Not only will he use this dodge to continue his trashing of our constitution, but also to get out of paying the fine for parking tickets.

But, of course, to claim diplomatic immunity, one must first be a diplomat, and Dick “Go Fuck Yourself” Cheney is hardly a diplomat. Tact? Hardly. Republican attack dog? Definitely. And not only an attack dog, but a rabid, right-wing, snarling attack dog.

Where’s the “animal control” people when our country needs them?

I watched The Caine Mutiny last night. A fine film, and timely.

There is of course the “potatoe” controversy. Here are more Quayle memories.

Bush chose Quayle because he reminded him of his son, only with a brain. It’s kinda sad that a bar set so low almost wobbled off the poles when Quayle hit his highest jump.

There’s a perspective out there, put into practice by Vice President Cheney but widely shared, that what is moral, or what is legal, or what is just plain right, is never, or only rarely, evident or known. Rather, the practitioners of this point of view do whatever they want, imposing on others the obligation to limit them. “I am doing this,” they say, “and the burden is on you to stop me, and if you don’t, it’s your fault, you’re to blame.”

The subtext is even more pernicious. “Your failure to stop me is proof of your inferiority, of your weakness, of the fact that you are wrong.”

You see this interplay in high stakes litigation, for example, when insurance carriers, which make their money by saying “no,” are pressed to pay for losses that are claimed.

But that make me/prove it “litigation model” for deciding what is right is immoral as a precept for governance, which is where Cheney has chosen and been elected, by the consent of the governed, to play the game.

What is more, he genuinely believes he is right — don’t doubt his sincerity. He acts as though his sincerity alone on this point (and others too) is a virtue, and that his consequent virtue bestows on him a moral superiority.

The only way to deal with Cheney on this issue is to take him down, at the knees. Talk won’t do it. This rant surely won’t. He doesn’t give a shit, and actually seems to revel in the endless talking and talking he generates, as only further evidence of the rectitude of his position.

I hope that lawsuits, subpoenas, funding cutoffs (h/t to Rahm Emanuel), and other measures that make Cheney Bush’s problem, will be taken. Tie his shoelaces together. Make him lose sleep. Piss him off.

Meanwhile, this idea of morality, that anything is okay unless others stop it, needs to be called out.

Excellent point. Illuminating. Thought most of us had outgrown that attitude by 3 or 4.

…Of course, here I sit on a Sunday afternoon, fulminating, voodoo doll in hand.

Oh, you have one of those, too? Nuts. They aren’t working if there’s more than one of us stabbing away and nothing is happening that we can see. [sigh]

P J Evans @ 105

Also I hit Lowe’s this morning and got a pitchfork. (Well, it’s a long-handled manure fork. The bedding forks are more decorative, but not as sturdy.) Next step, getting red-white-and-blue ribbon to tie on it as a decoration (bows: easily removable). Political accessory of the decade, needing only the torch to complete the outfit.

You realize, of course, that photos are required once you deck your equipment. Maybe we should have a contest, post a pic of your pitchfork or torch, appropriately decorated for the 4th of July, and then let the FDL community vote for best political accessory of the year?

But then, neither are Shakespeare’s comedies.

I didn’t know that such a medical condition existed. If you are a sufferer, you have my most heartfelt condolences.