I Don't Know if You've Heard...

Apparently one of the Hilton daughters has recently had some legal troubles.

What the Fuck Is Wrong With This Government?

Seriously--every damn day I think: "I've seen it all. This is the craziest shit ever."

And then they do something crazier. And no one seems to be able or willing to stop them.

First, they took away our civil liberites and OUR right to privacy (while enhancing their OWN capacity for secrecy) with the Patriot Act. Oh, and thanks Clinton2 and Edwards for voting that in. Way to make stripping us of our rights and freedoms a bipartisan activity!! Ain't coalition-building grand?

Then the President decides that being the Chief Executive isn't enough and he starts using signing statements, so that he can (in total contravention of the Constitution) disobey laws without vetoing them. So now he's Chief Executive and Chief Legislator. That must be nice for him.

Then he gets Alito in, with his crazy-ass Unitary Executive bullshit so that he can expand his powers even further (I guess "judicial activism" is ok, as long as it is stripping powers away from the legislature and giving them to the President). All that's missing now is a goddamned crown.

Then we suspend habeas corpus. Oh, and thanks Clinton1 for making this possible with your own suspension (the first since the Civil War). Because, you know, if we call someone an enemy combatant then they don't deserve to have rights. The great thing about this, is that by ignoring Geneva Convention rules, we can call anyone we want an enemy combatant.

And now--the Vice President says he's not a member of the Executive Branch???? How is this even happening? How on earth is he getting away with this? I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow I woke up and they told us that the Bill of Rights doesn't count from a strict constructionist standpoint. Or, you know, that water is really dry.

Who would have thought that the most decent, honorable, and productive thing that Dick Cheney would accomplish in office would be to shoot some other rich white douchebag in the face?


Thank you for letting me vent. I apologize for the lack of analysis and the somewhat salty language. Your patience is appreciated.

UPDATE: I just read that the President has invoked "executive privilege" (not in the constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court only for instances in which national security would be compromised) in order to avoid complying with the investigation into the firings of U.S. attorneys.

I wonder if that means that Dick Cheney will have to hand over the documents. Because he's not, you know, part of the executive branch.

Oh Dear

I saw a billboard today for what has to be the lamest product ever, even taking spray-on hair into account.

It was for Coors, which now apparently has a heat-sensitive label. The ad copy read:

The Only Beer That Tells You When It's Cold

Who the hell is this being marketed to? People without fingertips?? People who don't understand refrigerators? Who the hell can't tell on their own the temperature of their beverage???

People who buy Coors, I guess.

The world is a very very stupid place.