Tuesday is Newsday!
Your headlines for January 3, 2006:
CATS RULE, DOGS DROOL: A man in Ohio apparently trained his cat to dial 9-1-1 in case of an emergency. I just need to say: best cat EVER. I wish my cat could do that, but let's be frank--he drinks out of the toilet and is the product of incest, so dialing the phone is probably beyond his capablities.
LIAR LIAR: I think Andrew Sullivan says it best re: Bush being totally EVIL:
"We're not talking strict constructionism here. We're talking about a president who believes that he alone can determine any policy even vaguely related to a war that he has redefined as a permanent condition for the indefinite future. My best guess is that we've only begun to find out what powers he has secretly assigned to himself. I certainly don't trust him not to authorize torture again in the future. The only recourse is the press and the Congress. The Courts are in the process of being stacked with men and women completely deferent to executive power. I'm beginning to believe that Democratic retaking of at least one half of the Congress this year is essential to resisting the potential dangers of our current situation. And I'd say the same if we had a Democratic president with Bush's contempt for the rule of law, and if the Republicans were the party in opposition.
Which brings me to looking forward to next fall's elections. Almost more interesting than those who are running are those who aren't, namely several governers and congresspeople who aren't going for re-election because they're going to be running for president come 2008: Bill Frist and governor of Massachusettes Mitt Romney, along with former Congressman Newt Gingrich and lots of current congresspeople, senators, governors, etc. Hillary is almost certainly running, as will John Edwards. I worry about Hillary getting the nomination, actually. If it's her versus Bill Frist, I think it'll be close because Frist is fucking scary as hell (*cough* AIDS is tranferred via saliva?? Yeah, Dr Frist, if there's lots of BLOOD in the saliva and you know, you're spreading that over your open wounds), but considering who we have for president right now, I wouldn't be shocked if the American people elected him. Or, you know, the Supreme Court chose him.
All things considered I think I'd rather have John McCain run and it not be a close race than have to worry about Frist becoming president. I love Hillary, I really do. I think she's incredibly intelligent if too conservative for my taste (yes, she IS conservative) and a very capable politician. It would be nice to see Bill back in the public light where he belongs. But let's face it, people HATE Hillary. They've hated her for the past decade and they enjoy hating her--they're not about to stop. I just don't think she can pull of a victory. Sigh.
But back to Bush and his lying, scary ways. Andrew Sullivan, as always, says it far better than I could:
"In my view, this could turn out to be the big question of the new year: Do we have a president who refuses, in any matter tangentially related to the war on terror, to obey the law? We know he broke the FISA law and lied about it. We know he broke U.S. law against torturing detainees, and lied about it. Now we find that he is declaring himself unbound by the McCain Amendment. Marty Lederman is on the case. Money quote from the president's signing statment of the Amendment: 'The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks.' Translation: I will violate this law whenever I feel like it. I hoped we had put this issue behind us. It appears we haven't.
So. Right. Here's the thing. Clinton lets a skanky intern go down on him and gets fucking IMPEACHED for lying about it. Bush breaks FISA, spies on the American people, lies to them about it, and then basically says he will continue to break any law he feels like breaking, and the congress does... nothing? Are you fucking kidding me? I don't understand how Bush breaking FISA and basically stating that he WILL break the McCain Amendment has absolutely no repurcutions other than his plumetting poll numbers. Please, someone explain to me how blowjobs are somehow impeachable crimes and yet breaking the actual law and then LYING about it and then declaring yourself above the law are all okay.
GUILTY AS CHARGED: John Abramoff pled guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion in the Indian casino lobbying case thing. I don't know that I really understand the details of the case, but it basically amounts to Abramoff funneling casino money to members of congress in order to get them to look favorably upon his clients. Which is sort of what I thought lobbyists DID, so I'm not sure where the illegalness of it comes through aside from the obvious bribery. He's expected to implicate at least a dozen members of congress, mainly republicans as he was a republican lobbyist. Happy Birthday to me!
LASSIE, COME HOME: Meanwhile in West Virginia, 13 workers are trapped in a mine. They've been there since Monday morning and so far rescuers can't seem to find them. In the mean time carbon monoxide levels in the shaft are three times what the breathable levels are. Good times. But the kicker? From the NYTimes:
According to the agency, the Sago mine received 208 citations in 2005, up from 68 in 2004. Sixteen of those were for violations that the mine operators knew about but did not repair before inspectors caught them, the agency said. The company said those numbers were not out of the
ordinary.
Who do these mine companies think they are, George Bush? You can't just go around breaking the law like that! Unless you're the President, and you make your own rules, damnit.
NO SOUP FOR YOU: After the death of 25 Sudanese refugees last week during a protest in Egypt, Egyptian authorities have now decided to deport some 650 Sudanese refugees back to their homeland. The refugees left the Sudan during the brutal civil war there, and now that the region has an official peace agreement, Egyptian offials claim that the refugees can fuck off and die go back to where they came from. Of course, we all know (mainly from reading Newsday and my obsession with Darfur) that the so-called peace agreement has not stopped the Sudanese government from backing genocide. The refugees want amnesty to go to a third country, but the international community is basically being like, "Sorry bitches, go back to Africa and, you know, try not to get raped or murdered and stuff." Yeah, good luck with that.
INSURGENCY IS DEAD: Except when it manages to damage a pipeline in Baghdad and close down another based on threats alone. Meanwhile, speaking of Sudan, it was forced to close its Baghdad embassy after six employees were kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Damn. Al Qaeda has a Mesopotamian branch? That's globalization for you.
Not much else going on, folks. If you have a news item that you would like to see included in Newsday, email me at phaballa@livejournal.com. Also check out our brand new Newsday Archive. You know, for those times when you want to read old news and relive the glory days of Harriet Meiers' nomination.
