Arlen’s Specter

Arlen Specter has haunted Capital Hill since 1980. Having been elected to five terms in the U.S. Senate he has been the longest serving Senator in the history of my home State of Pennsylvania. Considered to be a moderate Republican, his term in office, like his political career, has been one of contradictions.

A good illustration of this is that, he was once a Democrat who became a Republican who has now become a Democrat. Even though this is considered to be a somewhat rare occurrence. He is actually the 13th Senator to become a switch hitter since 1913.

Originally he was a Democratic lawyer practicing in Philadelphia when he decided to run for District Attorney on the Republican ticket there in 1965. Following his victory he renounced the Democratic Party and became a Republican. As District Attorney he declared himself a death penalty supporter, However, as a prosecutor he spoke of his reservations about the evenhandedness of the Pennsylvania death penalty statute in 1972.

Some say he caught the public’s eye when he ran for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1967. However there are many more who believe that he caught the eye of the powers that be when he pulled the Warren Commission’s chestnuts out of the fire, following the John F Kennedy assassination back in 1963.

Then, a lowly attorney in Philadelphia, his services were recommended by Representative Gerald R. Ford and he became the Assistant Council for the hastily created Commission. His duties included investigating and prosecuting the case against Lee Harvey Oswald who was accused of being the ‘lone gunman’ at the time.

Arlen took to his duties with the relish of true opportunist. Always the aggressive prosecutor, he was like a bulldog in a meat market. Threatening, harassing, intimidating and bullying almost all of the eye witnesses who were allowed to testify before the Commission. Selectively channeling all of the forced testimony and questionable evidence to the already forgone conclusion of Oswald’s guilt.

He also co-created the controversial "single bullet theory," along with David Berlin. This “theory” (which has since been determined to be not even plausible) pontificated that a “single bullet” fired downward from an elevated position to the right, struck President Kennedy in the rear of his neck, exited from the front of his neck, changed direction in mid air as it traversed the space between Kennedy and Governor Connally, struck Connally in the right upper back, exited his chest then passed through the Governor’s right wrist, finally ending it’s convoluted journey by causing a superficial wound in his right thigh. This SUPER bullet was finally discovered (in pristine condition) laying on a gurney at Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas. Pretty big, tall tale, huh? Ah, well, it was Texas.

Just the fact that Arlen was able to use this “tall tale” to convince a committee consisting of two prominent US Senators, one Republican one Democratic; two prominent House Members one Republican one Democratic; two prominent spy masters (one that JFK just recently fired) and the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court seems to commend his oratory skills. However, when you consider that these appointees of the (accidental) President Lyndon B Johnson were in fact all conservatives and, to a man, were not quite enamored with our slain President nor the direction that JFK was charting for Americas’ future. Arlen’s skills may have been slightly overstated.

Railroading the ‘lone gunman’ was necessary. So selling this “tall tale” was critical to all concerned. Without it, one would be forced to assume that there was more than one assassin that day in Dallas. Which, by logical conclusion, would mean that there was (my gosh!) a conspiracy. Considering that 1) both LBJ and J Edgar Hoover had already stated that Oswald was the LONE assassin and, 2) that Lee Oswald had also been conveniently eliminated (so there would be no trial). It was generally accepted that Arlen’s efforts encouraged everyone to jump onboard the train.

In 1976, Specter ran in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and was defeated. He was also defeated when he ran in the Republican primary for the Governor of Pennsylvania in 1978. However, when he ran again for the U.S. Senate in 1980, he was finally victorious. As he became the junior Senator from Pennsylvania his contradictive tendencies continued. To the consternation of supporters and detractors alike.

Even though his opposition to Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork did not endear him to his fellow Republicans His antagonistic interrogation of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings was considered by some Democrats as being vaguely reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition. Although, at one point he actually accused her of “flat out perjury”. In the end he didn’t put a ‘contempt of Congress’ charge where his mouth was.

While primarily continuing to tow the party line he was also vocally critical of fellow Republicans for their impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Even though he is recorded in Senate records as giving a “not guilty” vote. In actuality, he cited Scots law to render a verdict of "not proven".

Throughout the years you could always be sure that Arlen would be loyal to Arlen. While he outwardly appeared to be an opponent of President Bush's warrentless wiretapping of US citizens. He ended up voting for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Amendments in 2008. Effectively placing the executive branch, almost exclusively in charge of federal electronic searches.

It seemed that you could never take Arlen for granted. He announced on Feb, 15th 2005 that he was being treated for an advanced form of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Following a course of chemotherapy, he went into apparent remission and ended treatment on July 22nd. However, his illness appeared to be as contrary as his principals. It returned on April 15th 2008 in a "significantly less advanced form than when it was originally diagnosed in 2005." Following a continued chemotherapy regimen, he went into remission again on July 14, 2008 which continues to this day.

Arlen’s defection to the Democratic Party is in reality due in part to ongoing polls taken by Quinnipiac University, which have illustrated that Specter has a higher approval rating among Democrats in Pennsylvania than Republicans, 62-55 respectively. That plus the sobering fact that he is being targeted by rightwing conservative PACs. These influential money sources are bankrolling far less moderate opponents for the upcoming Republican primaries. Being, as always the, ‘fair weather friend’ Arlen decided to change horses in midterm.

His ex-fellow Republicans have certainly not bade him well. Even though they were all standing (like Brutus and his chums) with sharpened knives, hidden behind their backs. If I may geo-historically mix a metaphor, Arlen Specter is kind of like the Trojan Horse. You can see what he is on the outside but you never know which Arlen awaits you on the inside. He’s a man (it seems) whose principals flow any way the wind blows.

