Children of Bodom Show on Wednesday!

Greetings everyone! I'll be attending the Children of Bodom show on Wednesday! God Forbid will be supporting. This will be a phenomenal show! I'll post a review the following day.

The Metal Pundit will be returning with more political hackery soon! Until then, post whatever the fuck you want!

Chicago Marches Against Draconian Immigration Legislation

On Friday, I had the pleasure of taking part in Chicago's march against terrible immigration law, especially Rep. Sensenbrenner's (R-WI) HR 4437. This law, which passed the House of Representatives in December, removes judicial review from the deportation process, undermines the writ of habeas corpus, and even implicates anyone who helps (including clergy and medical doctors) with criminal charges. It doesn't stop here guys!

If the Senate Committee on the Judiciary puts forth a bill with these provisions, will all Mexicans like me have to carry proof of our "legality"? How is that fair for citizens like me?

I'm all for better border protection, but these draconian measures are just plain wrong. I want to start a discussion on immigration policy. Let us discuss HR 4437, as well as the McCain-Kennedy bill.

Please be careful of how you illustrate your opinions because this is a sensitive issue for me. Although such a law doesn't affect me, it sure affects family and friends, people who have been busting their asses with horrendous wages just to make a living. Please be civil. While you gather your thoughts, here are some pictures of the enormous march (up to 300,000 participants were estimated)!

The End of the Bush Administration?

The Bush administration suffered yet another political blow, thanks to the collapse of the Dubai Ports deal. Bush's painfully low approval ratings may have pushed many GOP Congressmen to oppose the deal, despite Bush's veto threat. Being an election year, this isn't all too surprising. This latest debacle solidifies the idea of Bush's White House being incompetent.

Incompetence has been the theme of the Bush administration since being re-elected. He failed miserably on social security reform, despite his national tour promoting it. He pissed off his wingnut base by nominating Harriet Miers, a seemingly qualified attorney who wasn't conservative-enough. The far-right hated her so much, that they denied her the "up-or-down vote" they have been so vociferous about! Bush ignored warnings about Katrina's potential devastation, possibly leading to FEMA not having the resources to be at the scene in time. At the moment, he's shifting blame to Congress for the lack of progress in the rebuilding efforts, a tactic that implicates his fellow GOP (remember Congress is GOP-controlled). The Iraq mess is only getting worse, and now Iran appears to be in the cross hairs. How many days was Bush on vacation in Texas?

While the Democrats still must work hard to convert these failures into Congressional gains, the job is looking much easier these days. Could this be the end of the so-called conservative movement? I sure hope so because it sure hasn't worked!

Bye Bye Dubya!

Latest News

Greetings fellow metalheads! I apologize for the delay in posting a meaningful diary. I have been incredibly busy these past couple of months. I finally received my LSAT score. While it isn't as high as I expected, I'm still in the mid 150's, which will help me get in a decent Chicago-area law school. I suppose my forte isn't standardized testing because I was doing very well in the practice tests I took. However, I have to keep pushing forward and must not let anything get me down.

A lot has been going on lately in the world of politics. A video showing the Bush administration ignoring Katrina warnings has made significant noise. The left is surely attacking the Bush administration, which has recurrently proved that Americans cannot trust federal government-loathing people to govern. This administration has demonstrated how incompetent it is. Sure, they're awfully good at politics and framing the debate, but responsible social and fiscal governing has been more than lackluster.

For Democrats like me, this doesn't mean that this year's midterm elections will be glorious. The DNC has to develop some meaningful ideas that will resonate with the American public. The Dems will not win if they simply run on GOP failures (and there are plenty of them). I sure hope Democratic leaders like Rahm Emanuel (head of the DCCC)are creating a strong message.

The other big story is the Dubai Ports deal. This story bores me, so I don't really have anything to editorialize about. I will say that this situation raises questions about the Bush administration's true political motivations. Bush's 2004 campaign was infested with "fight against terrorism" rhetoric. He consistently asserted that he would do anything to beat the terrorists. Furthermore, the contrapositive to this is that he would also NOT do anything that would help the terrorists. I'm not suggesting that such a deal would help terrorism in any way. I am, however, saying that this fiasco reveals a crucial inconsistency - that suddenly Bush isn't as austere about this principle anymore.

Those Republicans who support the president on this deal (many GOP are opposed) have spewed vitriol at the Dems, suggesting that their opposition stems from outright racism. I will say this isn't the case. However, it is quite apparent that this debacle is all about politics. It's understandable since it is, indeed, an election year.

Share your thoughts!