I have mixed feelings about the movement to impeach Bush/Cheney, mainly stemming from pragmatism. Even if it is ethically correct, legally appropriate and politically desirable, the odds of either of them being removed from office in a Senate trial (requiring 2/3 majority) are slim to none. Holding impeachment hearings and even a trail seems unlikely to end the war any sooner.
There are other things we could be doing with our time and energy. The U.S. should get behind the International Criminal Court, to which 104 countries, but not the United States, are a party by treaty. American politicians routinely thumb their collective noses at this and other transnational institutions, making vacuous claims about “giving up our sovereignty.”
Having said all that, I found this video (while lacking polish) to be moving:
I just joined a “group” on Facebook:
Group InfoName:
Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs
Type: Common Interest – Self-help
Description: More like “Common Interest – Self-preservation”.
This group is for people who understand the grave risks of gay marriage. Some suggest gay marriage will merely undermine one of our most fundamental societal institutions, causing countless straight couples to get divorced because exclusion of gays was the only thing holding their marriage together.
But we know better. Gay marriage killed the dinosaurs. If we let liberal activist judges in Massachusetts and California set the course, the blood will run in rivers. Mixed with molten lava.
The group includes this helpful primer for the ironically challenged:
Top 16 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong
16. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
15. There are plenty of straight families looking to adopt, and every unwanted child already has a loving family. This is why foster care does not exist.
14. Conservatives know best how to create strong families. That is why it is not true that Texas and Mississippi have the highest teen birthrates, and Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire have the lowest. This is a myth spread by the liberal media.
13. Marriage is a religious institution, defined by churches. This is why atheists do not marry.
12. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why our society has no single parents.
11. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
10. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
9. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.
8. Gay marriage should be decided by the people and their elected representatives, not the courts. The framers checked the courts, which represent mainstream public opinion, with legislatures created to protect the rights of minorities from the tyranny of the majority. Interference by courts in this matter is inappropriate, just as it has been every time the courts have tried to hold back legislatures pushing for civil rights.
7. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because “separate but equal” institutions are a good way to satisfy the demands of uppity minority groups.
5. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
4. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
3. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
2. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
1. METEORS and VOLCANOES.
Presidential hopefuls for public financing
The three front-runners for the Democratic nomination for President are on the record in support of public financing of elections. John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama have all come out strongly in favor of a change to the system. Edwards did so on Real Time with Bill Maher [Video], Clinton, who has raised the most money so far, announced her support just last week, and watch Obama in a great clip from a town hall-style meeting [video].
Incumbent politicians will be hard pressed to vote against their own self interest unless there is massive popular support of reform like the FENA (Fair Elections Now Act). You can start by helping groups like Public Campaign, which are working to get candidates on the record in support of public financing.
Full text at Tom Dispatch.
My favorite part:
Doubtless Iran’s government merits harsh condemnation, including for its recent actions that have inflamed the crisis. It is, however, useful to ask how we would act if Iran had invaded and occupied Canada and Mexico and was arresting U.S. government representatives there on the grounds that they were resisting the Iranian occupation (called “liberation,” of course).
Imagine as well that Iran was deploying massive naval forces in the Caribbean and issuing credible threats to launch a wave of attacks against a vast range of sites — nuclear and otherwise — in the United States, if the U.S. government did not immediately terminate all its nuclear energy programs (and, naturally, dismantle all its nuclear weapons).
Suppose that all of this happened after Iran had overthrown the government of the U.S. and installed a vicious tyrant (as the US did to Iran in 1953), then later supported a Russian invasion of the U.S. that killed millions of people (just as the U.S. supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in 1980, killing hundreds of thousands of Iranians, a figure comparable to millions of Americans).
Would we watch quietly? [My emphasis --M]
Thanks for all the calls and emails of concern. No, I’m not joining the Navy. Maybe the JAG in a few years, but then there is the small manner of Law School…
Anyway, came across these on April 1st. The best pranks are those that seem real at first glance, but give you just enough hints for you to say, “wait a sec, that can’t be right” and remember the date.
For the film buffs, screenwriter John August proposed an adaptation of the children’s book, Goognight Moon! The book has no plot, and all of the sentences are ‚ÄúGoodnight (blank),‚Äù but the post was, in many ways, quite believable. Another highlight:
“There are certainly plenty of heavy-hitters involved: Gore Verbinski is directing, Joel Silver is producing, and Lucasfilm has signed on to handle the visual effects. The movie will be shot largely greenscreen, like 300, with extensive motion capture to handle the Little Bunny and the Kittens.
Probably the most innovative and challenging aspect is the casting of the Quiet Old Lady: Jessica Tandy, who passed away in 1994. Using reference photos and forensic measurement (obtained with permission of her estate), she‚Äôll be digitally recreated, a pixel-perfect reproduction.”
Hehe — Jessica Tandy — I’d pay to see that!
www.JohnAugust.com
***
NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday ran a story about the New York City Council proposing a ban on cell phone ring tones. Only four state-sanctioned rings would be permitted. And they played the whole story completely straight, including throwing in a few person-on-the-street interviews, which sounded real (probably were). I’m sure it confused a lot of people, despite the April Fools clues, like when they discuss the penalties — “we’ll stop short of imprisonment…”
Have Cell Phone Rings Gone Too Far?
Since I just turned 28 a few days ago, I’m not yet too old to enroll in the Navy’s Officer Candidate School. And people say the Navy is the safest branch of the military. For a while I thought serving on a submarine would be the logical choice, following my childhood fascination with Silent Service II on the PC. But now I’m thinking an aircraft carrier is the way to go. Those things are practically invincible! Basically, once conflict opens up with Iran in the coming months, the military will be stretched so thin that they’ll need all hands on deck. And a Nimitz class aircraft carrier has a crew complement of 3,200 — that’s a lot of hands!
Hmmm…
You know…on second thought…
Nyah!
I mean, me in the Navy??? Yeah…Not so much!
Supporting and defending the Constitution is all well and good, but I might have a problem with the whole, “I will obey the orders of those appointed over me,” thing. Not my forte.
Here’s one reason why, what you can do about it, and something a little silly to take your mind off it — all recent blog posts.
Happy April Fools Day!