July 6, 2007

Each year, it seems, the Grand American Puppet Show is getting longer, and the assortment of characters more diverse and talented. This time the curtain was lifted in the middle of 2006, more than two years before the Grand American Puppet Choice Day--er, excuse me, Election Day. The first two characters to appear on stage were New York Senator Hillary Clinton, representing the Democratic Party, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, representing the Republican Party.  

Two weeks ago I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos , new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

Last week I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos , new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. Last week I focued on Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain as well as a Republican Congressman named Vito Fossella (also called Bagdhad Vito or Bush's Lap Dog) in NYC and his challenger, Steve Harrison. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

By Scott Swenson

Sen. Sam Brownback's remarks that rape and incest victims should carry a pregnancy to term amount to verbal rape of the body politic.

Greetings from Kansas, where I am home with family starting a summer of writing on the road.  Kansas is also home to Sen. Sam Brownback whose presidential campaign has yet to crest the two percent mark in most GOP polls.

He trails even "None of these candidates." If there were a percentile ranking for compassion, he would rank even lower.

Speaking before the National Catholic Men's Conference, Brownback said women who become pregnant from rape or incest should carry the pregnancy to term.

Brownback's argument follows a preverse "two wrongs don't make a right" logic for which the assembled Catholic men gave him a standing ovation.  Without any discussion of the millenia of sexist indoctrination introducing the concept of male dominance before a man even considers rape, Brownback ignores the original sin to get to the red meat --- the "compounding" issue of abortion.

From a purely political standpoint, Brownback's campaign is raising no money, attracting no voters, and bringing no new ideas to the table. His debate performances have a Howdy-Doodey on meth quality that only serve as comic relief from the dour Reps. Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo.  He seems to believe the only way to attract attention is to state extreme positions in front of friendly audiences.

The role of the religious right in public life is increasingly a topic in the Greater Blogosphere. This week, many posts are about the struggle over the interpretation, meaning and even the facts of history. There is also a great deal of discussion of the proper role of religion and politics -- and yes, there are right ways and wrong ways -- getting it right is one of the central tasks of our time, and as it turns out, the '08 elections.

Nothing prompts a change of course faster than anticipated failure.  This rule is maximized in the realm of political office seeking.

Recently in this column points of common interest were revealed concerning Richard Nixon in the seventies and George W. Bush currently.  Nixon concluded a Vietnam peace with virtually the same terms Lyndon Johnson was offered during the 1968 election campaign.  We now know from Anthony Summers and other sources that Nixon and foreign policy adviser sabotaged through dealing with the South Vietnamese government.

No sooner was the Vietnam albatross removed than the Watergate scandal occupied a vise-like grip from which Nixon could never extricate himself.  The politician known as "Tricky Dick" had, in his anxiety to make his last election for the presidency in 1972 his biggest triumph, secured a landslide victory but became ultimately undone through his own excesses in seeking to secure that result.

It is notable that when Nixon resigned his popularity rating stood in the abysmally low 30's.  George W. Bush is mired today at that same woeful figure.  It is a critical point  considering that, just as the hardcore right wing Republicans were the only supporters left in 1974 when Nixon resigned, the same holds true today for Bush.  

The diary below was originally posted on my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Anyone have the feeling John McCain's political star is declining but nobody has caught on yet? Certainly not the mainstream media or the Republican Party establishment. So I thought I would have some satirical fun and take a peak between his ears.

This is my time. I'll be damned if that crew of chickenhawks in the White House is going to screw it up for me. If I had my way, 4 million troops would land in Iraq tomorrow. What's the big deal? Bunch of sissies in that White House!

I'm older than dirt and nobody is going to stop me. Who else in the Republican Party can pander to conservative nuts but still appeal to the vital center of bipartisanship?