Politics, Schmolitics

	Politics, Schmolitics I get really, really tired of our political leaders not representing the people who they were elected to represent. That, and I've been called a bleeding-heart liberal. In any case, read on. You might agree, you might think I'm a loony, but read it anyway. Birmingham: The Schizophrenic City If metro Birmingham were to receive a psychiatric examination, I'm fairly certain the doctor would shake his head sadly, give a half-hearted tsk-tsk and start writing up commitment papers. Why? Because this city is apparently schizophrenic. Metro Birmingham is an area of almost limitless potential that can do almost anything it puts its collective mind to. Unfortunately, it rarely does, squandering opportunities over and over again. Read More... Political grandstanding won't solve oil woes One of my favorite jokes goes like this: Q: What are a redneck's last words? A: “Hey y'all -- watch this!” I was reminded of that joke last week when President Bush made his announcement that he was ending the executive order banning offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf. While W's action won't get him nominated for a Darwin award, he was essentially saying, “Hey, America, watch this! I'm about to do something stupid!” Read More... VT massacre empasizes need for handgun ban While I'm no prognosticator, I'm relatively certain that we will soon see feverish and impassioned debate on gun control as a result of the massacre this week of 33 people at Virginia Tech University. Such tends to be the case when incidents such as this occur: Gun control issues come to the forefront for a time, with pro- and anti-control factions making impassioned speeches and tossing around a political football, resulting -- in the end -- in very little change. Read More... History lessons for the future As I am still on a New Year's contemplation jag, I've been thinking recently about history. More specifically, I've been pondering two questions concerning our recent national history: How will history view the Iraq War, and how will it portray President George W. Bush? Read More... Political aroma Is that fall I smell in the air? Nah. The mingled urine, sweat and vomit attacking my nostrils can't be the smell of autumn. Smells more like -- politics. Yes, Election Day is less than a week away. And, as has come to be expected each and every election season, it stinks. Read More... My America Friday afternoon was a struggle. My mind was racing with ideas, yet I couldn’t seem to get a single one pinned down. President Bush had just been in town, and I wanted to write about that. Congress was passing laws on immigration, treatment of “detainees”, and more money for the war in Iraq, and I wanted to write about that. The novel I’m working on was crying out for attention, as well was a comic review I’m working on for submission to a local fanzine. Read More... Staying on course -- to disaster Big news out of Washington these days: "Staying the course" isn't working. It is, in fact, making things worse for America. You could ask our troops in Iraq who face roadside bombs and insurgent attacks daily, and they would agree. You could ask the retired military officers who are calling the handling of the Iraq war "incompetent" from strategic, operational, and tactical standpoints. Read More... Wrecking the curve I hold in my grubby little hands today, actually addressed to me, the official (no, really it says so, right in the first paragraph) CENSUS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. I'm slightly bewildered as to how I received this document. Most of my political views are left of center, and some of them are so far left they make Che Guevara look like Bill O'Reilly. I've never voted Republican in a national election, and I voted for Ralph Nader in the last two. So receiving this document in which my "answers will represent the views and opinions of all Republican voters" in my voting district is a bit of a surprise. Read More...