Reflection

No, I haven’t stopped caring. I’m just quietly observing. Y’know, resting. Saving my strength, as it were.

Really, there hasn’t been much too get excited about. Woo-hoo, go Lance. Yay, we made it back to space in one piece (and, hopefully, we can make it back). But, crap, the terrorists have struck again one and a half times. (Are we really winning this thing? It’s hard to tell.)

In politics, the Democrats are getting all geared up to shoot themselves in the foot over this John Roberts thing. C’mon, guys. You’re gonna lose. Let’s not have a big scene where everyone ends up getting all dirty. The guy’s not fuckin’ Bork, fer Christ’s sake! Save your ammunition for Rove. I mean, if you care at all about derailing the Bush Express, nailing Karl is the way to go, right? After all, he’s a prick. Roberts seems like a genuinely nice guy.

More encouraging is George Pataki’s announcement that he’s not going to run for governor of New York next year, which will free him up for something bigger. Man, I hope he runs for president and gets some support (this time). It’d be awesome to see the GOP split between a sensible candidate and a Servant of the Flock.

We Now Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

So . . . John Roberts is the president's nominee to the Supreme Court. Can we get back to calling for Karl Rove's firing now?

If Bush was really concerned with making Rovegate go away, perhaps he should've nominated someone who was more (obviously) conservative. What a fucking stunt. He knew the Senate wasn't going to rush back to rubber-stamp the guy.

This Post Brought to You by the Letter "W" and the Number Zero

I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re soon going to find out how the president’s definition of simple words might differ from ours. Words like “mainstream” and “crime.”

The (Slow) Week in Review

In England (and Pakistan), investigators are making key arrests in the terror attack on the London mass-transit system.

The shuttle is still not going anywhere.

Chief Justice Rehnquist is not retiring (yet).

In the CIA-leak investigation, no arrests besides the already-jailed journalists. Investigation not going anywhere. And no-one's getting fired. Actually, Fox News is reporting that Rove's throwing the blame back on the media, saying that he heard the Plame name from Robert Novak.

Changing the Tone No Longer

Bush’s campaign promise (the first time around) to “change the tone in Washington” and to “bring respect to the office” has finally and completely fallen into “politics-as-usual.” Oh, and Wonkette says Bush is the new Clinton.

Watching Scotty Grow

Ouch. Mr. McClellan will probably wait to fully respond to the questions when he "writes" a fucking book like Ari Fleisher.

Is this the press corps not playing nicely with others, or "the American people" growing tired of being lied to?

Conspiracy Theory One: Sandra Fucked the Liberals by Retiring First

All the Elitist, Liberal Pig-Dogs have been fondly memorializing Sandra Day O'Connor's time on the Bench. And then snuggling up to Bush-friend Alberto Gonzales as a like-minded "moderate" (as if the mean-spirited Cultural Conservatives had chased him into their open arms).

But now comes word from the Prince of Darkness that ailing Chief Justice "Bill" Rehnquist is, as expected, going to step down. This gives the president the opening to nominate his pal (who the Liberals "want") and then someone much, much, much more of a hardcore Conservative. Potentially, it's a huge win-win situation for the president . . . and a lose-lose for, well, maybe anywone and everyone who's afraid of a little Theocracy and enjoys basic Human Rights.

Oh, You Want Some?

So, now London's been attacked by terrorists. Oh, man. All the clerics and "moo-lahs" in Iran had better watch out, because we hear that they really do harbor terrorists and reportedly have "nu-cu-lar" ambitions. Yeah, when we get done with Iraq in, oh, ten years or so, we're totally gonna fuck yer shit up.

Lust for Life

I have a funny feeling about these preemptive attacks on Alberto Gonzales by conservative groups claiming he’s not conservative enough of a choice for the Supreme Court. Is this some (other) smoke-and-mirrors play to make pro-choicers embrace him only to have their “evil” plot foiled when Gonzales votes to overturn Roe v. Wade sometime down the road?

America seems to be solidly behind the “legal, safe, and rare” abortion ideal. So, now the Democrats for Life and the National Right to Life Committee want everyone to know that the Court striking down Roe v. Wade wouldn’t make abortion immediately legal. Well, in 43 states, anyway.

Uh-Oh. This One's About to Go to Eleven.

I guess this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as she’d mentioned wanting to retire during the 2000 election debacle (when her vote was one of the five that handed the presidency to Bush). Still, everyone’s been so focused on Rehnquist retiring, we forgot about Sandra Day.

Anyway, use whatever analogy you like (I’m partial to, “Watch the cultural conservatives go from zero to frothy”), we’re in for a shitstorm of a debate. Nuclear option? That's nothing. When the dust settles, get ready for a run on coat hangers, a rash of women throwing themselves down stairs, and an epidemic of rappers punching their girlfriends in the stomach.