Author: Knoxville Progressive

I ran across several interesting items in the news today, each of which might not merit a diary in itself, but which together seemed to have a common theme that put me in a good mood for the day – so I thought I’d share them with you.

The common theme linking these stories that jumped out at me was the old line from the Watergate movie “All the President’s Men” – “Follow the Money.”  If you want to really get your finger on the ebb and flow of power in America, you have to follow the money; it’s just the way our country is set up.  And some of the ways the money is flowing look pretty good.  Here are a few examples after the fold:

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In a rebuff to the Bush administration, the Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will decide how broadly the Clean Water Act can be interpreted to protect wetlands.

Interestingly, the Bush administration argued in a brief that the case should NOT be heard, and that lower court rulings allowing the government to make such decisions should be upheld, as it is a “core federal interest.”

The case will provide a first look into Justice Roberts’ thoughts on the matter; as a judge on the appellate court he commented in a dissent that he was skeptical of the government’s authority to protect habitat under the interstate commerce clause of the constitution (the same foundation in the current case).  His confirmation hearings did not provide additional insights into his opinions on this matter, which was the cause for alarm among environmentalists at his elevation to the court.

More after the fold…

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No, not Rove (who cares what he thinks?) – Karl Jaspers.  20th Century German philosopher.  And it seems that some of the issues he put before the German people may be worth revisiting in terms of the brouhaha here at the pond in the last few days.

I’m not taking sides in the recent controversy here; that’s not the purpose of this diary.  What I hope to do is to bring some food for thought to the table, and provide a framework in which we might reflect on our own times and our personal role in them.

Follow me below the fold, unless I interrupted your search for a Rove indictment…

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Art Blakey This week we’re going to profile Art Blakey, who is an important figure in jazz not only in his own right, but also as the force behind the Jazz Messengers, a long-lived group whose ever-changing membership over...

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W goes off the deep end: I think W may be going off the deep end; if not now then soon.  A quagmire of a war, a souring economy, increasing public unrest, associates being investigated and indicted – it drove Nixon...

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