ObamaRama

I've been remiss at writing on my blog and the reason is pathetic - I'm happy. Obama has won. I have nothing more to say. I have no opnions. My world is being serviced properly by responsible people who believe like I do. I wander through my life with a vague smile on my face, the kind that used to signal organic substance but now says, after decades of political activism, everybody got it right. What more is there to say?

Well, sure, plenty but have you checked the blogs? Someone - many someones - have already said it. After years of feeling like I'm skipping to my own drummer when all others are crisply marching I am completely in tune with everyone!

Does that mean I'm no longer special, above the fray? Nah, just way ahead of my time or maybe too lazy to get out and find like minded friends. Turns out they were there all along. I sort of chose who was handy, sprinkled with a few politicos like myself but overall my intellectual curiosity was not meshing or being satisfied.

Now, oh now I'm am so on it. My only regret is that I'm not Tina Fey but like everyone else I practically exploded with ecstasy - the emotion not the substance - the first time I saw her on SNL as Sarah Palin. I knew then the election was over. Just as I always felt that George HW Bush lost because Dana Carvey did him better; so much better that watching the real deal felt phony.

I'll have to let go of my passive joy and look around for new passions. The world is not perfect, there are things to do and places to go. It's just that the loathing of the Bush presidency sucked up all the other oxygen; it was eight years of searching for the exit sign. Now it's here, it's well lit and it's a stampede going through.

To those who didn't vote for Obama - I'm guessing you're already telling people you knocked on doors for him, practically a top adviser, that you knew all along he was gonna pull it out.

This guy's a keeper.

Obama Comes Home

OBAMA 'OHANA

This week Senator Barack Obama is vacationing in Hawaii. He was born here, graduated from high school here and his family still lives here. He hasn't had time to return since Christmas 2006, when he talked with family and friends about running for president.

Since then it's been - to say the least - a whirlwind experience. He's by many accounts likely going to be the next president of the United States. Nothing is for sure in politics but for now, we in the islands are basking in the glow of our native son.

Here's my experience of his arrival. Check it out.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-harter/obama-ohana-democratic-no_b_118008.html

Is it passion or is it anger?

I've been wondering what makes a woman so relentless in her quest against all odds, far beyond just being a fighter and into obsessive desperate behavior as if without it her oxygen will be cut off.

It came to me. Her husband took what should have been terrific years - first lady of a state and then the nation - and turned it into a tawdry sideshow of his/their sex life. It wasn't a vast rightwing consipiracy, it was titilation fodder for some emerging cable news networks. I can't imagine a more humiliating experience. And so public.

Yet here they still are, and now her fortunes are rising while he's relegated to backyard incendiary remarks. If she's president she becomes an historic figure while he's a footnote, notable only for his impeachment and maybe being the first First Husband.

Could her campaign be the ultimate revenge? Could it be her deep rage at her husband's chronic infidelity that drives her and not passion for the American people? How else to explain her inability to face the truth about delegate counts, just as she seems to avoid the truth about the definition of marriage. (Call me old fashioned but isn't fidelity right up there?)

And to Clinton supporters I would remind them: do you really want that circus again? The behavior that left Al Gore in a bind by not being able to run on the Clinton administration successes? And a country so exhausted from it all that Bush and his fake morality looked good?

Think about it. The Clinton years came with a very high cost. She doesn't have experience, she has a very thick skin and a white hot rage at the injustice of it all.

Can't say I blame her but while she insisted that she was not just like Tammy Wynette standing by her man I'd tell her to listen to another Tammy Wynette song: D I V O R C E.

But please don't make our country pay for it again. The well is drying up.

My left arm

Barack Obama's half-sister and her husband get to vote for him for the first time! That other arm on the table is mine, my little claim to fame, as Maya Soetoro-Ng said to me: This is so exciting, this is so exciting.

It definitely is.

And for those who want to know where he came from here's a great article on his mother, a strong role model for an extraordinary son.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23623222/

The Time Has Come

Last night I went to my caucus site in Hawaii to vote for Barack Obama. As a child of the 60s, political movements and especially anti-war movements have been a part of my life. I jumped on the Howard Dean wagon early on. It stymied me why people could not see the futility of the Iraq War at once. George W. Bush did not make a case for that war. Were we so desperate to strike out that any violent act on our part seemed just?

