The more they stay the same. Here's a clever little mashup by The Daily Show:
As the mantle of leadership passes from one President to the next I think its appropriate to take a look back the accomplishments of the outgoing President. It is highly a overlooked fact that George W Bush did more to fight poverty and disease in Africa than any president before him. He should be commended for that.
Additionally he set aside more territorial waters as federal preserves than his predecessors. In fact all totaled he created the biggest marine sanctuary in the world. That's no small feat.
Additionally he made a concerted effort to reform the public education system in America and while it was not a smashing success he at least made the attempt and I don't think anybody else's grand plan would have done much better. He gets points for an earnest effort.
Not to mention the fact that after 9/11 nothing else blew up. You have to give him credit for that.
I must admit that I was not a fan of W's in the beginning. But once 9/11 happened I gave him a second chance. After that he pretty much had the goodwill of the vast majority of the world. Using that good will he pulled together a coalition and went into Afghanistan. It made sense. The enemy was being given safe haven there by an oppressive extremist government. Then a few weeks later he signed The Patriot Act into law and it all started going downhill from there. The invasions of privacy and the erosion of our civil liberties just kept coming. Then came the war in Iraq which I thought was strategically a really bad idea. Then the WMD's never appeared. Followed by Abu Ghraib, warrantless wiretapping, Guantanamo Bay, extraordinary rendition, and finally proof that the administration had signed off on the torturing of prisoners.
That last bit was for me impossible to swallow. For some reason our leaders decided that we should stop being the good guys and start using the tactics of the Viet Cong, the Khmer Rouge, The Soviet Union, and the SS. By then we'd lost our credibility, our military was tied up in an elective war based on bad intel, our image was in shreds, the world's goodwill had been squandered and the American people were reduced to infantile partisan infighting. By then W had eroded my previously unshakable faith in the inherent goodness of America and tarnished our image abroad to the point that I went outside and took down the Stars and Stripes....
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and replaced it with The Betsy Ross Flag . Because to many our current flag was symbol of hubris, incompetence, and cruelty. Simply put we needed to get back to our foundations and rebrand ourselves.
Today we took a step in that direction. Today an African American man was sworn in as President of the United States of America in a former slave market.
Read into that what you will but to me its a step in the right direction towards rebuilding our image and gives us the opportunity to heal wounds both new and old.
Love Obama or hate him he's not an extension of the previous administration and he won't authorize the torture of anyone. That gives me some cause for hope.
Today the Stars and Stripes fly again. Don't make me regret it President Obama.
For a little over half my life I've always marked this day by either listening to or reading King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It occurs to me that tomorrow will be proof positive that his dream not only lives but is thriving. Its a pity that neither he nor his wife (who I met once) are around to see this particular fruit of their labor.
Over at Outside the Beltway smart guy Dave Schuler and Dr Bernard Finel are debating the merits of pulling out of Iraq vs staying in.
Over at Pomomusings Rev. Adam Walker lays out a case for throwing out the bible when it comes to the issues surrounding gay rights. H/T TMV
You have to give props to a guy who can build a human looking robot with text, object, and facial recognition capabilities in his garage.
But you also have to take all points away when the inventor says something like this:
For the record should any reporter ever ask if its possible to copulate with your invention the above statements are a perfect example of how not to answer the question. Here are a few better responses:Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn’t strayed into the bedroom, but a few “tweaks” could turn her into a sexual partner.
Le said: “Her software could be redesigned to simulate her having an orgasm.”
If you're like me there are some things that are so odd that they have to be tried. In the spirit of that I present to you Batter Blasters....
I opened up the can and sprayed a generous amount into the pan. At medium heat they cook pretty quickly. They do however tend to stick if you don't use an oiled nonstick pan. Since I was using a traditional oiled pan I had to flip them with a spatula rather being able to flip them with a flick of the wrist. They looked like pan cakes. They smelled like pancakes. In fact they even tasted like pancakes. They were very fluffy. I actually like my pancakes a little more dense. As for taste? They were on the sweet side but I've had far worse pancakes than these. I give them a four on a five point scale. Take that Easy Cheese!
Are they worth the extra expense? If you have to cook breakfast for seven people and you overslept then definitely. Want pancakes on a camping trip? Go for it. Want to set up a bizarre breakfast themed booby trap? Nothing better. Otherwise probably not.
**Safety Warning**
Do not, under any circumstances, place a can directly into a fire hoping to instantly create a 112" diameter pancake. Its very messy and the shrapnel is rather painful.
Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee debating gay marriage on the The Daily Show. Well worth watching.
I caught the wicked head cold that I was busy nursing my family though last week. For the record. It really sucks. All I want to do is sleep 24/7 which isn't possible unfortunately. I highly advise you to take suitable precautions to avoid catching it because this is literally the worst cold I can remember ever having.
Now that the Right is in the minority will they eschew the rabid and inane behaviour that they took so much delight in pointing out when the left was on the outs? If this is any indicator then the answer is sadly no.
Except for maybe this guy.
Over at Mother Jones Jonathan Stein predicts that the first split between Obama and Congress will be over the whether or not to investigate the previous administrations actions. He predicts that that Obama will follow the precedent of previous presidents and not push for or allow any formal investigations of his predecessor. Although Obama has previously stated that he would authorize a fact finding inquiry:
"If crimes have been committed, they should be investigated," he said. But he quickly added, "I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of the Republicans as a partisan witch hunt, because I think we've got too many problems to solve."However if recent speculation of Bush granting a blanket pardon to all individuals involved with torturing detainees proves correct the incoming administrations hands would be tied when it came to prosecuting anyone stateside. That would mean that anyone found guilty would have to be tried by the International Criminal Court. Which as weird as it may seem might actually be the best route to go if the upcoming Obama administration is serious about rebuilding America's image abroad.
Glenn Greenwald has an important post rejecting the claim that holding lawbreakers from this administration accountable is a kind of partisan attack. Leave aside for the moment that a significant number of voters who elected the new President probably chose him precisely to have this kind of accountability, which would mean that part of the reform of our government that many Obama voters expect entails nothing less than investigating and prosecuting officials who committed crimes. Instead, let’s simply consider what a system governed by the rule of law would require. It would require that those suspected of abuses of power, corruption or the commission of crimes under the color of authority be investigated and, if the evidence merited it, prosecuted.If you have doubts as whether or or not we should pursue such a course against this administration I have a challenge for you. First either read every source I've linked to on the subject or watch the documentary Torturing Democracy (essentially a time line on this issue using documents obtained under the freedom of info act, leaked memos and transcripts, and interviews with former Bush appointees and military officers) and then ask yourself "If it were Bill Clinton or Obama that were accused would I feel differently?" When any administration to commits a crime and we turn a blind eye we give license to future administrations to perform the same illegal acts.
...
If high officials have broken the law, the day when they are brought to justice should be considered a very good day indeed. Is it regrettable that these officials created this situation? Of course. What we should never regret or lament is the successul revival of the rule of law that holding such officials accountable would represent.
I tidied up my blogroll today basically cleaning off blogs that aren't around anymore or haven't posted anything in six months. If you'd like to trade links then slap a link to here on your blog and let me know in the comments.
Mike over at The Big Stick has tagged me. Fortunately its a simple one.
The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
The Things That Make a Soldier Great
by Edgar Guest
The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
'Tis these that make a soldier great.
He's fighting for them all.
'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now — he's fighting for them all.
