Monday A.M. Potpourri

We fervently believe that the American people, having (supposedly) chosen a right-wing ideology to occupy all (or most of) the seats of national and local power ... well, the people should GET what they ask for. So we totally support Mullah James Dobson's call for the ouster of Senator Arlen Specter from the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The people should GET the full measure of what El Presidente's backers want us to have.

We missed the Sunday morning gasbags yesterday, since we were on the road from secret meetings of our cabal, but evidently Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist pointedly refused to endorse Specter. He said he was deeply disturbed by remarks Specter made on election night, which would seem to indicate that Frist, like most of the avatars of the Right, is deeply disturbed by common reality: "Mr. Specter said just after he won re-election that Supreme Court nominees who wanted to undo abortion rights would face tough confirmation fights in the Senate." That's just the simple truth of the matter, IF (big, big IF) the 45 remaining Democrats don't get the vapors and faint onto the nearest couch.

Specter hasn't stood up for abortion rights through the first Shrub term. Why would he now? Mullah Dobson wants him OUT merely because Specter has said in the past that he is "pro-choice," not that Specter ever acts on that belief. To the new power brokers, labels are as good as deeds for condemning someone to hell.

Minutes ago, Colin Powell announced that he was OUT as Secretary of State. There was a time we would have regretted his going, since he seemed to be the only sane one up there, but he chose to run with the neo-cons, and he ran right over the cliff chasing their lies. Fare-thee-well, Colin. We won't miss you. But you're SO going to get a fat book deal out of your four excruciating years of holding the coats of warmongers.

And then we see this a.m., on a Watauga County roadway, a political sign, "Ray Halle for Sheriff." That would be Republican Ray Halle, who ran in the primary two years ago against Mark Shook. Should we take this as a sign that the local Republican mullahs have decided to purge the Sheriff because he supported the new Democratic County Commissioners? We of course want to encourage good Republicans in this internecine warfare. When the people don't voluntarily opt for their medicine, then they need to be FORCED. Clearly.