The Prodigal Senator?

So, the wussies are back.  No, I'm not referring to the Swiss Army Command, the deluge of cheesy family-friendly Holiday television specials, or even the Cleveland Browns.  I'm not even talking about those kids that played hopscotch or Magic the Gathering at recess.  I am referring to that upper echelon of weenies, that nose-bleed section of wimps, the Coward Club of Mt. Everest.  Yes indeed, the Democrats of the late 20th Century and the first eight years of the 21st Century are BACK!  (And only two weeks after they vanquished Washington.)

Yesterday, the Democratic caucus in the United States Senate held a secret vote on the fate of Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut. The Senator had not only endorsed the Republican candidate John McCain for president (because he's his friend?), but had viciously campaigned AGAINST his party's candidate, Barack Obama.  So because of his dissent, the vote could simply oust the Senator from his committee position, from the entire Senate, or completely approve of his performance in both.

Nevermind the fact that Lieberman has already broken a pledge to his Connecticut constituency by declaring himself an Independent. Nevermind that he co-chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and has failed to provide a single instance of oversight, or ANY evidence of cajones against the current extremely right-falling president. Nevermind the fact that Lieberman has turned out to be quite possibly the most hawkish Democrat in history (barring LBJ himself).  Uh, nevermind alllllll that...I'm sorry, I can't keep a straight face - MIND ALL OF THESE THINGS.  Senator Joe Lieberman has time and time again proved himself to be utterly useless to the Democrats, and generally useless to the call of progress.

So it's pretty obvious that this joker should go, right?  What was the outcome of this obvious vote, you ask?  42-13, Lieberman stays in the Senate with his chairmanship intact!  Really?  REALLY????  Wow, that takes some serious anti-balls.

Let's get one thing straight: I am the last person to tell people to fall in line with a particular party. I am an Independent myself. I happen to be very left-leaning, but there are things that the Democratic Party does that I severely disagree with. I happen to think both parties are corrupt, broken, and even wrong in many instances. This isn't about that. This, ladies and gentlemen, is about the nature of forgiveness.

I'm sure already the pundits are thinking up some sort of metaphor to Jesus Christ's parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke (chapter 15: 11-32)...which I guess I just did.  I find the story to be uplifting, and I believe it teaches a valuable lesson about - among many things - humility, repentance, and forgiveness.  I believe the story also gives us a model of how rebellion and atonement can play out in a natural and life-changing fashion.

I can appreciate the comparison, but there is one large incongruity between the two.  The real-life situation doesn't follow the model.  In the parable, the father immediately forgives his son upon seeing him return wearily into his arms.   Sure, both the son and Lieberman did things that require forgiveness.  The son was selfish and wasted what was so graciously given to him, and Lieberman...well, was...selfish and wasted what was so graciously given to him.  However, forgiveness must be requested, and the detractor must have changed his or her defecting ways.  The son came back on his knees, imploring his father to employ him as a worker, and to no longer call him his son.  Lieberman, however, was not so repentant.  He was more or less UNrepentant.  His public statement after the 42-13 vote leads me to believe that he not only never asked for forgiveness, but that he doesn't even intend to change his actions.  This is where this instance drastically differs from the Prodigal Son.

I'm not naive. I understand the reasoning behind the decision. The Democrats - along with President-Elect Obama - want a chance at a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and that rests on Lieberman being brought back into the fold. As of now, with Lieberman back, the Democrats have 58 Senators with two more races still undecided (60 is the magic number).  So, the decision is purely political.  I get it. However, I believe Lieberman may cause more trouble in the future than that much-envied majority is worth. This is particularly true if Lieberman continues on his path of unapologetic warhawk-ness, and if he truly believes his own anti-Obama rhetoric.  (He said that Obama is all talk, that he voted to cut off funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, blah, blah, blah, lies, lies lies.)

I believe that without punishment, we don't grow. In the end, we are animals. If nothing has happened to us to break us of a habit, then the habit will continue, because there is no incentive to stop it. Similarly, repentance and its resulting growth will not come about without some sort of punishment. The Prodigal Son was punished by having to live with the pigs, and grovel at his father's feet.  The Senate Democrats have afforded no such punishment. Joe Lieberman will still retain his status in the Homeland Security Committee, he will retain his good standing among Democrats. In fact, all parties involved have passive-aggressively put on a smile and pretended like everything is just peachy.

So, in conclusion, all I have to say to the Senate Democrats, is that I hope they're satisfied with they're decision. Because, from where I sit, they may have created one more thorn in the side of real lasting change that Barack Obama can and will create with the right support in the Senate.

Sources: 

The Rachel Maddow Show, November 18, 2008

Countdown with Keith Olbermann, November 18, 2008

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/19/lieberman/?source=newsletter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodigal_son

Proposition 8

This is a civil rights issue. In no way does this issue affect my life directly, and yet it is extremely important to me. The fact that citizens of California didn't simply reject a bill that made gay marriage legal, but UPHELD a bill that BANNED it, is outrageous, hateful, inhuman. Something must be done about this mindset in our society. Stop creating barriers to happiness! I couldn't say it any better than Olber the Mann:

True Justice In this World?

