Finally, some compassionate conservatism

After 4+ years of what's amounted to an orgy of redistributing money from the federal treasury into the hands of wealthy people, President Bush last night proposed plans to trim Social Security benefits on wealthy and middle-income retirees while increasing benefits for low-income workers.

While the Democrats are piling on Bush for sticking it to the middle class, this clipmonkey feels compelled to give the man some credit. For the first time in his presidency, he seems to be demonstrating fiscal responsibility and concern for the poor at the same time.

Way to go President Bush, hopefully he will succeed in this effort AND cost his party the majority in Congress!

Is the world better off?

It's been a triumphant several months for the Bush Administration with the fits and starts of democracy taking hold in the Middle East. Invading Iraq was a bold experiment ginned up by the neocons and one that may pay off in the long-term. But this week we've been reminded that nation-building isn't easy, especially when done at the barrel of a gun.

Even the right-wing mouthpiece known as the Washington Times has pointed out that life in Iraq isn't what it used to be for half of the population. Meanwhile, our State Department has acknowledged what Bush, Blair and others keep denying- the world is less safe because we invaded Iraq.

Fightin' back

Like many left-of-center clipmonkeys, DC clipmonkey has been in a state of depression since the election. He was pretty certain Kerry would win (despite his lack of affection for Mr. Kerry). Since the election, DC clipmonkey has had a hard time reading the news because he would prefer to remain ignorant than watch the systematic dismantling of a once-great nation.

However, during the past few weeks, DC clipmonkey has been heartened to see folks on the left show some cajones. Whether giving John Bolton a beat-down, slapping around Tom DeLay, ripping the Ethics rules changes by House Republicans, or blasting Bush's Social Security plan, the minority party in Congress is showing some signs of life. And the Republicans seem to be responding on ethics and Social Security, if only a bit.

Scalia's one of the people who started this mess

Justice Antonin Scalia fancies himself as the opposite of an activist judge, but Adam Cohen at the NYT points out that Tony has a long record of judicial activism. Of course, the most blatant act of judicial activism of all is the one that started this mess in the first place, yes, Bush v. Gore.

Karen Hughes, the face of America?

Karen Hughes has been chosen to head up America's public diplomacy effort, a fitting project for one of the people who foisted W. and his alienatin' ways upon us in the first place. The problem is she has the charm of Richard Perle, the diplomacy of John Bolton, and a face made for a burka. Worse yet, she doesn't even have any Muslims helping her.

Even without Ms. Hughes' glaring limitations, this will be quite a challenge. After all, we invaded a country under false pretenses, we've tortured and abused Muslims in strategically humiliating ways, and we don't do body counts of the civilians we kill on a near-daily basis. Fortunately, there are some people out there trying to show the world we do care about the lives of people other than Americans.

Welcome to Dickensian England

While John Bolton and Tom DeLay, two of Washington's finest, dominate the headlines, the House of Representatives has quietly tried to take the U.S. back to 19th Century England. Last night, House Republicans approved a repeal of the estate tax at a cost of $290 billion over 10 years. At a time of record deficits, this is an intriguing move especially given that many of the same people who voted to repeal the tax are talking gloom and doom about the solvency of Social Security.

The good news- wealthy heirs like Paris Hilton will have more time to make videos (you'll have to visit other websites for a link to that).

Michael Bolton would be a better choice

John Bolton is clearly unfit to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations. He has misled the public about threats from weapons of mass destruction. He has bullied underlings. He has shown utter contempt for the UN and diplomacy, in general. He has even displayed breathtaking hypocrisy on the issue of when the U.S. should intervene militarily.

This nomination is a clear and unequivocal "f*ck you" to the UN. And only one man can stop him- Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

I hate the Yankees, would you hire me to be their GM?

I despise the New York Yankees. Really hate them with every fiber of my body. My hatred is so intense that even in the days right after 9/11 I rooted against the Bronx Bombers with the same gusto as any other year. When Joe Torre was recovering from cancer? I didn't care. He's a Yankee.

So when John Bolton was nominated to be the next US Ambassador to the UN, I thought of the Yankees. This guy has made a career out of ridiculing the UN and now he's been nominated to work there. He's probably even spat upon the UN headquarters in New York. Thankfully, a few members of Congress are questioning why he even wants the job.

If it's legal, is it moral?

The amazing thing about the DeLay scandal is the fact that no one is mentioning the many truly sleazy, but legal shenanigans that DeLay has been involved in. For example, the current usury (bankruptcy) legislation passed by the Senate and rolling through the House has DeLay's dirty fingerprints all over it. Check out the Daily DeLay.

Another case involves the infamous K Street Project led by DeLay and some of the other leading Beltway cretins such as Sen. Rick Santorum and government-hater Grover Norquist. The project is an effort to prevent lobbying firms in DC from hiring Democrats. I guess DeLay's another "uniter, not a divider" from Texas.

A culture of hypocrisy

President Bush's recent comments about embracing a "culture of life" are laughable. When you look at the numbers of people who have died because of his official actions or inaction, Bush has NEVER erred on the side of life.

U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq= 1,542 and counting.
Civilians killed in Iraq= 17,316 and counting.
Civilians killed in Afghanistan= 3,500+.
Executions in Texas under Governor Bush= 152.
Federal executions under President Bush= 2.

And who knows how many more people have died or will die because of President Bush's complicity with the NRA. In particular, we can thank Bush and Wayne LaPierre for allowing the assault weapons ban to expire.

He's no Pol Pot, but he's racked up some pretty good numbers. Fortunately, a few voices in the MSM are pointing out what a sham Bush's statements truly are. Special thanks go to Jonathan Alter in Newsweek and Nicholas Kristof in the NYT.

Papal haze

This clipmonkey wants to take a few moments to honor the Pope for his unwavering commitment to protecting human life. Yeah, yeah, DC Clipmonkey doesn't agree with the Church or Pope John Paul II on many things (particularly the role of women in the Church), but to hear a consistent voice calling on political leaders and citizens alike to respect human life is important.

When you have politicians shoving their faith in your face, talking about a "culture of life" while presiding over the deaths of countless innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan, and numerous guilty, but living people in Texas, it's nice to know that there are some religious folks who respect all human life.