C Street and beyond

I wonder how many full-fledged religious hypocrites there are in Congress and in governorships. I'm talking here especially about the Bible-waving guardians of the nation's morality who have hissy fits over things like Bill Clinton's sexcapade and then get caught dallying on C Street or Argentina or wherever.

The recently famous (or infamous) house at 133 C St. in Washington, D.C., is a real doozy. I've heard its residents called "The Family" and "The Fellowship" and just the "C Street Bible Study Group." I think there are presently two Senators and three Congressman camping there. Really sweet: we have these powerful people who consider themselves sent by God to turn the nation into their version of orthodox Christianity. And they rant about the rules. Which only apply to everyone else. (I think most folks reading this blog will recognize the most famous stars of the C Street theater: Nevada's Senator John Ensign, South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford and former Mississippi Congressman Chip Pickering.)

God deliver us from governance by religious fundamentalism and hypocritical theatrics.

GOP whack jobs

When will all the sensible Republicans get out the tape and seal the mouths of the whack-jobs of their party?

Sarah Palin said Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists." It was her audience that yelled "kill him" and "traitor" while she talked against Obama.

Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe called Obama "un-American." This is the brainiac who said that there was "never a documented case of torture at Guantanamo."

Glenn Beck has called the Obama administration "totalitarian" and suggested that FEMA is building concentration camps.

Rush Limbaugh (surely the king of the whack jobs) came up with these two gems among his endless looney tunes: "Obama is more dangerous than Al Qaeda." And "Do you know (Obama) has not one shred of African-American blood? He's Arab. You know, he's from Africa. He's from Arab parts of Africa... (He is) not African-American. The last thing that he is is African-American."

Then, on Tuesday of this week, Arizona's own right-wing Senator John Kyle suggested that Obama was "not assuring protection of the US."

Tape, lots of tape! Please hurry!

Raul Grijalva

The two fellows in the photo above keep my hopes very high for an ever more just and more compassionate government. The fellow some of you readers might not recognize is Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva.

But this photo was taken several weeks ago. I wish I could say that it was taken last Thursday, June 25 That is when a group of Senate and House members had a twice-delayed meeting with President Obama about immigration reform. 30 members were invited, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of our neighboring district. Grijalva was not invited.

I am convinced that there is nobody in the Senate or House with a better knowledge of these borderlands, the plight of perhaps 12 million hard working, undocumented neighbors across the land and the overall migration picture. His knowledge comes from his roots and a lifetime of borderlands experience and human rights advocacy . He has a solid history of talking turkey and avoiding political BS. I wish I knew who was behind leaving him out of that meeting.