Political Blog—June 2009

June 10—And they call themselves "pro life."

The nation, still reeling from the shock of Dr. Tiller's murder, today received a fresh blow in the form of a murder at the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C.

I was rather late in the news of Dr. Tiller's untimely death (my grandfather's death has kept me out of the news cycle these last couple of weeks), but tonight I sat down to watch some MSNBC properly for the first time in weeks and heard how James von Brunn, epic failure of a human being (as my friend Jeff so eloquently phrased it), had entered the museum and killed a security guard before receiving a head wound himself, luckily before any more loss of life. Von Brunn was a mass conspiracy theorist, at once denying the Holocaust, claiming Hitler should have gassed the Jews (I guess that means all of them instead of mere millions), believing in anti-abortion extremism, and insisting that Obama was not a natural born citizen. It makes me sick, it really does. I have not visited von Brunn's website, nor do I intend to. I refuse to give any traffic to that crap. I've seen sites like that before, and they make me physically ill. Not the crimes they've committed nor the gross pictures they post, but the sheer rhetoric itself repulses me, as it should anyone with any sense of decency.

What gets me is how a person like that can claim to be pro life. Just not pro-ethnic minority life, pro-Jewish life, pro-liberal life, pro-anyone-with-any-humanity life.

In recent years, threats of violence to abortion clinics have been on the rise. Today in Texas, a clinic received a bomb threat, and one protester got inside and threatened to follow a woman home with a hatchet. What the fuck is wrong with these people? This isn't something you should hear about on the news; this is something that belongs in history books about the dark ages. And so we are living in the dark ages if this is what our fellow humans do. It's very trying to believe at all in the human race with revolting barnacles like von Brunn clinging on.

Of course, there's an element of hypocrisy here. The same country that expresses revulsion at anti-abortion extremism still wages unwanted war in the Middle East, deports the spouses of gay people, used to deport the widows of citizens, tortured people in this century, and—albeit a lesser offense—seeks to delay the confirmation of a Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court for no better reason than her race and gender and because she was appointed by a black man.

Way to go, GOP, it's been a banner year so far. Can't wait to see what you do for my birthday next month.

Then again, who am I to stop you? The worse and dumber your tactics, the longer you'll stay the hell out of office.

June 11—Iran's Election

I will dash off a cursory note here regarding that despicable waste of space James von Brunn. He said in a note he left in his car that Obama was made and owned by Jews. It makes me physically sick to hear that crap.

Now. Iran has an election coming up in a few hours. Election 1388 features four candidates, the most likely of whom is Mir-Hossein Mousavi. If elected, he would be the first person to vote out of office the current incumbent, that of course being Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They say it will be a tight race, though I'm not sure how they can tell. Polling over there is highly unreliable because people with dissident views tend to end up in prison. Anyway, Iranian women are excited about the possibility of Mousavi winning because he offers hope for women's rights, though that stands to be quite a dangerous topic. It's analogous to the rise in anti-abortion violence over here.

Oh, and then I heard that Al Qaeda in Afghanistan is broke. How they got the money to make the video saying as much remains a mystery.

In other news, the GOP wants us to use nuclear power. I am reminded of a debate I held once with someone who was all in favor of nuclear power and just didn't get why it was controversial. In response, I showed him a picture of Chernobyl, which he of course shrugged off. He wasn't old enough to remember the bone-chilling terror that event sparked; I am. And so must the GOP be equally naïve if they think nuclear power is the solution. It's an expensive way to boil water, it creates hazardous waste we can't store, and its byproducts can be formed into dirty bombs. Just for starters.

On a more positive note, the president of Palau is taking some of our Gitmo prisoners. The people of that nation have a mixed reaction (understandably, I would think), which he effectively dismissed by saying, more or less, that the smart people would be fine with it. He said that he knew the prisoners had been cleared and faced prosecution or even execution in their homeland, thusly he was happy to help. He thanked the U.S. for its alliance and generosity since World War Two. All those "we saved your asses" people should like that. Obviously, I'm less than optimistic about how this will go, though that's largely misdirected aggravation at the fact that they were ever in Gitmo in the first place.

Now. I can't wait to see what happens in Iran.

June 14—*sigh*

. . . Sooo, the Iran election was a colossal fuck up. Foul play galore, methinks. DAMN. Mousavi issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and he urged his backers to fight the decision as well as to avoid committing acts of violence. Protestors against the alleged fraud raised hell in Tehran, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling his victory as a "divine assessment." Gee, that doesn't sound suspicious. Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result to the Guardian Council today. There have been abundant rumors that Mousavi was arrested. I hope not, but it wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened. That Ahmadinejad is about as corrupt as they come.

Now, because I don't want to start a rant where I have to copy and paste every other name, I'll recap today's Meet the Press.

Biden was on Meet the Press this morning. He talked about the suppression of free speech, along with the suppression of crowds, in Tehran. He talked about the P5+1 (meaning the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) proposal, which offers to suspend further progress in advancing UN sanctions against Iran but does not address sanctions organized outside the UN Security Council framework. I'm not sure how much good that actually does, then. Anyway, Biden said we were ready to talk to Iran and would not allow Iran to go nuclear. I'm not sure how that can be managed without a major diplomatic incident, but I wish all concerned parties the best.

