American Madness

(The following comment, in response to Another Test for Habeas Corpus received 80 reader recommendations and was an editors’ selection on the NYTimes online today):

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Presidential Oath of Office.

Now, I ask you: Has this President lived up to that oath?

He has vitiated the right to Due Process of Law in the name of what he calls national security; He has intentionally determined not to enforce the laws passed by the Congress by using “Signing Statements”; He has violated the laws of the United States, the World, and Humanity in general by creating secret camps to hide prisoners; He has encouraged the torture of prisoners of the United States; He has violated the Laws of the Geneva Convention to which the US Congress has ratified; He has violated and abrogated treaties which the US Congress has ratified; He has eliminated the right of trial by jury to American Citizens held in foreign countries by American Forces, and he has attempted in various other ways to destroy the Administrative Bureaucracies lawfully created by the Congress by ordering them NOT to carry out their lawful stated missions, all in violation of numerous Court Orders at all levels.

What does it take to get a President impeached? Must such an action be entirely political or does there come a time when it is a patriotic duty?

A bit hokey in the execution, but funny reasoning.

In 1998 President Clinton discreetly got a BJ in his office. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best thinking on his part to do this while on the phone with some other world leaders, but hey, no one lost their life over it.

Months later, when this news leaked out, the Republicans (and folks at Fox News) flipped, they saw weakness and they struck. Not only did they run every one of their campaigns since 1998 on Family Values and their moral superiority (as they continue to do), but they called for Clinton to be impeached. And, as we all know, this was not just the public, this was everyone.

Clinton getting a little something-something under his desk was such a scandal that the Republicans in office thought they might actually have a chance to impeach the president. While they failed at doing so (as they should have), they were able to create a platform to run on for the next presidential election and a core set of beliefs that made them appear superior to enough people to keep them in office for a while.

The Republican Machine saw the President’s screw-ups (no pun intended) as a chance to build up their own platform; not just with subtle innuendo during their campaigning, but by making it a national issue for everyone to see.

Now, let’s fast forward to 2005. President Bush has just acknowledged that the WMD’s that we were positive were in Iraq, thus prompting us to go to war in 2003, well, they may not be there after all. Oh and those close ties that Iraq had with Osama may not exist either, and that Mission Accomplished banner, well, it may have been a White House PR faux pas, but who are they to take credit for their mistakes?

So, at this point in 2005, we are now aware as a country that we have been lied to not once, but at least a few times already about this war we are involved in. Okay, cool, time for the White House to make it up to us, right? Maybe call back some of our troops, tell France and Germany they were right in the first place and that this was an unjustified war, and basically ease off a little, right? Well, apparently not, instead it is time to increase troops in Iraq. And we see this tactic again and again. We fucked up, something is going wrong, let’s increase troops.

Fast forward to 2007. The Democrats have finally gotten power back in the House and the Senate. The people have decided they are tired of the B.S. we are being fed on a daily basis by the people in power and want to see a change. Instead, what do we get? Lies from the Attorney General about firing judges because they were a bit more Democrat then the Republicans liked. The President allowing “behind closed door” testimony to Rove and Miers in the same scandal, essentially so they would not tarnish their names too badly when they ran for re-election. As well as a number of other Presidential blunders, including threats to Congress if they did not back his plans for escalating the effort in Iraq.

Now I ask: Where are the calls for impeachment? Our current President is not only doing serious damage to our country and our relations with foreign nations, but also causing the deaths of thousands in Iraq (as of today at least 3320, while we wait on confirmation from the Department of Defense on another 12).

(more…)

You can’t make this up!

The NYTimes reports on the large peaceful uprising in Najaf.

The story includes this photo caption:

Col. Steven Boylan, an American military spokesman and aide to the commander of all American forces in Iraq, praised the peaceful nature of the demonstration, saying Iraqis “could not have done this four years ago,” the A.P. reported.

So…the peaceful nature of the protest is…wait for it!….wait for it!…evidence that our occupation has been fruitful! I love it!

I guess if the Iraqi rebellion were to build an atomic weapon and detonate it on a major U.S. city, the Bush administration would praise it as a sign of increasing Iraqi technological sophistication under our occupation! “It’s a clear sign that we’ve made inroads in improving the educational system,” says Col. Ima Flunky.

Guantánamo Detainees Stage Hunger Strike
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/us/09hunger.html?hp

Torture continues. Say what you want about the Khmer Rouge, the Hutu/Tootsie massacres, even the Stalinist purges, at least many of these atrocities were carried out in hot blood. Not so the current U.S. policy for Guantanamo detainees, which reminds me of a line from the movie Payback: “I’ll make this last 3 weeks,” says a mafia boss to a man from whom he is trying to beat information. “I’ll give you a blood transfusion to keep you alive.”

Even as detainees attempt to protest their horrendous, inhumane, sadistic treatment with hunger strikes, as they perhaps attempt to end their lives, our government does not allow that to happen. While not bringing charges against these men, they instead strap them into full body restraint chairs and force feed tubes down their nostrils. Does anyone doubt that this is yet another form of torture?

You know what? If this is what we’ve sunk to, if this is the state of our democracy, maybe we deserve what we get.

…to feel better about the direction of humanity.

Today we learn that:

The Irish are getting along
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/opinion/27tue3.html

Cruelty against animals may no longer be chic in corporate America
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28burger.html?hp

New York has beaten back the Wal-Mart monolith
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28retail.html?hp

and…

The White House is running scared from what appear to be its own lies
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/opinion/27tue1.html

Interesting viral marketing attempt by Lakewood Lakehead University in Northern Ontario. It got picked up by the BBC, but its influence on the University’s reputation is questionable.

The text reads, “Graduating from an Ivy League university doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart. If you agree click here.”

Probably not the best positioning. Afterall, it’s not like just any privileged billionaire can become president. You’ve got to have something going on upstairs and you have to relate to the common man. Appealing to the common American is what the Bush shtick is about. He is meant to appear guiless and without alterier motive. That’s not stupid.

The bottom line for democrats is that when you underestimate your opponent you lose.

Bush no know about port sale.

Does it really matter whether this deal means Dubai will control security for our ports? If they control the ports, their personnel have access, and who is monitoring their hiring?

Does our security apparatus have the power to veto their hires if we believe unsavory elements attempt to infiltrate their presumably well-intentioned company? That’s the key issue here.

Obviously, foreign ownership of a port is not in and of itself a national security issue, else we wouldn’t allow the British to currently control the ports in question.

But this issue is further evidence that the Bush whitehouse has a tin ear on these matters.

Always make fun of the powers that be. Enjoy!

Bush At His Best

So now that the courts have rules that a Pennsylvania school district cannot teach Intelligent Design (a lovely concept that says some “things” were created by a supernatural being), we can now ask the questions that need to be asked.

First of all, is it intelligent design that a sewage pipe runs through our recreational area? What kind of supernatural being would design such a thing? A supernatural engineer who flunked out of MIT?

Plus, why only one mouth? It is very difficult for some people to talk out of both sides of their mouth, and if they had two, hypocrisy would move along that much faster.

Finally, why do some male genitals hook to the left? I haven?t actually seen this phenomenon in action, but some women I know swear that it?s true. They also seem to think this model hits the G-Spot much more efficiently. This is confusing. Does this mean the G-Spot is on the right? Can?t we all compensate by moving a bit to the left? Is this more information than anyone needs to know?

Questions, questions.

I really wanted to pose these and other queries to the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania. But now that the school board’s decision has been termed ?breathtaking inanity? by a federal judge, I?ll just have to ask my priest or rabbi or legalized Nevada hooker. Unless they overturn her, too.