Well today Samuel Alito was sworn in as the 110th Justice of the Supreme Court. A sad sad day for our country indeed. Unfortunately this man will probably be on the Supreme Court for 30 or more years. I fear for our country. This court has taken a hard right and it is very disturbing. This man is a rubber stamp for this administration and their increasing desire for more executive power. We shall see how this pans out, but I am not very optimistic.

In other news there was this thing, called the State of the Union speech. I could run down a litany list of things that were uttered, but one thing really made me angry.

So here's the transcript of the speech.

President Bush's State of the Union Address

I want to hone in on this one point. shrub says this:

"Yet the tax relief is set to expire in the next few years.

If we do nothing, American families will face a massive tax increase they do not expect and will not welcome.

Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief.

I urge the Congress to act responsibly and make the tax cuts permanent."

How the f*ck can you sit there and talk about making these tax cuts permanent when are budget deficits are out of this world, higher than they have ever been? And when you are sinking so low to actually cut funding for college loan assistance for the very people who need the help the most? You have no shame! You are pushing these tax cuts which overwhelmingly benefit the more wealthy, at the expense of our kids being able to get a college education, at the cost of the highest national debt in our history. Unbelievable. Keep relying on the fact that most of us won't even notice. But you know what, you are going to get burned.

Good luck Republicans, your time in power is coming to an end.

Sh*t is going to go down now! In case you haven't heard, Hamas won a large majority of the seats in the Palestinian parliament. It was completely unexpected, and the rest of the world does not know what to do.

Bush: Hamas may cost Palestinians aid

"US President George W. Bush warned of cuts in US aid to the Palestinians if the Islamic militant group Hamas does not dissolve its armed wing and renounce threats against Israel."

Hamas's main platform is calling for the destruction of the state of Israel. So this is bad bad bad for the peace process.

I worry now about the upcoming Israeli elections. After Sharon's stroke I thought that his acting Prime Minister would be ok and would win in the elections and continue the peace process. But now I suspect Israel will elect Netanyahu again and the Likud party will move Israel away from the peace process, whatever is left of it. Such a shame.

Senators Say Ethics Beyond Lobbying Reform

"Members of Congress must look at their own behavior as well as lobbyists' if they are to regain the trust of the American public, senators said Wednesday."

Ok now everybody get on the bus! Now that it is all the rage to say that the Congress has ethics problems, every Senator and Congressional Representative is coming out to say that we need changes. Right right, so where the hell were all of you for the last 10 years?

"But speakers at the hearing also said members of Congress must look at how they do business and get elected, larger issues that could complicate quick passage of the first lobbying reform bill in a decade.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., co-sponsor of one of the major lobbying bills, said Congress must tackle the problem of earmarks, special interest projects that get inserted in larger pieces of legislation, often with the help of lobbyists. 'We're not going to fix this system until we fix the earmarks,' he said. 'It's disgraceful, this process.'"

Yeah disgraceful. It has been disgraceful for many MANY years! How can I take you seriously Senator McCain when you have sat by and watched this happen for so many years, with so many bills? Come on!

"Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also noted, in a broader sense, that Congress must look at how lawmakers finance their political campaigns. 'Unless and until we address this in an honest fashion, we are carping on trifles here.'

In the House on Wednesday, Democrats David Obey of Wisconsin and Barney Frank of Massachusetts said they would introduce legislation to eliminate all private money for House elections, turning instead to public financing. 'The problem with politics is more fundamental than meals or trips with lobbyists,' Obey said in a statement."

Now we are talking! I think we should really look into making our system of elections a publicly financed process, and get all this special interest money out of the game. Of course there will be loopholes, and we have to work to fix them. It's worth a shot.

Well it looks like the Supreme Court is unfortunately going to become much more conservative.

Majority of Senators Vow to Vote for Alito

"Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito won commitments from a majority of senators Tuesday, assuring his eventual confirmation and making a rightward tilt of the court likely."

It pretty sad. The gist I have gotten from this confirmation hearing was that this man very likely will be one of the more conservative justices on the court, and will likely tip the tie breakers to the conservative side, and may just overturn Roe v. Wade, and other rulings that a majority of our country has come to take for granted.

Maybe then, maybe then this country will wake up and realize what this administration, and this congress has done to our country. Unfortunately by then it will be too late, since these are lifetime appointments.

