DeLay didn't use Terri Schiavo to divert attention from his ethics problems. He used Terri Schiavo to suck up to the religious right so they'll put pressure on Congress and the White House to save his ass. That's why he's going off on judges, even though the polls say he's out of his mind. He's sucking up to the wingnuts so he'll become indispensable to them, their hero, their number one fan in Congress. He doesn't care HOW much his loony toons comments hurt the party or the White House. He's in the process of saving his ass. And that's why Cheney finally weighed in. To tell DeLay that he's not going to sacrifice everyone else in order to save himself.
If everyone plays their cards right, DeLay is toast. Of course, it also means the Dems should jump up now and take advantage of this split between DeLay trying to save himself and his embarrassing the party. Link what he's doing to the debate on the filibuster and the upcoming Supreme Court nominations. Hell, it IS linked. What the Dems need to do is start TALKING about the linkage. Or will they sit back, like they always do, and say la la la, with their fingers in their ears, hoping things turn out well without their intervention?
Read the rest of this post...
Elections | Economic Crisis | Jobs | TSA | Limbaugh | Fun Stuff
Follow @americablog
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Yes, Joe's TIVO is set up
And all is well in the world. Well, it's still downloading its first update, then will take a good night to sort through it. We should have our first report in the morning.
Chat away. Read the rest of this post...
Chat away. Read the rest of this post...
Cheney tells DeLay to back off about retribution against judges
Oh, this is good. Talk about throwing a wrench in things.
Read the rest of this post...
Brownback for President?
In the category of news you might have missed, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the most hard core right wingers in Congress, is thinking about running for President according to the Associated Press:
Add another name to the list of potential 2008 presidential candidates: Sen. Sam Brownback. The Kansas Republican, little known outside his home state, is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states critical to White House hopefuls.This guy is as far out there as they go. The wingnuts will love him. And, count on gay-bashing to be one of the topics he'll use to generate interest. Read the rest of this post...
In an interview Thursday, Brownback said he has not made a formal decision on whether to run and would not give a timetable on when he would decide.
"I'm exploring the options," Brownback said. "There's a lot of interest in the topics that I've been pushing for some time."
The Pope is dead
I still say the man started off real well, taking on the Soviets and all, then slowly became a rather nasty bigoted religious right clone responsible for the deaths of a lot of people. It's high-time that church cleaned house, and they won't. And they will grow increasingly irrelevant in developed countries as a result. This is no time to wax glorious over the real tragedies this Pope oversaw and did nothing about, from pedophilia in his midst to AIDS. His record was checkered, to put it nicely. Let's see if the media reports on that.
Read the rest of this post...
Here's What I would say....
Well, the cable news death watch for the Pope continues.
Pretty soon, if this goes on much longer, they are going to run out of new and interesting commentators so I am offering myself. See, I met the pope a couple years ago. I have the picture on my mantle. The way things are going that would seem to qualify me as an expert. And, I can bring in the whole gay, Catholic angle.
If CNN wants me (and by CNN, I mean Anderson Cooper), here is what I will say...
I'll start with my historical perspective...that seems to be almost a prerequisite for these interviews:
This is an interesting time to be a Catholic...even a lapsed one. I remember when John Paul became Pope. There was an amazing amount of attention paid to the Vatican back in the summer of 1978. Pope Paul VI died and was replaced by John Paul I. Within a month, John Paul I was dead. So the whole ritual began again. The conclave, the white smoke....(just to validate my catholic credentials). That's when we got the Polish pope.
There was an enormous amount of excitement and enthusiasm about the new pope. He was different from the start. He was treated like a rock star when he came to the U.S. in 1979.
Then, I'll get in to the issues:
John Paul is the embodiment of best and worst of the Catholic Church. When they do social justice and peace, they are at their best. Helping to bring down communism, opposing wars, opposing the death penalty, I would say are good things.
It's that sex thing that destroys them. The obsession with sex...especially gays. Which I will point out is ironic, since the church is filled with gay men.
Then, I will offer not only my perspectives, I will tell CNN about some very interesting conversations with some of my Catholic, gay friends -- all of whom are over the church, and lapsed, like me. CNN seems to like knowing "the buzz":
James, who is Polish, feels very strongly about the way the holy father helped open up that country by bringing down the communist regime. It's easy to forget how he basically stood up to the Soviet Union and the Polish communist regime. That's what got him shot in May of 1981.
