Midwest Monday News 01.30.06

Posted by Steven Bellah on 01.30.2006

How is Dubya like Norman Bates? And just when you thought she was gone, she pulls herself back in....

Well, the site is working again after the huge reaction to the Royal Rumble, so off we go.....


I thought you were gone forever.....

From Yahoo:

Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who set up camp near President Bush's Texas ranch last summer, said Saturday she is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein to protest what she called the California lawmaker's support for the war in Iraq.

"She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding. She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops," Sheehan told The Associated Press in an interview while attending the World Social Forum in Venezuela along with thousands of other anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

"I think our senator needs to be held accountable for her support of George Bush and his war policies," said Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata, said the senator "doesn't support George Bush and his war policies."

"She has stated publicly on numerous occasions that she felt she was misled by the administration at the time of the vote," Kuwata said by phone from California.

But with troops committed, Feinstein believes immediate withdrawal is not a responsible option, Kuwata said.

"Senator Feinstein's position is, let's work toward quickly turning over the defense of Iraq to Iraqis so that we can bring the troops home as soon as possible," he said.

Sheehan accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on the issue.

She said she would decide whether to run after talking with her three other adult children. The Democratic primary will be held in June, and candidates must submit their statements for the voter guide by Feb. 14.

Kuwata said Feinstein and Sheehan appear to have a fundamental disagreement over whether troops should be pulled out right now. "That's why they have elections, and if she decides to file (paperwork to run), so be it," he said.

Sheehan said running in the Democratic primary would help make a broader point.

"If I decided to run, I would have no illusions of winning, but it would bring attention to all the peace candidates in the country," she said.

Sheehan, 48, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., said she would head to Washington on Sunday for protests against Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, and then return to California to discuss her idea of running against Feinstein with her son and two daughters.

"I can't see — if they think it's going to help peace — that they would be opposed to me doing it," she said.

------I ultimately don't see her running, due to the fact that she has no political office experience. Well, that didn't stop Bush from nominating Harriet Miers, so who knows. I don't think Cindy Sheehan really realizes that she isn't liked by a lot of people. She talks and acts like 85% of America loves her. Well, she needs to re-think her beliefs.

If she does run, she would get murdered by Feinstein. Even though her arguements are pretty good, Sheehan simply still is living off the buzz she had last year, camping out at Bush's ranch. When California voters realize she would be making important decisions for the state, well, I think they'll turn her away.

Of course, the fucking TERMINATOR is the Governor, so anything is possible.



Bush pulls a Norman Bates, via the telephone

No, I'm not talking about killing someone in the shower, I'm talking about spying, which is what Norman did to Marion Crane right before "Mother" decided to kill her. Not by peeping through holes, but by listening in on calls coming in to the United States, or so he says.

Bush spoke at K-State University last Monday, defending his decision to listen in on phone conversations, or as the media has declared it, "Domestic Spying". He claims it needs to be done to protect us. He says if a known Al-Qaeda contact is calling into the United States, we need to know about it.

I agree, but it's not that easy.

As much as I understand Bush's reasoning, I can't help but believe the fact that this whole thing will be taken advantage of. How long before 86 year old Mildred Smith of Wichita Falls, Texas is preyed upon by the government? How long before the CIA is breaking down my door after they hear me bitching about Republicans to whomever I'm talking to?

If there was a guarantee that regular, ordinary American's wouldn't be targets, I'd be all for it. But there is no such guarantee--yet.



He's going to be President someday, folks.

Again, from Yahoo:

To more effectively oppose Supreme Court nominees in the future, Democrats need to convince the public "their values are at stake" rather than use stalling tactics to try to thwart the president, said a senator who opposes Samuel Alito's confirmation.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., predicted on Sunday that an effort to try to block a final vote on Alito would fail on Monday. That would clear the way for Senate approval Tuesday of the federal appeals court judge picked to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Democrats fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and other issues.

"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

"There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers," he told ABC's "This Week."

Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts are urging fellow Democrats to support a filibuster, citing in part Alito's conservative record on abortion and deference to executive power.

Alito's supporters must produce 60 votes to cut off a filibuster; an Associated Press tally shows at least 62.