I've gone to many caucuses here; none have filled the school cafeteria. It's mainly party business with a preferential preference poll tacked on, the candidate generally decided. Occasionally a group would make a stand - Dennis Kucinich had a vocal group, Dean was already out last time - but otherwise it's an orderly event, a bit boring, picking delegates and officers for the state and county conventions. Those with vested interests showed up, the casual voter did not.

Last night had lines around the caucus sites hours before the event. Few knew the rules, that a caucus is different and usually done when everyone is seated. But with several thousand waiting, that changed quickly. Groups voted in waves and left; it was nonstop for two hours. The excitement - and not just because Obama is homegrown, few of the crowd were from Punahou, his school. There were old and young, working and not, educated and not so much. There was, in short, a complete cross section of the electorate, many registering for the first time.

That's a movement. Chuck Todd, the NBC political reporter http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23258192/ has some interesting insights into this race. But he wasn't in that room, he didn't see people who had little in common except their realization that this country deserves better than the same junk they've been fed. He didn't see two thousand people squished into a cafeteria to make their voice heard, not for the measly 20 delegates we get, but because they wanted to matter.

Hillary Clinton is losing because as the kids used to say, she's so five minutes ago. She's running her husband's campaign all over - hey, it worked once. Loyalty to the Clintons is everything, it trumps even common sense. As the underdog - as they were in '92, it's easy to take risks. No longer. She took no risk. She played it by the numbers. And tried to maneuver after the tidal wave came ashore.

Barrack Obama is on fire. I'm sure Clinton will get down and dirty - we ain't seen nothin' yet - to salvage what she's grown to believe was hers. She put all the pieces into play, the establishment Dems, and took the voters for granted. As they say in Hollywood, she began to believe her own press.

It's a new century. We deserve a new leader.

And Away We Go....

Wow, who knew the division would now be within the hearts and minds of the Democrats? We are faced with two equally talented choices - one is "the bridge to the last century" and one is "the audacity of hope." We as a nation - because it's a probability that the winner of the Democratic ticket will win in November - must now decide whether it's time to take that leap of faith and aim for structural change or go with a more tested method of governance. Clinton is yesterday no matter how much she talks of change and no matter how precedent setting as a woman; and Obama represents that moment in life when you go with your gut, when it just feels right.

People who have never been involved in politics are joining those of us who always loved it. My first envelope stuffing was for Bobby Kennedy and Another Mother for Peace. It feels like deja vu all over again. Howard Dean - I believe - set off a movement that derailed him, the timing was not quite there. Bush hadn't hit bottom and then sunk further into his self-made quagmire. But I heard Pat Buchanan, a man I've never agreed with, say this war is a disaster, and that John McCain is a hawk and we'll be in one war after another if he becomes president. I didn't hear him say it, but if given the choice he is likely to vote for Obama. And that, voters, is proof that Obama can bring people together.

Right now Barack Obama is 4 delegates up. It's gonna be a fight, the Clintons have a machine right out of Republican playbooks. But sometimes that doesn't matter, sometimes the time is so right that nothing can derail. Ironically, one of her stumbles was about Martin Luther King. He was not the first one with that message, nor the last; but he was the right man at the right time and it was his message that resonates the most.

Let it be that time again.

And Away We Go.....

I've been voting a long time, every election since Bobby Kennedy. He was shot and killed that night. I was pregnant, my husband was out - later determined to be not a good thing - and I suppose it was the beginning of my adult reality check. Cheating husbands, and to my way of thinking a God that would let John and then Bobby be murdered. It was wrong, not just wrong in the legal and moral sense but in a world order sense.

I have waited a long time to feel something approaching optimism. Oh sure, I worked for McGovern, Muskie, Dean, even Perot caught my fancy, hoping that someone could make the system work. Instead we got Nixon and Reagan and - I can hardly say the word - Bush, not one but two. Someone once said we get the government we deserve. Hoo boy did we as a nation do bad things to get that bunch of greed-is-good and war-is-better gang. Well, of course greed isn't limited to government, apparently, we elected those who would satisfy our very own greed.

