Worth Watching

If you haven't seen Bill Moyer's Journal recently, the most recent installment focusing on Impeachment was a particularly good watch. When I saw Bruce Fein was the guest, I wasn't sure I was going to be too happy with it, but even this resident scholar for the Heritage Foundation had strong words regarding the current administration.

They're rubber, we're glue?

Am I the only one that's completely flabbergasted by how little heat the administration has been getting for... well, everything? I guess I'm currently most ticked off about the whole situation with the attorney general's office, but Dick Cheney not having to answer on the Libby issue? And Walter Reed? Like they didn't know it was like that? And then there's that pesky little Iraq war situation. And I know there have been protests and my beloved John Stewart takes them to task every night but shouldn't there be more? Shouldn't we have reached breaking point by now? Shouldn't someone (or everyone) be saying we won't stand for this any more (and mean it)? They just offer excuse after excuse and take responsibility for... well, nothing.

Well, now that I've gotten myself good and depressed, I'll go back to finishing my sweater (I'm down to the final pattern repeat on the second sleeve) to cheer myself up.

Flip Flops and Hillary Clinton

Meet the Press, John Edwards, and D Candidates for President

This has been discussed here once or twice before, but I think is worthy of comment again now that most of the announcements regarding candidacy have been made amongst the Ds. Today on Meet the Press, Russert kicked off his "Meet the Candidates" series with Joe Edwards who is throwing his hat in the ring once again for the Democrat's nomination for Presidential Candidate. I'm looking forward to the series, but wondered why with so many amazing candidates (Hillary, Barak, Joe B.) why Russert would start with Edwards, who I think is easily the weakest candidate in the bunch.

I have to say that I have never been impressed with Edwards. He strikes me as unwilling to take a solid stand on any issue, preferring too often to go with the winds of change rather than leading the trends. I always want him to just come out and say what he means, or at the very least sound like what he's saying is actually what he means. He's wishy-washy, weak, and pandering and lacks charisma despite all the claims in the media during the last election that he was reminiscent of JFK with his youth and good looks (eh, I'm not impressed on that front either).

So a question (or two): If Edwards were the presidential candidate for the Dems, would you vote for him?

And what do you all think about a recurrent discussion of each candidate as they come up on Meet the Press?

Other random thoughts:
1-- I finished knitting a scarf this morning, which I had started months and months and months ago and lost interest in. When it's done blocking and I've finished knitting the matching hat (possibly) I'll share :)

2-- I watched Who Killed the Electric Car last week and thought it was a pretty good film. Anyone else see it? It's one of the few places I've seen people really compare hydrogen fuel with electric fuel (and the politicking behind that).

Tellin' it like it is

Shrub and the Shrubites speak again

Is it me or is this the same 'ol shit rewashed? so I got through most of it but stopped taking notes after the No Child Left Behind lies.

"...the courage to fight it together"? He was talking about the hardships we will be facing in 2007.

"Our citizens don't care what side of the aisle we sit on, just as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done."

Yeah, remember that next time you appoint men like Scooter Libby or Eric Keroack to your throne.

My biggest peeves were the discussion on our current economy and the ever favorite No Child Left Behind Act. After that, I just chatted it up with Charlie, bouncing the highlights off him. He doesn't watch because it gets his blood pressure up and causes the tv's life to be in grave danger.

"This economy is on the move and the only way to keep it that way is not with more government, but with more enterprise."

So says the King who let Haliburton "win" the bid to rebuild Iraq, then turned the other cheek when they were caught stealing from the mouth that fed them.

"We need to balance the federal budget and can do so without raising taxes, though we need a spending discpline in Washington."

Then he said something about no higher taxes, blah blah blah.

I would like to know how we will accomplish not only balancing our federal budget, but paying back the trillions of dollars owed if we never raise taxes? I would also like to know how giving tax cuts to the 1% who don't need it will help the economy, not to mention the nation's poorest individuals/families who struggle everyday to make ends meet?

Oh but he didn't stop there. Of course not, his writers and PR's wouldn't let him.

He mentioned something about "taking on entitlements" such as Social Security, Disability, Medicare/Medicaid, saying "we're not doing a good job"; a) I wasn't aware such things were in the "entitlement" category, b) damn straight we aren't doing a good enough job if millions are still on welfare with millions more waiting their turn and c) what about them there tax cuts for the supremely rich even though they are such a small minority in these United States? Don't those count as "entitlements"?

On to the No Child Left Behind Act where, if the school is failing, parents will have the opportunity to send their kids to schools that aren't.

Has he ever thought about trying to fix the schools that are failing by giving them more money, helping to better their staff and, here's a thought, addressing why the schools are failing? It's not because they aren't trying, it's more a matter of not enough people at the top caring and, most importantly, federal funding that gets snatched away when they can't make the grade. (pun intended)

Oh, here's something that made me laugh. It's paraphrased but it's mostly the right point and he said it when discussing the war in Iraq, why we need to stay the path and so on: "Free people do not create violent and harmful ideologies."

Has he forgotten the US has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world despite a drop in crime? And we carry the most guns (enough to arm every citizen 2 or 3 times over)?

And yes, Bush did ask for a troup increase of 92,000 strong over the next 5 years.

Then he switched to asking for 1.5 billion over 5 years to help fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. Remember though, no mentioning condoms could help prevent the disease spread, mmkay?
He did propose a federal payroll tax that would help give every legal citizen access to private health insurance. Ya think he's been talking to Ahnold?

Psst: Isn't it funny that Nancy Pelosi and Dick Cheney have to sit next to each other? You think they were whispering snide remarks back and forth when the camera wasn't on them?)