A Mind is a Terrible Thing

Okay, so put me in a red uniform and beam me down to that odd little planet .  I’m sure those unusual sensor readings are nothing more than, um, benign life forms.  Hey, what’s this tag on the inside of my collar?  "If you’re wearing this and beaming down with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, there’s a 99% chance you won’t be coming back…"

Truth is, some of my very earliest memories are of watching Star Trek, because my father happened to enjoy the show, and during its first couple of years, it was on early enough to be before my bedtime.  (I also loved The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone, even though they were scary and gave me nightmares.) 

Later, when Trek finally went into syndication, I used to watch it every time I could, and when I got a cassette tape recorder, would actually record the episodes.  Scratchy, loud whistling from interference, such that it could barely be heard on playback…but play them, I did.  Over and over, practically memorizing some shows.  I also remember that it took me years before I finally saw "Day of the Dove" — one episode that never seemed to make the rounds.

Anyway, most are aware that the franchise has lived on through movies and follow-on TV series such as Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager, and Enterprise.  There’s also a pretty healthy market yet for Trek-based novels and stories, and even role-playing and computer games.

Fans, too, have continued to keep the flame burning.  It’s a little known fact that except for a single add-on novel by James Blish (the author originally contracted to write the episodic book versions of the original TV shows), "Spock Must Die," the only original stories at first were written and self-published by the fans.

Doesn’t take much imagination to realize that such fans would, given the technology, perhaps give in to the temptation to try to create new episodes of their beloved Star Trek.  Of course, to do it well takes money and know-how.  Some groups produce audio-only stories, and others rely heavily on green-screen overlays and computer animation.  A few, such as the bunch behind Starship Farragut, went further and have tried to really do it right.

One limitation inherent in all this has to do with Paramount and their enforcement of their copyrights on the Trek franchise.  Basically, they’ve turned a benign blind eye to these fan efforts…provided no money is made on the production.

Thus, the only people who can do this have solid financial backing and do it for real love.  And that’s where I come to the one group that’s clearly way ahead of the rest in production values.  This is the group at "Star Trek: New Voyages", headed by James Cawley, a guy who coincidentally is one of the best Elvis impersonators out there — and his Jim Kirk ain’t bad, either.

Thus far, they’ve produced four episodes and one vignette, most available for download via the link above.  (They’ve lots of mirrors, so the bittorrent is pretty quick.)  Their fifth episode is already in post-production.  Set in the fourth year of the original Enterprise "five year mission", these shows feature new and sometimes inexperienced actors playing the roles of the same characters we know and love — Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scott, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and so on.

The first New Voyages episode, "Come What May" is interesting, story-wise, but very rough around the edges.  And unfortunately, Cawley decided to wear his Elvis pompador.  My god, did he look silly.  Still, I enjoyed their bit of "Trek canon" tie-in regarding future events in the Trek universe.  I’m not sure why this one isn’t available on their website nowadays…possibly precisely because it seemed so rough.  Perhaps they consider it their pilot episode.  As such though, their episode numbering actually begins with the next one.

Their second attempt (listed as episode 4×01) was a huge step forward, and directly built upon one of my favorite original episodes, "The Doomsday Machine" — a story about a virtually unkillable planet destroying device.  "In Harm’s Way" featured not just Kirk’s crew, but also that of his predecessor in the captain’s chair, Captain Cristopher Pike.  I found it to be surprisingly well done and quite enjoyable…although I will admit that some of the time paradox stuff was a touch confusing.  A notable feature of this episode though is the appearance of two actors from the original series: William Windom (who had appeared as Commodore Matt Decker in "The Doomsday Machine") and BarBara Luna, who was in "Mirror, Mirror."

(I will also add that Cawley’s hair was rather more under control.  Plus the make-up for Mr. Spock got noticeably better.)

New Voyages’ 3rd ‘mission’, "To Serve All My Days," was a real coup: They got Walter Koenig to appear as Pavel Chekov, reprising his role from the original series, in a story written by Dorothy Fontana, a rather famous Trek screenwriter.  Again, the sets got incrementally better and the special effects shots were up to modern television quality, in my opinion.

Word must be getting around, because George Takei signed on to play Sulu in "World Enough and Time."  During our last trip to Bangalore and the Ballal Residency with its lovely high-speed broadband, I downloaded that episode.

