Geekery, Blogging & Other Blogs, The World, 9-11 & Terrorism, Iraq & Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, Natural Disasters, Women's Rights, The Middle East

Work Your Brain — 10/31/06

Travel In America

• Homeland Absurdity – Jill @ Brilliant at Breakfast reports that the difference between life and death is a ziploc bag apparently…
  

  There you have it: Tiny containers of hand sanitizer in zip-lock bags are harmless and approved. Those not in zip-lock bags are dangerous contraband. Meanwhile, the TSA still cannot justify its methods of confiscation: If certain liquids and gels are taken from a passenger, the assumption has to be that those materials are potentially hazardous. If so, why are they tossed unceremoniously into the trash? At every checkpoint you’ll see a bin or barrel brimming with illegal containers. They are not quarantined or handed over to the bomb squad; they are thrown away. In effect, the agency readily admits that it knows these things are harmless. But it’s going to steal them anyway, and either you like it or you don’t fly.

What the Fuck Are They Thinking?

• UK retailer to little girls:”Let’s have a lap dance over here, luv!” — Twisty @ I Blame The Patriarchy has a commentary on Tesco’s plans to market a striptease toy to five-year-olds for Christmas this year. Kid you not. How sick is that. I thought thongs for four-year-olds was bad enough, but you’ll be able to buy a toy sexy chrome pole, a CD with sexy music, and ”Peekaboo Dance Dollars” to stuff in a toy “sexy dance garter” to “Unleash the sex kitten inside” (quoth the Tesco website). More

  Tags: WAL-Mart, Ziploc, TSA, Tesco, airport security, U.K. striptease, Voting Irregularities, Texas, Florida, Virginia, James Webb, Democrats, Republicans, Missouri, Arkansas, censorship, bloggers, Iran, Tunisia, China, Vietnam, Amnesty International, human rights

  3 comments See also in Politics & Causes, In the News, Geekery, Blogging & Other Blogs, The World

Quote of the Day: A Proposition From A Democrat To Republicans

“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends… that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.”
– Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.

Tags: Quote of the Day, Republicans, Democrats

The Fall of DeLay

I really feel like I should say or write something about Tom DeLay withdrawing from the House re-election race and what all that means and of course all the conspiracy theories involved, but there’s so many good theories and postings already flinging about the web and my Republican-hating liberal-activist lesbian co-worker can barely contain herself that I think she’s about to break out in song and dance and I don’t want to miss it…in fact, I think I want to fetch her some sugar and coffee…I think I’ll let the dust settle a bit on this one.

Still, it’s good news for the Democrats, even if they don’t realize it.  It’s a long time coming.

Tags: Tom DeLay, Democrats, Republicans, Conspiracy Theories

Had Enough Indeed

According to Editor & Publisher, a recent Gallup poll shows that more Americans consider themselves Democrats than Republicans. 33% of Americans now call themselves Democrats while only 32% call themselves Republicans. While this might seem too tight to matter, the 34% of the population that now make up Independents are the telltale sign of which way the nation will go in upcoming elections, it seems.

Independents, it appears, are leaning 49% Democrat and only 42% Republican this year, whereas last year, they were dead even at 46% each.

Not a good sign for the GOP in the 2006 elections.

The latest poll was taken from January to March 2006, with a national sample of about 1,000 adults. [“Gallup: In Shift, More Americans Now Call Themselves Democrats” (Editor & Publisher)]

Hat tip to Ron Beasley @ Middle Earth.

Tags: 2006 election, Republicans, Democrats, poll

Had Enough?

I nearly choked on my Diet Dr. Pepper when I read this. Too funny!

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who masterminded the 1994 elections that brought Republicans to power on promises of revolutionizing the way Washington is run, told TIME that his party has so bungled the job of governing that the best campaign slogan for Democrats today could be boiled down to just two words: “Had enough?” [“Republicans On The Run” (Time Magazine)]

I so want that on a bumper sticker, only one of those ones that goes on the inside of the window so it won’t ruin my car. Oooo, or maybe a cute little t-shirt for Pugly?

Hat tip Bull Moose via Suburban Guerrilla.

