Turn Off That Center Field Camera!

Congratulations to the World Champion Chicago White Sox! What a great team...and that's the critical word - TEAM. There are plenty of teams in baseball that have better players than the Sox, but no one played better as a team than they did. Somehow, a team without a single .300 hitter (the general cut-off for determining a very good hitter) managed to win 99 games in the regular season and still improved their game in the playoffs. Those of us who coach Little League players will have another example to inspire the kids with. It clearly shows that while the other team may have superstars, you can beat them if you play as a team. Jermaine Dye had a great series and was deserving of the MVP award, but really the MVP should have been split up among all 25 players. Did you notice when Dye was given the award, the first thing out of his mouth was about how they played together as a team, how everyone liked each other, etc. I don't think he used the word "I". It reminded me of that other great team who has dominated pro football the past four years, the New England Patriots. When players were being introduced at the Super Bowl in 2002, the St Louis Rams offense was introduced first and all their All Pros and superstars at nearly every position were introduced one at a time. When it was the Patriots turn to be introduced, the PA announcer simply said that the Patriots had decided to be introduced as a team and the players all ran onto the field together. I turned to my fellow Patriots fan and said "Game over." And I was right, because they were the better team.

So, how am I going to relate the Sox victory to the game of politics? Something schmaltzy about how the Democrats have to work as a team, or how Harriet Miers must feel like the Astros today? No, nothing like that. The problem I have is with technology. TV pictures have become too good. Some background first: a few weeks ago, the Ranter family TV which had provided nine years of loyal service decided to start showing a clear picture with the frequency of Cheney emerging from his undisclosed location. After several attempts to repair it in the only way we have come to be able to repair complex electronics (turn it on and off a few times, if that doesn't work... hit it) it was clear that a new TV was needed. As the price of high definition (hi def) TVs have dropped quite a bit, I decided to upgrade to this new technology and I have to say it is quite amazing. By simply hooking up your new hi def TV to that old antenna in your attic or on your roof that you abandoned when you got cable and then satellite TV, you are able to get (free!) a picture far better than cable or satellite and as bright, sharp and clear as you've ever seen. Football and baseball games show a level of detail that makes you feel you are at the game. The impact on DVDs is also striking. I was watching Finding Nemo with my six year old for about the 50oth time and I saw details of the reef and the fish in the background that I had never seen. So, what's the problem? Well, the two games in Chicago were just fine. However, when they got to Houston, every time the center field camera panned in on a right handed batter, I couldn't avoid having my vision spoiled by the fact that I could clearly see in the first row that silver haired matriarch of the Bush family sitting there with her husband. PLEASE, haven't the two of you done enough to harm this country without spoiling our evening of trying to just enjoy the World Series. Maybe we could forget about the four years of economic disaster brought to us by the adult Bush as he extended the ridiculous policies of the Raygun years of the rich getting richer and maybe something trickles down to everyone else, but now we are suffering because you didn't have the good sense to put your son in a place where he can't hurt anyone. Come on, you don't see "Kenny Boy" Lay sitting in the front row. No, he may be a crook, but he has the good taste to sit outside of the TV cameras' view in a sky box while he chats on the phone with the White House Director of Pardons. So, please Mrs. Bush, convince your husband to spend some of the millions he got from the Saudis and buy a sky box. Besides, in the stands you might have to mingle with "those people." But we really don't have to worry about Houston being in the World Series next year. After the Red Sox broke their 87 year streak without a World Series victory in 2004 and the White Sox broke their 88 year drought last night, surely next year will see the Cubs ending their 97 year cold streak!

He Questions US?! Wilson Must Be Destroyed!

Now we are finding out that Scooter-boy got his info on Valerie Plame from Cheney. Is this coming from the Scootster deciding that the trail of lies has to end and it's time to admit that there was a concerted effort from the very top to attack Joe Wilson and anyone else who dared to question the pack of lies for war put forth by this administration built on lies and theft. No, Scootie claimed before the grand jury that journalists told him about Plame. Notes in his own handwriting obtained by prosecutors show that he actually got the name directly from Cheney. Most likely, he also got his marching orders to reveal Plame's covert CIA status to obtain revenge against Wilson for having the temerity to question whether this administration may have fudged a bit in justifying starting their holy war on Iraq that they had been planning since before they stole their first election. And what was the reason for taking the ultimate step of revealing a CIA operative's identity and ruining her career? Take a look at the actual Memo that Wilson wrote. Is it a scathing attack on the administration? No, it simply details what he did in investigating the fake memo that implied that Iraq was attempting to obtain nuclear material and states that if this is the same memo that the administration and England are using to justify war, then maybe something needs to be investigated. The really sad thing is that the article ends with a lament that 200 American soldiers have died already in Iraq. Now as we approach ten times that number, it is time to identify and prosecute the real traitors.

