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Some Things I Think I Think…
Posted 10-3-2005
So let's figure this one out. Those wacky, right wing, pseudo
Christians are saying that New Orleans got flooded because of the immoral
activity that takes place there, yet the only part of the city that did not
get flooded was the French Quarter where all the decadence takes place.
The Roberts nomination to
the Supreme Court is an interesting one. Bush could have nominated an
extremist and likely rammed him through with only Republican votes, yet he
did not. He also could have just nominated him to the Supreme Court and
tried to ram the far out, right-winger Scalia to head the court, but he
didn't. I wonder how Scalia feels that a guy who has only been a judge for a
few years will head the court instead of him?
I think much of the
Democratic opposition to Roberts was based on an unwillingness to reveal
writing done as a public employee for earlier Republican administrations.
Why there would be an unwillingness to make public material written on the
public dime does seem suspicious.
What will Roberts do on Roe
v. Wade? When will the issue even be addressed? And, who will be the next
nominee to fill Sandra Day O'Conner's spot? Will Bush try to feed his rabid,
right-wing base on that one. because, at least on the surface, Roberts does
not appear to be a zealot?
The real problem for Bush
that is not going away is Iraq. They can spin things domestically, but over
there is a different ball game. And, the one thing Sunnis and Shiites agree
on is that they do not want our troops on their soil. A permanent resolution
of the challenges Iraq faces will not happen while we are there. Is there
turmoil and bloodshed ahead? Undoubtedly, but it happens every day while we
are there anyway. Let's let them sort out their own problems because Iraqis
associated with us will have a tough time appearing unbiased when rebuilding
their government and country. And if we've learned anything from this
misadventure, I hope we'll recognize we are not remaking countries with an
American flavor anymore.
If we truly support the
troops, we'd want them out of harm's way, especially under the circumstances
Bush took them there. Circumstances that have either been fraudulent or
completely misguided.
Karen Hughes, who is now
some kind of state department advocate on cultural issues, or something like
that, has been getting an earful in the Islamic world as she tries to
promote western values for Islamic women. It appears professional women in
Saudi Arabia have been telling Mrs. Hughes they enjoy their position in
Saudi society and don't want to do things like drive cars and vote. It seems
strange to us, but the real message is one we should heed -- let's quit
assuming everyone wants to be like us.
One irony of the issue of
women's rights is that Iraq under Saddam had the most secular society, and
women had the most western style opportunities there. One of the little
mentioned stories of our invasion has been the plight of women in Iraq. It
is one thing to live in a culture where women have never experienced a
certain level of "freedom", but it must be difficult for Iraqi women to
suddenly have those "freedoms" taken away. And many have suffered violence
because they have not caved in to the repressive laws of traditional Islam.
Hughes' visit to Turkey went
about the same. She tried to convince Turkish women that the US invasion of
Iraq was necessary and was rebuked very strongly. It seems they didn't buy
her argument that we were interested in peace through a unilateral invasion
of Iraq. They reminded her of the pain and suffering women and children in
Iraq have suffered because of the US invasion.
Will the "Hammer" get
hammered? Poor Tom Delay, after twelve years of ethics issues in Congress,
now he's getting picked on by Travis County, Texas District Attorney Ronnie
Earle. While his spin machine is trying to paint Earle as a partisan
prosecutor, his record shows, when it comes to political prosecutions, Mr.
Earle has gone after far more Democrats than Republicans. Is it me, or is
Tom Delay someone that is hard to feel sorry for?
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