Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

January 10, 2007

Thank God for Alec Baldwin

The man has morphed from actor to foreign policy expert to environmental guru -- all in less than a decade. It's pretty impressive.

Newsbusters brings our attention to a screed he wrote at HuffPo:

All around us are signs of global climate change. And this administration's response is to send in more troops. If you don't think there is a link between the weather and Iraq, you are wrong.

You heard him, folks. The warm weather in the Northeast is all due to our being in Iraq. As soon as we pull troops out, we can bring out our heavy coats and snow shovels. Pass the guacamole...

A Manhattan Project-esque assault on US energy policy is what is required now. Our country must lead the way in global energy strategies that will, somehow, convince countries like China not to spend decades to come burning trillions of tons of fossil fuels to grow their economies in the way we did. It is the most important work we can do now, on par with "fighting terrorism."

Somehow, somehow, we have to get China to listen to us. Of course, people like Alec usually criticize America when it tries to exert its influence elsewhere on the globe, but because Alec says it's okay in this case, we can rest more easily. Perhaps he's looking for an ambassadorial assignment? How soon can he pack his bags? I hear China is nice this time of year.

But this crowd will do nothing to begin that process. All they will do is ignore the meaning of the mid-term election and sprint in the direction of prolonging this war. Their goal, obviously, to pass this mess on to their unfortunate successors in '08.

Like the Democrats ignored the meanings of all the other elections before this last one?

Kennedy has it all right. Time is up. And this is not a loss for Americans and their brave fighting men and women. This is Rumsfeld's War. And like McNamara before him, he will carry that burden on his shoulders long into our country's history.

But Rumsfeld is out. Now it's Gates' war. I guess Alec missed the press release on that one. (But perhaps he can give Rumsfeld a bit of advice about carrying a burden, what with his his bomb of a movie The Marrying Man that will forever rest on his own shoulders.)

A lot of talk about what the Dems should do now that they are at the wheel. Two people this Congress should not let up on. Cheney, obviously. Can't let the opportunity slip away to prosecute Pinochet-ney for all of his crimes. The other is Lieberman. This party needs to send a strong signal, and that is that loyalty matters in partisan politics. (Did Lieberman really think that his colleagues would chuck the entire Connecticut state apparatus just to soothe his ego?) Lieberman needs to go to the shed. For a very long time. Gotta get his mind, right. And when he comes out, ask him, "Are you a Democrat, Joe? Or aren't you?"

Unlike many politicians from both parties, Joe Lieberman votes his conscience. And besides, I thought the Democrats were going to chuck partisanship out the window in this new era of Congress? Oh that's right, they reneged on that promise.

Thank God for Teddy.

Yes, thank goodness for Teddy "The Swimmer" Kennedy, who always manages to keep his head above water. Thank goodness for Teddy Kennedy, whose concern about the environment and alternative fuels doesn't extend to his own backyard. After all, if you can afford to live in Cape Cod, you don't want to have those unsightly windmills marring the view. Climate control efforts are obviously for the little people.

And thank goodness for people like Alec Baldwin, who proves once again the greatness of this country by his ability to spew his ridiculous rants without fear of reprisal. (That's without fear of reprisal, not without fear of criticism. Just thought I'd make that bit clear.)

On a tip from HNAV

UPDATE (10:45 a.m.): joe-six-pack has a few words to say about Teddy Kennedy's recent proclamations.