July 2003

Republicans At Their Worst

7/23/2003:   Well, July almost slipped away without me making any comments. Not that there wasn't anything to talk about and not that I didn't have something to say, I just didn't have the time to sit and type up my views.

And then Darrell Issa, got together the requisite votes to force a recall election of Gray Davis, governor of California.

What a jerk.

Ok, so Issa thinks Davis could have a done a better job of handling the energy crisis that California went through when the contracts that California signed with various energy companies were up and California got horrificly gouged. That of course completely ignores the fact that several of those same electric companies have been found guilty of gouging and collusion and now have to pay back millions of dollars.

I suppose Issa would find the car owner guilty when a car is stolen? Yeah, that makes sense.

How does Issa reconcile his claims that Gray costs California money when Issa's recall will in fact cost the state $35 million?

I commend Paul Kiesel for trying to stop the recall with a restraining order questioning the legality of the signatures on the petition, but this was doomed to happen. Issa wants to strike while the iron is hot, while people still remember rolling blackouts and while Bush is still looking like a butt-kicker (nevermind that he lied about the WMDs). But Issa has failed to understand that California, after the raping it took at former governor Pete Wilson's hands, is solidly Democratic and will be for some time. I agree completely with Davis when he says that putting Republicans in office will slam the state in reverse.

Not that it's making much progress right now. With Bush jacking up the economy by giving the rich disproportionately large tax breaks while driving the nation into staggering debt waging wars both necessary and unnecessary, the trickle down effect has left states with no money. The Fed is taking States' money. State governments are turning to county governments for money. And the job market, as a result, is reeling. Thanks Georgie.

Of course, Issa will attempt to blame the state's employment woes on Davis. Heck, he'll probably blame athlete's foot and the socks that go missing the wash on Davis, too.

Just do yourself a favor, California. Don't be fooled.

WMDs: The New Waldo

7/23/2003:   Yawn.....

So... Anyone seen those pesky WMDs? No? Yeah, I kinda didn't think so.

Ok, so some moron in California wrote a letter to a local paper, and I decided to write in as well in response. From her blind, drooling support of Bush, I'd guess she aspires to rise to the level of White House Aide. And I'll bet she's already got a blue dress fitted and hemmed and ready to go... Also, she took issue with the NAACP chastising Bush for not attending a meeting he was invited to, scheduled for, and expected to attend. She wondered why they couldn't give him credit for his work in Africa. I found that statement staggering.

Anyway, here was my response, with the woman's name edited out.

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Mrs. G's politics and racial views are showing. The title of her letter is, "Congress, not Bush, authorized Iraq war," but she rambles across several topics. The space in this column is limited, so I'll stick with the salient points.

The American public and Congress were provided information by the President's cabinet under his authorization. The most frightening shadow cast by that report was of a possible secret nuclear program, a program advanced enough that Saddam Hussein either possessed the ultimate weapon or would very shortly. It was the kind of allegation that permits no hesitation, and Congress would have been remiss - no, criminally negligent - if they had failed to pass any resolution that would remove that threat.

High ranking members of the CIA identified the information as bogus prior to the address. When their protests then and later were ignored, they resigned in disgust. Why didn't the Bush administration perform a sanity check on the other "intelligence." Was it because they knew that they were stacking the deck? Obviously. An investigate is required.

Also, the NAACP is not an African organization, it's an American one. If Mr. Bush ignored a women voter's organization, I'm sure Mrs. G would be offended.

And one last note. Hans Blix was paid a quarter million dollars as the lead inspector of the team to find WMDs. If the U.S.'s failed efforts to find such weapons after invasively and intensely scouring the country for 3 months are any evidence, Mr. Blix earned every penny.

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I actually had a lot more to say, but the column only allowed 250 words. It's a real podunk paper, suited to a small town. But I'm surprised to see the letter to which I responded printed as a feature letter. Obviously someone at the Bulletin respects Mrs. G's opinion. Scarey.

I find it embarrassing, as an American, to watch our President blame the CIA for his screw-up. If the information was suspect, and there CIA officers screaming loud and long that the "information" Bush was using to further his agenda was false, then he had a moral and ethical duty to stop and have the veracity of all the "intelligence" he was working from double checked before proceeding. But he was far too interested in using any excuse to one-up his Daddy. Anyway, here was my response, with the woman's name edited out.

Well, war isn't a damn game of football. It is not an opportunity to complete the pass for the championship winning touchdown that your old man missed. It's about killing people. And by God, why wouldn't you want to make sure you've got your facts straight before killing thousands of people?!

If you want to recall someone, then recall Bush!