John, who has a way of succinctly capturing issues, had three points that I will share:
1) In so many ways the Pope didn’t really modernize the church. For example, women still have no real place in the church.
2) The church under John Paul II has had a deadly, out of touch opposition to condoms. In the age of AIDS, their severe opposition to condoms literally has endangered and cost millions of lives.
3) And, he has been in charge during this whole pedophelia scandal which has been handled horribly, to say the least.
Then, Tom, pointed out how JP failed to realize or care about the negative impact his homophobia has had on millions of gay Catholic families.
So CNN, if this goes on much longer, I am available. However, as mentioned, I think this interview would best be handled by Anderson Cooper. I will admit to Anderson that when I did meet the pope, I really felt that he had an aura. And, that while his death saddens me, I will convey that I still have mixed feelings about the Pope and the Catholic Church. (Okay, this last part would really be so Anderson and I can have a moment.)
So, basically, CNN, that's my interview. Let me know. Read the rest of this post...
Pretty soon, if this goes on much longer, they are going to run out of new and interesting commentators so I am offering myself. See, I met the pope a couple years ago. I have the picture on my mantle. The way things are going that would seem to qualify me as an expert. And, I can bring in the whole gay, Catholic angle.
If CNN wants me (and by CNN, I mean Anderson Cooper), here is what I will say...
I'll start with my historical perspective...that seems to be almost a prerequisite for these interviews:
This is an interesting time to be a Catholic...even a lapsed one. I remember when John Paul became Pope. There was an amazing amount of attention paid to the Vatican back in the summer of 1978. Pope Paul VI died and was replaced by John Paul I. Within a month, John Paul I was dead. So the whole ritual began again. The conclave, the white smoke....(just to validate my catholic credentials). That's when we got the Polish pope.
There was an enormous amount of excitement and enthusiasm about the new pope. He was different from the start. He was treated like a rock star when he came to the U.S. in 1979.
Then, I'll get in to the issues:
John Paul is the embodiment of best and worst of the Catholic Church. When they do social justice and peace, they are at their best. Helping to bring down communism, opposing wars, opposing the death penalty, I would say are good things.
It's that sex thing that destroys them. The obsession with sex...especially gays. Which I will point out is ironic, since the church is filled with gay men.
Then, I will offer not only my perspectives, I will tell CNN about some very interesting conversations with some of my Catholic, gay friends -- all of whom are over the church, and lapsed, like me. CNN seems to like knowing "the buzz":
James, who is Polish, feels very strongly about the way the holy father helped open up that country by bringing down the communist regime. It's easy to forget how he basically stood up to the Soviet Union and the Polish communist regime. That's what got him shot in May of 1981.
John, who has a way of succinctly capturing issues, had three points that I will share:
1) In so many ways the Pope didn’t really modernize the church. For example, women still have no real place in the church.
2) The church under John Paul II has had a deadly, out of touch opposition to condoms. In the age of AIDS, their severe opposition to condoms literally has endangered and cost millions of lives.
3) And, he has been in charge during this whole pedophelia scandal which has been handled horribly, to say the least.
Then, Tom, pointed out how JP failed to realize or care about the negative impact his homophobia has had on millions of gay Catholic families.
So CNN, if this goes on much longer, I am available. However, as mentioned, I think this interview would best be handled by Anderson Cooper. I will admit to Anderson that when I did meet the pope, I really felt that he had an aura. And, that while his death saddens me, I will convey that I still have mixed feelings about the Pope and the Catholic Church. (Okay, this last part would really be so Anderson and I can have a moment.)
So, basically, CNN, that's my interview. Let me know. Read the rest of this post...
DeLay ups his coup threat against the courts for not "saving" Schiavo
This man, and the religious right minority he represents, are dangerous to our democracy.
They simply do not believe in democracy. They do not believe in America as created by the Founding Fathers. They do not believe in an independent judiciary because it is the only thing keeping this country from becoming a totalitarian theocratic state with a dose of fascism thrown in for good measure.
It's time for Tom DeLay to resign, and for all of us to call for it, loudly and repeatedly until the bug-killer goes back to Texas where he belongs. This is our country, our democracy. Hands off, Senator McCarthy.
They simply do not believe in democracy. They do not believe in America as created by the Founding Fathers. They do not believe in an independent judiciary because it is the only thing keeping this country from becoming a totalitarian theocratic state with a dose of fascism thrown in for good measure.