But finally, I believe we have figured out that we went too far. The rich get richer and the middle class get screwed while the poor at least have little to lose. So this election has finally given me the optimism I seek; that finally voters have become actual voters, studying the issues, listening to the candidates, really trying to figure out which one of them can lead us into something approaching decency. Sure, we need strength, there really are bad guys out there trying to harm us. We need lots of attention to economics without bailing out every corporate crook out there. Here's a concept: stop them before they suck out the marrow. The housing crisis was preventable, and a credit crunch followed and now a debt overload looms. Bush's answer to 9-11 was BUY. Show those terrorists we won't be cowed, buy and buy and buy some more. Hey, it's easier than diplomacy.

The pendulum has swung. Finally, voters are actually grabbing the reins. The fact there is no clear front runner yet and all the attention is on an election almost a year away is both an offshoot of too many news shows - even if most are closer to entertainment - but even so, it's about who will lead our country. Yes, the media has to manufacture controversy, like Senator Clinton's remark about LBJ and MLK, but even that gets a discussion going.

I am optimistic if for no other reason than every single candidate running - including those who have dropped out - are solid candidates. They have experience and intelligence and a desire to make us better. I would prefer McCain not be such a hawk especially considering his past but it's maybe because of it, I don't know. But I know he's sincere. Romney appears plastic but I think he's competent. I love Obama, such style and class and an ability to soar above the venal. Clinton I'm tired of but I believe she will be a great president. Huckabee is a charmer. I know Edwards deserves more attention than he's getting but the fire just isn't lit - but he's truly the best about America. Whomever becomes president will I believe set us on coarse to be the country we really do deserve to be.

It's about time.

Backwards They Went

New Hampshire folded like a poker player with a pair of deuces. Iowa surged forward, full of possibilities, and the polls in New Hampshire said they would, too, that they were were an ornery bunch. But in the end they voted for McCain - last century's candidate - and Clinton, last century's president, er, first lady.

When it came time to stand tall New Hampshire stuck to the known. This might not be so bad except they have this reputation as Independents, their history goes way back to the beginning of a new country. They've lost their roots, they've lost their way.

Not that I don't think McCain and Clinton are fine candidates and supposedly fine people. They've certainly been through the fires; both have been trashed by Republicans, those nasty do-anything-to-win kind of Republicans. But they are last century's politicians and if we don't get out of the quagmire that Bush and pals put us in we will be set back decades.

The time to get rid of Bush was four years ago, the damage since then is huge. But the voters then, like nervous children, peed their pants and voted Kerry the Democratic nominee, the establishment candidate. Then John Kerry kept silent while supporters of a draft dodger trashed his honorable and heroic war record. The guilt of the Viet Nam war followed us still. Look at your stock portfolio and the dollar dropping, all a reaction to our huge debt that's out there to keep this war going.

Iowa showed us the way, New Hampshire ran like hell. The two winning candidates are still fighting George Bush's incomprehensible war. Where oh where has New Hampshire gone?

IOWA RULES!

I know it's been a while since I've added to my blog but as an avid reader I found that most of my thoughts were already out there, that I no longer felt alone in my distrust and fear of Bush and a wwar waged under false purpose: maybe to save an airless admin, maybe to enrich his friends, maybe sheer incompetence. 9-11 blew off our center and everyone scrambled to feel safe again. We look to our leaders and if they sound strong we tell ourselves they are strong. We don't want to think they could be wrong and more interested in the spin than the facts, that's almost as scary as terrorists attacking us again. Instead we let our own government attack us - secret eavesdropping, torture, lies, stonewalling, all with a swagger that belies anyone to believe it's anything other than a thick-brained bully. Some people wanted that bully, because some mistake bullying for strength.

And then Iowa on 01-03 reminded us what we're really all about. They showed us the absolute definition of democracy and citizen involvement. They trudged through snow and long speeches and downloaded position papers, thinking, talking, carrying the discourse everywhere they went. They agonized and read and made phone calls and in the end they did it exactly right. They chose a new beginning and the end of an old war. Clinton lost as much because they are tired of same old same old as for siding with the hawks that the surge is working. Iowans know better. Edwards can't match Obama's star power but he had a clear new message. Coming in second may ultimately eliminate him, but it also sent a clear message about what voters want.

Obama's resounding win in the first real test of the 2008 presidential election gives this nation a new way of looking at everything. There will soon be blazing attacks against him, many racist and a lot of lies covered by innuendo covered by mud. That's part of our country, too, people who can't see past their own hatred.

But for now, from Iowa, the best of who we are stood up and said we're going to do the right thing.