The Democratic majority in the Senate obviously doesn’t know how it feels. Arlen remains as always an “even though”. Even though he does bring them closer to the filibuster proof(?!) number of 60. There is no telling where he’ll put his voting power. And, with the rise of the new “centrist” caucus, (the infamous ConservaDems) Vegas is currently taking odds on, if Arlen is a blessing or a curse.

The most troubling outcome, as I see it, is the increased frustrations that this is going to cause the American public. We are already sick and tired of our elected officials being so childishly bipartisan. Now it seems like we’ve got to worry that they’re all going to be bipolar too.

Dog Training

A strange thing happened to me the other night. I was ‘sleep’ walking my way to the bathroom. Delicately balancing my sleepy haze with a temporary level of half consciousness. Which would allow me to safely navigate my course through the dark dangers of sleeping dogs and dog toys, deal with my bladder and still allow me to easily slip back into my interrupted state of blissful unconsciousness.

The house was dark and silent and seemed as sleepy as me until I noticed a sort of gleam coming from my office. It appeared that my computer, Hunter, was out of his “sleep mode”. As I looked into the office I saw that Scout (our Wirehaired Dachshund) was sitting at my computer.

Her butt was nestled in my chair with her long low body stretching out so that one paw leaned on the keyboard while the other paw was on the mouse. She was staring so intently at the screen, she didn’t notice me. I strained to focus on the screen and realized she was on my Blog page, The Opinion Sector.

Smirking and shaking her head in quiet disbelief she pushed the mouse and moved the cursor to the top of the page, right clicked and started looking through my bookmarks! I know that you find this all hard to believe. I did too but there she was, her little paw putting the mouse through its paces. Her beady little eyes blinking at the changing display, with just a hint of a smile on her little wiener lips.

I crept in quietly, quite disquieted by the queer and quirky scene. (I alliterate when I get nervous). She softly blew some air out of her nose. She had found what she wanted. She appeared to be looking at some gift site‘s products and collections page.

She moved the cursor over the “See All” link and when the list came up she moved it quickly to the “Pet Accessories” link. The smile on her little wiener lips grew craftier. Without hesitation, her little paw left clicked the mouse. Her eyes grew larger underneath her bushy eyebrows.

She scanned the new page left to right and back again with real determination. Standing up in my desk chair she leaned forward as her eyes narrowed and squinted at the screen. Peering down, she moved the cursor to the scroll bar, right clicked and scrolled the page downward. It was quite obvious to me that she was looking for something in particular. She had the same determined look on her face that she’d get, just before she’d steal Papa Dog’s treat.

I heard a soft yip, it could’ve been a yap but it was so quiet I really couldn’t tell. She almost tumbled out of my chair as she did the wiener dance of victory. She had definitely found what she was looking for.

She left clicked the mouse once and then again. A popup page appeared and she leaned closer to the screen. So close, her nose fogged the glass and her mustache and beard were silhouetted against the bright display.

She licked her lips like she does just before she bites me and she made a sound. A nasally sinister, expulsion of breath sort of like… “..eeh…eeh…eeh.” It’s kind of like the sound John McCain makes when he laughs. You know, like Burgess Meredith sounded when he laughed as the Joker on the original Batman TV series, “…eeh…eeh…eeh.”

It’s a really creepy sound and it was my cue to back out into the hall. I was a little shaky, not sure if I was dreaming this or not. Through it all I became aware of the reason I got out of bed in the first place. I continued on to the bathroom to complete my original mission.

On my way back I glanced nervously into the office but Scout was not there. Hunter was dark and my chair was back against the desk. When I got back to the bedroom, little Scout was lying in her bed as still as the night. Shaking my head I crawled back into bed right next to Kate, who mumbled in her sleep.

As I lay there I began to think that what I thought I’d seen was really just a dream. A by product of my nocturnal call of nature. After all, Scout is smart but she really couldn’t manipulate my computer, could she? I know she can be a…devious little devil… but…she has…no opposable…thumbs….and it…seems…unlikely…………

As my last thoughts turned to sleep, I thought I heard a quiet little yip. It could’ve been a yap. I wasn’t sure at all as I strained to remember the next morning while I was having my coffee. I didn’t say anything to Kate. I knew she would have told me I was crazy. Dogs…computers…sleep walking, that’s what it was.

After she left for work, I fed the dogs and watched a little news. I knew I was procrastinating about heading for the office. Scout appeared to be her normal morning self, playing with Merle’n and Mystic and annoying Papa Dog. I shook off my weird feelings and headed for the office.

So I sat down at Hunter and gave his mouse a wiggle or two to wake him up. As the screen came to life, the first thing I saw was a popup page. It was from a gift site and showed a Pink Plush Pet Carrier picture with the text, What pretty pet wouldn't want to come along for the ride if they could travel in stylish comfort like this? I was, needless to say, speechless. My eyes read further, 19" x 6 1/2" x 10 1/2" high.

My brain was trying to calculate when my ears heard a soft but ominous, “…eeh…eeh…eeh.” behind me. I slowly spun in my chair to find Scout standing in the door way. She had that strange smile on her little wiener lips. As I looked closer I noticed she had my handy, 4-in-1 Tape Measure (with built in calculator and notepad) lying at her feet. As I rose to begin measuring I heard a soft yip, it could’ve been a yap but it was so quiet I really couldn’t tell….