How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I’ve been putting this off for a variety of reasons, but I have to come clean, so here goes (long post coming up).

Last year when I returned from vacation, I noted proudly that we had spent a week at Martha’s Vineyard, a place surrounded by beach, azaleas, hyacinth, and all manner of natural wonder, as well as some of the most kickass seafood you can imagine. We took a trip on a catamaran and explored the island all over the place (the seaport museum in Edgartown, the clay cliffs at Aquinnah, the honky tonk shops, food places and arcade at Oak Bluffs, the old fishing town of Menemsha where Jaws was filmed) and had a great time.

This year, however, we traveled below the Mason-Dixon line to a wholly other place…Walt Disney World.

Yes, I know. I know that I have railed against this evil corporate enterprise for some time now. I have posted about the fact that Walt Disney was one of the most notorious anti-unionists this country has ever seen. I have posted about the fact that the Disney empire is, to a large degree, a celebration of an exclusionist, unquestioning, definitely-right-of-center vision of what this country should be about as far as they’re concerned when it comes to entertainment, political perception and the behavior of men, women and children (even pets too, though the T.V. programming of The Disney Channel is a bit of an exception – more on that later), rooted in a past that may have actually existed only in the imagination of “the great man” himself.

And oh yes, I’ve also posted about that terrible movie brought to us by one of Disney’s television affiliates known as the American Broadcasting Company.

But we went anyway, mainly as a reward to the young one who had wanted to go for some time and did very well over the past year despite some difficulties that were not of his doing. And we also went because we knew he would enjoy the parks and have a lot of opportunity to swim at the pool in the resort where we stayed for the week.

I promise not to try and make this sound too much like I’m promoting these people, but I have to be fair and say that they did a lot of things very well when we were there. For our first night, we descended upon the Hoop-Dee-Dos Musical Review at the Wilderness Lodge, as cornball of a countrified experience as you can imagine (the three-man, three-woman crew were dressed as if they were “Hee Haw” refugees via either a medicine show or a square dance, perhaps both, and they even sang songs and held up signs letting the audience know when the food would be served). It was entertaining to a point, I must admit, and as my wife noted, it really is the kind of activity that helps prepare you for what you will be experiencing for the rest of the week (she did a great job planning the trip, I should point out). Afterwards, we took a boat from the lodge, and in the process, watched a night time light show on other boats en route elsewhere before we arrived at the Magic Kingdom.

I should also point out that throughout the week, there were all kinds of street-theater moments of entertainers in full costume performing some silly slapstick comedy or parading or dancing around, trying to involve members of the crowd in the process. There were also more elaborate nighttime parades such as the one we saw when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom; we managed to squeeze in a couple of rides (including the new “Pirates Of The Caribbean,” which was fun) before we made our way to the bus stop for the trip back to Port Orleans Riverside.

And speaking of the bus service, I should note that the lines for Port Orleans versus all of the other resorts were easily the longest. This is because Port Orleans is composed of both the Riverside and French Quarter resorts, and either of them are huge by themselves; based on what we observed, more people stayed at either of them than anywhere else (versus the Grand Floridian, Polynesian and Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example). This was a problem particularly in the beginning of the week when it rained most often, though as the rain let up, it seemed that Disney became more aware of the issue and sent more buses.

On our first full day, we visited Disney MGM. We had fun even though the Haunted Mansion was closed, and it was impossible to get anywhere near the Indiana Jones special effects show. Also, while waiting for the Great Movie Ride, we watched clips of “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and other Hollywood films which must have been the original celluloid; with digital reproduction, it’s ridiculous for Disney to show this stuff. And after we finished watching the clips, we found out the ride was broken, and we all had to leave.

(This was after waiting in line for about 20 minutes – the week was marked, for the most part, by waiting in line to wait in line in the morning, and add another line to wait through still in the afternoon. Visiting a theme park is an endurance test of one type or another; anyone not prepared to deal with that should stay home if at all possible.)

For the evening of our first day, we ate in The Magic Kingdom and attended Mickey’s Fantasmic Light Show, an outdoor event. The problem is that a line of thunderstorms worked its way through the park, and the Disney announcer encouraged everyone to squeeze into the theater while noting that the show could be delayed (and as the rain descended, the crowd that was bunched together so compactly quickly scattered). Also, every time people put up their umbrellas (including us), we were told by the announcer to lower them thinking it could attract lightning. It’s a bit tough to do that when you have a more-and-more-inconsolable eight-year-old who is starting to get soaked (and kudos to the Mickey-Mouse-rain-slickered yahoos behind us who yelled, “I’d rather be wet than dead” each time we tried to open our umbrella…the young one was terrific all week, but this was one moment when he had a meltdown that was totally forgivable as far as I was concerned).

Memo to Disney: the next time there is even a hint of thunderstorm activity in the area near the time the light show is to occur, cancel the show well in advance to prevent this ridiculous scene from ever taking place again (as well as the mad dash for the buses that resulted in the longest lines we dealt with all week, continuing to get wet as we waited). We didn’t pay extra for the show, and we promise we won’t hold it against you if you cancel it; we’d rather that you err on the side of safety.

Upon return to our room at the resort, we watched some T.V. as we dried off, and most of the channels of course were Disney T.V. shows, movies, or other promotional programming, including the ubiquitous Stacey and her “Top 7” Walt Disney World attractions; the half-hour program managed to squeeze in plugs for about a hundred attractions in the process. Our host was this chirpy, way-over-enthusiastic young thing who communicated through a combination of exaggerated hand and body gestures, sound effects, and very short monosyllabic sentences accented by what used to be called “Valley Girl-speak” (“I mean, you’ve just got to check out the new ride at MGM – Love Aerosmith, love roller coasters…hellllooooooo???”). Another bit of supposed quality Disney fare was a T.V. show about these two generic white, blonde kids living in a hotel acting like totally obnoxious brats, as well as another T.V. show about school kids who decide to walk out of class when they’re told to take a test; Disney’s “family” shows feature kids who, apparently, aren’t doing their jobs unless they initiate seismic ruptures on the scale of self-absorbed detestability.

We spent more time at The Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, taking some of the silly but fun rides with Snow White and Peter Pan, as well as “It’s A Small World” (don’t forget to use the old steam train – it gets you around faster than walking). Though we enjoyed Tomorrowland also, I should note that we took a ride on the go-carts on the supposed raceway, and I have to say that Disney should either retire the ride altogether or come up with some kind of new design. I had to push the gas pedal almost through the floor to get the cart to move at all, and the biggest difficulty I had was making the vehicle move while stuck on the track that kept it in its lane. It really was a joke (speaking of humor, the “Monsters, Inc.” laugh factory was fun, as well as the Buzz Lightyear space ride, and Space Mountain was as good as always). We had a good meal at Hollywood and Vine that evening.

