There were those who argued that there was no difference between the two major presidential candidates in 2000, and many of them will continue to argue, after the disappointments of the Obama administration, that there is no meaningful difference between the Obama who runs for reelection in 2012 and whatever troglodyte the Republican Party selects as its candidate.
One of the popular memes these last few years is that elections have consequences, and in a presidential election, one of those consequences is that the president gets to nominate justices to the Supreme Court.
The guy selected in 2000 got to appoint John Roberts, the current Chief Justice, and Samuel Alito, one of Roberts' accomplices. The guy elected in 2008 got to appoint Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Obama's two appointees and Bush's two appointees were on opposite sides of a case this week in which the Bush majority decided that a man who was convicted, sentenced to death, and served fourteen years on death row because of a fraudulent conspiracy to conceal exculpatory evidence carried out by prosecutor Harry Connick, Sr., and attorneys working under him, was not entitled to compensation.
Do you think things might have come out a little differently in this case if Bush hadn't been in the White House to appoint Alito and Roberts?
Let me backtrack for a minute. Many of us either read the American childrens book classic Goodnight Moon by ourselves and/or to our children. Check out the authors' book and new website.
I don't know about you, but humor helps me deal with the ongoing trauma and tragedy of the Bush years. More below the fold about Goodnight Moon and Goodnight Bush.
Today is the final countdown for "Mission Accomplished". Tomorrow, when President Elect Barack Obama is sworn in as our 44th President, George Bush's mission accomplished act will be over.
Last week in the middle of a snow storm, my 136-pound Bernese Mountain Dog Hobbes and I were out for a walk. He, of course, bounded through the snow to greet every long lost neighbor. Hobbes has always liked one particular guy, from whom I have kept my distance. While he seemed nice enough, I was quite sure he was a strong Bush Republican given his job with Mr. Bush's newest and favorite federal agency.
I guess Hobbes is a better judge of character. While this guy was petting Hobbes, I neighborly asked, "How's work?" expecting to get some type of Bush style patriotic response.
"You must be sad that President Bush is stepping down," I said.
"No, way!" he retorted. "Let me show you my little buddy, and you'll see." [Nah, it's not what you think.]
But, you are right, when a male neighbor I barely know offers to show me his "little buddy", I might have had cause for concern. However, a female neighbor friend had also just arrived to visit Hobbes and join our conversation. There is safety in numbers. So we stood on the sidewalk with Hobbes chatting amicably while waiting patiently to meet my neighbor's "little buddy."
I thought I would fall over laughing as this 60-year-old federal agency employee returned with a 12" GI Joe-style Dubya Doll. He said, "Here he is, Mr. Mission Accomplished himself. Look his middle finger is even up for the time he gave the finger to the press corps."
"He only cost me $19.95 on a close out sale, so I couldn't resist," my neighbor guy said. He elaborated that for only $20, he has been able to look Mr. Mission Accomplished right in the eye and tell him that his time is limited and soon we'll have a real president.
How fitting, Mission Almost Accomplished.
Winter in Vermont, I never know who I'll meet, but I can count on the fact that it will never be George W. Bush, since Vermont is the one state he refused to visit throughout his presidency. :)
Last year, Live Science published a nice little summary article (How the Brain Tunes Out Background Noise)) about our mental process and how our perceptual process will tend to phase out the aspects of our surroundings which are routine or predictable:
The "novelty detector neurons," as researchers call them, quickly stop firing if a sound or sound pattern is repeated. They will briefly resume firing if some aspect of the sound changes. The neurons can detect changes in pitch, loudness or duration of a single sound and can also note shifts in the pattern of a complex series of sounds.
This applies to politics a lot more than we might think. I've got some writing below about general concepts (driving and music). At the end, I'll apply this to fascism and where our country might be headed.
The in-the-works "State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)" bill which would famously expand health insurance coverage to children nationwide, also now stands to protect Vermont children from a Bush administration rule change which would deny Dr. Dynasaur coverage to thousands of Vermont children. From a joint press release from the offices of Leahy, Sanders and Welch (emphasis added):
Using SCHIP funds, Vermont’s Dr. Dynasaur program now offers comprehensive health coverage to children from households with incomes up to 300 percent of poverty -- $61,950 for a family of four. Eleven other states also offer coverage to kids from middle-income families. The legislation will cover an additional 4 million children nationwide – several thousand more in Vermont -- on top of the 6 million currently in the program. It will also sideline a pending Bush Administration rule change, announced Aug. 17, that threatens to cut coverage for millions of kids now covered under SCHIP. That change would tighten restrictions on states like Vermont that cover children above 250 percent of the federal poverty level. In Vermont, the new rules would mean more than 2000 kids would lose their health coverage.
The bill also heads off, at least for six months, another recently announced Bush Administration rule change that would prohibit states from using Medicaid funds for rehab services for K-12 students with disabilities, which would put Vermont on the hook for potentially another $20 million per year.
