Thursday, March 30, 2006
Away from the drawing board
I have been remiss at posting because I have been holed up working on a book of political essays, opinions and cartoons on the Bush administration, tentatively called Whopperland. And now,I will be gone for two weeks to Tennessee where my oldest daughter is about to undergo brain surgery for a tumor and fibrous dysplaysia. Hopefully will be back in gear in two or three weeks. Bill Sanders
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Heaven forbid we call a spade a spade!
Senator Russell Feingold’s candid and courageous attempt to hold our imperial President accountable for declaring himself inherently above the law with his domestic surveillance edict, has sent Republicans into apoplexy and short term memory loss. (Remember their vote to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about sex?)
Lead by Paul Weyrich, their right wing guru, "impeachment is coming"is their rallying cry going out to true believers around the country. Rush Limbaugh, right wing drug junkie, told his radio audience, "This is a gift.."! Of course Rush Limbaugh recently suggested that Bill Clinton might have had Slobodan Molosovich killed because he planned to subpoena Clinton as a witness at his trial—which puts Limbaugh on the same planet out in the whacko universe as Reverend Pat Robertson.
Feingold’s candor has set the other 43 democratic Senator’s timid hearts aflutter with nervous anxiety that if they actually hold Bush accountable, it might upset voters in the mid-term election.
Let’s see If I’ve got this right—--Bush is awash in the wake of a growing public awareness of his incompetence, a majority of the voters are disenchanted with the chaos and body count of a botched, never ending war--- record deficits, record debt, immigration non-policy and Bush's above-the-law hubris–-not to mention his bottom of the barrel poll numbers. Yet democrats are still like deer caught in the headlights!
Bush Administration national security incompetence
The Justice Department bears the ultimate responsibility for the screw-up regarding the rules of evidence violations at the trail of the only Al-Quaeda conspirator in this country.
The witnesses that were improperly exposed to forbidden material were key--- because to obtain the death penalty, the government must prove that Moussaoui’s actions resulted in at least one death on September 11.
It seems the prosecution’s witnesses would testify that they didn’t alert anyone about their suspicions because Moussaoui was devious and wouldn’t tell them that he wanted flight training because he was Al-Quaeda and intended to crash a 747 into the White House. Really? Wow–-and I thought all fanatics and criminals simply told the truth when questioned.
Too bad the Washington higher ups didn’t pay attention to the female FBI agent(whistle blower) in Minneapolis when she warned them about the suicide flight possibility!
Hello! The First Amendment applies in Illinois too!
The editor of the University of Illinois’ student newspaper The Daily Illini was fired because he ran the Muhammad cartoons that Muslim fanatics have been using as an excuse to riot and cause deaths.
The Illini Media Co. Board of directors, comprised of students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire the editor. Ostensible, their reason was because the editor Acton H. Gorton violated Illini policy of "thoughtful discussion and preparation for the publication of "inflammatory material". For anyone who really believes that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I will sell for 50 cents.
My wife’s uncle Gene Graham was my mentor when I started out in journalism. He won the Pulitzer for his book on reapportionment, "One Man One Vote", while an editorial writer for the Nashville Tennessean. Gene was also a professor of journalism at the University of Illinois before he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died. He would be spinning in his grave to learn that the students and faculty at the university have such a dim view of the role of journalism and the First Amendment.
How can you possibly write (and publish) about riots and death as a result of cartoons—and NOT publish the cartoons? By all means, let’s not disrespect the feelings of right wing fanatics of Islam when we can be disrespectful to the bedrock of our democracy----the First Amendment to our Constitution.
Bill Sanders
Lead by Paul Weyrich, their right wing guru, "impeachment is coming"is their rallying cry going out to true believers around the country. Rush Limbaugh, right wing drug junkie, told his radio audience, "This is a gift.."! Of course Rush Limbaugh recently suggested that Bill Clinton might have had Slobodan Molosovich killed because he planned to subpoena Clinton as a witness at his trial—which puts Limbaugh on the same planet out in the whacko universe as Reverend Pat Robertson.
Feingold’s candor has set the other 43 democratic Senator’s timid hearts aflutter with nervous anxiety that if they actually hold Bush accountable, it might upset voters in the mid-term election.
Let’s see If I’ve got this right—--Bush is awash in the wake of a growing public awareness of his incompetence, a majority of the voters are disenchanted with the chaos and body count of a botched, never ending war--- record deficits, record debt, immigration non-policy and Bush's above-the-law hubris–-not to mention his bottom of the barrel poll numbers. Yet democrats are still like deer caught in the headlights!
Bush Administration national security incompetence
The Justice Department bears the ultimate responsibility for the screw-up regarding the rules of evidence violations at the trail of the only Al-Quaeda conspirator in this country.
The witnesses that were improperly exposed to forbidden material were key--- because to obtain the death penalty, the government must prove that Moussaoui’s actions resulted in at least one death on September 11.
It seems the prosecution’s witnesses would testify that they didn’t alert anyone about their suspicions because Moussaoui was devious and wouldn’t tell them that he wanted flight training because he was Al-Quaeda and intended to crash a 747 into the White House. Really? Wow–-and I thought all fanatics and criminals simply told the truth when questioned.
Too bad the Washington higher ups didn’t pay attention to the female FBI agent(whistle blower) in Minneapolis when she warned them about the suicide flight possibility!
Hello! The First Amendment applies in Illinois too!
The editor of the University of Illinois’ student newspaper The Daily Illini was fired because he ran the Muhammad cartoons that Muslim fanatics have been using as an excuse to riot and cause deaths.
The Illini Media Co. Board of directors, comprised of students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire the editor. Ostensible, their reason was because the editor Acton H. Gorton violated Illini policy of "thoughtful discussion and preparation for the publication of "inflammatory material". For anyone who really believes that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I will sell for 50 cents.
My wife’s uncle Gene Graham was my mentor when I started out in journalism. He won the Pulitzer for his book on reapportionment, "One Man One Vote", while an editorial writer for the Nashville Tennessean. Gene was also a professor of journalism at the University of Illinois before he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died. He would be spinning in his grave to learn that the students and faculty at the university have such a dim view of the role of journalism and the First Amendment.
How can you possibly write (and publish) about riots and death as a result of cartoons—and NOT publish the cartoons? By all means, let’s not disrespect the feelings of right wing fanatics of Islam when we can be disrespectful to the bedrock of our democracy----the First Amendment to our Constitution.
Bill Sanders
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
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