When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Friday, September 24, 2004
The Republican congress is doing worse than ever, and a New York Times editorial this morning has jumped in to castigate them for diddling with issues that may seems theologically gratifying but that have little practical importance.
These fellas are trying to rewrite the Constitution via simple legislation. I can't imagine what court, no matter how tightly packed with agreeable right-wing conservatives, would allow that to stand, as they would be laying the way for themselves to be out of a job. I have not yet noticed that the intense ideoelogical passion of the Right ever gets in the way of its own self-interest.
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
The Republican congress is doing worse than ever, and a New York Times editorial this morning has jumped in to castigate them for diddling with issues that may seems theologically gratifying but that have little practical importance.
The Republican-controlled Congress is shambling to the end of one of the lightest workloads in decades without a hint of embarrassment, concentrating on the defense of the flag, tax cuts and marriage while failing at the most demanding obligations of government....
Republican leaders have also been chipping away at the Constitution by proposing to deny judges jurisdiction to review selected acts of Congress. The House passed a measure yesterday retaining the Pledge of Allegiance's "under God" phrase and prohibiting any federal court - including, outrageously, the Supreme Court - from judging the law's constitutionality.
In essence, the House proposed to protect a patriotic ritual by trashing the constitutional system it celebrates. This measure was spurred by discontent over a 2002 federal appeals court ruling that invalidated the recitation at public schools of the pledge with the "under God" phrase in it, and the Supreme Court's recent choice to dismiss the case on technical grounds rather than addressing the merits. It echoed the mean-spirited and unconstitutional Marriage Protection Act, which the House approved in July to bar federal courts from reviewing the legal definition of marriage.
These fellas are trying to rewrite the Constitution via simple legislation. I can't imagine what court, no matter how tightly packed with agreeable right-wing conservatives, would allow that to stand, as they would be laying the way for themselves to be out of a job. I have not yet noticed that the intense ideoelogical passion of the Right ever gets in the way of its own self-interest.
Palema
5:43 AM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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