My wife and I spent some of our happiest moments together in New Orleans, and have watched in horror the events of the past week.
All I can say is, when Bush hires idealogues who are not competent managers (kind of like himself) into important positions, this is what happens. We can only hope it finally bites him in the butt.
Orisinal : Morning Sunshine
On the lighter side… here’s something that’ll waste your time… for a long time.
I’m doing a presentation for the Macromedia MAX 2005 conference on CSS. I came across this link today (sent by a friend), and thought I’d share it… amazing examples of what’s possible when you separate form from content.
So, I was wrong by 3 1/2 weeks. His Arrogancy G W Bush has appointed him without support from either party… because apparently the job of the Senate is to look at what Bush wants, wink, and flash a thumbs up sign.
Obviously, what the American people want is irrelevent, if it doesn’t match what he wants. I can only hope that those same people realize that he’s no longer even pretending to be a populist and his true colors are showing.
Judging by the past actions of our administration, which values loyalty much higher than accountability, this is what I expect to see in the coming weeks:
1) Bush (this has already happened) announces that he will “fire anybody who has committed a crime“ in connection with the Plame/Wilson matter.
2) The White House will exert influence into the investigation to make sure they don’t look too deeply into whether Rove knew Plame was undercover. Since the law specifically says that in order to commit a crime, someone must “knowingly” expose an agent, Rove will be found not guilty of any crime.
3) Bush will indicate that’s what he meant all along when he said that he’d fire anyone who exposed an operative.
4) Rove will be hailed as a hero by the right wing press because he was protecting Cheney all along. Bush will give him a medal.
5) The issue of Rove’s irresponsibility will be ignored. Somehow whether or not perjury was committed in the grand jury investigation will also be ignored.
Then again, the neo-cons think the crime in Iran-Contra was exposing it, not doing it. As matter of fact, two of the key figures from Iran-Contra are now in the Bush administration:
Robert Earl is now serving in one of the most coveted offices of the Pentagon as chief of staff to Gordon England, acting deputy secretary of Defense. In 1987 Earl admitted to a grand jury that he had destroyed and stolen national security documents while working for Lt. Col. Oliver North during the Iran-Contra scandal. He was never prosecuted. The Los Angeles Times reports that in his new position, Earl has clearance to review the kinds of classified documents he once destroyed. Several other key players in the Iran-Contra affair – including Elliott Abrams and John Poindexter – have played key roles in the current Bush administration.
I guess the London attacks aren’t entirely unexpected. With all the inflammatory rhetoric of our not-so-humble leaders, as well as the ambivalence of the English public towards the war, and the G8 Summit going on nearby, Al Qaida certainly have seen this as an opportune time to disrupt things. It worked in Madrid.
I’ve already heard bozos on the radio saying “well, Sept. 11th was much worse — they killed 3000 Americans, and only about 100 Londoners”… which first of all is pointless, since if we believe the Bin Laden tapes they never expected to bring down the towers (only damage them heavily), and were probably expecting it to be the same size – as well as pointless since comparisons between the size of terrorist attacks doesn’t serve a purpose. The point is, we’re still out there killing innocent people, inciting violence within our own country, and hate-mongering, and when we see the same from a desparate bunch of madmen we need to take a step back from simple retaliation and take a look at the causes (Karl Rove’s worst nightmare — Liberals who understand history.) Looking at the Arab-Israeli conflict, 50 years of one attack here, one retaliatory attack there, one mass-retaliation here, one bus-bomb there, we have to realize we are entering into the same kind of pointless conflict. We need to somehow take the high road, and -
Stepping back is going to be a tough thing.
I’m sure that we’ll be hearing a speech from Bush about the “desparate tactics of the evil terrorists” and how “only our resolve will end this reign of terror”, and then will try to push PATRIOT-II through. God I hope that Al-Qaida hasn’t played right into the hands of Bush, or we will lose this war. Because the enemy may be dead, but we’ll have lost our freedom and our souls in the process.
One more note: Bloomberg’s headline this morning was “Oil Falls From Record as London Blasts Threaten Economic Growth”. What’s that tell you?
And now, after talking to the White House, Frist annouces he’s going to push to get Bolton voted on, again. The White House — and the Republican bozority — need to be taught that they can’t walk roughshod over the rest of us, and this is a great place to start.
Earlier today:
“It’s clear that the Democratic leadership is not interested in finding a middle ground,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in his daily briefing. “They’re simply interested in blocking this nomination and preventing John Bolton from getting to the U.N., where he can begin advancing the comprehensive reforms we have outlined.” (Fox News, 6/21/2005)
Um… Middle Ground = What the White House wants? That’s not compromise, that’s giving in. I’m pretty sure Bush will just nominate him during the July 4 recess anyway… since they have no interest in doing what the American people want, much less making “concessions” to the minority party.
The job now of the left is to make sure that enough of the right thinks that Bolton is the wrong man for the job that if Bush does that, he’ll look like he’s ignoring the people and lose even more of his “populist” credibility.
I contributed two chapters (Components and XForms) to Ben Forta’s new Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7 Application Development book…
It’s now available on Amazon and elsewhere.
Hopefully, my chapters don’t suck. The rest is really good.
I haven’t written anything in a long while… not pissed off enough, I guess. It’s been interesting lately how the arrogance of Bush and Delay has finally gotten through to the American public, resulting in drastically lower popularity ratings. In response, Bush finally released his Social Security proposal, which frankly looks a lot like what the Democrats have been pushing for some time (kinda like the Department of Homeland Security)… seemingly a “look, I’m not so disconnected with reality” move to counteract the Terry Schiavo fiasco and get pressure and news off the “Nuclear Option” in the Senate… a.k.a. the “Let’s not even pretend not to be bullies and make sure that the minority gets no voice whatsoever” option, or in short “might makes right”.
WTF ever.
Ok, maybe I am a little pissed.
What’s in my CD today?
Ed Harcourt – Strangers
Moby – 18
Madelaine Peyroux – Careless Love
Nathan – Jimson Weed
Mark Lanegan – Bubblegum
Raul Midon – State of Mind
Precious Bryant – The Truth
Blanche – If We Can’t Trust the Doctors
Lou Black – City of No Winters
Soundtrack of Our Lives – Origin Vol. 1
and my friend Scott Johnson’s New Voices, New World
Books lately — all politics.
Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing by Frank Ackerman and Lisa Heinzerling
Great examination of how cost benefit analysis has been abused to make just about anything acceptable to vested interests.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
The confessions of an economist who pushed the American Imperialist agenda. Not as good as I’d hoped — too preachy.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
Really interesting take on history of societies, I leave it to the experts to decide whether he’s right.
What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
A depressing, yet humorous, look at the right-wing politics of outrage the Republicans have so effective used to make middle America vote against common sense and their own interests.
The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them by Amy Goodman
Great book about how the media has dropped the ball on keeping government accountable, and how those in power manipulate the media and all of us.
Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate–The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff
The most important book of the bunch… lets you understand how exactly the crazy sh*t in Kansas happens, and maybe what we can do to take the language – and America – back from the extreme right. Short, 100 page version of Moral Politics (below), that contextualizes the information as it applies to the current political climate. Somewhat repetitive since it’s a collection of essays previously published, but well worth reading. The information on how “doing well” can be equated with “doing right” is especially instructive.
Moral Politics : How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff
A more in depth version of the information in the previous book.