let them play and the left missed the point...

governor blagojevich decided to do his job and appoint someone for the vacant illinois seat in the united states senate afterall. in doing so he picked someone that most likely was never being seriously considered before all this happened (although we may never actually know) in roland burris. burris seems like a nice enough person and has a historical spot in illinois politics, having broken the racial barrier in a statewide election. and he meets all the constitutional qualifications...and while he may not have anything major to his name, one must remember that hillary clinton didn't have much major to her name, and what has caroline kennedy really done? but everybody swears they don't have a problem with burris himself, that their beef is with the governor only and that anyone the governor picked would necessarily be excluded from the senate. but am I the only one asking why? the man is still governor until the people of illinois have him removed through the legal channels they have instituted...we do still have due process in this country do we not? (however much the boy king and his cronies have tried to dismantle it over the last 8 years). the people of illinois are getting the shaft by not having an equal voice in the senate, as was always intended. they put in place procedures to replace a duly elected senator if they were to exit office prior to the expiration of their term (and contrary to all the blowhards at the sun times, a special election was not it). those procedures have been followed, the man satisfies the constitutional criteria. and yet democrats are declaring they will not allow it to happen...that if he gets through the state, the senate democrats will not let him sit in their exclusive club. which raises the question...why the hell have we allowed the senate to become such a ridiculously exclusive club mostly filled with long-time party shitbags? hell, that's the main reason I'd love to see al franken in the senate...anyone that other senators don't want there is probably exactly what the senate needs. we claim to be a nation of law, of due process and a presumption of innocense. so to senate democrats...prove it.

the left has its collective panty all up in a bunch over obama's choice of rick warren to give the invocation at the inaugeration. (personally, I wonder why he have an invocation at the inaugeration anymore...especially after we've seen the wonderful christian works done by the president that speaks to god). yes, rick warren is a homophobic asshole. and no, I will not be one bit surprised when we learn he was sharing a meth-head male prostitute with that creepy howdy-doody look-a-like whenever he visited colorado springs. but he is a different mold from the right wing "agents of intolerance" for the most part. and it isn't like he was appointed to oversee government efforts to address gay rights. don't get me wrong, I totally understand being upset at this, especially for groups that are seeing major setbacks in their quest for basic dignity. what bothers me is all the talk of "he better not forget the people that got him elected." every time I hear that I cringe - the speaker obviously missed the most basic message of the obama campaign. if he has shown anything, it is that he will not cowtow to the "base" anymore while worrying about the next election. he has a damn job to do, and it is going to require getting everyone to sit down and bring their best ideas forth. have we become so hatefilled all around that we cannot even talk to each other? what exactly do we lose by talking and listening? don't be surprised if warren's stance on gay rights softens. and be assured that attacking someone for incredibly boneheaded ignorance is the most sure-fire way to entrench them in that ignorance.

whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. and when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. - F. Nietzsche

american aristocracy, the department of vengence, bringing evildoers to justice...

I have nothing against caroline kennedy personally. I am certain that she is a pleasant enough person (at least her public persona would lead us to believe). and she probably has just as good a shot as any other stooge to be adequate in the united states senate. that being said, she has no business in the united states senate...especially if she gains a seat by appointment and not by vote. look, I understand as well as anyone that this country has always had a monied aristocracy, and one with very little turnover at that (check out Kevin Phillips Wealth and Democracy if you are a complete nerd and are interested in how the same list of families have held the bulk of american assets for decades, even centuries). and I will be the first to admit that the roosevelts, although from wealthy bloodlines and related, were two presidents that I admire very much (while also recognizing they comitted america to shameful acts). I also happen to be fond of the kennedy clan...although I firmly believe that robert, post-john assasination transformation complete, would have outshone them all. but I am disgusted by the way in which american politics is becoming a family affair. one of my major problems with hillary clinton was her relation to bill. one of my major problems with the boy king is his relation to his father (and also some of those same monied aristocrats that have been running the show for a long, long time). and now there is talk that jeb will take federal office...and caroline is seeking a senate seat. this is exactly how societies get into big problems...it isn't the best and the brightest making decisions, it the most inbred. (side note - if you haven't seen the inbred brothers from the state...look it up). the dream of a meritocracy has vanished...

the united states department of justice does not deserve its name any longer. we all know how the boy king and his gang tranformed the DOJ into a spy organization used to circumvent the law rather than uphold it. what most of us don't know is that during the bush years the DOJ reversed course from what was the trend since the beginning of this nation - more humane prosecutions and a pull away from capital punishment. rather, in comes ashcroft and his cloth-draped statutes and gives the order to get very aggressive on pushing the death penalty in federal cases. at a time when the rest of the civilized world is disgusted with the united states for its state-sanctioned murder, to the point that many nations will not extradite to the united states for certain crimes (except of course those that torture themselves), the DOJ wanted more blood. (another plug - if a play The Exonerated comes to your town...go see it). and so we forget that our criminal justice system contains "justice" (or is supposed to anyhow) and turn it into the criminal vengence system. afterall, there is no other justification for the death penalty than vengence. show me one moral tradition that has been given any value over time that equates vengence with high moral character.

