Uninvited
We’ll stay if we want
Searching through your closets
For your grandfathers gun
-Cake

Over the last several days, I have made several attempts at writing a piece for this site, or for the Dig, called “Minimum Wage Nation.” The basic thrust of the whole thing was going to be that, like most families in America, our beloved country lives far beyond its means.

This was recently proven to the American people by, of all things, hurricanes.

Oh sure, YOU knew it, and I knew it, but the American electorate did not. They did not realize how far in the hole we’ve been getting, or that we’ve been borrowing money hand over fist to finance the war in Iraq. They did not realize that Homeland Security funds have been ill-allocated, and that locales and programs that could truly benefit Americans and shore up their safety have had a hard time getting dollars, while, as previously mentioned here, Alabama and Kansas have gotten plenty of dough to combat terrorists on their native soil. They did not recognize rampant cronyism leading to appointments to positions of importance in national security: to be fair, cronyism is always rampant in federal appointments, but usually people get cush jobs at Interior dealing with things like ethanol, not jobs which require actually saving people or implementing shit that actually has to work.

Instead, Americans were treated to the third giant clusterfuck of this century. (You get two guesses as to what the first two were, and if you get it wrong, I’m not sure how you got here in the first place.) They watched on TV as New Orleans flooded and everyone in the federal, state, and local governments stood around with the collective thumb up the collective ass. They watched as everyone tried to blame each other and were unable to make much sense of who was actually responsible. The answer to that, of course, comes back to the federal government, no mater how sad you are for Generalissimo Jorge: when FEMA became part of Homeland Security, they got the power to override and commandeer state and local government decision-making and resources, which they failed to use during Katrina and are now Camaro-ing in the face of Rita.

So I kept trying to write – the gospel, righteous truth about how America is like a double-income, low-wage family struggling to make ends meet. A family, like most, that can’t afford health insurance and are unprepared for any sort of emergency. A family that, when little Timmy ends up with a busted leg for whatever reason, well, they end up losing the house. And I hate to say this, but I couldn’t do it.

After a summer of working for the Democratic Party and being met on some very important fronts with nothing but frustration, I began to wonder if maybe our party leadership is determined to fail. That maybe they like losing. That they are so wrapped up in a vision of the Democratic Party that never actually existed – the spineless, all-inclusive vision that is afraid to engage in real politics, the vision where Bill Clinton was elected because he was a really nice guy and was ready to fight on the front lines of our nation’s hearts and minds for gay marriage and abortion and being really “progressive,” a term which everyone seems to throw around (similar to ‘‘populist’) without anyone having any idea what they’re talking about. The vision where you can show up for politics without a bandana and a switchblade and still have a shot at winning.

Let me give you an example of what I mean: there’s this Denton County Constable – a Republican elected official – named Larry Floyd. Larry got in a spot of trouble because he drove to Colorado to solicit sex from a young girl via her mother, using the interweb. I urged the party to release something to the press, saying “We in the Denton County Democratic Party believe that our elected officials should hold themselves to the highest standards, and an elected official that administers the law even more so. We call for Larry Floyd’s immediate resignation at the behest of the Denton County Republican Party.”

Seems fine, right? Why wouldn’t we feel that way? “Oh no”, I was told.” We can’t touch that. We can’t play their game!” So then it comes out that the DENTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY KNEW HE WAS FILTHY. They knew he’d been accused o going after the kiddies before he ran for office, and they ran his ass anyways.

Guess what the party leadership dictated be done about it? Yeah, I bet you can guess.

So either I’m all out of outrage or I am so disappointed in the people leading my own local party that I can’t muster up the juice to throw down.

Wait, I totally just wrote about it! OH SHI

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest.
– W. H. Auden

It is difficult, at times, to continue to save the world in small and contemporary ways. My Democrat job, the ending of which is its own story, was a source of stress because I put upon myself the usual growth of scope that accompanies all of my activities. I demand that I be the best, and if I am not the best, I agonize over it. I don’t know where that came from. Everything I do, I see myself as doing it on as large a scale as possible, and I am constantly working as if I am on some sort of world wide stage.

It is a pattern in my life, wherein I throw myself fully into some endeavor until it goes wrong, or I get disenchanted with it, or I find out the truth of a thing, and then I immediately become disaffected. Its okay for me to admit this – I’m a grown-ass man, and I can be honest with myself about my penchant for self-aggrandizement.

