Perhaps a bit off of topic, but I do not understand why Grover Norquist or any of his cronies like Bill Kristol, Andrew Sullivan or any of the other civilian radical rightwing ideologues are given space in Salon or any other publication. American Enterprise Institute and other so-called think tanks are treated as if they deserve respect when they are nothing more than a bunch of heavily-funded pseudo lobbyists fronting for Big Business, Big Pharm, Big Oil and the wealthy 1%. These are the people who foisted off Sarah Palin on to John McCain and conned the conservative Christians into supporting their bent politics.

As much as I dislike Senator Boehner and what he stands for, he’s at least an elected official and deserves respect if nothing else than for his office. These other hooligans should be discredited completely, not quoted as if they have some kind of authority. Some of them are not even American citizens. Why should they have any voice in our politics?

I found that the article in Harper’s holds us all responsible if nothing is done to bring this gang to justice. Mr. Horton states flatly and I think truthfully that, “Pursuing the Bush Administration for crimes long known to the public may amount to a kind of hypocrisy, but it is a necessary hypocrisy. The alternative, simply doing nothing, not only ratifies torture; it ratifies the failure of the people to control the actions of government.”

As I read the article the author makes a pretty clear case that we must hold these people accountable or risk our own way of life in the long run by making us all “good Americans” except that we can’t even pretend like some post WWII Germans not to know what we know.

I see your point bizona, but truth be told if the right regains power with a filibuster proof Senate they could stack the court anyway because there is already a precedent. I believe it was set early on and was done again in the1800s. I’m sure that Bush/Cheney would have made such a move if they thought they could get away with it. However, they settled for what they got.

There may be another alternative and that is that one sitting justice might be impeachable for lying at confirmation hearings. I’m sure someone is going to be looking into that possibility.

Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong. As I understand it, the number of justices on the court is not set in stone, but is determined by the Congress. In other words the number could conceivably be increased to eleven if the Senate was filibuster proof, and these could also be appointed by President-elect Obama. In history the court has had as few as six members and has been as large as ten or eleven members. FDR tried to expand the court to fifteen. One way to pull the rug out from under the ultra right-wing would be to reconstitute a liberal court with additional judges and this is possible considering President-elect Obama’s mandate to change the direction of the nation.

Two things.

I wish that people would stop referring to Bush’s *Legacy*. He has no legacy. He is a criminal. He has a criminal record. He is a war criminal. He has betrayed the people he was supposed to support. He has bankrupted the nation and given his base the spoils.

Bush and Cheney are amazing in their relentless dash to cause more havoc even as they are packing to bugger off. There is a splendid article in the December issue of Harper’s titled "Justice After Bush.” It essentially suggests that if we don’t bring this crew to justice for what they’ve done we’re just as guilty as they are.

I don’t think Detroit carmakers are worth saving, but I think Detroit is, and so is Los Angeles and Baltimore and every other town and city in the nation. It seems to me that $25 billion would go a long way toward starting to build new infrastructure in towns and cities, not to mention public transportation, high speed rail and whatever else it takes to make our cities livable again. I say unless GM, Ford and Chrysler can fix themselves, let them fail. Soon they’ll be bringing cars from China. Giving them a handout doesn’t guarantee they’ll keep the jobs here. Building a new sewage treatment plant or opera house at home certainly does. $25 billion isn’t a lot in the scheme of things, but I hate to see it wasted when everything is looking so bleak.

What is the Republican Party? Is it think tank dons like Grover Norquist or Leonard Leo or Tony Perkins? Are they elected by someone? Why does Newt Gingrich think he has a say in what happens? Does he hold a public office? Where do Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity fit into this equation other than being overpaid entertainers who pander to the lowest common denominators in their audience?

Doesn’t the Republican Party and the conservative wing have people who are elected, who make real laws, who are supposed to do their work out in the daylight? Why do the Republicans settle for twilight schemers who meet in remote places to plot takeovers? It seems really creepy and un-American. Sort of like a fifth column. Sort of like a crew of subversives who should be put out of business. On the other hand, maybe they are out of business.

Sarah Palin is a jenny ass!

What a great change to have someone articulate, attractive and gracious up at the mic. Not to mention intelligent and with a sense of humor. It’s been a long, long time coming! Hooray, America! Yes, we did!