The Congressional Leadersheep
OK, that headline might be a tad extreme, but given what Bush & Co want, is it? With the Dems wimping out (and Repubs long ago dropping any pretense to their old small, non-intrusive government goals), what do us citizens who don’t want our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms deleted to do?
Terrorism Policies Split Democrats
A growing clamor among rank-and-file Democrats to halt President Bush’s most controversial tactics in the fight against terrorism has exposed deep divisions within the party, with many Democrats angry that they cannot defeat even a weakened president on issues that they believe should be front and center.
The Democrats’ failure to rein in wiretapping without warrants, close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay or restore basic legal rights such as habeas corpus for terrorism suspects has opened the party’s leaders to fierce criticism from some of their staunchest allies — on Capitol Hill, among liberal bloggers and at interest groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union is running Internet advertisements depicting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) as sheep.
“Bush wanted more power to eavesdrop on ordinary Americans, and we just followed along. I guess that’s why they call us the Democratic leadersheep,” say the two farm animals in the ad, referring to Congress’s passage of legislation granting Bush a six-month extension and expansion of his warrantless wiretapping program.
“We can do this, but you have to keep in mind Republicans care more about catching Democrats than catching terrorists,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “They have spent years taking Roosevelt’s notion that we have nothing to fear but fear itself and given us nothing but fear.”
#80:
Well, that I can respect, I guess. I hope you’re equally upset with ludicrous tax breaks for ethanol (which is an outrageous false-economy/savior in its own right) and for big oil (among uncountable others).
I seem to think that tax money destined for research that would benefit all Americans is a good thing, however.
A small constitutional point. Congress can make no law that abridges the expressed rights given to the states or the citizens in this document.
All rights not specifically laid out to the federal goverment shall be seen as belonging to the states. Congress cannot legally change that without a constitutional amendment or convention.
If the Supreme Court ever actually gets a majority sitting that is for **original purpose** states rights, then many laws will fall. At present the feds use the *interstate commerce** loophole to pass many laws.
Ror v Wade, various gun laws already passed, election reform(McCains law) and others are unconstitutional under a *meant as written* interpetation of the constitution.
I’m not saying these laws are good or bad….just unconstituional.
All of this depends on who’s doing the reading and who’s doing the interpatition.
I’ve already warned you Liberals and left wingers to temper your excitement about a possible Democratic victory……the disappointment is going to be very great among you.
You are correct, ethanol is bogus. Have you purchased a gallon of milk or carton of eggs recently? Talk about inflation, it’s not inflation it’s because of the higher price of food for the cows and chickens due to the ethanol scam.
Most people don’t understand why gas prices have shot up so dramatically in recent years. Oil is a world wide commodity. The value of the dollar is falling dramatically. In this global economy the price of oil has changed very little.
The reason I’m “Green” is not because it’s good for the environment, it really doesn’t help or hurt the environment, I’m “Green” because it saves money.
# 82 If a law is unconstitutional, it is invalid. All these dumb ass cops, judges and politician took an oath to uphold the constitution. They violate that oath every time they arrest, prosecute, or pass a law that violates the constitution.
The founding fathers gave “we the people” the power of jury nullification to prevent tyranny. The fascist/socialist system suppresses this power.
http://tinyurl.com/22uqd
Why Can’t Dems Stop A Weakened Bush From Enacting Totalitarian Measures?
I said this so many times…
The US is a two party totalitarian regimen instead of usual one party like China.
There are only two choices for US democracy, Republican or Democrat – there is no other choice possible for president or for a majority in the house or senate.
That’s it, two real choices, two, only two.
BFD if there are 1000 names on the voting ballot go ahead for for the Greens or whatever party but the result comes down to R or D, two only two.
On thing to understand is that it really doesn’t matter if it is R or D as both come out of the same keg. However the real goof is Americans will have this warm squishy feeling that they voted out the Republicans next year… One keg, two taps which one would you like?
Republicans are running with the terrorist thing but that’s old now so switcho-chango to global warming – yea! That’s a real good ticket on how to run the country! Sheep? Used to be NZ had more sheep than people but the US trumped NZ for the number one spot…
Why is that so difficult to understand? Well I guess if you’re a sheep…
Cheers
Stars and Bars,
Posting blogs in response to peer-reviewed scientific journals will not make your arguments more credible. If you want to disprove global warming, presumably because you can’t stand the thought of humanity actually killing itself off, at least use http://scholar.google.com to find your references.
#76 – Stars and Bars,
Kudos to you for going off-grid. But, if you think $9 is a scare tactic, you should be aware that before we even entered the war, as far back as 1998, gasoline was already $15/gallon. The fact that we were paying $13 of that from our tax dollars instead of at the pump doesn’t change the fact. Though they have not produced another complete version of this document, I think it will be obvious that the cost of gasoline has only gone up since this was written.
http://tinyurl.com/3b7w9m
#35 Did you actually just say that??!!? Do you really believe that U.S. citizens are more important than people on the rest of the planet? How arrogant!! No wonder most of the rest of world hates us. You make me proud to be an American … NOT!!
Misanthropic Scott what can you do, huh? Joseph Goebbels could not have done a better snow job then what Americans have been subjected to all these years.
Maybe what the US needs is an INTERVENTION – yeah? The entire world shows up at a 4th of July party…
Cheers
>>what do us citizens who don’t want our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms deleted to do?
It’s time to take to the streets.
#88 – TIHZ_HO,
The entire world won’t come. Too many nations may hate us but still love that they have entire economies built around supplying us with all the crap we buy and never use, our garage/basement fill, later to become landfill. Our consumerism is a beautiful thing, until it means that we need 5 more planet Earths to trash.
“Our consumerism is a beautiful thing,” – Yes, yes it is.
