I've been avoiding writing about this. It is just too... Just too much, I guess. How many months did it take for Congress to pass any legislation following the 9/11 report? One of the major delays was their long recess/vacation that occured a couple weeks after the report was released. (Forgive any timeline errors on my behalf, it is early and I haven't got the research muscles warmed up yet.)
But the conservatives are willing to hold a nearly unheard of special session to trample state and individual rights to keep a woman in Florida alive, in a vegetative state, because they love life, passing an emergency law in the middle of the night alowing the supposedly more conservative federal courts to review the case.
And the result, the courts continue to side with the Florida courts and with her husband, who wants the travesty to end and for his lost wife to finally rest in peace.
Now, it may be on to the Supreme Court. At least the courts appear to be showing some solidarity on this issue. Perhaps, beyond the legal issues, they are a little annoyed by the breakdown of the seperation of powers in this case.
When my two year old acts like this Congress, I give him a short time out. When my kindergartener acts like this, he gets sent to his room. These are the same life lovers who have no problem with torture in Iraq or electrocuting retarted minors in Texas.
But at least we can rest assured that politics did not play a factor. DeLay was on my television a minute ago saying that he would immediately fire any one on his staff if the memo talking about this issue being a political coup for the Republicans was traced back to his office.
Would he fire them for writing the memo, or would he fire them for letting the memo leak? Your guess is as good as mine.
I am making little sense here, but this issue is so perverted and the actions of the Republicans so creepy that I can do little but sit here, sputtering and choking on my bile.
At least there are some decent conservatives and moderate Republicans who find this whole issue distasteful as well. Steve Gilliard explains this train wreck much better than I can.
UPDATE:
As I said earlier, I've been avoiding this issue, but seeing the results rolling in from the federal courts on this case, I was inspired to sputter and drool about the issue. My bile rose.
After writing this, I took a long neglected blog tour this morning and learned about Hudson and Nikolouzos in Texas. While the Republicans fight to save Schiavo's life, Texas has a law where "people will have their plugs pulled not because their families want them to die sooner but because their health-care providers don't want to run up a bill for unpaid care."
This seems to be just fine and dandy to the maggots howling about murdering Schiavo.
Read:
Schiavo, Hudson, and Nikolouzos
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Bush using bigger words
It’s a lazy morning, half way through my Spring Break time with my boys. After beating myself worthless on the rock of last quarter, I am slowly returning to life. Slowly. I’ve been trying to sleep in, but the boys keep getting up at their normal time. This is fine, but I have a feeling the Kindergartener will not be getting up on his own at 6 AM as soon as school starts up again. Usually at that time in the morning, I have to carry him out of his bedroom.
Anyway, I haven’t been getting my wake up hour in the morning to organize my thoughts or to do any writing. This week, I’d rather sleep. But I do want to make at least one entry this week. So, with a jumbled brain and many (fun) distractions, it has taken me about a half an hour to write these few sentences.
So, today I am just going to throw down a couple of random, ill thought out notes:
Fun with the Bush Administration. How come I have a feeling that when they are discussing tort reform they are not discussing the suit filed against me over one of my son’s medical bills? They are discussing this issue in Congress. They are making it harder for people like me to file for bankruptcy. Most bankruptcies result either from divorce, family illness or job loss. I’ve got something in common with Bush. “Little did I realize we’d get the trifecta.”
Fun with Bush. I have been too scattered this morning to read the article, but supposedly second term Bush is dropping the “ah, shucks, I just be a guy… A regular… Someone just like you who are misunderestimated often, and don’t ‘y’all hate it when people talk down to you, so vote for me” shtick. I am not surprised.
Though I do not believe that Bush is necessarily bright enough for the job, I’ve never quite seen him as being the drooling village idiot (Ok, sometimes for my own amusement, but not in reality). I believe his intellectual issues stem more from his rigidness, his over dependence on his close advisers and his reluctance to seek or consider information or counsel from beyond these tight spheres. Even though this Administration, beyond its last election, is conducting a permanent campaign on behalf of their issues, there are some areas where they are now free to change their image without repercussions from their constituents.
One area where he can help his image is by appearing more intelligent. This will help him politically around the world and with those of us at home who have worried about his intellectual capacity in the past. There is also probably some consideration of his historical legacy at work here. They are probably looking for better quotes for the walls of the library than "Bring 'em on."
This can backfire. People who dislike Bush are not likely to change their opinions because he suddenly seems less oafish, and he could lose some of his support from people who think that he has turned into just another Washington politician, disconnected from the people.
Then again, who knows?
UPDATE:
Okay, I read the article. Same conclusions as mine, pretty much. Guess my brain isn't too addled by the break.
Anyway, I haven’t been getting my wake up hour in the morning to organize my thoughts or to do any writing. This week, I’d rather sleep. But I do want to make at least one entry this week. So, with a jumbled brain and many (fun) distractions, it has taken me about a half an hour to write these few sentences.
So, today I am just going to throw down a couple of random, ill thought out notes:
Fun with the Bush Administration. How come I have a feeling that when they are discussing tort reform they are not discussing the suit filed against me over one of my son’s medical bills? They are discussing this issue in Congress. They are making it harder for people like me to file for bankruptcy. Most bankruptcies result either from divorce, family illness or job loss. I’ve got something in common with Bush. “Little did I realize we’d get the trifecta.”
Fun with Bush. I have been too scattered this morning to read the article, but supposedly second term Bush is dropping the “ah, shucks, I just be a guy… A regular… Someone just like you who are misunderestimated often, and don’t ‘y’all hate it when people talk down to you, so vote for me” shtick. I am not surprised.