We went to EPCOT on Wednesday (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) and saw the manatees at The Living Seas as well as a “Finding Nemo” show. We couldn’t get anywhere near the new exhibit “Soaring” even with Fast Pass, an option available to us since we had “park-hopper” passes (definitely spend the money on them if you’re going to Walt Disney World as well as the meal plan; the latter cut our food costs by at least half, and ask for any upgrades while you’re visiting – you get tons of counter service meals and snacks that you’ll never be able to eat over the whole week). Afterwards, we visited some of the countries in the World Showcase, particularly France with its great movie – we couldn’t get to Canada to see their great film also. We just walked around to Japan, Morocco and Great Britain, eating dinner at The Brown Derby before watching Illuminations, another great light show.

We went to the Animal Kingdom on Thursday, which may have been the most fun during the whole week. I particularly enjoyed the Maharajah’s Jungle Walk (including the bats) and the Kali River Rapids, and my wife and the young one went on Expedition Everest (sorry, I don’t do that stuff, though Stacey ranted about it all week). We also saw “The Tree Lady,” a woman walking around on stilts garbed in foliage moving very gracefully, lining herself up against other trees and some other well-placed obstacles upon which she could recline while people took pictures (again, including us). Another amazing piece of architecture in The Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life, upon which is engraved about a hundred different types of animals. Afterwards we watched the really funny 3-D Animatronic show “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” based on “A Bug’s Life,” a movie we’d seen many times, and we finished the day with a ride in a Range Rover (more of a bus, really, I guess) through the “Kilimanjaro Safari.”

As I mentioned, the food was great and the restaurants were terrific also everywhere we went, and that Thursday night, we enjoyed a dinner buffet at Boma in The Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is an amazing place. The menu included African dishes like sea bass cooked in banana leaves, grilled salmon with tamarind barbecue sauce and a stew of the day (usually curry chicken, as noted here). There was a wide variety of salads also including cole slaw prepared with lentls and raisins which was delicious (I believe that was the combination – don’t have notes on this, sorry). We ate at a few buffet restaurants because the young one can eat a variety of foods, and we didn’t want to limit him to the kids’ fare at most restaurants of chicken tenders, beef, and macaroni and cheese.

Friday we journeyed to Typhoon Lagoon, that landlocked location where red state America goes to visit the sea shore (and make no mistake; though there were all kinds of nationalities visiting and working throughout Walt Disney World, when you visit you will hear predominantly southern accents – some of the people we spent time with on the bus were pretty cool, though I never once entertained the possibility of a political discussion…we’re all on vacation, after all). I stumbled in the wave pool and scraped my knee, which was my clumsiness more than anything else, and we floated down “the lazy river” (based partly on Stacey’s recommendation) in inner tubes while the young one enjoyed some of the slides. We got there at about 9:30 and had a lot of space, but by noon you could barely move. We had dinner at Le Cellier in EPCOT that evening and had yet another terrific meal (ordering the most expensive items that we already prepaid for since we were using the dining plan).

Saturday was once last visit to The Magic Kingdom, and then on Sunday we packed up, hung out at the resort, and then took the shuttle bus to Orlando International Airport for home (which, despite all of the nice shops, is currently a pit – I know the airport is being renovated, but there were open ceilings and exposed pipes all over the place; I hope they get everything patched up soon).

Something else I should note is that “pin trading” is a really big deal at Walt Disney World; there are all sorts of Disney character pins that you can buy primarily for hats as well as other pieces of clothing and trade with others. Price wise, they start at about $7-8, and if you buy them, the cost will add up pretty quickly (other people come up to you and ask you if you want to swap pins, and that’s perfectly acceptable if you’re willing to do that).

A final note, by the way, is that if there was one thing we got fed up with more than anything else during the trip, it was these people riding around on motorized carts primarily in the parks. I can understand a parent with a stroller containing one or two children having to butt into a line somewhere if necessary (and by the way, if you can avoid it, please don’t bring a child under the age of 5 or 6 because they’ll tire quickly, particularly in the summer heat, and you’ll be miserable particularly because you’ve shelled out a lot of dough and not gotten the benefit for it), but I couldn’t understand these other people. And in the beginning, I felt that I should be mindful of the fact that they may have been riding around because of a physical disability. But as the week wore on, I realized that these people were riding on these carts because they were grossly overweight, having not bothered in any way to take care of themselves, and at a certain point, I wondered why they were entitled to any special treatment at all.

I honestly can’t think of anything else to add about the trip – I know this is an enormous post, and I should probably wrap it up. As I said, I have no illusions about what Disney represents, but I have to give them their due when it comes to providing an enjoyable vacation experience. For the things that didn’t go well, there were many other things that did.

But I definitely could do without Stacey next time, OK?

Hanging Him Out To Dry

As noted here, Dubya sure did this to former Office of Management and Budget director Rob Portman (pictured).

We all know about how Dubya likes to pretend he’s something he’s not, like the “Top Gun” airline pilot during the infamous “Mission: Accomplished” moment on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, the world statesman during the equally unfortunate “laying of hands” on Angela Merkel of Germany, and the leader sensitive to African Americans who makes jokes about them taking out the trash here.

And in keeping with this posturing, he wanted Portman to show steely resolve to Congress in dealing with spending requested in a Military Commissions and Veterans Affairs bill, particularly the portion dealing with VA medical care.

Please understand that I am not sympathetic to Bushco in any way here. But if Dubya is going to send Portman to the hill to do his dirty work, the least he can do is stand by the guy.

However, as noted in the story…

“…congressional Republicans refused to hold the line on veterans and in the end the president decided not to back Portman’s repeated veto threats on the Military Construction-Veterans appropriation measure. Instead, Bush instructed Portman to draft a Statement of Administration Policy for the bill that reiterated concerns about overall spending but failed to include even the boiler plate phrase 'senior advisors would recommend that the president veto the bill' in its current form.”

…

Portman, a former congressman, had spent enough years in the House to know that opposing the bill would be difficult. But he also knew the numbers well enough to know that any offensive against excess spending would have serious credibility problems if, as an opening shot, it turned a blind eye to 40 percent of the problem (re: the 40 percent discretionary spending increase proposed by Congress).

So what about the person named to replace Portman (Jim Nussle, by name)?

During the six years he served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee he failed twice to reach agreement with the Senate on a joint resolution. A third agreement he forced on the Senate was so controversial that it barely cleared the House and was never called up for a vote in the Senate.

…

Nussle’s latest train wreck began a year ago when he failed to find any way to reach compromise with his Senate counterpart, Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. As a result, the House and Senate proceeded through the appropriations process with two quite different sets of spending restraints—a fact that directly led to a near-total breakdown in the budget process, leaving the job of funding most of the federal government to the new Congress when it convened this past January.

