Few quick thoughts...

Have a few little random thoughts.

Issue One: the AP is reporting that "most Americans" want someone other than Republicans in control of Congress. I say "most Americans", because this is just a poll, and polls have a way of being manipulated to give you the results you want.

The real problem, though, is that the public doesn't get to elect political parties. They only get to elect THEIR representatives and senators. And that's what really screws it up for people, because while they may want the GOP to be out of power in Congress, they don't want to be the ones to get rid of THEIR personal politicians, because then they get screwed out of seniority and pork. The ones who stick around in Congress are the ones who get the lion's share of pork.

I do think it's time for the GOP to be humbled in November, but I know that the Democrats don't have it within them yet to be the better alternatives. They need to come up with a serious and definitive reason for people to vote for them other than just being AN alternative. How about offering something that Republicans can only TALK about, such as REAL FREEDOM?

Speaking of polls, the AP is also reporting that "most Americans" think that the government should get a judicial warrant BEFORE conducting wiretaps on American citizens. Yeah, right. The Bush Imperium has no respect for the US Constitution to begin with. The President of the United States calls it a "goddamned piece of paper"! He invokes Article II, which he somehow believes gives him carte blanche to do whatever he wants to as long as he also invokes "9/11". Does that SOUND like someone that would give a crap about following the law? Besides, he's on his second term, so he doesn't have to give a crap about polls anyway.

By the way, how many of these "most Americans" will stay home this November? I'm guessing not many.

Issue Two: Tom DeLay has "officially" given up his House Majority Leader job. Well, actually he HAD to give up his job for real the minute his sorry ass was indicted, but he basically gave up the idea that this was just a temporary thing.

And he put out this BIG grandiose egocentric display about it! That's the thing that bothers me. He's pretending that he's doing this "for the good of the party". "Oh pity me! I'm making a martyr of myself so the GOP will survive!" Give me a freaking BREAK! Truth is, he's doing this because there's no chance in hell that he'll get out of the Jack Abramoff scandal! You know there's another indictment brewing over that mess, and he won't be able to weasel out of that one.

Speaking of which, I caught this quick blurb over on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Vent" column...

"I tried to buy a congressman on eBay, but Jack Abramoff outbid me."

Issue Three: The American Civil Liberties Union recently put out an ad that compared Bush Junior to "Tricky Dick" Nixon. The ACLU says it's "scandalous", the Imperium ass-kissers say it's uncalled for, but I say that it's fair game. I did the same thing eight years ago, comparing Bubba Clinton's activities to Nixon. (I also compared Hillary's jowls to Nixon's.)

Like it or not, EVERY president is measured up to and compared with those who came before him, and Bush Junior is no exception. How he handled the Iraq War is measured to his father's failure to bring Saddam to justice. How the Imperium handles the energy problem is measured against the Carter White House. How the Imperium handles downsizing government (or their blatant failure to do so in this case) is measured against the Reagan White House. How they violate the US Constitution under the banner of war is measured against Lincoln's and FDR's abuses.

You may not like the comparisons, but they ARE fair game. If the Bush Junior wants people to believe that he's better than his predecessors, then he NEEDS to learn the lessons from their examples, not to ressurect them so people can remember why they were wrong in the first place.

That and get rid of Darth Rove.

Issue Four: The BIG thing over at the Consumer Electronics Show this year is media. High-speed broadband access is allowing the inevitable merging of television and the Internet to happen and the companies are JUST NOW seeing the possibilities. We're talking TV shows available on demand 24-7 with the versatility of a DVD, allowing people to pause, rewind, and fast-forward with a press of their remote. Theatre quality widescreen video, mind-numbing digital audio... and with all of the parental controls and digital rights in place so that parents can do their jobs and producers won't worry about seeing their programs sold on the black market.

It sounds perfect, doesn't it?

There's only ONE thing that can get in the way of that glorious future. THE GOVERNMENT!

You remember the FCC, don't you? The Federalist Christian Censors, OWNED in every way except financially by the bible-thumping freedom-hating moralists. You remember Congress, don't you? The same members of Congress that were bought and paid for by people like Jack Abramoff. THESE people want that digital future firmly under THEIR bought and paid for thumbs. And once they do that, they get to control the content based on what THEY want, not what YOU want!

So, yeah, you can have 100,000 "channels" available 24-7 over the Internet with all of the bells and whistles you want. but if we don't neuter the government first, those 100,000 "channels" will be filled with nothing but sterile conformist mush that NOBODY wants to watch or listen to. And that's something that really needs to be discussed at these shows and brought up with every news account of these shows, because if we don't bring it up, then the freedom-haters will do it behind our backs, and then we're all screwed!