Tags: Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Democrats, Time Magazine

Republican Lies -er- Spin

This Week the Republicans released a new radio ad in Wisconsin:

RNC AD: “Censure”

Announcer: September 11th changed our country. And it changed how America responds to terrorists. President Bush is working to keep American families safe. Passing the PATRIOT Act which has disrupted over one hundred and fifty terrorist threats and cells making sure the US is monitoring terrorist communications. But some Democrats are working against these efforts to secure our country, opposing the PATRIOT Act and terrorist surveillance program. Their leader is Russ Feingold. Now Feingold and other Democrats want to censure the President. Publicly reprimanding President Bush for pursuing suspected members of al Qaeda. Some Democrats are even calling for President Bush’s impeachment.
Is this how Democrats plan to win the War on Terror? Call Russ Feingold and ask him why he’s more interested in censuring the President than protecting our freedom. Paid for by the Republican National Committee not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee www.gop.com. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

FactCheck.org does a nice analysis of the inaccuracies and mischaracterizations of Feingold’s Censure Resolution in the Repulican’s ad. I’d like to review some of that here, but I want to be fair and point out that these kinds of commercials are a personal pet peeve of mine as they come from both sides. They were particularly aggrevating during the 2004 election and after awhile they sound less like spin and more like lies and after awhile I’m just offended by both sides.

Now Feingold and other Democrats want to censure the President. Publicly reprimanding President Bush for pursuing suspected members of al Qaeda.

This must be more of that “if they aren’t with us, then they’re against us” mentality. Feingold nor any Democrat has ever reprimanded President Bush or anyone for pursuing suspected terrorists. In fact, Feingold has repeatedly, publically said that we should be wiretapping terrorists and suspected terrorists; that isn’t the issue — the issue is the wiretapping of Americans on American soil without obtaining court orders as well as a failure to disclose what he was doing to the appropriate Congressional committees.

Some Democrats are even calling for President Bush’s impeachment.

But not Russ Feingold. John Conyers in the House, yes, but he isn’t even calling really for an impeachment so much as an investigation that could lead to an impeachment. The implication is that the Democratic agenda is to impeach President Bush, which I find hilarious because if they were paying attention, they’d know that the Democrats are too scared to do any such thing.

It’s really all about the spin. Scare Americans into thinking that only Republicans can keep them safe. God knows that the terrorists are going to attack Wisconsin any day now. You aren’t a patriot if you vote Democrat.

Tags: Terrorists, Patriot Act, Russ Feingold, Republicans, Democrats, George W. Bush, factcheck.org, Censure, 2004 election, Impeach

Merrilee Carlson Deserves Her Time In The Spotlight Too

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
–Voltaire

Without going back and digging through my own posts about Cindy Sheehan, I’m sure when she first arrived on the scene last summer in Crawford, Texas, I thought she was kind of nifty. I figured as long as she was participating in peaceful, anti-war protest she was doing a good thing and I pretty much backed her.

I’m all for Freedom of Speech. I mean, I have my limits of what’s good taste and what’s appropriate. I’m from the “harm none” mentality and also the “you don’t wear jeans to church” crowd.

So, anyway, I don’t recall if what I’ve said about Cindy here. I haven’t exactly agreed with everything she’s said or done in public and let’s face it, she’s said and done some real doseys. I think she makes us serious liberals look like “moonbats”, but I will defend her right to say what she believes as long as it isn’t gay bashing, sexist, racist, or otherwise outright hateful.

And I don’t believe that liberals are the only ones with a right to Freedom of Speech either.

Merrilee Carlson also lost her son in Iraq, but unlike Cindy Sheehan, her name hasn’t become a household name and she hasn’t been making the rounds of late night talk shows or public press events. Yet, she has her own message and her own organization and she’s been trying to get the word out. Merrilee Carlson believes that “we have to take a step back and look at what we have asked our military to do. We have asked them to do a job. It doesn’t matter how we got there. The fact is we are there and we have a job to finish.”
O.K. So I don’t agree with her message exactly. I understand it. I understand where she’s coming from. I understand why she feels that way even, but I don’t agree. However, I do think she has as much a right as Cindy Sheehan to make her message known. Starting last August and September, when Cindy started making headlines, Merrilee started to feel the need to balance things out, to “correct the record”. After all, her opinion is just as justified and right as Cindy’s.

