President Bush says he does not read the polls. He feels they have no value. Right, less that one third of the country feels that we are going in the right direction, and there is nothing to worry about.
I do agree, in part with not governing by polls. HOWEVER, there is a difference between bowing to every little whim of the people, and listening to them and learning from them. People say that the Katrina response was not racially based, but I believe it was. Look how much better things went with Rita. Look how fast supplies got to Pakistan. Last time I checked, New Orleans was closer to the rest of America that Pakistan is.
It appears to me that President has chosen to appoint a good, loyal friend of his to the Supreme Court by nominating Harriet Miers. She is a woman, she is a trail blazer. Great. I am very concerned that there is very little public record available on this woman. She has never been a judge. We have no decisions or rulings to look at. Her most current work is being kept private under executive privilege. I believe in having the best candidate for the job, and I don't know if she is. Sure she was the first female this, and the first female that, but I hope we have moved beyond that. I would have hoped we would be able to judge her on her merits, not on her gender alone.
Yesterday, President Bush brought her religious beliefs into the discussion. Last time I checked, it was illegal to use religion as a hiring basis in the United States.
“People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers,” Bush told reporters at the White House. “They want to know Harriet Miers’ background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers’ life is her religion.”
President Bush wants us to know she is an Evangelical Christian, and that should tell us all we want or need to know. He is asking Congress and the American people to use an illegal tool to grant Harriet a job on the highest court in our country, a job which is a lifetime appointment as well. I am Christian, but I would never hire someone solely on the basis that we share the same religion. I would hire based on skills, experience, education, presentation, and attitude. We have no knowledge of her current skills. We cannot see how she has ruled in the past. We know nothing about her other that she believes that President Bush is one of the smartest men she knows, and that she is an evangelical Christian. OK, any one that believes that this man is a smart person, is themselves not a smart or thinking person. When John Roberts was up for confirmation, the Bush administration did not want a religious litmus test used. Now they want us to use this standard, which is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Equal Employment Opportunity. If all she has to offer to us is that she is Bush's friend and evangelical Christian, I find that to be a very poor recommendation to be the next Supreme Court Justice.
President Bush wants us to trust him and believe he has found the best candidate for the job. I do not know if he has or not, but I do not trust Bush. I do not trust Bush because of the failures to be aware and watchful and protect Americans on 9-11. I do not trust Bush because of the lies which were told to the American people about starting the Iraq war. I do not trust Bush because more soldiers have died since he declared "Mission Accomplished." I do not trust Bush because he does not trust lowly, normal, middle class Americans. I do not trust Bush, because under him, we have lost great freedoms in the name of security, and the war on terror. I do not trust Bush because we have been lied to so many time, he has no more credibility with me. I do not trust Bush because he created a great cultural divide in the last election, and has made things harder for people who are not a traditional family. I do not trust Bush, because he has already show he will hire inexperience and incompetence, in the form of former head of FEMA, Michel Brown. I do not trust Bush because of the horrible respose to Katrina, and now he wants to put the military in charge of disasters.
I love the military, but I have a problem with the Armed Forces policing Americans. The Posse Comitatus Act was put in place in 1856 for a reason. (Our service members play an important role every day in keeping us free so I can type away. I am a proud Army wife, and I am very proud that my husband serves honorably. This is not an anti-military idea, rather an anti-military state idea I am writing about here.) Our military members play an important role in resolving disasters, but I do not want to become a military state where the military is over everything. I see what a military state is like military bases. This has a time and a purpose, and I know that the military is in charge when I go on base. However on base you give up the right to a warrant before a search and seziure. I bet I would get arrested if I tried to start a peaceful protest rally on base. My car and person can be searched at will. I am Id'ed to get on and off base. My car is registered and there are cameras EVERYWHERE. Now, I am not complaining about how life is on base. I understand and accept that. I know that there are national security reasons for the security measures. I CHOOSE to trade these rights on a temporary basis for access to tax-free shopping, crafting classes, and cheap gasoline. However this is a CHOICE. I could CHOOSE to never go on base, and retain my rights. I CHOOSE to go on base, and know what the consequences are, and they only are within the fences of the base. I worry what will happen to our rights if the military is put in charge not only of protecting them (which they are) but also enforcing them and allowing their free expression.
If Harriet Miers is confirmed and then found to be incompetent, we have no recourse, she is there for life. If you are not white, strait, Christian, rich, and his friend you mean nothing to him. Why else would he not even look at the polls? Why would he not want to know what the people he was hired to serve, protect, and defend think of the job he is doing?
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