While I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner tonight, I noticed that no one had yet flipped the bush countdown calendar (thanks, Uncle Bob!) over from December. When I did it, I got a little thrill, because we’re down to the last page!!!! It’s almost over, folks! Our long national nightmare is finally drawing to a close! Pinch me!!!!!
Then I look at the remnants of what once was my retirement account, and, well, nah…
I’m not going to miss George W. Bush when he’s (finally!) gone, but I will miss Will Ferrell’s brilliant impressions.
While we’re waiting for John McCain to come out from behind Sarah Palin’s skirt, I’d like to raise a couple of issues.
First, Roe v. Wade. I get the impression the most strident Roe opponents — those who shriek loudest about the decision — have no idea what it actually says, so let’s start by taking a peek at what’s there:
The opinion of the Roe Court, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, declined to adopt the district court’s Ninth Amendment rationale, and instead asserted that the “right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment’s reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
Note that the decision rests on a foundation of privacy — something that Sarah Palin demands for her own daughter, but would take away from all the other little girls in the country. She’s maybe never actually even read the decision she’s so adamantly determined to overturn. But then again, ignorance never does stop a fanatic, does it?
Yeah, so anyway, Sarah Palin likes her kids ignorant and knocked up, and she wants to repeal Roe.
This means that Sarah, if presented with a woman who just found out that the child she is carrying has Tay-Sachs disease, wouldn’t have her choose between getting an abortion or carrying the child to term, only to watch helplessly as her beautiful baby goes from healthy to mentally disabled, blind, deaf and unable to swallow, then finally becomes paralyzed, before dying by the age of five. Instead, Sarah would make that decision for her, without regard to the woman’s financial situation; or whether she is equipped to deal with the emotional devastation of such an experience; or her ability to cope with the medical needs of a child who has such profound problems. In fact, she would make this decision on her behalf without knowing a single thing about her circumstances. Sarah would opt for the latter situation, and not even offer her the first option (even if the pregnancy resulted from a rape).
To be clear, I am not advocating for a woman to choose either option over the other. What I am doing is arguing that all women should be able to make that choice for themselves — just like Sarah Palin did when she chose to continue her pregnancy after she found out her youngest child had Down Syndrome.
But back to the woman Palin is forcing into gestation… Would Sarah do anything to address her child’s special needs, as she claimed at the convention? Well, the jury’s still very much out on that question, since Sarah has not been a governor long enough to have much of a record when it comes to action on health care. But since she’s signed onto the McCain/Bush/Republican platform, it’s safe to assume she’ll be supporting the status quo when it comes to American health care (at best).
And then there’s this (more here). Sarah Palin belongs to the spiritual warfare movement (go see the movie Jesus Camp if you haven’t already and you’ll get a peak into Palin’s world) — which more and more, is making Christian fanatics look a lot like Islamic fanatics.
The Third Wave may be kind of spooky, but it’s also really dangerous. These people see the world in very black/white, christian/not christian terms, and it’s that kind of simplistic thinking that got us involved in Bush’s stupid war to begin with — a war, btw, that was supported by Palin, who even subscribes to Bush’s theocratic view that the Iraq war is a “task that is from God.”
Now, John McCain may be with Bush 90% of the time, but Sarah Palin appears to be with him 110% of the time (if you saw any of her interview with Charlie Gibson, you may have noticed that she even mimics George’s word-fog style of speaking which features lots of words, but doesn’t necessarily have a clear point).
I really don’t think we want to go there. Eight years of simplistic, slow-witted leadership has been more than enough. I don’t care how much you’d like to hang out with these people, or how thirsty you are for a beer in their company, that doesn’t mean that they have what it takes to lead this country in the right direction. And if you like the fact that they’re just like you, think about whether or not you’re truly qualified to run this country — really, don’t you want to put someone who’s extra smart in charge? Ideally, someone who is smarter than you and me? There’s nothing elitist about not wanting stupid leaders.
If we need change, then we’re going to have to start with a fresh approach. And that is clearly not what these guys would give us.
- Have the Republicans become the party of instant satisfaction and gratification? This illustration offers some numbers in support of the suggestion:
- Do you have any idea why McCain won’t comment on matters of marital infidelity? It’s not like him to give up a chance to be high and mighty…
- A lot of locals have been excited to discover that Google Street View has come to Chattanooga, and they are pouring over the maps to find all the easter eggs caught in the images. But will they find anything as quite as spooky as a house on fire?
