A Compassionate Conservative, Really!

San Diego County is (or was) a beautiful place blessed with a mild climate, palm trees, wild oak covered hills, citrus and avocado groves, beaches and surf. But when I graduated from high school in the North County, I went to my all night grad party, came home and had a nap and then got up and left, hopefully forever. Indeed the next time I came to San Diego was many years later and not by choice. I came to be arraigned in Federal Court for refusing to go to Vietnam and kill people I had nothing against, that were no threat to me, in their own back yard.

 

At the time, I was seventeen, I didn't understand really quite why I was so anxious to get out of there, though I was going to the Sierras for the summer and then to university at Santa Barbara. Eventually I came to understand that where I did a lot of my growing up was just too Republican and Reich Wing to suit my nature. In high school we used to be advised to go down to the John Birch Society headquarters to do research, and if you are unfamiliar with that organization, think of a group that makes the Fraser Institute seem like Marxists. In Social Sciences we were assigned to draw a map of the Soviet Union with primary and secondary nuclear targets marked, and not a single parent complained that I ever heard about - BTW, I got an A on my map.

 

In my community a defense oriented research firm hired a Phd engineer and his wife, also a Phd was offered a position at the local community college, in the end they turned down the positions. You see they were black, and though there was no "official" segregation in my town, they couldn't find a place to live closer than Oceanside, which was too far, not to mention they felt insulted and let's face it, they had other opportunities elsewhere without having to deal with cowboy Jim Crow.

 

Nowadays when I go south the Orange County line (the northern border) is as far as I will go, unless I need to drive thru the Orange County/San Diego Right Wing Wasteland to get to another country. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover the article linked to above about the Republican Mayor of San Diego who reversed his position on same sex marriage and "decided not to veto a council resolution that would have reversed California's ban on same sex unions." I must admit I was surprised that the council even came up with the resolution in the first place.

 

A very emotional Jerry Saunders, sometimes on the verge of tears, had the following to say when announcing his change of heart.

 

"My opinions on this issue have evolved significantly, as I think the opinions of millions of Americans from all walks of life have."

 

"The arrival of the resolution to sign or veto in my office late last night, forced me to reflect and search my soul for the right thing to do. I've decided to lead with my heart ... and to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice."

 

"I just could not bring myself to tell an entire group of people in our community they were less important, less worthy, or less deserving of the rights and responsibilities of marriage," Sanders continued. "The concept of a separate but equal institution is not something I can support."

 

"I have close family members and friends who are a member of the gay and lesbian community. Those folks include my daughter Lisa as well as members of my personal staff. In the end, I couldn't look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationship, their very lives were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife."

 

There is little to say after that, as I think he expressed the issue about as well as can be done. I guess I would only suggest that Mr. Saunders look around and he might notice that the Republican Party today isn't the same party that once claimed as members Wayne Morse, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford or even Barry Goldwater. The Republican party today demonizes gays and same sex marriage for purely political reasons even if they are gay themselves (hi Larry, Mark et.al.) or have a gay daughter (hi Darth Cheney) or gay step-father (hi KKKarl). Can you spell HYPOCRITE? Maybe the next thing to give some thought to is your political label.

 

Update - September 26

 

This morning my man, Mark Morford of the sfGate weighed in on Jerry Saunders with The Republican who likes gays. As usual, Mark manages to nail the issue in his inimitable prose.

 

......Was there really any way in hell a straight white male BushCo-era Republican would dare step up to a live microphone in front of a TV camera in a major American city and honestly admit that, well, he was wrong, and he is very sorry, and he has now officially reversed his position and now fully supports gay marriage.......snip/

 

Yes, it happened. Just recently, down in San Diego. Jerry Sanders is the politico, and he's apparently very much a (moderate) Republican mayor and a former police chief, and he apparently has a gay daughter no one really knew was gay and members of his mayoral staff are also gay and somehow, some way, both these facts played into his decision to reverse his position on gay marriage and go public in what has to be one of the most honest, humble and heartfelt public displays of ideological evolution by a Republican since ... well, I can't even think of any. Can you?

 

But truly, it's one thing to read of Sanders' announcement. It's quite another to see and hear it for yourself. Do it. Go to YouTube. See for yourself.

 

I totally recommend that you go read Mark's entire piece AND check out the youTube video.

Dem Damn Dumb Dems!

From Faux News:

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a measure condemning MoveOn.org for a newspaper ad it ran last week attacking Gen. David Petraeus. The move came as President Bush accused Democrats of cowering to the liberal political action group.

From the Senate Webpage:

Question: On the Amendment (Cornyn Amdt. No. 2934 )
Vote Number: 344)
Vote Date: September 20, 2007, 12:36 PM)
Required For Majority: 3/5)
Vote Result: Amendment Agreed to)
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 2934 to S.Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008)

Statement of Purpose: To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

Democrats and DINOs (hi HoJo) who suck

        Democrats voting yea

            Baucus MT
            Bayh IN
            Cardin MD
            Carper DE
            Casey PA
            Conrad ND
            Dorgan ND
            Feinstein CA
            Johnson SD
            Klobuchar MN
            Kohl WI
            Landrieu LA
            Leahy VT
            Lieberman CT
            Lincoln AR
            McCaskill MO
            Mikulski MD
            Bill Nelson FL
            Ben Nelson NE
            Pryor AR
            Salazar CO
            Tester MT
            Webb Va

Three Democrats didn't vote, Maria Cantwell, Joe Biden and Barrack Obama. On one hand I think this was an acceptable position and perhaps all dems should have refused to even acknowledge this silly waste of time with a vote. I fear that Obama mainly avoided the vote out of lack of courage and though Hillary isn't my favorite Democratic candidate for Prez, I give her credit for having the jam to vote against this bill amendment meaningless waste of time.

