Where’s the Outrage?

I find it interesting to visit some of my old newsletters and see if there are some common threads to what is going on today. 

A huge showdown is brewing in the Senate over President Bush’s judicial appointments. Senatorial tensions over this process are especially pronounced since it is very likely that later in the summer at least one member of the Supreme Court will be stepping down. This type of thing happens almost weekly in the House, but the 100-person Senate has always been more collegial. Compromise has been the hallmark of the Senate for over two hundred years. Now, it is looking as though High Noon is approaching.

Part of the problem lies in how President Bush has been handling his judicial agenda. Historically, presidents float judicial candidates through the Senate before they are formally nominated, and they also share their short lists with the ABA (American Bar Association). This gives Democrats, Republicans, and America’s legal profession an opportunity to weigh in on the candidates before names are announced or public hearings begin. This process helps to remove extremist judges (liberal or conservative) from consideration, which in turn helps to make a difficult and trying process more harmonious than it might be if the ABA’s judicial ratings and/ or senators’ concerns and objections were aired for the first time in public hearings.

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Tags: Domestic Issues, Legal, Mess O'Potamia (Iraq/Iran/Israel/Palestine) by ecthompson
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There is a ton of stuff going on in the world today.  There’s almost so much confusion and violence it is almost impossible know where to start.  Israel has invaded Lebanon.  The Beirut airport has been bombed.  Operation “together forward” appears to be a complete and total disaster as violence escalates in Iraq.  Iran has told us in essence you can take your deadline and… North Korea continues to develop its missile technology.  The six party talks have been almost as effective as me yelling out my window with a megaphone to North Korea, “Please stop making nuclear weapons.  I’m very serious this time.  I mean it.”

On the domestic front, the news is in much better. Gas prices are up in with the instability in the Middle East one can expect in gas prices to continue to climb for the foreseeable near future. Wilson and Plame are suing the Vice President and other White House officials.  Robert Novak who went underground for months after walking off a CNN set is suddenly back.  He was on 7 different programs on Wednesday.  Seven.  He announced that he was going to reveal his main source.  His lips flapped but the main source was not revealed.  Billions of dollars were cut last week from the federal student loan programs in order to balance the budget which is no where near being balanced.  We found out that our deficit for 2006 is only going to be $296 Billion this year.  That’s the 4th largest deficit in history.  All of the top 5 largest deficits have occurred on President Bush’s watch.  The Bin Laden unit has been dismantled.  So….

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is getting very ugly out there.

Tags: Al Qaeda, Budget, Domestic Issues, Mess O'Potamia (Iraq/Iran/Israel/Palestine), North Korea by ecthompson
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