Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Cassandra Bends Bush Appoints, Hatch Objects Or Not George Bush circumvented the Senate and put William Pryor on the U.S. Court of Appeals by way of an interim appointmnent. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) responded: "If they make a recess appointment, then I have to say, it's a finger in the eye of the Senate. I think you'd find there would be an awful lot of repercussions from that." Oops. Our bad. That's what he said in response to press reports that Bill Clinton was about to make an interim appointment to the Federal Bench. He's OK with this one. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva , because you deserve the best. 5:05:14 PM    comment []

Cassandra Parses The Truth Is Further Down The List Toward A Richer Vocabulary "Kerry boasts French support" Say what? That's a headline on the front page of the Washington Times. And it's true.    Maybe. "Boast," as in possess, a rather uncommon use of the word, but still, all that the Times is saying is that there are French people who support Kerry. There probably are. Although the article is really about the fact that Kerry has some French relatives and that he used to visit them when he was a kid. (We're not too clear on why that's front page news) And if most readers see this headline as saying "John Kerry is boasting about the fact that the French support him." (which isn't the case) Well, gee. That isn't the Washington Times' fault. Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva .    We thought you'd want to know. 4:21:49 PM    comment []

Cassandra Boggles Clear As Mud Scott McClellan explains It All By The Way This Is The Real Transcript Honest Pay attention, there's a quiz at the end. Excerpt from press briefing 2/24/04 Q So how does gay marriage weaken society, in the President's view? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this goes to the issue of an institution that is enduring and lasting. The President said in his remarks that this is the most fundamental institution in our civilization. And he talked about, in his State of the Union, about the importance of defending these kinds of enduring institutions, that some things -- that some things never change. He actually addressed that in his State of the Union address. And he talked about the importance of making sure that the people's voice is heard, as well. Q But specifically, how does allow -- how does allowing gay marriage, allowing two people of the same sex to marry, how does that weaken our society? MR. McCLELLAN: It's a strong value of our society. It's a strong value of our civilization. And we should protect and defend those kinds of enduring institutions in our society.    No, Helen, that's not the way the President is looking at it. The President is looking at this from making sure that activist judges and local officials don't redefine this enduring institution in our society. Q You say, "and the President believes it's important to protect institutions in our society." But I wonder if the American people deserve a little bit more of an explanation about what the downside of all of this is. Can you explain how the President arrived at this view? He talks frequently about his faith; is that a major component in arriving at his decision about gay marriage? What specifically would happen to our society, as Elisabeth alluded to -- MR. McCLELLAN: His beliefs and his principles. Q Hold on -- what specifically would happen to society if same-sex couples were allowed to marry? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why I talked about the values that we should stand up and defend. The President made it very clear in his remarks that this is an enduring institution of our civilization. It goes to the very fabric of our society when he talks about this issue. Q So the fabric of society would break down if men were allowed to marry other men and women other women? MR. McCLELLAN: That's why the President believes that this is an important value and enduring institution to defend. And that's what -- so he's looking at this -- Q What would happen to marriage if same-sex couples were allowed to marry? I just don't --    I'm trying to understand the President's thinking. Is this purely based on his religious faith? How does he arrive at this? MR. McCLELLAN: This is based on principle, it's based on his long-held belief. And I would remind you that this is something that enjoys -- that protecting and defending the sanctity of marriage enjoys widespread support in this country.    April, I think the President described it from his views about where his beliefs are, and the principle of this decision. Extra Points Question: So how does gay marriage weaken society, in the President's view? Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva .    Also in suppository form. 3:53:42 PM    comment []

Cassandra Reacts Brown Frowns Write If You Find Work CNN's Aaron Brown spoke about the web site dearmary.com, where thousands of people, gay, lesbian and straight, have written in reaction to George Bush's backing of the Anti-Same-Sex-Marriage Amendment. The messages are couched as letters to Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney. Expressing his disapproval of the site, Brown said "It takes the purely political and makes it intensely personal." What Brown appears to forget is that the amendment itself takes the purely personal and makes it intensely political.   Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva , the X is for Xtroadinary. 2:02:17 PM    comment []

Cassandra Predicts Absolutely True Breaking News! Gay Marriage Story About To Be Bumped Alan Greenspan, dropped a high yield nuclear device in a hearing of the House Budget Committee. Due to the huge deficit we must cut Social Security Benefits. "For a variety of reasons, that action is better taken as soon as possible,." he testified. (plunkit) This contradicts Bush Administration position that the deficit will have no negative effects. Honest.   Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva , Lord be praised. 1:42:46 PM    comment []

Cassandra Predicts This Part Is True, Too, Also, As well And On The Subject Of Texas Governors Molly Ivins reminds that somewhat more recently George Bush said: "We need to counter the shockwave of the evildoer by having individual rate cuts accelerated and by thinking about tax rebates."   Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva . This is not an offering, which can only be made by prospectus. 4:12:51 AM    comment []

Cassandra Reflects This Part Is True, Too, Also Speaking Of Southwestern Governors and God Some 70 years before Huckabee's insight into the Lord, just a little over to the left and down, Ma Ferguson, first female governor of Texas, found occasion to state: "If English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough Texas."   Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva . It's not just for breakfast anymore. 3:58:35 AM    comment []

Cassandra Reflects This Part Is True, Too Speaking Of Mike Huckabee You may recall that this is the same fellow who, back in March or '97, refused to sign a disaster relief bill that was to have helped the people of a number of towns wiped out by tornadoes The relief bill called the storms' devestation "acts of God." The Governor wouldn't sign because the God he knew didn't do bad things. The folks in need had to wait 'til the legislature could rewrite the bill using the language "natural disasters." When asked "If God didn't do it, who did?" the Governor didn't answer, but it is possible that his eyes wandered in the direction of the state portrait of Bill Clinton."   Cassandra is brought to you by eXcilliva , A world of difference for a different world! 1:58:43 AM    comment []