Life is just a Bowl of Priorities

Few things are simple. Decisions made with a group are not decisions at all but compromises. The divorce rate is high but I'm amazed anyone stays together because each half wants something the other does not. So marriages either become bastions of compromise or long suffering "for the children." Which usually means for the money. Staying in a challenging marriage is chosen over a lower standard of living.
So you can imagine the difficulty as a legislator, trying to spend the taxpayer's money. They have to make decisions to please thousands of constituents enough to get reelected or at least not make too many angry enough to work against them. That has to be tough.
What got me thinking about this was the collapse of the bridge in Minnesota. That's one of our bedrock states, you rarely hear of bad things coming out of Minnesota. They have Garrison Keillor and Mary Tyler Moore's alter ago, Mary Richards. It may be cold a lot but the people are sturdy. The bridge that collapsed got a 50 out of 100 and was in line for repairs, but not considered dangerous. Half-empty or half-full? No one seems at fault and so far at least no one seems to be finger-pointing. But it does bring up the subject of infrastructure.
Infrastructure is not sexy. If you do it well no one notices. After all, it's not news when a bridge doesn't fall. It's the way its supposed to be. Hurricane Katrina didn't flood New Orleans even though those in charge would like it so - the levee splitting and spilling thousands of gallons of water did. That levee was man-made and man-repaired, by our own government's Army Corps of Engineers. Turns out it was designed badly and maintenance ignored. No wonder George W. Bush didn't want to go anywhere near the area following the disaster, then distancing himself with, "Heckuva job, Brownie." I'm sure his "cover-my-ass" advisors told him that much.
Politicians need to spend money for things that bring votes. Pork - a smelly name - is now "earmarks", i.e., I've earmarked a few choice things for my district. Sounds like they saved us a piece of cake.
The Iraq War is running a tab of trillions - a billion here a billion there, pretty soon you're talking real money - and so far at least serving no purpose except killing people. Yet still they continue, no one quite able to figure out how to disengage. It's a complete shambles, where to start. Even if someone said get out tomorrow, an army can't move that fast and you can't do it gradually and leave the remaining unprotected.
But all the money spent on Iraq would have paid for all our country's infrastructure repairs with enough left over to give health insurance to all. The critics say they don't want another government program. What do they think the Iraq War is, if not a government handout to the so-called military industrial complex? That's a large umbrella - food, vehicles, clothing, equipment, construction, etc. Not only tearing apart a country but rebuilding it, too. Huge profit there. And now it seems that 30% of our weapons went missing, presumably in the hands of enemies. We are not only spending our tax dollars on arming the US military forces but the Iraqi ones, too, or worse, our future enemies. Maybe even al Queda. That's some irony.
I've always paid the rent first then the other ongoing bills then decided what I could afford to splurge on. As a result I have money in the bank, good credit, a home and most of all, security for my future. Those are my priorities honed in me by my Dad, an exemplary saver, as many in his generation were. He'd seen poverty during the depression and never wanted his children to suffer for lack of money. To him, having an old car or TV was not suffering, but not having money to buy necessities, that was. My Dad took care of his family because he understood that was his job.
If only our politicians cared more about taking care of their constituents and not just about getting their vote. If only they did their job.

Declare Independence from King George..... Again

I'm already tired of the Scooter Libby pardon ranting. Not because I don't agree with the cries of hypocrisy and the potential detriment to our justice system, but because few are doing anything concrete about a president that cares little about the American process. Neocons are not Americans, they are power-mongers. They want to rule and they want all the spoils. In their eyes, might is right, no subtlety. This is not new information; in fact it's been 6 years of voter abuse beginning with the election.

Talks shows play into this, everyone gets to be heard but in the cacaphony does anyone have an answer? Or the will to pursue that path? Everyone today is a pundit, some are loud, some are thoughtful, most want to make money from it. Chris Matthews of Hardball was more interested in whether the Joseph Wilson's attorney thought the sentence for Bill Clinton was fair than in anything she might say on the Libby pardon. I began to wonder if he socialized with Libby, since he loudly and consistently pulled the topic away. She's representing Valerie Plame in her career meltdown thanks to a few people in the Bush Admin. and not representing the Clintons. Her opinion doesn't matter unless you want to keep her from pointing out the obvious: that whether the Bush Admin broke the law or not, they ruined a career CIA agent. It's okay, say the Bush defenders, because she wasn't covert. The CIA says otherwise but regardless, how about serving her country? That's not worth protecting?

