Bush's Occupation [Rachel Maddow calls it a war ... dubious RM] is b.s., but hey, nothing we can do to stop it until 2009. Such is the accepted wisdom, the difference is some are just a bit sadder and resigned to the fact. Oh, btw, no need to impeach Bush ... putting aside all the rest, he's powerless you see. [Expletive deleted.] So, let's just talk some, at times pretending to be ready to doing something (e.g., subpoenas), but not really (when ignored, do nothing, etc.). Pathetic. The fact that I have to read editorial comment in my newspaper ... I really should just skip to the Pearls to Swine comics ... about how we should give the asshole in chief some time, to "trust" him etc. is tres sad. The NY Daily News op-ed department has truly gone to the dogs. Other parts pretty good though.
In the 1990s, I overall felt content about things, though realized various problems. These days, the utter poisonous nature of even the "good guys" is utterly depressing at times. Take impeachment. Pragmatically, I can accept that it is problematic. But, taken too far it is a poisonous matter. Hey, says one, it's better this way. Republicans are suffering. etc. It's all partisan, after all, huh? After all, Bush is powerless, and letting people off the hook (I study history ... this "leave him to history" business doesn't really work for me) is okay, since the next batch will be better. Did I say that I don't want ... DON'T WANT ... Clinton to be the nominees? But, says progressive talk show host Thom Hartman, it in effect doesn't matter who the nominee is. This is b.s. Thom. It does matter. The fact they are better than the crappy field of Republicans doesn't change that.
It appears Obama/Edwards split the anti-Clinton vote in various polls. Blogs have noted the AP have provided a misleading take on Obama's apparent defeatist take on change of Bush's policy. The honest person notes said policy is enabled by Democrats, though politically, it is deemed bad pool to say as much. This includes among bloggers and such ... denying it or focusing on the worse offenders do not make it less so. Anyway, a problem here is not controlling the message properly. Thus, Dems say the "surge is sorta working kinda" but ... you are hiding the lede there. It's stupid. And, you cannot just blame the media for not joining the politicians' framing, being careful to highlight and put front and center what the Dems themselves are supposed to. Is this really just "journalistic malpractice?"
[I use "just" advisedly. But, the same blogs who speak of such things also becry the Dems not framing things right, being defeatist, not doing enough, etc. Simply put, enabling the criticized media frame. Given we are supposed to know nuance, the presence of both problems shouldn't be TOO confusing, but sometimes it seems it is for some people.]
The broader remarks, wah wah MSM wah wah, simply do not take Obama off the hook. We still have this core: "it doesn't look like were going to get that many votes, but I think it's important for everybody here to put pressure on Republican congressmen and Senators." As with his "cutting funds for the troops line," the frame here is 67 votes. He doesn't think we are going to get it, but hey, put pressure on them. Sure. I will speak my piece, sounding quite rational [and verbose] and all, but deep down will sadly feel that it's just a valid effort. I won't focus on what MUST be done. Or, that Congress needs to affirmatively give the President funds and other things to allow things to go on. He wants to be "honest" ... front and center. Defeatist. Hopeful though. Audaciously so, right? Snark.
Oh, what the President is doing is totally wrong. Sure. Nice words. But, whatcha going do about it? Make symbolic votes like the May funding negative, done after there was a majority? Take Sen. Dodd, who we dealt with in the past after a nice sounding Glenn Greenwald interview. His dad was involved at Nuremberg [Dodd's promoting a book growing out of letters of his experiences ... having read a book with a first person view of things of N., that does sound promising] ... Dodd's a big believer in civil liberties and limits on presidential power. The stripping of habeas corpus was outrageous. You know, if he had his druthers and all ... It's like when Rachel Maddow asked him about Lieberman today. Friend of his, sadly wrong on one issue. Guy is a major enabler of the Republican Party and President. Unfortunate, you know?
Simply can't take the guy seriously. Another Arlen Specter sort ... speaks a good game, but doesn't really risk anything when it is put up or shut up time. If you can't do anything, which I deny but apparently is the conventional wisdom (making presidential season more tired so very early as it is ... doesn't help that there is basically nothing locally to care about), at least have some consistent strum und drang, right? Instead, there appears to be a desire to be reasonable about it all, hoping that Republicans will slowly see the sanity of changing the course.
This has already took over six months of precious time, which translates into hundreds of Americans dead (is it possible that two of them are among the seven of the famous NYC editorial? is probability not fair now?), thousands injured mentally and physically, and loads of Iraqis dead ... including people recently praised by the the asshole? To what effect? The temptation to truly look like losers?
We now have media sources ... they should be ridiculed across the board ... with ledes that Bush will bring some home ... IOW, those scheduled to be home anyway, leading to a likely result that more will be there than were before the Surge (moronic name). We still are supposed to take him seriously. The insanity continues.
[I was re-reading a little book about veganism by Victoria Moran, suggesting that it is not about eating certain things, but about an overall "compassionate ethic." I'm not there yet, but this is true for any number of movements ... who is really a pure Christian, etc.? Anyway, it does suggest the depth that is needed here. An overall change of heart and mind, an everlasting pursuit. The long haul. Just seems we are too often digging a hole with a spoon, that's all. Oh well.]