Anyway, then Biden discussed the stimulus bill, saying the economy was worse than they'd thought going into office but is improving. He said housing and lending are improving, the auto industry is getting under control, and that people feel "mildly better about where the economy is going." Mildly better, indeed. God I hope that's not all flannel to make people feel better. He defended the stimulus by pointing out that if they had just let the banks fail, we'd really be in trouble. I agree; I do wish more anti-stimulus people would consider that.

Finally, Biden said Obama was not distancing himself from Israel to please the Muslims and that Israel's security was our security.

*sigh* The Middle East. Whose idea was that?

Oh, and then, in the latter part of the program, Mike Murphy and Joe Scarborough were on. I don't remember much about that except for Mike Murphy saying that the most popular baby name in Texas was now Jose. I guess that was supposed to be terrifying. He didn't make much sense to me. The exact quote was

The demographics are changing. The Hispanic vote, the fastest growing vote, 2 percent in 1980, 9 percent now, heading quick to 15, is totally anti-Republican. We lose it 2-to-1. Number one male baby name in Texas now, Jose. That's the--Texas is the key to our Electoral College numbers. So the point is, I don't want to dilute conservatism, but I want to modernize it.

. . . which you will do with implied racism. Thank you.

June 17—Perspective

Obama wants to overturn DOMA! The Defense of Marriage Act is anything but. Way to keep marriage sacred, by using it to make people you have something against feel second class. Of course, it all depends on Congress, which of course means nothing will happen, at least not for a long time. Meanwhile, they've kicked Don't Ask Don't Tell further down the road to avoid the same controversies Clinton ran into. What Obama has managed to do is improve gay rights for a few people in a few circumstances: Previously, LGBT federal employees could not use sick leave to care for their domestic partners, their partners had no insurance, they couldn't use visitors' rights in medical facilities, etc. Obama signed an order to reverse these policies, but the barriers are far from down. There are still no pension plans or health insurance for these people, though Obama did say he would support such a plan. Meaning someone else will have to come up with it.

The situation in Iran continues to worsen. Citizens are receiving robocalls saying they've been "seen protesting," and protesting has been banned. So the Iranian national soccer team, during the World Cup tryouts, wore green wristbands till half time (I strongly suspect there was a nasty incident off camera to provoke that) in support of Mousavi. Fans in the stands also wore green and held signs of protest, including one banner reading "Go to hell dictator." It takes a lot of nerve to do that. Many of them, I fear, will quite literally die for their right to vote. Suddenly I feel the least bit guilty being able to take my own right to vote for granted.

June 21—Obama on Fatherhood

I watched a little CSPAN today and saw a tape of Obama talking about fatherhood (seeing as how it's Father's Day). He said all fathers make mistakes, but it's more important that you keep trying. A child asked him whether it were more fun being a father or being president. He said the right thing of course (being a father), but pointed out that his daughters weren't teenagers yet. I can't wait to see what those girls look like in four or eight years. I think they will grow up to be classy and beautiful just like their mother.

Meanwhile in Iran, civil unrest grows increasingly violent and intimidating. The Internet and cel phones are jammed, text messages haven't worked for a week, and journalists cannot broadcast from the streets. I'm scared to think of what's coming over there. The way things are going, they'll all have killed each other before they ever reach elections.

June 22—1388

The weirdness and violence of Iran's election of 1388 (according to their calendar) continues to spiral out of control. The country now exists in a state of virtual martial law, and Mousavi keeps calling for further demonstrations and a general strike. It's 1979 all over again. Meanwhile, the opposition's supporters, family, and friends are being arrested, allegedly to keep them from assassinating those in charge. What rubbish. As I've said before, detractors over there tend to wind up in prison. I wonder when it will end. And how. I'd love to see Mousavi in power as he should be, or at least, I'd love to see Ahmadinejad ousted, but I'm afraid of the cost. It seems that by the time this election is finally over, there won't be anyone left to govern.

June 23—Iran, Again

Tonight, unsurprisingly yet distressingly, I learned that the Iranian media (no doubt being strong armed by Ahmadinejad's minions) is broadcasting fake videos of the opposition in an attempt to sabotage the upheaval.

Obama spoke out, expressing his appallment at the violence. In a segment on Countdown aptly titled "Response and Responsibility" (I had to mention the nod to Jane Austen), I saw that the Republicans are calling Obama timid and weak on military matters. Please, just because he isn't saber rattling and butting into another country's business, that doesn't make him weak. I really think caution is advisable here. As Chris Matthews said, "It's easy to talk aggression; it's tough to bury the dead." Pity the Republicans never can remember that.

Anyway, in news closer to home, Senator Hutchison was talking about possibly beating Perry in the upcoming election. Between Perry's secession pipe dreams and his affiliation with Sarah Palin, I'd say Hutchison is a shoe-in. I'm not crazy about her, but she's got to be better than secession and Palin.