Thoughts on Elizabeth Edwards, From an Ex Supporter of John

Elizabeth Edwards' decision to write a book about various happenings during her life including the cancer that has returned and metastacized, and her husband's affair is certainly getting alot of people worked up and commenting in the blogosphere and places like HuffPo. Many want her to go away, others are supportive. Everyone assumes she doesn't need the money. But I see a few problems with this picture. First, Mrs. Edwards is fighting a horrible and I'm sad to say costly disease - I know, I was paying bills after my Mom passed away from lymphoma and she was really lucky she had two types of insurance that ended up covering most of her care (even then I had to sic my lawyer on her doctor to get him to reimburse me for one bill). Second, the other woman has been supported by parties close to Senator Edwards and who's to say she won't try to get her hands on as much of what he and his wife have as she possibly can? Yes, he may be the father of the other woman's young daughter but questions persist that indicate said woman might want more than is needed and reasonable to raise one child. However he and his wife have three kids - two quite young - who have every right to inherit money and property after their mother is gone. Third, she isn't going away because she wants to hand her husband his arse in public. He deserves it. So does the other woman. They chose to have this affair. Period. Elizabeth Edwards can still love her husband and want to hand him his arse for this horrible lapse in judgment, and she can also feel it should cost him his future in politics. And as for whether she knew about it being ongoing, I think she really truly did not. Love is blind. I've been there.

I not only support Mrs. Edwards, I picked up her book today and other customers were waiting for the book to be put out on the shelf, taking it out of the sales associate's hands. He even asked me if I was waiting for it and I said yes. Makes me think other people who were there earlier had been taking it right out of his hands too. Which might speak volumes - no pun intended - of whether people really want Elizabeth Edwards to go away. I don't really think they do.

In re Torture

The controversy remains over how far to go with release of classified material and impeachment, or prosecutions of those involved with torture in the previous administration. On the one hand, there is as much of a need to know from taxpayers and citizens in this country as there has ever been with any other issue, maybe even more so in this case than Watergate or Iran Contra. But on the other hand, the President has an ambitious agenda and how much of that could be derailed by hearings a la Clinton Lewinsky? When those were held Congress barely got anything else accomplished, the 103rd Congress aside from the hearings and investigation was basically a wash. In my opinion, the country is still weary of what happened that year, remembers it well and doesn't want it replayed.

But this is different. Why? It has to do with how Americans' tax dollars were spent, not private conduct of an elected official involving an unpaid intern. And it goes beyond how tax dollars are spent, it goes to the very heart of principles on which this country was founded, specifically those outlined in the US Constitution's Eighth Amendment on cruel and unusual punishments. Our founders, wanting to separate from England and be distinct from it in so many ways, didn't forget its history of torture and coercing admissions of guilt from people it wanted them from. OK, one could argue, the torture that took place in the Tudor era involved citizens of England primarily. True, but what is the US if it condones methods of torture for foreign born peoples it outlaws itself? And what if those methods violate international human rights agreements?

This isn't what our founders had in mind during the Continental Congress and in creating our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. But our tax dollars were spent on it. And that's why it does need to be investigated, as fully as necessary.

Un-freaking-Believable

I am sorry peeps, it's an unoriginal title to an unoriginal post about someone we're probably all sick of already. And I try not to further saturate anything that's oversaturated. Really, I do.

At least it's not Sarah Palin this time, it's worse. One of our own who Should Have Known Better.

I am confused, angry, and disgusted by the hopefully soon to be ex governor of Illinois' actions. If he weren't so profane and indignant in the tape recorded conversations, I'd swear he had a death wish, or wished to take down the Democratic party. But he is profane and in your face which I guess makes him incredibly full of himself, stupid or both.

Ironic that I would have to do this now having been outside the political fray for years and even when I was in it, was only on the outskirts. But here it is, call it Preppycrat's Laws of Politics:

#1) If it looks bad it IS bad. Ask Bill Clinton about this. Monica wasn't bad in and of herself, after all the bumper sticker is right "When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died" But it sure looks bad for Democrats who want to answer the other party's charges that we lack family values.

So...if something really IS bad, you're even more burnt toast than if you did something that looked bad. What Blago did IS bad, and it's on the tape.

#2) What you say and do can taint those around you who are associated with you by geography or party affiliation. Again, Bill is a culprit here. It's widely believed that were it not for Monica, he and Al Gore might not have fallen out and maybe Gore could have won the 2000 election. Yes, I still feel it was basically stolen from him. But - here's the trillion dollar question - what if he had won by more percentage points? Maybe he would have if Bill hadn't done... well, you know. Then maybe the SCOTUS wouldn't have tried to steal the election.

Unfortunately, this might taint Barack as well. Lord knows, he's kept his distance from Blago but the problem is :

#3) Even after Sarah Palin, Republicans still generally are covered with teflon and Dems are covered in velcro. I shudder to think what the Repugs would have said if Joe Biden's daughter were having a baby with a man who she wasn't married to. Bad things just don't ever seem to stick as much to the repugs as they do to the Dems. And it's already starting, in the last 5 minutes our buddy Rush has added items that have shown up in Google news linking Barack to Blago. It's already starting and the poor man hasn't even been sworn in as President.

This is the LAST thing he needs right now. F**k you very much Blago. Orange might not be the most flattering color to dark haired men with green eyes, but you'd best get used to wearing it. For a very long time.