It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
Howsabout this for hypocrisy?

Just one day after after making a symbolic visit to the grave of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., George W. Bush appointed Charles W. Pickering to the federal appeals court. Pickering has a long history as an advocate of racial segregation, and an opponent to voting rights legislation.

What's more, Bush appointed Pickering while Congress was out of session, thus depriving the American people of their right to approve the appointment through the Senate confirmation process. This trap-door appointment is just one example of the arrogant disregard Bush and his aides have shown for the constitutionally-established balance of powers in the federal government. It seems more and more that George W. Bush regards himself as King of America more than President.

The Senate had consistently decided not to confirm Pickering, deciding that Pickering's segregationist past made him a poor choice for a federal appeals judgeship. By appointing Pickering in this back-handed manner, Bush not only flouted the will of the United States Senate, he also insulted the very civil rights activists he met with on Dr. King's birthday.

Watch what Bush does, not what the photo opportunities say he's going to do. George W. Bush refuses to lead the Republican Party beyond its segregationist leanings. That's another good reason to give him the boot on Election Day.

Posted by J. Clifford Cook at 2:29 PM. # (permalink)  




Return to the Irregular Times Main Page

Read our Blog Archives