The Bowdoin Orient

After Democrats successfully blocked several of Bush's most brazenly partisan first-term judicial nominations, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other conservative senators seem perilously close to doing away with one of the oldest and most puzzling senate traditions: the filibuster. Although Senate Republicans cannot merely pass a rule banning filibusters?as it would surely be blocked by a filibuster?Frist plans to seek a ruling from the Senate's presiding officer on whether or not filibusters are constitutional. Considering the fact that the ruling officer is Vice President Cheney, we can make a good guess as to what that ruling will be.

In 1994, after years in the minority, Republicans took back control of Congress thanks largely to the efforts of Newt Gingrich and his famous "Contract with America." Although there is still much debate over whether the Contract was a seminal political document or merely a clever political gimmick, its effectiveness cannot be questioned: ten years later, Republicans have tightened their grip on the Presidency, the House, and the Senate.

Theresa Marie Schiavo's life ended yesterday morning, but her death will reverberate in our legal system and in our public consciousness for a very long time. Regardless of where one stands within the confused and bitter maelstrom surrounding her, however, the extent to which she has been transformed from a suffering woman and into a religious symbol and a political tool is as despicable as it is startling.

Despite President Bush's assurance that he will not use a "litmus test" when nominating justices to the Supreme Court, his private beliefs and public remarks have convinced many that he intends to pack the Court with conservatives in hopes of denying a woman's right to choose abortion. The President has defended his opposition to abortion by arguing that every life "is a sacred gift given by our Creator" and ought to be protected, and that abortion "discourages a culture that values life."

One of the most peculiar aspects of American society is that even the most patriotic among us don't think of themselves as having a solely American heritage. Unlike the citizens of nearly every other country, when you ask us about the origin of our blood, the answer is invariably not "America," but rather a list of other nationalities which have been mixed into a complex recipe during generations within the American melting pot.

The problem with George W. Bush's Second Inaugural Address is not its mind-numbing repetitiveness, and the scary thing about the vision of foreign policy it articulates is not the "celebration of human freedom." Rather, the address is disturbing for what it does not contain: in the middle of a war that has cost well over one hundred thousand lives, it mentions neither Iraq nor Afghanistan.

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the divide separating red states and blue states will solidify rather than become more fluid, despite calls for unity from both sides of the aisle. My pessimism has less to do with the hostility between Democrats and Republicans than it does with the current state of the news media.

Distilled to its most basic level, war is not about abstract principles like "freedom" or tactical concepts like "acceptable casualties." It is about the willingness of individuals to make a sacrifice that is far too great to be comfortably comprehended by those whose lives are not constantly at risk.

Like most liberals across the country, I'm still in a state of residual disbelief. Those people who gave their time to try and unseat George W. Bush will no doubt be licking their wounds and dwelling on what might have been for some time. And that's important; the wounds from this election will take long to heal.

"Because of a few songs wherein I spoke of their mystery," the 70 year-old Leonard Cohen muses on his new album Dear Heather, "women have been exceptionally kind to my old age." And deservedly so: even today, his best songs are uniquely personal and decidedly honest. What made his best work remarkable, though, was an imitable talent as a lyricist that allowed his songs to transcend his own experience and speak to things far more universal?listen to his account of an affair with Janis Joplin in "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," or "Famous Blue Raincoat," his open letter of forgiveness to a brother who had slept with his wife.

It is not too much of an exaggeration to claim that George Bush has staked his chances for reelection on the idea of "freedom." The word has become a constant in his speeches and responses during the debate, and the idea has become almost the sole basis of his latest justification for invading Iraq.

Realizing that Bush's policies have been nothing short of disastrous at home and abroad, Republicans have skillfully centered their campaign around attempts to paint Kerry as an indecisive leader unfit to deal with the numerous crises facing the nation.