As has been widely covered, Bush is making a show of his intention to veto the bill (well, unless fellow Republican and Bush state campaign Chair Jim Douglas can use his election-touted clout with the administration to get him to consider...to consider...oh never mind, I'm cracking up even as I type it...). Based on recent history, one would expect that he will veto it, and Congresional Democrats will just mope ineffectively in response (that'll show him).
There is some talk, however, of pushing on this bill the way many of us wanted to see the Iraq withdrawal-deadline bill pushed - simply passing it over and over again until he is either shamed into passing it, or enough Republicans are shamed into voting to override. We'll see...
You will remember that the House Judiciary Committee is moving toward charging Bush officials with contempt of Congress for refusing to testify at committee hearings, and the Senate Judiciary Committee is moving in the same directiong, albeit with regard to other officials.
The question occurred to me, though, as it may have occurred to you, to wonder how Congress pursues contempt charges, since prosecutions are generally brought by the executive branch.
It turns out there is a federal law that applies to this situation.
Whenever a witness summoned as mentioned in section 192 of this title fails to appear to testify or fails to produce any books, papers, records, or documents, as required, or whenever any witness so summoned refuses to answer any question pertinent to the subject under inquiry before either House, or any joint committee established by a joint or concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress, or any committee or subcommittee of either House of Congress, and the fact of such failure or failures is reported to either House while Congress is in session or when Congress is not in session, a statement of fact constituting such failure is reported to and filed with the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House, it shall be the duty of the said President of the Senate or Speaker of the House, as the case may be, to certify, and he shall so certify, the statement of facts aforesaid under the seal of the Senate or House, as the case may be, to the appropriate United States attorney, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action.
2 U.S.C.A. § 194
It's very clear: the duty to bring contempt of Congress charges is mandatory upon the Department of Justice--they have no discretion to fail or refuse to do so.
As a contrast to the droolin' fools who write the editorial page at the Caledonian Record, the Brattleboro Reformer came out with both guns 'a blazin' today: stating the obvious, that Bush is the worst president ever. And they're not letting any of the the players in Vermont off of the hook, either:
History will not look kindly on House Speaker Gaye Symington for her insistence that her chamber must focus on "important matters" and that the House "does not have the time" to deal with impeachment.
History will not look kindly on Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, who has talked loudly about impeaching Bush and Cheney, but won't pursue the issue as long Symington says no.
History will not look kindly on Sen. Bernard Sanders, and his successor in the House, Peter Welch, as well as Sen. Patrick Leahy, for treating impeachment as if it were a barrel of toxic waste. Short-term political considerations apparently are more important than the Constitution, which they took an oath to uphold and defend.
Hear, hear! And of course, the editorial ends with the important question still as of yet unresolved:
Does Vermont want to go down in the history books as standing up to the worst president ever? We, the people of Vermont, have the chance to affect the outcome of this story. We must seize this opportunity.
RenaRF at Daily Kos has transcribed the Decider's press conference today. Never have I seen a gauntlet thrown down so blatantly. And one of our own holds the keys.
If, after this, it isn't ON, I can't IMAGINE when it would be.
Below the fold.
The Grammys stood up for freedom of speech tonight.
You probably remember the big fights the Chicks have had the last few years: the death threats, the boycotts, the hostility. All because they aren't big Bush fans, and had the temerity to say so.
Thigs have turned around a little bit since then, but not necessarily in the world of country music. The Grammy awards are on tonight. A big, big night for commercial music of all kinds. And get this: the Dixie Chicks have won three awards--UPDATE--MAKE THAT FIVE--, including Record of the Year for their song Not Ready to Make Nice. A big ovation in the room, and Don Henley was visibly elated to announce their win, but as the cameras scanned the country music contingent the reactions seemed to range from stony silence to polite applause.
The corruption has burst forth, like pus from an infected boil. The existence of taped conversations apparently reveals Bush has taken almost 280 thousand dollars in cash and other gifts, and a US District Attorney is investigating.
This could be the Big One.
Details on the jump.
Bob Mills was hired to write for Bob Hope in August, 1977. He spent the next seventeen years writing jokes, routines, parody songs, speeches and television scripts for the legendary performer, in the process logging over half a million miles "on the road" with Hope, visiting all corners of the globe from Peking to London, Stockholm to Bora Bora with plenty of stops in between. HOPE WRITER: "My Life Inside Bob Hope's Comedy Factory" was written between 1993 and 1995 and is dedicated to all the wonderful people who shared a golden age in the history of entertainment, and were privileged to work for one of the most legendary performers of all time. Since 1998, Bob has sailed thousands of miles with Crystal, Princess and Celebrity cruise lines, sharing his TV experiences. He is an Emeritus member of the Writers Guild of America, West.