- Tennessee’s progressive blogosphere Sunday roundup.
- Quote of the week, from Ian McKellan, regarding an (yet another) intolerant religious leader: “From the pulpit, homophobia is preached by some arrogant religious leaders who think their beliefs are superior to our inborn and, some would say, God-given nature.” Ha!
- Here’s a puzzler:
So John McCain apparently lifted huge portions of his statement on the unfolding crisis in Georgia from Wikipedia. Here’s a 3 AM question for you: do you want a President with a real strategy for containing such a crisis, or do you want someone who’s stumbling over wikipedia entries after getting internet lessons from his wife? I guess when it comes to McCain and foreign policy, it’s a google!
I don’t think he’s up for the job, but we’ll see. (UPDATE: more here and here!) - Mind-boggling quote of the day, from George W. Bush on Russia’s activities in Georgia: “Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state…. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century…. We have no doubts about it. This is a deliberate attempt to destroy an entire country and change the regime.” I am speechless. (UPDATE: more here!)
- Will a Southern community serve as a nuclear waste dump?
Eight years ago today, George W. Bush made a promise he has since broken many times over.
So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.
(a photoshopped image from the back in the day…)
- If you are trying to follow all the news from Sunday’s tragic church shooting in Knoxville, Michael Silence has all the details. Just scroll down.
- When it comes to supporting the troops…
- Amazing auditory illusion
- Quite a fiscal legacy
- McCain attack ad is “literally not true”
- How to survive a plane crash
- Don’t talk to the cops!
- Not only is John McCain a spoiled whiner, but he’s also wrong about the press (and — oh, dear! — a liar!)
- Your next car?
- Speaking of cars, VW plant could spur high-speed rail link!
- Lego album covers
- Obama’s VEEP announcement any moment now?
Oh, pul-eeze. A “general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals” is an incredibly tortured way of finally admitting that we’re going to adopt a timeline for getting the troops out of Iraq.
I’ve been reading these internets today and have a random sampling of interesting tidbits found in these here tubes:
- Hello. I’m Billy Blades. And so are you.
- Today the Iraqi government says that they want the US out of Iraq — including our military bases. This flies in the face of all of John McCain’s plans for permanent bases in Iraq and a 100-years war. What will he doooo?!?
- Speaking of John McCain, the old coot thinks that he’s much more highly regarded among vets than he really is. And btw, only people who have served have the right to question McCain’s judgment — oops! Make that: only people who have served AND who also agree with John McCain! And he doesn’t want to talk about being a POW — unless it’s in a freakin’ campaign commercial. Seriously?
- You’ve probably heard that those inbred polygamists who got busted earlier this year for letting old men knock up their daughters while they’re still little girls have their own clothing line. It turns out they let their daughters dress like flashy harlots.
- Remember when there were only 3 channels on TV (well, four if you were lucky enough to live in an area with a PBS station)? Have things changed all that much? Not really.
- Now here are a couple of stories that made me laugh out loud today: 1) That the man who never read a book might pretend to write one. and 2) That there are people out there who would consider it appropriate to put the same clueless moron, who can’t even quote Jefferson properly, in a classroom. With children.
- And speaking of George Bush, his buddy John McCain hates bloggers. Yeah, that whole free-flowing information thing sure does put a real crimp in the old bullshit spewer, don’t it?
- Those wacky internetizens are not done with Jesse Helms yet. They’re questioning his patriotism, calling him irrelevant and defeated, and remembering when his house was condemed! Oh, and Mike Huckabee loved and admired him.
- Charlie “110% Heterosexual” Crist is still in the news and Chris Matthews doesn’t love him.
- Are you a quilter? How about quilting for our nation’s wounded heroes?
- A guy in Cleveland, TN has figured out how to run a car on Chattanooga’s greatest natural resource (more here)!
- A Norwich woman spent the morning with a bat in her bra (via BoingBoing).
- Are you ready to wear a bracelet when you get on a plane? One that zaps you with a shock if you don’t behave?
- Here’s the latest from the awesome Improv Everywhere troupe!
- Worst. President. Ever.
- Jonah Goldberg is still a half-witted wanker.
- When world leaders meet to discuss world hunger, is it appropriate for them to enjoy a six-course lunch and 18-course dinner?!? Sheesh!
