October 2007 archive

Every once in a while, you see a news story that makes you feel good about people again.

Paul Sucher was on a waiting list for a new kidney when a Kirby Vacuum Cleaner salesman knocked on his door.  When Sucher told Jamie Howard that he couldn’t afford a Kirby because of his disability, Howard was touched. 

Three years ago next month the Clinton library opened.

Three years.

November 2004, some of us had yet to get up from the floor, others seethed while still others moved on to action. “2006” was the cry. There was hope amidst all the bad, Howard Dean and the DNC comes to mind, but then it got really, really bad. dubya was ‘reselected’ and all pretense was dropped, political capital ruled the day. The constitution was shrouded shredded; dissent was suppressed, personal rights disappeared and fear was mongered as never before.

Through it all there remained the image of dubya; dubya dropping the dog, choking on a pretzel, bulging inappropriately or those “WTF” moments like the door in China or the malaprops or all of the unapologetic flights to idiocy (the gynecologists line or “Need some wood”). Ah, memories of a great so-so truly bad president.

Good Job, Mitt!  Your Cruelty knows no bounds!
More down there…

Of all the freedoms you have to lose, none is more fundamental than the freedom of thought. 

With things being so serious lately, what with the SCHIP override coming up and an apparent capitulation on FISA, I thought it was a good time to put some music up for no reason whatever!  🙂

I don’t know whether or not the new FISA bill will be a sell-out, a capitulation, or a clever strategy, but I do know what bothers me most about it- the framing of its selling. More important than any particular instance, or possible instance, of Democratic weakness is the rationalization for the weakness. It’s not just about Democrats being weak in confronting Bush as a means of proving that they are not weak, it’s that Bush himself is the weakness!

As noted by BarbinMD, the New York Times reported this:

If it had stalled, that would have left Democratic lawmakers, long anxious about appearing weak on national security issues, facing an August spent fending off charges from Republicans that they had left Americans exposed to threats.

And, in a different article, this:

As the debate over the N.S.A.’s wiretapping powers begins anew this week, the emerging legislation reflects the political reality confronting the Democrats. While they are willing to oppose the White House on the conduct of the war in Iraq, they remain nervous that they will be labeled as soft on terrorism if they insist on strict curbs on intelligence gathering.

And this is what infuriates me, because it’s not about weakness, it’s about stupidity. The Democrats need to stop playing political defense on national security issues and start simply referring to the facts. Because the facts prove that it is Bush who is soft on national security, so opposing Bush is not weakness, it is strength.

The correct Democratic response to any such charge should begin with another story in today’s news. As diaried by redhaze, as reported by the Washington Post:

Through October 15, I plan to devote my Pony Party slots to support International Blog Action Day and its focus on our environment. Tonight, let’s get reacquainted with US PIRG, an advocate for myriad issues from media reform to net neutrality. UP PIRG has a solid record of advocacy for the planet and has great recommendations on actions we can take. Link and intro below the fold.