If we ever forget one of the main reasons why we fled the US to the country to the north of it, all we have to do is turn the TV on. It’s not just watching news from the Seattle area (we get KING and KOMO, the local NBC and ABC affiliates respectively). The drumbeat of murders, shootings and other violence is remarkable when you stop watching it for a while, as we do here. But we still keep track of what’s going on. We watch the Daily Show, with Jon Stewart, and that gives us plenty of rueful humor about the US, particularly regarding the current occupant of the White House and his supporting cast of crooks, scoundrels and morons.
And of course, I also keep reading news on the Internet, and every once in a while, a story shows up on the portal I set as my homepage (myway.com) that gives me a full-frontal reminder of just why we ran for the border. In this case, I can almost hear Jon Stewart reporting it on the Daily Show before it airs, in my mind. Shall we tune in?
(Loud cheering and applause from the studio audience)
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Show, we have a great show for you this evening; our guest will include the Representative John Murtha, whose recent comments on the Iraqi conflict have put him in the headlines these days. And after all, where would we be without headlines? That was a rhetorical question, no need to answer.But first, (big pause), it’s important to put events in this day and age in in perspective. Our president, George W. Bush certainly has. How, you say? With what some call a quagmire in the Middle East, an Immigration Bill that is having a tough time in Congress, hearings on the Valerie Plame affair, a steadily falling level of approval in the polls… the list goes on… So what does The Decider, in fact…uh…decide to focus on? What pressing issue could possibly be the one that puts all of these others in perspective? What item is so critical, that trumps all of the others, that it requires the immediate attention of the Commander in Chief:
Bush promoting ban on gay marriage
by Matt SpetalnickWASHINGTON (Reuters) — President George W. Bush will promote a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the eve of a Senate vote next week, weighing in on an issue that could rally his wavering conservative base in an election year.
Though the proposed constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage stands little chance of passing, it is one of several hot-button causes Republicans are championing to appeal to right-wing voters ahead of November’s congressional ballot.
Bush planned to use his weekly radio address on Saturday and a White House speech on Monday to push for the amendment that would allow states to recognize only marriages between men and women, administration officials said on Friday.
Bush has never made a secret of his views on the issue but has rarely talked about it in public until now.
“He believes the institution of marriage is between a man and a woman,” White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. “The president’s made it clear what he wants. He would like to see the Senate pass the bill.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the amendment along party lines after a heated session on May 18. Because the measure seeks to change the Constitution, it must pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority and then be approved by at least 38 states.
The full Senate will take up the measure on Monday with a vote expected later in the week, but the bill’s sponsor, Colorado Republican Wayne Allard, has acknowledged he has far fewer than the 67 votes needed to win passage.
That’s right, folks. This was the challenge that Mr. Bush saw fit to concentrate all of that (*ahem*) political capital that he has amassed. Why this important, earth-shaking issue, that he dropped everything else to lobby on it? Well we might as well give the standard answer that the Bush administration gives as the rationale for everything they do:
9/11 Changes Everything.
Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.
And they do use “9/11 Changes Everything” and “The War on Terror” to justify all the idiotic moves they make, don’t they?
Yip. That about sums in up.
Please someone discover that Bush is cheating on his wife, please please! Santa I’ve been good this year!