Matthews then let a Papa Bush Justice offical ramble on and on about the bad things Clinton did, and the good things Libby did, and how nothing was proved. In other words retrying a case that had already been through the jury system. I used to respect Matthews; no more, he seems to want to fill Bill O'Reilly's shoes of blustering non-sequiturs. O'Reilly has been lessened since the love affair with Bush is so over.

So why is everyone still afraid? Because bullies are scary. They know that and use it to their advantage. Republican politicians are caught with their knickers in a twist, to be sure. Their constituents are getting frustrated but to go against this gang of thugs will see the money dry up. It's hard getting hit from both sides but they have only themselves to blame. They were in lockstep for 6 years partly from fear, partly the perks and partly from the Repub distaste for criticizing their own. Even when Bush did that to McCain way back when they still followed him. Did it never occur to them he was never a true Republican, that was only the label his gang of thugs used to suck up votes? Or were they afraid that Bush would attack them as he did McCain?

The Democrats are not much better. A few hearings, a lot of press conferences denouncing the White House and excuses about not having the votes. Congressional leaders want to keep their power just like everyone else. Keep the noise coming because it drowns out those who might actually accomplish something. We elected Ronald Reagan because he told us what we wanted to hear. We felt secure. Bush used that same premise and promised to keep us safe from terrorists. But who will keep us safe from him?

This week we celebrated the day that the Declaration of Independence was written. Specifically, it was to free us from the tyranny of King George. I think it's time we did it again.

Hypocrisy walks among us

The immigration debate is heating up again, now that the war issue has chosen up sides and continues forward, no one really interested in stopping it. Those facing reelection pretend they are or will or might and speak loudly but carry a little stick.

Same with immigration. I lived in California for 40 years so I'm pretty familiar with illegals and the advantages and disadvantages. The difference now is that the problem isn't limited to large coastal cities - easily ignored - but has permeated the heartland. They tend to welcome the first wave or at least treat them with benign neglect. Soon, however, as it goes from dozens to hundreds to thousands of poor people that impacts everything: schools, traffic, emergency rooms, shelters, neighborhoods.

Feeling isolated, needing to say under the radar, these groups congregate in ever growing numbers. People take notice and begin to worry. Yes, they add value by filling bottom-rung jobs but why so many. Because everyone benefits - schools are paid for every child, legal or not. Anyone with a rental soon learns they can look the other way as 20 people live in one unit and then charge more while ignoring repairs. Then get outraged that the two families they rented to soon brought over four more families to sublet. It's equal opportunity sleazy behavior.

Forged documents aren't even a challenge to get. Anyone wandering a border town or certain parts of LA will be approached with an offer of $500, the going rate for social security card and drivers license. This protects the employer from prosecution.

Take away the jobs, take away the illegals. But ask communities where that was done. The economy suffers. Plenty make money off the cheap labor. Many can't find replacement workers at the same price. It's a trickle down effect. So while people complain that it's a problem few are willing to lose the benefits.

There aren't enough border agents to do the job. President Bush says he's fighting terrorism but our borders are porous, thousands traipse across daily with forged or stolen documents. Soon enough terrorists will figure out that learning Spanish will get them into our infrastructure.

The Iraq War is costing us billions if not trillions of dollars and accomplishing little. In fact, it's arguably making the Middle East more unstable and long term even more expensive. Again, while many discuss it, look at the cottage industry sprung up around this war, the books, the pundits, the consultants, the talk shows. The soldiers over there risking life and limb are almost an afterthought, a political sound bite. "If you don't support this war you are putting soldiers in harms' way!"

What if we had put all that money, all those billions into hiring and training border guards and airport screeners and the latest techno-gadgets so that we can track every person in this country? Not big brother-like, invasion of privacy, just knowing who is not supposed to be here. A person with an expired visa would be dispatched home because the State Dept would be given the resources to do so.

This war is a black hole sucking up money. We don't want to fight terrorists or stop illegal immigration, we just want to feel good about doing something. That ambivalence opens up a great wide vacuum for our politicians and our pundits to offer us sound bites instead of solutions. As citizens we don't want to be bothered, with 300 cable channels and phones that go with us, we got stuff to do. We want illegals to clean up after us and serve us but not march and demand basic rights. Now, realizing they are 12 million strong and infiltrating every industry, they are beginning to realize they can demand. Politicians see voters, business sess cheap labor, neighbors feel superior, human rights workers see purpose.

