Get Me to a Big Tree

Buy me a flute

And a gun that shoots

Tailgates and substitutes

Strap yourself

To a tree with roots

You ain't goin' nowhere

I don't know how invested you have been in the ruminations over the nomination of Mukasey to replace Gonzales as national Attorney General, i.e. in many senses the Numero Uno in terms of law enforcement in the land.

I consider it a very big deal, given all that we have seen both in the short and long in terms of conspicuously aggressive attacks by this administration on the US Constitution, routine attempts to undermine the basic principles on which our nation was founded, and defiance of the fundamental principle that all must adhere to the law. This Mukasey, given his absurd and totally shameful testimony before Congress, should have been laughed out of the committee. He's not worth spitting on, considering his words. Yet he was passed on to the floor, thanks to two folks with that "D" on their name-tags. I'm extremely disappointed. There are many folks in congress right now who are not republicans but definitely deserve to be retired from their political (often lobbyist-pandering, corporation-funded, payoff-taking) role.

It's pretty sad when you have to try to find solace in an after-the-fact too-late stairwell comment from one who ought to have found a way to knee-cap the lousy traitors Feinstein and Shumer weeks ago. These are pathetic, stupid, entrenched beltway folks who have forgotten that we, not they - despite the payoffs from their corporate sponsors, obvious conflicts-of-interest, and cozy arrangements - are the fundament of the country.

Via Dan Froomkin, whose column I remind you deserves your attention Monday through Friday:

So it's come to this: A promise to enforce the law (in most cases) is enough to get an attorney general nominee confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate.

Dan Eggen and Paul Kane write in The Washington Post: "The Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly approved the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general yesterday, moving him a step closer to virtually assured confirmation on the Senate floor as the new head of the troubled Justice Department.

"Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), joined nine Republicans in voting for Mukasey, arguing that the former federal judge was the best candidate they could expect as the Bush administration's replacement for Alberto R. Gonzales, who resigned as attorney general in September under a cloud of scandal. . . .

Despite Mukasey's repeated refusal to declare waterboarding illegal, "Schumer and Feinstein said they took solace in Mukasey's assurances that he would enforce any future waterboarding ban passed by Congress. That argument prompted a robust retort from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)."

From the full text of Kennedy's remarks: "In perhaps the most stunning and hollow promise reportedly made by a nominee for Attorney General in my 45 years in the Senate, we are told that Judge Mukasey agreed to enforce a ban against waterboarding if Congress specifically passes one. We are supposed to find comfort in the representations by a nominee to be the highest law enforcement officer in the country that he will in fact enforce the laws that we pass in the future? Can our standards really have sunk so low? Enforcing the law is the job of the Attorney General. It's a prerequisite -- not a virtue that enhances a nominee's qualifications."

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Now I'm out in the backyard leaning on a tree

And I have no way of knowing

Can't lean too hard, that's my philosophy

Man that tree is growing

Maybe I'll never grow up to be straight and tall

But you can lean on me, baby, I won't fall

Maybe in the deal I can learn to bend

Learn to listen like that tree, baby, like a good friend