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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
...not one mention, of Comey's testimony on the "morning shows" so far....19 minutes in. But I've seen the "quip" Huckabee got in about John Edwards and the beauty shop on all three networks. It seems funny coming from a proven liar like Andrea Mitchell. I think we in the blogosphere need to make an effort to find out just how much money these talking heads spend on their appearance and spread it around as judiciously as possible.
And I'll always be here to remind you.
Hi Glenn, my oh so quotable friend. Love this one:
"As always, the contempt which the Bush administration has for the rule of law is illustrated not only by their serial and conscious lawbreaking, but also by their extreme efforts to conceal those actions and shield them from any scrutiny or oversight of any kind."
Hmmm, "serial and conscious lawbreaking".
Sounds impeachable, eh?
Take care, Jan
"Umm...Scooter Libby, that's who. Duke Cunningham, that's who. Bob Ney, that's who. Jack Abramoff, that's who. Want more? How about Tom DeLay, John Doolittle, Rick Renzi, Conrad Burns, Rick Santorum, Monica Goodling, Paul McNulty, Donald Rumsfeld, etc.--each of whom has either faced legal investigation, indictment and/or a loss of reputation, power and position, as a result of being a part of the vast right-wing corruption conspiracy. ..."
Scooter is not yet in jail. Nor do I expect him to ever serve a day; yet I hope he will.
The others are not Bush administration officials who have been found guilty and are in sitting in jail. The troubles of all on the list are self inflicted or will be attributed to "mere politics" by the majority. "What scandals" will be the Republican cry --- "the Abramoff thing was in congress" will scream Limbaugh and the rest.
No, we have no one paying yet. I want jail time for the traitors who are destroying our freedoms via illegal spying, torture, and all the rest. (plus impeachment of course)
Are you suggesting that voters believe the GOP when it says that there were no scandals? Then why did they vote them out of office last fall--Democratic voter fraud?
You're setting the bar too high, too soon. Justice doesn't work as quickly as you seem to want it to. Never has, never will--for a reason, usually a good one, namely to allow both sides to make their best case. Libby is entitled to an appeal. Surely you won't deny him that. As for your implied Bush pardon, it may well happen. Or not, depending on Bush's ability to pardon him at the time. And are you suggesting that the loss of reputation, position and power that he suffered was not a form of punishment in itself?
I sympathize with your frustration and impatience that SO FAR, few in this administration have been held accountable for their crimes, and none properly--yet--but I will not share your apparently determined pessimism and cynicism that appears to have decided a priori that because justice hasn't yet been served, it will never be served. Or, perhaps more nuanced, because 100% justice is unlikely to ever be served, anything short of it is meaningless. Sorry, but in the real world that sort of standard is a setup for permanent defeat and resignation.
We took over both houses. Bush is a lame duck and he will never pass another piece of hard-right legislation or appoint a hard-right judge or justice. Congress and the legal system are slowly closing in on him and his administration. Some of his closest allies in congress and elsewhere have been convicted and are doing time in jail. Others will soon follow--including, I believe, members of his administration. His entire neocon and ultra-right agenda has been repudiated and shown to have been a corrupt and inept sham. There is even the chance that he and/or some of his top people will be impeached or even go to jail.
We are on the brink of a new progressive era in the US, and Bush and his ilk will be swept into the trash bin of history soon, be it via the political, legal or historical process. It might not be the sort of justice that you and the rest of us here want to see, but it's certainly going to be an improvement over what we've had these past 6 years. If that's not cause for hope and even joy for you, sorry, but you take what you can get in this world.
As anyone familiar with its history knows, this country has gone through far worse times than the Bush years, and emerged from them worse for wear but still intact, and ended up doing quite well afterwards. I believe that this is what will happen once again, however we end up dealing with these cretins. Sorry, I'm a "glass half full" sort of person--what other way is there to go through life but to choose to focus on the positive over the negative--while of course not denying or ignoring the negative? I feel sorry for anyone who sees it the other way. It's too easy--lazy in fact--and a nihilistic dead end.
There was a segment on 60 Minutes this weekend on an Iraqi teenage boy who lost nearly all of his family, both arms, and suffered major burns early in the war, and was expected to die by his doctors. Yet he not only survived, but now appears to be doing quite well, living and going to school in England. He is certainly angry, and justifiably so, but not sad or bitter. If someone who has suffered as greatly as he has can still keep a positive outlook and enjoy life, I think that this country--which has suffered vastly less than Iraqis like this boy--can do the same.
In any case, don't be so sure that they won't face justice, and certainly don't confidently predict that they won't, based on gut feeling and bitterness. Things have changed since last fall, and continue to change, in ways that none of us can really predict with any certainty. And I wouldn't rule out what to many still seems like a pipe dream. If the past 6 years have taught us anything, it's that many of the old rules of political developments just don't apply anymore.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