Though I do not believe that Bush is necessarily bright enough for the job, I’ve never quite seen him as being the drooling village idiot (Ok, sometimes for my own amusement, but not in reality). I believe his intellectual issues stem more from his rigidness, his over dependence on his close advisers and his reluctance to seek or consider information or counsel from beyond these tight spheres. Even though this Administration, beyond its last election, is conducting a permanent campaign on behalf of their issues, there are some areas where they are now free to change their image without repercussions from their constituents.
One area where he can help his image is by appearing more intelligent. This will help him politically around the world and with those of us at home who have worried about his intellectual capacity in the past. There is also probably some consideration of his historical legacy at work here. They are probably looking for better quotes for the walls of the library than "Bring 'em on."
This can backfire. People who dislike Bush are not likely to change their opinions because he suddenly seems less oafish, and he could lose some of his support from people who think that he has turned into just another Washington politician, disconnected from the people.
Then again, who knows?
UPDATE:
Okay, I read the article. Same conclusions as mine, pretty much. Guess my brain isn't too addled by the break.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
The first and last musical?
I turn my head. I do not take the early rounds seriously enough. I have obligations that keep me away from the television, but I console myself knowing that I will start watching the games in the regional semifinals… And, for the second year in a row, I have missed my opportunity to see Gonzaga play in the tournament. Somehow losing to a Bob Knight coached team does not feel as bad as the loss last year to Nevada felt, or it feels worse. I am not sure yet.
Maybe the Bulldogs are catching up on the karma they spent in their NCAA appearances several years ago. Then they were low ranking early round fodder who made it deep into the tournament two years in a row. Maybe they are just being made hungry enough to make it to the Final Four in the next year or two. In any case, the school is being taught humility. I always worry that sudden organization success like the ‘Zags have experienced leaves the team taking their success for granted, and making it dificult for them to push through to the end.
It’s always a bit strange to me, but I feel more affinity for Gonzaga in Spokane than I do with the University of Washington Huskies in Seattle. Even though I only spent two and a half quarters at Seattle University, it will always be my school in my heart and it was a Jesuit school, just like Gonzaga. Though we really didn’t think of ourselves as sister schools or anything like that, I still feel something of a connection when Gonzaga plays. Probably because Seattle University’s basketball program was something of an afterthought in the general scheme of the school.
So, I suppose I can get behind the Huskies if they continue deep into the tournament, they are from my hometown after all, but my team is out. Too early, too early…
Anyway, this is a double post for both the Rubble and the Democracy blogs. Mostly just an update on my recent silence. Came out of the six weeks of illness and injury to dive into the two weeks of frantically getting caught up in my schoolwork. I think I did well. If anything, I may have overcompensated and babbled on for too long in my history and lit essays, but we’ll see. I feel that I did my best, though, so that is what counts. I am confident that I would have pulled a four point if it was not the quarter of constant illness and injury, but I will be happy with whatever grades I receive this quarter.
The world still moves on. My son’s school musical was last week, and they put on a show much more impressive that anything I can remember from my elementary school days. My aunt was there, who is a recently retired elementary school teacher herself, and she was very impressed with the scale of the show.
This week we received a letter essentially asking us to vote on which school program to eliminate next year. Music, PE, or the Librarian.
Can we have a tax revolt where we force them to take more of our money? Or at least to spend more of the money they take on schools? Coupled with this, it was either Intel or Nike, the Tweedle Dee and Dum of the local economy, who was whining about needing more tax breaks last week, too.
I tell them what. If they donate money to my son’s music program, I will lobby for their tax cuts.
Maggots.
That is enough for now.
Maybe the Bulldogs are catching up on the karma they spent in their NCAA appearances several years ago. Then they were low ranking early round fodder who made it deep into the tournament two years in a row. Maybe they are just being made hungry enough to make it to the Final Four in the next year or two. In any case, the school is being taught humility. I always worry that sudden organization success like the ‘Zags have experienced leaves the team taking their success for granted, and making it dificult for them to push through to the end.
It’s always a bit strange to me, but I feel more affinity for Gonzaga in Spokane than I do with the University of Washington Huskies in Seattle. Even though I only spent two and a half quarters at Seattle University, it will always be my school in my heart and it was a Jesuit school, just like Gonzaga. Though we really didn’t think of ourselves as sister schools or anything like that, I still feel something of a connection when Gonzaga plays. Probably because Seattle University’s basketball program was something of an afterthought in the general scheme of the school.
So, I suppose I can get behind the Huskies if they continue deep into the tournament, they are from my hometown after all, but my team is out. Too early, too early…
Anyway, this is a double post for both the Rubble and the Democracy blogs. Mostly just an update on my recent silence. Came out of the six weeks of illness and injury to dive into the two weeks of frantically getting caught up in my schoolwork. I think I did well. If anything, I may have overcompensated and babbled on for too long in my history and lit essays, but we’ll see. I feel that I did my best, though, so that is what counts. I am confident that I would have pulled a four point if it was not the quarter of constant illness and injury, but I will be happy with whatever grades I receive this quarter.
The world still moves on. My son’s school musical was last week, and they put on a show much more impressive that anything I can remember from my elementary school days. My aunt was there, who is a recently retired elementary school teacher herself, and she was very impressed with the scale of the show.
This week we received a letter essentially asking us to vote on which school program to eliminate next year. Music, PE, or the Librarian.
Can we have a tax revolt where we force them to take more of our money? Or at least to spend more of the money they take on schools? Coupled with this, it was either Intel or Nike, the Tweedle Dee and Dum of the local economy, who was whining about needing more tax breaks last week, too.
I tell them what. If they donate money to my son’s music program, I will lobby for their tax cuts.
Maggots.
That is enough for now.
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