Friday, May 05, 2006
one, two, three, four!
Now that my academic stress is over, it's time to worry about bigger problems, among celebrating my own personal triumph.
First, this post by Juan Cole starts out with some extraneous details about a spat between two bloggers (still interesting) but then he gets stirred up and gives the best declarative statement against a war against Iran (yes, they're thinking about doing that) I've read. If only messages with this much passion were heard 3.5 years ago when the country with a 'q' on the end was the big threat. Juan Cole has had some nasty things to say about the Israeli government, but he does actually know Arabic so he can tell what this big Arab meanies are actually saying when the English translations of their statements make the news.
OK, riled up? Then Digby turns things to the internal threats to our democracy... Bush has made over 750 'signing statements' that basically declare that he can disobey any law passed by Congress that he doesn't like, including bans on torture. There's nothing that can marginalize a liberal more in public discourse can comparing Bush to a fascist dictator (the 'H'-word oh no!), but really, a government determined by the whim of one arrogant person is getting closer to a dictatorship (or absolute monarchy). Digby says it better in an excerpt (the whole thing is better):
"And that's a little like Bush and the signing statements. Presidents of the United States don't do things like that. They just don't. There is nothing in American history that prepares us for a president who acts like he's Louis XIV. Not even the odious Nixon. And so, Bush blithely issues his signing statements, telling the country over and over and over that he simply has no intention whatsoever of obeying any law he doesn't like. And the country not only doesn't bother to notice. The country doesn't have the political/cultural framework to notice. Look, Bush's signing statements can't be compared to those of a tinpot autocrat. We're talking the United States of America here, the very symbol of democracy - remember government of the people, etc etc?. So whatever he's up to and as much as you dislike him personally, the president of the United States is not a fascist dictator, relying on his personal charisma to do anything he wants to. Of course, he respects and obeys the Constitution, no matter what the signing statements say.
Wake up, boys and girls.
If, at the moment, this president has reserved torture and long imprisonment without trial primarily for non-US citizens, or for deeply marginalized citizens like Padilla (Hispanic, a felon, and a Muslim), there is nothing to prevent either Bush, or some other crackpot, from extending such practices to members of the larger population they don't particularly like. For example, liberals. Or the "wrong kind" of Hispanics."
It's a very powerful post, and ends with an urgent call to arms to help out for this 2006 election any way you can. My schedule gets a little (just a teeny bit little) less hectic in the summer, so I hope to head to local suburbs with competitive house races and help throw the bums out. It's totally understandable to not be dramatic about this political situation and try to live a normal life. That's what I've been doing after Nov. 2004 and when I saw how much anger the current state of the world makes me. But in the U.S., trends towards absolute power in our elected officials cannot go unchecked. Either Republicans have to grow a pair and stand up to Bush, or we need to get the opposition back into power. Bush is laying the groundwork for any President to govern by a personal vendetta. This post is probably just motivating myself for action, but there were too many good emotional blog posts this week to ignore.
Up next, my number 3 hated movie!!! Happy times!!!
First, this post by Juan Cole starts out with some extraneous details about a spat between two bloggers (still interesting) but then he gets stirred up and gives the best declarative statement against a war against Iran (yes, they're thinking about doing that) I've read. If only messages with this much passion were heard 3.5 years ago when the country with a 'q' on the end was the big threat. Juan Cole has had some nasty things to say about the Israeli government, but he does actually know Arabic so he can tell what this big Arab meanies are actually saying when the English translations of their statements make the news.
OK, riled up? Then Digby turns things to the internal threats to our democracy... Bush has made over 750 'signing statements' that basically declare that he can disobey any law passed by Congress that he doesn't like, including bans on torture. There's nothing that can marginalize a liberal more in public discourse can comparing Bush to a fascist dictator (the 'H'-word oh no!), but really, a government determined by the whim of one arrogant person is getting closer to a dictatorship (or absolute monarchy). Digby says it better in an excerpt (the whole thing is better):
"And that's a little like Bush and the signing statements. Presidents of the United States don't do things like that. They just don't. There is nothing in American history that prepares us for a president who acts like he's Louis XIV. Not even the odious Nixon. And so, Bush blithely issues his signing statements, telling the country over and over and over that he simply has no intention whatsoever of obeying any law he doesn't like. And the country not only doesn't bother to notice. The country doesn't have the political/cultural framework to notice. Look, Bush's signing statements can't be compared to those of a tinpot autocrat. We're talking the United States of America here, the very symbol of democracy - remember government of the people, etc etc?. So whatever he's up to and as much as you dislike him personally, the president of the United States is not a fascist dictator, relying on his personal charisma to do anything he wants to. Of course, he respects and obeys the Constitution, no matter what the signing statements say.
Wake up, boys and girls.
If, at the moment, this president has reserved torture and long imprisonment without trial primarily for non-US citizens, or for deeply marginalized citizens like Padilla (Hispanic, a felon, and a Muslim), there is nothing to prevent either Bush, or some other crackpot, from extending such practices to members of the larger population they don't particularly like. For example, liberals. Or the "wrong kind" of Hispanics."
It's a very powerful post, and ends with an urgent call to arms to help out for this 2006 election any way you can. My schedule gets a little (just a teeny bit little) less hectic in the summer, so I hope to head to local suburbs with competitive house races and help throw the bums out. It's totally understandable to not be dramatic about this political situation and try to live a normal life. That's what I've been doing after Nov. 2004 and when I saw how much anger the current state of the world makes me. But in the U.S., trends towards absolute power in our elected officials cannot go unchecked. Either Republicans have to grow a pair and stand up to Bush, or we need to get the opposition back into power. Bush is laying the groundwork for any President to govern by a personal vendetta. This post is probably just motivating myself for action, but there were too many good emotional blog posts this week to ignore.
Up next, my number 3 hated movie!!! Happy times!!!
