The Democrats Betray Us

Capitulation.

Capitulation and betrayal, that is what the Democrats have given us, capitualion to the Bush administration and betrayal to the American people.

I really had hope for the first time in a long time when the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in last year's elections.

Now that hope is gone:

U.S. Congress yields to Bush to pass spying bill

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Congress yielded to President George W. Bush on Saturday and approved legislation to temporarily expand the government's power to conduct electronic surveillance without a court order in tracking foreign suspects.

Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding U.S. citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28.

What was all our work for? Why did we work so hard to elect Democrats into power? I worked to get friends and family members to vote for Democrats, to get them majority control of Congress, because I believed that surely the Democrats would fight to protect the Constitution and our civil rights.

I was wrong.

I feel so hurt and betrayed by this traitorous action. I don't know if I will get over it by the next election. The problem is: if neither Republicans nor Democrats will stand up for the Constitution and our civil rights, who will?

I thought that after the 2006 elections, that this long, national nightmare of rule under the Bush regime would soon be over. I thought that the Bush administration would have to pay for their crimes, and America would see a rebirth of the idea that no man, not even the president, is above the law.

Now, Congress has moved to legalize the crimes of the Bush administration. I have lost all hope. I have lost hope that I will see Bush and Cheney in prison. I have lost hope in my country. I have lost hope in the "Democratic-controlled" Congress. I have lost hope in humanity.

If we cannot even prevent the regression of American idealism, how can we possibly hope to be progressive? How can we possibly hope to stop global warming? How can we hope to gain universal healthcare? How can we hope to eradicate poverty? How can we hope to end pollution? How can we hope to bring peace to the Middle East? How can we hope to restore our good reputation in the world? How can we hope to end the causes of terrorism? How can we hope to restore the rule of law? How can we hope to restore the Constitution?

I'm so sick of this. I feel so sick. I am sick of myself that I dared to have any hope. I am sick that I put my trust in the Democrats to do the right thing and stand up to the evil Bush administration. Sick, sick, sick.

Sen. Vitter (R-LA) On DC Madam's Phone List

We now pause for a moment in our coverage of the endless string of Bush administration crimes and horrors to bring you latest in Washington, D.C. sex scandals:

Senator's Number on 'Madam' Phone List

By Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 10, 2007; Page A03

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.

The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates dating from before he ran for the Senate in 2004.

Vitter is another one of those conservatives who is against gay marriage rights.

From Wikipedia.org:

In June 2006, Vitter came out strongly in favor of amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same sex marriages. He said, "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one ... I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress."

It is more important for this guy to do something evil like pushing an amendment that would be the first to limit freedom and discriminate against a minority group than solving problems that Americans actually care about like our occupation of Iraq, global warming, or our broken healthcare system. Could someone explain to me why the world is so insane that a guy like this gets elected to the U.S. Senate?!

He doesn't want gay people to have equal rights to the benefits of marriage, but he is free to enjoy those same benefits, which he so easily wants to deny to others, while he abuses his own marriage by committing adultery?

I think that marriage rights should be equally accessible to everyone, but if anyone deserves to be banned from marriage rights, it is adulterers like Sen. Vitter, not homosexuals.

President Bush Is Against Democracy

Bush is (once again) a hypocrite (h/t to ThinkProgress.org):

House Approves A Full D.C. Seat

A bill giving the District its first full seat in Congress cleared the House yesterday, marking the city's biggest legislative victory in its quest for voting rights in nearly three decades.

Democrats on the House floor burst into applause, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) grabbed the arms of the District's nonvoting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, as the 241 to 177 vote was announced.

"There was nothing but joy in the chamber this afternoon, because we knew we had given this bill the kind of send-off that can get it through the Senate," Norton (D) said later.

But the bill faces considerable obstacles. Democrats don't appear to have enough votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster, and the White House has threatened a veto. If the measure becomes law, it probably will be challenged in court.

Bush is a liar and a hypocrite when he says he is wants to spread democracy, but he refuses to spread democracy IN HIS OWN COUNTRY!

This bill would give a voting rights to the congressional representative in Washington, D.C. and, to make things "fair", give Utah an additional seat in the House of Representatives. However, I would contend that because it is unfair and unjust that residents of D.C. have no current representation with voting rights then simply giving them a voting representative would make it fair; you should not have to give Utah an additional seat.

I am happy that this effort was made to give D.C. residents a voting representative in Congress, but I am disappointed with its inadequacy. D.C. residents are Americans, and as such, they deserve represenatation in Congress equal to what all other Americans have. That means they need to be represented by one Representative in the House of Representatives and two Senators in the Senate. Period.

Now, I know no Republican in Congress or the White House is going to allow the strongly Democratic constituency of D.C. its own set of Senators and most are hesitant to even allow D.C. a voting Representative, but that is no excuse to punish residents of D.C. by denying them the rights given to all other Americans. It is a blatant form of voter fraud and morally reprehensible to deny D.C. residents Congressional representation because of their party affiliation, and the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for continuing this unethical practice.

At the same time, I am not satisfied with this current bill, and I think we should do more than what it proposes. My solution would be to allow D.C. residents to be represented by and to vote for the Senators of another state (preferably a bordering state) and another congressional district (preferably a bordering congressional district). Then there would be no need to create any new seats in Congress or to have to spend any more tax dollars on such seats or their staff. It does not matter whether their represenatation comes from more than one state as long as they have the same amount of representation that all Americans are due.

Denying Americans their right to full representation in Congress is morally wrong. After over 200 years of this violation of our democracy, it is time we make amends.

U.S. Known For Torture Because Of Bush

I remember a time, before George W. Bush was President, when my country, the United States of America, was considered a champion for human rights.

Now, thanks to Bush, we are known for torture. We are known for Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib and denying habeas corpus in violation of our own U.S. Constitution.

And those who claim to have been tortured cannot seek justice:

Judge Rejects Padilla Torture Argument

MIAMI (AP) - A federal judge refused to dismiss terrorism charges against Jose Padilla over claims that the alleged al-Qaida operative was tortured in U.S. military custody, removing one of the last major obstacles to the start of his trial next week.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke stressed in a 12-page order filed late Monday that she was not passing judgment on the torture allegations. Rather, she said the effort to dismiss the case for ``outrageous government conduct'' was faulty on legal grounds.

Padilla's lawyers claim that during the 3 years Padilla was held as an ``enemy combatant'' at a Navy brig he was routinely subjected to harsh treatment and torture.

And it becomes harder to deny stories like this (whether they have merit or not):

Iranian Diplomat Alleges CIA Torture

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian diplomat freed two months after being abducted in Iraq accused the CIA of torturing him during his detention, state television reported Saturday. The United States immediately denied any involvement in the Iranian's disappearance or release.

Jalal Sharafi, who was freed on Tuesday, said the CIA questioned him about Iran's relations with Iraq and assistance to various Iraqi groups, according to state television.

``Once they heard my response that Iran merely has official relations with the Iraqi government and officials, they intensified tortures and tortured me through different methods days and nights,'' he said.

Sharafi's comments came a day after 15 British sailors released by Iran said they had been subject to psychological pressure and coercion in captivity. The sailors were captured in the Persian Gulf on March 23 for allegedly entering Iranian waters and released Wednesday.

What does it say about our country and our world when Iran has a better reputation in the world for how it treats its prisoners? I am not saying that those reputations are correct or fair, but this is America and there should be NO reason to doubt that we do not torture.

However, thanks to the Torturer-in-Chief, Bush, and his sidekick, Alberto "The Geneva Conventions Are Quaint" Gonzales, there is a devastatingly large amount of doubt.

Bush stole my country, and I want it back.