So really, what's the problem?

Bill Richardson Rocks

Jay Leno introducted New Mexico governor Bill Richarson as "the most qualified candidate you've never heard of." Don't get me wrong, I think Obama's terrific, and would love him as veep since he's a tad inexperienced, and Hillary, well I'm just tired of her and her husband. He did well, now move over. John Edwards hasn't quite managed to soar above the crowd even though he's been campaigning full time since last election. The others.... there are others?
So I signed on to Richardson. He's a grownup after years of posturing oedipal complexes run amok.

Check out Bill Richardson's Blog - he's one of us!

Jerry Brown Sues EPA

Jerry Brown continues to be at the forefront of the issue of global warming. As governor of California he presided over one of the first Earth Days. He has continued to speak out and now as Attorney General he is suing the Bush Administration for their lack of effort to protect our climate.

Disclaimer: I worked for his first gubernatorial campaign during college, followed him into the Governor's office, and learned a great deal about politics and life. His passion for making the world a better place continues.

Newsweek has a nice interview. Jerry Brown speaks on California's efforts to lower vehicle emisions

Nothing will come of nothing…..

This is a quote describing:

1. King Lear’s admonishment to daughter Cordelia
2. The Bush troop surge
3. Alberto Gonzales’ brain cells


Cheerio, fellow bloggers, I’m off to Stratford-Upon-Avon for a spot of theatuh.

More specifically, I’m going to see a long-time acquaintance, Sir Ian McKellen, whom I’ve seen many times on stage long before he was Gandalf or Magneto.

The Royal Shakespeare Company is doing the entire works all year and my schedule did not allow me to see as much as I wanted to so I chose some highlights, specifically Ian doing King Lear. When I first met him he’d just done Hamlet and was taking Acting Shakespeare on the road. I must’ve seen that show two dozen times, including my “star turn” as a dead French soldier complete with a stage bow. I was hooked.

For the next weeks I will be wallowing in classic English and feeling quite posh. I won’t be near a computer or newspaper and maybe when I return the Bush Admin will just be a bad dream. Hey, they did it on Dallas and Newhart!

Pundits Unite!

Freeway Blogger from my home state has a contest for public displays about Free Speech. A picture and a few words can really bring it home. Check them out.

Picture this

How Low Can He Go?

I saw a quote from Bush on Huffington Post. He said, "Either we'll win in Iraq or we won't." Even for Bush, it's a new low of awful. How can someone who invested so much time, money - huge amounts of money - and lives more or less shrug off the results? As if he's saying: Oh, well, I failed again, no biggie.

I don't get him, or anyone who still thinks he's functional. And they exist, they call in to C-Span. As if we just have to give this war a chance. As if 5 years isn't enough time to see something worthwhile. As if.

This gang of thugs put all their energy into taking the election spoils and what's the best spoil of all? The War machine. Big money in wars if you're part of the military industrial complex. Since Viet Nam, defense has suffered the same downsizing as most of America. Except when you control the Pentagon you have more clout than if you're a union guy in Detroit.

Usually the War Machine at least brings some money home. In this case, they took it to Dubai. Yes, I mean Halliburton. Cheney, who orchestrated this war by all accounts, used to head it. His pals. They cranked up the PR machine, doused anyone who questioned the logic and sold it as patriotism. They left no opening for commone sense. If I were a conspirist I might even wonder if they helped the Bin laden group along the way. There are subtle ways to foment rage, especially in young males eager to make a mark.

Or maybe they just found a horse to ride, that it was a plan all along merely waiting for a perfect storm of opportunity. And after 30 years of peace folks forget, a new generation ignores - after all there's no draft, which is what really started the opposition to Viet Nam.

I'm sad for all the opportunity this country has lost and the victims of Katrina who still don't have their lives back because their government has other priorities. Sad for people who think this war was about fighting terrorism and not just a more macho pursuit rather than a softer pursuit of diplomacy. George W. Bush was raised a super rich kid. Daddy had power and money. He was given companies to run, none successfully.