In the last couple of weeks the organization that Carlson chairs, Minnesota Families United, has been in the center of a controversy that, by any objective reasoning, should have made national news.

Minnesota Families United teamed with Progress for America Voter Fund and produced two television spots. Minnesota was used as a test market for the spots and PFA made a rather large statewide television buy. The ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities market, KSTP, refused to air the spots.

The decision not to air the first MFU commercial was made by Rob Hubbard, General Manager. His objection was over two lines in the spot:

1) The media only reports the bad news, but American troops are making real progress
2) You would never know it from the news reports, but our enemy in Iraq is Al Qaeda.

Hubbard’s position was that those lines did not apply to his television station; therefore, he would not allow the spot to run. Hubbard says he would have run the spot if they edited it to make it clear they were talking about the media in general, but not KSTP specifically.

It is certainly understandable that Hubbard is worried his viewers might get the wrong impression. After all, the reason these spots were produced in the first place is that these families of our fallen heroes believe millions have gotten the wrong impression regarding the progress our soldiers have made in Iraq. Still, the question remains: Do these families deserve to have their voices heard, or should they be stifled?

This debate is not happening, because this story never made national news. To recap: In an election year, a group used Minnesota as a test market for a possible national buy and one of the prominent stations took the position that the spot should not air. Maybe this didn’t become news because of the hypocrisy of the industry. They often try their best to protect themselves from the type of stories they inflict on others.

The news hook gets better.

On Thursday, February 16th, the Chair of the Democrat Party in Minnesota called on all TV stations to pull the ad. The top Democrats in Minnesota want to suppress the message of Carlson’s group.

Merrilee Carlson was born and raised a Democrat. She doesn’t like politics and she wants to make it clear that her group is non-political. So, the Democrats in Minnesota are trying to suppress the message from mainstream families who have suffered the loss of their children from the war in Iraq. Why is this not news?

That other mom was a full-time, anti-war protester for more than a year before she came up with the PR stunt to go to Crawford during the president’s vacation. The media accepted the stunt and gave her message enormous coverage. This prompted Carlson to take action for her message. Now Carlson is in the middle of legitimate news and the media is silent. [“Pro-military mom silenced by mainstream media” (Townhall.com)]

A Google search of Merrilee Carlson brought up precious little than a few opinion articles about the above issue and this article about the death of Sgt. Michael Carlson — o.k. 29,100 links. In comparison, I could look at about 9,770,000 different links on Cindy Sheehan if I had the time and interest.
Anyway, I find it fascinating that Democrats are campaigning to keep her commercial from airing. Yet another disappointment from that party and proof that they’re all alike. I find it interesting that she is a Democrat to begin with. I also find it terribly fascinating that I found this violation of an American’s Civil Rights on not one of the liberal blogs I read but on the most right-wingingest blog I read.

Anyway, go check out Merrilee’s website and watch her commercial, whether you agree with her or not.

Tags: Merrilee Carlson, Cindy Sheehan, politics, Freedom of Speech, anti-war, pro-military, Iraq, grieving mother, Minnesota Families United, Democrats

Congress Is Dead

With everything going on in the blogsphere, in national politics, in women’s rights, in the Middle East, in Iraq in particular, in the world in general, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed the last few days. Politics in particular has made me particularly restless the last three or four days. I’ve been debating a personal rebellion, a political mutiny. However, what I’ve come to realize is that it’s hard to defect from a party when you don’t belong to one. You just can’t up and flounce out of the room with a dramatic slam of the door behind you if you weren’t in there in the first place.

More

Tags: Congress, George W. Bush, Russ Feingold, politics, Bill Clinton, 9/11, Democrats, Republicans, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, Afghanistan

Call Your Senators Today

Susie @ Suburban Guerrilla has a link today to firedoglake where they’re organizing support for Senator Russ Feingold’s censure yesterday. They want everyone to call their senators, Republican or Democrat, and ask them where they stand on the matter. The idea is two fold: First of all, it lets the Senate know just how many people care and support this resolution even if their representative is a line-stepping Republican (like here in Maine) and it gives those of us out here in America an idea of what the intial reaction in the Senate looks like.

