Category Archives: Politics

Politics

Insanity

Yes, the Right is actually promulgating the idea that the Vice-President of the United States is not part of the Executive Branch.

But then that nettlesome *reality* gets in the way:

Article. II. – The Executive Branch

Section 1 – The President

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Here’s the bullshit the Right is trying to push on us: The Vice-President is authorized by the same article — in fact, the same sentence as the President; he works in the same building; he is able to assume the duties of the President when the latter is out of commission for some reason (as Cheney has done).

But, no, he’s not part of the executive branch.

Jesus Christ, how low will these dipshits go to protect the Administration? Is there no line of shit that emerges from the White House that Boortz, Limbaugh and Hannity won’t happily frolick in?

They know damned well that if Al Gore had tried this nonsense, they would have laughed. They know damned well that if Cheney invoked executive privelege, they would defend it. But — once again — they are for more interested in supporting Bush than supporting the law, the Constitution or basic decency and liberty.

What bothers me is that the Administration is trying to cloud an issue with lawyer talk and loopholes. By claiming that Dick Cheney is neither fish nor fowl — bound by rules of neither the executive nor the legislative — they are trying to create another realm of lawlessness in which they can do anything they like.

As with “enemy combatants”.

Or rendering.

Or “authorizations of military force”.

Politics, Science and Edumacation

Drug Sanity

Rhode Island votes once again against our insane War on Drugs. Congress is apparently considering barring the feds from interfering with states that have passed medical marijuana laws. Look for George “Mr. States Rights” Bush to veto this.

You know what the 11 states that have allowed medical pot should do? Refuse to turn over any money seized in drugs raids to the Feds until they back off on this. It’s ridiculous. No matter what you think of medical marijuana, having the Feds refuse to let the states decide the issue is a rape of the Constitution.

But then again, we’ve gotten so used to that in the War on Drugs.

Law and Order, Politics

Friday Linkorama

More sleep-deprived laziness:

Ron Paul is being excluded from a candidate forum because, apparently, he is more of a fringe candidate than the men he is both out-polling and out-contribution-getting. What is it about Libertarians that makes the media ignore them? Every general election, they spend more time on third-party candidates who get out-polled by the Libertarians.

Read about how Google has gotten sucked into politics. Why do big corportations spend so much money buying politicians? Because of the awful consequences that result if they don’t play the Washington game.

Dick Cheney — above the law. Seriously, what’s wrong with these people? Let’s see Rush Limbaugh defend this! (You know he will).

PBS funds religious propaganda. The worst thing is that now PBS can claim they are “objective” and “fair” since they’ve balanced their usual plethora of left-wing commentary with a nutball fringe right-wing group. Why are we funding this nonsense again?

Oh, that liberal media. But . . . but . . . but Fox News!!! (Anyone notice that, like Rush Limbaugh, about 90% of the people who hate Fox News have never watched it?)

Politics, Science and Edumacation

Slighty Less Dumb

The energy bill passed by the Senate is slightly less dumb. Most of it is reasonable except:

  • The “anti-gouging” legislation. Congrfess should not be setting prices. Congress should especially not be setting prices when they’ve just created a huge reason for oil production to go way way down and oil prices to therefore go way way up.
  • I’ve blogged quite a bit on the stupidity of ethnanol. Here’s a prediction: Before 2022, when the ethanol requirements kick in, this provision will be cancelled when it turns out that ethanol is an ecological and economic disaster.
    • 'Culture', Politics, Science and Edumacation, Socialism, Taxes and Spending, War on Terror

    Thursday Linkorama

    An analysis of just how much seniors are going to rip us off with Medicare and Social Security. Nice to know that the debate in Washington is over who can make this situation worse.

    Center for New American Security has, what seems to me, a reasonable plan for getting out of Iraq. Money quote:

    Some may suggest the United States should withdraw only when victory is achieved but “there will no American victory in Iraq in the terms defined by the Bush administration,” the report concluded.

    I discovered this because Neal Boortz endorsed it. I think this is what the Right is looking for right now. A way to get out while still declaring victory. This report suggests phased withdrawal, timetables, etc. — everything the Right has railed against for years.

    Sand may be a greater menace than sharks. Raise your hand if you’re surprised.