This is just another reason why I’m afraid it could be a looooong next 19 months (1/20/09, barring impeachment, can’t come soon enough).

Fred Thompson, Blogger King

I have to set this up a bit first...

I think anyone who reads blogs or posts content of any kind realizes that it truly is a free-for-all in many ways, with potential for truly wondrous work or the type of dreck to make anyone wonder why we ever decided to graduate from movable type.

Some recent observations in this vein came from Mark Bowden in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week here, in which he proclaimed that “blog sites offer a rudimentary working model” by which reporters can be corrected and/or obtain additional information for a story; though I give Bowden credit for trying to visualize means for a reader to retrieve information beyond paper and ink, I think he trivializes the impact of blogs in an almost comic fashion, still imagining a universe where a particular story is owned completely by a “professional.”

The Inquirer also published a review of the book “The Cult Of The Amateur: How Today’s Internet Is Killing Our Culture” by Andrew Keen yesterday, which brings us these choice nuggets…

The core of all this monkey business, says Keen, is the blog. As this book was being written, he estimates, there were 53 million blogs on the Internet, which suggests that by 2010 there will be 500 million blogs spewing an endless stream of amateur journalism, uninformed commentary, and wretched poetry, fiction, reviews and essays.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows anyone to make or rewrite entries, makes matters worse, in Keen's view. He points out that Wikipedia has no reporters, no editorial staff, and no experienced news harvesters.

"It's the blind leading the blind - infinite monkeys providing infinite information for infinite readers, perpetuating the cycle of misinformation and ignorance," Keen writes.

The monkeys, he adds, are not confined to just expressing themselves through the written word. They also are equipped with camcorders that give rise to Internet portals such as YouTube, which draws in more than 65,000 new videos a day.

"YouTube eclipses even the blogs in the inanity and absurdity of its content. Nothing seems too prosaic or narcissistic for these videographer monkeys. The site is an infinite gallery of amateur movies showing poor fools dancing, singing, eating, washing, shopping, driving, cleaning, sleeping or just staring into their computers," he writes.

The increasing popularity of YouTube and such sites as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo evidence societal obsession with self-broadcasting in which the Internet is the mirror for projecting personal images and views.

"Rather than using it to seek news, information, or culture, we use it to actually be the news, the information, the culture," Keen says.

Because of the abundance of free content that these sites make available, all of this digitized narcissism is bad news for newspapers, magazines, advertising companies, television networks, music companies and Hollywood and book publishers, he contends.

This so-called democratization of media, which cuts out the gatekeepers, experts and authorities, is leading, as Keen sees it, to a state of affairs in which there will be no way to distinguish quality from garbage, fact from falsehood, and, ultimately, good from evil.

First of all, Wikipedia actually does have standards for editing and fact-checking, though of course, as is true with anything online, it is possible to hack into something or generate some error affecting content (I seem to recall that happens with newspapers also).

Second, I’d like to see Keen devote some attention to the corporatization (word?) of our media and how that affects the type of content that appears and the manner in which it is reported. Some of his “infinite monkeys” would disappear if, for example, there were better reporting of presidential candidates beyond the superficiality of poll numbers and fundraising totals, as well as other dreck.

Besides, if Keen really believed this, then he should never have consented to publication of anything related to his brilliant tome online (try "walking the walk" here, OK dude?).

Actually, a reference to “infinite monkeys” is an appropriate setup to this story which proclaims that Repug presidential wannabe Fred Thompson fancies himself as a blogger.

OK, so let’s see this evolving online force in action, shall we (as noted in the story)…

Thompson has been the most active campaign blogger by far, and those who know him say he writes nearly everything himself -- not always the case in modern politics.

"It's not that we wouldn't use all the traditional campaign tools, but what he has seen on the Internet is the ability to directly engage real people and have a conversation," said Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo.

The blog entry that attracted the most attention was his criticism of liberal filmmaker Michael Moore for traveling to Cuba. In response, Moore challenged Thompson to a debate and criticized him for hypocrisy because the actor was fond of Cuban cigars.

In a YouTube video response, Thompson chomps on one of the offending cigars while suggesting Moore look into the case of a dissident Cuban filmmaker who Thompson said was committed to a mental institution.

"A mental institution, Michael," Thompson said. "Might be something you ought to think about."

Wow, Fred. What stunning, incisive analysis! How thoroughly you examined and refuted Moore’s new movie, thus invalidating his claims. Brilliant!

And believe it or not, there’s still more to come (gosh, what a titan of intellect – move over, Kos and Atrios)…

In other blogs, Thompson has praised the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France and belittled the Bush-backed immigration bill languishing in Congress, opposed by many Republican conservatives.

"No matter how much lipstick Washington tries to slap onto this legislative pig, it's not going to win any beauty contests," he said.

He compared Israel's retaliation to rocket attacks to the U.S. response if Mexican troops had launched daily attacks on San Diego.

"I can tell you, our response would look nothing like Israel's restrained and pinpoint reactions to daily missile attacks from Gaza," he said.

Gosh, a U.S. attack on this country by Mexico, huh? How prescient of Thompson to observe that our “friends to the south” would thus attack a city where many of their countrymen are no doubt illegally employed. But if Fred posted that it will happen, he must know something we don’t, right?

In a more serious vein, I was able to track down this information from Technorati about blog authorship and readership that I thought was interesting...

In its April 2006 “State of the Blogosphere”, leading blog search engine, Technorati reported:

19.4 million active blogs (defined as having a new post 3 months after creation).

3.9 million blogs are updated at least weekly.

1.2 million new posts per day.

70,000 new blogs are created each day.

The universe of blogs is 60 times larger than it was just 3 years ago.

It is doubling in size every 6 months.

Source: State of the Blogosphere, April 2006, Part 1.

And when it comes to new blog authors, here’s hoping that, before too much longer, Fred Thompson will grow bored with it and no longer be a contributor, much like the way he apparently grew bored with being a lobbyist and decided to become a politician many years ago.

It's A Joke, All Right

As they wind down their hellacious term, The Supremes ruled today against former student Joseph Frederick and in favor of Juneau, Alaska high school principal Deborah Morse (and her legal mouthpiece, the infamous Ken Starr) in the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case, which, short of anything involving Paris Hilton, redefined the term “much ado about nothing” as far as I’m concerned (I weighed in on this some time ago here, and here is another infamous moment).

To recap, Frederick, then 18, unfurled the banner bearing his stupid wording outside of school property in 2002. Frederick was suspended and then sued the school, and a federal appeals court in San Francisco sided with Frederick. Morse and the school countersued, getting Starr into the picture, arguing that the school " ’must be able to fashion its educational mission’ without undue hindsight from the courts.”

The verdict of The Supremes on this wasn’t five to four for a change. Justice Stephen Breyer joined the majority, as noted in the CNN story, though he did not sign onto the broader free speech limits on students noted in the majority opinion (gee, that was nice of him – trying to have it both ways, I guess).

