Chief Justice William Rehnquist died tonight in his home. Just as the confirmation hearings for Judge Roberts begin this week, the search for a new Chief Justice will also begin.
I'm sure Rehnquist was a decent fellow (as my mother would say), notwithstanding the following quick summary of his opinions on significant matters of constitutional merit:
Van Orden vs. Perry, which affirmed the right of the Texas State Capitol to have a 6-foot high monument of The Ten Commandments on its grounds.
Dissented on Atkins vs. Virginia, which barred the execution of "mentally retarded" persons.
Part of the majority in Bush v. Gore that overturned the Florida State Supreme Court's decision and threw the "election" to Bush.
Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris, which found that religiously affiliated schools may participate in taxpayer-funded tuition voucher programs.
Dissented on Texas vs. Johnson, which struck down laws banning flag burning.
Wow. That's quite a record. The scary thing is not that Rehnquist pushed these beliefs, it's that his successor will more than likely be far worse...
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Damn the Spam
Sorry, y'all. Now when you leave a comment it will ask you to type in some verification letters to ensure that you are not an automated spammer.
Sorry for the extra step, but it's irritating to have the flow of conversation interrupted to read useless posts about vinyl siding (my house is brick), computer deals (already have one, clearly), and penis enlargement (mine is plenty large enough, thank you).
It's a bummer to have to do this, but I (and my huge penis sitting in my brick house working on my already-purchased laptop) might lose my mind if I get one more spammer commenting on a post.
Sorry for the extra step, but it's irritating to have the flow of conversation interrupted to read useless posts about vinyl siding (my house is brick), computer deals (already have one, clearly), and penis enlargement (mine is plenty large enough, thank you).
It's a bummer to have to do this, but I (and my huge penis sitting in my brick house working on my already-purchased laptop) might lose my mind if I get one more spammer commenting on a post.
Friday, September 02, 2005
My Cyborg Name
Got this site from the august, esteemed and inimitable Mr. B. Harris over at Dubious Quality. Thank God for people like Bill who bring little joys to my life with sites like www.cyborgname.com.
Bill, you are doing the Lord's work. :)
Bill, you are doing the Lord's work. :)
Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself
I generally can't stand Michael Moore, but this email is right ON.
Open letter from Michael Moore < emailed >
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
Open letter from Michael Moore < emailed >
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
I'm Still Feelin' The Love for Wes Clark
Here's his site for your review. Lots of great thinking on Iraq and our military in general.
SecuringAmerica.com
SecuringAmerica.com
Bush Caught Inflagrante Delicto with Katrina
The disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi is so tragic that I could cry for the poor people down there. At the same time, the disaster that has been the disaster response makes me so angry I could cry for the poor people down there. If Bill Clinton were our president, you can be damn sure the 'Pubs would be loaded for bear for his "incompetence."
But here's the thing: I'd rather have a president who is caught with his pants down doing something that does not hurt the public, than a president who is caught with his pants down by something that telegraphs to our citizens and to the world that we do not have a freakin' clue about how to protect ourselves during a massive upheaval.
This is a hurricane about which GWB said that "no one foresaw" the levees in New Orleans breaking. First of all, he's wrong factually. Disaster drills did see the levees breaking. What they didn't see was the rank amateur (mis)coordination of relief and law enforcement.
How, in America in 2005, do you put tens of thousands of people in a sports arena with no food, water or lavatories and not expect Lord of the Flies to break out? How, in America in 2005, do you have human corpses on the side of the road with no plans for how to remove them? How, in America in 2005, do you have Bangladeshi-style human tragedy on the shores of the Ponchartrain?
At least the Bangladeshi government doesn't pretend that "preparedness" and "homeland security" are its middle names...
But here's the thing: I'd rather have a president who is caught with his pants down doing something that does not hurt the public, than a president who is caught with his pants down by something that telegraphs to our citizens and to the world that we do not have a freakin' clue about how to protect ourselves during a massive upheaval.
This is a hurricane about which GWB said that "no one foresaw" the levees in New Orleans breaking. First of all, he's wrong factually. Disaster drills did see the levees breaking. What they didn't see was the rank amateur (mis)coordination of relief and law enforcement.
How, in America in 2005, do you put tens of thousands of people in a sports arena with no food, water or lavatories and not expect Lord of the Flies to break out? How, in America in 2005, do you have human corpses on the side of the road with no plans for how to remove them? How, in America in 2005, do you have Bangladeshi-style human tragedy on the shores of the Ponchartrain?
At least the Bangladeshi government doesn't pretend that "preparedness" and "homeland security" are its middle names...
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