Thank you, thank you, thank you! I didn't know I was even up for contention, after being kicked off CalCON, having posts deleted, and all... I though I was out of the race fur sure. If I'd known, I would have written a true acceptance speech, but this will just have to do.
I wonder who the runners-up were?
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Christmas saved, 14 Trees at a Time
Halleluiah, SeaTac is safe for Christmas once more... and nothing says Merry Christmas more than plastic!
Maintenance staff worked overnight to restore the 14 plastic trees... Airport managers believed that if they allowed the addition of an 8-foot-tall menorah to the display, as Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky had requested, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures. Airport workers didn't have time to do that during the busy travel season...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2718751
But wait... an inaccuracy at CalCON??? Where and how was the ACLU involved? The only reference to the ACLU, the Rabbi and SeaTAC are on... you guessed it, CONservative websites. The ACLU was not involved in the matter, there is nothing about it on www.ACLU.org, and no (reputable) news organization reports that the ACLU was involved. Hmmm... makes you wonder...
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Worst president ever.
You've seen the ads. You've read the commentary. You know its the truth. And here it is, spelled out for all to see.
Historians are loath to predict the future. It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.
And the thing of it is, it just keeps getting worse.
Historians are loath to predict the future. It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.The reason that W is the worst is because he blends all of the characteristics that our worst presidents have had into one seamless mélange.
And the thing of it is, it just keeps getting worse.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Democrats, promises broken and blame
CalCON revs up the spin machine today, saying the Dems have already broken a campaign promise and at breakneck speed. Well, you say, how is this spin, SB? Sit down Indian style (as my kindergarten teacher used to say) and I'll tell you all about it.
First, this particular 9/11 Commission recommendation has been controversial from the start. Reorganizing Congress in this fashion requires that a bunch of committee chairs give up a whole lot of power, and the one thing that Congress cares about is power.
"We think this is extremely crucial," Kean said of a reorganization shifting budget authority to the intelligence committees. But, he added, there are "a lot of old bulls in both parties who just don't want to do it."
Second, this was not exactly on the top of the republiCONs to-do list, and as Mitch McConnell says, "There will be nothing here they can do without some degree of cooperation from a very robust 49-vote minority."
So what's a Speaker to do? Bring it up in the first hundred hours and deal with the republiCONs -- not to mention her own party members -- shooting it down, making her look like a weak leader right out of the box? I think we all remember how everybody spun the Murtha/Hoyer slapdown, and this would be redux times ten.
Looks like good politicking to me. Maybe Pelosi knows what she's doing afterall.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Calling all homosexuals: Uncle Sam wants YOU!
Gays in the military!
According to reporter Rick Sallinger, "A CBS4 Investigation into recruiting by the United States Army found recruiters telling potential soldiers that it wasn't a problem if they were gay. The recruiters told people showing interest in being a soldier to keep their homosexuality to themselves."
Hat tip to The Front Lines via Rawstory.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Well, there you go.
In today's gem, CalCON attempts to paint Janet Reno as a bad attorney general because she's standing up for the Constitution (along with 7 other noted attorneys, including former U.S. Attorneys W. Thomas Dillard and Anton R. Valukas, who served under President Reagan) and filing suit against the Bush Administration's treatment of suspected terrorists. Due process of law isn't enough for the Bushies, and apparently, not for CalCON either.
Indeed! Actually trying and convicting a terrorist? Why, what do you think this is... a land that has run well for more than 200 years under the rule of law? Funny how republiCONs think that the rule of law only applies when they say it does.
But that's not enough misrepresentation. Painting with broad strokes, CalCON claims that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was passed with "bipartisan support", suggesting that the votes fell along anything but party lines, and further, that as such, it must be the right thing to do. First, the votes fell accordingly:
Second, the bipartisan support that somehow validates the bill was, of course, before the election, when the Democrats couldn't win if the republiCONs voted en bloc. So, a small number that needed and wanted to show their moderate side voted with the republiCON majority. But let's assume they genuinely felt the way that they voted; where the vote to be held this January, I think the result would be significnatly different.
And that means there was and is no "bipartisan support."
Former AG Reno is taking this highly unusual step in an effort to rein in what is looking more and more like an out-of-control Executive Branch. Frankly, it is about time somebody did. The American people spoke up about the goings-on in Washington, and there is no doubt about what they said. RepubliCONs looking for a glimmer of hope to salvage W's legacy continue to search in vain, and this is no place to put any aspiration.
It's wonderful to live in a democracy again.
Reno’s lawsuit argues in favor of trying enemy combatants in a regular court subject to the rules of evidence. That’s scary...
Indeed! Actually trying and convicting a terrorist? Why, what do you think this is... a land that has run well for more than 200 years under the rule of law? Funny how republiCONs think that the rule of law only applies when they say it does.
But that's not enough misrepresentation. Painting with broad strokes, CalCON claims that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was passed with "bipartisan support", suggesting that the votes fell along anything but party lines, and further, that as such, it must be the right thing to do. First, the votes fell accordingly:
Final Passage in the Senate Party AYE NAY ABS Republicans 53 1 1 Democrats 12 32 0 Independent 0 1 0 Total 65 34 1
Final Passage in the House Party AYE NAY ABS Republicans 218 7 5 Democrats 32 162 7 Independent 0 1 0 Total 250 170 12
* AYE = Votes for the act
* NAY = Votes against the act
* ABS = Abstentions/no votes
Second, the bipartisan support that somehow validates the bill was, of course, before the election, when the Democrats couldn't win if the republiCONs voted en bloc. So, a small number that needed and wanted to show their moderate side voted with the republiCON majority. But let's assume they genuinely felt the way that they voted; where the vote to be held this January, I think the result would be significnatly different.
And that means there was and is no "bipartisan support."
Former AG Reno is taking this highly unusual step in an effort to rein in what is looking more and more like an out-of-control Executive Branch. Frankly, it is about time somebody did. The American people spoke up about the goings-on in Washington, and there is no doubt about what they said. RepubliCONs looking for a glimmer of hope to salvage W's legacy continue to search in vain, and this is no place to put any aspiration.
It's wonderful to live in a democracy again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
