wMar 28, 2006


Censure Censor THIS.

Book publishing company HarperCollins will be selling and distributing TokyoPop Manga (TokyoPop being a company that publishes a probably solid majority of the manga sold in main chain bookstores). They are also joining to publish manga based on book titles previously published under HarperCollins, such as books by author Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries. THIS COULD BE VERY COOL.

(A grossly abrupt and unsettling subject-change will now occur.)


Yes, I am a badass.I have yet to mention Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's call for a censure of President Bush in this blog of mine. As I'm sure you're all aware by now, Feingold believes that the way the Bush Administration went about wiretapping Americans without informing Congress was illegal.

In order to discuss this, I have to put aside my feelings on wiretapping. (If you care to know, I'll tell you - if the government wants to wiretap my phone conversations to prevent crazy bastards from flying planes into buildings, then it's fine by me.) Whatever your feelings on the use of wiretapping itself, I have yet to come across a compelling argument that Bush went about authorizing the wiretappings in a manner that was legal. LOLZ, we are so stealthy!  Like ninja!Even when we're in a time of war, it's very dangerous when the executive branch of government makes power grabs that go unchecked by both Congress and the Supreme Court. It happened during Vietnam (and many times before and after it, obviously), and now we have a presidential office that is grossly more powerful than it used to be. The president basically has the power to wage war without the consent of Congress. This is not okay.

So, Feingold thinks that the president making this power grab is a crock. This is what he said 'This Week' with George Stephanopoulos (totally spelled that right the first time....YES!): (link to unedited transcript is here)

It's a big step, but what the president did by consciously and intentionally violating the Constitution and laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping, has to be answered.
There can be debate about whether the law should be changed. There can be debate about how best to fight terrorism. We all believe that there should be wiretapping in appropriate cases -- but the idea that the president can just make up a law, in violation of his oath of office, has to be answered.

This is how I lay down the smack....Proper accountability is a censuring of the president
-- saying: "Mr. President, acknowledge that you broke the law, return to the law, return to our system of government."
That's what I think we should do.


A lot of people will argue that Feingold is an idiot and is only doing this because he wants to be president. I ask you to please look at the reaction after he made his announcement for a censure - he got no support. Obviously none from Republicans, but there were no Democrats who came to his aid, either. It remains to be seen whether or not this will be voted upon in the US Senate. I think that it doesn't take a lot of foresight to predict that there wouldn't be a lot of support for Feingold's call for censure. I don't think it's too much to say that Feingold probably knew this - he's a smart guy (see: Rhodes Scholar, graduate of Harvard Law School). I truly believe that the reason he did it was to say, "You know what? The president violated FISA. Maybe instead of sitting on our hands, we should do something about it." I'm okay with a little accountability. There doesn't seem to be very much of it in politics.

Even if you disagree with Russ Feingold, he has the gall to call for the first censure since Andrew Jackson was president (see: A Longass Time). You can't deny that the man has balls.

Current Music: Wake Up - Alanis Morissette
scribbled mystickeeper at 12:39 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:

I agree that Russ is one BAMF (bad-ass mother fucker... also the spelling of the noise Nightcrawler makes when he teleports... and we all know Nightcrawler is awesome). I don't think Feingold is very serious about his bid for Presidency, either. He's recently divorced, which will count against him, he's gone it alone politically a few times (see his famous refusal to get on board with the Patriot Act), and he's not a WASP (Feingold=very Jewish name, and in this country anti-Semitism is still pretty strong, despite our belief otherwise). I'm proud of the man, though, and I hope he continues to show some frickin integrity. I can honestly say I'm proud to have him as my senator.

By Blogger Gretchen, at 10:35 PM, March 28, 2006  

Although it is normal for a liberal candidate to go far left for to mobilize the base for the primary season, I can't see Feingold winning the presidency unless his campaign staff is utterly brilliant. He is aweosome, but the majority of Americans would disagree strongly with his position on the Patriot Act, among other things. The president's polls may be down, but when it comes down to it, most people are not okay with someone who values library records more than national security.

I don't think his being Jewish has anything to do with it. I think if America can elect a Catholic as president, then they can elect a Jew as well.

Personally, I love John McCain. I hope he runs, I hope his campaign kicks ass, and I hope he wins.

By Blogger mystickeeper, at 7:47 PM, March 31, 2006  

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