Ron Pauliac: Do you have contacts for these gate manufacturers? I would like to be considered for a position as a Left Gate Keeper. Does it pay well? Are there benefits? Can you disclose this information here, or is it only available in special Masonic code?

When Ford appointed Ed Levi to clean out the Augean Stables left behind in the Justice Department in the wake of Watergate, he had no real choice. Nixon's last AG, William Saxbe, had been confirmed only because he was a sitting Senator, and the Democrats in control of Congress were not going to confirm anyone whose integrity was open to the slightest question (people in Congress had real backbones in those days). Ed Levi was exactly as advertised and, as another poster has noted, he was directly responsible for John Paul Stevens' nomination to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Douglas.

But therein lies the seeds of why this President will not nominate anyone like Edward Levi. Watching all this with disgust were the young men who sincerely did not believe in the rule of law over the rule of the President, including one Richard B. Cheney. And as long as the Evil One is in office, there will be no Attorney General with the slightest honor or independence. After Ashcroft, who wouldn't fake not being ill to approve their attempted coup in his hospital room, they brought in Gonzales, the man who tried to effect the coup.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next confirmed Attorney General gets his job in January 2009.

Others believe that if no heads had been broken on the bridge in Selma, no Voting Rights Act would have been passed.

I'm not making any argument whatsoever about whether street demonstrations were effective during other times, for other issues, in other places. There is no denying that they were.

That a tactic worked in the past does not mean it would work now.

From my point of view, there has to be a way to get there from here, and the work you do contributes but can never do it alone. Which is your more cherished belief, that change comes slowly with work within the system or that people who believe in change not lose hope?

Both are equally important.

When people who find your blog inspirational wish that you'd point to more than letter writing, it comes from a nagging feeling that the letter writing isn't working, that we're only taking two steps forward for every three we see taken back, and that more needs to be done.

But I don't point to letter writing. I rarely point to such things at all. It just isn't what I do. Anyone who is motivated to take action as a result of reading anything I write or as a result of anything I do can find all sorts of venues that provide that. There are all kinds of places online alone that organize protests, campaigns of every sort. I'm not arguing that anyone should refrain from any of that.

The feeling that there must be some lawyerly trick or precedent or maneuver or little clause in the Constitution that makes it imperative that representatives heed the will of the people. I know it might not be there, but when I'm frustrated, I'm not beyond demanding that you tell us what it is. Or at least bless us while we go to get our heads cracked.

I think you put your finger on it exactly here. I know a lot of this comes from frustration -- "We want more to be happen - not enough is happening." I know that because I share that frustration. Things aren't happening fast enough. It is infuriating to watch things move at a glacial pace, when they move forward at all. But that doesn't mean that there are better options, or that more cathartic options would work better. Perhaps they would achieve nothing or would backfire. Hundreds of thousands of people protested the invasion of Iraq before it began, but with the media how it is and the political culture being what it was, how much of an effect did that have?

People's minds have to be changed - the way they think has to be different - and that, in turn, requires a much different way for how our political issues are talked about. Whatever achieves that is valuable.

Now that [you Glenn are] making all that moolah, how about loaning me a couple hundred thou so Mona and I can run off to some nice tropical island and live in peace and harmony.

Luv ya hon, but I just received same from Russelle Crowe -- a daily reader of my blog and ardent fan -- and, well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. We will be spending all of our time discussing drug policy reform, fiscal issues and the Middle East situation, and then drafting a white paper. But after that month (October), I am available to you if Glenn still wants to foot the bill, with all this lucre the two major parties are sending his oh-so-corrupt way.

Get rid of the SUV and buy something that gets over 20 miles per gallon.

My SUV does get over 20 mpg (it's a hybrid). And I actually use it to put kayaks, skis, or bikes on, so it's not just trips to the grocery store....

Just wish that Toyota (or someone) would get their rear in gear, so to speak, and start selling pluggable hybrids.

I did try and talk my sweetie into getting the Tesla electric car. No dice though....

Cheers,

http://harpers.org/subjects/NoComment

Scott Horton will discuss the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the selection of Paul Clement as Interim Attorney General and the potential nomination of Michael Chertoff, currently Secretary of Homeland Security, to serve as Attorney General—all in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! on Tuesday, August 28.

Check here:
http://democracynow.org/stations.shtml
for the closest DemocracyNow! Affiliate and broadcast times. (The show will also be available for download as an MP3 after broadcast.)

- - Scott Horton