#91 – iGW,
Thanks for making an excellent point about being quoted out of context. I will be more wary in the future.
How’s your basement fill doing? Are you up to the ceiling yet? Or, do you offload to permanent storage in the local landfill more frequently than that?
BTW, Do you actually believe the posts you write? Or, are you kind of like the Archie Bunker character on All in the Family? Do you just play a caricature to show the stupidity of such beliefs?
#90 For now at least but the writing is on the wall – change is coming.
I give it about 20 more years to let the 1.2 billion people in China get well and truly into the buying market for all the stuff the 100 millon Chinese are currently enjoying! By then India will already have been ramping up supplying the cheap stuff to China! Its starting already…Chinese companies are looking to India to set up new factories…me too. (Factory workers wages are rising quickly with many cities having labour shortages)
Forget about the 300 million plus Americans buying stuff – you got almost 3 billion people of market potential to work on for the next 50 years! Granted China’s buying market is only about 100 million but that quickly growing by leaps and bounds. China and India will be the trading partners – and I am seeing more importing action to Indonesia the 4th largest country. See?
So what is on the US ‘to do list’ to make sure the US remains the top market? Bomb Iran! There you go…that’s a start. Be a sore loser and knock over the game board – happened before. : /
Anyway, that’s my take of the situation.
Cheers
Basement’s just fine thank you.
I exaggerate a tiny bit from time to time but the bottom line is there are those who are unable understand those of us who believe in private property and freedom.
#93 – TIHZ_HO,
If your 20 year time estimate is right, then The Great Human Die-Off will happen before then. There just isn’t enough food/stuff on the planet to support the American lifestyle for any significant percentage of the planet.
If China alone achieved Euro/US standard of living, our species would double its impact on the planet. Quite simply, that’s impossible.
We’re already producing less grain year over year, all three of our staple crops. We’re depleting our aquifers and running out of fresh water to grow the crops. Ocean fisheries output has been declining since 1983, despite improved fishing technology. Population is not at peak yet. This is thoroughly and completely unsustainable. Even iGlobalHarmer will have to cut back. It’s not about legislation anymore. There simply are not enough resources. We’re already stealing from future generations to feed the current one.
Where will we get the food? Will we liposuck the obese and feed their fat to the starving? The proportions are right. 1.2 billion each for fat and hungry.
#95 “If China alone achieved Euro/US standard of living, our species would double its impact on the planet. Quite simply, that’s impossible.”
Oh, that train has already left the station – expect China’s economy to begin to worry the US in about 5 years – that is unless the US does something to knock over the game board.
What is the difference between the Chinese standard or living and the Euro/US standard? What defines it?
More gadgets, iPhones and the like? As Chinese have more and more disposable income they will buy TVs Sound systems etc. By the way when I was in the US in 2005/6 CRT TVs were still very much around as well as projection. In China you just don’t see many of those if at all – its all LCD TVs now, even out of Shanghai.
Cars? Yes that is a difference but China is RAPIDLY becoming very Euro like with small cars – QQ by Chery only $3,000. Lower income households are replacing bicycles with electric scooters. As time goes on to small cars.
Personally I don’t believe all the rhetoric about the what you said about food and the ocean fisheries.
China farms fish and prawns (Shrimp) to the point where they can not only supply domestically but export as well. Remember the reported bad seafood from China in the US? Even in the winter we can get live prawns and fish from the market. Chinese diet is all about fish, and pork that’s the mainstay. Its beef that is in short supply cause they don’t eat that much – so WTF? Vegetables? No problems I have ever seen.
I have been to a lot of cities in China and not once have I not been able to shortages of food in common markets. China can feed its self quite well. Granted I haven’t been everywhere.
Perhaps the less grain produced you mention is to keep the price stable. Don’t forget that China’s agriculture is not national like the US where big business gets its hands in it.
Water? Yes that is an issue in China. China has only about 25% of the global average. There has already been shortages on some Chinese cities but mostly from some disasters – weather, earthquake. But it is a problem with manufacturing – did I mention India?
Houses? Well most Chinese live in apartments.
What I am basically saying is there is a large population which is getting more and more money and they will buy more and more stuff. There will always be the rural areas like the US but I see at least 400 million people in cities and surrounding areas ramping up.
India? From what I am hearing from my clients the wave is building.
Mind you my view on this is at the street level – not from the media. I see this happening all around me and at the same time I hear what you and others say but WTF I trust what I see. We are looking into setting up a factory in India by the end of next year. Why? Its cheaper and there and export manufacturing is on the rise. India has a long way to go…but it is going.
Same if I went on about NYC – last time I was there was in 1981. All I know is what I read and we all know about that.
So lets see what happens over the next five years to see if my take is on the right track or not.
Cheers
#96 – TIHZ_HO,
I’m not saying that there have been shortages. But, the surplus, the extra days we have in reserve, is declining. The total world grain production is down. The total world fisheries output is down. You can download and read the book “Plan B 2.0″ by Lester Brown. It explains much of this.
The Dems can stop him, they just don’t want to. Democrats have been in league with totalitarians for a long time, and many of these current measures were first proposed by a Dem president.
#45
Really
National Income Without Capital Consumption Adjustment by Industry
U.S.Census Bureau News Release dated August 28th, 2007.
“Real median household income in the United States climbed between 2005 and 2006…”
U.S.Census Bureau News Release dated August 29th, 2006.
“Real median household income in the United States rose by 1.1 percent between 2004 and 2005…”
#45
When I make a mistake, I admit it. You originally stated that real income has not risen “since 2000″ (as opposed to risen at all as I originally read it). Indeed, you are correct, we are right at or just below 2000 levels in overall real median income.
U.S. Census Bureau Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006