Excessive Heat Warning

Before this summer, I'd never heard of an "excessive heat warning" and I didn't know that the state of Illinois could have a drought. The grass is dying all over the prairie state and the temperatures are at dangerous highs, with news anchors advising all those in Cook County to stay in their homes. Now the Office of the Independent Blogger knows full well that there is such a thing as Excessive Heat, though not as well as Washington knows it. My city is not the only city that should be on excessive heat alert. The temperature is rising at an alarming rate in Washington D.C., and the metaphorical thermometer used to monitor scandal is Washington is on the verge of cracking over the Valerie Plame investigation, which has expanded to include Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card. Gonzales testified before the Grand Jury then alerted Andrew Card of the investigation upon leaving. Not only that, but Gonzales refused to investigate internally whether or not a crime was committed. Smells like a cover-up, doesn't it?

That's not quite it, though. Even a Conservative blogger agrees that John Bolton is toast though he believes it for several reason, the main one being that he testified to the Grand Jury but told the Senate that he didn't, lying to their faces. Not only that, but some are alleging that he is the source Judith Miller has gone to jail to protect. You know, Republicans like to bash Clinton for "a lack of ethics and morals," as they put it, and I'm quite glad that they're back in power. Now our scandals are no longer about blowjobs and "bimbo eruptions" but we're back to the good old days when Republicans commit high crimes (Watergate, Iran-Contra, Valerie Plame). That, I'm sure, is what Bush meant when he said he'd restore honor and integrity to the White House.

I've never liked Rick Santorum, and his defeat is my second-most wished for defeat come next year's mid-terms. Why do I care so much about defeating him? Partly it's because he makes me sick to my stomach and everything he has done in his political career makes me want to gag with the type of disgust that can only be provoked by a man that believes homosexuals are the equivelant of "man-on-dog" enthusiasts, and part of it is that my girlfriend is particularly staunch about defeating Santorum and is doing her Graduation Project on that premise (more or less). Well, Bob Casey Jr. is putting the heat on him in the polls (as mentioned yesterday) but now, the heat is on him from the Right to stand up for family values and traditional morality.

FOR A GUY who just wrote a stinging book about family values, Sen. Rick Santorum sure sounded mealy-mouthed when asked about U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood’s dalliances. “I don’t know how it’s going to shake out,” Santorum said Monday during an appearance at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township. “All I would suggest is that, again, until we know all the facts and we look at the job that Congressman Sherwood is doing and make decisions based on the facts and the work he’s doing.”

Well, given that Santorum voted to remove Clinton from office on all impeachment charges, despite the fact that most Americans took the stance he's claiming regarding Don Sherwood, tells you much about Rick's character. You know what Don Sherwood did? Basically, he carried on an affair with a much, much younger woman (the age-gap between them larger than Bill and Monica) and eventually beat her. Moral relativism, argue the Right, has led to the decline of American civilization but, you know, life isn't so black and white when a woman-beating philanderer is a member of your political party. Thanks for showing us where you stand, Rick.

Katherine Harris hopes to defeat Senator Bill Nelson next year, but she must be feeling quite hot that the first battle of her Senatorial campaign is being fought against Florida Republicans who don't want her to run. Republicans talk about loyalty and honor, but they refuse to love and support the woman who helped them, more than anyone except maybe the treasonous Supreme Court, steal the 2000 election. Karma, Katherine. It's karma.