And I would say that Hangin’ Judge J.R. Roberts missed the point entirely, as per usual, with this quote:

“It was reasonable for (the principal) to conclude that the banner promoted illegal drug use-- and that failing to act would send a powerful message to the students in her charge”…

A typically reactionary, fantastic assumption on Roberts’ part, of course – I would say that anybody who decides to try drugs based on the wording of a banner has bigger issues to deal with.

And thank God for John Paul Stevens, who said…

“This case began with a silly nonsensical banner, (and) ends with the court inventing out of whole cloth a special First Amendment rule permitting the censorship of any student speech that mentions drugs, so long as someone could perceive that speech to contain a latent pro-drug message."

All of this brings to mind last week's column in The New Yorker by law correspondent Jeffrey Toobin about the term of the most conservative court I hope I ever see in this country (sorry about the flaky link). As Toobin notes, here is perhaps its most notorious lowlight…

“…the Court, for the first time in its history, upheld a categorical ban on an abortion procedure. The case dealt with so-called partial-birth abortion – a procedure performed rarely, often when there are extraordinary risks to the mother, the fetus, or both. But more important than the ruling were the implications of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s opinion. The Court all but abandoned the reasoning for Roe v. Wade (and its reaffirmation in the 1992 Casey decision) and adopted instead the assumptions and the rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement. To The Court, it was the partial-birth abortion procedure, not the risks posed to the women who seek it, that was “laden with the power to devalue human life.” In the most startling passage in the opinion, Kennedy wrote, “While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained.” Small wonder that Kennedy’s search for such data was unavailing; notwithstanding the claims of the anti-abortion movement, no intellectually respectable support exists for this patronizing notion. The decision to have an abortion in never a simple one, but until this year the Court has said that the women affected, not the state, had the last word.”

And for anyone who thinks there isn’t much friction going on with this bunch, I give you this from Toobin’s column…

“It has been the custom at the Court for dissenters to explain their views individually or in small groups; but this group, led by Stevens, the senior member of the Court, has taken to uniting around a single opinion, as if to emphasize a collective view that the majority is taking the law in dangerous directions. In the case about the missed appeals deadline, the dissenting opinion, by the usually mild-mannered (David) Souter (who was joined by Stevens, (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg and Breyer), reflected true anguish: ‘It is intolerable for the judicial system to treat people this way, and there is not even a technical justification for condoning this bait and switch.”

And Toobin ends with this cautionary note…

“At this moment, the liberals face not only jurisprudential but actuarial peril. Stevens is eighty-seven and Ginsburg seventy-four; Roberts (Clarence) Thomas and (Strip Search Sammy) Alito are in their fifties. The Court, no less than the Presidency, will be on the ballot next November, and a wise electorate will vote accordingly.”

Getting back to Frederick about the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case (who, as the story notes, is now teaching English in China), he had this to say…

"I find it absurdly funny," he said. "I was not promoting drugs. ... I assumed most people would take it as a joke."

Yes, but here’s the problem, you numbskull; because you decided to contest your suspension over this stupid prank instead of just serving it and keeping your mouth shut, you’ve ended up eroding student free speech rights. You gave the most backward and corporate-friendly government this country has ever seen (and I’m talking about all three branches, though there has been some improvement when it comes to Congress) an excuse to limit the rights of expression for your one-time peers.

Though the forces responsible for this were not under your control, you still share a measure of responsibility. I hope you’re happy with yourself.

(Here's more from Adam B at The Daily Kos.)

Update 6/28/07: Here's more from Adam B.

Patrick Helps Our Vets Again

From this morning's Bucks County Courier Times (the story of the homeless veterans bill must have been published when this site was shut down)...

The Courier Times showed poor judgment when it buried on the second page of the Bucks section an article announcing that Bucks County Congressman Patrick Murphy introduced a much-needed bill that would help homeless veterans. This bill shows everyone how he supports and honors our men and women in the military.

Murphy's action was ironically trumped by the story, "Python captured in Bristol Township" on the front page of the Bucks section. Now that's cutting-edge news!

I hope to see a "Thumbs Up" to Congressman Murphy in the paper soon giving him his much-deserved credit.

Joe Kraher
Bensalem, PA

I am a retired, World War II disabled veteran; I served my country for 40 years.

About six months ago, my retirement direct deposit stopped. I wondered how that could be. I was still receiving my disability check every month. At this point, I was missing six monthly pension payments. It seemed to me like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing

The commander from DAV Chapter 117 on Emilie Road made arrangements to see one of Congressman Patrick Murphy's staff members. It took about 15 minutes for (us) to straighten the whole thing out and only seven days to receive my back pay.

Walter T. Almond
Falls Township, PA

This gives me an excuse to link to Patrick's brand new web site for the upcoming 2008 campaign (here).

Friday Videos

Bright Eyes ("Four Winds" - I saw this ages ago on Eschaton, but I never knew the band or the song until tonight; nice twist on the typical fawning kind of music video for once)...



...A belated Happy Birthday to Ray Davies of The Kinks ("Mr. Pleasant" from "Beat Club" back in the day; how many pop rock hits have ever featured a trombone, by the way?)...



...Happy Birthday as well to the pride of Upper Darby, PA, Todd Rundgren ("Bread" featuring The Hello People from 1978...the little pantomime ends at about 1:26, at which point the song kicks in)...



...Happy Birthday also to Cyndi Lauper ("Time After Time," written by Eric and Rob of The Hooters, another Philly local connection)...



...and Happy Birthday, finally, to Don Henley ("Taking You Home" - really nice stuff).

Trying To Avoid Another "Big Bang"

OK, so Dubya decides to abrogate the 1994 “Agreed Framework” that the Clinton Administration negotiated with North Korea stipulating that they would halt activity developing plutonium-based weapons in exchange for promises of a pair of light-water reactors and US diplomatic and economic relations.

Now, though, according to this AP story, you would think that North Korea wants to shut down its nuclear reactor, based on what Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill tells us (more on that in a minute).

So what was the big holdup under Bushco? Well, it was the $25 million of North Korean funds that the U.S. “froze” at a Macau bank over money laundering allegations (as noted here).

So, as the diplomatic tit-for-tat nonsense, name calling and posturing played out, North Korea managed to conduct at least seven prior missile tests since Clinton left office, working out the kinks in pursuit of God knows what.

And as noted above in the AP story, Hill's counterpart Kim Kye Gwan and Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun are making overtures that could mean that North Korea wants to shut down its nuclear reactor, though Hill notes way, way down in the story that “it would take ‘a great deal of time, a great deal of effort, a lot of work’ in ridding North Korea of its nuclear programs, including weapons.”

So what exactly is there to feel good about here?