So it was no surprise to me that I took my Democrat job very seriously, and felt as if everytime I went into work, I was saving Democracy in some small way. My friends in Deutsch class had an unrelated joke – they would ask me how Democracy was doing everytime I came into class. The usual answer was “terrible”.

For a long time, through this medium and through my conversations, scholarly work, and arguments, I have been preaching that the direction our country has been steered in since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 is not only wrong-headed but potentially disastrous. I have commented on foreign policy, geopolitical analysis, the state of rights and our need to protect the Constitution, and the inherent dangerr represented by the Bush administration, single-party rule portrayed as unified governnment, and the rise of the faux-martyrs in American Christianity. I have stated that the Iraq war had nothing to do with the War on Terror, that it would be disastrous, that it would cost way more than we were told, that WMD’s would never be found because they didn’t exist, and that it would in effect destablize the Middle East. I have said we were definitely going to attack Syria, and that we may end up running offensives against Iraq.

I have said, on several occasions, that despite all the money we’ve dumped into Homeland Security, we are in no way prepared for a terrorist attack or its aftermath. I did NOT, however, say or anticipate in any way that we would be so roundly unprepared to deal with a situation like Hurricane Katrina. I never anticipated that we would be preparing to spray pesticides over a city already drenched in toxicity, that Americans would be pointing guns at Americans needing help, that a rescue and logistics matter would be botched so badly that so many people would die horrible, drawn-out deaths for no better reason than a lack of listening skills or caring on the part of our leaders.

4 years to the day after 9/11 and what has happened? Where are we now? What have we achieved with all of our hard work? Our media has finally started to ask the important questions, the hard questions – Ted Koppel and Anderson Cooper are some current heroes who apparently lost their tolerance for bullshit some months ago – but no one seems to be asking what should be the 2 most important questions:

1) Saying that most of the people that died in Katrina’s aftermath were killed by governmental impotency is not correct – a lack of ability or resources is forgivable; what happened in New Orleans is an example of gross negligence and mismanagement, on about as many fronts as you can imagine. Who is going to be held accountable, ultimately? Where does the buck stop? Certainly we have played the blame game some what, but no one is asking who will end up at the end of the chain when the time comes, if it ever does. I believe it has to, because we have witnessed what amounts to murder. Anyone who says anything different is an apologist.

2) What if this had been a nuke? Or a bio-weapon attack? If this doesn’t show the American public that we are in no way safer than we were four years and one day ago, what will?

By that, I in no way mean that things are bad. Don’t think it. If I’m not at the Democrat HQ surrounded by good people, I’m in German class, where we’ve become good friends during our own private war mit Deutschem. If I’m not in those places, I’m home spending well-deserved time with my wife.

Now that we’re all caught up, let’s talk about the world. Not one of my favorite subjects these days.

My friend Jason was a combat medic in the US Special Forces. He still has Top Top Secret clearance, so it was no surprise to him that he received a phone call from someone still in the uniform Thursday morning. His aquaintance had been on one of the trains.

“He got hit with one of the chairs, and he said people were blown all over the place,” Jason said.

“Never mind that,” I said. “Give me the numbers. You’re familiar with this sort of thing, and 2 dead, 70 wounded sounds low.”

“You can expect a lot more. It won’t be pretty.”

It turned out to be a lot more. The Radio Funhogs suggested that now terrorists are bad at their jobs because this attack was “unsuccessful” and that also now is the time to buy stocks. The selling of the world picks up when things explode.

So China bails us out on a regular basis with RedBucks and the War On Terror’s failures are being trumpted as the obviation of our need for George Bush. The pundits say that 4 simultaneous bombings of our closest ally is a failure and that the War On Terror is working. Sandra Day O’Connor retires instead of (or perhaps along with, but at least before) Rehnquist, and my brother-in-law joins the Navy because not many other options in the world we’ve inherited look appealing.

I spent some more time with my Uncles, and they had more good natured ribbing. “What would Democrats do on Defense, Josh?” they ask.