And now he shrugs yet another fiasco off, his presidency. He knows failure, it's followed him all his life, with no repercussions. He seems to no longer care. For George W. Bush, there is no there there.

Last one out turn off the lights...

Wolfowitz A Disgrace

Now it's Wolfowitz' turn to be frog-marched out, with his dingy caught in the wringer. Literally, apparently. As the head of the World Bank, the gang that dispenses help to poverty-racked nations, he first made sure his friends got the good jobs when he arrived, to his most recent abuse of power: jacking up the cost of hiring his girlfriend. Irony used to be funny, now it's frightening.

He only landed at the World Bank after a topspin slam from the pentagon after presiding over the worst disaster ever of a warplan. Just when you think this group can't sink lower, look out here comes another fresh one. Hell, it's like following a herd of cows with diarrhea.

I said once about Nixon, "yeah, but at least he's smart." You sure can't say that about anyone in the Bush Administration.

The State Totters.....

The news is full of the Virginia Tech shootings. Nothing is more horrifying to a parent. Somehow it makes the current state of politics seem less urgent. It's tempting to find a correlation between a corrupt government and an insane person. Thanks to the conservative right-wing we-demand-our-guns culture it's easy to purchase one but I imagine it's far more complicated.

The war rages on, with no one having a solution, Alberto Gonzales is in the death throes of his job, Paul Wolfowitz failed horrifically in designing the war and was then put in charge of world bank whereupon he promoted - along with a huge salary bump - his mistress. Where are the days when miscreants turned in their resignation immediately? Both Gonzales and Wolfowitz should be gone by now. Don Imus, a total jerk to be sure but not killing soldiers, was out in two weeks, because of the public outcry that this time he really had gone too far.

Imus has bosses that answer to the market and advertisers were cancelling in droves. But the government is a different animal. We can't withhold our taxes to protest. We can hold signs, call our reps in Congress, make lots of noise but ultimately we are powerless to change unless those in charge care about our opinions.

The Republicans are not listening, they are fighting back. They took the loss of last November and went on the offensive. A few have said the war is wrong and Gonzales should go but the majority are hanging tight, believing that will salvage what is left of their pathetic reign.

It's a troubled world and what troubles me most is that I think America, who as the lone superpower should be a leader to stand tall and proud, instead has become a bully, preening with might. It's what brought down Greece and Rome and Britain, all who once reigned supreme.

Bush and Rove offend me. They act as if the American people are necesssary but unwanted impediments to their arrogant power-grab. They couldn't win the election on their ideas so they calculated to steal it, by discretionary cleansing of voter rolls, by reworking districts aka gerrymandering, and by placing loyalty above competence. They speak of spreading democracy in the middle east even as they abuse it at home.

Shakespeare in The Tempest had Prospero say, "The state totters." He said it best.

IMUS = ASS

Make him repeat over and over, I'm an Ass, I'm an Ass....

I won't speak to the racial aspect, others do it better. But how many listeners of Imanas would like their daughters called a "ho", and think it all in fun? Especially a daughter who has managed to get into a good college and play college-level ball. Hey, jerk-off, it ain't easy! Easy is sitting in front of a microphone and spewing idiotic remarks. Any ass can do it.

A few pundits who appear on his show to flog their book or for the money and/or recognition so they can write a book to flog, tried with a straight face to say what a great guy he is and how remorseful. And yet this "remorseful" man managed to call a group of young women who narrowly missed winning a championship "ho's".

That's just mean. Remember what your mother told you? Pick on someone your own size? Well, his size is teeny tiny, and the Rutger team's is huge. They showed more class in one press conference than he has in a lifetime. They will survive, and probably thrive. They are motivated and will put this behind them because after all, who really cares about this buffoon's thoughts?

I applaud the advertisers who are boycotting. I think free speech is important and had he said it about public figures - say, millionaire pro ball players - it might have been a bit tasteless but still his right. But a team of teenage basketball players? Who'd just narrowly missed winning a big championship? Obviously he is missing the decency gene.

That's why to me, the race card is not as important as that target. It's a valid argument that rap music spews the same virtriol. But this was personal, this was directed at an innocent few, and is therefore far different than free speech and racism, which can use a lot of discussion about boundaries.

As a parent, I'm angry. As a human being I'm appalled. This isn't about being a shock jock, testing boundaries, it's about being a dirty old man.