Yes, I Have Been Reading A Lot Of Japanese Comics Lately, Why Do You Ask?
Our president seems to be under the impression that a wartime president has the powers of a dictator. Unfortunately, only Congress can declare war and I don’t recall Congress declaring war. A war on terror is not a war–you can’t declare war on a tactic–a war requires a definite opponent; otherwise, there can be no end to the war. Are we at war with Iraq? I thought that Mission had been Accomplished 😉
Newest Enemies of the State: Quakers, grandmothers OK I was feeling too ill last night (a touch of the flu) to load this up but this is the kind of thing we’re getting from our Emperor’s New Protection. In case the article disappears, I’ll quote liberally: “One target of Pentagon prying was the Truth Project. This is a small antiwar group that engages in “counter-recruiting” at Palm Beach County high schools, including Lake Worth, Santaluces and Spanish River. With school permission, the peace activists talk to students to counter the assertions of military recruiters. For example, an Army recruiter might tout all the swell opportunities for women who sign up. The Truth Project will mention the high rates of sexual harassment and assault reported by women in the military.Lo and behold, the group’s inaugural 2004 meeting at the Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth is listed as a “threat” in a secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC. And just who are these Enemies of the State? They’re all of eight people, including a couple of Quakers and a 79-year-old grandmother, said spokesman Richard Hersh, of Boca Raton. He’s 59 and disabled from a painful nerve disease that often forces him to use a wheelchair.”
Why doesn’t our President want to get court orders for wiretaps? Possibly because His targets are going to be groups and individuals against whom he couldn’t get a court order if He wanted one.
Filibuster? Heck, No, I’d Prefer A Meaningless NO Vote…
I’m a Libra and it takes me a long time to make up my mind–some people say I never do 🙂 Nevertheless, I am convinced that Judge Sam Alito would be a detrimental addition to our Supreme Court. Save The Court has a pretty good rundown of the reasons why his confirmation would be a bad bad thing. Alito’s 1985 Job Application: A Blueprint for His Troubling Judicial Record.
Now, it is a matter of public record that Alito argued as a judge for the legality of a strip search of a 10-year old girl and he also voted for “spousal notification” w/r/t abortions (the problem with that is what if a woman is married to an abuser–the need to notify him would be tantamount to requiring his permission AND opening the woman to the possibility of further abuse). But I think the most telling problem is the issue of his honesty. There was a great hubbub made about his membership in an organization called the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, an extreme rightwing organization that was founded for the purpose of limiting or overthrowing the admission of women and minorities to the Ivy League campus. Alito claimed he did not remember the details of his membership, despite the fact that he’d noted it in his CV when applying for a post in the Reagan administration. AFTER the hubbub went into full swing, the following article appeared via the Bloomberg organization: Alito’s Name Does Not Appear in Princeton Alumni Group Records. So it seems as if Judge Sam WASN’T a member, didn’t pay dues, attend meetings, subscribe to the magazine. Alito had merely written it into his CV to make it look good to the right wing side of Reagan’s staff. So, What’s The Problem, Teddy?
The problem of course is the same problem with James Frey’s “embellishment” of his memoirs. Alito didn’t tell the truth. Think about it–did YOU embellish your credentials on your resume? Most of us, I think would say no–we didn’t even consider it. Chances are, no one would have checked out the more obscure pieces of information on it, but if they did, we didn’t want to be caught in a lie. Sam Alito didn’t have that kind of qualm. I don’t like liars. And I don’t like judges who are liars. And right now, to parallel Dashiell Hammett, even if I liked judges who lied their asses off, I still wouldn’t like Sam Alito. I urge everyone who is concerned about the direction of our nation, everyone who truly loves the United States, to write their senators to support a filibuster of his nomination.
Several senators have stated that they would not support a filibuster, but would vote no. Well, hell, that’s kinda senseless, isn’t it, given the odds on an up-down vote confirming the nomination? You may say, well, Bush will only try to appoint an even MORE radical rightwinger. Well, if he does, he’ll show his true colors and perhaps THAT nominee will not even make it out of the committee. The following orgs (among others) support the filibuster:
Please excuse my going on at length about this but it’s important if we are to turn the tide against the tyrannization of the American presidency.
Hey, It Worked in 2002 and 2004, Let’s Go For THREE!
(Wash Post) Rove’s Early Warning That’s the headline of the column as originally printed in the Washington Post, but I can’t go by without quoting the title given to it in the Seattle Times: The evil genius of Karl Rove
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