Politics

Politics

There are 1,056 posts filed in Politics (this is page 99 of 106).

Democracy in U.S. not a U.S. priority

Forget about Pakistan, we don’t even have democracy here. A peaceful citizen was refused entry to Tuesday’s Petreaus testimony, gang-tackled, and had his leg broken, all without apparent provocation. Watch how Rev. Lennox Yearwood is refused entry for unexplained reasons, then hauled to the floor, tackled, and arrested. See if you can spot the alleged “assault of a police officer” because I sure can’t.

I’ve asked Speaker Pelosi’s office for an explanation but I’m not holding my breath.

That’s democracy for you, folks. Outrageous.

(h/t Cristobal)

Koopman meet-and-greet

On my last deployment to the Persian Gulf, a pair of TAD (temporary assigned duty) guys joined my ship for the countless doughnuts we did there (the Persian Gulf, in spite of its fearsome reputation, is unbearably dull 99.9% of the time). One of these guys was Chuck, a wet-behind-the-ears E-4 who thought he knew it all. We delighted in proving him wrong with the typical “new guy” pranks.
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Rodger Koopman

I was delighted to find out today that Raleigh’s District B has some real choice for next month’s election: Rodger Koopman. I think Koopman will bring a breath of fresh air to the Raleigh City Council, something it desperately needs. He gets bonus points for being a veteran and an IT geek like me.

Koopman is also steadfast against paving our nature parks, like Horseshoe Farm Park and my beloved neighborhood park, Durant Nature Park. In other words, Koopman will actually listen to his constituents. Imagine!

Koopman is attending some meet-and-greets tonight. I might show up to see what he has to say. For those who can’t make it, you can watch the Youtube campaign video from his run for Wake County Commissioner last year.

Going, Going, Gonzo!

There’s a Southern saying that applies to outgoing U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “if his mouth’s moving, he’s lying.” Gonzales finally got the point and tendered his resignation today, ending one of the most contentious terms as attorney general in recent memory.

What gets me is Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) statement after Gonzales’s resignation:

“It is my hope that whomever President Bush selects as the next attorney general, he or she is not subjected to the same poisonous partisanship that we’ve sadly grown accustomed to over the past eight months.”

Uh, you been under a rock for the past seven years, Mitch?

Protect America Act of 2007

Any member of Congress – whether Democratic, Republican, or Connecticut Weasel – who voted for the Protect America Act of 2007 deserves to be voted out of office. Especially the Democratic ones, who ought to know better. Cowards! Apparently no one learned anything from the last election, so its time for a refresher.

I wonder why we even bother pretending to have a Constitution anymore. Or separation of powers.

Here’s the Hall of Shame from the Senate:
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The Bear Is Awakening

ExxonMobil and its shareholders aren’t the only beneficiaries of today’s high oil prices. It seems Russia is starting to flex its military muscle again with its forays to the North Pole, dropping (unexploding) bombs on neighboring Georgia, and overflying our military bases with its Tu-95 bombers – the first since the end of the Cold War.

I tell ya, if the world wasn’t a safer place than it was seven years ago, I’d be a little concerned.