Republicans Behaving Badly

Pretty much “echo chamber time” for me on these two, both from The Daily Kos…

Kagro X tells us that Rudy Giuliani employs his childhood friend Monsignor Alan Placa as a consultant at Giuliani Partners. The problem is that a 2003 Suffolk County, N.Y., grand jury report accused Placa of sexually abusing children, as well as helping cover up the sexual abuse of children by other priests. Wonder when Bill Donahue is going to speak out against this, as opposed to having a hissy fit over those bad pro-choice bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen who once worked for the John Edwards campaign?

Kos notifies us that President Brainless thinks it’s humorous to tell African Americans to pick up the trash.

The man is an embarrassment for the ages – anyone who voted for this dunce in 2004 should be made to wear ashes and sack cloth.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (6/22/07)

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week.

House

Homeland Security budget. The House approved, 268-150, a $36.3 billion Department of Homeland Security budget for fiscal 2008, up 17 percent from 2007 levels. In part, the bill restores civil-service job protections and tightens security at U.S. chemical plants.

A yes vote was to pass HR 2638.

Voting yes: Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), H. James Saxton (R., N.J.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.).

Not voting: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.).

Not much to say here except to point out that Joe Pitts continues to demonstrate his utter incompetence; is there a congressional district in this entire state with worse federal representation? In the country, even?

Immigration enforcement. The House voted, 286-127, to increase by $9.1 million fiscal 2008 spending for a voluntary program in which local police departments enforce federal immigration laws. The vote amended HR 2638 (above).

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Saxton, Schwartz and Smith.

Voting no: Fattah and Sestak.

I have to admit that I’m stumped on this one. I checked to determine Fatttah and Admiral Joe’s stands on immigration, and I really haven’t been able to find anything, and there’s nothing available from their web sites. This isn’t totally surprising because, though this is first and foremost a homeland security issue, it has been thoroughly abused by the Repugs with their nativist, jingoistic rhetoric.

The further south you go, the more the language of “round ’em up, ship ‘em out” gets spoken louder and louder. Up here in the northeast, though, the immigration issue just doesn’t have the same impact. Maybe that explains it.

Still, though, it’s curious to see the Dems legitimately split on this (and a bit disturbing, actually).

Senate

Attorney general. The Senate failed, 53-38, to get the 60 votes needed to end a GOP filibuster and advance a "no-confidence" resolution against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, faulting him for his role in the U.S. attorney firing scandal.

A yes vote was to advance SJ Res 14.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Arlen Specter (R., Pa.).

Not voting: Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D., Del.).

An interesting vote for Biden to miss, and the WaPo article from this link tells us that the loathsome, odious, and completely repugnant Joe Lieberman voted no, and Ted Stevens voted “present” (guess he was confused by the choices – maybe he was disoriented because his tubes were clogged and he couldn’t access his Internet again).

This isn’t over, by the way.

Coastal drilling. The Senate rejected, 44-43, an amendment to a pending energy bill (HR 6) that would have authorized exploration for natural gas off the Virginia coast if the state gave its approval. The proposal sought to breach the federal moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

A yes vote backed the amendment to allow drilling.

Voting yes: Carper and Specter.

Voting no: Biden, Casey, Lautenberg and Menendez.

Wow, good vote here by “Democrat” Tom Carper (though I expect something like this from Our Man Arlen). Carper almost crippled Virginia tourism on this one, to say nothing of helping to create a potential ecological nightmare. Guess it was too far south of Delaware for him to care about it.

Nuclear power. The Senate voted, 56-39, to kill an amendment that sought to allow utilities to count nuclear-generated electricity in meeting proposed federal mandates that they produce at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted against the amendment.

Just three letters matter on this one – TMI, baby.

This week, the House considered the 2008 energy and water budget and other appropriations bills, while the Senate continued to debate an energy bill and may return to immigration reform.

Tanks For Nothing

What does it tell you about the state of the Iraq carnage that our troops don’t even feel safe in their armored vehicles any more (as noted here)?

As noted in the story…

In the last three days, 15 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq, nine of them in two powerful roadside bomb blasts. The military does not release the kind of weapon used in improvised explosive attacks, but the deadly nature of the two attacks suggests EFPs possibly were used in both.

The deaths brought the total number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq to 3,545, according to military reports. Hundreds of those soldiers have been killed by EFPs and other kinds of improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs. The Pentagon's most recent Iraq status report said EFP attacks were at an all-time high.

Foot patrols, of course, are not a fail-safe method. On city streets, snipers remain a real threat. And bombs can still kill dismounted soldiers. But when they go off in the middle of a foot patrol, causalities are generally lower because the soldiers are more spread out.

Before a foot patrol last week through a neighborhood next to Baghdad's Sadr City district, a private with the Alpha Company of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 8th Calvary began complaining about having to walk. But EFPs have claimed the lives of several soldiers in the unit and Sgt. Leland Kidd, 28, of Gonzales, Texas, said the private should be thankful they were on foot.

"When I walk on my feet I don't have to worry about being blown up," Kidd told the private. "In the vehicle I have to."

But at least in the vehicles, the threat from snipers is reduced (and that includes someone in Baghdad known only as Juba The Sniper, according to this Stars and Stripes story, who may or may not exist or may be in fact more than one person).

As noted by Stars and Stripes, “Juba” is dismissed by Time correspondent Michael Ware as an Internet “urban legend,” and Capt. Brendan Hobbs, 31, of Tampa, Fla., commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, said that the legend of Juba is “a product of the U.S. military” (scratching my head over that one, I’ll admit). However, given the number of fatalities we have suffered from marksmen hiding in the Iraq rubble, it wouldn’t be beyond credibility if “Juba” or some such individual or group of people actually existed.

I tried to find out how many of our service people are killed from bombs versus sniper fire, and the best I could find was this post which noted that 75 percent of our casualties come from explosive devices; that makes sense, but I didn’t see any corroboration for that statistic.

Here’s a thought; as long as Dubya, Petraeus and company are bound and determined to stick more of our fine service people into the Iraqi meat grinder, maybe we should send over the next back for “the surge” as part of an equine fighting force. As long as they can’t use the armor any more, at least it will be easier for them to beat it on horseback when they come under attack. And if nothing else, the manure from the animal could be used as a weapon if and when all else fails (aptly symbolic of this entire tragedy, I know).

And by the way, speaking of the "surge" and Petraeus, Dick Polman of the Inquirer wrote this nice post based on The Occupation of Iraq by Ali Allawi and the role Petraeus played in the billions squandered by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (6/15/07)

As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes for the week ending on Friday June 8th.

(I'm just trying to catch up from vacation here; this is pretty much predictable party-line stuff, and I really don't have much to say, but I'm just posting this "for the record" - I'll plan to get to last week later today.)