This really isn’t a lot to ask. Russ Feingold is putting a lot on the line for us and we need to back him up now. We need to show our support and we need to show Washington that we are tired of the complacency and the incompetency and the line-stepping. We want answers.

You can contact the US Senate via the switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and they will connect you with any Senator’s office. Or you can find your particular Senator’s direct dial here.

I’ve already contacted Senators Snowe and Collins; how about you?

Tags: Russ Feingold, Censure, George W. Bush, Impeach, Senate, Republicans, Democrats, politics

Feingold Takes A Stand

Senator Russ Feingold, one of the few Democrats in Washington who actually does what he says and stands for something anymore, appeared on ABC’s This Week today and announced that tomorrow he’s introducing a very special resolution to the Senate. The resolution would censure President Bush for authorizing an illegal warrantless domestic surveillance program, something many Americans on both sides of the political fence have considered within impeachment territory. Certainly, it brings up some unanswered questions and it displays once again President Bush’s nose-thumbing at the U.S. Constitution and the laws he’s supposed to uphold as our top-most leader. I think we all deserve some answers, and if Bush is well within his rights, then fine, but let’s do this right.

If you want to see the video, go here.

But if you’re lazy, here’s the transcript:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Tomorrow in the Senate you’ll introduce a resolution to censure George W. Bush. Let me show it to our viewers. It says, “Resolved: that the United States Senate does hereby censure George W. Bush, President of the United States, and does condemn his unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans.” That is a big step. Why are you taking it now?

FEINGOLD: It’s an unusual step. It’s a big step, but what the President did by consciously and intentionally violating the constitutional laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping has to be answered. There can be debate about whether the law should be changed. There can be debate about how best to fight terrorism. We all believe that there should be wiretapping in appropriate cases. But the idea that the President can just make up a law in violation of his oath of office has to be answered.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But as you know, the President says he was acting on his inherent authority under the Constitution, and even your resolution acknowledges that no federal court has ruled that a president does not have that authority as Commander in Chief, so aren’t you jumping the gun?

FEINGOLD: Not at all. You know, we’ve had a chance here for three months to look at whether there’s any legal basis for this, and they’re using shifting legal justifications. First they try to argue that somehow, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, they can do this. It’s pretty clear that they can’t. Then there’s the argument that somehow the military authorization for Afghanistan allowed this. This has basically been laughed out of the room in the Congress. So the last resort is to somehow say that the President has inherent authority to ignore the law of the United States of America, and that has the consequence that the President could even order the assassination of American citizens if that’s the law. So there is no sort of independent inherent authority that allows the president to override the laws passed by the Congress of the United States.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So if you’re so convinced that the President has broken the law, why not file an article of impeachment?

FEINGOLD: Well, you know, that’s an option we could look at, if somebody thought that was a really good idea. There are other options out there. In fact, this conduct is right in the strike zone — even though the Founding Fathers didn’t have strike zones, they didn’t have baseball — but it is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors. We have to consider, is it best for the country to start impeachment proceedings? Is it best for the country to consider removing the President? We’re not mandated to impeach a president who has broken the law, but I think we are required to do our job, to live up to our oath of office, and say, wait a minute, there has to be — at least as a first step — some accountability. Proper accountability is a censuring of the President, to say, “Mr. President, acknowledge you broke the law, return to the law, return to our system of government.” That’s what I think we should do. [“VIDEO: Feingold Will Introduce Resolution To Censure President Bush” (ThinkProgress.org)]

Tags: Russ Feingold, Censure, Democrats, warrantless wiretapping, The U.S. Constitution, George W. Bush, politics, Senate

America Can Do Better

Molly Ivins isn’t the only discontented voice out there. Coast to coast, disenchanted Democrats and former Dems are calling for a party to believe in and leaders who actually lead and the DNC and the crowd in Washington don’t appear to be listening yet.

‘TOGETHER, America can do better.” When you hear that, do you feel inspired?

I didn’t think so.

[…]

Watching the Democrats stumbling around in search of a “message” is the only thing more agonizing than watching the Republicans destroy this country. Five years of Republican-controlled government have brought us an unwinnable war, a global reputation in tatters, incomprehensibly irresponsible fiscal policies, shameful neglect of our neediest citizens and a government incapable of coping with either natural disaster or terrorist threats.