tellingly, col. theoneste bagosora was given life imprisonment from a UN tribunal trying him for genocide and crimes against humanity in rwanda. in the civilized world evildoers are brought to justice, not the other way around. in the civilized world law and order rule over the sword. and so closes another chapter in the latest of "agains" after the "never again" of the jewish holocaust. (interestingly, "never again" did not arise out of the aremenian holocaust). and while we condemn bagosora and his ilk for the unimaginable horror they propogated...we must remember that we share some of the blame. there are parts of the world that still remain in bitter conflict - now with modern weaponry. although this conflict did not necessarily start with western colonization, it was heightened by colonial powers with the old divide and conquer technique. and although much of the horror in rwanda was perpetrated with clubs and knives, much of the worldwide horror is being perpetrated with much more modern weapons. weapons that the western world sells for huge profits and then turns around and questions why people can get along peacefully.

so this time of year, remember that it is not their problem. it is also yours.

you could be that someone...

illinois politics - its on all of us...

to the "shock" of the country, the leader of my beautiful home state was finally arrested by the feds (who have been looking into his antics for years) when he crossed the line, even for an illinois politician, by auctioning off obama's vacant senate seat. first off, let me assure you that fitzgerald was lying to you when he said he was shocked...the man knows how dirty illinois politics is. perhaps he was shocked at how incredibly stupid the guv is...but not at all by the depravity of his actions. nobody that has spent anytime in illinois could be shocked. we all know that is how the system operates...we all know that in the political corruption department city hall in chicago and the state capital in springfield give the kremlin a run for its money. in the end, there are lot of things that we can learn from the downfall of this former up-and-comer turned most-despised-governor (even before this)...

first off...those of you outside illinois should take a few things to heart about obama. the whole tony rezko business? if that is seriously the only connection to corruption that the man has after years dealing with the daley chicago machine (and yes...chicago is most definitely still machine politics at its "best") and the scum downstate (this will make back-to-back governors in a federal penitentiary) then the man really is serious about changing the culture of politics. I said it before and I'll say it again...if that is all you got, the man must be a saint.

and if it is not the only connection to corruption obama winds up having, then we have learned something somewhat comforting for a left-leaning leader...the man is tough enough to end you. seriously, you have to be incredibly tough to make it through the brutal gauntlet of chicago and springfield politics to begin with. but if you are so tough that you can come out of it and everybody is scared to talk about your dirty laundry...you are a certifiable bad-ass. maybe it is just the decades of the right throwing their weight around speaking...but I would be more than glad to have a hard-nosed, no nonsense, willing to destroy you liberal leaning progressive at the helm.

when I came to new mexico a few years back I quickly learned that I had moved from the most corrupt state in the country to one that was desperately trying to overtake it. and now that politicians here are beginning to learn the wrath of a prosecutor enraged by the stealing of democracy as well, I again noticed how it is all the same good ol' boy network in these schemes. but who is to blame?

we should all take a good hard look in the mirror...because this is not just the shame of a governor, it is not just the shame of springfield or illinois...it is the shame of all of us. we abdicated to the likes of blagojevich and bush...we gave the keys of the kingdom to the likes of nixon and clinton...we told the likes of delay and jefferson we would let them do as they pleased. is it any wonder that our politicians have taken all they can get after decades of the american people not putting a stop to it? instead of shouting them down...we shut up and avoided the polls on election day. instead of taking them on we held pat-ourselves-on-the-back-bitch-fests with our likeminded friends...all talk and no action.

this should be a sign to all of us. get informed, and not just every fourth year. stay informed. get vocal and stay vocal. grab a petition and hit the streets. throw your hat in the ring against the career politicians that inevitably disappoint and create a sham democracy. you want to fix this mess? put non-politicians in office. during the primary, refuse to accept the choice of your local machine. make them earn it. make them listen.

this is one hell of a country when it works. make it work.

children in the justice system, inhumane prisons, gas taxes and other thoughts...

