Europe Is Apparently Tired of the Shrub

Well, here we go again. A poll taken in several European nations by an international polling company, 'Ipsos', has shown with some clarity that most of Europe looks upon America with disfavor, but most especially, our *cough* President. France and Germany came out with more than half those polled having anti-U.S. feelings, and many in Spain, Britain and Italy were looking pretty anti-American as well. This doesn't come as a big surprise as our foreign policy is generally frowned upon by most of the world, but some of these countries have been major allies in the past. Tony Blair's control of Britain has kept the military resources of the country on our side, but there have been frequent antiwar demonstrations as well as calls for Blair's impeachment by the Brits. It seems as if he's not very popular in his own country lately ^_^. Australia and Canada also showed up on the poll, demonstrating a marked dislike of the Shrub administration. Sure, we're a superpower NOW, but what happens when these foreigners get pissed off one too many times? Is Bush going to defend us against what will [probably] be a TRUE coalition of the willing, opposing our policies? The people have spoken, both here and elsewhere, and the government has ignored us...

The Duck Slips on a Banana Peel

After soldiers applauded the Guardsman who posed the question of inadequate armament to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, he had the audacity to [essentially] tell the Guardsman to shove off, citing that we "...go to war with the army we have, not the army we wish to have..." and that 'simple physics' was the main cause of the problem... Not sure where physics comes into it, but he went on to cite how production is at a peak level and the required products simply can't be produced that fast. Fortunately, ArmorWorks of Tempe, AZ seems to have a suitable rebuttal for the wayward SoD. The company, which was granted a contract to make a certain amount of armor within a given timeframe, says that it could easily double production if the order is given. It seems somewhat odd to me that the Defense Department isn't pulling out all the stops to provide our troops with the supplies they need, especially in light of all the Shrub administration's support (HAHA!). Why don't our troops have the protection they need?

Tom DeLays the Inevitable

Well, House majority leader Tom DeLay has done it again... After three smackdowns for ethics violations having to do with fundraising scandals, he's pulling out all the stops. His lawyer has rebutted the charges with a 'Contempt of Congress' countercharge and is threatening to throw another representative and a watchdog group in jail. What jail, you may ask? We don't know and, apparently, they don't know either. The last Contempt of Congress charge was leveled back in the '40s. Why can't DeLay just face up to his [already proven] crimes and do the time? Why do the House Republicans feel that he's worthy of keeping his post if he ends up getting indicted? What makes these people feel that they're above the law? Visit Raw Story or Blue Lemur and stay tuned!

FILIBUSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, there's not much new in the 'news'. The Republicans of the Senate are attempting to push through a change in policy that would weaken the filibuster; the main defense of the minority against majority rule. Specifically, the repubs worry that dems will use the filibuster to blast away at conservative supreme court nominees, but they are probably also afraid of the left fighting some of the more extreme right bills that are going to be coming through Congress (and they ARE coming, just you wait and see). Whatever happened to the days when Congress worked together as one mass, largely unfettered by the extreme agenda of either side? Or was that all some absurd pipe dream I cooked up after reading my government textbook? Whatever it was, I wrote my [repub] congressman about it, although I don't really know what his view on the whole scenario is (he's Bob Goodlatte, btw).

Hate & Bigotry in the Deep South

In a news story published in the Birmingham News here:Republican rep. Gerald Allen seeks to ban literature concerning homosexuality from all public schools and libraries in Alabama. The only person I know from Alabama is one of my marine buddies, stationed in NC. He's extremely intelligent, but apparently is not representative of the average in his state (which also recently voted down a motion to remove segregationist language from the state constitution). How far will it go? Bigotry is alive and well in the US of A. Booyah!