I couldn't help myself, I read Scalia's "dissent." It was embarrassingly vapid. It read like a blog post, an informed blog post, but not a writing up to the standard expected of a justice of the Supreme Court. He quotes newspaper articles and ties information on people who have been released from Gtmo somehow to the habeas corpus issue. Of course the majority ruling doesn't say anything about releasing anyone, only that these people will have certain rights extended to them and that their cases may be argued in US District Court.

Scalia argues that Bush should have the right to hold anyone without charges as long as he (Bush) asserts that the imprisonment has something to do with terrorism, a concept with which we are seemingly at war.

What a jerk.

The conservatives have been chipping away gradually on the Supreme Court and the Democrats have been allowing them to to this, over and over with the past two elections which gave this power of appointing Supreme Court justices to the Republicans. And Democrats will once again hand over the power to the Republicans. Nothing is new under the sun.

U.S.A.! USA! Go McCain!

When Hillary Clinton suggested that we should "obliterate Iran", roughly fifty percent of Democrats Americans agreed with her. Get used to it. The majority of Americans are all for war and for being tough. The majority of Americans don't like people who prefer diplomacy. The majority of Americans don't relate to peace-loving "elitists". Get used to it. John McCain will lead us into a war with Iran, continued war with Iraq, and he'll lead us towards a majority of conservative Supreme Court justices, and most Americans will be willing participants.

So what you're saying, JoAnn, is that we should've all been voting for Hillary for the nominee. That all your trash-talking of Hillary for months has been focused on a candidate you don't think can win. That now that we have the candidate you were supporting so solidly, we are in trouble. That, this is the first time you are looking at the candidate to see if he can win and - oops - you don't think the majority of Americans are going to go for it.

That is fascinating.

Jo Ann, come on cheer up, please, zaphod even sent you a video link just for you.

Why i think that Obama may win.

1. What a slick campaign he is running
2. polls are up.
3. outreach to religous groups ( i know Norm and many of you hate this), but this may work 4.50 state campaign, will win the house/ senate and hopefully whitehouse.
4. A reallly well run campaign against a really lack lustre campaign, war hero and all
5. McClellan, senate report about iraq, the moderate right will not like they were lied to.
6. Obamacons. conservatives that like his economic advisors and antiwar beliefs.

i see a lot of hope, and i think mccain is a great candidate.

Jill!

How did you manage to plumb the depths of my irrational views? Damn!

K! Hi! I too see lots of hope. McCain is wonderful. I've been crossing my fingers hoping that that sexy and charismatic, peace-loving man who hates ware will run our country. How wonderful!

Zaphod sent me a link? huh? Guess I missed that :(

who hates ware

Well, I suppose that he hates cookware as much has he hates war. He's my man! Go McCain! Yes we can! We can elect our man McCain. We shall never surrender!! Never!!! We Americans will fight on to victory in Iraq!

I'm feeling so positive and happy now!

JoAnn,

This constant drumbeat, "Democrats will once again hand over the power to the Republicans. Go McCain, Go McCain." I don't get it - I mean, if you want to vent your pessimism now and then, I can see that, but what is the repetition accomplishing? At a certain point this becomes as destructive as Democrats nursing grudges about Obama.

I agree with Jill - your candidate has secured the nomination - all you have to do now is stop grieving over your victory.

I agree with Jill - your candidate has secured the nomination - all you have to do now is stop grieving over your victory

Victory? A six point lead is hardly a victory. I'm just being practical. Any Democrat should be way ahead.

After George fucking Bush being elected not once, but twice! (yeah, yeah, I know Supreme Court and shit, but still it was very close), and after observing how many Democrats prefer McCain over the Dem because of the hard-fought primary, I have no hope at all left.

I can't help but remember how Gore and Kerry were Labeled "elitists", and the same label is being applied to Obama by not only Republicans, but also by many HIllary Clinton leaning Democrats.

knock it off AnnJo.

Go to Hillaryclinton's blog and check out how many people posting refer to Obama as "BHO".

