I've been away from the internet--

[ginnyinWI]

Between having houseguests and being away from home, I haven't kept up for the last week or so. But I heard on the radio in the car tonight that the Dem Senators managed to delay confirmation of Bolton again! Anyone have details? Sounds like good news!

[LittleClarkie]

1. Good for the moment

but the fear is that Bush will pull a sneaky and recess appoint him. Bleck.

[TayTay]

2. Yeah, but this is a big victory for the Dems

A lot of our big victories in the 109th (weasel) Congress are going to be 'moral victories.' That's what happens when they have 55 seats and you have 45.

Bolton will not be confirmed by the Senate. But * will use the recess appointment process to put Bolton in the UN job. But his power and influence has been greatly diminished. (Hey, we didn't get the whole loaf here, I know that, but at least we're living with enough crumbs to get by on.)

[rox63]

3. Isn't a recess appointment temporary

When * appointed a judge using a recess appointment a while back, I recall hearing that recess appointments only last a year. Is that true?

[TayTay]

4. Yeah, one year

Or till the end of the 109th (weasel) Congress. But Bolton is damaged goods. Before the Democratic protests he was a sort of stealth candidate and he would hae been most effective running under the radar. Now, his every move and prouncement will be scrupulously tracked. This guy is volatile and unpredictable. He had better watch himself and become bland or he will create yet another shitstorm for the Admin. (hehehehehehe)

[rox63]

5. I wonder what's in those docs

There must be some good dirt in those docs. Some have speculated that Bolton was spying on Colin Powell, and that it would be revealed if the docs were released.

[beachmom]

6. Even if there were nothing big in those documents

Why is the * Admin. being so secretive . . . against the Foreign Relations committee in the Senate. The Democrats win on principle on this one.

[TayTay]

7. Power, they have it and want to keep it all to themselves

That's basically it. This is a turf war between the executive branch and the Senate Dems. The Senate Dems want to be seen as a co-equal branch of government. (Silly Dems, they are relying on the Constitution for their reference point. What a bunch of dreamers.)

* is running a meglomaniacal regime. He doesn't want to have to explain himself or be held accountable to a lame-ass bunch of wussies like the Senate Dems. (He is appointed by Gawd to do what he wants to do. If Gawd had wanted Senate Dems to have power, He would have caused more of them to be elected last year. Isn't that obvious.)

We are in a giant pissing contest. And the wind is blowing.

[rox63]

8. Which way

is the wind blowing, in your opinion?

[TayTay]

10. Towards the Shrub

The arrogance of power has blinded him to the limits of power.

[Mass]

9. I do not think you have missed anything being away from DU

except for this group, of course.

the sad view of the Democrats tearing themselves down will always surprise me, and today seems to be another day for that, unfortunately.

[whometense]

11. I'm happy to see you're back.

I missed you.

Were you dealing with apartment rental??

[TayTay]

12. I'm glad you're back as well

I hope all is well.

We have picked up a bunch of new people. (Must be that pheromone laced typing thing I've been practicing.)

[whometense]

13. heh. Have you been dabbling

in those "science" black arts??

[TayTay]

14. Well, my hubbie is going for higher office

tonight (Vice-Chair of the committee) so a little dabbling in the black-arts of political persuasion are not completely off the table. (Hehehehehe) Pheremones might just be the answer. (Now, back to the lab. Exactly what pheremone causes someone to vote for you for Vice-Chair?)

[whometense]

15. Good luck to him.

How intense is his competition? Is there such a thing as a common sense pheremone? If so, you might try sprinkling some in the coffeepot.

Come to think of it, if there is such a thing perhaps the democrats need to look into renting a crop duster and dumping it into the national water supply before the next election.

[TayTay]

16. Oh he'll get it

It's a lot of work with very little notice and no pay. Who else wants it?

[ginnyinWI]

17. thanks, whome

No, actually our son flew in from Oregon with his bride of one year for a visit. This included spending several days at my mother-in-law's property on a lake, which was fun. We go there every summer, so it is a tradition that our son missed, and he of course wanted to show his bride all of his childhood traditions. Then there were two gatherings of extended family at our house to meet the bride--so you can imagine the food prep and etc that involved. But it's all good.
The apartment rental problem is still looming, unfortunately. But we have several contacts who can help. :)

Remember the Beatrix Potter story of Mrs. Tittlemouse? After her guests left she started "a cleaning which lasted a fortnight". That's who I feel like, now that it's all over!

I'm catching up on posts--some very interesting. This group does a lot to keep me optimistic--more than some people I've been talking to this week about the prospects of things getting better in this country. If you're not on the internet watching our small political victories (cloture on Bolton blocked!) you can get cynical about it all.

[whometense]

18. Sounds great.

I adored the Beatrix Potter books when I was little - I always enjoyed their coziness.

My two boys are off on adventures in the next week or so, the older one to Europe for 3 weeks (Italy, Montreux, and Paris) and the younger off tomorrow on a cross-country trip with a friend which has me freakin' out in anticipation. He's actually very mature. But he's still a boy, if you know what I mean. My husband's threatening to drug me into a state of approximate calm.

I actually went through a brief but intense burnout in the time you were gone. Sometimes I feel like I'm still living through my post-9/11 period. My older son had just moved to NYC a week before 9/11. He was never personally in any danger, but it was a brutal introduction to New York life. After the initial shock and horror wore off, my particular coping mechanism was an over-intense focus on the news, as if my life and the lives of everyone I love depended on it. As if I could control events simply by paying attention. Then it morphed into the election, and it's like I haven't relaxed since.

