Your never forget your first, eh, W?

As the saying goes, you never forget your first, and I know I'll never forget President Bush's first veto, when the president denied federal funding for stem cell research. My feelings upon reading the news ranged from outrage, disgust, sadness, confusion and back to outrage again.

This religious-driven decision is just another signpost on the road to religious extremism ruling and ruining this country. Not only does the president veto the bill, but he has a ceremony (above) with snowflake families, that is, families who have had a child born from a transplanted embryo. So, not only does he stick his finger in the eyes of people who could really be helped (and maybe in some cases, even saved) by signing a stem cell bill into law, but he gives the radical religious right another tongue bath by having these families appear with him at the announcement.

President Nixon, a man who truly knew what it was like to be hated, once said, "Always remember, others may hate you. Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself."

I bring that quote up, because I hate the president and Karl Rove for what they are doing to this country, most of it in the name of religion. It sickens me every day. And I don't give a shit about people saying, "Hate's a pretty strong word," or "Wow, you shouldn't hate anybody." No, you shouldn't hate anyone, and I try not to, but for these two deserve that dishonor. I don't care about being politically correct in most instances, and this blog is the very embodiment of that belief.

All that's left for the religious zealots to accomplish in this country is to outlaw abortion, and that day isn't too far off, I'm afraid. I used to often tell people, prior to the 2000 and 2004 elections - "If Bush wins, he will reshape the Supreme Court for decades." Well, he has, and now these red states are reaping what they have sown. To digress for a quick second, I wonder if Louisana, post-Katrina, would still buy into all of Bush's bullshit during the '04 campaign and help him to the presidency? (Bush carried Louisana by a wide margin.) I think not.

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!"

Anyway, the encouraging thing about the stem cell vote in Congress is that many Republicans joined ranks with Democrats to have it passed so the president could veto it in the first place. The public wants this passed, but the radicals on the right don't.

For once, the Democrats may even have a backbone on this one. Said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi after the president's veto:

By using the first veto of his presidency to strike down this vital legislation, President Bush has shown us once again, that the extremists in his party come before progress...The public is fed up with the agenda of the Republican leadership and its clear lack of concern about the challenges facing ordinary Americans...Democrats in the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of this bill. Ninety-eight percent in the Senate and ninety-three percent in the House; if only we had more Democrats in Congress to vote for the override. Our resolve is absolute. We have fought this battle for years and we will continue to fight. We will not give up, even in the face of extremist, anti-progress opposition...Republicans in Congress will have two choices: vote with the 72% of Americans who want to see this bill pass, or rubber stamp President Bush's out-of-touch agenda yet again.

The rubber stamp happened - the veto override vote fell short by four votes. Hopefully, come November, some prominent Republicans will be out of Congress...



...like Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). It's going to be an uphill battle for Bob Casey Jr. though here in Pennsylvania - Dick's got a lot of money for attack ads and lies, nearly twice what Casey has.

These religious hypocrites all talk about the sanctity of life, until the War in Iraq or capital punishment comes up. Then, it's a different story.

Thousands are dead in Iraq, and for what? A giant fucking lie.

And capital punishment? That's humans merely playing God. One one hand, you have Bill Frist embarrassing himself by misdiagnosing Terri Schiavo on national television , saying nature should take its course and that her brain was still functioning (the autopsy proved Frist absolutely false). I'll never forget political opportunists like President Bush, his brother Jeb, Frist, and Santorum trying to use the whole unfortunate Schiavo incident for political gain.

However, most of these Republicans have no moral conscience about bombing and killing thousands of innocent Iraqis, OR advocating capital punishment, which, in some cases kills innocent people. The first thing I hear from advocates of capital punishment when I bring this up is "What about all of my tax dollars to keep these people in prison for years?" That's just morality with a price tag. But, I digress.

I hope and pray (yes, pray! God is not a Republican) that the time will soon come when Democrats can take back control of at least one body in Congress to stem the tide of Republican shit that we are awash in.

And I hope the first thing they do is approve federal funding for stem cell research, by a veto-proof margin.