The Wrath of Khangress

The Senate still can't get it's collective thumb out of it's ass about Iraq - the GOP killed James Webb's amendment to require that troops stay home at least as long as they're in the field (the RNC considers it disrespectful to the troops to do such a horrible thing) -- but they can make sure that no wacky leftists can say mean things about generals without feeling the lash from an angry bunch of do-nothing bastards. I can be glad that neither of my senators joined the moronity, but 77 senators did.

Here lies: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

B: December 15, 1791
D: September 20, 2007

A Sun-Times Dumbass

I usually read the Chicago Tribune letters, but this is a classic from The Bright One

Got O.J.?

White America can finally re-hang the banner "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of the aircraft carrier. The threat of terrorism exists no more. Our troops can finally come home, Osama bin Laden can come out of hiding and 9/11 can finally be put behind us. Why? Because they got O.J.

William L. Bowman, Loop

Yep, William. It is "white America." That damned "white America" has been after O.J. ever since he nearly beheaded two people while slaughtering them was railroaded by the white establishment.

Good work, Bill, and

Politics Makes Strange Stall-Fellows

State of Minnesota, Plaintiff v. Larry Edwin Craig, Defendant
MEMORANDUM OF LAW OF AMICI CURIAE

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

AND AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
UNION OF MINNESOTA IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT..

http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/freespeech/craig_v_minnesota_acluamicus.pdf

Ladies and Gentlemen - your Republican Party in action

I am as annoyed as anyone that the Democrats in Congress haven't been more effective at doing, well, anything, but there is the unfortunate reality that the GOP is still stuck in lockstep mode and would rather go down on the USS Chimptanic than pretend they're Americans. Specifically, after bitching for years anytime the Democrats utilized the filibuster (remember the whole discussion about the "nuclear option"?), they can't help themselves, and filibuster everything so that every vote essentially has a 60 vote requirement to pass. Of course, it's more civilized than that, so the Senate just has a cloture vote to end debate and proceed to a real vote, and unless the cloture vote gets 60, the bill or amendment stalls. Counting Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but not Joe Lieberman (Jackass-CT), the Dems have 50 votes, and that's unfortunately not enough.

Case in point: Arlen Specter, one of the more moderate Republicans, introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. The amendment would strike the staggeringly offensive portion of the Military Commissions Act, passed last year, which revoked the Great Writ of Habeus Corpus for those detained by the US. This really should be a no-brainer, except for those who think that anyone arrested is guilty by default and, as such, gives up all their human and civil rights. Hey - who thinks that way? Republicans!

In the cloture vote yesterday, the amendment got 56 votes, including 6 Republicans (but not Fascist Joe), so of course it failed. I'm sure the whiny brat who plays President would have had a temper tantrum, and might have even pulled out the old veto pad, so it might not have mattered (unless they could get 67 votes).

Sigh.

Of course, they're consistent, these Republicans who claim to love America but hate everything the country once stood for. The other vote yesterday was about granting congressional representation to the US citizens living in the District of Columbia (and giving one more seat to Utah). And it failed. No taxation without representation, indeed.

For once he told the truth...

It was refreshing, wasn't it, that for the first time, the president actually told the truth about Iraq?

He said "In the life of all free nations, there come moments that decide the direction of a country and reveal the character of its people. We are now at such a moment. "

How true. The moment here was to decide--should the U.S. resume its role as a decent and honorable member of the community of nations or continue its course as a rogue outlaw nation occupying and destroying sovereign states?

The answer? The latter of course, as he offers Iraq "an enduring relationship with America." An enduring relationship of occupation, war and death.