Freedom's Fire, Brightly Burning

On Friday, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement from the Supreme Court. Almost instantly, all progressive 'guns' were swung around to bear on the expected appointment of a right-wing ideologue to replace her. But what about

• The Downing Street Minutes?
• The outing of Valerie Plame?
• Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff investigations?
• CAFTA in the House?
• Blacklisting at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?
• Targeting of children by miltary recruiters?
• War profiteering by private contractors?
• (...)

While we are battling the spectre of losing the Supreme Court to right-wing ideologues, will we forget about these other important issues? I sure hope not.

There are so many sites and organizations scrambling around the Supreme Court nomination issue that I think I'll just take a pass, and continue reporting on the other topics that are currently being drowned out by the "Save Roe!" chorus. Okay, probably I will post on the SC confirmation battle occasionally in the future, particularly when candidates are announced. But there are so many other issues to pay attention to, and frankly - sorry to be defeatist - I think the S.C. nomination is essentially a fait accompli, as it was on November 2, 2004, when so many ostensibly "pro-choice" voters went to the polls and decided it was more important to vote for the guy who "hugged Ashley", then the guy who would protect their civil rights and work effectively with other nations - and who, by the way, routinely participates in charity events - like 80-mile bike rides in freezing rain - to actually help people who are hurting. Of course the MSM didn't bother to tell us that side of John Kerry before the election; but the MSM's failure does not excuse, or wash the blood from the hands of, those who voted for Bush: there were far too many obvious - and reported - reasons that Bush needed to be fired; the lies against Kerry were exposed as lies, for anyone bothering to check the facts - and those voters voted for Bush (or against Kerry) anyway.

As the rights of Americans are rolled back over the next decade or three, as more Americans die in criminal wars, as more innocent foreigners - including "women and children" - but aren't the men of equal value? - die in those same criminal wars, the blood on Bush voters' hands will seep ever deeper into their souls. America lost dearly on November 2, 2004. While many of us knew it then, many more still haven't figured it out. I'll predict that a bunch of them are about to.