That Was the Year that Was

It is that time of year where everyone in the media comes up with their best and worst list. The outcome of the 2008 election seems to have made a lot of the best lists and number one in most. No surprise as 75% of the population is thrilled GW Bush is leaving office. So his departure is contender for best in 2009.

The rise and then fall of gas prices gets it considered for both my worst and best list. I frankly am joyful about the trend downward. I am frankly waiting for more deflation before buying much of anything. But the best part of rising gas prices was that it got me looking seriously at my driving habits, energy use in my house, etc. I think the earth will benefit in the long run from all the above: Obama winning, Bush leaving, and the blackmail done by oil companies.

One of the things which has to make the best list for me is getting back into politics with the Obama campaign. I had been so turned off by GW cheating himself into office twice I was ready to move to another country. I was even studying Italian. But when I began to blog here about the primary process for my European friends I got involved in the blogging community who was still willing to invest time and opinions in the United States. It was infectous.

And the blogging community proved to be a powerful force for change in this country. I was thrilled to see Obama's campaign take full use of the internet. The FreePress is alive and well in the ether and that is just too cool. That gets number one for me. GW controlled the professional press after 9/11 to a level not used since Hitler. That probably gets number one on worst for about eight straight years in my assessment.

So the economy has tanked. Everyone is asking for a bailout and yet I feel surprisingly optimistic about the American people and our future. Though I do think we should cancel all bailouts to banks, investment companies, and auto dealers and just lower the interest rate on all personal mortgages, cancel all personal chapter 13 bankruptcies, and give tax breaks to all alternative energy systems installed in your homes.

All the remaining bailout moneys can be used to rebuild infrastructure, restore our national parks to their former glory, and develop affordable alternative energy technology and production. I personally want a windgenerator system and a solar well pump.

Been There, Done That

Real Clear Politics had the following quote:

"I went through this hatred that so many of the American people are going through now, but fortunately I got over it. I had all this anger for this loss for our country, a serious eight-year loss, and now I just want to say you've got to laugh, a little bit, about this whole thing. It gets so painful that humour is the only antidote. If you didn't, you'd go bonkers. You'd become a raging lunatic on a blogosphere, writing anti-Bush screeds." - Oliver Stone, in an interview with The Guardian explaining why his new movie "W." isn't "angry."

I am not sure I can say that I have gone beyond my anger at GW. And that he cheated his way into office to do this. I personally think he will rank beside Hitler and Stalin in my list of world leaders that have done the most harm. And if you argue that he did not foster the mass murder of thousands to millions I give you the Iraq War: the illegal invasion and occupation of an independent nation. We list our dead on a daily basis but seem to ignore those we have killed. Or would that seem more like a score card?

Had anyone but a United States President invaded Iraq the United Nations would have been there with troops to expel them. And if you doubt that just look at how we reacted to Russia going into Georgia.

In the eight years GW has been in office he has totally turned off all our once allies in the world, invaded an independent nation, made us a nation that tortures, thrown out all our civil liberties and rights to privacy, and gotten us into the worst financial crisis since the great depression. Yes, I said it, the Great Depression. Notice how everyone is dancing around that with other phrases?

And every single act since the Supreme Court put him in office has been illegal in the World Court or illegal in regards to the United States Constitution. But to even act like we wanted to impeach him has invited the worlds unpatriotic or traitor and the not so subtle but unspoken threat of Gitmo detention. I was Googling some aspects of the constitution the other day (can I get a law degree through Google) and discovered that who should have decided the problem of the hanging chads in 2000 was the House of Representatives. But that legal body was controlled by the Democrats. The would have sided with Gore.

So not only am I still angry with Bush and all that have conspired with him to bring us to this place in history. I am a bit disappointed in my fellow citizens. Why didn't we riot in the streets? Call for a constitutional convention? Demand his impeachment? Only one reason - 9/11. Did he allow that to happen in order to forestall all he could see happening because of his illegal occupation of the White House?

Please Excuse Johnny from School

I, and all the late night comedians, cannot believe that John McCain has canceled his campaign because of the economic crisis. He asked for the meeting with Bush. He also only caused havoc with the bailout plan once he got involved. Currently it looks as if he is willing to deep six a bipartisan agreement in both houses just to prove he is not GW Bush. Or to take credit for the bill that is finally passed?

Or could Johnny just be totally unprepared for the debate? It was suppose to be on foreign policy his strong suit but when he canceled Obama maintained that this was the time Americans needed to see their future leaders. And any future leader ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. So why not change the topic of the debate to economics? Something McCain knows little about per his statement but enough he has to run home to Washington to shape the discussion. Or protect his fat cat friends like he did Keating in the Savings and Loan debacle of the previous Bush?

He said he was canceling all campaigning because of this crisis but all his negative smear ads are still running. He canceled Letterman but did an interview with Katy Curic. He wanted Obama and him to make a joint announcement about the suspension and then jumped the gun and did one on his own without waiting for a reply. In that he said he would continue the debate if an agreement was in place by Friday and it could have been. It looked like it yesterday afternoon. McCain screwed the pooch.

If this whole thing is a campaign ploy or trick because of falling poll numbers it is ill conceived and even the Republicans don't understand what he is doing. And risking the world's financial stability because of a few points in the polls sounds very GW Bush. Very egotistic.

But could there be another explanation. Is Johnny sick? Walter Reed Hospital is in the DC area. I imagine his doctors are either there or in Arizona. Going back home during a crisis plays even less well then going to Washington where until he had Bush call the meeting he was not needed and not even wanted.

Given the concerns about his age and health he cannot call the campaign and the debate off just to stay home sick for a couple days. And while Obama can go to DC to meet with he President and leave Biden to his campaign appearances, John cannot let Palin off on her own. So he obviously does not have confidence in her stepping into his shoes on the campaign trail. How can we believe in her to step into the presidency?

And how is Johnny's health? I think not good.

Don't look at me. I'm lost.

I did not have a lot of time to devote to this yesterday but I did try and watch some of the political pundits make sense out of the March 4th primaries. You remember, those were the ones that Hillary had to win by large margins to stay in the race?

That seems to have changed. She got Ohio which once again had a voting irregularity. I am thrilled about that because Ohio and it's constant voting irregularities has taken a lot of attention off my state of New Mexico and the graveyard vote. She barely squeaked by in Texas primaries and if they ever finish the count (here again I am thrilled with this glitch because no one is looking at New Mexico and how long it took us to count after our super Tuesday caucus) Obama may well have won that one. They split Rhode Island and Vermont. But Hillary seems to be declaring that this all showed buyers remorse and she is the horse to back.

I think it merely shows that when she and the Clinton political machine (Remember Chicago and Mayor Daley? He was good because while he ran things New Mexico was only number two on dirty politics) get rolling on fear mongering they can do it better than the Republicans. I had such hope but clearly that counts for nothing. The Clinton's will snatch the election from Obama and I will be forced to back Hillary if I do not want a third term of George Bush with his stand in, John McCain.

All of which leaves only one question: Where did we go wrong? I wish it was as simple as a wrong turn in Albuquerque. But I greatly fear it was in having hope and once again trying to trust in the process of Democracy. I know it is not a democracy. I know the political system is broken. I know that relief organizations founded to help the poor and uninsured in the Amazon are now doing relief work outside Cleveland. But for just a tiny little minute there I had hope. Damn, I was doing so well without it. I wonder if the Iraqis feel the same?