I’ve just finished watching it…If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do.

I even more highly recommend watching before, during or immediately after your holiday celebrations. Not because I want to ruin your holiday or dampen your spirits, but it will give you a higher appreciation for what you have.

None of us, nor our parents or grandparents have lived in a time when this nation was in such strife. We should understand and appreciate that.

We should also realize that our government did nothing then (for the Rwandans) and is doing nothing now (for the Sudanese) as they die and suffer under similar circumstances.

How many genocides in Africa need to take place before the world’s most powerful nation stands up and says ‘No more!’? This is a nation that attacked, invaded and occupies a country that could cause minimal harm to us and yet, stands idly by while hundreds of thousands of innocent Africans die in Sudan.

One man in Rwanda saved over a thousand lives. One man. ONE MAN.

I want you all to think about that during your holiday. Think about what you’ve done to make this world a better place. Think about what you’ve done to make this nation better. Think about what you’ve done to make your state, county (province, parish, etc) or city/town a better place. Is it enough?

I haven’t done enough. I haven’t done enough to make the world better for MB. I haven’t made this nation any better, nor have I made my state, my county or my town any better. Perhaps, I can’t. Perhaps, the corruption in the federal and state governments run too deep. Perhaps the local governments aren’t interested in what I have to say.

Perhaps, I’m going to waste my time. But I will be able to stand tall and proud and tell MB that I tried. I tried to shape the world in a better image. I tried to make a difference.

I suppose rank does have its privileges…But even for me, this is a bit childish… 

During Cheney’s flight home, “most of the electric outlets went on the fritz. Working passengers began lining up their laptops to share the power from a couple of working outlets - particularly the reporters who urgently needed to prepare their articles to transmit during a quick refueling stop in England. But when Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedence above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours.” (via First Draft)

 

[Think Progress]

Great article from the WaPo. The Patriot Act makes the government too powerful and it’s obvious that the President is misusing that power by allowing illegal wiretaps and surveillance. The FISA court allows for quick wiretaps without breaking the law…And yet, this President and this Administration flouts their ability to spy on people…

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) could barely conceal his anger.

 

“The Patriot Act expires on December 31, but the terrorist threat does not,” he told reporters at the Capitol yesterday. “Those on the Senate floor who are filibustering the Patriot Act are killing the Patriot Act.”

From the article

Hagel appears equally sanguine. “I took an oath of office to the Constitution, I didn’t take an oath of office to my party or my president,” he recently told reporters.

Brilliant. ‘…oath of office to the Constitution…’ I think that far too many politicians forget that.

 

[washingtonpost.com - National Security]

 Big brass ones this guy has…

Rep. Tom DeLay officially files for re-election in his suburban Houston district while he continues to battle charges relating to a campaign finance investigation.

[FOXNews.com - Politics]

I have much respect for Senator Feingold. He was the only Senator that saw this coming when the original Patriot Act was signed into law. He’s the one that fought against it then and now.

Cooler heads shall prevail, people.

Thank you, Senator Feingold, for not giving in, for not giving up and for standing up for those of us Americans that have poor representation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. senators, demanding increased protection of civil liberties, defied President George W. Bush on Friday by blocking renewal of the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of his war on terrorism.

[Reuters: Politics News]

 It’s a sad day.

Fair winds, Mr. Spencer.

Spencer, 58, portrayed vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry on the widely watched series that portrays the inner workings of a fictional White House.

[Reuters: Top News]

Steve has a great point here…Publicly publish the list. Americans that have been spied on for no reason deserve the right to know.  

I don’t care how long the list is of those people and phone numbers that have been surreptitiously monitored by the National Security Agency without court approval. This list should be made public — published in full on the Internet….

[The Washington Note]

Oh my golly goshness…Finally, CNN has gotten rid of that babbling moron… 

Novak to leave CNN. Update: And go to Fox….

[War and Piece]

Nice to see that Ambassador Bolton is behaving as predicted. Just think, only another year of thumbing his nose at the U.N. and he’s got to go home… 

Several people in high places, both in the State Department and in the United Nations, have commented to me that John Bolton really surprised them when he embarked on his new duties after moving into the Ambassador’s apartment at…

 [The Washington Note]