Crossposted from Bereft on the Left, with graphics and links added.
Bob's biography, "Hope Writer" is a fascinating read and linked here.
All original material by Bob Mills.
Links and graphic support by kestrel9000.
Keith Richards was injured when he fell out of a palm tree in Fiji. The Mick has told him a hundred times "Never try to trash a palm tree."...
Rush Limbaugh is off the hook. He pleads to one count of doctor shopping and walks. The Broward County Sheriff's Office has even removed the yellow tape from around his medicine chest....
I just threw a drink in Josh Marshall's face.
See, at first, I was cool with it. I saw it as simply an opposing point of view; another way to look at the situation. I pride myself on my tolerance. That and my humility, which is actually my most admirable and meritorious personal trait. And that's saying a lot, because it has a lot of competition in my personality profile. I'm damned proud of my humility.
(I often think that what the world needs are more geniuses that still have a bit of humility. After all, there are so few of us left.)
Be that as it may, the other day, my wingnut boss called me "the most intolerant person I've ever met." That one sent me reeling. The primary GOP political officer (self-appointed) of my work environment called ME intolerant. This man thinks civil liberties begin and end with the Second Amendment. He seems to give not a fuck about the Fourth or Sixth. I wonder what he'd do if suddenly his Third Amendment rights were violated.
Anyway, I came to the realization that he was at least partly right. I AM intolerant. I am intolerant of this administration and its water-carrying MSM.
I did tell him about the HR 1606 thing as well as the latest attempts to gutshoot the 527s, and while he doesn't like Move On, he did rail somewhat angrily at the idea of the government suppressing the blogosphere. There's hope for this guy. he also watched Markos on KO last night. He tried to dismiss the guy, but his rhetoric bellyflopped. "Another anti-gun liberal...." "Hey, wait a minute! What did he say about guns? I missed that! Let's watch the video and catch what Kos said about guns."
He changed the subject.
But come to think of it, I guess I did too. I digress.
Quite frequently, and quite adroitly too, if I may.
I'll go back on topic below the fold.
This diary would have been up last night, but I was a little distracted. I refilled a refillable/disposable lighter with the wrong kind of fluid, and in the process of that comedy of errors, I managed to set my right arm on fire. I was neither freebasing nor shooting a Pepsi commercial, and at no time did I shout, "Tito! Tito!"
But for some reason, I found it necessary to keep a piece of frozen food - or a cold beer - in my right hand last night. Typing was out of the question.
At any rate, the Catamount is now open to serve you.
Welcome to it. Bar's open, belly up and set a spell.
Serving the suds below the fold.
Our inaction is allowing Bush and Cheney, and trickling down to Governor Douglas and our Legislature, to enrich corporations that are financial supporters of the Republican Party.
Secret meetings and memos leading to industry-profiting legislation, payoffs disguised as campaign contributions, campaign workers with no prior experience appointed to top-level positions in control of millions of dollars of taxpayer money .. where will it end, and it will never end if we don't take matters into our own hands.
Your grandfather's Republican Party is dead; killed by greed, and the 'Moral Majority' (which was neither) is being courted with wedge issues like the flag, school prayer and abortion to advance an an agenda that advances business profit rather than people.
We cannot let our safety be compromised by those who worship money. The ski areas can prosper while still protecting the environment -- we will, if asked, cut back on electricity usage to protect ourselves from a looming catastrophe from an aging nuclear power plant and the cost of storing/disposing of nuclear waste. We can no longer depend on our 'regulators' to protect us.
Look at port security. Never mind that only 5% of the containers coming in are inspected, and the budget for inspection has been further cut ....Supposedly the head of the Department of Homeland Security and the pResident were not told of the sale of US ports to a nation that funnels money to terrorists? Does anyone really believe this? Reagan was supposedly 'out of the loop' on Iran-Contra, and did have Alheizeimers -- but Dubya ... what's his excuse? (There are rumors!)
The voters are seen as easy pickings for the msm to substitute press releases for real news.
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, and thousands more like them had the courage to revolt against unjust laws and created a great democracy. It's up to us to find the courage to reclaim that democracy. Our country is being sold, piece by piece, to the highest bidder. Dissent is patriotic .....
We cannot let a bunch of self-serving incompetents turn this country into a third world nation. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider every day; more people are losing their jobs because of downsizing, and can't afford to pay their rent, or have health insurance, or pay the fuel bill .. we're becoming WalMartized; the working poor.
We can't give up. Our elected representatives are there to serve us .. and if they refuse to we can replace them in the November elections. They must be held accountable.
Barbara
It doesn't take a crystal ball or a dowsing stick to come to the realization that Vermont is not exactly Crawford, Texas, or anywhere in Utah.. You might be surprised at where some of the voices calling for an end to this criminal and reckless Administration come from.....
The insurrection continues below the fold.
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