I say “We would sure as shit have the good sense to take care of our soldiers when they come home. We wouldn’t cut veteran’s benefits. We’d make sure our soldiers have the tools they need to do the job.” The words fell out of my mouth and I realized I was reciting talking points. These are things I believe my party would do, but I sounded like a flak and it got my goat.

“But never mind that,” I said. “Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and Harry Truman were all filthy liberals, as your favorite guys like to call us. Harry Truman was a liberal, and he dropped the A-Bomb. Republicans can’t even make sure these guys have health insurance when they get sent home a leg lighter. How is that hard on defense?”

My words had become hard and my eyes flinty. My heart was full of ire and I hated more than ever that what is happening to my country is out of my control. I love these guys and I felt sorry for them, like they’d been ultimately mislead. None of us know anything but what the media tells us, so how am I any better than the guy with the W sticker on his car who thinks a little human rights abuse during freedom’s march is the cost of doing business?

A few days later I found myself in the company of another Deutschfreunden, a guy I call Metal Mike. We were having a cup of coffee outside the Jupiter House at 1 am and talking the hard talk of men who understand politics and can no longer dream big because the reasonable die lonely political deaths in the back alleys of idealism. Two guys sat next to us and played songs on their guitars.

Another patron of the Jupiter House turned to us after Metal Mike explained why he usually voted Republican but thought they were getting a little out of hand. The new guy said “You know, sometimes I wish Democrats would just come out and say that abortion is wrong but choice is important, or offer a plan about foreign policy. I couldn’t vote for Kerry because, while I knew Bush was bad, I didn’t have any idea how Kerry would be or what he would do. I did not vote”

I said “Never mind that. Gary Hart once told Hunter S. Thompson that part of the Democratic Party’s problem was that it ‘doesn’t have any policies. It doesn’t have any direction. People know that. They’d rather go with a Republican they know than a Democrat, a devil they don’t know.’”

This was in 1987. If it sounds familiar, well, there’s a reason for that. Later on in the conversation, Hunter told Hart that “we can’t afford another four years of these Half-Bright Rich Boys in the White House. Its time to win. We must maintain the bloodlines.”

This is a good point, and a true story. Its time to win, and to win will require the dirty work of a thousand guys like me in the back-water back-alleys of politics. It won’t happen in the smoke-filled room. There are no magic bullets and there are no quick fixes – every solution to one problem opens the door on another, bigger problem with a flat head and a mean mouth.

If we ever get to foreign policy, the clean, ill-lighted room will have gotten very large indeed.

109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 24

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 17, 2005

Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SABO, and Mr. PALLONE) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:
`Article --

`The twenty-second article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is repealed.'.

Despite what I think about how the 2006 midterms will turn out, if the GOP gets anything CLOSE to a 2/3 majority in both houses, hello Glorious General George.

This is real – its made it through at least one committee. Its in the Library of Congress Congressional Record, and it hasn’t been killed yet.

I’m not usually one to run off to the Panic Barn and freak out about little things. Legislation like this gets proposed all the time – balanced budget amendments, to repeal the 22nd amendment, etc. Clinton got a party similar to this one started during his time in office.

I wouldn’t normally be worried about something like this, if not for the GOP making so many moves to consolidate power lately, chief among those being the nuclear option. I’m not saying the sky is falling, I’m just saying that this bears watching.

In other news, my revisions cconcerning my political langauge research and the 1988 DNC and RNC candidate speeches are now available in 21 delicious PDF-style pages.

First of all, let me point out that when George Bush was Governor of Texas, he signed into law a bill that allows hospitals to unplug patients in a vegetative state if no one can pay the bill and there’s no hope for recovery. George Bush, leader of the Republican Party for which the Terry Schiavo case is a widely proclaimed “matter of principle”.

Secondly, Tom DeLay has been quarterbacking this highly charged moral issue, all the while making character attacks on Terry Schiavo’s husband. Tom DeLay, thrice spanked by the House Ethics Committee and what should be a hair’s breadth from fending off criminal charges.

Third, the bill itself is a truly bipartisan effort, and I cannot believe the lengths to which Senate Democrats have gone to fail so stupendously. The Washington Post snagged a memo to Senate Republicans concerning the bill:

This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue,” said the memo, which was reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. “This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats.