It's time for Tom DeLay to resign, and for all of us to call for it, loudly and repeatedly until the bug-killer goes back to Texas where he belongs. This is our country, our democracy. Hands off, Senator McCarthy.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), under fire from Democrats for what they consider threatening remarks about federal judges, plans to ask the Judiciary Committee to undertake a broad review of the courts' handing of the Terri Schiavo case, his office said yesterday.And I hope this means DeLay is going to impeach or arrest all the Republican judges who failed to "help" Terri, including Reagan appointee Justice Kennedy on the US Supreme Court. can we also arrest all the state and federal legislators who voted against "saving" Terri - I mean, they are murderers, right, so let's arrest them. Oh yeah, and we'd need to arrest the 82% of the public who agrees with those judges and those legislators. Still not sounding like the beginnings of a fascist state, or national socialism? Read the rest of this post...
DeLay's office did not specify exactly what the majority leader wants the committee to do. The Constitution gives Congress the power to set the areas of authority for federal courts, but it was unclear what could be done by the committee in response to the Schiavo case, in particular.
The majority leader said Thursday he wants to examine what he called the "failure" of state and federal courts to protect Schiavo, who died 13 days after the court-ordered withdrawal of her feeding tube.
DeLay issued a statement asserting that "the time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior." He later said in front of television cameras that he wants to "look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at Congress and the president."
Saturday Morning Open Thread
It's gray and raining in D.C....what's up?
Read the rest of this post...
Stopping the wingnut madness in Illinois
Nice job by Illinois Gov Blagojevich who approved an emergency bill that will force pharmacies to complete prescriptions immediately. After the recent string of religious wackos who refuse (and sometimes take) prescriptions that they do not agree with, we are finally seeing a proper response. A good friend of mine in Houston was refused a prescription last year and was in a complete panic. Let's hope we see more actions like we're seeing in Illinois to combat the dark ages of America.
Read the rest of this post...
Oil prices hit a new high
Boy am I glad that I don't drive a car or especially an SUV. Funny that we still have not heard anything about conservation or sacrifice out of DC because this problem could get a lot worse.
The Washington Post had an interesting article yesterday (can't find it now, their search function is down) about a group that includes conservatives as well as environmentalists and even the UAW who are teaming up to promote energy conservation and alternative energy sources for automobiles. The short of it was that instead of forcing fuel efficient cars through punishment, they are teaming up to create a plan to encourage fuel efficiency via tax breaks and break our reliance on the Middle East and other unstable regions who produce oil. Too bad this administration or even the Democrats can't talk common sense and promote a serious plan like this. This issue will be a crisis considerably larger and much sooner than any problems with Social Security. Read the rest of this post...
The Washington Post had an interesting article yesterday (can't find it now, their search function is down) about a group that includes conservatives as well as environmentalists and even the UAW who are teaming up to promote energy conservation and alternative energy sources for automobiles. The short of it was that instead of forcing fuel efficient cars through punishment, they are teaming up to create a plan to encourage fuel efficiency via tax breaks and break our reliance on the Middle East and other unstable regions who produce oil. Too bad this administration or even the Democrats can't talk common sense and promote a serious plan like this. This issue will be a crisis considerably larger and much sooner than any problems with Social Security. Read the rest of this post...
Mugabe wins 2/3 majority in election, can now change constitution
Not that it's a surprise, but Mugabe will now control the majority needed to change the constitution and further consolidate his power. In the urban areas, the opposition did well but in the countryside, traditionally a strong base for Mugabe though slipping in recent years due to famine, Mugabe's ZANU-PF picked up a lot of votes. He so well in one district that he apparently even received more votes than were cast.
The question now is how will the US and EU react to this latest situation? Sanctions only hurt the people at the bottom, which are many in Zimbabwe, so we're going to have to figure out a policy that will have some impact on the leadership without hurting an already poor and hungry nation. For starters, it's about time that we hold external supporters of Mugabe accountable and re-think our relationship with those fellow African leaders who continue to support Mugabe and ignore the human rights and voting violations. Read the rest of this post...
The question now is how will the US and EU react to this latest situation? Sanctions only hurt the people at the bottom, which are many in Zimbabwe, so we're going to have to figure out a policy that will have some impact on the leadership without hurting an already poor and hungry nation. For starters, it's about time that we hold external supporters of Mugabe accountable and re-think our relationship with those fellow African leaders who continue to support Mugabe and ignore the human rights and voting violations. Read the rest of this post...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