[TayTay]

19. Sometimes I forget that everyone here isn't a political junkie

I have been an obsessive junkie (with varying degrees of intensity) since I was 16. After a while, you just learn to take some of this stuff in stride.

9/11 was such a shock to the system that I think everyone got their own strong reactions to it. I usually get glued to the TV whenever a big story breaks and that one was no exception. (At least I got paid for some of it. We were assigned to write mini-writeups for the website on how the tragedy would affect various business areas. I got assigned unions. It focused me.) It was also so strange because, since I work at a 'Live News' organization, we couldn't go home. We had to stay and gear up for major and continuous breaking news and make sure that every customer had a feed and a continuous stream of, well, breaking news. I knew my kids were home and safe, but I couldn't go home to be with them. It was such a strange time.

Gawd, it was the same way during the buildup to the war. I was really obsessive on that since I hated the war (and still do.) I remember going by the NewsRoom office when Colin Powell was testifying before the UN and getting enraged. Same thing with the outbreak of the war and the way the networks were so gung ho to see some death and destruction. It made me sick. (And I couldn't get away from it. Curse and blessing.)

[whometense]

20. I'm awestruck by your ability to take

it all in stride. I'd dabbled before, but this was my first intensive involvement, and between it being a presidential campaign, it being this particular presidential campaign, and Kerry being involved (which made it so much more personal for me), it's really been trial by fire.

I guess my involvement started in 2000, really, when I felt this dawning horror about who * really was. My gut level reaction to him was so crazy, compared to the casual way everyone around me seemed to see him. I admit to not being one of Gore's biggest fans, but that came to not matter at all. The outcome of the 2000 election cemented those impressions, and of course everything * did since then only intensified the loathing. So I guess I've been obsessive since election day 2000. But 9/11 magnified everything enormously.

[TayTay]

21. The Rethugs have been doing downhill since Reagan

I couldn't stand him. (Sorry, but lifelong Dem.) He was just awful for labor, health care, poverty issues and so forth. I always thought that if I could live through that, then I could take anything.

After a while, you begin to see your place in the world and that you can only do what you can do. Issues and politics were there before you. You have your part to play in the national drama and then the drama will go on after you retire as a player on that stage. I guess I'm a stoic in that regard. I can only do what I can do.

I remember seeing a few posts over the last few months from some folks who were lamenting that fact that all this awfulness with * and the Rethugs was happening during their lifetimes. They thought things like social security and not engaging in pre-emptive wars were settled years ago and they resented this stuff coming up again.

Nothing is ever settled. You just step up to the plate and do your best at what is before you to do. That's it. You're a link in a chain that stretches back to the founding of the nation and that will stretch forth into the distant future. Do your part, do it well and remember that you are only responsible for what you can actually do. Nothing less or more. There is always another fight. There is always another cause. That's just the way it is.

[whometense]

22. I understand all this,

but it's not ingrained in me the way it is in you. I have to constantly remind myself of the continuum.

Nothing is ever settled. So true, and yet I find it very hard to accept. And not only in politics, I might add. I admit :blush: that I want things "nice" and I want them to stay "nice." Wow, how ridiculous that looks when it's typed out! I know life doesn't work that way, but I'm not sure I'm quite willing to admit it. I really AM Pollyanna. How perfectly nauseating.

[TayTay]

23. No it isn't

Wanting things to be nice is why you take action. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has something that kicks them in the butt and gets them out the door to do something to make things work they way they think things should work. Your reason is valid. I want things to be nice too. You and I probably both think of our kids and what their world is going to be like and that functions as another reason to get the butt off the couch and out the door. These are good reasons.

I wish the world had more people who wanted things to be 'nice.' It would be a better world. Don't down yourself. Politics turns a lot of people way, way off because, at it's heart, it's about compromise and getting disparate groups to acknowledge common ground in order to move an agenda forward. In some cases, that means that people work really, really hard for half a loaf. Some people can't take that.

[whometense]

24. It is hard to take.

I admit to finding the herd mentality on the web pretty disheartening, which is why I have to cut back. There was a period before the primaries when I had virtually the entire internet on "ignore." There were about three websites I could safely visit for days at a time.

I don't understand peoples' unwillingness to step back a little and get the big picture. They bounce around so fast it makes me dizzy. Durbin: hero or goat?? Get a grip; he's just a good guy trying to do the best job he can under difficult circumstances. I sure wouldn't want to be scrutinized that way.

[ginnyinWI]

25. I hear you, whome, on the trials of having a son

I think I was in a constant state of dread during those years! Boys are such risk takers compared with girls (on average), so my one son gave me the most to worry about.(Although the girls weren't far behind him) But we both made it through, and I wouldn't have missed having this great kid of mine.

I look back at 9/11 and see that it wasn't until then that I was really paying attention. I didn't like * before, but didn't realize what harm he could do, either willfully or through negligence. I think that's what's kept me engaged and watching--it's as if I don't want anything else to take me by surprise, and I want to be able to do something if I can (and that is why I got involved in the campaign.)

So yeah, TayTay, I'm not a lifelong political junkie either. But now that I am the same age as these people in Washington, I feel I should be able to understand what's going on, too. And finding a candidate I can actually believe in and trust(!) --that is what is keeping me from just slinking away again until next time.