I have to say, I was simply blown away by it.  Without a doubt, it’s their best effort to date.  The show is beautifully done, the special effects gorgeous, the screenplay well-acted (for the most part), and I literally had my throat tight and tears running down my face at the end.

Seriously, if you like Star Trek and can ignore the fact that different, younger people are playing the roles of the original crew — "World Enough and Time" is not only well worth the download, in my opinion it’s as good as or better than most of the original series episodes.  If you want to go straight to the episode downloads page, it’s here.

According to the site, their next episode, soon to be released as a 2-parter, is "Blood and Fire," written and directed by David Gerrold (of Starwolf, Chtorr, and "The Trouble With Tribbles" fame), and featuring Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar from TNG…playing a different role this time, as an ancestor of her.)  After that, J.G. Hertzler, who has played many roles on Trek, including Klingon Chancellor Martok on DS9, will direct and star in a tale involving the old space-scoundrel, Harcort Fenton Mudd.

So there you have it.  A confession from me that, yes, I’m a die-hard Trekker at heart…and for those of you out there who might also be, a ‘fix’ for our cravings.  Trust me, if you can watch "World Enough and Time" and not feel like weeping, ya have a heart of stone.  Word has it that when they showed this at the conventions, it got standing ovations.

Until next time…
Becca

Via SFGate and the inimitable Mark Morford:

The great American hypocrisy tour / Larry Craig’s bathroom stall! Haggard’s meth hotel! See all the sites of GOP shame. Fun for kids!

Kids! Families! War-wary countrymen! Adorable schoolchildren! Hungry to see the real America? Love the idea of a crazy road trip across our fine ‘n’ scandalous land, one in which you get a real taste of just what kind of crow the local politicos get to eat for breakfast?

Well, search no more, good patriot. Your adventure travel package has arrived. Yes, it’s called Shame Tourism. Or maybe Hypocrisy Travel. Or Shame America! Travelocrisy? Honestly, we haven’t really decided yet. There are just so many options. But who cares? Because it’s the latest craze in domestic tourism, specially designed for happy cynics and satirists and fatalists and contrarians and atheists and liberals alike, all you savvy fans of "The Daily Show" and DailyKos and the New Republic and the Nation and pretty much anyone who finds delight in learning of yet another bitter BushCo conservative caught with his hands in the tacky polyester pants of his fellow countrymen. Best of all, it’s totally free!*

(*Note: does not include additional costs of food, gas, oil, environmental devastation, condoms, souvenir baggies of crystal meth, cocaine, Viagra, hookers, STD meds, or the sad and savage toll on any happy or optimistic outlook you may have deluded yourself into believing actually exists on this planet.)

The rest of this must-read at the link

Both of Stephanie’s eye cataract surgeries are complete and the prognosis is excellent.  Her eyes are still quite red and irritated-looking, and she’s a tad light sensitive — but that’ll all heal soon enough.  Already, she can see far better than before and finally has her depth perception back.

As with most cases, she’ll need reading glasses for close-in work, but for everything outside of about 18 inches, she can see just fine.

Total cost?  52,000 Rupees, or roughly $1200 US.  Cost us a bit more than the Indian norm, because Manipal is a high-end hospital.  Usual cost in the US?  About $6000, from the numbers I could find online.

Hiya folks–

For those of you who might be wondering about Stephanie and her cataract eye surgery, here’s an update:  She’s undergone the first procedure, for her left eye.  The surgeon said the cataract was a really stone-hard one, but he got it out and the new lens put in.  Stephy’s sporting some bruising, especially under the orbital and her sclera is mighty bloodshot — but she already reports she can see SOOOOOOO much better now.  She’s got depth perception back and now realizes that her vision was really beginning to yellow before.

Tomorrow morning (Thursday) she goes for her right eye.  After that, some follow-ups and she’ll be done.  Come Saturday, it’s back to the ashram for us, probably until we leave for the States for our month-long vacation come November 1.

I nearly forgot!  Today is the official "Talk Like a Pirate Day", as inaugurated by my Pastafarian brethren, they who like myself have been touched by the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s noodly appendage.

Savvy?  Ye better, or it’s bilge-water, maggoty biscuits and keel-haulin’ fer the lot of ye!

