Friday, September 30, 2005

DeLay in a nutshell

Taking sleaze to a new level

The central vision of DeLayism is of a political system whereby business gains almost total control over the Republican agenda, and in return the GOP gains unlimited financial influence over the electoral process.

An excellent and succinct summary of DeLay's Congress.

I am damn jealous of the writing here, but that's beside the point.

Last Chance for Iraq

Link

...Bush was asking Hakim to make concessions that the Sunni Arab negotiators themselves did not consider sufficient. Hakim's idea of women's rights is very different from what Bush wanted, but the President did not know enough to respond to the cleric. The Hakim episode reveals just how clueless the President and his advisers are about the divisions in Iraqi society.

...the President's personal intervention into the Middle East bargaining was predictably feckless...

...The constitution has many flaws, but it provides a peace plan that might work, and it is therefore the most positive political development in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein from power.


Clueless, feckless. Oh, how I love to have my prejudices reinforced.

This article is critical of the Bubble Boy administration, but also describes how the constitution may lead to peace in Iraq.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Thank you, Captain Fishback

A Matter of Honor

That is in the past and there is nothing we can do about it now. But, we can learn from our mistakes and ensure that this does not happen again. Take a major step in that direction; eliminate the confusion. My approach for clarification provides clear evidence that confusion over standards was a major contributor to the prisoner abuse. We owe our soldiers better than this. Give them a clear standard that is in accordance with the bedrock principles of our nation.

Some do not see the need for this work. Some argue that since our actions are not as horrifying as Al Qaeda's, we should not be concerned. When did Al Qaeda become any type of standard by which we measure the morality of the United States? We are America, and our actions should be held to a higher standard, the ideals expressed in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.


I've been thinking all day that we Americans may be too far gone. After reading this, I think maybe we aren't.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I'm talking about...et'ics

Hicks must leave OSU board, students say

Student leaders at Ohio State University kicked off the fall semester with an effort to boot Brian Hicks, Gov. Bob Taft’s former chief of staff, from the school’s board of trustees.

During the summer break, Mr. Hicks was convicted of state ethics violations and fined $1,000.

...

Steve Miller, the political science major who designed www.hicksmustgo.com, is a Republican from Los Angeles. Other GOP Ohio State students agree that Mr. Hicks should step down.

“I think that it makes sense for Mr. Hicks to vacate his position,” said Matt Kocsan, president of the College Republicans. “Personally, I think it might be better for the Republican party. He’s a pinata right now and you can’t hit a pinata if it’s not there.”


Not exactly an endorsement for morality and ethics in politics. Hell, these college Rat-fuckers , I mean Republicans, might be agitating for him to leave Ohio State so that he can move on to DC and become their own private Abramoff.

On the other hand, it is nice to think that members of a political party can actually criticize another member of their own party when that person has behaved badly. It's a nice, naive, thought.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Hate to burst your Bubble, Boy

Rita's Lessons

The president didn't look all that relieved or happy, however. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep (he had been awakened all through the night with bulletins), and he seemed cranky and fidgety. A group of reporters and photographers had been summoned by White House handlers to capture a photo op of the commander in chief at his post. Bush stared at them balefully. He rocked back and forth in his chair, furiously at times, asked no questions and took no notes. It almost seemed as though he resented having to strike a pose for the press.

Doesn't this excerpt suggest that Bush is not all that experienced managing crises? It seems that Bush is not used to being "awakened all through the night with bulletins." I wonder how a man can be president for four and half years and not be used to all-night bulletins.

Seems that there were some somewhat significant events during his time in office that might have cut into his beauty sleep. 9/11. Afghanistan. Iraq. Madrid. London. Katrina.

Has he not been disturbed during these events? Was he sleeping through the night during all of them? It certainly would be part of a pattern; when the White House was evacuated because of an errant plane, it was reported that Bush wasn't even notified, that his bike ride was undisturbed.

So, now he is receiving these nuisance updates, being propped up in front of the cameras, and is resentful about it. I thought he had been doing "hard work?" This crisis management stuff should be a piece of cake for him.