Pleh » Politics

Sun Blotted Out?

pete — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:35:55 +0000

If you noticed the sun get blotted out, a frost fall over the land, or darkness everywhere, even during the day, don’t worry. It was only Cheney taking over the presidency while Bush had a colonoscopy.

Technorati Tags: funny

At Least He Didn’t Have a Bottle of Water With Him

pete — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 03:19:52 +0000

I read about this on Bruce Schneir’s blog. Unbelievable.

Technorati Tags: no rights left, terrorism, the terrorists have won

My Thoughts on the Midterm Elections

pete — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 14:27:27 +0000

iTunes party shuffle just popped up this wonderful track. It’s “Capitol Hill” by Truckstop Honeymoon. It perfectly frames my thoughts on this year’s elections.

Technorati Tags: humor, music, elections

Well Said

pete — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:59:59 +0000

Technorati Tags: no rights left, the terrorists have won, security, terrorism

Whatcha’ Doin’?

pete — Sun, 21 May 2006 15:28:33 +0000

I’ve always had a hard time explaining why this stepped up government surveillance is bad and wrong. When it became known that Bush directed the NSA to snoop on domestic calls, I was really surprised that a lot of people (initially about 67%, but now more around 50%) mostly thought the trade off of privacy for security was worth it. “I have nothing to hide.”

I’ve never been good at debating and persuasive writing, but I like how Bruce Schneier puts it. Maybe, with time, most people will see the problem with what Bush is doing. Maybe they’ll see that the damage he’s doing to our country, our way of life, our standing in the world, and our freedoms is much greater than what any terrorist attack can directly hope accomplish.

Tags: bush, politics, nsa surveillance, privacy, security

What’s Wrong Here?

pete — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 13:32:59 +0000

Here is a quote from a CNN article. It’s about Clarence Ray Allen, who was executed in California last night. It’s in response to Allen’s DNR request, a few months ago.

‘At no point are we not going to value the sanctity of life,” said prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon. “We would resuscitate him,” then execute him.’

Can anyone spot the problem with this?

Tags: cnn, death-penalty, crazy

Can We Go Now?

pete — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 20:50:07 +0000

I never supported the war in Iraq. I always thought it was unjustified and that the Bush administration was using WMD as a convenient excuse, but I was willing to give the politicians the benefit of the doubt. After all, I didn’t have access to the classified and secret information that they did. I really — quite possibly, naively — thought that for something as important as giving the president the permission to take the country to war, our Congress-folk would rise above politics and vote the right way. Since they voted for war, I hesitantly agreed that we must need to go, even though I hoped we would do it in a multilateral way. As more and more our allies slipped away from supporting a “sooner, rather than later” invasion of Iraq, my doubts about the intentions of our Congress and our president grew. Didn’t they have access to most of the same classified data our government did? If they can’t support an invasion, then maybe it’s not even a lay-up, let alone a slam dunk?

After we invaded and found no WMD, it only strengthened my belief that this was illegitimate. Watching the Bush administration flip through new excuses for the invasion would have been comical if wasn’t for what they were trying to excuse. I have no idea what the real reason for the invasion is and probably never will know, but I cannot believe it is anything they are shoveling to us. I do remember the says after Bush v. Gore was decided and the Bush transition team came in with a compressed timeline. One things that stuck out to me even then was their (and especially Cheney’s) heightened interest in Iraq. I believe that 9/11, WMD, “Freeing the Iraqis”, “Bringing the fight to the terrorists”, etc., are all a smoke screen for whatever was driving them in early January, 2000.

That said, I’ve had a big problem with those who have called for us to leave and to leave quickly. We made this mess, we need to stay and clean it up. I had not read anything that convinced me that Iraq would be better off if we cut and run instead of staying to the end. That is, until today. If what this guy says about Iraqi attitudes toward each other and what’s driving them is true, then it really makes sense for us to get out sooner than later.

A Fountain of Nonsense

pete — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:07:28 +0000

This rocks. It comes to us from Crossroads Films. Bush really can’t be as stupid as he sounds. Right? Right?

Delicious!

pete — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 21:59:32 +0000

Not “del.icio.us“, which is a wonderfully different beast, but deliciously funny.

http://www.freenation.tv/hotellostliberty2.html

Potheads from Canada…

pete — Fri, 03 Dec 2004 23:41:50 +0000

…bringin’ down the whole US of A.

The Drug War Toll Mounts

When will we, as a country, have the political nerve to actually say that this isn’t working and look to a different solution? I have the feeling that it won’t be in our lifetimes, especially with the current Red State preponderance.