Actually, the old saying goes, Wyoming: where men are men and sheep are nervous. I have not personally witnessed this type of anxiety on the part of any sheep or other livestock in Wyoming, but I'm not saying it isn't true. For most people, this saying alone is enough to keep them from thinking about living here. Although there are some definite down sides to living here, the voting process is not one of them. At least, I witnessed no attempts at voter intimidation, no outright voter suppression, and no illegal activity on the part of the election officials.
On October 21, 1998, my uncle, the Honorable Judge John David Kelly of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, died. His death was a huge personal loss for my family and me and a great loss to the citizens of the United States.
John was the youngest of my mother's family and the only boy. I'm sure he was spoiled, but no one would ever own up to it. Throughout most of my life, he was an attorney in Fargo, North Dakota; one who frequently fought for the rights of private citizens against those of corporations. Eventually, he became president of his law firm and then in 1996, his name was submitted to Clinton for consideration for nomination to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Clinton subsequently nominated him and the Senate confirmed his nomination on July 31, 1998. Tragically, his time on the bench was short-lived, as he died prematurely only a few months after his confirmation.
On my first day of school as a 7th grader, I witnessed something so vile, so absolutely horrific that I ran into the school building to find help, slipped on the tile floor, hit my head, and passed out. I ended up being taken home for the rest of the afternoon. Since that injury, I have been a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
What did I witness? In the park across the street from the school, there were three, what-seemed-like huge 9th grade boys forcing an obviously mentally challenged 7th grade boy to eat grass.
That was the first time in my heretofore-sheltered life that I had seen one human being torturing another human being. To this day, it still makes me sick. What makes me even sicker is that I failed in my duty to protect him and stop the abuse. Since that time, nothing makes me more ashamed of being a human being that witnessing the purposeful abuse of one person by another.
William J. Haynes has been nominated to a Virginia seat on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is responsible for much of the "legal opinions" that put in place the policies of condoning torture by the military. This is the second time Bush has nominated him for this position. He was initially nominated in 2003 and the Democrats blocked a vote on his nomination (not without consequences, I might add, but I digress). He was renominated for the same seat by Bush on 2/14/2005.
IT IS imperative that his appointment be blocked. As general counsel for the Department of Defense, he has claimed essentially that the president can choose to disregard any law that he, the president, in his sole opinion, believes to conflict with his duties as commander in chief. No court review. No appeals. No oversight by any other person or entity in this government.
This is just what we need. The counsel for the Department of Defense who advised Rumsfeld about the abuse and torture of prisoners sitting as a judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
President Bush has nominated Haynes to be a judge on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This is a lifetime appointment. His nomination is beyond concerning. It is terrifying that someone whose legal opinion was that the United States not only COULD but SHOULD torture prisoners may end up being able to rule in favor of all of these policies as well as having the last word on many other important issues.
Do we want a man who believes in torture as a judge?
Yet again, it appears that Bush will nominate a pro-industry, anti-people shill for a very important post. Does he even know anybody who isn't a completely selfish, amoral individual who might actually think about what is happening to this planet? Apparently not.
In fact, according to Frank O'Donnell of cleanairwatch.org, Susan Dudley makes the current head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, John Graham, "look like Ralph Nader." This, despite the fact that Graham has "demonstrated consistent hostility to protections for public health, safety, and the environment over his career." Graham, who was criticized by public interest groups, recently left this position. The link for O'Donnell's blog is here: [http://blogforcleanair.blogspot.com/...]
Not satisfied with the 2004 Michigan state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the right-wing American Family Association is suing Michigan State University to "stop Michigan State University from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers." Their claim? Offering insurance to same-sex partners violates the ban on marriage by its action, if not in words. WTF?
Friday, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Hamilton County Common Pleas court judge ordered the Cincinnati Planned Parenthood to turn over all records on abortions performed on women under the age of 18.
In 2004, the EPA secretly decided to ignore all lead-based paint laws. In March of 2005, they discontinued all lead-based paint protections, and then in June of 2005, the agency unilaterally decided to give up any pretense of actually doing their job when it decided to discontinue their voluntary program for lead poisoning prevention.
It is rare these days when I am able to smile about anything that is going on in our government, but I had to grin when I read how easy it was for Barney Frank to allow Treasury Secretary Snow to paint himself into a corner. And then how flummoxed he was to find himself there with no escape!!!
Julia Ward Howe was an early abolitionist, poet, and women's rights activitist. She is perhaps best known for having penned the words for The Battle Hymn of the Republic. But she also worked tirelessly for world-wide peace and for women's rights. In 1870, she wrote the following asking women to come together and promote world peace.
Be sure and watch when Congress comes back from their April vacation. It is expected that this bill will be inserted into the supplemental funding bill for Afghanistan. The gall of this man is simply beyond me.
Here is the link. If this passes, he might as well declare that we no longer have a democracy or for that matter, 3 branches of government, just the executive branch. [http://www.chn.org/...]
I've never written a diary before, but after hearing this the other day, I felt compelled to share.
I live in Wyoming where there are a lot of oil fields. I have a good friend who owns an oil well and sells the oil he pumps to a fellow who has access to the pipeline. From the pipeline, it goes to a refinery. I'm sure everyone already knows this. But my friend had not heard from the pipeline person recently, so he went to see him. He was afraid he was no longer going to buy his oil. The pipeline person assured him that he was still on his list, but then he said, "I'll tell you a little secret, though; the pipeline is purty-near full. Soon we won't be able to take your oil or anyone else's."
Yet gasoline prices just went up 15 cents or more a gallon all across the nation. Here is a link for that story [http://www.salon.com/...]