With the country involved in a questionable, quite likely illegal, war based on lies, the economy swirling around on its way down the toilet and the Preznit vowing to veto a bill that will provide health care to millions of poor children - that august body the United States Senate and the craven Republicans who show up only to obstruct anything constuctive found more important issues with which to waste their time and our (well actually your) money. John Cornyn and the rest of the rubber stamp Rethugs, who find nothing distasteful with ads impugning the patriotism of Max Cleland for only leaving three limbs in Vietnam, attacking the war record of John Kerry to make the AWOL frat boy look heroic or accusing John McCain of fathering a black love child, felt that MoveOn.org needed official "condemnation" for impugning General Petraeus in the now famous "General Betrayus" ad in the New York Times.

To them it is irrelevant that the General has allowed himself to be politicized and willingly participated in the dog and pony show designed to reinforce the lie that 9-11 and the Iraq war are related. Just because he can hide behind a chest full of medals he is somehow exempt from criticism, even when he acts as a politician. Well the Draft-Dodger in Chief can wear a flight suit, but that doesn't change the fact that he was an AWOL weenie when he had a chance to "defend freedom." Most of the generals have been either fired or have quit and finally GeeDubya found one who would twist the facts in the manner of this administration who have even said publicly that they "create their own reality." Once General Petraeus agreed to become a shill for the Bush Crime Family, he gave up his military immunity/integrity.

Jane Hamsher has been very direct at pointing out to Democrats the folly of getting tricked, not thinking or whatever and mouthing Rovian type talking points for the RePukes. She really speaks clearly to Elizabeth Edwards in Note to Elizabeth Edwards: Lay Off MoveOn. Yesterday at the Lake, Scarecrow pointed out what wrong with this picture in Early Morning Cuppa Reminders. I would recommend reading both of these posts.

The 22 Democrats (HoJoMomentum doesn't count as a dem - rag)who voted to condemn the truth tellers and provide the most dishonest Administration in my lifetime with a political distraction need a verbal flogging, but before that, they need a few reminders...snip

 

The American people have been fundamentally betrayed by an incompetent, thoroughly dishonest, and dangerously bellicose Administration. Everyone who is sent forth to speak for this reprehensible regime has eventually become either tainted or co-opted, their reputations shattered. Just ask Colin Powell.

 

It’s time for Congress to stop condemning free speech by those who tell the truth and start holding the offending regime accountable. Because if you don’t, the American people know how to hold you accountable.

Update from the Left Coaster

On the other hand, note that Nancy Pelosi had the correct answer to John Boehner’s whimpering for a MoveOn vote in that chamber: forget it, we’re going to concentrate on real agenda items, not meaningless dog whistle crap for your base.

 

Update II

 

Since posting I came across Blasphemy against the holy name of General Mary Petreus by Phil Rockstroh. It is definitely worth checking out - a couple examples of his excellent snark follow.

One would think that from the cries of (feigned) indignation and calls for repentance arising from conservatives regarding Move-On.org's ad in the N.Y. Times that the liberal-leaning group had not simply questioned the insights and intentions of a public servant, promoting, in a public forum, the policy of an illegal and immoral occupation of a sovereign nation; rather, the folks of Move-On.org had committed blasphemy against the holy name of some revered saint -- General Mary Petreus, Mother of God.

 

What has an era of conservatism wrought?

 

Answer: a culture that has all the value, integrity, sustainability and safety as a toy manufactured in China. Apropos, contemporary life, as conceived and manufactured by conservative "values", is shoddily made, toxic and not a lot of fun.

 

In addition, it has spawned a culture ridden with public relations fabulists and media-savvy confidence artists who tell us that the taste of corporate ass-suck is the ambrosia of the gods. The locked-down, stultifying mindset and ideological barbarianism of present day conservatism is directly linked to the steep decline of the quality of life in the United States.

 

________ _ ________

 

The Cool Pic

This photoshop creation started from the illustration by Claire Littlefield, Shaker Jr. H S, in upstate New York. It accompanied a story she wrote "to illustrate what it could be like living with narcolepsy." I hope she doesn't mind my removal of the sleeping girl, adding a few chickens and giving the chickens names. Her story, which is well worth checking out (and the original illustration) is called The Art of Chicken Farming and can be found here.

RePuklicans 20 - Democrats 4

Here is the current CREW (Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington) list of the most corrupt members of Congress. They've also added two honourable mentions for general moral turpitude and hypocrisy. CREW likes to call this list Beyond Delay! I'm sure there could be a few more ReThugs on the list except that they aren't in Congress because they didn't win re-election or are under indictment or in prison, like Bob Ney, "Duke" Cunningham and of course the old BugMan hisself Tom Delay.

The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress:

Members of the Senate:

Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Members of House:

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)
Dishonorable Mention: Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Well, at least the ReThugs don't have a total monopoly, though they certainly seem to excel at corruption. Then, maybe they aren't really corrupt they just believe in real "free enterprise" where everything is for sale, even elections.