QT's Blog Site

Today, a flight from LAX to London was diverted to Boston, because three Pakistani men were "moving about the cabin."  After questioning, they were let go and given permission to continue on to London. It seems so silly. These guys were on a long flight and were probably trying to stretch their legs...something we all do on long flights. But with the numerous terrorist attacks that have plagued our world over the past few years, people are so paranoid. It's really sad! Although I disagree with these types of accusations, I have to say I understand the reasons for them. As wrong as it was to question these Pakistani men for such a silly matter, people are so scared now! And with each terrorist attack, people get more and more paranoid. It's a sad world, really!

Well, I haven't been able to write for a while, because I've been on a job interview trip. This job would require me to move from California, which is my home. However, it's for a fabulous company, so I'm kinda torn. I really want the job as much as I really hope I don't get it and can stay here. I guess this one is up to God.

So...Roberts is the nominee. I must say, I'm surprised at how quiet the debate over him is. He is more conservative than the Democrats would have wanted. Yet, they're not saying anything much about him. My feeling is that they realize it could've been worse. Compared to the ultra-conservative judges on the Court (i.e. Rehnquist), he's more moderate. So, they're trying to be more accepting.

However, I must comment that for some reason the Plame scandal has started to disappear again. I don't understand why this is not being taken seriously. Republicans as well as Democrats should be furious. An undercover (whether or not she was legally covert, she was undercover) agent was outed. That is pretty serious for our national security...and it's about as un-American as you can get.  If this type of precedent is set, where people can get away with outing undercover CIA agents, what will that do for our future?  Republicans need to get over their love of Rove/Libby and get down to business. The investigation needs to keep going, and the sources of Plame's name need to be punished...no matter who they are. This type of behavior should not be allowed in our country. When CIA agents are putting their lives on the line (Plame could've been executed!), it should not be the U.S. Government that they have to worry about.

It's no secret that I'm a regular visitor to Republican and Democrat blog sites. My favorite are www.talkleft.com and www.gopbloggers.com. These two sites give me a good understanding of how both sides perceive any given issue.

However, I still don't understand the right's version of the Rove scandal. They're trying to portray him as some kind of hero and Wilson as some kind of "bad guy." Yet, they never go into specifics. The right claims that Wilson lied about whether or not Africa was involved in uranium sales with Iraq. Whether or not that's true (an issue for another time), what does that have to do with Rove giving up the name of an undercover CIA agent? Regardless of Wilson, if Rove was involved in the leak, then he is guilty. When I read the Republican blogs, I get the feeling that they know this, but they're trying to somehow spin in it their favor (They have no other choice).

So...am I wrong? Is there a legitimate reason to portray Rove as the hero in this situation? Or does the right feel backed in a corner right now?

It's been a long time since my last blog. However, there were many significant news stories during this time.

The most tragic, of course, was the London bombings. I feel so horrible for them. I still find it strange that there are actually some people out there who believe that they are accomplishing something when they kill innocent people! How misguided can you be? On the other hand, I find it even stranger that there are some people out there who believe that the Koran teaches this. There are actually people who believe that the problem stems from Islam. These people honestly believe that the problems would go away if Islam were somehow eradicated. I find this as equally misguided. "Islam" means peace, first of all. The religion is actually very peaceful. The problem is someone has taken certain parts of the religion to the extreme.They are not representative of the religion. They are representative of misguided terrorists. I hope these people come to realize the extremists exists in every religion and political party. You can't condemn a whole group, because of a few. (I would feel horrible if someone condemned Christianity, just because of some weirdo extremists. As a Christian, I know that the religion does not condone violence).

For weeks, I have been following the Rove CIA leak story. About 2 weeks ago, I heard the rumors that Rove was involved. Now that it's public information, it looks like Rove is in some trouble. I doubt he will suffer any consequences, however. That's what having excellent lawyers does for you. I heard on the news today that he can get out of the mess by claiming that he didn't realize it was a confidential name at the time of his conversation with Cooper. Besides Rove, Bush might be backed into a corner. In 2004, he promised to fire anyone who committed a crime in this case. If Rove is found to have purposely leaked Plame's name, it is, indeed, a crime. Therefore, Bush will be faced with either keeping his word and losing his advisor, or trying to somehow find a loophole in his 2004 statement. This is why I love politics...there's always something going on! :)

Justice O'Connor announced her retirement today. Although she was (is) a conservative judge, she did feel strongly about women's rights and affirmative action. She was perceived as the centrist judge. Many times, arguments were made directly to her, since her vote was often the deciding one.

So now, Bush will nominate a right-wing judge, which will make the Supreme Court mostly conservative. It's possible that abortions will become illegal and affirmative action will disappear. So, it's understandable that I'm a little worried.