I really must buy a laptop to take on the road.
Glad to see waka participating once again...it almost reminds me of the "old days" here on the board.
As to "adding" other named individuals to the list I mentioned:
>>To add to your list; George Bush's, John Ashcrofts, Trent Lotts, Rush Limbaughs, Grover Norquists...etc.<<
>> >>You forgot Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond. Now that these last two are leaving, the GOP can move into the 1980's, maybe the 90's.<<
Perhaps I am misinformed. Have all, or any of these people been coddled by Katie Couric on the Today show? Have they been pleasantly promoted by Bryant Gumbel? Have they been spoken of kindly by the Hollywood elite? Received kudos on the op ed page of the New York Times? No, gentle friend. They have benn villified out-of-hand, cast as demons of the realm. As conservatives, they are so often mischaracterized by talking heads on TV as to be almost laughable, were it not that this has happened in America, and not in Russia of the Cold War. Do the rantings of a certain James Carville ring a bell? The change in this information age has made it far more difficult to make these lies stick, and my point is that I too, was a victim of this misinformation, as well as a propagateur. You know doubt have heard the phrase "conservative talk show host....." when TV news types are speaking of any of several people. Ever hear Katie Couric say "Liberal news commentator so-and so"? No, and you won't hear that from her.
Truly, Clarence Thomas is the dem's worst nightmare: an intelligent, independent black jurist who didn't need a special social program to gain his entrance to the highest court in the land. Undoubtedly, this is why such a fearsome load of manure was delivered to a congressional hearing to attempt to derail his confirmation. Antonin Scalia is an equally qualified judge, and both Helms and Thurmond have been consistently returned to service by their constituents. What could be more American than that process of people choosing their representatives?
On God and government: suffice it to say that Jefferson's observation in a letter to some Baptists on the topic of "church and state" was not a part of any law, nor was it at any time a part of the constitution. There is NO constuitutionally mandated separtation of church and state. There IS a provision where the government may not institute an "official" religion. If you want more on this, we went several rounds on this one back when we heard about the ninth circuit court decision in reference to "one nation, under God". Somehow, and I'm not certain how this happened, this "establishment clause", as it is called, has been stretched so far as to take on the properties of Silly Putty.
I'm gratified that we could pursue this briefly, and in a manner appropriate to people who hurl people and plexiglass through the skies of America. As a country, we are one of a kind. Rarely imitated (good day, eh?) but never equalled, we are what others want to be, a free people constanly working on honing that freedom to the sharpest edge. This week we spoke, and our voices were not clouded by the spectre of hanging chads and uncounted ballots. We learned that a memorial is not a political rally, and that the ranks of our unemployed have swelled by the inclusion of the National pilots. The UN has agreed to inspections in Iraq, and interest rates are at a 41 year low.
So yes, this has been quite a week. When I fly to IAD on Sunday, I no longer have to worry about some wacko taking pot shots at me from the trunk of a Chevy, thanks to a guy who has been driving a truck for 36 years. He retires next month. God bless him.
And you, too.
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