Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Something the Rude One said.
In his own inimitable way, the Rude Pundit this morning posted about the absurd FISA legislation currently being debated in the Senate. The non-obscene central point:
If Madison or Benjamin Franklin could, they would bitch slap the Democrats in Congress for legalizing the ability of the President to authorize spying on Americans with no oversight, no cause other than whatever whim the President wants to call an emergency. And to the Republicans who pinched each other's nipples in joy at how the Democrats raised their haunches for easy access, the Rude Pundit hopes you trust the hell out of President Obama.
That's the thing that amazes me: the Republicans, almost without exception, are willing to turn this kind of power over to a Democratic president. Who will likely have a solidly Democratic House and Senate behind him.
Have they lost their minds?
I support Obama for president, since I think that he is head and shoulders better than what we would get from McCain. And given the tone of the country right now, I think it is going to be a slaughter for every GOP candidate running for office, except in the most secure districts. They are, basically, doomed.
So why the hell are they so eager to hand their opposition this kind of power? Cynic that I am, I understand why the Dems, Obama in particular, have decided to 'reluctantly' support the FISA compromise - they just have to make enough noises against it to keep the left from exploding about civil rights. But why are the Republicans so eager to risk a Democratic president having this kind of power?
The only conclusion I can come to is that they are so afraid of what would be uncovered were the abuses of the last seven years fully investigated (say in prosecution of the telecoms for violating the previous version of FISA) that they are willing to make a pact with the devil, and risk having these powers turned against them in the future.
And regardless, our civil rights get trashed.
Welcome to the 21st century.
Jim Downey
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A Big Surprise is Coming
For those expecting major changes from the not so certain incoming Democrat.
For one thing, power is power, and while the two parties have maintained the facade of a difference between them, in reality both of them seek the same goal: control over America, the world, and you. Otherwise, they'd campaign for a respectable job, say steam cleaning N.Y.'s sewers.
"But why are the Republicans so eager to risk a Democratic president having this kind of power?"
Because they know they will get the package back intact, or nearly so, as when they delivered it.
If you look real close at Obama, and where he's been giving a lot of speeches from, and to, you'll see that this so called "Democrat" is really trying to show he has some "Republican Lite" in him. So should you vote for McCon? Only if you find Bush's policies enjoyable. Just don't expect this "Democrat" to be what he said he would be, and what he would do. That was just for election purposes. Money talks, and bullshit walks. That's not a cliche; it's a truism. And right now Jim, we're bullshitting.:)
I posted something similar
I posted something similar to this on my blog awhile back. Basically, the house passed a bill, or voted on a bill that would grant immunity to anyone in the Bush administration back to 2001.
And congress sits and wonders why their approval rating is lower than Bush's???? It's one thing to hate the guy that commits the crime. But the ones that allow the crime to go unpunished?? Those are the true criminals and the ones worthy of our hatred.
I've never voted. I'm considering it this year because I like what Obama has to say, but after supporting this I'm not so sure. Can you explain why the Dems. would want this Jim other than the obvious of wanting to use it when Obama wins?
Hard to say.
Hard to say, and depends on my mood at the time. Sometimes I think that it is nothing but proof of the corporatism of government, regardless of party affiliation. Sometimes I think that it is just fear - worry about being painted as being 'weak on terror' once again, since that has proven to be effective in the past. Sometimes I think it is just pragmatism to get through the election, so that they can capture a substantial enough majority to actually make real changes.
Take your pick.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read *or listen to* my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Have they lost their minds?
What makes you think they will turn power over.
Bush will attack Iran or there will be another attack or disaster and bush will use his new powers to declare marshall law and postpone the elections.
Nah! they wouldn't do that would they? The republicans I mean. Would they?
Another possibility that comes to mind...
... is that they are suspiciously confident of winning in November.
Dems vs. GOP
Democrats don't have the balls, or the mean-spirited desire, to spy on people.
The GOP knows this, and they're willing to wait. Let this legislation go through a democratic presidential term, though, and it's here forever. Someday there will be another Republican president, and then the Big Brother gloves come off.
In a way, I think the American experiment is already over. I think the GOP really and truly killed our nation, and destroyed all its defining principles. But I also think we could win it back, in certain unlikely circumstances. Overall, the Democrats seem very, very unlikely to have the brains or guts to create those circumstances.
So whose fault is all this? I dislike Bush and company, but it's the Democrats who really infuriate me. You EXPECT foaming, spitting skunks to be rabid, and you can avoid them. But when your own puppy bites and infects you ...
America will be over not because the Republicans are evil, but because the Democrats don't have the courage to be good enough.
I am sympathetic . . .
. . . to your sentiments on this, Hank. But I worry about the "perfect being the enemy of the good" phenomenon, balanced by not wanting to just accept the lesser evil . . .
So, I dunno. I suppose I come down to still supporting the system enough to want to vote for Obama. The alternative is either apathy or violence - and I'm not ready to choose either.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read *or listen to* my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Obama
Oh, bloody hell, don't ever think I'm not voting for Obama!
I'm just saying, unless Obama turns out to be a John F. Kennedy, America is still pretty much screwed.
...
Side note: Last election, I ended up getting pretty hot at the nice ladies at the polls. They couldn't find my name on their lists. I rushed over to the Registrar of Voters and verified that I WAS registered and listed, which I already knew I was because I had the damned card in my billfold, and then zoomed back to vote. Where they promptly found my name on the list.
I don't think it was deliberate, but I also don't think anybody thinking of voting this November should take chances. Re-register if you have to. Make sure every T is crossed and I is dotted. Carry more ID than you need. And get there early.
There is zero doubt in my mind that Republicans will do everything they can, up to and including bombing Iran, to give McCain as big a chance as possible. Shenanigans at the voting booth are a given.
lost their minds?
No, it's one of the primary methods by which they are going to gin up the charges to impeach Obama if he wins. If he doesn't, then McCain is the beneficiary, and he will do whatever his corporate masters decree.
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