Politics. I fucking hate politics. It makes me shudder to think of the type of assholes who run this country - rich, power-hungry, corrupt bastards. And I'm not just speaking of our current government. I hate all politicians. Why? Because power corrupts. What should be the most noble profession - to represent the people, to lead them and listen to them, to give yourself over to public service and the public good - is corrupted by the very power that the profession should be entrusted to wield with wisdom and humility.
It is well said that a cynic is really just a disappointed romantic, and when it comes to politics I exemplify that. Once upon a time, I thought politicians were true leaders, patriots, trying to do what they thought was right for their country. It didn't take long to learn that they are the wealthy and powerful, and their goal is to keep themselves wealthy and powerful. Yes, even the "Democrats". This was well demonstrated by the last presidential election. Who did we have to choose from, really? An uptight New England patrician-Yale graduate-Skull'n'Bones member, and an uptight New England patrician-Yale graduate-Skull'n'Bones member with a fake Texas accent. Yay America. Way to go, two-party system.
I really wish I could believe we had a President - hell, anyone in the upper offices - who gave as much time and thought to what is right for the country as the characters on "The West Wing". Even if I didn't agree with what they thought was best for the country, I'd still feel better going to bed at night thinking they even gave it a thought. But I don't believe that. I know in my heart they govern by what is best for them and their fellow rich.
So I fucking hate politics. But unfortunately, I can't keep my mind off of it. Ever since Bush took office, I have been fixated on politics. Why? Before that, I thought there was no "lesser of two evils" when it came to Democrats vs. Republicans. A career politician is a career dirtbag, and to me a dirtbag is a dirtbag is a dirtbag. Bush's administration proved that there were some who could out-dirtbag the others. He went beyond the pale, selling our country wholesale to corporate interests like Halliburton, sending our people to die for them and the Saudis, and lying about everything the whole time. So now I'm going to spout off about some of my current thoughts about things political.
Supreme Court nominee Alito said he would be reluctant to overturned established precedent. Of course, he is alluding to abortion/Roe v. Wade. Personally, I think this is pandering bullshit. Alito is a hard-core conservative who has and will continue to be an "activist judge" just like the Republicans rail against. Of course, they aren't against activist judges, really, just against liberal activist judges. I'm against "activist judges" too(even liberal ones), but I am also against lying and hypocrisy. It's only natural that Alito will try to appear favorable to not overturning Roe v. Wade. It's what his political handlers have told him to do, and rightly so. Why? Because it seems to be the only thing liberals and Democrats judge (no pun intended) these nominees by. Read that article I linked to - the same Dems who were bitching about this reactionary fuck last week are rolling over and saying they'll confirm him just because he hinted he wouldn't overturn Roe v. Wade. Let's ignore how he might rule on right to privacy, civil rights issues, how the Patriot Act has pissed all over the first, fourth, and six amendments, or our current Attorney General's reign of terror against good ol' perfectly legal porn. I am pro-choice, generally speaking, but there are other things to consider here. Besides, you think he's really going to uphold it? If he gets in, we have a hard-right-leaning court, and the first time a challenge to Roe v. Wade comes before it, poof! It's overturned. And Alito won't be writing the dissenting opinion, if you know what I mean.
Onto some comments I have about the next presidential election. Who will be running? Yes, it's early, but I have some thoughts already that I need to get out of my head. Not the incumbent VP, I'm pretty sure. Cheney is dead in the water politically. I'm also not sure he'd want it. I think he's content to run his little sock puppet Bush. With current or impending indictments, Senators Frist and Delay have no traction. While Santorum is outspoken and seems to have followers, I don't think he's a real candidate. Plus there's the fact that to many his name now represents a nasty anal-sex byproduct. And the whole bringing-home-the-dead-baby-to-show-the-kids thing, which is even more gross, and his own doing (hell, he wrote a book about it).
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Trent Lott might take a run at it. With what he said today to the Senate, I think he is trying to distance himself from the "bad" republicans (read: those under indictment) so he can take a run at the Oval. Then again, maybe he's just trying not to get ousted from the Senate come next election. Either way, I think he's delusional. Given the racist gaffe that no one's forgotten, and his general dirtbaggery, I don't think he's long for public office.
Considering the beating Republicans have taken lately - for instance, one Governor candidate was photographed with Bush, who announced support for the candidate, and the candidate's standing in the polls immediately took a 10 point hit and he lost the election yesterday - I think that about the only hope they have of retaining the Oval Office is Sen. John McCain. I lived in Arizona when McCain got into office, and actually have a fair amount of respect for the man. Hell, if the Dems fielded somebody I really was against, and the Republicans fielded McCain, I'd vote for McCain. Or I would if he wasn't now pandering to the hard right loonies he's been trying to break of their grip on the GOP, and turning his support over to anti-gay legislation and the idiotic "intelligent design" teachings.
On the Democrat side, the one who I know will try, but I really don't want, is Hillary. I'm not against having a woman president. In fact, I'd rather prefer it. It's just her. I can not stand that pompous, self-righteous, dishonest bitch. Besides, she already got to run the country for 8 years, she doesn't need 8 or even 4 more. She won't get the Democratic nomination anyway. The Dems suffered bad under this Republican controlled government. They aren't going to risk getting the Presidency back on gambling for the first woman President. They'll leave that for next time.
Personally, I'm hoping for Wesley Clark to get the nod for the Dems.
One last (brief) political thing, and I'm off the topic and nearly done. Promise.
Bush has ordered everyone in the White House staff with a security clearance to attend an ethics refresher course. Wow. Bold move there. I had to do one of those at work. They told me not to break the law or sexually harass co-workers. I said OK. Class done. I don't think this is going to fix what's ethically wrong with the White House. In fact, I think unless a truly bold move is taken first, ethics is never going to come to the White House before 2008.
OK, NOT POLITICS, just some stuff:
Virtual Places - you can search for a place (say, your address) and check one of the "Overlays" at the bottom, and it will show you pictures people have posted of the area or where people are who have blogs near that location. Pretty cool. No idea how it works though.
100 Greatest Internet Moments - amusing, if you're a web junkie like me.
Alrighty...sorry for the novella here, and the boring topic. Mattbear out.
8 months ago
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