Blogging My Life

I don't think there's any comment I could make that would add to Ms. Wolf's eloquent essay on just how far gone our country is toward facism. Our Democracy is being taken from us, right under our noses, and we don't notice because we've stopped learning history. Just read the essay.

Jessica and I went to the big "Hooray For Us" party at the Sheraton last night to help celebrate the ass-whoopin' that we handed to the Republicans. It was very cool to finaly be able to celebrate, and with several hundred of my closest friends no less. There was the general feeling that perhaps now things might start to get better. Anyhoo, we didn't stick around for long. We had a drink and said 'hi' to all my friends with the Washington State Democrats, we listened to the speeches and then we left. I just wish I had a better camera in my phone, I would have taken more pictures. As it is, I only got this one crappy picture of Jim McDermot being interviewed after his speech.

I heard Senator Reid say yesterday that one of the top things on the agenda in the new Congress will be "the reconciliation of the parties." And Nancy Palosi is all over MSNBC talking about a "spirit of bi-partisanship." I do believe that we need those things..., but let's not be too hasty. There are some heads that NEED to roll first, first among them, that of the President. Its not about revenge. This president has gone to great lengths to subvert and evade the Constitution of the United States, and there can be no bi-partisanship, there can be no reconciliation until this president has been publicly "smacked down" as a historical reminder to future presidents that this kind of activity will not be tolerated and cannot repeated. This president has amassed more power to himself than any past president, and he has used that power to spy on American citizens, to roll back the Bill Of Rights, and, by use of the signing signature, to exempt himself from l...

What the fuck is up with Nancy Pelosi and her determination to NOT impeach the President? Evidently she doesn't understand that folks who vote Democrat this mid-term are expecting both a short-term and long-term return on the investment that is their vote. One of those short-term returns Democratic voters are looking for is that investigations be opened and that president Bush be impeached immediately. But just when we're about to get subpeona power, just when we're finally in a position to expose Bush's lies to the country, Pelosi comes along and gives Bush a pass! Who the fuck does she think she is?! I think I can speak for many Democrats when I say that what we want is for this President, who has gone to such great lengths to gut the Constitution, has gone so far to lie to the American people, to be publicly SMACKED DOWN! We want it said to Bush and to anyone else in the future who wants to govern by fear and lies and intimidation, that "You can't do that. N...

If you haven't heard of Mr. Fish, or seen his cartoons go to TruthDig.com and check him out.

Another example of President Bush's having no regards for the working class or families. Having failed to get Richard Stickler, a former mining Company executive, confirmed in the Senate, Bush waited until Congress went on it's campaign break and then gave him a recess appointment to the post of Head of the Mine Saftey and Health Administration. Talk about letting the fox guard the hen-house.

This link will take you to a collection of propaganda posters from the WW I and WW II era, modified to express American Christian ideas. Each has some commentary by one Austin Cline, who is a Director for the Council for Secular Humanism and a former Publicity Coordinator for the CampusFreethought Alliance. His commentary concerning the dangerous road down which the Christian Right would lead this country is dead on. His line that says "If Fascism Comes to America, It Will Come Wrapped in the Flag & Carrying the Cross," is particularly prescient. Go there now and give it a read.

I was watching Olberman last night and heard him say that Nancy Pelosi had said that Democrats won't seek to impeach the President when they take control of the legislature. I can't tell you how disappointed this makes me. I think that goes against what most of their constituents want. I think the vast majority of Democrats and, in fact most Americans, want the following things the moment the Dems regain control: We want the Patriot Act to be repealed We want the Military Commission Act repealed We want the President impeached for High Crimes and Misdemeanors We want the Tax Cuts for the top 1% of the population ended We want our troops home from Iraq

I've said it before and I'm saying it again now, I wish Senator Feingold (D-Wis) was one of my senators. I wish it because he says stuff like this: "The legislation signed by the President today violates basic principles and values of our constitutional system of government. It allows the government to seize individuals on American soil and detain them indefinitely with no opportunity to challenge their detention in court... We will look back on this day as a stain on our nation's history." Why can't my senators (Cantwell, Murray) say stuff like that?

You know why the big push, all the sudden, by the criminal Bush administration to make torture legal (retro-actively, mind you)? It's because they know that Americans are about to say 'No,' to their failed policies. This November, Americans are going to reject the failed policies of fear, Americans are going to reject Bush's failed foreign policy, Americans are going to reject this administration's ideas that it's okay to treat people in our custody in a cruel and inhuman way. The Bush administration knows that Americans are going to return to sanity and elect Democrats back to the majority in both the House and the Senate, and that when that happens, Congress will have, and use, it's subpoena power to investigate the lies that were told in order to drag us into a war of choice against a country that did nothing to harm us. But even morefrightening to the neo-cons, is the fact that Congress will investigate their reliance on secret prisons and torture, and t...