There is a whisper of justice in the wind.  Hear it?  Ffffffffffffffff.  There it is.  It's faint, but slowly waxing loud.

Lady Justice, for the past 8 years, has had 20/20 vision when it looks on those who define it.  Yes, I'm referring to the Bush Administration's Department of "Justice."  And the true justice to which I am referring, will be dealt toward those individuals that comprise the very Administration that spat in her face.

Torture, Non-Habeas Corpus, Indefinite Detention, and Rendition (aka fear tactics - sound a lot like terrorism?) will soon end in this country.  But what will become of those who approved of them in defense of a sadly comic War on Terror? (What's next, War on Joy, War on Reticence, War on Levity?)  Well, some are suggesting the Obama Administration has plans for them.  Not only has President-Elect Barack Obama publicly declared that closing Guantanamo Bay is a top priority, but there are even rumors of an investigative commission on the horizon.  I feel like a giddy schoolgirl simply considering that!

However, many think that criminal prosecutions are unrealistic, due to the very perpetrators' passing of the War Crimes Act in 2006, making prosecution more difficult (How can those who are so absurdly stupid be so fucking brilliant at times?).  Also, if done too soon, prosecutions would trigger the worst and most brutal partisan battle we've seen in this generation.  I agree, which is why the commission started by the Obama Administration will likely be bipartisan - even NONpartisan.  This is a journey that must be trod lightly and precisely.

I think the reason this possibility excites me so, is not the fact that a small group of power abusers are getting what's coming to them.  I am never one to rejoice in someone else's misfortune.  It's more the symbolic victory that Justice as an idea will gain.  If these people - who seemed utterly immune to any repercussions - can be brought to justice, than anyone who seems equally as immune and deserving can.  Terrorists, dictators, arms dealers, oil tycoons, bank CEOs, you name it!  I've said it before: It's an exciting time to be alive!

My Christmas Wish List this year contains one item: the remote control that Adam Sandler's character had in that AWFUL film, "Click."  If only I could fast forward to the peaceful ousting of George W. Bush, and the beginning of the ever-hopeful presidency of The Barack.  If only such a thing existed.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wince my way through the next two months.

Let's do something about this.  I say we do what we can to pressure President-Elect Obama and Congress into fast-tracking an indictment of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and all their cronies involved in the decisions made on the issue of torture and the likes.  This country needs closure on the disastrous past eight years.  Otherwise, what was it all for?

Sources: 

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/13/torture_commission/?source=newsletter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism

My God, It's True!

It is true that this country is indeed what I thought it was.  Lord, God Almighty, I can be proud to be an American!  I truly can look on my waving flag with a sense of pride and dignity, and no longer with cynicism and embarrassment.

Last night was quite the emotional night for me, as it was obviously for many other people in this country.  The reason for this, although details can't be put into words, is that America finally in my lifetime has lived up to its name and reputation.  Up until last night, it was only an empty mission statement that America was the land of opportunity, and some lingering memory that it was a beacon of light in the world.  I feel that it was once a beacon of light, but not in my lifetime and certainly not during my adulthood.  Now parents from all walks of life can finally say without feeling as though they are lying to their children, "Honey, you can be anything that you want to be."

Another reason for my newfound pride, is that I woke up to a different country this morning.  People were more polite, the sun shone brighter, colors in the autumn sky were more vibrant.  I had woken up to America the Ballsy.  America the Pragmatic.  America the Progressive.  America the Principled.  I could go on like this for hours.  The point is that I finally feel at one with my society.  It tend to hold myself to a very high standard, and in turn expect others to reciprocate...unreasonable, yes I know.  But, I guess what I mean is that I don't have to feel like such a freak anymore simply because I have ideals.

And so I come full circle back to my first sentence: it is true that I can feel proud of a country willing to throw out all the rules and do what it truly believes is best for its own well-being.  I guess I didn't trust my country enough to believe that maybe it was idealistic, too.  I've been wrong before, and I hope I continue to be surprised.

Make Daddy Proud, USA!

Today is Election Day!  FINALLY!  It is a sort of dual emotion I am feeling right now.  One of complete excitement and anticipation, and another of melancholy.  I'm not sure what I can talk about now that this behemoth election that has consumed my thought in the last 4 months or so is finally coming to a close.  It came at not a moment too soon, though.  I was starting to think I was losing it.  I have gained hectares of peace of mind simply by knowing this monstrosity is over.  So all I have to say in this uncharacteristically short-winded post is:

GO OUT THERE AND MAKE ME PROUD, 'MERICA!

(Otherwise, I'm not sure if I have much use for you anymore.)