CATS RULE, DOGS DROOL: A man in Ohio apparently trained his cat to dial 9-1-1 in case of an emergency. I just need to say: best cat EVER. I wish my cat could do that, but let's be frank--he drinks out of the toilet and is the product of incest, so dialing the phone is probably beyond his capablities.
LIAR LIAR: I think Andrew Sullivan says it best re: Bush being totally EVIL:
"We're not talking strict constructionism here. We're talking about a president who believes that he alone can determine any policy even vaguely related to a war that he has redefined as a permanent condition for the indefinite future. My best guess is that we've only begun to find out what powers he has secretly assigned to himself. I certainly don't trust him not to authorize torture again in the future. The only recourse is the press and the Congress. The Courts are in the process of being stacked with men and women completely deferent to executive power. I'm beginning to believe that Democratic retaking of at least one half of the Congress this year is essential to resisting the potential dangers of our current situation. And I'd say the same if we had a Democratic president with Bush's contempt for the rule of law, and if the Republicans were the party in opposition.
Which brings me to looking forward to next fall's elections. Almost more interesting than those who are running are those who aren't, namely several governers and congresspeople who aren't going for re-election because they're going to be running for president come 2008: Bill Frist and governor of Massachusettes Mitt Romney, along with former Congressman Newt Gingrich and lots of current congresspeople, senators, governors, etc. Hillary is almost certainly running, as will John Edwards. I worry about Hillary getting the nomination, actually. If it's her versus Bill Frist, I think it'll be close because Frist is fucking scary as hell (*cough* AIDS is tranferred via saliva?? Yeah, Dr Frist, if there's lots of BLOOD in the saliva and you know, you're spreading that over your open wounds), but considering who we have for president right now, I wouldn't be shocked if the American people elected him. Or, you know, the Supreme Court chose him.
All things considered I think I'd rather have John McCain run and it not be a close race than have to worry about Frist becoming president. I love Hillary, I really do. I think she's incredibly intelligent if too conservative for my taste (yes, she IS conservative) and a very capable politician. It would be nice to see Bill back in the public light where he belongs. But let's face it, people HATE Hillary. They've hated her for the past decade and they enjoy hating her--they're not about to stop. I just don't think she can pull of a victory. Sigh.
But back to Bush and his lying, scary ways. Andrew Sullivan, as always, says it far better than I could:
"In my view, this could turn out to be the big question of the new year: Do we have a president who refuses, in any matter tangentially related to the war on terror, to obey the law? We know he broke the FISA law and lied about it. We know he broke U.S. law against torturing detainees, and lied about it. Now we find that he is declaring himself unbound by the McCain Amendment. Marty Lederman is on the case. Money quote from the president's signing statment of the Amendment: 'The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks.' Translation: I will violate this law whenever I feel like it. I hoped we had put this issue behind us. It appears we haven't.
So. Right. Here's the thing. Clinton lets a skanky intern go down on him and gets fucking IMPEACHED for lying about it. Bush breaks FISA, spies on the American people, lies to them about it, and then basically says he will continue to break any law he feels like breaking, and the congress does... nothing? Are you fucking kidding me? I don't understand how Bush breaking FISA and basically stating that he WILL break the McCain Amendment has absolutely no repurcutions other than his plumetting poll numbers. Please, someone explain to me how blowjobs are somehow impeachable crimes and yet breaking the actual law and then LYING about it and then declaring yourself above the law are all okay.
GUILTY AS CHARGED: John Abramoff pled guilty to charges of conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion in the Indian casino lobbying case thing. I don't know that I really understand the details of the case, but it basically amounts to Abramoff funneling casino money to members of congress in order to get them to look favorably upon his clients. Which is sort of what I thought lobbyists DID, so I'm not sure where the illegalness of it comes through aside from the obvious bribery. He's expected to implicate at least a dozen members of congress, mainly republicans as he was a republican lobbyist. Happy Birthday to me!
LASSIE, COME HOME: Meanwhile in West Virginia, 13 workers are trapped in a mine. They've been there since Monday morning and so far rescuers can't seem to find them. In the mean time carbon monoxide levels in the shaft are three times what the breathable levels are. Good times. But the kicker? From the NYTimes:
According to the agency, the Sago mine received 208 citations in 2005, up from 68 in 2004. Sixteen of those were for violations that the mine operators knew about but did not repair before inspectors caught them, the agency said. The company said those numbers were not out of the
ordinary.
Who do these mine companies think they are, George Bush? You can't just go around breaking the law like that! Unless you're the President, and you make your own rules, damnit.
NO SOUP FOR YOU: After the death of 25 Sudanese refugees last week during a protest in Egypt, Egyptian authorities have now decided to deport some 650 Sudanese refugees back to their homeland. The refugees left the Sudan during the brutal civil war there, and now that the region has an official peace agreement, Egyptian offials claim that the refugees can fuck off and die go back to where they came from. Of course, we all know (mainly from reading Newsday and my obsession with Darfur) that the so-called peace agreement has not stopped the Sudanese government from backing genocide. The refugees want amnesty to go to a third country, but the international community is basically being like, "Sorry bitches, go back to Africa and, you know, try not to get raped or murdered and stuff." Yeah, good luck with that.
INSURGENCY IS DEAD: Except when it manages to damage a pipeline in Baghdad and close down another based on threats alone. Meanwhile, speaking of Sudan, it was forced to close its Baghdad embassy after six employees were kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Damn. Al Qaeda has a Mesopotamian branch? That's globalization for you.
Not much else going on, folks. If you have a news item that you would like to see included in Newsday, email me at phaballa@livejournal.com. Also check out our brand new Newsday Archive. You know, for those times when you want to read old news and relive the glory days of Harriet Meiers' nomination.