Letters to the Editor
Chaostician
Published Letters: 56 Editor's Choice: 17
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Impeachment Pipe Dreams
[Read the article: Bush's impeachable offense]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Impeachment? I think not! And the question of "which party controls the congress" or "which laws the president broke" is completely irrelevant. The laws governing impeachment are just that- laws. Bush has demonstrated repeatedly that he is above the laws of man. Treaties, international conventions, Code of Federal Regulations, the Constitution- these things don't apply to Bush.
Bush was Appointed by God to defend his country against terrorists and scientists. Therefore, he will only step down if physically removed from office by a direct Act of God. A plauge of locusts descending on D.C. won't count because that could interpreted as God's anger at those who would dare thwart Bush's/God's will. And Hurricane Katrina was obviously sent by God to punish the poor people- Bush won't accept that it may somehow have been directed at him. (And if it was, God was way off target.) No- to remove Bush from 1600 Penn would require at a minimum a tornado, or more likely a giant monster attack directly on the White House lawn. That's right- I'm saying nothing short of Godzilla himself will remove this smirking autocrat from power. An earthquake might do it too, but the epicenter would have to be located within 100 yards of the Oval Office to be taken seriously as evidence of God's displeasure.
And since God is reportedly a right-wing evangelical republican, I'm afraid we can't count on divine intervention.
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Joy, Sorrow, and the Spotlight
[Read the article: Abramoff won't go down alone]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am joyful that Abramoff is getting pinned to the wall like a butterfly specimen, and that it is likely that there will be a gaggle of corrupt politicians pinned up there with him. I don't really care if they are Republicans or Democrats- if it is revealed that any member of congress took bribes and favors for quid pro quo alterations of governmental policy, it is only right that they all boil in the same big ol' vat of justice. (Yeah, I mix metaphors. I have constitutional authority to do so in times of national crisis.) If our representatives and senators were selling out their constituents for golf outings and free dinners, they deserve much worse punishment that the law will allow.
It may be true that the vast majority of Abramoff's recipients were GOP. But if 1/3 or 1/2 or 3/4 were democrats, it doesn't matter- they should all be prosecuted equally regardless of political affiliation. Corrupt politicians are corrupt politicians. If we democrats refuse to open our eyes to potential democratic misdeeds, we are no better than the Grand Old Patriarchs who refuse to consider the "impeachment" word regardless of evidence of presidential crimes.
Like Jack-be-nimble Abramoff, I'm sorrowful. I'm sad to the end of my days that it took a scandal of this magnitude to shed some light on the day to day dealings of our "elected" representatives. Those who justify their actions as "business as usual" are aboslutely correct- the Washington machine is lubricated with dollars. We all know this. It is not news that politicians are taking bribes and doing favors for their political contributors. It has been going on essentially since the foundation of our "representative democracy." But now that Jack is coming clean and naming names, we can all pretend like this is a shocking new development. Oh my! Oh golly! And the nightly news will cover it for a while, and a couple senators (or more likely their aides and assistants) might get tossed under the Abramoff bus. And then the media's attention will drift off to killer bees, or bird flu, or terrorists threats, or celebrity gossip/worship, and nothing but nothing will change in the halls of power.
And, oh, what's that odor? Sort of a lingering funk, hanging in the air like stale flatulence? Could it be? Yes, it is! I think I smell a presidential pardon!
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Recess: Bush's Favorite Subject
[Read the article: A disastrous appointment]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm done being shocked and amazed at the lengths this administration will go to subvert constitutional checks and balances, and to overreach its legitimate authority. Saddened, yes, that the founding principles of our nation are so easily disregarded, but no, not shocked anymore. GWB claims that he doesn't want to be a dictator, but his unflagging disrespect for the institutions and procedures of government show otherwise. This man is a president in name only. His actions are those of a absolute monarch or dictator. I would not be shocked or surprised to find Bush organizing his own secret police force, answerable only to the president and god- you could even call them the Republican Guard.
Recess appointments were intended to be used in emergency situations where we absolutely could not wait to fill a cabinet position or other post. Bush, in yet another bid to expand his imperial presidential powers, has once again made an end-run around congress- not because there were 12+ simultaneous emergency vacancies, but because putting his cronies through the actual confirmation process would be potentially embarrassing or difficult. It started with federal judges that he knew would be blocked by congress due to extreme right-wingnut ideologies. Then there was John Bolton- a man who could not be less qualified for a position that requires tact and diplomacy. Now, we are supposed to believe that more than 12 positions could not wait to be filled for the three or so weeks until congress is back in full session. Yeah, right. It is just one more instance of Bush abusing and misusing his power. And as long as there is a docile GOP controlled congress standing in the way of justice, we can only expect more of the same.
What surprises me in all this is that one name was conspicuously absent from the list- Sam Alito. Perhaps even Bush knew he might not get away with that one.