It was with big smiles that I read this morning about senators Leahy and Dunn in their efforts to repeal major offending portions of the odious Military Commissions Act. My first thought was, “Damn, I hope they can get that passed.”
Using my day off to cruise news outlets that report something other than “Tom Cruise may be getting fat and how come Oprah wasn't invited to the wedding, OMFG” my thoughts incessantly turn to nagging questions. What if they are able to get these revisions passed? How long would it take for such a thing to actually happen? Once it actually happened, what would be the immediate and direct consequences? Would there be any, or, would we set up another committee to begin another round of investigations, all built around the ostensible “cooperation” of the administration? Would any of these “setting things to right” actions lead to the upheaval and consequences that the shredding of the Constitution so richly deserves?
Wait, though. Even if such a thing makes it through all of the various committees and debates, comes up for a vote, and passes, it still goes to the President’s desk for a signature. Do you think he will sign after all of that work he's put in to get the things he wants “legalized”? Or, will he sign with his Super-Decisionater 3000 pen, gutting the legislation with his signing statement superpower*?
*For those who may not know, said signing statement superpowers are given to he who is deemed worthy of wielding The Super-Decisionator 3000 which contains the magical Executive ink. Barbara asks that we be gentle as we break the news to George that his pen is not actually “super” and that his ink is not infused with a super-ingredient called “Executive” meaning that if he writes it, it is so. She simply told him that so he would practice his cursive, and just feels awful that it has caused so much trouble.
Of course, these questions and many more are simply offshoots from the root. The root question is, “Will any of it make a single bit of actual difference when real accountability is “off the table”?
There still hasn’t been a whisper about the damaging John Warner Defense Authorization Act. There hasn’t been a peep about the massive election fraud we just experienced only a couple of weeks ago. Everyone is still following the piper off the cliff as we witness the run-up to a change in strategy that sounds an awful lot like the one we had before, just with more troops and money. The rhetoric against Iran hasn’t really slowed down; perhaps if we can topple that government everything will right itself in the region.
The government consultant told me, “More and more people see the weakening of Iran as the only way to save Iraq.” (The New Yorker)
Fantastic. Hey, if you walk away from the table you walk away almost broke, but if just double down a few times you can leave with a profit!
Really? Okay, then.
“The Pentagon is considering $127 billion to $160 billion in requests from the armed services for the 2007 fiscal year, which began last month, several lawmakers and congressional staff members said. That's on top of $70 billion already approved for 2007.” (USA Today)
Changing 200 billion! Sirs, do you need any silver for the bonus bet?
|