Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon...

Scott and I are back. After taking some time off for the Christmas holiday, we are back to work and back to bringing you, as my mom likes to say, the ‘best political blog written by my son and his friend.’

As has become tradition here (two weeks in a row with RPTfaWA makes it a tradition to me), we kick off our return to blogging with more quick quips about politics and life… Enjoy:

• Democratic Senators targeting seven key states in 2006 midterms. Sen. Schumer (D-NY), who is in charge of Senate Democrats' campaign efforts, mentioned that he and the other Senate Democrats are focusing on seven states where they can take over a GOP-held Senate seat in 2006: Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, and Arizona. God speed Senator…
• DHS is failing. A few House Democrats that oversee the Department of Homeland Security are saying the department hasn't kept some of its promises. A report that was released on 12/27 says that there are still gaps in federal efforts to defend the nation against acts of terror. It also goes on to say that the department fails to share alerts and other intelligence quickly with state and local officials. Is it true? Maybe, but I’d like to see more proof before I make any decisions.
• President Bush enjoying time off by reading. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard about this… and then couldn’t stop laughing. White House spokesman Trent Duffy reported that the “President” is reading a couple of books while relaxing at his Texas ranch. Duffy spewed out the titles “When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House” and "Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground”. What I think Duffy meant to say was that the President was reading “Where’s Waldo” by Martin Handford and “Doors” by Roxie Munro.
• CJ-SCOTUS getting high marks. It seems that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts is earning raves from both sides of the partisan-ship that is U.S. politics. Three months into the job, there are signs he is going to be a more energetic Chief Justice than his two predecessors, William Rehnquist and Warren Burger. Stay tuned…
• ‘Sc’Alito confirmation looking more difficult by the minute. With new writings and documents being released daily that show how SCOTUS nominee Samuel Alito thinks, it is getting more and more evident that his confirmation may not go as smooth as the administration had hoped.
• Clinton impeachment in textbooks. It’s been seven years since President Clinton was impeached, and now high school textbooks are including the impeachment in milieu with his two-term presidency. Most show that it was a part of his Presidency, but did little to overshadow his overall success on the job. Hopefully, the textbooks in 10 years will show the opposite effect for Commander Cuckoo-Bananas.
• President Bush hunting for a better 2006. President Bush is looking forward to a new year and is hoping it will be easier on him and his agenda. Maybe if he resigns now 2006 will be easier on him. Otherwise, I think he’s gonna get screwed with this pants on... again… but only time will tell.