House

Stem-cell research. The House approved, 247-176, and sent to President Bush a bill that would extend federal financing of embryonic stem-cell research far beyond the narrow limits set by Bush in a 2001 executive order. The president said he would veto the legislation.

A yes vote was to pass the bill (S 5).

Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.) and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.)

Voting no: Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), H. James Saxton (R., N.J.) and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Ethics. The House voted, 387-10, to change its rules to require automatic ethics investigations of indicted members. The new rule was sparked by the indictment of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D., La.) on bribery and other charges.

A yes vote was to adopt the rule.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Saxton, Schwartz, Sestak and Smith.

Not voting: Holden.

Senate

Immigration. In a 45-50 vote, the Senate fell 15 votes short of the 60 needed to advance a bill that would have provided U.S. employers with temporary foreign workers, tightened U.S. borders, and set a long path to legality for America's 12 million illegal aliens. The bill was later shelved.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted to advance the bill (S 1348).

And I think that our "buddy" Trent Lott made sure the bill will stay "shelved" (a nod to this post).

For the week ending June 15th, the House considered 2008 budgets for the Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Interior Departments, and the Senate debated energy legislation.

Thursday Videos

The Polyphonic Spree ("Light And Day" - looks like hippie retro is back in fashion; have to dig through the cedar chest and see if I still have my Nehru jacket somewhere :-)...



...and happy birthday to Nils Lofgren ("Blue Skies," recorded in Glasgow, Scotland a little while back - kind of a primitive video, but a nice performance).

Trent's Pet Goat(s)

This excellent New York Times editorial by Timothy Egan (Times Select) tells the story of former U.S. House Repug J.D. Hayworth from Arizona who ranted and demagogued all over the place on the illegal immigration issue, so much so that he ended up getting voted out of office despite the power of 12 years of House incumbency.

The column went on to describe how the Repugs have been losing ground all over the place on this issue in the southwest in particular because of some of the truly looney-tune rhetoric about rounding up the illegals and kicking them out (as if that were even possible; commerce would grind to a halt in this country without them, and they've shown that they can organize and make noise on their own behalf - would that other groups that shared our interests did the same).

Anyway, the column also quotes Trent Lott, who "blamed talk radio for the possibly fatal collapse of the immigration reform bill."

And just for good measure (and to totally validate Egan's sound argument), Lott compared the illegals to farm livestock here (can't blame talk radio for this one, however).

Aahhh, all of this is making me feel better and better about next year's elections. Thanks, Trent, ol' buddy.

Strom Thurmond would be so proud.

See The Funny Little Clown

And as we continue to slog through the flotsam that the Bushco empire has made of our system of government for the vast majority of the people of this country, let us not forget an individual who holds a measure of blame for bringing us the fouling of our environment, attack on science, destruction of civil liberties, accelerated exporting of our jobs (including life sciences work on embryonic stem cell research), erosion of worker safeguards, establishment of a “fourth branch” (way to go, Darth – h/t Atrios), raiding of our pensions and, of course, war without end in Iraq.

By virtue of his fatal candidacy in the 2000 presidential election, that person is Ralph Nader.

See, according to this story (h/t The Daily Kos), Nader is actually making noise as if he wants to run for president again next year. And this, of course, was dutifully recorded by all of the freeper sites (Politico, Newsmax, Free Republic, and the rest of their seamy lot).

And how does Nader kick start this little bandwagon of his? By calling Hillary Clinton a “coward,” of course.

I have a news flash for you, Ralph. I have some issues with the senator from New York, but that being said, she has more guts, intelligence and character in her cuticle than you could ever hope to have in your entire body.

You’re nothing but a sideshow, Ralph. Go put on your big baggy pants, spread the greasepaint across your face and stick on a red rubber nose.

At least that way, when you squirt the seltzer at yourself and dance to get out of the way of the lit-up firecrackers, you’ll provide a good laugh for the crowd before you make your exit.

And please let if be for good this time.

And Rudy Will Bail Out Again

Repug Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut (pictured) is a shameless, self-promoting, pitiable coward for making this proposal (h/t Atrios).

Wasn’t it almost a year ago when he spoke out against the Iraq war (here)?

But oh no – it turns out he really favored the war (here).

It’s just about too horrific of an obscenity to contemplate reforming the Iraq Study Group while our service people continue to fight, suffer, struggle and die in ever greater numbers (as noted here).

If you haven’t read this post by Prof. Marcus quoting Robert Parry, please do so. I have to make sure I contain my online rage in such a fashion that it cannot result in any kind of legal activity against your humble narrator, so I won’t say anything else at this moment.

And by the way, the Giuliani reference has to do with this story.

A (Very) Belated Father’s Day Wish

Since I spent last Sunday in an airport without any kind of electronic device access, I really wasn’t able to extend a wish for a Happy Father’s Day to anyone (though the security check person at Orlando International did that for me, and I appreciated it), so please allow me do to so now with this humorous item (at least I thought it was funny) and this thoughtful one, both courtesy of T-Nation (and here is my own remembrance once more).

I hope any of you fathers out there who may be reading this had a good day, and I extend my best to you.

Thursday News Stuff

I don’t have a problem with journalists donating to political candidates, discussed in this article; I generally adopt the philosophy of David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, which he states here…

"Our writers are citizens, and they're free to do what they want to do," said (Remnick), who has 10 political donors at his magazine. "If what they write is fair, and they respond to editing and counter-arguments with an open mind, that to me is the way we work."

The linked story notes that, of the reporters surveyed, 125 journalists donated to Democratic and so-called liberal causes, with 17 donating to Republicans and two donating to both parties.

I have to wonder, though, how much Liz Peek of the New York Sun is worth if she was able to fork over $90K to the Repugs. And I also wonder what the Philadelphia Inquirer’s policy is concerning donations to candidates (not being a smart aleck, just curious).

I read this story about Illinois governor Rod “Flyboy” Blagojevich and his frequent travels between the state capital of Springfield and his home in Chicago and wondered two things: 1) why he didn’t decide to set up a place near the state house, or short of that, 2) why he didn’t pursue a mass transit alternative.

Now I don’t know anything about Illinois politics (though it is surprising that, apparently, state government meets for only three days a week, something that would have me steamed if I was a taxpayer), but I reluctantly have to agree with Repug State Sen. Chris Lauzen when he says that Blagojevich’s travels, amounting to $76,000 thus far out off the “public dime,” are “an enormous waste.”

On the other hand, Patrick Murphy, for example, rented an apartment in the D.C. area because he knew it wouldn’t be feasible to commute everyday via Amtrak or some other means from his workplace to his home in PA. Why Blagojevich thinks he should be an exception is something I cannot comprehend.