The AP tally also shows that at least 53 Republicans and three Democrats intend to vote to confirm Alito; that is well over the required majority.

President Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address that senators should have an up-or-down on a nominee "who understands that the role of a judge is to strictly interpret the law."

Obama cast Alito as a judge "who is contrary to core American values, not just liberal values."

But Obama joined some Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Charles Schumer of New York, in expressing his unhappiness with the filibuster bid.

"There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that's to win elections," Obama said.

Sen. Joseph Biden, said he, too, would support the filibuster attempt but agreed that it was not particularly wise.

"I think a filibuster make sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding," Biden said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I will vote one time to say to continue the debate. but the truth of the matter" is that Alito will be confirmed, he said.

------You know, I like John Kerry. But he seems to be obsessed with opposing and bringing down anything and anyone related to George W. Bush. Rush has said it numerous times, and he's right: Part of the reason the Democrats aren't winning anything back is that they are spending too much time trying to taint and distort Bush's record. Well, it doesn't matter. We're stuck with him until 2009. Get used to it.

Barack Obama seems to understand that you can't just whine and bitch about how bad Bush is as President and expect to win. Sure, I like it when Democrats call Bush out on his mistakes, but they are creating the wrong image of themselves. Why not tell us what you would do different, instead of telling us what Bush is doing wrong?

The problem is THAT is what America is thinking of the Left right now: Whiny, finger pointing politicans with no plan. That's sad, because we could really use the Democratic Party right now.

Obama is realistic. He knows Scalito will be confirmed, and that we should just move on. But now we've got Kerry and Kennedy trying a fillibuster that will just piss off the country more.

That's part of the reason the Republicans will still be in control in 2007.



My Fellow Americans........

I will watch the State of the Union address this week with an open mind. It's been over a year since I was depressed by Bush's re-election, and even though I can't stand him, I will listen with an open mind.

What I want to hear is about America, and what we can do to get better. I don't want to hear about terrorism, Iran, and Osama (well, we can count on Bush leaving him out, huh?) for 55 minutes. Call me boring, but I want to hear about the economy, healthcare, and jobs. For over 4 years all we have heard is about Saddam, Al-Qaeda, and how terrorists want to kill us all.

Can we put all of that aside for one night? I doubt it.



Feedback

Last week I did some bitching of my own, about how Osama Bin Laden hadn't been caught yet and how Bush and the Right benefits from that. As long as he's on the loose, he's a threat, and the war on terror must continue. If he's caught, sure there are other terrorists, but the #1 guy that everyone's afraid of will be off the streets. We couldn't have that, could we? No wonder Bush "just doesn't spend too much time on him".

Well, here's my one piece of fan mail, if you can call it that:

I just wanted to say something about your post quickly. Basically it's to do with this excerpt right here:

"I'm angry that he's still out there, still around, and even though there HASN'T been another attack in over 4 years, the idea that the ringleader still hasn't been brought to justice is still a pretty spooky thing."

... There HASN't been another attack ..." !!!!

This is typical American mentality isn't it? I live over in Australia and we've had shoot-offs of Al Q. or other idiots who have been inspired by Bin Laden and his inane rantings. These people have gone on to take part in the Bali bombings and those bombings in the U.K to name a few. Not to mention the other stuff that happened in India and other third world countries all the time, now and even before f'ng 9/11. It was a tragedy but it opened alot of people's eyes to the atrocities these fundamentalists have wreaked across the world but you know .. there hasn't been another attack on U.S. soil so it's all good right?

It just annoys me how you guys think you're the centre of the world and talk with no respect for the rest of the people around you. It's people like you that give Americans a bad name.

Just thought I should drop that your way.

Cheers,
Your friendly neighbourhood Aussie.

------I understand where you're coming from, but I wasn't avoiding the rest of the world when I talked about this last week. And I wasn't trying to say that America is the center of the world and the only country that matters.

I was talking about how Osama still being on the loose is beneficial for the American government. When I said there hasn't been an attack in 4 years, I meant on America. I'm fully aware that terrorism exists in the rest of the world. It was just an America centered piece. Sorry to offend you.

With that, I will see everyone next week, with my thoughts on the State of the Union, and the Super Bowl!