I'm going to break the rules for a standard "What Digby Said" post by actually adding a couple things. First, go read her eviscerate the notion that Bush was sailing in popularity until God Himself smote him with Katrina, forgetting the little matter of Terri Schiavo.
Back? Ok, check out Bush's comprehensive approval chart:
It isn't a coincidence that Bush's disapproval rating shot past his approval rating for the first time at the end of Q1 in 2005. The Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo was passed on a special session of Congress on March 20th, a Sunday and Bush actually interrupted one of his many vacations to fly to DC and sign the bill just after 1am on Monday morning. He even stayed up past his bedtime.
The faux religious zealots like to go around spouting about a "culture of death" in our country because we let women make their own decisions about their bodies. However the real culture of death in this country is the unjust death penalty. We join beacons of justice China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Sudan in accounting for 90 percent of all executions. 133 countries around the world have abolished the death penalty. And yet we stick on to this culture of death. However great news has been coming out in recent days for those who wish to end this injustice. Two days ago New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine on Monday signed a law abolishing the death penalty, the first state to ban it in 42 years. And then yesterday on a 104 to 54 vote, with 29 abstentions the U.N. General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution on Tuesday calling for a moratorium on the death penalty.
