It's Been Fun and Therapeutic

Friends, it is time to stop blogging. Thanks to those of you who have stopped by. I started writing here last June and have written over 43,650 words. A total of 120 posts. The number of hours spent is too many! There are many good bloggers out there. So I am leaving it up to them now. This is the second anniversary of the start of Bush's war in Iraq. Over and out.

Alphacarol

Sadly, the Democrats Must Share the Shame

The Democrats are part of the problem. Yesterday, three Democrats voted against the Cantwell Amendment No. 168 which would have eliminated funding for drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. The vote was 51/49. The amendment was defeated.

The three Democrats who could have defeated the amendment with their yea votes are:

Akaka, D-HI
Inouye, D-HI
Landrieu, D-LA

Seven Republicans parted from their party and voted for the amendment. Hats off to:

Chafee, R-RI
Coleman, R-MN
Collins, R-ME
DeWine, R-OH
McCain, R-AZ
Smith, R-OR
Snowe, R-ME

There are some Republicans who care about our environment. And there are some Democrats who don't.

[Click on blog title to view the entire report on the vote.]

Living in a Glass House: Our Nuclear Weapons

Former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia chairs the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a private group opposing nuclear proliferation. He spent 24 years in the United States Senate. Last week Nunn spoke to reporters at the National Press Club. He criticized Bush's plans to build a so-called bunker-buster bomb, a nuclear weapon designed to penetrate hardened, underground facilities where leaders, personnel or weapons could be hidden. He told the truth: We are NOT turning away from our nuclear weapons programs. We are putting more emphasis on nuclear weapons.

"It's awfully hard to ask countries around the globe to do a lot more to fight against the North Koreans or the Iranians getting nuclear weapons if we ourselves seem to be increasing our dependence on nuclear weapons."

Nunn hopes that this trend will be reversed in this administration. (Good luck!) The former senator also said that both the Europeans and the US have to do a lot more to listen to each other and coordinate their approach in regard to Iran.

Listen. He suggests the US needs to listen. It's not going to happen. Our president does not listen to anyone.

Nunn states the obvious, but I hope he is not holding his breath. Certainly, after 24 years in Washington, D.C., he is not holding his breath. He must know what the chances are of getting anywhere with Mr. Bush. At least he is speaking out and exposing the truth.

[Click on blog title above to read the article which prompted this blog post.]

As Everyone Knows, Tom DeLay Is a Crooked Politician

Why would the House of Representatives of the United States stand for the likes of Tom DeLay? If one is going to be a Bush Republican, can't this be done by following the laws of the land? House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is getting away with bribery, threatening political opponents, vacationing with lobbyists, gutting House ethics rules- you name it. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!

Here are twelve highlights of DeLay tactics in the last few years:

http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=430

A recent Washington Post article contained this quote:

"If death comes from a thousand cuts, Tom DeLay is into a couple hundred, and it's getting up there," said a Republican political consultant close to key lawmakers. "The situation is negatively fluid right now for the guy. You start hitting arteries, it only takes a couple."

DeLay should go. The man is insufferably offensive and smug. He thinks the rules of decency are for other people, but not for him. Let's hope someone hits an artery soon.

Birdwatchers Could Be Terrorists

Maureen Dowd writes in today's NYT that Americans are not safer today than at other times in our history. We are less safe. Of course, this is not a new thought. Only those who are good at cognitive dissonance can try to believe we are safer now under Bush's leadership.

Read Ms. Dowd's column here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/opinion/10dowd.html?hp

Yesterday in my local news it was announced that birdwatchers who typically station themselves on the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia will no longer be allowed to do so due to security concerns. Hampton Roads has always been considered a target since it is a major port and military area on the East coast. We've known that all along. But to my knowledge, birdwatchers have never been impeded in their work. It seems like we focus on the absurd and overlook most of the obvious measures which could make us safer, such as checking all cargo coming into port from foreign lands.

If you were a terrorist, would you buy a pair of binoculars and bermuda shorts and pose as an Audubon society member looking for birds? The people who think these things up are the birds in my opinion.

Bush's Buddy Bill

What is Bill Clinton thinking? Presumably there is some benefit for him (or perhaps for Hillary) in this new-found friendship with the Bushes. But it is totally revolting to me. How can he sleep with the enemy? How can he? I can't look.

Here's a commentary that offers some possible explanations for this strange development.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7138526/

Is it self-serving? If so, Mr. Clinton might do well to remember the America he served as President- the America we may not have much longer. Clinton's behavior feels like betrayal. This business of rising above the fray is for the birds. Being cordial is one thing, but going golfing? That is another story. That's what friends do. Does Bill have to be palsy-walsy with the likes of George Bush? If one cares about America, one cannot keep company with George Bush. Doesn't that go without saying?