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Now consider the following:
* The French monarchy had Justinian law, which clearly stated: "Rex solutus est a legibus" ("The King is released from the laws"). George Bush had legal advisors John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales insisting on the concept of a "unitary executive" (basically, "the executive, especially in times of war, is absolute and must not defer to the other branches of government").
While the article does not conclusively prove that the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) are intentionally doing so in order to save money, it does raise many disturbing questions. Questions that should be addressed by congressional committees, and by the new blue-ribbon commission (headed by Bob Dole and Donna Shalala) charged with investigating the state of veterans' health care.
The entire article is fascinating and well worth a read to anyone interested in what is being done in the name of the United States of America. Mr. Fair was quite brave to come forward and tell his story, and is the first to do so that I have read. This article deserves more prominence than it will likely get, which is why I draw your attention to it.
Wow. Think about that for a minute. The cluelessness in coming up with such a statement is truly mind-boggling: "issues that poll at 80, 90 percent" are not "issues that really matter," according to the current Republican congressional leadership. This is earthshaking, because for years Republicans have been hammering Democrats for being "elitist." Now it seems the Republicans are showing their own true "elitist" colors, for all to see.
Now that Democrats have won the leadership of Congress, they need to show that they can lead in bold and new directions. This is a perfect opportunity to show they are indeed capable of doing so. I challenge Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to consider these suggestions, and act on them in January.
"On Planet Republican, the Iraq war is in its 'last throes'... meanwhile back on Earth, the insurgency is on the brink of full-scale civil war."
"Five years ago, on Planet Republican, George Bush said he'd get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'... but it took Democrats in Congress to bring him back to Earth and force him not to disband the CIA's Bin Laden unit."
Demonstrate your dedication to fighting for middleclass families by clearly explaining how you will work to keep down the price of gas if elected to Congress. Hold an event at a gas station or other logical location where you call for a real commitment to bringing down gas prices and pledge that, as a member of Congress, you will fight for families in your district, not the oil and gas executives for which this Republican Congress has fought so hard.
Democrats need to tie Congressional Republicans as tightly as possible to Bush's policies, and then hammer away at their failures. The great squishy middle of American voters aren't very ideologically inclined one way or another, but they do like to see a minimum of competence from the people they elect. Painting the Republicans as "the party of incompetence" will swing a lot of independent votes to the Democrats.
We can do better than this. The ideas are already out there. Letting Nevada and South Carolina participate in early primaries and caucuses is a good idea, and I hope it is given a chance to work. But I can't help feeling it's a baby step when it should have been a giant leap.
How many voters in Red State America would strongly consider electing a Democrat if it meant the cost of their credit cards would go down? How many swing voters would be swung by such an appeal? Most importantly, how many economically-struggling non-voters would take the time to register and vote if they were promised an end to 28% or 29% interest rates on their credit cards?