Issue:DeLay Had Own Tough Quality - Of - Life Choice

Specific:The Texas Republican also accused Schiavo's husband and the courts of ``an act of barbarism'' against Schiavo, who doctors say is in a persistent vegetative state.

Comment:Can we say hypocrisy? This simply goes to the pattern of Republicans at all levels seeking power for the sake of power, and not for the service of other or the country as a whole.

IssueGeorge W. to George W. - by Thomas Friedman for the NYTIMES

Comment: Yet again - Bravo to Mr Friedman - for putting into words a perspective that needs attention.

Issue: The Mind-Body Problem and Terri Schiavo

Specific: "Descartes thought that mind and matter are fundamentally different sorts of thing. The mind is a thinking thing, while material objects are extended in space. They have dimension. The physical realm is mechanistic, governed by physical laws, while the mind is subject to different principles, laws of thought, and is moreover - literally- a free spirit, a ghost in the machine." - by Jason Holt from his essay in a collection of essays in "The Matrix and Philosophy"

Comment: Can this notion be philosophically resolved with those of a religious philosophy who want to deny Ms. Schiavo her right to die? I sometimes speculate that this "ghost in the machine" or "free spirit" is not unlike software in a computer. As long as the programmer knows how to write the code or the "spirit" - the soul - it does not die when the machine is shut off.

Much is being made of a philosophy called a "purpose driven faith". This comes from the recent Atlanta courthouse shootings.

If God is the great programmer and the heart and soul of Terri Schiavo is software in a defective machine, is it not up to God to move that software where he wants it? Why is it up to Congress, the Bush family and the religious right to keep this "free spirit" trapped in a defective machine?

Personally, I find a line was crossed when the Federal Congress wrote Terri's private bill. The "rule of law" is part of the "laws of thought". In order for a society to operate it needs a fundamental mechanism to resolve conflict. The American political system's fundamental mechanism to resolve conflict is the judicial system. All party's are to adhere to the primacy of this concept.

The "ends justify the means" is a priniciple that leads to a lack moral discipline. Yet this is the ideology or theology the Bush Administration is using. And they are quite clearly doing so to pander for vote of the religious right. They do not want the "rule of law" vote.

Issue:The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Masters of Sleaze:

Specific:"Abramoff's and Scanlon's Indian-gaming scandal will go down as the movement's crowning achievement, more shameless than anything the others would do, but still the culmination of the trends building since 1995. It perfectly embodied their creed and philosophy: 'I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!!' as Abramoff wrote to Reed.
They made at least $66 million.
This is a major accomplishment. And remember: Abramoff didn't do it on his own. "

Comment:Bravo to Mr. Books for making the observation. However, jeers to Mr Brooks and his party for not stopping this crew.

Let's not forget that Tom Delay is involved with this guy in some fashion. It was Tom Delay that pushed the Terri Schiavo private bill.
Note: >The Washington Post,The NY Times and The LA Times all seem to indicate that while the situation tragic and sad, the Terri Schiavo bill is bad for our democracy

This is the compassionate conservatives of the mid-90's. These are the Neo-con's. This is the Republican Party today. This is the kind of bait-and-switch political machinations that brought down the Nixon administration.

It is this kind of political thing that turns the general population off to participation in governance.

The current Republican party is not about governance of the people, by the people - they are simply into political control - nothing else.
They are not interested in the individual. They will deny it when confronted. It is not a radical suggestion anymore.

This is not the Republican Party of my parents.

How far will they go?

Issue:The New York Times > National > In Schiavo Feeding-Tube Case, Notoriety Finds Unlikely Judge:

Specific:"People who know him say he considers himself a 'compassionate conservative,' a man whose religious faith is as dear to him as his reputation as a legal scholar."

Comment:This is a example for judges and justice. While I suspect he is Republican. The mindset that controls the Republican Party thinks this judge is wrong. As illustration - later in the article the the statement: "Now Mr. Bush and the Legislature are rushing to agree on a bill that would outlaw the withholding of food and water from certain people in a persistent vegetative state, including Mrs. Schiavo"

This is a abuse of power by the Republican party. But given the treatment of Tom Delay, my complaint is easily dismissed. As in the movie Gladiator, the characters talk of a "vision of Rome". Well, the "vision of America" is not what it used to be.

DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern (washingtonpost.com): "DeLay Ethics Allegations Now Cause of GOP Concern"

Issue:Bush Defends Packaged News Stories from Government :

Specific:"'There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -- these pieces -- are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy,' the president told a news conference"

Comment:And we feel better because....what was that again? While I've been known to mis-speak a few times in my life, I don't personally hold that against George Bush the man. As President, I try to see past to words to the vision thing. I chalk it up to him being colorful. While I don't like it, it doesn't cross a line.

This position crosses some kind of line. The man is not a lawyer or even a particularly logical man, yet he cannot see that the line is blurred! From that comment above - is the President saying that all "advocacy" is fictional or without facts?

Was it Senator Robert Bryd that commented this blurring between fact and advocacy was prevalent in the Third Riech? What is propaganda Mr President? Or do you see this question much like the questions about your "mistakes"?

Issue:The New York Times > Washington > Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News:

Specific:"In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production."

Comment:At least I'm not alone in thinking there is a "government truth" and reality that are not necessarily the same thing. What is the neo-con bent on this subject? What is the vanilla flavor conservative bent on this?

Issue:Yahoo! News - Scalia Slams Juvenile Death Penalty Ruling:

Specific:"If you think aficionados of a living Constitution want to bring you flexibility, think again,' Scalia told an audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. 'You think the death penalty is a good idea? Persuade your fellow citizens to adopt it. You want a right to abortion? Persuade your fellow citizens and enact it. That's flexibility.'
'Why in the world would you have it interpreted by nine lawyers?' he said. "

Comment:Justice Scalia is not a football fan or a fan of any sport that requires an "official". I mention football because of the NFL's instant replay. The analogy is that one team on the field is the Executive Branch and the other is the Legislative branch. The Judical Branch are the officials in this analogy. The fans are the people. Even in the NFL it is not the officials that decide the rules of the game.

Judges like the officials are to interpret a game situation, a play on the field. If 2 plays go to "instant replay" - it is incumbent on the officials to call the second play using the same interpretations as they used for the first. It is incumbent on the officials to call the play the same way in the next game. It is incumbet on the officials to use the same interpretations for a given play for the season. At the end of the season, those interpretations are factored in making new rules for the next season. Some are kept, to improve the game. Other do not.
This is the nature of the beast - yet Justice Scalia does not see this.

The strict constructionists do not see this concept. I don't agree with Justice Scalia

Issue:DOD dismisses claims on Saddam capture:

Specific:"Pentagon officials dismissed as ridiculous and untrue a report that the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq was staged."

Comment:I would have thought that the claim was less than valid if the DOD had said nothing. That they saw fit to comment - even though it is a denial - makes one wonder if there is a truth in the story.

That's the problem with a government controlled truth.

Before I forget again and without a specific cause. I think I want to believe that the value of a country is something that can be assessed and determined. And perhaps I can agree with President Bush on "Good" vs "Bad" countries.

There is a saying about the quality of a society can be judged by the care given to the most vulnerable in its mist.
Should another measure be the average length of periods of peace?
War is necessary at times.

There is more but let me think about it.


Issue:The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: They're Back, and Still Unworthy:

Specific:"Thomas Griffith, who has been nominated to the powerful Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has the unfortunate distinction of having practiced law in two jurisdictions without the required licenses. "

Comment:These appointees are immaterial to the real objective of the Republican's. The real target is the "filibuster". Republican figure this is payback time.

ISSUE:13WHAM-TV ROCHESTER || NEWS:

SPECIFIC:"we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,' Abou Rabeh said. "

Comment:This continues the notion that the Bush administration is not so straight. They continue to hide and distort realities in order to control the news and make their version of the truth take hold.

Issue:Syria Remarks Were a Joke, Legislator Says (washingtonpost.com):


Specific:"According to Roll Call, Johnson said he told the president: 'Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore.' "

Comment: Is there something in the Texas water? Perhaps I'm simply dropping an "s" - maybe it's spelled Tex-ass

Issue:Yahoo! News - Federal Judge Orders 'Enemy Combatant' Jose Padilla Charged Or Released:

Specific:"'For the court to find for [the U.S. government] would also be to engage in judicial activism. "


Comment:Hooray for Logic and Reason. The rule of law relies on Logic and Reason. The Bush Administration has relied on it own definitions of the rule of law, and then ignores the affect on society, mainly because it is beneath them.

If the neo-cons want strict judicial constructionism, then it must also apply equally.