– Beccaaaaarrrr

Hello there, my dear Imaginary Readers,

Had enough of my "politics" kick lately?  Yeah, me too.  I think I’ve said most of what I needed to say…until the next time my GOP-ocracy meter pegs.  I’ve long since realized that there are two very important reasons why the American people haven’t really woken up yet.

One reason is sheer, passive complacency.  Folks’ll get all worked up about Britney Spears showing on a music awards show just how far she’s fallen…but can’t be bothered to take to the streets when ‘inalienable human rights’ have been thoroughly ‘alienated’ and left bleeding in a gutter somewhere.

The other is that the news media, which could be doing as Ed Murrow did during the 1950s and actually reveal some truths, instead all too often falls for the ‘either-or’ mode of reporting — where the White House says lies (for example) and the Dems call them on it, and the story is reported as if both sides’ arguments have equal validity.  Or else, like with Fox News, it’s outright propaganda for the radical Republicans.

Anyway… maybe the American people will wake up, maybe they’ll hit the snooze bar and go back to dreaming of the next American Idol.  Enough on that.

As some of you might recall, after last year’s "Soul University" program here at the Shiva Sai Mandir Ashram in Penukonda, India, my partner Stephanie and I decided to stay on.  This year, there are two different programs being offered and in a different mode than last time.  Now, it’s trimesters of three months on and one month between, and we’re now about halfway through the first trimester.  Two choices offered either a ‘knowledge’ program or a ‘sadhana‘ program (which means "spiritual practice", most commonly referring to meditation practices).

We went for sadhana.  And the surprising ‘evolution’ of which I spoke in the post title is how the practice of meditation has changed for me.

For many, many years, I kept saying that I knew that meditation would be good for me and that I really ought to find at least 15-20 minutes a day to do it.  Never did, or when I did try, it never stuck.  (By the way, Christian folks wandering by?  When you pray, it is the same thing as meditation.  Really!  Saying prayers and quieting our minds so that we can hear the voice of God.)

Later, in the middle part of 2005, my friends & teachers (and fellow students of Sri Kaleshwar) Alx and Jonathan told me that I really ought to meditate twice a day for 15-20 minutes, morning and night.  Especially as a remedy for stress and insomnia.

Did I?  Barely, and not at all consistently.  It took me months before — with huge resignation and resistance — I started on one of the first sadhana programs available to neophytes, the methods taught in Swami’s book, "Gifts of Shirdi Sai Baba."  (See Sri Kaleshwar’s website for more information, including how to order it if you’re interested.)  It was a fairly long mantra, requiring 101 repetitions (one mala) and done at the same time every day, preferably while outside, for 41 days.  Given my schedule, the only time I could really be sure of was midnight…and so I did it, also along with the second mantra in the book.  When I first started, I stumbled so badly, it took close to an hour…and man, did I fight it.  Felt impossible, too, and like the effort took forever.

Since then, I’ve done many 41 day mantra processes, with varying requirements.  Some for 101 days or more.  Some simply requiring a given number of malas during a specific period of time.  All kinds of different requirements and conditions (called ‘dikshas’).  Occasionally, I’d have to go pure vegetarian and abstain from alcohol (in fact, I’m just such a diksha right now, and likely will be until Navaratri, the festival of Mother Divine… so no mayo (contains eggs) on my cheese & tomato sandwiches, and no wine when I go to Bangalore next week… *boo-hoo*).

Sometimes I’ve had almost no sadhana requirements at all…although fairly early on, many of us students were urged always, every night before bed, to think on our mothers and fathers and give heartfelt thanks to them (even if we did not like them).  And every Full and New Moon, there are specific prayers to do.

Once, I was involved with a thing were I was literally meditating on one mantra for nearly 14 hours a day, sometimes more.

I find that I particularly like meditations that are time-based, rather than counting a specific number of repetitions (japa) — those are the ones where I can sometimes hit a super, super deep trance state.  A place of utter stillness and Silence, and from which I occasionally emerge with interesting insights.

Lately, as part of my current program of meditation, I was assigned four hours’ worth to do each day, in two 2-hour sessions.  I literally complained / critiqued that I felt it wasn’t enough.  That it was too easy.  Ain’t that a hoot?