I've been busy...but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking...

during my absence there was a rather bone-chilling story about an 8 year old boy that supposedly shot and killed his father and a family friend. and then the tape of the police interrogation (they love to call it an interview...but I don't give a shit what the supreme court says, whenever cops are asking you questions, it is an interrogation). with it, suddenly people began to question whether or not this kid actually did it...or if he was just nudged into admitting it by the circumstances (and even then, it was not a very convincing admission). so the pundits (many of which are simply failed members of the criminal justice community) came out and declared that the questioning was not done properly and likely would be inadmissible. then my favorite comment one morning on good morning america - the outrageous claim that children would never be questioned that way in a child sex case. as one that has dealt with said child sex cases...I officially declare bullshit. I assure you, whatever their intentions, whatever their desires, suggestive questioning of children is the norm. kids may have difficulty deciphering fiction from reality...but they are not idiots. they know what adults expect them to say and will often give them that, especially to make an uncomfortable situation end. so next time you see that tape and you feel even the tiniest tinge of outrage - remember that there are plenty of innocent people sitting in prison because of it...and don't believe for a second that it is as rare as they try to tell you...

speaking of prison, this last trial was a month-long seminar on the horrors of american prisons. anyone who sat through it could not help but come away questioning what in god's name we are doing under the claim of justice. inmate after inmate took the stand to testify and one thing became clear - treat a man like an animal, and he will inevitably act like an animal...tell a man that society deems him worthless, and he will inevitably treat society as if it is worthless. but something else became clear...that with all the horrible things that these men had done in their lives, all the mistakes they had made, they were still human. they still felt pride, fear, sadness, regret, desire...they were uncomfortably just like you and me in many regards. and yet we throw them into a system that is eerily similar to the dog farm which got michael vick demonized...but since the prisoners are four-legged creatures it is somehow ok. one man on the jury broke down after just half a day of testimony because his son had been in prison and he had heard the horror stories, he had seen the broken man his son had become. we've turned the criminal justice system into a factory...making sure that if you weren't a danger to society when you went in, you most certainly are when you come out. and we should all be embarrassed.

tom brokaw (thank god he's leaving...although I am in no way excited about david gregory taking over) wanted to know why obama wouldn't tax the living shit out of gasoline to keep it up at $4/gallon where, as brokaw claimed, "people were ready to pay that" in order to prod them into smaller and more efficient vehicles rather than the monsters brokaw seems to think they are rushing out to buy now that gas has dipped (although if you ask your local dealer, they would kill for a rush on any vehicle at the moment). once again, I must call bullshit. sure, some people were "ready to pay" 4 bucks for a gallon of gas...but they are the same assholes that will keep driving behemoths because they can afford it anyways. the vast majority of people were only "ready" because they had no other choice. and this is the problem with the gas tax - it is vital, it pays for infrastrucure programs that otherwise would not have any funds - but it also is one of the most regressive taxes we have, slamming those that cannot afford it the hardest. ironically, the same bunch that was complaining about "raising anybody's taxes" in an economic environment like we have (i.e. keep the highest tax brackets with artificially low rates) are the same ones that have no problem with taxes on the poor.

it was nice to see some history sneak into obama's discourse with brokaw. he kindly pointed out that the american economy was strongest and grew the most when tax rates evened the playing field the most. of course he also started to hedge on one of his most basic campaign promises with the bush tax cuts...but I'm trying to hold my tongue until he actually does something.

americans, as most humans I suspect, have an uncanny ability to shrug off that which does not happen in our back yard. all this talk about bush "keeping us safe" has to make one shudder. afterall, terrorist attacks have skyrocketed since the boy king destroyed america after 9/11...but as long as it doesn't happen in an american city, we quickly forget it. (of course it helps if americans are killed - see india).

after centuries of europeans artificially constructing borders in other lands, is it really any wonder that there is so much built up hatred and violence in certain parts of the world? afterall...how much death and destruction did it take before europe sort of figured out where to draw the lines?

yes, the american auto industry has been horribly managed and driven into the ground by braindead MBA grads who forgot everything that henry ford showed them about running a business. and yes, those same assholes should be left to their fate. but how is that at all the fault of the assembly line workers? of the dealership employees? of the delivery person? of the retired couple? and so we learn the problem with destroying the safety net and leaving it to companies to provide...when those companies fail, we end up having to prop them up to avoid bread lines anyways.

just like health care...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of treatment. but who can afford prevention? so please stop using me as a statistic, as an example of those that "choose" not to have adequate health care because they are young and relatively healthy. if I actually had a choice...if it was remotely affordable, I would kill to have health care that let me actually see a doctor when I needed. I would absolutely choose to have the ability to get sick and not become homeless because of it. in a heartbeat. to claim otherwise is simply false. so please stop.

this holiday season many people are opting to forego the usual spending spree and just be happy with time spent near those they hold dear. sometimes it is amazing what it takes to properly set our priorities.

godspeed mr. santo.

it is dumping in taos...you know where to find me...