The Archives Are Open
Folks, welcome to the old version of De Magno Opere. Treat this as the oft-wanted [by me] archive to a site that's gone down (like: Blogging of the President, Grey Matters or Democracy Guy).
Instead of archiving every single one of the 911 posts I made as General Washington, I've merely decided to focus on a few key areas and some special posts - or about 211 of those posts.
I've also included a few posts that never were overtly connected to any particular essays - but could have been - a few where I feature the awesomeness of another blogger in detail (or where the site in question is now down), and a few more where I believe the information will become useful again (such as House Bill 3 and research into Charter Schools here in Ohio).
Also included here is the very first post I made on May 18th of 2005 and the very last post I felt like making on May 12th of the following year before that damned writing bug bit me again in October.
I've decided one very prescient post I made over a year ago stays although it's counterweighted by a couple more where I got it so freakin' wrong I wondered if I was on drugs at the time. But, it's my blog and I get to show off (and admit mistakes) whenever the heck I want - so there!
Apart from the NSA Domestic Spying series and the links on the side bars, internal links (that lead to another post within the old version of this site) do not work. The Domestic Spying series however relies so heavily on those that I chose to take the time to correct them.
Otherwise, as I said some time ago, De Magno Opere has come to an official end. What you'll see elsewhere ain't your old General Washington's blog - but a whole new ballgame.
The [Short] Road Back
Well, here's the path of my mental process the past two weeks. Besides losing weight and sleep (which by the way - I do not recommend not writing as a weight loss program), I started thinking about that last post I made on the old site. A post I'd started right around the beginning of September that became a mistake I'd finally realised I made in the beginning of November.
After the election, I started seeing several more reasons to write were becoming too obvious to ignore, even though I'm basically tired of politics as usual The kind of politics I believe we're about to see from the greater majority of Democrats than any of us would like. Keeping that in mind, I think this might be somewhat illuminating as to where I'm aiming my sights for awhile:
When I saw the turnout numbers weren't as high as I hoped - and believed - I decided my self-imposed sabbatical had to be shortened.
When I saw Pelosi jump into the Majority Leader race, I decided it would be shortened further. There were many reasons for Murtha to not be Majority Leader, just as there were also reasons to listen to Mary Beth at Wampum for clarification on what Pelosi actually said. I could also have said something about a third choice here - if there had been one!
Then of course there's the "we" don't own Iraq camp. It's not like "our" country invaded a sovereign nation or nothing - regardless of which party was in power at the time - "we're" not responsible. Yes, that's seems to be the typical response to winning, although I understand the sentiment of "Republicans broke it, they own it" and the reality of "there is no solution".
I also understand what the deaths of 600,000 people - and many more to come - means as well. I just expected better. I guess I expected wrong - and ticked off a few more days for that.
Then there's the obligatory calls for immediate impeachment proceedings. I've commented on why I'm against it for now - and why I and others have called it revenge. I'll leave that as it stands - for now.
And finally, when I realised neither Bush - nor the entire Republican party - learned a god-damned thing from their trouncing, I decided it would be shortened still further - into near non-existence.
Plus, I really couldn't wait to comment on anything any Democrat does here in Ohio or in Washington DC. I mean I'm really chompin' at the bit here people, and you (or those of you who have seen it) could have guessed where I'm going by the title I'd chosen for my test blog [a title I might add that would be a bad idea at such a critical time - and the first clue I was coming back "home"].
So, while I'm still going to go after Republicans on judicial nominations and the continuation of unconstitutional actions by an insane Executive Branch, I think it's time to let the Democrats know we're still here, still pissed, and still watching what they do - and still ready to speak up when they screw up.
2006 isn't an end-all despite what anyone wants to believe (or say), it's simply the possibility of a beginning. We have the duty to make sure it's the beginning of something great, and not just the beginning of an interlude in a very long national decline.
