Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Who to believe

Well, the Alito hearings began. According to Democrats, Alito is the worst thing to come down the pike in a long time. According to Republicans he's the greatest thing since the invention of fire. So who do you want to believe? Kennedy and others claim he is a supporter of an Imperial Presidency, as well as secretly wanting to undo Roe vs Wade. His Republican supporters insist he is an objective and well intentioned Judge who will carry out his duties honestly and fairly. As he has written probably more than 4000 opinions in his 15 years on the bench it is possible to find evidence for either view. As I have learned over the past ten years or so that I cannot believe anything Republicans say I have to go with the Democrats on this one. I think there is no doubt that Alito is a supremely conservative candidate and, as he is much touted and loved by the Falwells and others of that ilk, he has to be truly bad news. He has clearly been well rehearsed and well prepared for this endeavor. He comes across as serious-minded, pleasant, and honest. So beware! At the moment I believe he will probably be confirmed (although my instincts and information tell me he should not be).

Can anyone tell me how it is that the Senate can pass the McCain Amendment outlawing torture at precisely the same time they passed the Graham-Levin Amendment that not only takes away the basic right of habeas corpus but also for all intents and purposes makes the McCain Amendment useless? I confess that our Senators and Congresspersons work in mysterious ways. Of course they always work to support our nitwit President and the Corporations that feed him obscene amounts of money to insure he will continue always to act on their behalf. Corporations + Government = Fascism (ask Mussolini).

There is a website, www.ConvictBush/Cheney.org, that everyone should definitely check out. This is a serious business supported by very well respected people and organizations determined to expose Bush/Cheney's lies and war crimes and see to it they are either impeached or convicted or both. It couldn't happpen to a couple of nicer guys.

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