110th Congress- breath of fresh aire or business as usual?

Welcome 110th Congress... the people have clearly spoken for change. But a listen to the pResident and his lame duck congress left-behinds and you'd think they never heard the news.

pResident Bush again asks for bipartisan courtesy and looks forward to working in a bipartisan way with Congress saying "its time we set aside politics and focus on the future." —hello? Does anyone still believe his doublespeak? He made these same gestures in each of his State of the Union and Inaugural addresses... then promptly instructed his 109th Congress to slam the door in the Democrats faces.

The 109th Congress, arguably the most corrupt Congress in US history excluded the minority voice with an undaunted arrogance not seen since sedition times. No votes, no hearings, no rights to bring bills to the floor, not even an ability to debate so many of the questionable powers being granted to the Bush Administration about war, policy, torture, spying and US sponsored worldwide terrorism.

The109th Congress rolled out bill after bill stuffed with thousands of earmarks granting every member in Congress who promised support of the Bush Agenda, millions of federal dollars to buy votes and influence in their home States. K street lobbies and think tanks ran the legislative branch. Sen. Bill Frist even went so far as to threaten abolishing the right of the filibuster to get his judges nominated (isn't that activist judging). Republican congressmen screamed for up or down votes and silence from the minority.

Before our eyes, Congress was transformed into a legislative street fight. The new generation of aides and Congressmen not only hold each other in contempt but now don't reach out to the other side in formality. Its like watching a WWF grudge match only Hulk Hogan is responsible for our nations well-being, not just an evenings entertainment for some testosterone teens and wannabe teens. pResident Bush, the self-proclaimed Great Uniter has in just six years created the greatest political divide since the civil war.


So today, as the 110th Congress officially takes control, they have a plan. For the first 100 hours they are reprimanding the former majority party and preventing them from throwing a tantrum in Congress, while they right some of the most flagrant wrongs done by the 109th leadership. While many of Americans are concerned the war on terror is not on the agenda, some very important social and civic issues are. And it was the most responsible way to start this session. Though GOP left-behinds cry foul and accuse the Democrats of not playing fair, and the media cameras seem to give them much play, there needs to be some punitive action done to let the will of the people be heard by the GOP leadership who hijacked our constitution to line their pockets and bankrupt our nation. It serves us proud as a nation to have a governing system that can enforce checks and balances in accordance to the will of the people. Right now that will says no more corruption, no more creative interpretation of law.

Now the real proof of change will come after the 100 hours when the Democrats say they will demonstrate a fair bipartisan exchange of ideas in Congress. Speaker Pelosi has taken the position not to pursue Impeachment proceedings nor to stand for immediate removal of funding for the war. Both positions do not sit well with many who voted her into office. Not unlike pResident Bush and his troubles with Christians who didn't feel he valued their contribution to his election. They marched on Washington to demand access and now Cindy Sheehan and the anti war activists are speaking out against the new Pelosi priorities.

This is a momentous time in US History, the last time the people spoke loudly against policy and war, the leadership went covert, bombing of Cambodia, misleading the public on war statistics and abuse of intelligence by targeting US citizens opposing war like John Lennon, then Watergate. With the recent death of President Gerald Ford, we again learn of how his pardon of Nixon halted further investigation into the depth of corruption within the GOP leadership, a group oddly consisting of Kissinger, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush41 and many others still in power today. They were willing and capable then, what's to stop them now? They averted investigation then, will they evade justice again?

Even today as a FOIA (freedom of information act) release of thousands of pages secret FBI documents shows, we learn of Nixon and Reagan's illegal use of the Federal Agents to undermine and coerce opposition to Supreme Court Justice Renquist's nomination. Interesting that it was John (I hate the UN but run it) Bolton who then was asst Atty General, who personally signed off on direct memos advising that use of Federal Agents in this way was not legal. Wiretaps, shakedowns, character assassinations, illegal detentions... exactly what the 109th Congress made legal through the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (S3930).

This appears to be the policy of GOP corruption and the abuse of power, and when not in control, subversive use of the military and intelligence wings. Though it now appears clear that a small cabal of Neo-Conservative thinkers are directly responsible for much of the last thirty years of perversion. Since assention into power in the Nixon house, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Bolton, Libby Bush41 and a few others, have transformed our nation into an imperial oligarchy bent on world conquest. This has to be reigned in. Will the 110th Congress recognize these threats and take action or will the NeoCons silently continue conquest the middle east and beyond, or worse, create a horrific event by using their completely revamped access to information and intelligence to subvert Democracy at home?

NSA czar Jon Negriponte, the angel of death (ambassador) for Nicaragua, Haiti and Iraq has reluctantly abdicated his throne as master of all intelligence in the world's largest covert agency, to become assistance Sec of State. To one not watching, this seems benign, but what can a ruthless deviant with access to all intelligence do as the person behind Condoleeza Rice wielding our nation's international policy stick? Especially with Paul Wolfowitz controlling the purse strings World-Bank and Bolton fresh from bulldozing the UN? One shudders to think.