Stuff happens...
...and it's good stuff, at last! Good Riddance to bad Rummy. Hurray! AP reports that Democrats have control of the Senate as well as the House of Representatives, (BBC link). Picture shows Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein; history caught up with both of them this week.
Thank you America, says the Guardian. I feel a sense of hope, and I know many, many others do too. Katrina's aftermath, corruption, pork-barelling, and Iraq have shamed the current US administration, along with ''climate-change denial, the end of biological stem-cell research, an aid programme tied to abortion bans, a shockingly permissive gun culture, an embrace of capital punishment equalled only by some of the world's worst tyrannies, the impeachment of Bill Clinton and his replacement by a president who does not believe in Darwin's theory of evolution.'' ( Guardian)
Via email, a list of Rusmfeldisms and via Justin, more Rumsfeld poetry from Slate.
There's no time for gloating. I wonder if Blair's stomach is sinking? It should be. That it looks like it will be the Friend of the Peers show that does for him, rather than 650,000 dead people in Iraq, is a disgrace. But more on that shortly...
From the Sunday Times two weeks ago....
''A prosecution source said: “Levy told the police that everything he did was for the top man. It wasn’t for anybody else, just for Blair. That’s why the PM has to be interviewed.”
A friend of Levy said this weekend: “The prime minister knew all these people [who lent money] and it was entirely his decision who became working peers. He is right at the centre of the whole thing.“Lord Levy was against raising money through loans but did so after being asked to by Blair — amid serious financial problems for Labour. He has nothing to do with honours and could not offer anyone anything — that is up to the prime minister.”
posted by Rachel at 8:39 am
Someone used the term "cautiously optimistic" which I think pretty well sums up the mood here.
Things aren't magically going to be OK now but hopefully some of the insanity will stop.
I hear they built some nice retirement homes in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
You know it's at times like this that I miss Alistair Cooke and his 'letter from America'. I suspect it would have made good reading today
hi rachel,
what a relief,,,looks like the american public has come to their senses finally...the democrats control both the senate and house,and made many important gains. donnie rumsfeld is on the unemployment line !!! lets hope his replacement and the new congress set a timetable once and for all for getting us out of that mess called iraq.
hope alls well with u and j and...i am going to see the new james bond "casino royale" when it opens in the u.s. next week-yes i dont think craig was the best choice,but the movie looks entertaining-and i have seen EVERY james bond movie at least 3 times-my dad introduced me to both the ian fleming novels and the movies.
seth :)
The election wasn't a surprise, as much as the turnout was a surprise, that so many people did come out. Within the country, a lot of amazing things happened. Several states decided that a marriage is between a man and a woman. This sets up a huge fight for later on, and the issue is forced by the Republicans. Rep. Ford was defeated in his bid for the Senate in Tennessee because of his race. Some things have never gone away.
Now, we have to see what can be done. So far, the President and the Democrats have been calling for bi-partisanship. This won't happen until the Democrats come into power in january. Let's see what they can get going then.