Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Today's Paranoia (7/18/2006)

I see by the paper that the US and other western nations are beginning evacuations of their nationals from Lebanon. The US, in particular, has sent naval vessels, including at least one troopship holding 2200 Marines.

I envision a suicide boat attack by Hezbollah on one of the ships, or worse, on one of the passenger ships that have been positioned nearby. Nothing W would like better, I'm afraid. Ditto Syria and Iran.

I see by the paper that the House ran a vote to make banning gay marriage part of the Constitution. This was an obvious waste of time, since the House Republican leadership had to know it was going to fail (which it did, by 49 votes). It was also moot, since the Senate has already failed to pass the measure.

I envision yet another election dominated by homophobia. The media buys into it, because they love to cover a single-issue fight. Coverage of candidates' stances on other issues is relegated to page A23 in most newspapers, and does not make TV news much at all.

I see by the paper that the Senate has passed a bill to expand federal support for stem cell research. This measure is expected to provoke W's first veto, and the story that I read surmises that Congress will be unable to muster a bicameral two-thirds majority to override the veto.

I envision Karl Rove at work here (again) -- encouraging Congress to pass something like this. W gets to toss a bone to James Dobson and his ilk, and claim that this veto shows him to be a "strong leader" with "convictions." The possibly vulnerable members of Congress get to claim a new gloss of moderation when campaigning this fall ("hey, I voted for it"). The apparent distancing of themselves from W works, the Reps retain control of both houses, the distancing is revealed to be an empty pose, and we have to suffer two more years of one-party rule.

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