Speaking volumes

OK, I know I've been out of the loop for a while, so you may have already seen these items. If not, however, they're worth a look, for they speak volumes about the absolute necessity of changing the face of government on Tuesday:

1) In a move I don't remember hearing anything about on the evening news, the Bush Administration "has staked a claim on outer space, reserving the right to weaponize the cosmos while stopping others from launching their own guns in orbit." Understandably, world reaction was none too kind:

"America wants it all - life, the universe and everything," proclaimed The Times of London. "Space: no longer the final frontier but the 51st state of the United States."

"U.S. turns space into its colony," echoed a headline in the Asia Times, which concluded that "the United States intends to monopolize its longstanding space presence by militarizing it."

Domestically, critics say the administration's attitude toward space draws hostility from abroad for a policy that could make space - and American territory below - less safe in the long run by scaring rivals into building their own space weapons.

"Politically, it's really ham-fisted. We're agitating people for no reason," said Theresa Hitchens, the director of the nonpartisan Center for Defense Information. She believes the administration is making implied threats it would be unable to back because the technology to compete in space has already spread so quickly. "It's the worst of all worlds." (H/T to Ken Grandlund at Common Sense)

And here I thought we were only arousing global ire with Iraq...

2) You know things are bad when even The American Conservative has decided the GOP must be ousted from power. To wit:

It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen - in America and the world at large - as a decisive "No" vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome. We need not dwell on George W. Bush's...assaults on the Constitution carried out under the pretext of fighting terrorism or his administration's endorsement of torture. Faced on Sept. 11, 2001 with a great challenge, President Bush made little effort to understand who had attacked us and why - thus ignoring the prerequisite for crafting an effective response...

The war will continue as long as Bush is in office, for no other reason than the feckless president can't face the embarrassment of admitting defeat. The chain of events is not complete: Bush, having learned little from his mistakes, may yet seek to embroil America in new wars against Iran and Syria.

Meanwhile, America's image in the world, its capacity to persuade others that its interests are common interests, is lower than it has been in memory. All over the world people look at Bush and yearn for this country - which once symbolized hope and justice - to be humbled. The professionals in the Bush administration (and there are some) realize the damage his presidency has done to American prestige and diplomacy. But there is not much they can do.

There may be little Americans can do to atone for this presidency, which will stain our country's reputation for a long time. But the process of recovering our good name must begin somewhere, and the logical place is in the voting booth this Nov. 7. If we are fortunate, we can produce a result that is seen - in Washington, in Peoria, and in world capitals from Prague to Kuala Lumpur - as a repudiation of George W. Bush and the war of aggression he launched against Iraq. (H/T to HuffPo)

They're absolutely right - it's not enough. But it's an overdue start down a saner path...