You know, kids, anything that puts President Bush's polling numbers in the dumper is a good thing as far as I'm concerned...usually. But I'm amazed that concerning the price of a gallon of gas, people don't seem to be getting the bigger picture. President Bush, and Congress for that matter, are not directly responsible for the price of gas. It's all about world economics. Primarily the economies of India and China. In years past, neither of these countries placed that huge a demand on oil, and in India's case, they couldn't have afforded it if they had wanted it. Now, those two countries are using more oil than ever before. Why? My theory, at least in part, is that it's because the United States has exported so many jobs to both India and China, there are a lot more people there who can now afford to purchase cars. I have tried googling to find some statistics and have so far come up wanting, but I bet some astute reader could come up with the relevant ...

Fox News' Tony Snow will be taking over for Scott "Mclyin'" McClellan on Monday. As I understand it, Snow is considering removing the television cameras from his daily briefings. While we will still be able to read his lies in the print media, I guess he doesn't want to actually be shown lying on TV. Think about how much fun the Jon Stewart Show had with the McClellan clips, Snow wants to avoid that. Anyhoo, the good folks over at Media Matters have documented some of Snow's previous lies in the media. Things like: Snow said Joe Wilson says he was sent to Niger by Dick Cheney, Snow claimed that President Jimmy Carter had authorized warrantless surveilance of U.S. Citizens, Snow suggested that the Democrats objected to Bush's warrantless wiretapping because they think "the government shouldn't be able to listen to Al-queda." Maybe being able to come up with this shit all by himself was what got him the Press Secretary job.

Honestly, I don't understand the furor over this latest Kennedy flap. There is no proof that he had been drinking, and nobody got shot in the face. And as we all know, according to precedent, it's perfectly acceptable for high ranking government officials to get liquored up and shoot folks in the face. That didn't happen, so as I said, I really don't understand what all the fuss is about.

As you know, dear readers, I am loathe to agree with President Bush on anything; but I'm afraid that I must when it comes to our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Perhaps it is a sign that, at forty years of age, I am in fact an old curmudgeon. Perhaps my view denotes a bit of xenophobia on my part, but I cannot lie, I do not think there should be a Spanish language version of the Anthem. As far as the whole immigration issue goes, I think our borders need to be strengthened and illegals kept out. I believe it is a national security issue. I sympathize with those immigrants, both legal and illegal, who say that they are not terrorists. But if we cannot secure our borders against illegal immigrants, no matter how benign their reasons for entering this country, how can we expect that our borders are safe against those who really do mean to do us harm? Illegals and Taxes Illegal immigrants argue that they are in fact paying taxes. But those are just local sales taxes that all...

Why does the Democratic party leadership in the U.S. Senate continue to sit on it’s collective hands and not speak out more loudly against what Bush and Co. are doing to this country? For too long, Democratic senators have been cowed by this administration, and have refused to give voice to the rage that their constiuents feel. One of the senators from my state (Wa, Patty Murray) is up for reelection this year; I’m thinking about writing to tell her that I will be running against her. I’m of the opinion that any candidate who promises to kick George Bush in the [political] balls, metaphoricaly speaking of course, any chance they got would win, simply because most people are tired of their senators doing and saying nothing.

``There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch. There's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.'' - Sept. 30, 2003. ``I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did leak sensitive information. As you know, I've been outspoken on leaks. And whether they happened in the White House, or happened in the administration, or happened on Capitol Hill, it is a - they can be very damaging.'' - Oct. 28, 2003. Q: ``Given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?'' Bush: ``That's up to. ...'' Q:...

Still no vote on Sen. Feingold's Senate Resolution to Censure the President . Which means, you still have time to call your Senators to insist they support that resolution. For all my fellow Washington staters, the telephone numbers for Sens. Murray and Cantwell are: Sen. Murray: 202.224.2621 Sen. Cantwell: 202.224.3441 These are their numbers in Washington D.C. People from other states can go to the United States Senate web page for names and numbers. The Bush administration is down, it's time to start kicking.

Consider for a moment: The republicans have already resorted to vote fraud in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, engaged in illegal redistricting in Texas in order to gain more seats in the House of Representatives, and propagated the most vile smear campaigns against Democratic party candidates at all levels, just to name a few things. Now consider that the republicans have to know that the Democrats stand a very good chance of regaining the upper hand in both the House and the Senate in the up-coming elections. If this happens, the Democrats will have subpoena powers to compel the release of documents that will undoubtedly show the world exactly what kind of thuggery the republicans have been engaged in. The republicans have to know that impeachment procedures will be initiated in the Senate against President Bush for his crimes against, and lies to the American people. These things being true, I am very concerned about what the republicans will be willing to do (and what they are per...

How can Sec. of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, say he had no idea about the "port deal" when he's on one of the committees that approved the deal and his signature is on the document that cleared the deal with the defense dept?

Sittin here watching Bush on CNN and he's talking about improving education and turning out students trained in math and science. And yet the republican controlled congress removed 13 billion dollars from the student aid program. Is he the very picture of hypocrisy? or just stupid?