(no subject)

The clan went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 this weekend. I found it enjoyable, though i have a few quibbles. First, it was a bit too long, though compared to Superman Returns, i can't as easily see places that they could have sheared off significant pieces of length. Secondly, there wasn't enough Johnny Depp, IMO. Lastly, as i said to cowgrrl immediately afterwards, i think there wasn't really enough of what made the first movie a lot of fun. The sequences that take place on land were my favorite, by far.

(no subject)

In the New York Times: The Real Agenda

It is only now, nearly five years after Sept. 11, that the full picture of the Bush administration’s response to the terror attacks is becoming clear. Much of it, we can see now, had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power.

"Only now"? "ONLY NOW"? What was your first clue?

It is not ONLY NOW becoming clear to those of us who on February 15, 2003, were marching in protest against a war that hadn't even started yet. Not to those of us who were paying attention since the outset to the ramifications of the USAPATRIOT Act, to the myriad lies about Iraq's WMDs, to manipulation of the international political process and the UN. Not to anyone who read the documents of the Project for the New American Century and felt the hair rise on the backs of their necks. Not to anyone who paid attention to the legal theories of John Yoo and company. It was as obvious then as it is now, that the White House was intent on expanding presidential power.

Over and over again, the same pattern emerges: Given a choice between following the rules or carving out some unprecedented executive power, the White House always shrugged off the legal constraints. Even when the only challenge was to get required approval from an ever-cooperative Congress, the president and his staff preferred to go it alone. While no one questions the determination of the White House to fight terrorism, the methods this administration has used to do it have been shaped by another, perverse determination: never to consult, never to ask and always to fight against any constraint on the executive branch.

No, i know a few people who question the determination of the White House to fight terrorism. But they're "kooks" so they don't count, right? Only a kook would notice that the world is less safe from terrorism now than in 2001 and wonder if the White House is serious about fighting it.

Still, at least here we have a decently clear articulation of what it is that makes this Administration so frightening.