This is the evolution of which I speak: Starting out as someone who couldn’t even make herself meditate 15-20 minutes a day…and a little over two years later, I’m finding four hours to be hardly enough to satisfy.

My advice to those of you who may be struggling with this, and trying to learn to meditate is just to give it time — and to stick with it.  Believe me, it really does get easier…not to mention, a little bit addictive.

cheers,
Becca

Y’know, this being South India and supposedly an especially arid region therein — desert terrain and flora and all that — it sure has been raining a hell of a lot since the beginning of July.  And especially the last two weeks.

Here in Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh, we’ve been averaging one or two rainstorms a day for at least the last 10 days, and today it’s been raining steadily.

And here in our new apartment, we are discovering that the roof two floors above us isn’t totally sealed against the elements as yet…

Via AmericaBlog, we have this:

McCain flip-flops on his religion – always said he was Episcopalian, now claims he was always a Baptist
by John Aravosis (DC) · 9/16/2007 07:28:00 PM ET

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who has long identified himself as an Episcopalian, said this weekend that he is a Baptist and has been for years…. While McCain has long talked about his family’s and his own attendance at the Arizona church, he appears to have consistently referred to himself as Episcopalian in media reports.

In a June interview with McClatchy Newspapers, the senator said his wife and two of their children have been baptized in the Arizona Baptist church, but he had not. "I didn’t find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs," he said. He told McClatchy he found the Baptist church more fulfilling than the Episcopalian church, but still referred to himself as an Episcopalian.

The Associated Press asked McCain on Saturday how his Episcopal faith plays a role in his campaign and life. McCain grew up Episcopalian and attended an Episcopal high school in Alexandria, Va. "It plays a role in my life. By the way, I’m not Episcopalian. I’m Baptist," McCain said. "Do I advertise my faith? Do I talk about it all the time? No."

Besides an overt attempt to pander to the GOP right-wing base, think maybe his disavowal of being Episcopalian has anything to do with this?–

Episcopal Church Faces Deadline on Gay Issues – New York Times
Published: September 16, 2007
Ever since the Episcopal Church consecrated an openly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire four years ago, forecasts of a rupture over homosexuality within the church or with the rest of the global Anglican Communion accompanied each big church meeting, only to fade.

But as the bishops of the Episcopal Church approach their semiannual meeting this week in New Orleans, the predictions are being taken very seriously. At the top of the agenda for the Sept. 20-25 gathering will be a directive issued by the leaders of the Anglican Communion to stop consecrating openly gay and lesbian bishops and to ban blessings of same-sex unions or risk a diminished status in the communion, the world’s third-largest Christian denomination.

I mean, c’mon — this one’s a gimme for any journalist with half a brain.

But seriously, once I too was fooled into thinking McCain was something other than a flip-flopping opportunistic jellyfish who’ll say or do anything to hold high office.  Man, was I wrong…  The man gives his fellow invertebrates a bad name.

In a story about Bill Maher’s interview with Senator Chuck Hagel, the retiring Republican Senator from Nebraska responds thus:

The Raw Story | GOP Sen. Hagel: Republican Party hijacked by incompetence
"I’ve heard a lot of Republicans in the last year or so say ‘I want my party back,’" says Maher. "I imagine you’re somewhat in the same camp. Do you think the Republican party has been hijacked by incompetents and religious fanatics?"

"Oh, I think it’s been hijacked by incompetency," Hagel concedes. "I think that’s what has driven the Republican Party right off the cliff, and we are not who we say we are."

First of all, let’s take religious fanatics.  Actually, no, there are very few actual religious fanatics in the Republican Party.  Ever since the late 1970s, the GOP has pandered openly towards the fundamentalist right-wing types — in particular the Southern Baptists and the Evangelicals — but what have they actually delivered in terms of giving those folks what they want?

Bupkiss.  No Constitutional amendment banning abortion.  No laws declaring Christianity to be the official religion of America.   Evolution continues to be taught in public schools.  Gay rights and same-sex marriage are more socially acceptable these days than a generation ago — certain state laws notwithstanding.  The pseudo-religious posturing exists only to "get out the base".  That’s all.  If the GOP actually delivered on these things, it’d energize the opposition and soon the fanatics would lose all their righteous enthusiasm…or else they’d demand even bigger concessions.  Like maybe to make witch burnings legal again.  (Why do you think Harry Potter makes ‘em go all bug-eyed and pop-veined?  Getting those books out of libraries and onto bonfires is just the first tiny step for these folks.)