These women will be voting for McCain or they'll not vote at all. It's all there in black and white.

knock it off AnnJo.

okay. ;)

thanks.

If the sky falls for real, I will let you know.

The "victory" to which I was referring was for the nomination, not the general election.

Of course, the Republicans should be absolutely slaughtered by a rational or historical standard. I am unable to think of a single major area of Bush policy that has been anything but an abject failure - not a single one! And Obama should be able to quite legitimately tar McCain with Bush's brush. Once again, Greenwald lays it out beautifully:

John McCain, June 3, 2008, in his notorious Green Backdrop speech in Louisiana:

You will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I'm running for President Bush's third term. You will hear every policy of the President described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. So he tries to drum it into your minds by constantly repeating it rather than debate honestly the very different directions he and I would take the country.

John McCain, June 15, 2005, Meet the Press (h/t Blue Texan):

MR. RUSSERT: And what people point to -- and this is an article in your hometown paper, the Arizona Republic, "At Odds With Bush. John McCain repeatedly has taken maverick positions that have put him at odds with President Bush's administration" . . . . The fact is you are different than George Bush.

SEN. McCAIN: No. No. I -- the fact is that I'm different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I've been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. So have we had some disagreements on some issues, the bulk -- particularly domestic issues? Yes. But I will argue my conservative record voting with anyone's, and I will also submit that my support for President Bush has been active and very impassioned on issues that are important to the American people.

After the primaries were over, Obama got a bit of a bump - there couldn't have been too many Clinton supporters who went to McCain - at least not yet. Your pessimism won't convince them otherwise in any case. Cheer up, lady.

Joann, go back a few posts, there was video to cheer you up.

i cannot remember which one, from zaphod.

You perhaps have to leave the internet, it will CAN you crazy. and i am the psychiatrist.

JoAnn:

"But a new poll released by Gallup Monday [May 19-21] suggests McCain may be out of step with the majority of Americans when it comes to U.S.-Iranian relations. Fifty-nine percent of Americans surveyed thought it was a good idea for the President of the United States to meet with the President of Iran. When Iran is taken out of the equation, an even higher percentage – 67 percent – responded that they thought it would be a good idea for the president to meet with leaders of countries considered enemies of the United States."

Also, Obama's winning at least 75% of Democrats in all the polls. Stop being such a Chicken Little, and search for the facts first.

Supreme Court justices are insufferable. I can't think of any more pedantic, elitist, condescending group of people who consistently talk way above their pay scale simply because they have the power. "Get over it" indeed.

Scalia reads the Constitution for original intent. But that doesn't stop him from taking on the role of commander in chief and Congress and tailoring his decisions to what he thinks the right foreign policy is. "Judicial review" unfortunately in the U.S. means being ruled by hack social scientists or philosophers, or by unelected partisan ideologues.

I'm late to the party as usual, but the link for JoAnn was this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyvcTen7TKg

Now, a more serious argument:

I think most of us here at OGM accept that, although Obama has some significant inertia going, we are headed towards another very close election. Potentially as bad as 2000, where a handful of Diebold machines can make a few strategic errors to forever alter history.

Consider the effects of your comments on a typical 18-22 year old American; an youngin' who has never seen America "at its best" (Apollo 11, ending Cold War w/ diplomacy, civil right movement, etc).

These people cannot fathom why someone like me should feel so patriotic; after all, America sucks, and has sucked for as long as they can remember.

It is up to us, those who DO remember, to not encourage the apathy that will kill us this November. Rather, we must take every opportunity to remind each other that America CAN do awesome things, and although we haven't done so in a while now, we are long overdue.

Most of my fellow Paulians are still in the "bitter" phase, just like the hardcore HRC base. They promise to write-in, or vote Barr (who voted for the Iraq War & Patriot Act), or abstain in protest.

However, most people my age (28) and younger, those who were never "hardcore" about anyone in particular (and even some like myself who accept defeat when it comes) have accepted Obama as their default choice.

Now the million dollar question is this: will they vote?

And to address this, we must first address the real question:

why bother?

