We Have A Problem

What do we have on the spacecraft that's good?

Off the top of my head: Howard, Russ, Big John sometimes, Medium John most of the time, Chris Dodd (who still hasn't responded to my fervent marriage proposals, but that's just the restraining order talking), Tim Ryan, Kucinich, Louise Slaughter ... that's off the top of my head. Is that enough to fly the LEM for a while? Fuck if I know.

Sometimes I'd like to shake Nancy and Harry really hard and yell, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU AFRAID OF?" God, what are you afraid of that could possibly compare to what is happening today? What, somebody might call you a pussy, target you for defeat in an election? Seriously, that's enough to make you do this? What can possibly be making scary noises in your closet that keeps you from doing the right thing when it's so FUCKING OBVIOUS what the right thing is? What? Terrorists? Karl Rove's reanimated corpse? Muppets or Fraggles? WHAT? Just tell me what it is and I'll come over with the bug spray and the broom.

Trouble is, I don't think they're honestly scared of anything other than looking like the asshole, but guess what? There is no way out of the Bush years that isn't going to make somebody the asshole. I've been thinking this for a while about the war, especially with the one-year anniversary of the Iraq Study Group having just passed. The whole Washington establishment is looking for some way out of this mess that doesn't make them the focus of attention, that doesn't make them the ones who said the hard thing and made everybody feel bad.

They're looking for something else they can pin it on, hence the anticipation of the whole study group thing: HERE is what we can use to say, "Let's get out now" because then it's about the Study Group and not them. Of course, Bush said "fuck you" to the Study Group and then they didn't know what to do. The torture probe, same deal. Renditions, wiretapping, all of it, same exact deal. They're just fucking desperate to find some way to make it somebody else's idea, and it's not that I don't understand the instinct, I do this all the time, put the tough idea in somebody else's mouth, but when I do it, it's about who has to write a letter, not about, you know, all the DEAD PEOPLE.

A.

Comments

[pansypoo]

i think they are sure the teevee gnews will make it a partisan witch hunt. so they investigate, hoping they find something even the teevee gnews will thing is too much.
the teevee gnews hate america. forget writing congress. WE HAVE TO MAKE THE TEEVEE GNEWS WANT IMPEACHMENT.

[lambert strether]

I'd add Barney Frank to the list.

[Nora]

I guess I don't have the right mentality, because honestly I cannot imagine what would make any decent human being hear about torture techniques that OUR PEOPLE are going to use on other people who HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME and who may in fact be COMPLETELY INNOCENT OF ANY WRONGDOING and not immediately say, "This is utterly and completely wrong! You cannot do this, and if you try this shit, I will do everything in my power to stop you, including but not limited to going on television and telling the entire world what you just showed me!"

I know I shouldn't be in such a state of shock, but I suppose I thought, or hoped, that the reason the Democrats didn't stop all this horror was because they didn't know what was happening. Yeah, they would have been negligent for not finding out, to the extent that they could have found out (remember what we're dealing with in the Bush-Cheney administration), but at least I could still believe in their good faith.

To discover that they knew and DID NOTHING, that's worse.

What can we work with? What can we do? I am so pissed off, I want to do something but I don't know what would possibly make any impact.

[jim dunn]

THIS is why they don't do anything. THIS is why impeachment is "off the table"
http://www.correntewire.com/we_are_democrats_they_are_enablers

Jim

[¡El Gato Negro!]

Hokay, I am reluctant to be the one to state thees, and fortunamente, I have already seen similar statements elsewhere. But:

The whole sourcing on thees story steenks like week-old litterbox. As far as I can see, Porter Goss ees the source for much of eet, and we know what hees word ees worth.

But most of the other statements about Nancy and the other democrátas invertebradas are represented as having come from:

" two officials present (at the meeting)" and, "... a congressional source familiar with Pelosi’s position on the matter".

After all the bullsheet that has been printed een the WaPo thees last week, I would like a beet more confirmation on thees story, not because I trust Pelosi or any of her spineless ilk, but because I trust the WaPo even less.

so.

[Nora]

On further thought, EGN has a point. As with the New York Times yesterday in its egregious article about how "administration officials" told the CIA not to destroy the tapes (an article which referred to "officials" eleven times without naming a single name or giving a reason why they weren't named), the sourcing here is dubious, and the timing is suspicious.

Or am I just still desperately trying to find a way to believe that the Democrats haven't sold us out to the likes of Bush and Cheney?

[El Gato Negro!]

After reading up a leetle, incl. a typically great post by Digby, I have to say that Pelosi, and esp. Harman, look like crap on thees.

But the sourcing steenks, even so.