Divide and Conquer on Miers?

The right is so divided on the nomination of Harriet Miers, I think the left has no idea what to do. So the left is sitting on the couch, eating popcorn, transfixed on what it sees before it. They don't seem to know what to do. To this observer, the left has only one choice: wholeheartedly support the nomination of Harriet Miers. MoveOn.Org should air ads promoting Miss Miers for a spot on the Supremes. People for the American Way ought to send out mass mailings urging Americans to support their President.

The Bull Moose is on the right track. But more needs to be done. This should be in the public eye. Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton must meet with the President and urge him to stay the course. And they need to hold a press conference immediately after telling C-SPAN Nation that they fully support the President on this issue.

I don't think I've been more correct about something in my life.

What's the worst that could happen? And intellectually incompetent justice could be confirmed onto the Supreme Court. Like that's never happened before.

Aawoooooooooooo!

So, I've decided that there are few artists in rock and pop music more underrated than Warren Zevon. Unfortunately, he gets tagged with the "novelty act" label because of Werewolves of London, but he has a catalogue of pretty good songs. Lawyers, Guns and Money and Excitable Boy are fine songs, as is Poor Poor Pitiful Me. Anyway, I was just thinking that as I was on my computer this evening.

Life Imitating Art?

On a recent West Wing, moderate GOP presidential candidate Arnold Vinick made a covenant he knew he would not keep. He promised a religiously conservative lobbyist that he would have a Roe v. Wade litmus test on judicial appointments. On a Sunday talk show, he publicly repudiated the litmus test.

Switching over to real life, now, a formerly moderate-sounding GOP president is drawing the ire of conservatives for a number of issues. President Bush has led conservatives through a period of unmitigated government expansion and entitlement expansion, using the carrot of socially-conservative judicial nominees. But when faced with two openings on the Supreme Court, W punted, nominating a not-too-conservative, scholarly and well-respected (by liberals even!) judge and a cloying sycophant with no record of conservative decisions under her belt. As you can imagine, many conservatives are pissed off. Wouldn't you be?

If like me you have a visceral hatred of this President, you gotta love this quote:

"The broader nature of the split becomes clearer with each conservative declaration of independence from the Bush White House. David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, wrote yesterday that many of his friends "swallowed policies" they opposed out of loyalty to Bush.

"We've been there for him because we've considered ourselves part of his team," Keene wrote in an essay printed in the newspaper the Hill and e-mailed to fellow conservatives. "No more. From now on, this administration will find it difficult to muster support on the right without explaining why it should be forthcoming. The days of the blank check have ended."

So Brilliant, It Almost Has to be True

Eric Alterman on the brilliant plan cooked up in the bowels of the White House to get your war and humiliate your enemies at the same time. Yeah, it's tongue in cheek, but Rove et al. are smart enough (and devious enough) to have cooked it up.

OK, I Admit It

I would love to have this car.

Here's a Lame Post to Begin the Resuscitation of dotblawg

Mark Cuban isn't a multi-bazillionaire because he's stupid. Here's his view of Disney's decision to offer Lost and other TV shows up for download via the iTunes Music Store.

I'm Suffering from Severe Katrina Relief Backlash

and I'm doing something about it. There are tons and tons of wonderful organizations out there, both nationally and in your backyard that help people and are missing out on donations because of the largesse flowing to Katrina victims. The same problem confronted these organizations after the September 11 terrorist attacks and after the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't wish ill upon the people affected by Katrina, though I wonder about the intelligence of people that build on barrier islands and below sea level between a large lake and the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the intelligence of people who subsidize such poor decisions. But I would like to try a little bit to help folks that are doing good things around the country and in my neighborhood.

If you can, please consider donating to some of these organizations...

The Nature Conservancy
American Cancer Society
Southern Poverty Law Center
ACLU
Georgia Justice Project
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund
Toys for Tots

or another worthwhile charity -- I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Thanks!

The Crescent City

So if reports coming out of New Orleans are true, where do we Americans go to turn in our High Horse saddles?

AJC: People Not So Stupid

The AJC has a great article on how hard it is for suburban dopes who bought huge, gas-guzzling SUVs to unload these days. Pre-Katrina, gas prices had been rising to more realistic (read: market) levels despite additional governmental subsidies for oil producers and the SUV subsidy was on the wane. Post-Katrina, gas prices have just gone through the roof here in the Peach State.

In Suwanee, John Kim posted his family vehicle — a 2003 GMC Yukon Denali XL — for sale at Autotrader.com, owned by Cox Enterprises, parent company of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"I've been trying to sell it for a couple of months," Kim said, "but I'm not getting any calls. I thought it'd be faster."

He first priced the vehicle at $35,900. He dropped to $31,900. With no one calling, he may go lower yet.

Fuel costs are eating him up. There might as well be piranhas in his 32-gallon tank.

"I'm going with a smaller, more gas efficient car," Kim said.

Pardon my schadenfreude but these people are simply getting their just desserts.

Gas in Atlanta