Tuesday, May 13, 2003

The 'Survivor' President Survivor wrapped up on Sunday with Jenna winning the $1,000,000, to everyone's surprise. The odds were that Rob, the scheming, backstabbing reincarnation of Survivor's 1st season Richard Hatch, would be the winner. However fate intervened and Jenna took the top prize.        This got me thinking today when hearing about Bush's trip to states with Democratic senators like Nebraska & New Mexico. Is Bush the Survivor President? Let's cast Bush in the role of Rob and Ben Nelson, the Democratic senator in the role of Heidi. Bush/Rob comes to Nebraska begging for Nelson's vote to avoid the elimination of his tax package in the Senate. Nelson considers his options and while previously opposed to the size of the tax package now seems to be in favor. Bush/Rob is known for making these type of alliances, after all politics is all about the horse-trading of votes, but let's look at what's happened to others who made alliances with Bush, where are they now? In the shitcan, that's where! Poor former Senator Jeanne Carnahan of Missouri, she thought voting for Bush's first massive tax cut in 2001 would save her skin, and what happened? Bush campaigned hard against her and she lost by less than 25,000 votes. Same for Max Cleland of Georgia. Unfortunately the Democrats in the Senate don't seem to understand that in helping Bush enact his massively unequal tax cuts all they're doing is suppressing their own voter bases and not earning themselves any special treatment from the president, who always values fellow Republicans over Democrats. Just like poor Heidi, who was voted off 5th, Ben Nelson will discover that making alliances with a snake is a dangerous game. A snake is always going to act according to it's nature and this one knows exactly who's heads are going to be on the chopping block in 2004, and I can imagine right now how they're going to feel when Airforce One flies into their home states with a President aboard who's campaigning for their opponents. Wanna know? Just ask Jeanne Carnahan and Max Cleland.   11:28:01 AM    Gimme your feedback! []

Rwanda Redux The situation in the Ituri province of The Democratic Republic of Congo is severe and getting worse. The UN Security Council is weighing an immediate response to this situation, which is pre-genocidal in the same way that the early days of the Rwandan genocide was. Namely, small massacres are taking place, inter-ethnic conflict is brewing and a power vacuum has erupted with the departure of Ugandan forces. France is weighing taking on the responsibility of sending in an immediate armed response, which is both good and absolutely necessary. Trying not to look at the abysmal record of the French in Africa I try and give them credit for turning over a new leaf in regards to this urgent problem. Now we watch and wait, time is of the essence to avoid a repeat of the Rwandan situation.   10:32:40 AM    Gimme your feedback! []

© Copyright 2003 Shane Hensinger.