Vacation Cat Blogging

Eric and Mary are going on vacation and abandoning me, but at least I get to nap on some clean clothes. I love laundry day.

Buh-Bye

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Don.

Fat Chance

According to the Washington Post, the President is prepared now to play nice with Democrats:

The White House sent the strong signal this morning that Bush intends to offer a conciliatory message, indicating he will express the desire to work closely with Democrats during the next two years on Iraq and domestic issues such as education and energy.

What a load of crap. Bush has no intention of working constructively with Democrats at all. His hints to the contrary are just political positioning, so he can beat up the Dems the first time they disagree with him. For Bush, it's always been his way or the highway, and that's not going to change.

If you need further proof, just look at the list of issues. Iraq? Bush is on record saying that the Democrats are siding with the terrorists — not a lot of room for "compromise". Education? He hasn't been engaged since he passed NCLB, and I don't expect him to scrap his signature domestic initiative. Energy? Now we're just getting silly.

Remember, Bush isn't exactly famous for admitting his mistakes, legion though they may be. Don't expect him to start now. I predict he'll spend a lot more time working around the Democrats with executive orders and such, rather than talking with them. And Democrats should avoid being seduced by phantom bipartisanship and stand their ground. Bush is a failure, and no one wins by following his lead.

Update: It goes without saying, but if Bush really was serious about bipartisanship, he wouldn't keep talking about the "Democrat Party" during his press conference today. It's the "Democratic Party", George. If Bush can't even bring himself to call their party by its real name, how can we believe that he will honestly try to work with Democrats?

Update 11/22/06: Ruth Marcus has the last word today about the "ic" syllable that Bush refuses to speak.

Give Me an "N"…

A local high school soccer team decided to look to Nazi Germany for some motivation before a big game. What were they thinking?

A segment of a Nazi propaganda speech was played an hour before Forestview's playoff game against Charlotte Catholic on Saturday night. School officials said Tuesday that they had determined the speech was by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, not Adolf Hitler, as was first thought. They said two soccer players had downloaded the speech off the Internet and no adult heard the speech before it aired.

In a letter of apology to Charlotte Catholic written Monday, Forestview Principal Robert Carpenter said the students were copying the team slogan, "On to victory."

Carpenter wrote that a German exchange student had taught other students to say the phrase in German. A Charlotte Catholic player who speaks German said he heard Forestview players repeating the chant before the game, which Forestview won 1-0.

So the team broadcasts Nazi propaganda over the PA system, and no one involved has been punished yet. Even more, the coach seems rather unapologetic about the whole thing. What the hell?

Democrats Win Big

Finally. It's been too long since I was able to enjoy an election night. 1996, I think, was the last unambiguously good one. But I have to say, last night was fantastic.

Santorum, gone. Talent, gone. DeWine, gone. Add that to a Democratic House, and it's already a big win. Throw in Webb and Tester, if they hold on to their leads, and we get a Democratic Senate as well. Sweet.

My hope? Legislatively, Bush's veto will prevent much of the Democratic agenda from being passed, with the possible exception of a minimum wage increase. But politically, this is huge. For the last six years, Bush has run roughshod over the Congress and the Constitution, but no more. Do me a favor, however, and skip the impeachment crap and just focus on oversight. Can you say subpoena? I thought you could.

It's going to take some time for all of this to sink in, but for the moment I'm just going to sit back and relish the moment. And have another glass of wine.