I was in NY these past few days for a quiet holiday period. I flew out of town on Saturday, January 6th. 72 degrees in New York. On January 6th. People walking along Central Park in t-shirts.
There is no winter in the East right now. No snowfall in NY in December for the first time since 1877. All around us are signs of global climate change. And this administration's response is to send in more troops. If you don't think there is a link between the weather and Iraq, you are wrong. A Manhattan Project-esque assault on US energy policy is what is required now. Our country must lead the way in global energy strategies that will, somehow, convince countries like China not to spend decades to come burning trillions of tons of fossil fuels to grow their economies in the way we did. It is the most important work we can do now, on par with "fighting terrorism."
But this crowd will do nothing to begin that process. All they will do is ignore the meaning of the mid-term election and sprint in the direction of prolonging this war. Their goal, obviously, to pass this mess on to their unfortunate successors in '08.
Kennedy has it all right. Time is up. And this is not a loss for Americans and their brave fighting men and women. This is Rumsfeld's War. And like McNamara before him, he will carry that burden on his shoulders long into our country's history.
A lot of talk about what the Dems should do now that they are at the wheel. Two people this Congress should not let up on. Cheney, obviously. Can't let the opportunity slip away to prosecute Pinochet-ney for all of his crimes. The other is Lieberman. This party needs to send a strong signal, and that is that loyalty matters in partisan politics. (Did Lieberman really think that his colleagues would chuck the entire Connecticut state apparatus just to soothe his ego?) Lieberman needs to go to the shed. For a very long time. Gotta get his mind, right. And when he comes out, ask him, "Are you a Democrat, Joe? Or aren't you?"
Thank God for Teddy.
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