Friday, December 28, 2007
Bhutto
I'm probably the last person in the blogosphere to discuss this. I still don't know everything about Benazir Bhutto's assassination. But I really wouldn't be surprised if Musharraf had something to do with this. I also know she wasn't exactly a shining paragon of democracy, but she was certainly a change from martial law.
Meanwhile, I'm glad to see that somehow, the media has found a way to blame Hillary Clinton. At least there's some stability there.
Meanwhile, I'm glad to see that somehow, the media has found a way to blame Hillary Clinton. At least there's some stability there.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Palm Tree Update
Well, after days without Internet access (at least, constant Internet access), I return. LA's been cool so far; I've gone from dreading my inevitable migration out here to finding the city to be awesome. I've seen my potential future domicile, Venice Beach, Mulholland Drive, and burgers topped with fried eggs. Expect further updates upon my return.
Friday, December 21, 2007
I'm-a Goin' Down To Sunny California...
Well, the family and I are off to LA for Christmas vacation, no doubt to scout out my future place of residence. Internet connections look to be limited to the Starbucks down the street, so my updates may be spotty.
I mean, spottier than usual.
I mean, spottier than usual.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
At Least Someone Knows What The Hell To Do
So, after passing a FISA bill that gave Bush full permission to shit on the Constitution so that they could go to the beach, the Democrats in Congress promised us, promised us, that they would correct it all when that bill ran out. And then the next FISA bill Harry Reid backed would have given telecoms that spied on their customers after 9/11 full immunity from future prosecution.
Well, thank God Chris Dodd actually had his head on straight and filibustered the bill into oblivion. Well, not oblivion, but Reid's pulled the bill, and it won't be back until next year.
You see this, Reid? This is what a spine and a set of testicles look like. You might want to get reacquainted with yours.
Well, thank God Chris Dodd actually had his head on straight and filibustered the bill into oblivion. Well, not oblivion, but Reid's pulled the bill, and it won't be back until next year.
You see this, Reid? This is what a spine and a set of testicles look like. You might want to get reacquainted with yours.
Finally
Yup, finals are all over, and now I'm back home, living in a state of existential angst until I get my grades. Fortunately, I have Rock Band to fill the void.
Oh, and blogging.
Oh, and blogging.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A Team-Up For The Ages
Ideologically-flexible militaristic asshole endorses ideologically-flexible militaristic asshole for president. Film at 11.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Again, Just Resting
Yeah, I haven't abandoned the blog yet. I'm just soldiering through finals. When vacation comes around, I'll actually be able to think again.
Until then, feel good about the fact that at least our elected officials know what's really important.
Until then, feel good about the fact that at least our elected officials know what's really important.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Deeds, Not Words
According to an article in The Washington Post, a bipartisan commission of members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, were told that the CIA was using waterboarding in 2002. Furthermore, lawmakers who knew that waterboarding was being used didn't bring up any explicit objections for the first two years.
Now, since this article's come out, the responses have been varied, from, "Kick 'em all out" to "Someone's trying to pass the blame." I can understand why the whole tape scandal might lead people to think that this was another Nexus of Politics and Terror moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if one or two Bush backers got the same idea.
But that doesn't avoid what's going on here. Our elected officials -- seriously, our elected officials, the ones we, the liberal blogosphere, trusted to clean up the place and set things right -- knew from almost the very start that torture was being used on detainees. And what did they do? They sat on it. They kept quiet. When the chance came to vote against it, they just shut up because they were afraid of being screeched down by the harpies in office.
They could have gone public. They could have made it a campaign issue. They could have shouted it from the mountaintops, run it in primetime, taken out enough ads to blanket Hoboken. But they kept their mouths shut, because they were afraid. And they still are.
I am tired of it. I am tired of a Democratic Congress that falters and fails out of fear of being painted as cowards and traitors. Kick them out. Kick them all out, from Reid to Pelosi to Feinstein to Boehner to Inhofe. Maybe a few of them can stay, like Kennedy or Frank. But we cannot, and we must not accept an elected leadership that does not move against atrocities out of fear of being mocked.
Now, since this article's come out, the responses have been varied, from, "Kick 'em all out" to "Someone's trying to pass the blame." I can understand why the whole tape scandal might lead people to think that this was another Nexus of Politics and Terror moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if one or two Bush backers got the same idea.
But that doesn't avoid what's going on here. Our elected officials -- seriously, our elected officials, the ones we, the liberal blogosphere, trusted to clean up the place and set things right -- knew from almost the very start that torture was being used on detainees. And what did they do? They sat on it. They kept quiet. When the chance came to vote against it, they just shut up because they were afraid of being screeched down by the harpies in office.
They could have gone public. They could have made it a campaign issue. They could have shouted it from the mountaintops, run it in primetime, taken out enough ads to blanket Hoboken. But they kept their mouths shut, because they were afraid. And they still are.
I am tired of it. I am tired of a Democratic Congress that falters and fails out of fear of being painted as cowards and traitors. Kick them out. Kick them all out, from Reid to Pelosi to Feinstein to Boehner to Inhofe. Maybe a few of them can stay, like Kennedy or Frank. But we cannot, and we must not accept an elected leadership that does not move against atrocities out of fear of being mocked.
Friday, December 07, 2007
And So It Continues
We didn't think it would change anything. Sure, we hoped. Sure, we struggled. But Bush stood in opposition to it, and would not bend.
So, apparently, it's gone. The hate crimes measure has been removed from the defense spending bill, as Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy say the bill would not survive the House Republicans.
