Friday, April 20, 2007

I told you so

For weeks, I've contended that the Congressional Democrats' tinkering with war-funding legislation, by inserting various withdrawal benchmarks and the like, would eventually backfire, leaving Bush with the assertion that the Democrats are endangering the troops. Indeed, even in the face of a threatened veto, the Democrats are backing down on the pending legislation; and--as I've long argued--if Bush does veto any eventual bill, the Congress will sheepishly send him a bill without strings. Result: Bush will look "strong" and Congress will look like the dweebs they are.

I saw this coming. Why didn't they?

Thursday, April 19, 2007

I'm not worried

because after mistakes like this, I'm sure software programs will never take over the art of writing.

(Or maybe I should be worried, in case they do.)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

No way, Jose

There are few issues (well, maybe, not so few) where there's a black and a white. But here's one: a Senate bill that permits (doesn't even require) the Social Security Administration to bargain with drug makers over prices.

Who on Earth could vote against that? Well, apparently, enough Republicans to maintain a fillibuster. How mean-spirited, how obviously "bought and paid for" can a politician be?

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Once again, Pat Buchanan is right on

I despised him during Watergate (he was an assistant to Nixon), but I gotta tell ya, his columns about the war in Iraq and the evil and corruption of the neocons are written as if by me, except that he's got loads of history, having lived much of it.

This essay about Wolfie is wonderful, all except the part about US cessation of foreign aid. I agree we should be more circumspect with such aid--we could save a couple of billions a year if we discontinued military aid to Israel, for example--but we need to continue to share our abundance with the underdeveloped nations.

But otherwise, I love watching the paleoconservatives (Buchanan's word) chew up the neoconservatives. If this keeps up, whoever gets the Democratic nomination for President will carry every state except those that seceded in 1860, and maybe even Florida. And the Congress will be so heavily Democratic that it may be able to right our ship of state.

Hurrah!

The district court judge in the AIPAC espionage trial has ruled that the evidence must be presented in public, not held secret as the US Attorney had argued. We may at last have coverage of the degree to which Israel has infiltrated our intelligence and government apparatus. At least we'll no longer be frozen out of the slightest inquiry into the conduct of our "ally." (This assumes that the US government proceeds to trial on this basis. I wouldn't be surprised at an interlocutory appeal to delay or reverse the trial court's ruling, or, for that matter, a dismissal of charges by the government on grounds of "national security.")

My favorite line of the judge's ruling: "Justice must not only be done; it must also be seen."

I wouldn't put it past them

So, the Senate has determined to delay Gonzales' appearance until Thursday on account of the shootings at Virginia Tech. The killer was apparently a Korean student, who committed suicide after his rampage. Am I crazy for wondering if somebody in the administration hired him, just to gain a brief respite from the ceaseless barrage of scandal, and two more days for Gonzales to rehearse?

Yeah, I thought so.

Gosh, I wonder why

we in the U.S. don't get al-Jazeera TV. Could it be "political pressure"? Never, not in the good ol' U S of A, where freedom reigns.

Monday, April 16, 2007

South America, anyone?

Chavez in Venezuela, Morales of Bolivia, Correa of Ecuador, Bachelet of Chile and to a lesser extent Lula of Brazil (not to mention Chavez of Nicaragua in Central America)--socialists/progressives all. And if the latest referendum in Bolivia is any indicator, they hold overwhelming popular support.

All my adult life the nations to the south of us (except, of course, Cuba) have been ruled by various American-backed dictators and regimes. There's a distinctly liberating feel to them now, that the populace is taking control of its destiny, its allegiances and its resources. Wouldn't it be wonderful if other nations south of the equator (in Africa, especially) would join them?