Grumblings
Once again it's a damp, chilly evening after a day of rain. I'd be sitting by a cozy fire except that I'm down to a few sticks of kindling and one giant log. Maintaining the proper ratio of small-medium-large fuel must be a challenging task for those who rely on wood heat.
I ponder the future of this great nation. We seem to be approaching dictatorship without a care in the world. Bush has announced he will ignore the 4th amendment because he needs to "protect" us from terrorism. The American are incensed at the idea of giving up the civil liberties that make our nation unique--unless you couple "terrorism" with the need to give them up--then they're all for it.
They have watched a little of the Alito confirmation hearings--or they've seen clips of it on the evening news--and, gee whiz, he seems like a nice, reasonable guy and the Democrats sound so ill-tempered and carping. His law clerks all like him, and for most people--including even most Democrats in the Senate--that is really all that matters.
Who cares if he thinks the president is above the law? That in the three equal branches of government, Alito thinks the president is more than equal? That he thinks--in fact suggested to Bush--that the president has every right to "interpret" a bill to his liking as he signs it into law. Bush has already done so, announcing that he alone will decide what's torture and what's not.
My conservative friend, how would you feel if Hillary Clinton had such power?
What do you think of a person who, by his own admission, will say anything to get a job? Who, by his own admission, disagrees with the "one man, one vote" principle of the Constitution? Who always sides with the powerful against folks like you and me?
But that's okay, because, you see, Judge Alito is really polite. He politely refuses to discuss the issues that those nosy Democrats raise, showing he is superior to them. The people who saw the sound bites have been encouraged (by the Republicans) to shake their heads sadly at the impertinance of these Democrats; as a result, the Democrats have been shamed into deciding not to make a fuss about the Alito nomination.
Some months ago, the Democrats and Republicans made an agreement: the Republicans wouldn't vote to get rid of the filibuster (the "nuclear option") and, in exchange, the Democrats wouldn't filibuster, except in a real emergency, at which time the Republicans would invoke the nuclear option. This agreement, which allowed a corporate flunky to be seated on the district court, was hailed as a victory for the Democrats. Ever since then, the Democrats have been saving the filibuster for some distant future nomination that will surely be even more outrageous than the present one.
Hello? With Alito in office, there is no future for Democrats. You just made yourself redundant.
I ponder the future of this great nation. We seem to be approaching dictatorship without a care in the world. Bush has announced he will ignore the 4th amendment because he needs to "protect" us from terrorism. The American are incensed at the idea of giving up the civil liberties that make our nation unique--unless you couple "terrorism" with the need to give them up--then they're all for it.
They have watched a little of the Alito confirmation hearings--or they've seen clips of it on the evening news--and, gee whiz, he seems like a nice, reasonable guy and the Democrats sound so ill-tempered and carping. His law clerks all like him, and for most people--including even most Democrats in the Senate--that is really all that matters.
Who cares if he thinks the president is above the law? That in the three equal branches of government, Alito thinks the president is more than equal? That he thinks--in fact suggested to Bush--that the president has every right to "interpret" a bill to his liking as he signs it into law. Bush has already done so, announcing that he alone will decide what's torture and what's not.
My conservative friend, how would you feel if Hillary Clinton had such power?
What do you think of a person who, by his own admission, will say anything to get a job? Who, by his own admission, disagrees with the "one man, one vote" principle of the Constitution? Who always sides with the powerful against folks like you and me?
But that's okay, because, you see, Judge Alito is really polite. He politely refuses to discuss the issues that those nosy Democrats raise, showing he is superior to them. The people who saw the sound bites have been encouraged (by the Republicans) to shake their heads sadly at the impertinance of these Democrats; as a result, the Democrats have been shamed into deciding not to make a fuss about the Alito nomination.
Some months ago, the Democrats and Republicans made an agreement: the Republicans wouldn't vote to get rid of the filibuster (the "nuclear option") and, in exchange, the Democrats wouldn't filibuster, except in a real emergency, at which time the Republicans would invoke the nuclear option. This agreement, which allowed a corporate flunky to be seated on the district court, was hailed as a victory for the Democrats. Ever since then, the Democrats have been saving the filibuster for some distant future nomination that will surely be even more outrageous than the present one.
Hello? With Alito in office, there is no future for Democrats. You just made yourself redundant.
posted by Weedgardener @ 7:02 PM
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