It’s Time to Break Out the Grapes of Wrath

It’s inauguration day.  Time to sweep out the old, sweep in the new, with all the hope and faith we can muster.  The nation, in fact the world, is in crisis.  While we can’t put all our faith in one man, we’d better be prepared as a nation to back him.

It’s time to break out the Grapes of Wrath.  The last 8 years have been a very bad vintage, Demokrazi from Maison Bushe y Cheney.  Not only should we throw all vestiges of that slop out, we need to go back and finish the job. 

Joe Biden said he was going to pursue investigations.  We need to hold his feet to the fire.  There were acts that were clearly criminal and conspiratorial in nature.  They need to be investigated and those who were responsible for failure in oversight, in advocating lax policies, in manipulating intelligence leading to war, in leaking top-secret information compromising our intelligence, abuse of power and any of the myriad high crimes and misdemeanors of this regime NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.

Read this in The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090202/holtzman/single

Yes, they need to be brought before the bar, they need to be given their day in court and, if found guilty, punished to the full extent of the law, whether they were in the White House, or in the Bureau of Land Management office in Denver.

It’s not about vengeance, it’s about public justice and deterence.  Maybe the death penalty won’t deter all murderers, but it will certainly give many of them pause.  If, in the future, politicians, bureaucrats and party apartchiks know they will be held accountable, that ethical conduct is the bottom line, maybe we have a chance at reform.

Speaking of reform, campaign finance reform would be another item to add to the list.  Along with reversing that insane legal concept that political contributions from labor or management is somehow considered “political speech” and not to be regulated.

Punishing the guilty won’t solve all our problems.  But it may ward off a few in the future.  It may make someone think twice before allowing or soliciting that gratuity as a quid pro quo for performance outside of the professional, ethical and legal boundaries.

Break out the Grapes of Wrath.  Let the liberte nouveau vintage flow over this country, and spread around the world.

And on this historic day, may the Higher Power of your choice shine light, joy and prosperity on you and those you hold dear, and may that number be many.