Can The Donkey Fix an Ass?

So, it's finally over. The last of the Republican holdouts, "Team Macaca" has finally conceded. I wonder what kind of word Mr George "Macaca" Allen would have used if the kid who was recording him were Ethiopian? Chullo? Barya? Oh well, if he had done that, an Ethiopian would have jumped on stage and politely asked Mr Allen to apologize, while holding firmly on a certain uncomfortable part of his anatomy. OK, maybe not that extreme, but I think Ethiopians would have come out in droves and voted making the margin of defeat larger. You all know how we Ethiopians take things personal! Anyway, thanks to the Ethiopian voters in the Commonwealth of Virginia who might very well have made the 7,000 votes difference, with which this racist pig, who six months ago was being touted as a strong favorite to win the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2008, was defeated. While I'm at it, let me also thank and congratulate all the Ethiopian voters in Maryland for electing Ben Cardin and helping kick the crap out of that token, Michael Steele character. Boy, is this guy a piece of work??!! He is as filthy as they can come. Check out what he and his campaign team did to some poor people. I wonder who is more of an Uncle Tom between Steele and Ken Blackwell, the former Secretary of State in Ohio and another one who went down in flames in his bid to become governor of Ohio. Well, good riddance to both.

The unprecedented Democratic Party sweep in Congress is now complete. Neo-Con wings were clipped, Fascism was stopped in its tracks and most of all, the arrogant Bush is fresh out of his bragged about capital . With two of the most influential members in the administration in foreign policy, Don ‘the unknown' Rumsfeld, who was shown the door two years too late, and evil Dick Cheney forced to wipe his evil grin and smirk off his face, what does all this mean to the current situation in Ethiopia? And how do we Ethiopians in Diaspora approach this change in DC, and with the new leadership in Congress, what will be the fate of HR 5680?

In the past, it seemed like the only time Ethiopians showed any interest in US politics was in issues regarding immigration. Well, times have changed for the better. Many Ethiopians are now realizing the importance of getting involved in the political process, not only for immigration, but also for other important issues both domestic and international. The growth in population of the Ethiopian communities around the nation has led to the inevitable involvement in the political process. The decisions that are made today by our elected officials will have great impact on the future of our children living here in the US. It will also affect the future of our homeland Ethiopia.

The Democratic Party had fallen out of favor with the Ethiopian community in recent years because of the misconception that the Republican Party was more sympathetic to the needs of the Ethiopian community. So much so that some even wrote articles supporting this notion. However, time has vindicated the Democrats and the Republican Party has been exposed for what it is, a party of division and a party of xenophobes. So, Ethiopians as well as other foreigners should breathe a collective sigh of relief because of the results of last Tuesday's election. The Democratic Party, despite its faults, still remains the party of the people, the working people. Many minority Congressmen and women poised to take some important committee leadership positions, we can expect some progressive and liberal measures to be taken which will benefit the majority of the people, including the Ethiopian communities.

In the international front, I think it is time that Congress re-visited the relationship between the Ethiopian government and the US administration as it relates to the so-called "War on Terror". The Republican led Congress, which was basically a rubber stamp to Bush's out of control foreign policy, failed to provide any oversight. This fake ‘War on Terror' is no more realistic and logical than the ‘War on Drugs', and you know where we are in that war. Meles has used this fake war to de-stabilize the region and prolong his reign of terror. It's time Congress put pressure on the administration to stop funding terrorism in the name of fighting terrorism. No more!

Speaking of re-visiting, how about strengthening HR 5680 and using it to bring a meaningful result? Since HR 5680 now has no chance of going to the floor in this lame duck Congress session, I think it is a good time to revisit the Resolution and put some meat and bones on it. How about adding a provision that requires the Meles regime to hold a re-election or at least a recount of the votes? As it is constituted now, HR 5680 seems to have a superficial ‘requirements', which, even if they are complied with, will not make much difference in the immediate future of the country and its people. Additionally, now that the purse will be controlled by new un-corrupted people in Congress (not yet anyway), any assistance provided to the Meles regime under the name of ‘fighting terrorism' should be cut off immediately! No exceptions should be made. Any language that makes the exception for fighting terrorism should be stripped. With the new leadership, this will be a good time to start anew and show the new leaders a more progressive approach. It might be a good idea to strengthen the purpose of the Resolution, which should be a recommendation or even an ultimatum for Meles to hold a recount or a special election or else face severe sanctions.

We also need to encourage our Ethiopian friends in San Francisco and Washington DC to be more active and engage with future Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's office to establish a good working relationship.  Mrs. Pelosi, thank God, will replace Mr Dennis Hastert, (remember him?) as the new Speaker of the House in the January 110th Congress.  If it's not too late already, we might even put in a suggestion for the new chair person for the Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations Subcommittee, now that Congressman Smith will be vacating the seat. Although the likelihood is that Mr Donald Payne will keep his seniority and become the new chairman, my hope is that either one of the two African American women in the committee who happen to be from California, Barbara Lee or Diane Watson get the seat. Lee is a tough smart woman who stands on principles and Watson is just as smart and experienced.

This could be a new beginning for our country. If we are going to push something on the floor of the US Congress, we must make sure that it is worth the effort and make it count. "Draining the swamp" has to be the primary goal in stopping the Meles regime.

Chereka