Walker Walks Away

Scott Walker gave up his bid for the Wisconsin Governorship today.

"Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is pulling the plug on his bid for the governor’s office, leaving fellow Republican Mark Green a clear shot at incumbent Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in November. He planned to make the announcement early this evening during a speech at a Republican Party congressional caucus in Waukesha where Green was also scheduled to appear. "I give my full support and endorsement to my friend Mark Green," Walker said in a speech prepared for a 5th Congressional District audience at the Country Springs Hotel. He released a copy of his remarks this afternoon to the Journal Sentinel." [JSOnline]

Make no mistake; this is a big win for Wisconsin. But, we have miles to go with Mark Green, who is worse than Walker, if at all possible. The DPW had this to say:

"“The good news for Wisconsin voters is that Scott Walker is out of the race; the bad news is that extreme Mark Green is still in it. Make no mistake; Scott Walker would have been the wrong choice for Wisconsin’s next Governor. But it is hard to recall a candidate as vulnerable and ill-suited to serve as Mark Green. "

Good Riddance Walker...I hope you don't ever run for office again; but that might too much to hope for.

End the War

I apologize for the lack of bloggy-goodness lately. Life has been interesting.

But this got me (and has had me) riled up. This weekend is the three year anniversary of our illegal invasion of Iraq. What have we accomplished? What does the future hold? Why are we still there? These are questions that our leadership cannot, and is not qualified to, answer.

There have been many rallies to end the war all around the world, including Sydney, Australia, Tokyo, and Turkey. Sunday, they protested in South Korea, Sweden, Denmark, and London.

All protesting under one theme: Get the US out of Iraq. I think that it would come as no surprise to most of you that popular world opinion is against this war. Popular opinion in the US has turned against the administration, and against our occupation. Blame can be spread around for this. Bush wanted to take us into Iraq from the moment he took the oath of office (and probably before). Rumsfeld, our Secretary of Defense, has botched the war planning on every level.

From the NYTimes:

"Many who supported the invasion have taken this anniversary to argue that it all would have been worthwhile if things had been run better. They argue that if the coalition forces had been large enough to actually secure the country, to keep insurgents from raiding Saddam Hussein's ammunition depots, to give the people a sense of safety, the country might well be on the road to a hopeful future. We doubt it. The last three years have shown how little our national leaders understood Iraq, and have reminded us how badly attempts at liberation from the outside have gone in the past. Given where we are now, the question of whether a botched invasion created a lost opportunity might be moot, except for one thing. The man who did the botching, Donald Rumsfeld, is still the secretary of defense."

"Chances are that at the time George W. Bush did not have an inkling of how badly he was being served by the decision makers at the Pentagon. But the fact that Mr. Rumsfeld continues to hold his job tells us that Mr. Bush doesn't care, that he prefers living in the same dream world that his secretary of defense inhabits. In their wishful thinking, Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld undoubtedly tell themselves what they tell us: that the Iraqi people are better off than they were under the brutal dictator, that the Iraqi security forces are gradually learning how to take over defense of their own country and that a unified government is still a good possibility. It's true that many Iraqis are better off. Others are in far worse straits — their homes have been ruined, their relatives killed, their jobs evaporated and their ability to walk the streets in safety obliterated. Women's rights are being threatened in the south, and sectarian warfare has put families with mixed Shiite-Sunni ancestry at risk in their own neighborhoods. It is hard to quantify relative degrees of misery and pain in these circumstances. But unlike the horrors of Saddam Hussein, the horrors of the present can be laid at America's doorstep." [NYT]

There are several conclusions that we can draw from all of this, but I'll leave most of that for the historians. One, Bush got us into this war on false pretenses, and to disasterous results. Two, Donald Rumsfeld is a terrible decision maker, and lives in the same fantasy-world that Bush lives in. They call it "Everything-is-fine-land."

"The most important quote in it was this: "It is impolite to criticize your host; it is militarily stupid to criticize your allies." By that rule, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with our allies from what he dismissively called "old Europe" has imposed far greater demands and risks on our soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in our own military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input. In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down." [NYT]

Please...let's show our brave troops that we really support them, not with car magnets, but by bringing them home.

Wisdom at Last

On March 1^st, 2006, in Annapolis at a hearing on the proposed Maryland Constitutional Amendment to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor of law at American University, was requested to testify. At the end of the testimony, Republican Senator Nancy Jacobs said:

“Mr. Raskin, my Bible says that marriage is only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?”

Raskin replied:

“Senator, when you took the oath of office, you swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not swear to uphold the Bible.”

The room erupted in applause.

I received this this in an e-mail, but I found the quote online. You can view this candidates profile here, where he is a candidate for State Senate in Maryland. While the quote above differs just a wee bit from the original on his site, the sentiment is the same. People, let's put religion and prejudice aside, and allow everyone the same rights.

Shoot Harry

You have to check out this online game! Make sure you have LOTS of beer before you shoot, just like Unka Dick!!!

The OK to Discriminate Amendment

A lot has been said in the blogosphere and cheddarsphere about the so-called "Marriage Amendment." I will from now on call this the "Ok to Discriminate Amendment," which passed the assembly last night 62-31. One Republican voted No, and six democrats voted yes.

You all know where I stand on this issue: it's a terrible idea, rooted in fear and bad politics. Republicans are trying to turn out more of the vote in November against Doyle, and now, against common sense. Why do we have to discriminate? Are we really going to amend the Constitution of our state to write in discrimination? This will not defend "traditional marriage." All this does is legalize discrimination against a particular group. I thought all men were created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I guess I was wrong. Aren't representatives supposed to listen to their constituents? I guess not...only 70% of Wisconsin is opposed to this.

Here, however, is my favorite quote from Rep. John Gard (R-Sun Prairie) : "Schneider confronted Gard in the hallway to criticize the move. "Go to hell, Marlin," Gard responded." Wow...was Gard channeling his inner Dick Cheney? [GB P-G]

Xoff has it right...Be sure to also read NO on the Amendment, and Fair Wisconsin.