Hypocrisy on Parade

The hypocrisy surrounding the Terri Schiavo mess just flabbergasts me. In no particular order:

• Bob Schindler, Terri's father, apparently terminated life support on his mother. I guess there was no money to be made on the lecture circuit with her.
• Tom DeLay, bugman extraordinaire, pulled the plug on his father.
• DeLay also participated in a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the tram that injured his father... this involved (a) product liability, (b) shopping for a friendly jurisdiction, (c) awards for pain and suffering, and (d) awards for loss of companionship, etc... all things that would be lost under "tort reform".
• Dubya, supporter of "erring on the side of life", signed a bill while Governor of Texas, that allows medical facilities to discontinue life support, regardless of family opposition, if the family cannot afford to pay the bill (last week, a six-year-old had his plug pulled, over his mother's objections; he was black, so what did Dubya care, right?).
• Dubya also mocked Carla Faye Tucker's last appeal from death row.
• Dubya presided over more executions than any other governor.
• Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader -- both sensing the presence of TV cameras -- joined forces with the neocon wingnuts. Way to support those progressive causes, guys.
• Bill Frist, MD, has been innundated (as have his staffers) with requests for instant diagnoses, accompanied by low-quality home videos.
• The Schindler's have sold the list of their supporters to a far-right-wing neocon nutcase mailing list provider.

I tell you, this just sickens me. Where is the "erring on the side of life" in Iraq? In Afganistan? Hell, in TEXAS???

These people don't give a rat's behind about Terri Schiavo as a person. They see her as a way to mobilize "the base": the mouth-breathing, Bible-thumpin', sister-humpin', trailer trash that elected them.

Every last one of them should be forced to go through what Terri and her husband are going through.

We're Baaaaaack....

Sorry for the absence (if anybody actually reads this). My wife started a new job, and I've been working so much overtime, I haven't had a chance to do anything else. And my laundry hamper is proof of that.

Anyway, to the news...

The Terri Schiavo Case

The Rethuglicans are trying yet another weasel0deal scam move in the Terri Schiavo case. Now they're trying to subpoena Terri (who's been vegetative for years) and her husband to testify before Congress.

Easiest way to make sure Terri can die with dignity? Let a rumor leak that if she recovers, she's going to vote Democratic. That'll be the end of that.

Drilling for Oil in ANWR

The Bushies are still trying to get permission for Halliburton, et al., to destroy the last vestige of pristine nature in the US. They're claiming that drilling in Alaska would generate $2.5 billion a year. Fortunately, a lot of Congress-critters want to see some proof this time.

Congress and the Smackdown

The Congress-critters finally found the nerve to smackdown the Campaignistration over cuts to Medicare, education, and social services. On the other hand, they increased the tax cuts for the wealthy. Why are we not surprised?

Texas Cheerleaders: Too Sexy?

Yeah, I know, Texas and sexy are two thoughts that don't belong in the same sentence. Some neocon wingnut is trying to get the legislature to ban "overly-sexual" cheerleading routines. This jerk says that fathers and boyfriends will be pleased. Yeah. Right.

OVERALL ANALYSIS:

The neocon wingnuts are doing their very best to bring about their Utopia: an 8th-century Christian theocracy. Unfortunately, they seem to be succeeding: a little erosion of freedom here, a little abrogation of civil rights there... pretty soon, the Texas Taliban will have it all.

Once again, it is time for true-blue Americans to stand up against the Red Menace. But this time, we're not talking China or the USSR, we're talking the red-state thugs in white sheets and hoods, the Bible-thumpin, hooker-humpin, sister-marryin, rifle-rack-in-the-pick-em-up crowd.

Miscellaneous Musings

First, I heard yesterday on NPR that the Federales are forcing 'illegal' aliens to wear monitoring bracelets (like the ones worn by sex offenders). The problem is that these 'illegals' are awaiting hearings regarding deportation. They haven't been convicted yet. This is, of course, another wonderful idea brought to you by the Ministry of Homeland Security.

Second, I heard Mr. Bobo on NPR tonight (and yeah, that means I listen to NPR), claiming that we had to do something about Social Security now. There is one big problem with all of this:

If we follow the figures that 'prove' Social Security is bankrupt, those same figures show the private/personal/individual accounts will do no good. If, however, we use the figures that show the private/personal/individual accounts will make old age secure, THOSE same figures show that Social Security is in good health.

Third, the White House seems to be backing off the private/personal/individual accounts, thereby leaving the wingnuts screaming about the accounts hanging in the breeze. Now, Twig may try to pose this as "meeting us halfway", but it isn't true.

Fourth, BlunderBoy's tax cuts have a much greater (and longer-lasting) effect on the deficit than the Social Security "crisis" -- regardless of how real it may be.

These friggin' neocon wingnuts... what'll they do next?