No More Brownies!

Harriet Miers is not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. There, I said it! Why is it so hard for Democratic Senators and progressive Republicans (all three of them) to say this? Is she a highly, qualified lawyer? Absolutely. Has she served her client well and helped him out of problems caused by his stupidity? You betcha. Does this qualify you to serve on the Supreme Court? No way! She never has served as a judge at any level and her ridiculous attempt at answering basic constitutional questions shows that she has no background in federal jurisprudence. She is simply one of the one million lawyers practicing in the US. The fact that she happens to have Bush as a client makes her no more qualified to be on the Supreme Court than it would be for Bush's stockbroker to head the SEC, his chauffeur to be Secretary of Transportation, or one of his National Guard buddies (assuming one can be found that actually remembers seeing him) to be Secretary of Defense. Although I have to admit that any of these choices would be superior to the hacks, cronies, incompetents and crooks that have been foisted on us so far. Why all this hesitancy to come out and say what everyone knows? Is it because this is considered a "woman's" seat on the bench? Haven't we come far enough in recognizing the accomplishments of women in this country that we can attack one who is simply unqualified for a job. Come on, there are literally thousands of female attorneys in this country more qualified than Harriet Miers. We've seen in New Orleans what happens when you allow cronies to fill important positions. Now I'm not saying hundreds of people will die if Miers is given a pass. But, clearly the standard of what it takes to ascend to the highest bench will die, as will many of the rights that have been fought for over the last 50 years.

First US Woman President...No, Not Geena Davis

As we await the joyous news of the indictments of Rove, Scooter and the rest of the culture of corruption cabal, we need to look ahead to what this may mean to helping this country get back on the path of progress, prosperity and honesty. Assuming Rove and Libby are indicted for crimes committed in the White House in their official capacity as the closest aides to the president and vice-president, the obvious question arises as to what is the culpability of Bush and Cheney and how will their crimes be investigated. This is especially true if the indictments are for perjury, as the question of suborning of perjury by Bush and Cheney becomes a real question as I pointed out in this blog last July. How will this next step of the investigation of Republican crimes be handled? In a classic case of being hoisted with your own petard, the Republican controlled Congress allowed the special prosecutor statute to expire. Without a special prosecutor option, it appears to me that the only real option to determine if the president and vice-president have committed crimes is for the House to vote articles of impeachment. The House investigators can then examine the evidence and present it to Congress. Of course, this Congress would never dare take such a step, but after the Democratic landslide of 2006, we will have a House given a mandate by the people to clean up our government and to reverse the harm caused by the corruption and incompetence of the leaders of the Republican party. Once the articles of impeachment are voted, how will the trial in the Senate turn out? Well, given the ridiculously low standards set by the Republicans (here comes that petard again!) in their misguided attack on Bill Clinton, I'd say Bush will be getting an even longer vacation than he's used to and Cheney may want to start turning his undisclosed location into a retirement home. If lying about adultery qualifies as a high crime and misdemeanor, then surely suborning perjury, and lying to Congress and the American people to justify a personal war that costs thousands of lives will also make the cut. With Bush and Cheney out, the new Speaker of the House installed after the election, Nancy Pelosi, will be sworn in as President.
I know, I know, this speculation is an unlikely tale, and maybe I've been watching too many episodes of Commander in Chief. But you have to admit that this scenario is not as unlikely as an independent being chosen to run for vice-president. In fact, the most unlikely part of the show is that President Bridges is portrayed as an obvious Republican, but also as a man of impeccable character and high intelligence.

Barack's Vision

If you are in need of some inspiration after being bombarded with the corruption of DeLay, Rove, et al. and wonder how the Democrats will turn things around in 2006, read Senator Barack Obama's insightful analysis of the Democratic Party's future. Not only will you see how we can fashion our message to create what I believe will be the biggest landslide since the Republicans gains in 1994 using their cynical list of lies in their "Contract with (on!) America", but you will have yet another reason to be proud of our junior senator.