    Scott Adams gets to the heart of environmental hypocrisy and panic-mongering.

    Virginia school has a zero tolerance policy . . . on touching. Ugh.

    Politics

    More Energy Crap

    Remember what I said about how a national energy policy was dumb?

    Yup.

    A push from Congress and the White House for huge increases in biofuels, such as ethanol, is prompting the oil industry to scale back its plans for refinery expansions. That could keep gasoline prices high, possibly for years to come.

    Doh! And Duh!

    Politics, War on Terror

    Scalia Out

    Via Sullivan, we find Antonin Scalia citing Jack Bauer in arguments about torture.

    I used to like Scalia, back before I was a Commie Fag Junkie Liberal Bedwetter (that being the moniker currently applied to people who believe in the Constitution, balance of powers, small government, free trade and rule of law). But he’s been going further and further off the deep end. In the past few years I’ve heard him:

  • Argue that “cruel and unusual” punishment can only be applied to something considered cruel and unusual in 1783
  • Overturn the exclusion rule because “new professionalism” means we can just trust cops not to violate our rights.
  • Side with the government in the Raich decision, arguing that marijuana is “inextricably linked” with interstate commerce.

    • He still occasionally does things right. But it’s becoming clearer to me that Scalia is, like most judges, looking at issues backward. He decides his views, then wrestles the law and the Constitution into compliance. And increasing, his views are getting bizarre.

    Civil Liberties, Politics

    Oh, Yeah

    Crooks and Liars points out that not only was the detention of Al-Marri violating the Consitution, it specifically violated the Patriot Act.

    In sum, Congress has carefully prescribed the process by which it wishes to permit detention of “terrorist aliens” within the United States, and has expressly prohibited the indefinite detention the President seeks here. The Government’s argument that the President may indefinitely detain al-Marri is thus contrary to Congress’s expressed will.

    But who cares about the law?! They’re terrorists!

    Politics, Socialism, The Nanny State

    Nanny State Empowerment

    The latest from Oceania Britain, is a campaign against drinking.

    Britain still subscribes to a system where health care is for the most part socialized. When the bureaucrat-priesthood of the National Health Service decides that a certain behavior is unacceptable, the consequences potentially involve more than scolding. For example, in 2005, Britain’s health service started refusing certain surgeries for fat people. An official behind the decision conceded that one of the considerations was cost. Fat people would benefit from the surgery less, and so they deserved it less. As Tony Harrison, a British health-care expert, explained to the Toronto Sun at the time, “Rationing is a reality when funding is limited.”

    But it’s impossible to distinguish such cost-cutting judgments from moral ones. The reasoning is obvious: Fat people, smokers and — soon — drinkers deserve less health care because they bring their problems on themselves. In short, they deserve it. This is a perfectly logical perspective, and if I were in charge of everybody’s health care, I would probably resort to similar logic.

    But I’m not in charge of everybody’s health care. Nor should anyone else be. In a free-market system, bad behavior will still have high costs personally and financially, but those costs are more likely to borne by you and you alone. The more you socialize the costs of personal liberty, the more license you give others to regulate it.

    Do you really want Barrack Obama or Mitt Romney bossing you around about your health?

    Law and Order, Politics

    Good Riddance

    Mike Nifong has been disbarred. I just hope that the people who were so zealous on behalf of the lacrosse players will find time to advocate for the hundreds or thousands of men – mostly poor and black – who are behind bars right now under similar circumstances.

    Keep in mind, he’s not the only showboat prosecutor out there. There are many out there, including one who indirectly caused the death of a friend of my mother’s. And the reason they showboat for political gain is because it works. After all, one of them is a leading candidate for President.

    Immigration, Law and Order, Politics

    Friday Linkorama

    North Carolina has a shortage of illegal immigrants:

    “Americans today don’t want to sweat and get their hands dirty,” said Doug Torn, who owns a wholesale nursery in Guilford County. “We have a choice. Do we want to import our food or do we want to import our labor?”

    No, we don’t need tort reform. It should be perfectly fine to sue someone for $54 million because he lost your pants. I know this story has gotten a lot of ink. But I hadn’t heard about it and every sentence of the article enrages me.

    The Democrats have a plan to raise taxes past 100%. Al Gore had a similar plan. But it’s overtaxing the “rich”, so that’s OK