Yet somehow the Democratic Party still can’t do any better than “America can do better.”

“You can do better” is what you say to a dim child whose grades were even worse than expected. Is this really the Democrats’ message to the nation: that we don’t need to be quite as pathetic as we now are, though excellence is certainly beyond our reach?

This slogan speaks not of hope but of hopelessness, of scaled-down ambitions, of dreams deferred and dreams denied.

It’s the smallness of it that kills me. This nation began with a dream — a crazy, risky, breathtaking dream of freedom, justice and equality. Sure, we’ve never truly achieved that dream, but for much of the last century, it’s been the Democratic Party that has helped keep that dream alive. So how can it be that, today, Democrats don’t seem to stand for anything at all?

Part of the problem is ambition and cowardice, which together make a lethal combination. Too many would-be Democratic leaders think that “playing it safe” is the way to go. They’re fine with criticizing the administration, but the minute they take any flak themselves, they go scurrying back into their holes. In place of a willingness to take risks and speak from the heart, they offer a craven and misguided dependence on polls, focus groups and “expert strategists.”

[…]

If Democrats really want a better message, they’ve got to stop being so technocratic and careful and learn how to be passionate and brave. Of course, they need policies, but they also need a little poetry. [“They can’t even win a war of words” (Los Angeles Times)]

Tags: politics, Democrats, liberals, DNC, Washington D.C, cowards, age of discontent

We Need A Candidate With a Clear Stand Who Kicks Ass

Molly Ivins has had Enough of the D.C. Dems and Jill over at Brilliant at Breakfast points out that there’s quite a few liberals out there who agree. It’s time for a change of guard in Washington — though I think it’s time for a change on both sides.

Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don’t jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.

I can’t see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can’t even see straight.

Look at their reaction to this Abramoff scandal. They’re talking about “a lobby reform package.” We don’t need a lobby reform package, you dimwits, we need full public financing of campaigns, and every single one of you who spends half your time whoring after special interest contributions knows it. The Abramoff scandal is a once in a lifetime gift—a perfect lesson on what’s wrong with the system being laid out for people to see. Run with it, don’t mess around with little patches, and fix the system.

As usual, the Democrats have forty good issues on their side and want to run on thirty-nine of them. Here are three they should stick to:

1) Iraq is making terrorism worse; it’s a breeding ground. We need to extricate ourselves as soon as possible. We are not helping the Iraqis by staying.

2) Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington.

3) Single-payer health insurance.

Every Democrat I talk to is appalled at the sheer gutlessness and spinelessness of the Democratic performance. The party is still cringing at the thought of being called, ooh-ooh, “unpatriotic” by a bunch of rightwingers.

Take “unpatriotic” and shove it. How dare they do this to our country? “Unpatriotic”? These people have ruined the American military! Not to mention the economy, the middle class, and our reputation in the world. Everything they touch turns to dirt, including Medicare prescription drugs and hurricane relief.

This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.

Read the rest.

Tags: politics, Molly Ivins, Democrats, age of discontent

John Kerry Needs His Mouth Sewn Shut

No, seriously. I’ve been mulling it over since last Thursday when the Patriot Act got renewed.

Mostly I’ve been quietly seething as that’s just another nail in the coffin of our dying civil liberties and freedoms and my first impulse was to write a post about how every single one of those Senators who voted to renew the Patriot Act should be voted out of office when their seat came up — which is saying a lot since I actually like Snowe, Collins, Baucus, Vitter, and up until very recently McCain. However, I decided to sit on it and think on it.

More

Tags: John Kerry, Democrats, Patriot Act, Senate, loss of Freedoms

The World Is Going Insane & Bringing Me With It

I think I’ve reached a low point today. Reading the news.

More violence in the Middle East. People are dying. Who cares what color their skin is or their nationality or their god? People are dying and it’s just another bullet on the news. Just another day. How easy it is to be detached way over here on this continent in the safety of our living rooms.

More arguing between the Left and Right. Excuses from the Right. Fingerpointing from the Left. No one seems to be doing anything to stop the spiral of this country into a new dark ages.

