Comments Posted By T. Gray
Displaying 1 To 10 Of 15 Comments
Look, all this froufra over not much, the end of which is that Rick for all his willingness to impugn the character of Mr. Reid for pragmatically choosing a visit with three pretty important South American leaders, one of whom is sitting on impressive oil reserves, over attending the state funeral of an ex-president, also recognizes that he has to acknowledge the current president's lack of character for blowing off the same state funeral so he wouldn't have to cut short one of his many vacations.
Good for you, Rick. May you continue to see more and more clearly.
Comment Posted By T. Gray On 1.01.2007 @ 10:56
Chip,
The 109 Congress didn't "end" on December 9, 2006. It ajourned. It still held authority as a Congress till the end of its reign that is December 31, 2006. Sorry, nice try.
Comment Posted By T. Gray On 1.01.2007 @ 10:34
Shawn,
If it is a "straw" it is one of the two main "straws" that Rick built his indictment of Mr. Reid with, that is the "violation" of the "tradition" that the dead president be eulogized at the state funeral in the capital rotunda by the Senate Majority Leader. I am merely pointing out that the "tradition" is not being violated, at least not by Mr. Reid since he is not and will not be Senate Majority Leader until after the rotunda service. If my point be a "straw" then the argument it completely demoishes is equally straw-like.
Comment Posted By T. Gray On 30.12.2006 @ 08:08
One small point. The Rotunda service for Mr. Ford will be will be conducted in the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday evening, Dec. 31, 2006. Mr. Reid does not become Senate Majority Leader until Jan. 1, 2007. The person who "traditionally" should be giving an eulogy is...ta da...the current Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Bill Frist.
Chew on that bubba.
Comment Posted By t. gray On 29.12.2006 @ 11:11
Oh, gee, once a guy or gal who calls him or herself "sensei48" shows up, it's all over. Pretentious, bloviating, pompous puffery takes over the board. It is almost as bad as having to listen to a windy, ironlunged politician eulogize some poor, defenseless dead ex-president.
I'm outta here.
Ballz, take it easy. Don't let ol Rick get your goat.
Comment Posted By T. Gray On 28.12.2006 @ 19:13
Balz,
Obviously Rick is woefully unaware of what the republicans in congress have been up to for the last six years. He is not alone. Even I didn't realize the extent of the damage until I read the Rolling Stone article "Worst Congress Ever." I had no idea that the bi-partisan "traditions" of Congressional protocol had been so, to borrow Rick's term, "violated" and destroyed.
Maybe Rick should read it too, but don't hold your breath.
Comment Posted By T. Gray On 28.12.2006 @ 18:04
And yes, I did notice that you mentioned the rotunda thing, but again in all of the writing about what should or should not go on at a state funeral, nothing was said about the eulogies, nothing. Obviously it is not considered that important a part of the ritual except to those who want to bloviate.
Enough. Making a mountain out of a mole hill, you are.
Comment Posted By t. gray On 28.12.2006 @ 17:24
Rick,
Well, I did a little research and, yes there are diplomatic and military protocols. Nevertheless, in the past, the order of a state funeral including who gives the eulogies was determinded by the family. But, these days, according to the Wickipedia "State funerals are usually planned years in advance. Each living U.S. president—current or former—is required to have funeral plans in place upon becoming president. These details become more important upon leaving office, as it reduces stress for the president's family in an era of worldwide electronic media scrutiny."
So, are you saying that Mr. Reid turned down either Mrs. Ford's or Mr. Ford's request that he give a eulogy? That would surprise me very much.
Oh, and by the way, Mr. Mansfield delivered his moving address in the rotunda during the three days President Kennedy's body lay in state there. At the funeral proper, there were no eulogies.
There you have it.So, are you saying that state visits should be nothing but sitting around conference tables discussing serious issues? That was something that, Bush, himself, did precious little of while visiting Europe. He seemed to have more interest in the roast pig given him at a German banquet. The Senators do a little sight seeing to Machu Picu and that means the whole trip is nothing but unlevened frivolity?
Comment Posted By t. gray On 28.12.2006 @ 17:11
Rick,
First of all you are using the word "junketing" a prejorative and loaded description of Mr. Reid's and various other congress members' (some republicans included)visit with Latin American leaders, in order to make it seem unimportant or trivial. Given the very serious issues that need to be discussed, that is hardly fair.
Second, our republic has no inviolable tradition that dictates who should or should not attend funerals for ex-presidents. Simply because something has been done in the past does not make it a "tradition" of that calibre.
Third, not attending a funeral is not bad manners. It just isn't. It is a choice. Even close family members have chosen not to attend the funerals of loved ones for various reasons and you can scour Miss Manners and every etiquette manual ever written and you will not find that behavior described as "bad manners."
And Chip, perhaps "repudidate" was too strong a term. However, Mr. Ford "very strongly" disagreed with Bush's foreign policy choices in regard to Iraq to the extent that he stated he would not have done what Mr. Bush did. If that is not repudidation it is pretty damn close.
Comment Posted By t. gray On 28.12.2006 @ 15:51
Oh, Rick, Rick, Rick,
How did it feel when you heard that yet another highly respected Republican elder statesman has repudiated our dullard-in-chief's complete and utter f**k-up of a "foreign policy?" So much easier to distract oneself with a bit of over the top outrage for Mr. Reid's "non-traditional" behavior. Do you feel all nice and vindicated now? Has inner equilibrium been restored? Too bad it requires such a very serious warping of reality.
Comment Posted By t. gray On 28.12.2006 @ 14:32
