My favorite line might be a somewhat uncharacteristic bit of spleen about how many Iraqis hated Kuwait, including their rich just throwing their ill gotten oil money around buying up Iraqi property and prostitutes, raising the price of both in the process. She is not usually that blunt, but her spirit shines through throughout.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--''I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.''
-- Art. II.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
-- Fourth Amendment
Gold Hat: Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges.
-- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (hat tip to Paul Krugman)
The Jets basically had a lost season, needing to rely on an inexperienced third string quarterback (in 1999, this worked better ... the problem was when he was hurt, and they had to rely on a last minute fill-in back-up QB) backed up by an injured Curtis Martin (finally ending his multi-year game streak last week), just one of many key players who were hurt. Nice follow-up from one or two more smart plays away from playing a Championship Game, hmm? But, the Jets aren't alone in their misery ... even among the former elite teams. After all, look at Green Bay. The Eagles have a few more wins, but after all, they did get to the Super Bowl last time, right?
Still, sometimes even bad teams have their days. [Houston finally protected a lead ... the "best of the worst" match-up will be in two weeks.] The Jets basically had three -- one win (not particularly pretty) for three of the five quarterbacks (three starters) used this season. They also had games where they simply played lousy or lousy enough. Yesterday was such a day -- when it counted, they played lousy. A penalty taking away a touchdown chance and then a fumbled snap resulting in no points at all. Letting the back-up QB of Miami get late points. And, then the ending. Ah. Such times is when my tendency to get a bit emotional ... livid ... watching sports (we all need our emotional releases) came out in spades.
The team was here before. The San Diego game where a comeback was stopped at the third yard line. This time it was stopped at the fifteenth. We can put aside that the team could easily have been down by one instead of four, but they did redeem themselves with a quick score before the Half. No, this one is as much on the coaches -- flashbacks to last playoffs -- as the players. About :80 left. One time out. First and five on the fifteen (maybe fourteenth) of Miami, after another Miami penalty (one on Fourth Down saved the Jets on 4th and 13). Plenty of time. So, four passing plays are called. The radio announcers after the first couple said what many fans must have ... think about getting a first down, not a touchdown. Oh, as I cried ... run the damn ball!!!! A rookie even had a great day running it except for a fumble (a risk ... but the QB did not have perfect luck passing either). Four incompletes.
My sentiment ... silly I guess ... at times like these is to wonder why these people have jobs. They clearly do not know how to do them. Who am I to say, right? Next thing I will be telling the Supreme Court how to do their job! Or, the President of the United States. Well, that is an easy call. As to these domestic search warrants without authorization issue. The matter is clear. The moron -- okay, asshole -- is talking about the need for security. The need for searches. No shit, Sherlock. The idea is that you need to get authorization other than your own. It's sort of in the Constitution. The process is pretty easy in this case ... not totally so, sure, but there is a REASON for that.* Domestic spying scandals in the 1960s and so forth. It was a dangerous time then too -- cities on fire. Sen. Clinton, where's your bill to oppose the burning of the Constitution?
But, the Constitution is trivial to some people. And, please do not say "conservatives" per se, because Bob Barr ... an anti-Clinton conservative with proper bona fides, was on television upset about the issue. Original understanding? Selective. Read the Federalist Papers ... separation of powers, security of the people ... the term, by the way Mr. President, is not open-ended. [As to the suggestion the Dems basically agreed to let him do it, see here. I bet it is one of those "should have done more" deals.]
It MEANS something. It means securing our liberties. Sure, balanced with order, but you do not want to face up to the balance. Instead, shades of the past as well, you complain about the press [First Amendment ... you know, the one with religion in it] mentioning (after a year!) the apparent criminal acts of our leaders. I too am a conservative, the old fashioned "liberal" sort. But, anything with "lib" in it ... including "liberty" ... is distasteful to some people.
[This failure to honestly address the issue makes conservative pieces like this seem naive. Orin Kerr seems to be bending over backwards to -- not quite successfully -- find the program constitutional. But, for instance, the implication that an open-ended authorization of force even arguably authorizes this sort of thing should be resisted. Liberties should not be taken away by vague implication. The failure to realize the fact makes the post ... and Kerr is no mindless fascist ... honestly dangerous. Take aware the hesistance, and liberty is so easily removed.]
It is so much easier, I know, to be upset at the Jets. After all, in the scheme of things, they mean only mean oh so much [besides, the Giants are doing pretty well]. But, you cannot escape it. The hypocrisy of it all. Randi Rhodes, the afternoon drive host of Air America, was on C-SPAN's Q&A program(Brian Lamb's replacement of Booknotes) last night. This woman, besides the fact she thinks Bush is a liar and so forth, is a conservative's dream. Air force. Took care of her niece after her sister died of cancer. Started off on radio in Texas (then going to Florida ... though her voice -- she's cute, but that voice is painful -- reveals her Brooklyn/Queens origins; my mom still has a bit of Brooklyn in her, but she speaks the Queen's English next to Randi) doing religious broadcasting. And, though she has her rants, she knows her facts. She is a self-taught (GED, a bit of college long after the fact) political junkie.
You can respect that. Go down the line. Al Franken. A bit of a jerk at times, but long time happily married father of two who is over in Iraq entertaining the truth ... an Ivy grad whose aw shucks Capraesque Middle American liberalism is from central casting -- daughter teaching in an inner city school in the Bronx (just like someone else's daughter, I kind of know). Rachel Maddow -- a lesbian, sure, but another brain with a tony degree who can still make nice with conservative Tucker Carlson while doing her homework. Mike Malloy -- father of I believe three (one he had David Letterman-like later in life, who is now a baby -- who sleeps as his mom/his wife produces their show) and former CNN newshand. His spleen is a bit much, but he lived his life as the sort of American of which many conservatives would be proud. But, they all know something seriously wrong is happening.
But, the Colts lost ... so, all is not lost. Can't allow them to get too cocky. I still remember the last 13-0 team going for perfection ... Denver, who was beaten by one of the various mediocre late '90s Giants teams ... they too had to come from behind, and it was stressful to near the end. Yes, San Diego ... the team that beat the Jets in Brooks Bollinger's first step in the road to nowhere ... did it, but at least that Jets' loss meant something. San Diego now had something to play for, and play they did. As did the Bears last night -- 9 degree weather and all. It would have helped the Giants a bit if they lost, but congrats to them all the same. Offensive touchdown. Who knew?
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* Meanwhile, I have had an interesting debate with someone who does not think confessions obtained by torture should be excluded ... it became an extended debate on the exclusionary rule (ER), which is well defended by the three dissenters (Stevens, with a fine opinion, partly so) in U.S. v. Leon --- Stevens shows that original understanding is not an enemy of latter day liberals, who can use it quite well for their purposes.
The debate had a usual problem in such situations -- the other person sort of talked past my concerns that the ER was necessary because sanctions on those who torture will not be enough. Why this reliance on a sort of McCain Amendment plus, when torture was clearly wrong even before? Some "we really mean it" rule will not work without the will to actually take it seriously --- where is this will? Likewise, there is a judicial integrity issue at stake too ... one referenced by Justice Holmes and others as well, since the rule was first formed (as applied to the feds) in the early 1900s!
I wonder, just how many know this? How many think it is just some Warren Court creation, not just a consistent application of a federal rule harkening back to the Lochner Era?