I hope we can come out of this dark time and have another renaissance.

Ok so I was just looking at the news today. And I happened to see this story. Most people have forgotten about this, but I wanted to point it out.

Brown Accepts More Blame on Katrina

"Former FEMA Director Michael Brown on Wednesday accepted a greater share of the blame for the government's failures after Hurricane Katrina, saying he fell short in conveying the magnitude of the disaster and calling for help."

About f*cking time! I think you are a terrible person. You had no business being the head of FEMA. Good riddance!

"'I should have asked for the military sooner. I should have demanded the military sooner,' Brown told a gathering of meteorologists at a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada.

'It was beyond the capacity of the state and local governments, and it was beyond the capacity of FEMA,' said Brown, former head of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Brown's remarks Wednesday stood in contrast to his testimony at a congressional hearing in September, when he blamed most of the government's failures on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin - both Democrats."

Eh lie to congress, no big deal. Oh well everyone has forgotten anyways. I guess everything is ok down there in New Orleans.

I know I covered Al Gore's speech yesterday, but I just found this little nugget and I wanted to quote it here as well.

Gore was talking about how fear is so pervasive in today's politics, or a better description, so pervasive in America today, and how it is making us all react in ways that are not good for the survival of this country.

"Fear drives out reason. Fear suppresses the politics of discourse and opens the door to the politics of destruction. Justice Brandeis once wrote: 'Men feared witches and burnt women.'

The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk.

Yet, in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the Bill of Rights.

Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol? Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of missiles poised to be launched against us and annihilate our country at a moment's notice? Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march-when our fathers fought and won two World Wars?

It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they. Yet they faithfully protected our freedoms and now it is up to us to do the same."

Really I want to say more, but you know what that last paragraph says EXACTLY what I am thinking about all of this.

Things are getting scary these days. I am seriously worried about where this country is going. One positive is that I think more and more Americans are catching on to what is happening.

Now if we could just get the mainstream press to cover certain things with more urgency then we will be better off. Today former Vice President Al Gore gave a speech that should be given attention.

Gore calls for special counsel on eavesdropping

"Former Vice President Al Gore called on Monday for an independent counsel to investigate whether President George W. Bush broke the law in authorizing domestic eavesdropping without court approval."

I agree we need a completely independent investigation, this is just too important to risk even an appearance of partisanship.

"'A special counsel should be immediately appointed by the attorney general to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the president,' Gore said in a speech to the American Constitution Society and the Liberty Coalition.

Gore, the Democrat defeated by Bush in the 2000 presidential election, said the eavesdropping operation threatened the foundation of U.S. democracy, and he recalled the FBI's secret surveillance of Martin Luther King, on the U.S. holiday commemorating the civil rights leader."

Tell them reverend! Seriously this disturbing. And anyone who looks at this and shrugs it off and makes excuses for this president's actions needs to look at themselves and think about where their priorities really lie. In politics, in party loyalty, or in the survival of the finest country in the world.

The time is now folks, we all must fight for the good of this country. Fight for our liberties, for our rights, for our privacy. We can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines. Wake Up!

"'We still have much to learn about the NSA's domestic surveillance. What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping virtually compels the conclusion that the president of the United States has been breaking the law repeatedly and insistently,' Gore said.

'A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government,' he said."

Indeed!

Frist Weighs Ban on Lobbyist Gifts, Travel

"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is considering proposals to ban gifts and privately funded travel as part of an effort to curtail the influence of lobbyists on lawmakers, officials said Thursday."

Yeah that will instill confidence among all of us in your corrupt leadership.

Army to Send Body Armor Plates to Iraq

"The Army plans to send thousands of ceramic body armor plates to Iraq this year to better protect soldiers while the Marine Corps already is delivering such gear, military officers said Wednesday.

In a private appearance before members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the officers defended the body armor available to U.S. troops. A Pentagon study done last summer but only disclosed recently found that improved armor may have prevented or minimized torso wounds that proved fatal to Marines in Iraq.
...
After the briefing, Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson said the Army decided to send soldiers side protective plates after troops driving military vehicles made the suggestion over the past year."

About f*cking time!

