Spring Break Catch-up
I was away on a very refreshing vacation for a few days, which means I didn’t watch the evening news (or my regular favorite, Keith Olbermann, or my regular un-favorite, Bill O’Reilly) for about five days in a row. Here’s what I found on my return, when I checked in on the TV sound bites:
1) It’s impossible not to feel sorry for George W. Bush at this point, despite the incredible damage he has done to our country’s security, our country’s budget and our planet’s progress towards international understanding. It’s a telling fact that he has failed to follow the longstanding Presidential tradition of opening the baseball season by throwing out the first ball at a chosen stadium. The reason is obvious: there is no stadium of baseball fans in America, not even in Texas, that wouldn’t boo him off the pitcher’s mound.
But the President did address a captive audience of soldiers at California’s Fort Irwin yesterday, and the tapes show a tired, confused man straining to infuse his own words with conviction. Please watch his body language the next time you catch this politician on TV, and I think you will notice the same thing I’m seeing: Bush barely seems to believe his own words about Iraq anymore. My guess is that there are massive internal divisions plaguing the Bush/Cheney team at this point, and I wonder if the President might be smart enough to start realizing (a few years too late) how badly he has been duped by his closest advisers. The front man is starting to falter, and when I say “front man” I’m not talking about Tony Snow.
2) I’m pretty disgusted at all the talk about Democratic 2008 Presidential candidate fundraising. As I’ve said before, I really don’t give a fuck who’s raised $26 million and who’s raised $25 million. I’ve got one dollar and one vote to offer to any candidate who promises to manage our country’s future responsibly and intelligently, and all this talk of tying up the nomination with big-money bonanzas just makes me feel like we don’t live in a democracy at all
I’m also disgusted at the thought that three senators — Obama, Clinton and Edwards — are spending so much time campaigning for 2008 when there is so much important work the Senate needs to do now. My mind is not yet made up who I will support in this race, but my big one dollar and one vote just might go to the one politician of the three who convinces me that they are working hard NOW to help our country by their actions in the Capitol. Let’s live in the moment, candidates, okay? This type of electoral shenanigans is more palatable in peacetime — in time of war, it’s really very offensive.
3) I’m also sick of our nation’s romantic notions of a savior celebrity President. Most democracies on this planet are led not by their Presidents but by their Prime Ministers, who correspond most closely to our Speaker of the House. As far as I can tell, the most important elected official in the United States government right now is Nancy Pelosi, and I am very impressed by her focus, her cool unflappability and her resolve to forge her own path towards solving our problems. Why the hell shouldn’t I support Nancy Pelosi for President? She’s working hard to run our country, while the rest of these celebrities are working hard to look good on TV. Screw that nonsense — we’ve got problems to solve.
There’s my Spring Break catch-up. Go, Nancy, go!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:07 am
You have to realize the various parts of government, and your role. The president is virtually unchecked like a dictator; unless Congress, the people, or the media, see fit to put the brakes on. Congress, the media, and the people did not do so for four years. This was due to party politics and knee-jerk nationalism resulting from a phony war effort.
Journalists need to keep public opinion focused on the truth. If Building 7 imploded on itself from aftershock, I wanna know. If a jet can bring down the WTC, I need to know. If not, then what?
McCain says Baghdad markets are safe; journalists there say he’s lying out his ass. Right wing talk says Pelosi is a dupe. Tom Lantos says there were key Republican Congressmen who went with Pelosi to talk to Syria. Giuliani is heralded for his efforts after 9/11. But he’s never explained why people were told to stay inside the twin towers instead of evacuating. Duh…the building’s on fire.
April 13th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
The big idea would be to amend our Constitution.
1. Public financing of all campaigns. Every candidate would be equal. No personal funds allowed. No fund-raising allowed.
2. Illegal to aid a candidate in any way. No volunteers or billion dollar ads “paid for by friends of…or citizens to elect.” No celebrity, union, or newspaper endorsements. Candidates would speak for themselves with no outside help.
3. No standing committees in Congress. Ranking members run virtually unopposed because of the wasteful pork they bribe voters with. Every congressman/senator would have an equal voice on legislation and oversight.
4. No lobbying of congress or the White House. Illegal to contact any member of government (in private) on behalf of an organization or group. If an organization/group needs to address congress about pending legislation, they should do so in public, televised, before the entire assemblage.
5. Illegal for members of government to attend a meeting of an organization or group. They can speak to all of us, not just the American Legion or the NRA or the Teamsters.
6. Mandatory suffrage. No drivers’ license, tax refund, social security check, etc., without proof of voting (could be waived for invalids, of course).
7. A national holiday for voting; late September when the weather’s still amenable. A thirty-day time frame for elected officials to take office. It’s stupid, wasteful to wait ‘til late January.
8. Internet voting (schematicized by Levi Asher) with secure unalterable pin, password, SSN, etc. Allow public opinion to be voiced on matters of national urgency - true democracy.
9. Media oversight by PBS. Fact-check the ‘opinions’ of Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and others who propagandize public opinion into a frenzied mob.
April 25th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Go, Nancy, Go!
Oh, and while you’re “Go”ing, you might make some room on your schedule to speak with General Petraeus:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3075560
I hear he might have some information that might be important.