Closer to 60 than 50

How the hell did this happen? As of today, I'm closer to 60 than 50. When I next renew my drivers license and passport, I'll be 60. I'm not ready to turn 55 yet. Couldn't it wait until I'm more mature, like when I'm 70? Oh well, in the meantime I'll continue to wear my Life is Good t-shirts. Because it's true.

This last week was a pretty big week in terms of political news. Scooter Libby has his prison sentence commuted. The best punditry I heard on that was that Bush realized that no one with a name like "Scooter" could survive long in the Big House. At least peripherally related was the four part series that the Washington Post did on the behind-the-scenes power machinations of Scooter's boss, Dick Cheney. You can read the whole thing here. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/?hpid=moreheadlines
Cheney has always been the evil mind inside Bush's empty mind. Hendrik Herzberg of the New Yorker summed it up pretty well when he wrote:

He is pathologically (but purposefully) secretive; treacherous toward colleagues; coldly manipulative of the callow, lazy, and ignorant President he serves; contemptuous of public opinion; and dismissive not only of international law (a fairly standard attitude for conservatives of his stripe) but also of the very idea that the Constitution and laws of the United States, including laws signed by his nominal superior, can be construed to limit the power of the executive to take any action that can plausibly be classified as part of an endless, endlessly expandable “war on terror.”

That about sums up the whole Bush presidency, doesn't it? An what a great sentence!! I'd love to be able to construct a sentence like that. But that's what real writers get paid for. I think the difference between a good writer and a mediocre one is like the difference between a pro golfer and a weekend duffer. The duffer can pull off any shot a pro can, but only maybe 10 times out of a 100. The pro can do it 90 times out of a 100.

The ACLU lost a pretty big case they had against the government for their warrantless surveillance programs last week. The circuit court ruled that the ACLU had no standing in court because they couldn't prove that they were damaged by the program. That's pretty much a Catch-22 situation because the government has all the evidence, and it's all secret! Coincidentally, I went out for lunch with a couple of board members from the ACLU on Friday. I've given to them pretty regularly for the last several years, and I guess they figured they'd see if I was interested enough in their cause to contribute more or help out in some other way. I told them I had a lot more time than money and would be glad to help them in other ways, so don't be surprised if you see me manning an ACLU booth at some public event. The years of politics being my favorite spectator sport may be coming to an end. Assuming I don't get sent to Guantanamo for my political leanings, I'll be an American citizen sometime this fall and will even be able to vote!