April 18, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY


BUSH'S TOKEN VIRGINIA TECH APPEARANCE

After the devastating mass murder at Virginia Tech George W. Bush made a trip and made a speech and said essentially nothing but the usual homilies. While he was talking about the deaths and misery in Virginia, I couldn't help thinking of the death and misery he has wrought in Iraq. The murders in Virginia were senseless and tragic and the deaths of Iraqis and our military members in Iraq are senseless and tragic. This article by Timothy Gatto is at www.smirkingchimp.com:

The only thing that George W. Bush will be remembered for is that he “almost” did something right. He “almost” got Bin Laden, he “almost” got elected President legitimately, he “almost” destroyed the nation, and he “almost” finished his term before he got himself impeached with a little help from Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales.

The last almost is a work in progress. I hope that he realizes that going to Virginia Tech and making that heartfelt , emotional speech wasn’t fooling anyone. This man doesn’t understand the concept of needless death. He doesn’t really understand the pain a loved one feels when they are told that they will never see their child again, for no matter what the age of a person, to their mother and father they will always be “their child”. If he truly knew the meaning of needless , wanton death under cruel circumstances, he would never have began his failed war in Iraq.

He went to Virginia State but he never went to see Cindy Sheehan camped out in his driveway. He minimizes the death that manifests itself in Iraq day after day. The government won’t allow pictures of caskets with the flag over them loaded into C-5A Galaxy’s. God forbid that our people see those caskets and understand the true meaning of war.

There was good reason to go to Virginia Tech. The parents and friends of those students senselessly gunned down by another maniac this society has produced are more important to his political standing than the parents of the soldiers that die in Iraq. The soldiers that die in Iraq in the most part didn’t come from wealthy families and could probably not pay for tuition, which was probably the biggest reason they joined the service. This is something I know a little about, for I was a recruiter when we had a more sensible government.

A TRULY TERRIBLE SUPREME COURT DECISION

Today's decision by the Supreme Court upholding a national ban on so-called "partial birth abortion" procedures may go down with other truly awful Supreme Court decisions such as allowing legal segregation or Bush v. Gore. It's a major step backward and a concession to the right-wing zealots who are "pro life" except when it really matters--for living and breathing and walking around people. This commentary is from www.motherjones.com:

Before we get into the Supreme Court decision that will allow a ban on late-term abortions, let's get one thing clear: there is no such thing as a "partial birth abortion." This term was born of the clever marketing of the anti-choice movement (or "pro-life" as they like to be called) and has no medical foundation whatsoever.

Still, today the high court ruled today that the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act does not violate a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority opinion said that the bill's opponents "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases."

The case is the very move that choice advocates have feared since the ascendancy of a conservative court under President Bush. Of the million or so abortions that happen each year in this country, 90% happen within the first trimester and are not affected by this ruling. It's the other 10%, the women who, whether it be after moving through the hoops of waiting periods, parental notification, or the lack of clinics, who will be impacted. What will become of these vulnerable women, who have already made what's likely the hardest decision of their lives? Doctors may spurn the ruling and go ahead with the abortion anyway, but those who do face fines and jail time. For all involved, what is considered a safe procedure just got more dangerous.