Monday August 7th, 2006

Lieberman Vs. Lamont
The primary is getting hotter and hotter over in Connecticut, where incumbent Joe Lieberman, despite backing by the Democratic party, is losing in the polls to Ned Lamont, thanks to his being rich and as well an internet-based grassroots movement. Hooray for them. The issue of course is what impact this will have on the party in November: if Joe wins, hard-line Dems like Hillary Clinton can maintain a more pro-war stance (thus making Dems attractive to red states) and if Ned wins, Dems may have to go hard-left and attempt a more cohesive stance than they have in the past. The good news is that Hillary et al say they will fully support Ned if he wins the primary. The bad news is that Lieberman claims he'll go independent if he loses. And well know what happens when you have a strong independent in the race-- the Republicans win (*coughralphnadercough*) I hope Ned wins, and the Dems discourage Joe from going independent, and groom him instead for prez 2008.

Israel vs. Hezbollah vs. Sunni vs. Shi'a
Hezbollah has finally gotten around to saying they'll stop squirting bombs out of residential districts if Israel gets 100 percent out of Lebanon. The UN, in their wisdom, is trying to draft a resolution that will stop the fighting, too, as long as Israel gets their two soldiers back. Condi Rice is all over this one, expertly pointing out that since Syria and Iran are nearby, and they have Muslims in their country too, they might have something to do with all of this.

Meanwhile, over in Iraq, the potential for a civil war between Shi'a and Sunni is increasing, with US troops "caught in the middle." Of course, the real trouble is what with Halliburton's contract running out there, the money making is going to have to go dark, which is another way of saying they'll find a way to back both sides. Arms sent to one group could eventually end up in Lebanon, and could be confiscated by Hezbollah, or used against them, or both, and what with the tensions in Cuba rising (see below) we might get an Iran/Contra all over again.

And almost all of this is in the name of... can you guess? Wait for it... God. Is it me, or is God, in America and the Middle East, starting to look a bit like Jonbenet Ramsey?

Minimum Wage/Death Tax Bill Rejected
The senate has rejected the Minimum Wage Bill passed by the House last week, and you can be sure its only that half that the spin doctors will report to you and use to make opposition politicos look bad. "Don't vote for him, you redneck dummies, he voted against a minimum wage hike!" Of course, an elimination of the Estate Tax was stuck on that same bill, which is why the measure was defeated at all. This, too, will be used by infighting conservatives as they do their own jockeying in the "real" politics in Washington, the ones at luncheon buffets hosted by lobbyists. "Don't give him your money, you cash-fattened buffoons, he voted against reducing your taxes!" Interestingly, some of the senators who voted against the bill actually defended rejecting the wage hike, saying that it might negatively impact waitstaff who's pay is not always protected my minimum wage laws, in effect lowering their pay.... Curious math, to be sure, but then again, logic is just a black-box to them, so long as they get the vote. Statesmanship? What's that again?

Fidel Not Fully Dead; Raul Not Fully Alive
Fidel Castro is still recovering after surgery, and his brother Raul, head of the military in Cuba, is still in charge, and the whole country is bracing itself for revolution. But which ones will be the revolutionaries? Raul et al said they will fight anyone who tries to takeover during the Castro vacuum with the same revolutionary zeal that got them there in the first place. But aren't the oppressed the ones who get to call themselves revolutionaries? What if the US lends a hand, censoring any use of the words "bay" and "pigs," of course… and who gets to call themselves the counter-revolutionaries? And what about the Russians? Some say the Chinese might get involved, and it will be a revolution-revolution, which communism shifting from old Soviet-style to Chinese style. Call me stupid, but was the last iteration in China the revolution, counter-revolution, cultural revolution, or counter-cultural revolution revolution? And with congress itching to fix immigration laws so we can import slaves at a dime a head, you know all eyes will be on Cuba's borders for the next several months.

Fed to Take Over State Guards?
Here's an issue to launch at your friends, since it hasn't been drawn along party lines yet, and they can speak without feeling it necessary to defend one ideology or another. The president wants the ability to take temporary control of states' National Guards during natural and local disasters, to avoid the sort of confusion and delays witnessed at Hurricane Katrina. Governors, of course, are very much opposed to this. What do you think? Should NRA Republicans be afraid of this one, as it edges up close to the 2nd amendment and gets a little too friendly with it, or should the back it, as it gives their man in the oval office even more power? Should they fight against it since it impugns on their beloved states rights, or should they champion yet another way to increase defense spending, of only locally and only a bit at a time? Should the Dems who cry foul at Katrina applaud a measure to make disaster recovery that much easier, or should they get in bed with the NRA and say this is too close to allowing for martial law? Who knows? Conspiracy Theorizing: they can't control the weather, of course, buy what if the whole FEMA mess was just a prelude to this? 9/11 was a little too convenient.. what if we have another Timothy McVeigh-cum-David Koresh incident?