Hey, hello again. Yes, it's been over a month since I last wrote something up here, but what can I tell you -- with Obama in and Bush out, there is simply less to get angry about. Give it some time, once Obama is sworn in you can bank on the GOP slime machine kicking into high gear so odds are there will be plenty to get worked up over in the coming months.
As for now, I had some thoughts / comments, starting with: whatever happened to McCain boasting about how he knew how to get Osama bin Laden...? Having lost the election, McCain apparently has decided to just sit pat with that curious secret -- is that his version of putting country first? (Hmm, me thinks this was just more empty rhetoric; fits with the real priorities of his run: election/me first, the country a far distant second).
Could Rick Warren be Obama's first truly bad decision? I have to lean with the affirmative. On the one hand, you have sympathetic folks on the left trying desperately to make the case that this is some genius move by Obama to show that he truly means to be inclusive and a unifier. However, what you have with Rick Warren is not just someone who disagrees with same-sex marriage but goes much further than that by comparing homosexuality to pedophilia and incest. In other words, Warren crosses over a line - by miles. Whereas Obama may have indeed wished to send a message with this choice, he erred in simply making the wrong choice for his messenger in this regard. You don't "reward" someone with views like Warren's with such a high-profile function. Period.
I too agree with the many who have blogged that we should not a give a dime to Paulson. The Treasury head has been pleading for the remaining billions of the $700 billion to be handed out ASAP. It's quite obvious that the first half of that $700 billion has not worked as hoped and thus Paulson's credibility is zilch. Before throwing the rest of our good money into what could be a sinkhole, better to wait a few weeks and allow for Obama's people to do the distributing. In so doing, may we see more stringent stipulations conveyed and enforced and a better designed road map to eventual recovery.
Many haven't noticed how this administration is hard at work 24/7 looking to give away as much as possible to industry friends and connected cronies. As if they haven't screwed enough the environment and our future health for the last eight years, in the last several weeks they've picked up their pace to insure that our planet is devastated for that many more years to come, thanks to their wonderful stewardship. Business first, the public's welfare a far distant second.
And how about Cheney all but bragging about his direct involvement in the torture planning and proceedings.... Amazing. Many believe this is Dick's odd way of signaling to GW that he'd like a pardon (much like his buddy Libby received). I beg to differ in that I believe Dick is a bit of a sociopath and that he truly believes his involvement in these illegal activities is perfectly fine. Much like Nixon's it's-not-illegal-if-the-Prez-did-it reasoning, Cheney likely believes in his head that he's on firm ground, that he did nothing wrong -- Dr. Strangelove redux. But it's also just Cheney thumbing his nose at our legal system, our Constitution, our country. He cares not a wit about the laws that apply to you and me; such well-meant conventions are for suckers, for the commoners. In his far-gone mind, he's above it all, and has been for years. And they'd like us to believe they place country first -- laughable.
