pherris's Journal: My Life by Bill Clinton

Let me save you some money: it's 900+ pages, the first half filled with self praise and the second half about Ken Starr. Much like his eight years in office. Hey, I hate Bush as much as the next guy but Clinton was still a miserable president. Let's look at low lights:

He signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act. Laws are meant to protect rights, not remove them.

He lobbied and signed into law Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (aka the Brady Bill). A bill that did nothing stop violence. When was the last time a bayonet lug hurt anyone?

"I did not have sexual relations with [Monica Lewinsky]" and then said it wasn't sex because "both parties did not receive sexual gratification" while arguing over what "is" means.

Reigned over an administration that oversaw the arrest and conviction of 4.8 million US citizens for marijuana possession and then said [in Rolling Stone] in the last week of his presidency that he should've pushed for decriminalization.

Oversaw America become a "Prison State" where the US imprisoned more of it's citizens, both in total and per capita, than any other country. Yes, even more than China. When he left office the US federal prison population was close to 2m (now over that), compared to just over 1m in 1990.

Clinton was a great example of the new "Republocrat". Big government for everyone! Let it be run by federal civil servants (btw, most of which are quite good at their jobs, there's just too many) or private industry (good at making a profit).

"I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically." - Henry David Thoreau, the beginning of "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"

If you must buy his book wait a month and pick it up for about $5 at your local used bookstore. Recycling trash is a good thing.

straight up

[freejung]

I voted for Clinton in '92. I regretted it enormously. Sure, he was the lesser of two weevils. But he sucked ass anyway. Isn't it wonderful, having a choice?

Your point about the prison population is particularly good. Not only do we have more of our population incarcerated than any other country, but more than any other civilization in the history of the world (that we know of). Yes, more than the Nazis. Yes, more than Stalin. And this distinction was, as you say, achieved on Clinton's watch. But it's the