I would like to single out a Senate Democrat to righteously wail on about voting in favor of this bill, but I can’t, because the vote was unanimous. There were seven initial holdouts for the Dems, but simply holding out for concessions shouldn’t have been an option. To top it off, when DeLay was forcing the issue of blame on Senate Democrats if the bill didn’t pass, Fearless Leader Harry Reid passed the buck on Thursday:

I am pleased Senator Frist and I were able to pass the bill that protects the life of Terri Schiavo by allowing her parents to go to federal court. If the House Republicans refuse to pass our bipartisan bill, they bear responsibility for the consequences.

Way to go, you retard! You are learning well! By attempting to take the moral high ground on an issue that is abjectly absurd to begin with, you totally gave all claims to morality to the Republicans. To the GOP, a party with a membership that regularly writes off wartime civilian innocent deaths as acceptable collateral damage. Tom DeLay spewed forth the idea that if what was being done to Terry Schiavo by her husband was being done to a dog, it would be illegal. He made no mention of what the legality would be if it were being done to an Iraqi child.

So, we have the absolute failure of the Democratic Party to manage the national agenda, policy or otherwise. This isn’t necessarily difficult to understand, owing to the massive powers of agenda control that rest with the office of the President, regardless of who inhibits that office. That isn’t to say they couldn’t have fought harder, but fear of political retribution replaced the legislative brains of these fools and this is what we’re left with. The true, best part of this whole mess, however, the real punchline, is the legal implication of this travesty of a bill.

First of all, the GOP calling the bill a bipartisan compromise could very well be an attempt at pre-emptive damage control – they have successfully exerted federal power in the matter of the wholesale control and determinance of the fate of an individual citizen. Bush may feel like American families are better at investing their money than the US Government, but apparently American families are ill-equipped to make medical decisions on behalf of loved ones. This should go far in showing classic conservatives where the priorities of the GOP lay: they are no longer afraid to increase the power of government over the individual, and they are willing to go to any lengths, even calling a BRAIN DEAD WOMAN TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS, to assert those powers.

Additionally, I as usual take issue with the language of the bill because issue must be taken: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but states rights are under attack. By way of the inclusion of the phrase “de novo,” this bill is sending a clear message: we get a do-over. This is a case that’s been fully and formally litigated in the Florida state courts, and Congress didn’t like what they came up with. So, in effect, they are going to wholly disregard any and all decisions made on the issue by Florida courts and are just going to ;askjhdasdt[[[[[[[[[[[[

I’m sorry, I think I was having a tiny stroke.

Social Security reform is dead. Bush’s numbers are in the dumper. The GOP’s salt-of-the-earth base did not react with the election year outrage about the gay marriage upheavals last week. Memos are already circulating addressing the RNC’s concerns about losing seats in the mid-terms. Since their against-all-odds victories in November the NeoCon Funhogs have been getting trounced left and right, foreign and domestic.

Suddenly, an issue that’s been going on FOR YEARS in Florida rears its head and DeLay latches on like a rabid wolverine, without any apologies for not being around before. They can push their Culture-Of-Life hogwash to the extreme and because DeLay and the ProLifers have charged the language with such emotional context, they can totally disregard the normal, Old Tyme Conservative bent about the government staying out of the lives of the little people.

As a husband, I can’t imagine the hell Michael Schiavo is living in. Nor can I imagine how any good conservative can stomach the idea of Bush, first Governor Jeb and then President George, throwing their weight around to overturn the decisions of 19 Florida judges, all of whom have sided with Michael Schiavo. What about the Rule Of Law? What about the GOP’s rank and file derision of the Democrat’s polticization of issues? What about state’s rights? What about, dare I say it, the little-mentioned concept of human dignity?

Congratulations, America. This is what you voted for. Its often said that In a democracy, people get the kind of government they deserve. In this case, we’re getting a government that gives us what it thinks we deserve, whether we like it or not.

GOP Asks Brain-Damaged Woman to Testify

You think its gonna be on TV? Can we get any more bizarre than this? Obviously she was asked to testify in an effort by the GOP to keep her alive until the end of the month. But then what? Who’s gonna swear her in? I’m willing to bet it won’t be Frist, but then again I wonder which committee they’re involving in this charade.

What will her prepared statement be? And, if it is what I think it is, what are the legal ramifications of declaring your love for kittens and peaches to the Senate?