More Governmental Consumer Activism

One of our readers responds...

I saw your "I Want My Money Back" rant, which is on point. This started as a comment, but got way, way too long. Here goes:

I want my money back, too. Consider--

Despite the SCOTUS opinion giving Bush the smackdown on the scope of executive power, that ineffectual body, our "Congress," a Parliament of Whores (and Horrors) if there ever were such a thing, will now move as one giant blight on our civil rights to enact laws that will "legalize" Bush's power grab. One more step in our country's decline.

The Hamdan decision was remarkable, but I believe the Democrats will fail us all once again. I suppose our next hope will be an ex post facto challenge to the laws after they enact the crap legislation that will free the executive of oversight, finally absolve Bush of the cumbersome trappings of law--both domestic and international, and destroy the checks and balances those revered forefathers spilled blood to bring to the face of this earth.

It's truly depressing to see how willing this Congress is to strip us of our Constitutional protections against tyranny in an effort to "defeat terror." If the terrorists hate our freedom so much, why are we serving them victory on a platter?

Dahlia Lithwick, a writer for Slate.com, reported on the oral argument for Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. She (correctly, I believe) points out that this administration engages in "legal analysis by assertion and justification by double standard. This war is like every other war except to the extent that it differs from those other wars. We follow the laws of war except to the extent that they do not apply to us. These prisoners [at Guantanamo] have all the rights to which they are entitled by law, except to the extent that we have changed the law to limit their rights."

And this:

"Solicitor General Paul Clement has 45 minutes to represent the Bush administration, and here is where the smoke and mirrors kick in. He cites the executive's longstanding authority to try enemies by military tribunal. When Justice John Paul Stevens asks for the source of the laws that such tribunals would enforce, Clement replies that the source is the "laws of war." When Stevens asks whether conspiracy is encompassed within the laws of war, Clement says that the president views conspiracy as within the laws of war. Neat trick, no?"

Her entire article is at http://www.slate.com/id/2138841/

I see these developments (and the Democrats continuing, unthinking and utterly dependable tendency to just take any bait laid out by the Neo-cons) a tragedy--an ongoing, continuing tragedy. I don't think I'm being an alarmist, either. This is a bad, dark time and we can only hope that as a people, we will recognize the folly of the last 6 years and elect people to Congress who will work to set us back on SOME KIND of course. We have no leadership, we have no leaders. We have nothing except bloated, reactionary insane jackasses "debating" these silly social issues; burning up the airwaves and sucking ink into newsprint trying to come up with the next campaign slogan and to give the impression that they are "doing something." I do that at work. I'm doing it RIGHT NOW. I'm typing this email instead of a contract, and goddammit, people think I'm WORKING. Shit, I should run for Congress.

I digress. Given the gravity and the potential ramifications of the events unfolding in this world (Israel/Hamas/Syria, North Korea's missles, our wars), our government succeeds ONLY in further distancing us from the rest of the world, making us appear willfully ignorant, poorly informed, petty, small-minded and unbearably impressed with our own self-righteousness.

I'm not sure where this leaves me on the spectrum, and I'm not sure how much longer I can take it. It's draining. I think I'm going to have to emigrate. Probably Ireland. Maybe England. But I have no tangible fealty left for this country and the "will" of the people who live here. I have no loyalty. I didn't really even root for USA at the World Cup. I figure I might as well strike out for a place on the rise instead of the fall. The future, my friend, lies on the other side of the oceans that separate us from everyone else. Europe is on the wax, China is on the rise. The US can only slow her descent.

In an interesting take on the current state of domestic political affairs, take a look at Barack Obama's speech from June 28, 2006. Thought provoking, to be sure. http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal_keynote_address/index.html