The whole Terry Schaivo debacle was intended to be a bone thrown to the restless fanatic hoardes — and in fact it bit the Repugs on the ass.  Sure, that blatantly unConstitutional midnight law convinced even Mr. Bush to interrupt one of his many vacations to go back to DC to sign it, making a very small number of radical fanatics happy — and pissed off every other person in the country who feels that life-and-death decisions ought to be left to the individual and the family.  Which would actually be an overwhelming majority of the people if you got a truly honest answer from them, including most of the fundamentalists.

Oh, to be certain, there are plenty of incompetents in the GOP — but they aren’t the ones who hijacked the party.  Fact of the matter is, I am grateful for those bozos.  Seriously!  I am on-my-knees glad they’ve been hamstrung by the idiots, poltroons, drool-cups, wide-eyed Regent University GOPer-Zombies, and most of all for that willfully ignorant and incurious man in the White House who insists on being The Decider.  Why?  Because we can continue to count on him making tree-stump stupid, meat-headed Decisions(tm) — and who will keep on appointing people who in no way threaten his feelings of being superior over them.  Feel all warm and fuzzy yet?

America’s "Dumb as a Bag of Hammers" Preznit doesn’t like smart or competent people, because they make him feel unhappy and all funny-tight in his bottom, and we can’t have that now, can we?  The Stupid, the Screw-Ups, and the Sycophants — "Bring ‘em on!"

Can you imagine what would’ve happened, say, had the bullying, grasping, warmongering monomania had been wedded to the brilliance of a leader who really knew how to persuade, how to manipulate, and how to Get Things Done?  And who surrounded himself with equally brilliant people who complimented his strengths and shored up his weaknesses?  That is, a President actually in possession of a brain capable of learning new things — and having the driving desire to do so?  THANK GOD, Mr. Bush prefers brush-clearing vacations over doing actual work!

No, the incompetents haven’t hijacked the party.  What happened is the Other Guys came up with what they thought was a brilliant idea:  "Let’s put a total nimrod in the Oval Office — and we’ll run everything from behind the scenes."

Their trouble is their Special Nimrod had his whole cadre of Buffoons, Lickspittles, Neophytes, and Morons to bring into government with him.  You think even an Evil Genius like Cheney would’ve put a loser like Michael Brown in charge of FEMA?  A man whose prior managerial experience consisted of an Arabian horse association?  C’mon!  That was all Bush!

Gonzales?  Bush.  Rumsfeld?  Same thing — because Daddy Bush (41) hated him.  Condi Rice?  Bush.  General Petreus?  Bush (who never met a chickenshit ass-kisser he didn’t love to pieces).  Rove was pretty much an idiot, too — he just happened to be ruthless at doing absolutely anything to win an election…or more importantly, to be declared the winner of an election, actual ballots and voters be damned.

Anyway, their Boob appointed more Boobs, who appointed more of the same, and so on and so on.  So anyway — yes, the whole power structure of the GOP — and their control of the American government — was seriously compromised and infiltrated by incompetents.

But hijack?  No — that implies an ability to get stuff done, which we know by definition a total dunderhead cannot do.  They fuck up.  It’s in their nature.  That’s why, for example, a military victory in Iraq was so totally undone in such short order.  The professional soldiers delivered a defeated foe…and Bush’s posse of poseurs did what they do best: Destroy everything remaining and leave it all in a smoking ruin.  Oopsie-daisy!

They also have no desire ever to have the Iraq war done, because not only would that prove it was a totally jackassed idea in the first place, it would also shut off the sweet sugary teet of endless billion-dollar under-monitored defense appropriations.  Taking a step back, the guys who truly hijacked the GOP were the Neocons — the guys who never went to war, who thought that America, as the world’s sole remaining superpower — needed to secure a large oil-producing country in the Middle East, and could do so easily.  Guys like Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Pearle — the same guys who thought they could run everything through their puppet executive.  Pax Americana, via a figurehead President — what could go wrong?  (Um, everything…?)

