An Interesting Scenario - Total Democratic Control

Another view from our roof deck looking North. The Great South Bay in the background separates Fire Island from Long Island and it's several miles wide.

America has really gotten off track under George Bush. This has largely be due to the fact that for the first six years of his presidency, Bush had a Republican controlled Congress that rubber stamped everything he did. We had "unitary" government, where both the executive and both houses of Congress are controlled by the same political party - the Republicans.

However, with the Republicans struggling to remain viable thanks to Bush's disastrous presidency, it now appears highly probable that they will not only loose the presidency in 2008, but the Democrats are poised to retain control over BOTH houses of Congress. In other words, the Democrats will have the same advantage of unitary government beginning in 2008, assuming this scenario plays out. This will present a wonderful opportunity for them to reverse course and jettison Bush's terrible domestic and foreign policies. But it will also put the Democrats on the hot seat - they will have to produce. It will be interesting to watch this play out. Let's see if the Republicans use this as a scare tactic by warning:"Don't give the Democrats total control of government." No matter that when they had it they screwed up the country.

Jim

An Important Federal Court Rebuke Of Bush

The federal court ruling that throws out Junior Bush's assertion that he can simply declare someone an "enemy combatant" and then lock them up indefinitely is a welcome development. You would think we have no constitution and no rights, like in an old time communist country. Bush is so used to getting his way that he basically feels that he can do whatever he wants, the Constitution and the rule of law be damned. Bush plans to appeal the decision and it may go to the Supreme Court. Since he has packed the court with right wing cronies, they might rule in his favor. Let's hope not. Fighting terrorists does not require that we abandon a 200 plus year legacy of legal due process.

Bush thinks he is so powerful due in large part to the fact that he had up until the last election, a Republican controlled congress that rubber stamped everything he did. If but one house of congress had been under control of the opposition party, there would have been more of a check on Bush's claims of almost king-like executive power. We now have "divided" government, where the congress is partially or fully under the control of the opposition party. This doesn't mean that Bush loses all battles. For example, the senate failed to pass the Gonzales no confidence resolution. But it does mean that there are checks on his power and real oversight of his administration.

Photo: Buenos Aires - just up the hill this narrow street leads to the bustling downtown of this European-like South American gem of a city

Jim