Still Fighting

Activism

Read the Constitution. So when was the last time you actually read it? I know; it was written by dead white guys, and later amended by other white guys, some now dead, who eventually let some non-white non-guys have a say too. I know it lacks the gripping drama of a John Grisham novel or, really, any other kind of novel. And that most of us would sooner read the entire nutritional information block on a box of Cocoa Puffs than pay attention long enough to read all the way from Article I to Amendment XXVII. But the Constitution defines the battleground on which many of our legal and political skirmishes take place. It's customary to counter an opponent's argument with the fact that it's unconstitutional ... but when was the last time you checked? Brush up on the lay of the constitutional land, and next time you whip out that offhand retort you'll be able to back it up with why.

News

Attacks Put New Pressure on Bush. It's a bit like a tide, isn't it? Every two years, politicians become a lot more interested in how they look compared to other politicians, specifically whichever ones end up running against them. Seems like these days it's every week that more of our troops fighting Bush's war struggle war end up killed or maimed. Republicans, notorious for closing ranks on pretty much every issue from taxes to Terry Schiavo, are being gently tugged out of formation by the looming start of the next election cycle. Bad numbers in Iraq equals unhappy constituents and, quite possibly, also equals Senators and Congressmen preparing transition documentation for their replacements. Senators and Congressmen tend not to care for that very much, and some of them are eyeing polls that show Bush's numbers continuing to sink in the wake of ongoing bad news from Iraq. We all know Dubya doesn't pay attention to polls, but he might want to start paying attention to how they're affecting his foot soldiers in the crusade struggle for conservative American sovreignty victory.

NY Police Sued Over Bag Search Policy. In a shocking turn of events, the New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to the random search of NY subway travellers' bags. Calling the program unconstitutional, the NYCLU filed suit against the city's Police Department yesterday, saying searches that are not based on cause for suspicion don't really help solve the problem. Other critics of the program are with the NYCLU on that one, but their solution is just a bit different: They want police to start using racial profiling, emphasizing searches of young men of Middle Eastern or Asian descent. What these people really don't seem to get, here, is that assuming suspicion based solely on someone's appearance is, well, unconstitutional. There's a little hurdle they need get past first, called probable cause, and it's written right into the Constitution they say they want to protect. We know, because we looked it up; maybe they should do more of the same?

Court Nominee Advised Group on Gay Rights. This one may actually help Bush with the liberals: Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts has a bit of a skeleton in his closet. Ten years ago, Judge Roberts provided key legal advice to gay rights advocates, helping them win a landmark 1996 ruling protecting gay men and lesbians from state-sanctioned discrimination. The news comes as a surprise to many on both left and right; Roberts neglected to mention his involvement in the case when discussing his pro bono work in response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. Conservatives have reacted extremely poorly to the news, which prompted the White House to immediately reassure them on Roberts' conservative street cred. While that's all well and good, the more important question is whether he'll interpret the law or legislate from the bench; an issue on which Bush has made his opinions quite clear.

Editorials

Ignorance Is Bliss; Sometimes it's Policy. No news is good news? Maybe on a case-by-case basis. In general, though, we like to keep up to date with what's going on in the world; take stem cell research, for example. Recent advances in technology have advanced the state of the art around the world ... except for right here in the good ol' US. American conservatives place a lot of stock in America's inherent superiority in, well, just about everything, but many don't seem to realize that once upon a time we earned whatever honor we had in claiming first place. There's a famous quote by a George W. Bush aide that those outside the GOP tent were "in what we call the reality-based community," defined as "believ[ing] that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I guess if you're impressed enough with your own divine infallibility, there just isn't any need to assess a situation before grandstanding your way into it. This bias against learning is leaving America's children behind as the rest of the world catches up and, at some point, pulls ahead.

Nothing Is Ever the President's Fault. Poor, poor President Bush. Assailed from all sides (well, mostly the left) for lots of things he just shouldn't be blamed for! After all, it isn't his fault being President is so dang hard. You have to spend so much time signing all that legislation, and then all of that having to ignore everybody who doesn't agree with you. It's no wonder Dubya spends twenty percent of his time on vacation. Much of it is spent at his "ranch." Clearing "brush." Oh, and working, because we all know that he is thinking about Iraq every single day. It's not his fault people have to do mean things like request information on his nominees, or ask him questions about stuff he doesn't want to talk about, or disagree with everything he says when, plainly, he has the right as President to enforce his opinions with legislation. There's a war going on! Why can't the Democrats just agree to do everything Bush wants? After all, if this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier ... just as long as Bush is the dictator.

Blogger Commentary

The Premature End of That Global Struggle Thingie. Don't you hate it when a PR campaign goes bad on you? Rises from the table like an animated corpse in an experiment gone horribly wrong and starts smashing up your lab? That's a bit of an exaggeration, but it does seem that Bushco is having trouble coordinating its anti-terrorism message. First it's a War, then a Struggle, then Bush evidently didn't get the memo and without much in the way of fanfare it's a War again. Because, well, it's just not as sexy being a Struggle President. And what of those who've written recently that the change from War to Struggle also "reflects the evolution in Bush's own thinking"? Well, let's just say they might want to pick a little more discreetly next time from the Sources Close to the White House pool. Or, possibly, verify a little more closely whatever info they get from someone who won't comment on the record.

John Bolton: Nobody Likes a Bully. President Bush says UN Ambassador John Bolton has his complete confidence. Of course, so do Karl Rove, central figure in many stories of "dirty pool" politics, and Rafael Palmeiro, who just recently tested positive for steroid use. Bush also has complete confidence in Donald Rumsfeld (for doing a bang-up job on the War in Iraq), his own Social Security Plan, and Intelligent Design. So forgive us if we're a little skeptical of Bolton, who's been noted for his "kiss up and kick down" management style. He's on record as saying the US is the "only real power left in the world," and directs the UN in support of its own global objectives, period. Conservatives applaud John Bolton for being a tough talker who will "get things done," but there is an art to diplomacy. It is understanding all points of view and working out solutions everybody can live with. Otherwise, you're just a bully making other people do what you want because they have no other choice. We seem to recall that's exactly what the early American colonies rebelled against.