More

Tags: depression, Middle East, Terrorists, George W. Bush, Democrats, hopeless

The Elephant Has A Short Memory

I find it amusing that less than a month ago, when Democrats were agonizing over the nomination of now Chief Justice John Roberts and they were nitpicking over important questions like Robert’s positions on the woman’s right to choose and minority rights and all the big Supreme Court issues, Republicans were indignantly telling Democrats to just sit down and vote “yes” and let the President have his chosen man.

Now just weeks later, the President’s second nominee is out there and the conservative Right aren’t so sure about where she stands on those same important issues and now they’re agonizing over the choice they’re same lord and chief has made.

It would serve them right if the Left told them to just lay down, close their eyes, and imagine they’re somewhere else until it’s over.

Tags: politics, Women's Rights, Supreme Court, Democrats, Republicans

The Untouchable Administration

Over at In Search of Utopia there’s a post, like many I’ve seen today (and many times in the last four or so years), about how the press is finally waking up to President Bush’s administrations failures, etc. I wrote the below in the comment section but decided that it was something I felt so passionate about, it needed to be here as well.

You know, every time something happens that I would think would “damn” Bush and his administration, I get all hopeful, but no one in power seems to be doing anything about it.

I mean, all of us “liberals” and “Democrats” all point together and yell, “Look there! Look there! See? That’s what we’re talking about!” Then we all high five each other for being right and predicting the end of the “evil administration,” but what does it matter? Who’s actually doing something about it? Where’s the independent council investigating this administration? Where’s the payback for wrong-doing, for cronyism, for poor planning for the war, for any of it?

This administration almost seems untouchable. Of course, they don’t care about the polls…they’re just numbers. Nothing’s going to happen. No one is going to actually do anything.

It’s just so frustrating.

Tags: George W. Bush, hopeless, Democrats, liberals

Republican Congressman Breaks From Party

Well, it seems like more and more Congressional Republicans have been breaking away from the straight party vote — Maine’s Olympia Snowe comes to mind; she’s repeatedly shown she can make up her own mind no matter how her party if voting.

Anyway, now Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, a member of the House International Relations Committee, is taking things a step further from the party line. He’s co-sponsoring California Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s (D) Resolution of Inquiry into Bush Administration communications with the U.K. about Iraq. So far only Democrats have been involved in requesting an investigation and cosponsoring the Resolution (H. Res 375). The Resolution apparently must be brought to a vote in the House International Relations Committee by September 16th, or Lee is permitted to demand a vote of the full House.

H. Res. 375

Requesting the President and directing the Secretary of State to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution all information in the possession of the President and the Secretary of State relating to communication with officials of the United Kingdom between January 1, 2002, and October 16, 2002, relating to the policy of the United States with respect to Iraq. [“H. Res. 375: Requesting the President and directing the Secretary of State to transmit to the House of…” (GovTrack.us)]

The International Relations Committee has 27 Republican members and 23 Democratic members. Thus far 10 of the Democrats have co-sponsored the Resolution. If the other 13 vote for it as well, then along with Leach, one more Republican vote will be needed for a tie, or two more for passage.

Leach has questioned Bush’s war policies for years and was one of five Republicans in May to vote for Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey’s amendment requiring an exit strategy. Another of those five, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, also serves on the International Relations Committee. [“Republican Congressman Breaks Ranks, Joins Demand for Documents on Downing Street Memos” (Political Affairs Magazine)]

It’s nice to know that not all our our Congressmen have sold their souls to the party line. I like to think our Congressmen, whatever the party, will act in the best interest of their constituents and the American public and not just follow blindly along as party leaders instruct them to do. I mean, if I expect the average person to vote intelligently and not just vote the way someone told them to, I should expect my political representatives to do the same — do their own research and vote based on their own opinion and what they think is right.

As for the resolution, personally, I believe we deserve to know the truth and if the White House has nothing to hide, what would it hurt to hand over the information asked for? After all, I’ve been told that if I have nothing to hide, I shouldn’t care if the FBI can look at my library records. It seems only fair.

Be sure to contact your Congressional representatives and ask them to support the Resolution! You can even do it via web. (I got a nice letter from one of my Senators regarding my email on The Patriot Act.)

Tags: Republicans, Olympia Snowe, HR375, Iraq, UK, Democrats, Jim Leach