Oh, and remember this photo of Dubya and Vlad Putin acting like pals during the recent G8 summit? Well, Russian General Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of his country’s general staff, says that Bushco has already made up its mind to turn down a Russian offer to share a radar station in Azerbaijan, according to this story.

I should point out, though, that Dubya and Putin are supposed to meet for a vacation in Kennebunkport at the beginning of next month, as noted here, so we can look forward to more smiling faces and “no-news news” before more crises arise between our two countries.

And by the way, here are more good ideas from John Edwards (and more predictable lowlife garbage from Repug bottom-feeder Dan Ronayne, who, apparently, is just as big a weaasel now as he was here in support of Little Ricky).

Finally, the document that Dubya mocks each day with his very existence in the Oval Office (namely, the United States Constitution) was ratified 219 years ago today.

Try Again, Bob

As noted here, the campaign to respond to the veto by President Stupid Head of a bill that would have permitted federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is due to begin today. As noted in this story…

The Senate Appropriations Committee was to vote on a must-pass bill for the Labor and Health and Human Services departments that includes permission to use federal funding for embryonic stem cell lines derived after Bush in 2001 banned taxpayer dollars from being used on new studies of that kind.

PA Senator Bob Casey doesn’t sit on this committee, according to this Source Watch link, but he will have an opportunity in the future to vote on legislation permitting the type of federal funding that Dubya has blocked throughout his nightmare of a presidency.

I would ask Sen. Casey to reconsider his opposition to federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Approving such funding does not encourage abortions – only an empty vessel like the preznit believes such delusions (if it did, I’d be screaming about it as loudly as anyone else).

We will need every vote we can possibly get on this to try and override what would be yet another veto by The Boy King, and if Casey were to join us at last, I would defend him to the last breath against the inevitable “flip-flop” accusations.

Please, Senator, give this some more thought (and watch this as you reflect further on this critically important issue).

Wednesday Videos

Silverchair ("Straight Lines")...



...and guitar legend Chet Atkins would have been 83 today (a wonderful adaptation of "Vincent" by Don McLean).

Cruising With Benny

I'm a little late in saying anything about this story where His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI announced "The Ten Commandments For Drivers" because I was shocked at its preposterousness. What, did Charlton Heston drive a Hummer down the side of Mount Rushmore and step out with stone tablets in hand containing Benny's sacred words, ready to cast them down at the feet of cowering drivers of economy sedans?

Is it a bad thing to encourage civility, compassion and basic common sense when driving? Of course not. However, no one is going to take Benny seriously on this (though I'm sure AAA's is just tickled pink that The Vatican has chosen to spotlight road woes at the expense of something of significantly greater import, such as doing everything possible in its admittedly limited power to end the Iraq war).

I would applaud the Vatican if, instead of laying the onus totally on drivers, they decided to get at the root cause of why so damn many people are on the road anymore (including your humble narrator of course; mea maxima culpa) and encourage countries to spend more on mass transit as well as pointing out to employers the commuting advantages of flex scheduling and (dare I say it?!) working from home. But of course Roman Catholicism, as well as organized religion in general, is often more preoccupied with manufacturing guilt directed at "the flock" than mediating to solve complicated problems in non-Third World countries.

All the same, though, I should follow the lead from Rome on this I guess, so, as a primer in How Not To Drive, I now present all 10:38 of the car chase scene from "The Seven Ups" starring Roy Scheider and featuring stunt driver extraordinaire Bill Hickman (just think of all of the sins displayed in this clip - don't try this at home, as they say).

Define "Secure"

That was the word Gen. Raymond Odierno, the second-ranking U.S. officer in Iraq behind Gen. David Petraeus, used to define 40 percent of the city of Baghdad recently.

That was noted in (among other places) Trudy Rubin’s column today in the Philadelphia Inquirer in which we learned “in contrast to U.S. politicians, no one here talks of ‘victory’” (maybe, then, Kathleen Parker should go over to Iraq and tell the Army to “shape up” per my earlier post).

Oh, and by the way, we also learned that the “surge” will probably last until next March, as well as this…

Many Iraqis are skeptical; four years of shifting U.S. policies have left their country a shambles. Shiite and Kurdish officials argue the real threat to Iraq's future is not al-Qaeda, but Saddamists who use equally vicious tactics to pursue a Baathist restoration. These officials fear naïve Americans may arm Sunni militias that claim to have turned against al-Qaeda but will use the weapons against the Iraqi government.

Indeed, Americans may arm some of the wrong forces. U.S. commanders grasp that, but feel they must take the risk. If al-Qaeda is checked, they believe, Saddamists will also be weakened, leaving a less-violent insurgency that can be contained.

It is a strategy based on grim realism. The widespread assumption among senior U.S. military commanders is that a U.S. military drawdown will begin by early 2008 - both because American politics will demand it and because the military is overstretched.

Gosh, you don’t think the “drawdown” has anything whatsoever to do with the presidential election in November, do you (you know, the contest where, as of now, all the Dem candidates lead all the Repug candidates, as noted here...h/t The Daily Kos)?

Well, with all due respect to Rubin, this column is full of hopeful, rose-colored speculation.

Here, however, is the hideous reality (h/t Atrios).

Wednesday Medical News

Partly in honor of the premiere of “Sicko” last night at the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan, I now bring you two stories courtesy of Signs On San Diego:

- Republican governor of Connecticut M. Jodi Rell, a cancer survivor herself as noted here, vetoed a bill allowing some patients suffering with serious illness to use marijuana for medical purposes because she thought it would send “a mixed message” to kids.

I think this is another case where adults underestimate the intelligence of children in matters like this. If they witness a parent or loved one suffering and see them taking a drug that would otherwise be illegal, I think many of them would know (with the proper warning) not to take it themselves. That to me isn’t a “mixed message”; it’s called good parenting.

Also, as noted here, it’s not as if drug companies themselves haven’t used addictive ingredients in their medicines already. Bayer (as noted in the story) came up with a wonder drug they used in concern with aspirin, another drug used as a painkiller to help with respiratory diseases and other ailments prevalent in 1899. It was called heroin.

- And just look who ended up back in “blue state” territory after a run as Senate Majority Leader, where he feathered his nest through Hospital Corporation of America (as noted here).

That would be the one and only Bill Frist, who, as noted here, is returning to Princeton University to teach a course in government health policy. No further information was provided concerning whether or not he would be dissecting cats in the school laboratory or rendering T.V. diagnoses of terminally ill cancer patients.

The Peter Pace-Parker Principle

I don’t know if Gen. Peter Pace was forced to step down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to avoid what surely would have been a difficult confirmation hearing with the Senate over his role in the nightmare of Iraq (I’m sorry, but I can’t place a lot of faith in an individual who did not believe the Iraq was in the middle of a civil war in March 2006 and who expressed confidence publicly in Don “The Defense Secretary You Have” Rumsfeld in October of that year, as noted here).

