Sinking deeper.

As Worldcom execs take the fifth and both Congress and the Dubya administration prep for damage control (for the latter, in a Wall Street speech tomorrow,) White House strategists look desperately for a way to avoid being hoisted by their own petard. Says Dubya of his Vice-President, who’s in deep with the Halliburton scandal: “There are good actors and there are bad actors; he’s one of the good guys.” May work for terrorists, George…doesn’t work so well for executive profiteers.

One Nation and Countless Careerists, Under God.


“Oh my name it is nothin’, my age it means less
The country I come from is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there the laws to abide
And that land that I live in has God on its side.”

Bob Dylan, “With God on Our Side”

A Federal Court declares the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, and all Hell breaks loose, with editorialists, Senators, and even our Fearless Leader lining up to decry the decision. (For their part, the House scurried out onto the steps of the Capitol to recite the Pledge en masse.) I dunno. I know I’m not the mean in these particular instances, but as a kid forced to recite the Pledge every morning in elementary school, I always found the name-dropping of God a bit strange and superfluous. I guess the lesson here, folks, is don’t vote against God in an election year. Speaking of which, the GOP are latching on to the decision as a centerpiece to their fall campaigns. Hmmm…corporate malfeasance still seems a higher priority to me than this judicial slighting of our national deity. Somehow, I think He can handle it. (But, just in case, the Supreme Court today ensured that everyone’s tax money can be used to pay Him tribute.)