Again, I say: where are your spines? Your opponents are a lame duck president with an approval rating under 30% and a party currently in the minority. Are you going to sit there and take it as they kill funding for the troops just because they're not comfortable with the idea of protecting gays and lesbians? Or are you going to go forward with the bill and tell them that you will let everyone in America know what their priorities are if the bill is killed?
Hopefully, something will be done with the free-standing bill. But if the Democrats can't stand up for this, I wonder just how far it will go.
So, apparently, it's gone. The hate crimes measure has been removed from the defense spending bill, as Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy say the bill would not survive the House Republicans.
Again, I say: where are your spines? Your opponents are a lame duck president with an approval rating under 30% and a party currently in the minority. Are you going to sit there and take it as they kill funding for the troops just because they're not comfortable with the idea of protecting gays and lesbians? Or are you going to go forward with the bill and tell them that you will let everyone in America know what their priorities are if the bill is killed?
Hopefully, something will be done with the free-standing bill. But if the Democrats can't stand up for this, I wonder just how far it will go.
No Latkes For You!
Shorter Christopher Hitchens: "Oh, if only those lovely, rational Greeks had stomped the hell out of the Jews! Then there would have been a wonderful golden age of logic from the same people who believed that their chief deity gave birth to his own daughter through his cranium, and none of this Judeo-Christian nonsense!"
Not that I'm knocking Greek mythology, but jeez, Hitchens really thinks that the enforcement of the Greek state religion (which is what the Seleucid did when they invaded Judea) over Judaism was the start of a great shining golden age of logic. Viva imperialism, I suppose.
Not that I'm knocking Greek mythology, but jeez, Hitchens really thinks that the enforcement of the Greek state religion (which is what the Seleucid did when they invaded Judea) over Judaism was the start of a great shining golden age of logic. Viva imperialism, I suppose.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
The Virgin Mary Will Be Surprised
There are now two reasons I don't watch The View:
1. I do not have a vagina anywhere on my body.
2. I do not want the rank stupidity to pickle my brain.
This is the same woman who said she didn't have time to know whether or not the earth was round because she "had kids to feed", and now she's saying that nothing came before Jesus. Why has Sherri Shepherd not been laughed out of her contract?
1. I do not have a vagina anywhere on my body.
2. I do not want the rank stupidity to pickle my brain.
This is the same woman who said she didn't have time to know whether or not the earth was round because she "had kids to feed", and now she's saying that nothing came before Jesus. Why has Sherri Shepherd not been laughed out of her contract?
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
They Can Still Throw Rocks At Us, Guys!
Now, if you've been paying attention to Bush at all in the past few years, you'll know that he's been banging the drum about the threat of a nuclear Iran. Even as we are currently overtaxed in Iraq and Afghanistan (yes, we're still ostensibly in Afghanistan), Bush and his allies were talking about how Iran was The Coming Threat, and that we would have to Be Ready, because they might get The Bomb.
Well, it turns out they haven't been working on a bomb. Nor have they since 2003.
Still, Bush is saying that nothing has changed, and the sheer fact that Iran has enriched uranium means that they could restart a weapons program at any time. Sorry, George. Looks like you won't be getting your epic clash of civilizations this go around.
Well, it turns out they haven't been working on a bomb. Nor have they since 2003.
Still, Bush is saying that nothing has changed, and the sheer fact that Iran has enriched uranium means that they could restart a weapons program at any time. Sorry, George. Looks like you won't be getting your epic clash of civilizations this go around.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
We're Not Safe
And I'm not saying that our national security is a precarious state (after all, the Bush administration blares that particular message day in, day out). No, what I mean is, we're not safe for others.
The United States is not a safe country for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the border.
In the surprise judgment, the court found that Safe Third Country Agreement breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention or the Convention Against Torture.
[snip]
Citing the example of Maher Arar, Justice Michael Phelan also noted that the U.S. has not been compliant with the Refugee Convention or CAT (Convention Against Torture).
"... The United States' policies and practices do not meet the conditions set down for authorizing Canada to enter into a STCA," Phelan wrote in his 126-page decision.
"The U.S. does not meet the Refugee Convention requirements nor the [UN] Convention Against Torture prohibition (the Maher Arar case being one example). Further, the STCA does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Charter."
Arar was the Canadian who was stopped by U.S. officials in 2002 at a New York airport and sent to the Middle East to be interrogated as an alleged al Qaeda suspect.
Does anyone remember that little piece of doggerel we wrote on the Statue of Liberty? I wonder if Mr. Bush does?
The United States is not a safe country for refugees, the Federal Court said Thursday as it ruled that Canada will no longer have the right to turn back asylum seekers at the border.
In the surprise judgment, the court found that Safe Third Country Agreement breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nation Refugee Convention or the Convention Against Torture.
[snip]
Citing the example of Maher Arar, Justice Michael Phelan also noted that the U.S. has not been compliant with the Refugee Convention or CAT (Convention Against Torture).
"... The United States' policies and practices do not meet the conditions set down for authorizing Canada to enter into a STCA," Phelan wrote in his 126-page decision.
"The U.S. does not meet the Refugee Convention requirements nor the [UN] Convention Against Torture prohibition (the Maher Arar case being one example). Further, the STCA does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Charter."
Arar was the Canadian who was stopped by U.S. officials in 2002 at a New York airport and sent to the Middle East to be interrogated as an alleged al Qaeda suspect.
Does anyone remember that little piece of doggerel we wrote on the Statue of Liberty? I wonder if Mr. Bush does?
