The Importance of Being Earnest
Or to steal a line.
The President of the United States has gone so far as to advise Congress what legislation is out of bounds for consideration re: Iraq as to meet automatic veto should it be promulgated. This does not seem like an adequate support of Congress' duty to vette engagements in foreign conflict and define - as opposed to administer - ongoing policy.
Despite bad weather conditions hampering the physical ability to assemble for the fourth year of an illegal invasion promoted with deception equivalent to shouting "Fire !" in a crowded theater, Americans clearly are dissatisfied with their perceptions of the Administration's direction, candor, competence and discretion.
That would be before recognition of what a colossal "haul" Halliburton and friends have made from extra-budgetary and/or improperly administered contracts - coupled with tax exemptions for super corporations - and mercenaries - and torture.
That this only scratches the surface of this horror show makes Congress' seeming inability to leave its familiar distractions of partisan politics and engage with the idea that it has lost most if not all of its real power to affect the tide of events to become an almost irrelevant vestigial appendage of government really comes at the most inconvenient time when it is once more revealed that those who most desire power are often the least deserving of it.
Perhaps that is only poetic justice after all.
Do you have something to propose?
--
Howard
*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" [George Santayana]
March 20, 2007 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good to hear from you. I've seen some of your posts and know you like serious conversation.
Pelosi has, by this time, taken the appropriate stance : do that which is necessary without being distracted by meaningless squalling from the Oval office.
She seems to have a plan to do that which is possible rather than try futilely to implement that which won't fly. Repeated use of the Presidential veto combined with a tightening of the screws by her in response should get the message across : Republican deference to a 'failed strategy' is enabling a disaster. If she has the intestinal fortitude to carry such a plan to its logical conclusion, public outrage may finally motivate Congress to act.
April 8, 2007 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
The way in which she went to Syria against the wishes of the Administration, yet presented something of a unified American front, may leave Rove spinning.
Remembering Watergate, I believe that a wide-ranging series of calm, reasoned investigations of revealing intelligence officer covers, manipulation of US attorneys, suppression of scientific research done with government funds, etc., may build a groundswell of indignation. Eventually, there may be more sentiment for impeachment.
During the Nixon Administration, it was a running joke that the Secret Service had orders to save the nation if Nixon died: they were to shoot Agnew immediately. It is a very different scenario with Cheney, rather than Ford, or even Agnew, as VP. A satirist could not make up a VP that hits people not with golf balls but with gunfire.
It's well worth thinking about scenarios that might force Cheney to be replaced, and, depending on the replacement, what the next step may be.
On the other hand, if Pelosi gets across a vision of realism, it conceivably could moderate Bush -- not that Bush is that realistic, but that his political advisors may recommend such.
--
Howard
*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" [George Santayana]
April 8, 2007 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
At the risk of sounding like a rabid Bush-hater ( not a characterization which would bother me overmuch ) : when has the opinion of his advisers seriously impacted in a demonstrable fashion the policy implemented by GWB ?
I've pretty much subscribed to the analysis described by Tom Engelhardt in his last TomGram. It helps that it pretty much describes the conclusions to which I had reluctantly come independently before reading his article.
As an operating theory - given that the White House is operating on an ongoing policy of spewing errant nonsense - I had taken the premise that 'Desert Crossing' was hidden by Rumsfeld because it revealed not a warning, but a description of a U.S. agenda as described by the PNAC ( something given more significance by a look at the roster of members ).
When I applied that operating theory to current events, Occam's Razor insisted that I consider I had arrived at the most tenable explanation of the current state of affairs,
Check my 'Intel' links at the Blogroll of http://opit.wordpress.com/ I would love serious demolishing of the nightmare of my current projection that 'civil war' throughout the Middle East is the purpose behind current activities : 'decapitating current governments' being the colourful phrase of the day.
April 14, 2007 10:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
At the risk of sounding like a rabid Bush-hater ( not a characterization which would bother me overmuch ) : when has the opinion of his advisers seriously impacted in a demonstrable fashion the policy implemented by GWB ?
I've pretty much subscribed to the analysis described by Tom Engelhardt in his last TomGram. It helps that it pretty much describes the conclusions to which I had reluctantly come independently before reading his article.
As an operating theory - given that the White House is operating on an ongoing policy of spewing errant nonsense - I had taken the premise that 'Desert Crossing' was hidden by Rumsfeld because it revealed not a warning, but a description of a U.S. agenda as described by the PNAC ( something given more significance by a look at the roster of members ).
When I applied that operating theory to current events, Occam's Razor insisted that I consider I had arrived at the most tenable explanation of the current state of affairs,
Check my 'Intel' links at the Blogroll of http://opit.wordpress.com/ I would love serious demolishing of the nightmare of my current projection that 'civil war' throughout the Middle East is the purpose behind current activities : 'decapitating current governments' being the colourful phrase of the day.
April 14, 2007 10:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Oldephartteintraining Blog is no longer available at WordPress.
Currently 'opit' posts at http://my.opera.com/oldephartte/blog/ and has an open del.icio.us favorites/bookmarks file for general use http://del.icio.us/opit/
January 19, 2008 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink