Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve celebration last night. I'm typing softly, just in case anyone has a headache.

Remember all the bumper stickers and so forth that said, "Is it 2008 yet?" Well, it's finally here, but reality is sinking in: the elections aren't until November. That is, if we have them. Bu$hCo has unprecedented power to king itself in the event of an "emergency." Of course, "emergency" will be defined by the president.

I don't know how many people in this country actually realize this, and if they did, how they would feel about it. I know that the regular readers of my blog are aware of it because we are the kind of people who try to keep informed, and I also know that we're appalled and outraged about it. But, other than here in the liberal corner of the blogosphere, we don't hear much about it.

The president could literally declare an emergency and suspend normal activities (like, say, elections), and THERE IS NOTHING that Congress OR the Legislative branch could do about it. Nothing. What happened to checks and balances? The same thing that happened to habeas corpus. So essentially, if the military supported him, he is king in all but name, indefinitely. That is, until HE decides that the "emergency" is over. I am quite sure this was not what the founders of our country had in mind. I'm dreading the next emergency, around, say ... October.

I think we're in for a very rocky road this year. I'm thankful that we have each other to commiserate with, and I hope we'll all stick with it for as long as we can while it's still allowed. Keep surfing the tubes and posting on the internets, people, and don't forget to use the google, too.