These were also the autocrats and neo-fascists who thought they could undo not just the Constitution, but jurisprudence dating all the way back to the Magna Carta (Habeas Corpus, anyone?) through made-up terms like "Unitary Executive," "signing statements," "enemy combatants," "rendition," and "enhanced interrogation."  They’re the ones who insist that a tortured prisoner cannot be allowed to appear in court, because that prisoner — innocent or guilty — will give away secrets in telling people how he was tortured. 

As if we don’t already know too much about "waterboarding," "stress-positions," "aggressive questioning," and "sensory-deprivation."  I honestly thought torture would finally break the camel’s back, but I must admit now that I totally underestimated the complete moral elasticity of these sick, uncaring, evil bastards. 

But it was smart guys like David Addington who pushed the idea of having the White House counsel office and the Justice Department sign off on the legality of blatantly illegal, immoral acts.  It just so happens that Gonzales & Crew couldn’t even get that right.  Supposedly the more professional legal minds remaining in the Administration, few as they are, were so embarrassed at the shoddy work, mistaken conclusions, and ridiculously baseless legal opinions as to threaten resignation. 

The GOP was also hijacked by outright crooks, swindlers, and con-men.  Like the entire Alaska Congressional delegation selling not just their votes but their influence for pretty baubles, sweetheart real estate deals, and home renovations.  Like Bush’s friend, Mr. Hunt, who in the middle of a war, is busily undermining American foreign policy by arranging private oil deals with the Kurds — much to the anger of their Sunni and Shia countrymen to the south.  Like Rupert Murdoch, openly running a propaganda operation for the GOP, headlined by Fox News (sic).  Like Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater, and all the other defense contractors committing outright fraud because nobody in the Defense Department is bothering to do proper audits anymore.  These guys love having a no-bid war like Iraq going, because they get to bleed tens of billions straight out of the Treasury.  Some twelve billion dollars in cold, hard cash — actual Ben Franklins — was literally airlifted to Iraq and now they can’t account for NINE BILLION of those dollars!  These thieves and plunderers never ever want America to stop being at war, or to have a Congress that might pass sensible tax laws, balance the budget, and reinstate oversight and auditing on defense spending.

The GOP’s been hijacked by the corrupt, like Senators Dominici and Graham of New Mexico, blatantly interfering in the Justice department, trying to get a US Attorney fired because he wouldn’t file bogus voter fraud charges.  By the former Senator DeLay, who tried to create a permanent GOP majority starting with manipulation of Texas districts.  By the dozens of Republican pockets lined generously by the corrupt lobbyist, Abramoff.  By the current crop of GOP cronies trying now to steal Electoral College votes by breaking up California’s ‘winner take all’ system (the system that exists in nearly every other state in the union) — even though anybody with a brain sees they would NEVER propose the same in any state the GOP usually wins — like Texas.  By the guys who rig elections through fixed voting machines, voter purges, and outright manipulation of the electoral process, including the owner of Diebold, the maker of voting machines, who promised to deliver Ohio to Bush in 2004 (and by gum, he did!…along with disgraced former Ohio Secretary of State, Republican Blackwell).

Would you believe they even floated the idea of nominating Theodore Olsen to replace Gonzales as AG?  The same guy behind the Florida 2000 recount cum electoral theft.  He’s the one who argued that unsigned absentee ballots received after the deadline ought to be counted (funny how almost all of them were for Bush), whereas ballots cast using those faulty punch-cards ought to be disallowed unless absolutely pristine (and funny how most of those were for Gore).  And in case some forget, Olsen was also deeply involved with "The Arkansas Project" — the "Slime Bill Clinton at ANY costs" campaign, funded heavily by billionaire oil man, Richard Scaife.

And, let us not forget the hypocrites, which actually tends to include all of the above.  These are the homophobes voting against gay rights and same-sex marriage — while offering to pay $20 to blow some guy in a Florida rest stop.  Or cosponsoring Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage — while propositioning an undercover cop in an airport restroom.  (Who knows how many times the whole toe-tapping / wide-stance thing actually worked for Senator Craig on his many cross-country flights?)  Or a member of Congress, GOP Rep Mark Foley from Florida, literally stalking young male Congressional pages — while at the same time voting straight down the ticket against gay & lesbian civil rights.  Or the Evangelical religious leaders like Ted Haggard, railing against the sin and wickedness of homosexuality — caught paying for both the services of a male prostitute and methamphetamine (hey, a two-fer!).

