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Bush Blarney on John Roberts
[The next installment from the intrepid Polly Sigh, our self-help columnist, in an ongoing series to politically heal the lumpen masses, strewn across the charred electoral landscape...]
This note was passed to me as I dined with a friend at a local Irish watering hole... it embodies the kind of angst that is afflicting Americans all over this land. As always, I feel their pain.
I would also like to note that due to an extraordinary exertion of universal forces, a great discomfort seems to have beset friends far and near. Naturally, I do my best to try to ease their burdens. I love them all.
Dear Polly:
I have watched this week as President Bush has tried to pass off John Roberts as some sort of moderate nominee to the Supreme Court. And of course, the media is simply not reporting on his history at all... they just babble on, speculating on whether or not he will be confirmed. Have they completely lost sight of their role in our democracy? And Bush is being dishonest when he says that John Roberts is not an activist. I have read a great deal about his past work, and in my opinion, he is quite substantially out of the mainstream of American ideals. Particularly in the area of corporate law, he consistently protects multi-million dollar corporations over regular Americans. He is also a great supporter of unlimited expansion of presidential powers during wartime, at the expense of civil liberties. I do not think this is a good choice for someone who could be on the Supreme Court influencing major decisions for 30-40 years. Please try to get the word out.
Michael Ignatius Connelly Kennedy
Dear MICK:
I share your concerns about John Roberts as a nominee to the highest court in the land. When James Dobson of Focus on the Family came out in support of Mr. Roberts, the pretense of moderation descended into the surreal. I saw an excellent editorial today on some of the more frightening aspects of Mr. Roberts’ history, as well as the clear need for the media to bring these things to public attention.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5533958.html
But when you think about it, MICK, did you really expect a moderate nominee from George Bush? That’s like expecting Karl Rove not to kick the puppy... Mr. Bush doesn’t have to run for office again, so he doesn’t care what most of America thinks. We are approximately 8 months into George Bush’s term, and the American people are wholly irrelevant. Our irrelevance will continue for approximately another three years, and then Mr. Bush will return to Texas, and work to overcome his fear of horses. Poor thing has his very own ranch and is deadly afraid of the massive beasts. Sad, don’t you think? Of course, we’re all afraid of something, aren’t we?
Even I – Polly Sigh – healer of souls and caretaker of the politically afflicted – fear some things. For national security reasons, I cannot divulge what they are...
But, MICK, the important lesson for you to take away here is that YOU have a voice in this John Roberts matter. You can call and write your members of Congress. You can write letters to the editor of your local paper. You can share your opinion with minimum wage employees who are not union members. Or you can remain silent, become bitter, sing terrible songs, and drink cheap liquor. All of these avenues are open to you.
So share the love. Let your friends and neighbors know the truth about John Roberts’ history, and how it might affect the future of the Supreme Court. Nothing could be more important than the minds and personalities that make up the nation's highest court. Let your voice be heard, MICK, and thank you for speaking out. And remember to smile. When Irish eyes are smiling... well, it's beautiful.
Your friend,
Polly
Polly Sigh's column is published every Saturday as an ongoing feature of the DCP Blog.
Dear Polly,
pResident Bush may not care, but 2006 is coming near.
Then all the neoCONS will start looking a little more "left" leaning.
And the media will begin its propaganda anew, that there is no difference between the left and the right.
We however KNOW there's a huge difference--it's called integrity, ethics, and takin' care of the little guy.
Ask Yourself: Who have you told the truth to today?
{{{The military is hiring mercenaries from other countries and paying them less than the American mercenaries, and - obviously - recruiting kids in high school. Why don't the fundies force their kids to sign up for the military if they are so much in favor of pResNitwit's nihilistic "values" which can mean death, dismemberment, and other chaos for the kids who are in Iraq to protect and defend the oil wells he wants to control (or steal, and/or give to his cronies)...???}}}
Military Recruiters Teaching High School Classes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/073005A.shtml
In Seattle, the public schools are hostile territory for the military, as parents shoo away recruiters and are pushing to bar them entirely.
In the suburbs, though, the armed forces are welcomed for more than just visits. They're teaching some of the classes.
OT,but this is soo good!
http;//www.commondreams.org/views05/0730-28.htm
oops!!
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0730-28.htm
YES, YES, YES....!!! There really is a Santa who delivers good news in the middle of the year!!!!! CA HAS REJECTED DIEBOLD E-VOTING MACHINES.... For those of you in states who got cheated by e-voting machines, this news should go to the local newspapers and TV stations with the suggestions they do stories about it....
(IMHO).... :-) Now, if only those machines can be gotten rid of before the '06 election.... Santa, please, please, pretty please, make the '06 and '08 elections unrigged and legal and have countable paper ballots for everyone....?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/073005F.shtml
E-Voting Machines Rejected
By Ian Hoffman
Inside Bay Area
Friday 29 July 2005
State says Diebold failures in massive mock election could translate to problems at polls.
After possibly the most extensive testing ever on a voting system, California has rejected Diebold's flagship electronic voting machine because of printer jams and screen freezes, sending local elections officials scrambling for other means of voting.
"There was a failure rate of about 10 percent, and that's not good enough for the voters of California and not good enough for me," Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said.
(Click on link for full story. Too good not to read it!)
Sunnis Demonstrate in Baghdad:
1 Million Iraqis say "US Out"!
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9611.htm
I bet that doesn't make the evening news in MSM.... it doesn't fit with pResNitwit's delusion that the US is exporting democracy to the poor folks in Iraq who, for some reason that he can't fathom, never did meet our troops with cheers and hugs, throwing flower petals in the roads before the feet of the US military.....
Carter Blasts Guantanamo Detention Camp :
Former President Jimmy Carter on Saturday said the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5178313,00.html
snip: An FBI agent warned superiors in a memo three years ago that U.S. officials who discussed plans to ship terror suspects to foreign nations that practice torture could be prosecuted for conspiring to violate U.S. law, according to a copy of the memo obtained by NEWSWEEK.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8769416/site/newsweek/
sunflower...
NEWSWEEK reporting the news? Where am I? What's happened? Has the sun started rising in the west now too?
NEWSWEEK reporting the news? Where am I? What's happened? Has the sun started rising in the west now too?
Posted by: sparrow at July 31, 2005 09:17 AM
Hopefully after getting burned by the administration after the Gitmo story they have some more of a backbone. But, I am not counting on it.
Dearest Polly Of Open Policy.
It is amazing that W did sidestep the correct thing to do. But what is more amazing is that it seems that some of your readers still think that journalism is a news teller. They make the news. They've done this for years.
Love your column. Keep it up. I am.
Truly, Hammy