"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Friday, February 02, 2007

The Cowards Are Comming!

While I’m not at all optimistic, I’m still fascinated by the Democrats who now control both houses of Congress. Despite the fact that for the first time in over a decade they have within their power the ability to control the agenda, Democrats remain curiously sluggish about opening detailed investigations into the justifications for and conduct of the assault on Iraq. Oh certainly, some have drafted non-binding resolutions that do little more than tell Bush that he’s been a very bad boy, but nothing with actual teeth that would halt the slaughter and perhaps lead down the path to impeachment has appeared on the radar.

It makes me wonder how Democrats interpreted the results of the mid-term elections. Did they take from that experience somehow that the public was at ease with the FACT of the war in Iraq just not its execution? That’s the only explanation that I dare voice for their steadfast refusal to actively investigate the Bush administration. Try as I might, however, I cannot escape the knowledge that many of these same actors on the Democratic side of the isle were complicit in the Team Bush decisions during the run-up to war. Furthermore, it doesn’t stretch credibility to assume that the Democrats simply don’t care what the public desires given the long history of bipartisan support for policies that directly contradict the public will.

Recently at TomDispatch.com the work of two ACTUAL journalists (as opposed to the stenographers to which we are accustomed in the MSM) is presented, which lays out the clearest case I’ve yet seen for opening congressional investigations into the conduct of the Bush administration. Read this piece by David Swanson and Jonathan Schwarz and then ask yourselves if these Democrats serve the republic.