The Washington Note: Cheney Plays Julius Caesar and Like Then Must be Stopped (Legally)

Steve Clemons, over at his blog, The Washington Note, notes:

It is clear now, in retrospect that Cheney has worked hard to write in the "Office of the Vice President" as a body with specific statutory authority that does not derive from the Presidency as his machinations on modifying Executive Orders on "Classified National Security Information."

Republicans and Democrats in Congress should be unifying now on all fronts to immediately contain the power of Cheney and his team if they in fact do not feel that there are any controls on them that should be acknowledged.

Bush was never a Julius Caesar type. Cheney, however, is.

The question is...will Democrats and Repubicans stop him?  Do they have the political will to do what is right?  Unfortunately, past history suggests no......let's see if they suprise us!

One person CAN make a difference

When nonvoters are asked why they don't participate in politics, the most common answer they give is that they don't think they can have any impact. The system's gamed, they say, broken, and lawmakers are only concerned about the interests of their cronies.

Thankfully, Andrew Bossie, a young grass-roots organizer, never came to believe that ordinary people are powerless. In 2005, Bossie, then a student at the University of Southern Maine, looked around and noticed that a generation of young people was having real problems affording the kind of education that most people see as vital to having a shot at the American dream. "The skyrocketing costs of tuition, books and living expenses was taking its toll not only on me, but also on my siblings, friends and peers," Bossie wrote in an e-mail exchange. "It was not uncommon to see a college dorm vacated mid-semester because a tuition bill couldn't be paid, or to find a seat once occupied by an eager student empty, because they simply could not afford to continue."

Nobody told Andrew Bossie that he couldn't do anything about the bleak post-graduation prospects so many of his fellow students faced, so he decided he would. "I had a crazy, hare-brained idea," Bossie told me in a phone interview. "And I started to have conversations with people who were politically active, and when I did that I saw that it generated a lot of excitement."

In an interesting alternet article, Bossie,  a college student, describes how he decided to go about and change something the way the system is suppose to work:  from the ground up, through volunteers dedicated to a cause, There were no paid signature gatherers, no high gloss commercials, just plain old hard work and determination, and a cause that rung true with both Maine residents and their legislature.  Congratulations to Bossie, who teaches us all that we can still make a difference!

Start Off the Day Right!!

From Drinking Liberally regular Warren:

Here's a tip on how to start each day with a positive outlook....

1.  Empty the Trash/Recycle Bin on your computer desktop.

2. Create a new folder on your desktop (right-click/new/folder).
3. Name it "George W. Bush"
4. Send it to the trash.
5. Empty the trash.

6. Your PC will ask you, "Do you really want to delete "George W. Bush?"
7. Firmly Click "Yes."
8. Feel better.

Works every time!

White House threatens veto of energy bill | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

White House threatens veto of energy bill | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Tuesday threatened to veto a broad energy conservation bill under consideration in the Senate, if lawmakers try to ban price gouging or swipe at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. As the Senate began what will likely be several days of debate on the energy package, the White House Office of Management and Budget took aim at a provision that would make price gouging at the gasoline pump a federal crime if the president declared a national energy emergency. More than two dozen states have price gouging laws, but federal law does not address the issue. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has pointed to the price gouging language as evidence the Democrat-controlled Senate is doing something about high gasoline prices. But the administration argues a price-gouging provision would do nothing to alleviate prices. Echoing oil industry arguments, the White House said price gouging language "could result in gasoline price controls and in some cases bring back long gas lines reminiscent of the 1970s." The sponsor of the language, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., contends: "A strong federal statute that says you are crossing the line is needed. I don't see why anybody would be concerned that we're prohibiting wrongdoing." A somewhat different price gouging bill has already passed the House. That measure also drew a veto threat. The Senate may also try to attach the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels" or "NOPEC" provision.

Help me here.....The president will veto the energy bill because it would make price gouging a federal crime?  Let's see now, the president comes from a long line of oil interests among friends and family.  Doesn't this seem insane?  I wonder why the major news outlets isn't picking this one up?

Gerrymandering: June 11th's Drinking Liberally Olympia Meeting Topic

Hello all!

Hope your summer is going well!

I thought we might kick off tomorrow night's discussion around Gerrymandering. Gerrymandering, as you my know, happens when a congressional district boundaries are changed for political gain.

One of the most well known cases happened in 2003, when the Texas Republican controlled legislature changed the boundaries of the congressional districts to be even more Republican! If you recall, the Democrats in the Legislature took off--out of state--to prevent a vote. Tom DeLay sent US Marshalls' to find them and bring them back--which they did. The Redistricting Plan passed in the fall of 2003.

Gerrymandering is used whenever and wherever elections are held. In the age of computers, however, it has taken on a new life of its own; mapping and GIS programs allow for manipulation to occur once unimaginable.

On Monday, a game developed by students at the University of Southern California debuts on the web. It shows how easily Gerrymandering is used to solidify congressional offices for a partisan purpose. If you have time on Monday, you can play the game at http://www.redistrictinggame.org/.

For some general information on Gerrymandering, Wikipedia has an excellent article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

Hope to see you tomorrow night, 7:00, at the Tumwater Valley Bar and Grill!

It's game time--learn how the political game REALLY works!

Mike Musgrove - The New Political Games Make a Point - washingtonpost.com

Jonathan D. Aronson, a professor and political scientist at USC, is a little exasperated that Americans sometimes worry about the potential for voting-machine tampering when there may be a more fundamental -- though, perhaps, drier and harder-to-explain -- problem in how districts are drawn.

"My question was, why would you need to rig the voting machines if you'd already rigged the election by making seats safe?" he said. He took the issue to USC's game-design school to see whether it could build a game on the topic.

Find out how an election can be rigged and play the game at the game's website starting June 11th.

The making of a king?

AlterNet: Don't We Have a Constitution, Not a King?

Bush has issued a directive that would place all governmental powers in his hands in the case of a catastrophic emergency. If a terrorist attack happens before the 2008 election, could Bush and Cheney use this to avoid relinquishing power to a successor administration?

No...it couldn't happen, could it? Everyone should read Al Gore's new book, "Assault on Reason," or take an hour and watch him talk about his book with Charlie Rose. Of course, watching Al plays into his criticism that actually reading about an issue allows for a more informed republic....



.hmm....It can't happen here, eh?