Pentagon briefs lawmakers on adequacy of body armor

"Democrats in Congress and public interest groups have pressed the George W. Bush administration for improved equipment for US troops, after the New York Times last week reported that an internal Pentagon study concluded that as many as 80 percent of the marines killed in Iraq from upper body wounds could have survived had they had extra body armor."

Son of a bitch! I want to KILL all the f*cking bureaucrats who have kept our troops from getting the armor they need. If even half of the percentage of troops killed could have been saved by extra body armor, then I want f*cking revenge! Where is the goddamn outrage?! Oh right this is just me being a liberal reactionary. Ok nevermind the fact that we could have saved the precious lives of our soldiers, over in Iraq.

These are not just names dammit! These could be your neighbor, your college friend, your co-worker's son or daughter. When will it sink in that our country, our government did NOT do all they could do have done to save the lives of our soldiers.

DAMMIT! Why do I feel like I am screaming into a dead microphone, and the auditorium is empty?

God I just am disgusted by these Republican lawmakers. I came across this story today.

Snow: will shrink deficit with spending cuts

"The White House aims to shrink the U.S. budget deficit through spending restraint and strong government revenues but will oppose letting tax breaks expire, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday."

HOW HOW HOW can these sons a bitches be so f*cking callous? We are going to cut social programs and things like that, but HEY WAIT we must renew these tax cuts for the rich!

You GODDAMN BASTARDS!!!! You don't give a sh*t about anyone besides your rich and powerful contributors. OH it makes me sooo mad that you are willing to mortgage our future to further line the pockets of the millionaires, the billionaires. Its just plain wrong.

Just continue to drive up the deficit, it doesn't matter. Well guess what it DOES! Just today I read that China will be selling off their dollar reserves. Even though they now deny the reports, we'll see. The dollar is already falling against international currencies, we can little afford for a country as large as China or others to start pulling their dollar reserves. We need to get our finances in order.

I tell you this idiot is going to run our fine country into the ground!

Oh and on that subject, look at this report from today.

Iraq war could cost up to two trillion dollars: study

"The Iraq war will likely cost the United States between one and two trillion dollars, despite earlier assurances by the White House that these expenses would be manageable, according to a new study co-authored by a Nobel Prize-winning economist."

Wow, I just don't know what to say. My god. We need change folks, we need it quickly. Why is everyone putting their heads in the sand? We need to wake up and see what is going on around us.

Well, I admit, I only posted once last week. It was a busy week. I had to get ready for my friends Matt and Laurie coming. But I promise this week I will be better.

Today the confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito began. And as expected Alito says he will not bring an agenda to the court. Yeah we will see about that. I mean what is he going to say? Yeah I am going to be a political ideologue who will rule in conjunction with this administration? Come on. But ah so it looks as if he will be confirmed. So sad. It really is too bad that the idiot won a second term, oh well. Yes I am resigned.

Bush's Supreme Court nominee insists he will be impartial

"Samuel Alito, George W. Bush's conservative nominee to be a Supreme Court justice, insisted in opening statements that he would be a flexible and impartial jurist if approved for the job.

'A judge can't have any agenda,' said Alito, speaking on the first day of what is likely to be a contentious week of Senate confirmation hearings."

In other news, Tom Delay was denied was denied a request to dismiss the money laundering charges against him.Texas court denies DeLay bid to quash criminal case

"Texas' highest criminal court on Monday denied a request by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay to toss out criminal money laundering charges against him or grant him a quick trial."

Looks like he will actually have to face justice for once.

A culture of corruption. Good luck in the midterm elections coming up this year. I predict some big losses for the old GOP.

Where have I been? I didn't wish all my readers a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or a Happy New Year. Or did I? Well anyways, welcome to the year 2006 in Disconnected Rumblings.

I am really tired tonight so I will keep this brief. Good news in the judicial system today.

Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Cooperate

"Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who spawned a congressional corruption scandal, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three felonies and pledged to cooperate in a criminal probe edging closer to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay."

GOOD! Cover your asses republicans, because ALOT of you are going down! Good luck f*ckers! Its about time the meaty hand of justice served you your just desserts. You all have suckled at the teat of American power and influence and we have had to deal with the gas and bloating. Sorry disgusting metaphor, but really, we have to fix this crap, its getting bad, and unless we WAKE the HELL UP this country is going to go down in flames!

WAKE UP!