The guys who pass laws authorizing warrantless wiretapping — but who scream bloody murder when an FBI sting catches them accepting bribes.  The big law-and-order types — until the indictments and convictions come, then they bitch endlessly about how unfair the system is, or how full of remorse they are. 

The ones who say they promise to hold the Bush Administration accountable for the disaster in Iraq — and never once vote against the White House’s wishes.  A guy, McCain, who was tortured and so has no excuse in not knowing that it’s like to suffer it — voting not only to authorize torture, but to let the White House and CIA keep it all hush-hush.  Senator Specter from my former home state, Pennsylvania, promising over and over that he’s not only a moderate, but that he’ll hold Bush and his Justice department appointees accountable — yet never manages to do so when it actually might matter.  Susan Collins and countless other Republican members of Congress promising to hold Bush accountable for Iraq, but who never, ever actually do so.  More hypocrites.

And a President who says he’ll fire anyone involved with leaking the names of intelligence officers (Plame), but not only doesn’t follow through on this when it’s learned that Rove and Libby were the top perpetrators — he pardons the latter, who was convicted of lying to a grand jury about his having leaked the information.  Liars and hypocrites all, not to mention traitors.  That leak not only ended Valerie Plame’s career as a NOC helping to control nuclear weapon proliferation, they also risked the very lives of every contact she ever had.

The GOP is perfectly willing to impeach a sitting president for lying about a sexual indiscretion — and yet his successor has lied to Congress, lied at State of the Union addresses, lied to the American people on countless occasions (both directly and through proxies).  He’s broken Federal law, violated treaties, and blatantly violated not just the Constitution but his oath of office to uphold, protect and defend the same, and to take care that all the laws of America are faithfully executed.  Yet from the GOP, the silence is deafening.  No criticism, not one peep of dissent.  (Insert the sound of crickets chirping here…)

Senator John McCain seems to think it’s perfectly fine to say flat out that the millions of MoveOn.org members be "kicked out of the country," because they dared to question the veracity of one of Bush’s puppet generals.  He actually said this!  Kinda McCarthy-esque, don’t you think, folks?  Remember, in the rise of all these movements, first the talk…then there’s the doing.  To suggest that citizen dissenters should be deported is the very height of unAmericanism.

Senator Hagel, your GOP has been hijacked by criminals, hypocrites, homo-repressed perverts, warmongers, and fascist wannabes.  It just happens that the incompetents among you have saved us, so far, from total ruin.

All Hail Commander Codpiece and his Battalions of Bumblers — because God only knows what people with smarts and ability could’ve accomplished, given the same goals…

Rant over,
Becca

From the ever-savvy Froomkin in WashPo:

White House Watch
President Bush will go on television tomorrow night to announce the likely conclusion by next summer of the temporary troop escalation he instigated in January. But all that would do is return us to the status quo ante: With a huge force of about 130,000 troops still fighting and dying in a deeply unpopular war.

And it’s not like Bush actually had any choice: Pentagon officials have repeatedly said they didn’t have the manpower to maintain his "surge" beyond then anyway.

Meanwhile, nobody will call him the liar he so clearly is.  If the media catches him at all in this blatant fabrication, they’ll call it "misleading" or "misrepresenting" or just "inaccurate."

Why not call it for what it is: A premeditated lie.

Any withdrawal in that timeframe is simply bowing to the realities of an overextended deployment.  (Of course, I would not put it past these bozos to go ahead and order "emergency extensions" of 30, 60, or 90 more days for "units in key positions" (otherwise known as "all of them").)

The war was started on lies.  The claims of progress and the ever repetitive "six more months will be critical" were also lies.  The ’surge’ and its supposed claims of progress — more lies.

How many more hundreds have to die, how many more maimed for life, before it is enough?  How many more billions over the half-billion dollars that has been pissed away in Iraq will be enough?

Support the troops: Bring them home now.

Y’know, for half a trillion dollars, we could’ve had total national universal healthcare for everybody, free college tuitions, and maybe even a permanent base on the Moon.

Instead, we have Mr. Bush’s apocalyptic desert adventure.  Pathetic.

Even worse, the Democratic Party members of Congress fail to realize that an overwhelming majority of Americans want the war over NOW.