Why? Because, like it or not, the future is coming. I'm no fool. I know we are in for some very rough times, no matter what happens in November. But I sincerely believe, with all my heart, that if the meme of "change" can inspire regular Americans to "just do it", we are in for a social revolution not seen since the mid 1960's.

The following quote is on Obama's home page, and I think it best represents why I support him, despite such a wide disparity on several key issues:

"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours"

Look at the above video. Pure rhetoric. If we were so inclined, we could trash Reagan as a senile cowboy, attack JFK for starting the Vietnam War, or insult MLK Jr. as a womanizing whore. All three points would be factually correct. However, there IS value to this rhetoric.

What value?

Reagan's rhetoric inspired me to give a shit about this country. It inspired me to read history, to vote, to march, to collect signatures, and to raise and donate money to a plethora of pet projects. Ditto Ron Paul. Ditto JFK. Ditto a thousand other hollywood rejects who have served as our "leaders" over the years.

I'm really ranting now, but my point is simple: WE THE PEOPLE. This is our fault, and this is our problem. Santa Clause is not coming with presents. Jesus is not coming to save us. Convincing ourselves it is hopeless is a cop-out at best.

I strongly believe that free will is the glue that binds the universe together. The privilege of choice demands an awesome responsibility. And in my world view, choosing to do nothing is still a choice. As my coach used to say; forfeiting the game results in a loss anyway, so you may as well go swing the bat.

Swing batta batta batta! Will you strike out? Maybe. Will you hit a home run? Maybe. In either event, when you get your pitch, you've got to swing with everything you got.

And this is what America means to me.

one persons activist judge is another persons scalia or something. this is the dude that went hunting with some former co-worker who was arguing a case in front of him the next week. this is the dude that said if a state is not allowed to have a law that makes homosexuality illegal then bestiality, incest, and polygamy are next. this is the dude that told us to get over the fact that his ugly face and cronies decided the 2000 election. this despite the fact that voting is been traditionally regulated by state government and the fact that the FL Supreme Court found that a recount was in order. pretty much this is a dude that sucks all the integrity out of being a supreme court justice and sometimes as i sit in my constitutional law class i think of what he would do if i rubbed my balls on him.

K said:

You perhaps have to leave the internet, it will CAN you crazy. and i am the psychiatrist.

I agree K. I do have to leave all of this. You would know and from reading your prior posts, I understand how well-balanced and rational all of your posts are. I respect your opinion.

Dende Blogger said:

Supreme Court justices are insufferable. I can't think of any more pedantic, elitist, condescending group of people who consistently talk way above their pay scale simply because they have the power. "Get over it" indeed.

Supreme Court justices have more power than the president.

Hi Zaphod! I'm late to the party too. ;) I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Excellent!

This is what I heard.

McCain said:>It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable and I've gotta give you some straight talk my friends. This is a tough war we're in. It's not gonna be over right away. There's gonna be other wars. I'm sorry to tell ya, there's gonna be other wars.

Do you hear what McCain is telling you? "There's gonna be other wars". And now you know what "straight talk" means.

And here is what Obama is saying:

"Many of you have been disappointed by politics and politicians, more times than you can count. You see promises broken.

Well, after this we see a Hillary Clinton supporter saying, "Democrats are throwing the election away."

WTF?! This woman, and those like her, are throwing the election away.

If Hillary Clinton won the nomination, the Obama supporters would be throwing the election away. But Obama won the nomination, and thus we have Hillary Clinton supporters are throwing the nomination away. Fucking stupid Democrats.

The more that things change, the more that they remain the same, which means that John McCain will be the next president of the U.S. Call me Downer Debbie or Sad Susan or whatever, but this is how I view the landscape.

And then that Hillary supporter says, "What, an inadequate Black male?".

We're screwed, admit it.

Obama has been going on and on and on about diplomacy. Unfortunately, Obama's view of world which consists of diplomacy before war is just not popular these days.

Hell, I've been listening to the news, and it's all the rage about how the surge is working and about how the Democrats need to rethink their notion that troops need to withdrawn. The MSN is pushing the notion of staying in Iraq.

I have to admit that even I have been drawn into this argument:

Should we leave immediately but gradually and allow Iraq to be thrown into chaos, or should we stay there and not be "surrender monkeys"?

Are we, as Americans, responsible for the future of the Iraqis? And if so, how do we balance what's best for Iraq with what's best for the U.S.?

Do we as Americans have a responsibility vis-à-vis the Iraqis?

JoAnn:

You missed the most important parts!

Right after "crank old lady" we see Gary Coleman:

"Whatchoo talkin' bout lady?"

Joe Blow American doesn't "get" that lady's anger, and certainly doesn't agree with it.

Next shot: after global warming and killer robots kill most of us, a few survive on to 3001, and which point we...er...what the heck happens at the end of "2001" again?

I guess my point was: bad stuff is going to happen. And, like the spiritual cockroaches we are, humans will survive it. We WILL reach that promised land, just as MLK Jr. promised. Maybe not this millennium, but sooner or later...

As I type this I am sitting in the porch, and occasionally glancing at the moon, which is hanging in the sky near the horizon right now. A few miles away is Cape Canaveral. A few days ago we witnessed another successful shuttle launch.

11 years before I was born, the USA! USA! was able to pilot a small craft onto the face of that rock. They did it before there was an Internet, before cable TV- hell, before the microprocessor. Human beings traveled to another celestial body using nothing but a "series of tubes".

Why is that so inspirational to me? I don't know. Probably because Nixon's presidency is unknown to me outside of history books. To me 1969 doesn't represent chaotic social change, or outrageous American imperialism in Southeast Asia; it represents the fullfillment of a promise, and age-old cliche: we really can do ANYTHING we put our minds to- we can even go to the moon, elect a Democrat president, or transition away from the oil economy.

I am a young guy, and yet, even in my 28 years the world has completely reinvented itself many times over. The USSR collapsed. The computer turned from a mysterious box into a household appliance, and the DNA genome- the very blueprint of humanity- was decoded.

And that's just since 1980!

Just imagine what this world COULD look like 50 years from now!

Sure, it could look like a barren post-apocalyptic nightmare, as promised in so much bad sci-fi. But it could also look green and alive and healthy. And more important- the world 50 years from now will be the direct result of decisions and actions made today.

I suppose this sounds really silly. I suppose I should "grow up" and stop day dreaming about these things- but I can't. My grandmother used to tell me about life before indoor plumbing; today I earn a living making website systems that allow people the world over to share information in real-time. This is such a radical change in only two generations that I cannot help but believe that truly anything is possible. I also remind you to beware the law of unintended consequences.

For example: say McPain wins, expands the war into Iran, and brings us to the brink of WWIII.

Now view these events through the eyes of a child born in 2080.

Perhaps- just perhaps- it was the invasion of Iran, and the subsequent price of $250 USD / barrel oil that finally forced the glorious "free market" to place a solar panel on top of every roof in out vast nation state.

To use a more concrete example: I currently have a bed made out of "space foam" and it is the greatest piece of furniture I've ever owned. I guarantee you that this is NOT what JFK had in mind during his famous "because they are hard" speech. Even so- NASA has directly contributed to advances in medical and consumer technology beyond anything the people of 1960 could even imagine. For example, the other day my wife (an RN) saved the life of a little girl who had been clinically dead for about 5 minutes. That's some miraculous shit if you ask me- and far beyond even the most bold advancements promised in 1960's era "Star Trek". Just think about the little girl born in 2080, and the potential future that awaits her. Honestly, it gives me chills.

And that's just 72 years from now! A blink of an eye! A few rotations around the earth! The trees and rocks will blink and 2080 will have come and gone!

I'm really ranting so I'll summarize: things suck right now. They sucked in 1968 too. The 1990's were a pretty decent time. Hopefully things in 10 or 20 years will be better again. It's like the tide- or the phases of the moon. And so long as life continues to live, the battle will go on.

er..rotations around the sun. That damn "teach the controversy" satire must have got to me. ;)