I also don’t know if he was forced to step down because he publicly opposed a nuclear attack on Iran (as Prof. Marcus noted here - that earns him props as far as I'm concerned). I also don't know if, based on this Wikipedia article about Admiral Michael Mullen (Pace’s successor due to take over in September), Bushco wanted Mullen because of his stated goal that the Navy should be “first and foremost a fighting, sea-going service,” as opposed to some of Pace’s comparatively less bellicose language.

However, I am certain that Pace was not asked to step down because he confronted “the liberal agenda and gay lobby” as numbskull corporate media freeper columnist Kathleen Parker alleged here recently (yes, I know I shouldn’t waste my time, but some nonsense is too idiotic to ignore).

See, Parker alleges that the confirmation hearing for Pace would be contentious not because of the tragic state of the Iraq carnage, but because of Pace’s quote in March of this year that he felt that “homosexuality is immoral”; Parker envisions all kinds of moments where Pace would be chastened over that as opposed to the escalating toll of our dead and wounded service people, to say nothing of innocent Iraqis. Here’s more of her tripe…

Whether that single remark would cause Pace's removal seems doubtful. Others surmise that his replacement by a Navy admiral is sending a message to the Army to shape up. Mullen has said that one of his first priorities is to upgrade the Army. Still others say the move is a way for the Democratic Congress to further undermine President Bush.

Of course, none of this is substantiated anywhere, since we’re in Corporate Media Pundit Fantasy Land here, boys and girls.

And you know Parker will find a way to create some imaginary linkage to Hillary Clinton on this, since Sen. Clinton site on the House Armed Services Committee, with Parker’s laughably inane comment that “no one benefits more from Pace's removal than Clinton, who would have had to vote for or against the man and be stuck with a position that could hurt her.”

And for good measure, rely on Parker to resurrect the utterly failed “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of HRC’s husband, with Parker’s vile interpretation that “(the policy is) not about the rights of gays to serve, but about the rights of non-gays to be protected from forced intimacy with people who may be sexually attracted to them,” as if all gays are degenerates who see same-sex professionals as nothing more than instruments of their own pleasure.

Getting back to Gen. Pace, I should be fair and note that he has a lengthy list of service awards and has worked himself up the chain of command steadily since the late 1960s, a commendable feat. However, as far as I’m concerned, all of that has been tarnished by his tacit complicity with a lawless regime that has led us to war without end in Iraq. That, more than anything else, is why he should not have been renominated, delusional freeper propaganda notwithstanding.

Of Course

Of course Dubya is going to veto the bill Congress will send to him providing federal funding for stem-cell research.

(By the way, concerning this story from earlier this month about stem cells cloned from mice, let’s consider the following paragraph before anyone suspects that we’ve found a way around the issue of using embryos for stem cell research which would exist anyway and only be discarded if not used for scientific study)…

“It is difficult to predict whether the results from mice can be translated to humans, given all the differences between mouse and human embryos”, said Renee Reijo Pera, director of human embryonic stem cell research at Stanford University.

(And this advance was made possible only because research had been carried out on discarded embryos to begin with.)

And of course Dubya isn’t going to fire Abu Gonzales for the U.S. Attorney’s scandal (how typical to dump all the blame on "Hazel The Cleaning Lady," and of course President Brainless isn’t going to hold Karl Rove accountable for what appears to be at least 140,000 back-channel Emails sent through the Republican National Committee related to this mess also).

And of course Dubya isn’t going to lift a finger to restore habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo detainees (and speaking of Guantanamo, I thought this was a good idea).

Update: And by the way, when it comes to making a statement against torture, I think the Senate Dems can do that by refusing to confirm this guy (though no one should hold their breath waiting for that to happen, I hate to admit).

And of course Dubya is going to nominate Leslie Southwick for the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, someone whose antagonism towards traditional Democratic constituencies couldn’t be more obvious, to say nothing of racial insensitivity.

This is all we’ve ever received from this guy since his presidential installation in 2000-2001, and it is all we ever will receive (just keep playing this clip over and over and over and over and over). And the only way to fix it – barring impeachment, of course – is to elect a Democrat next year (preferably John Edwards, of course).

And speaking of the election, I thought Devilstower at The Daily Kos hit the nail right on the proverbial head today here concerning New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s exit from the Republican Party (not really blaming Bloomberg, but I’m only saying that we should have no illusions about the goal of such a move, which is only to siphon off Democratic votes).

Tuesday Videos

Happy belated 65th birthday to Sir Paul, who observed the milestone on Monday the 18th ("Letting Go," with Wings, recorded in Melbourne, Australia in November 1975...guess we'll have to keep looking to find out what the next song was, presumably written by Jimmy McCulloch)...



...and "Too Much Rain" from "Chaos and Creation In The Backyard" (synching is a bit off I know, and here's a link for more on the new release, Memory Almost Full).

"Altering" The Dems

This column by Jonathan Alter appeared in the Bucks County Courier Times today, partly because Patrick Murphy was featured prominently in it; though I think Steve Benen made good points in his response here, I think he was a bit too kind to Alter.

(I’m not going to offer a point-by-point response, but I’ll only say that Alter is doing some serious navel-gazing as opposed to screaming to get our people out of Iraq and calling for the executive branch of our government to start acting like adults and engage in ‘round-the-clock negotiations with all “involved parties,” something which everyone in this country should have been calling for by now - merely saying "Iraq is President Bush's war" is the typical "corporate-media-slap-with-the-wet-noodle" approach that is partly responsible for the miserable status quo).

Alter also uses the term “surrender monkeys” when describing the Dems, which is nothing more than Repug code, pure and simple; when used it in this fashion, it merely propagates their talking points (I’ll admit I used that describing Mitt Romney, who, based on this Atrios link, must be running for the president of Revlon instead of the President of the United States, but I felt I was being completely unambiguous about what I was trying to say, and for a good reason).

Besides, I’m sick of corporate media types like Alter dropping the Iraq war squarely into the laps of the Dems without even a hint of recognition that a Republican president was responsible for lying this country into war above everyone else (oh, as if it is supposed to be impolite for me to point that out for some reason – God, Doomsy, that’s soooo 2003 of you).

And it’s not as if Alter hasn’t gone out of his way to slam someone based on a misunderstanding before, as noted here.

Bushco "Toys" With Kids' Safety

In search of something for which I can bust on Dubya (have to get back “in the groove” on that a bit), I came across this item in today’s New York Times about the increase in the recall of toys manufactured by our dear friends in China, in particular, toys from the Thomas The Tank Engine series that were coated with lead paint.

As the Times story notes…

Over all, the number of products made in China that are being recalled in the United States by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has doubled in the last five years, driving the total number of recalls in the country to 467 last year, an annual record.

It also means that China today is responsible for about 60 percent of all product recalls, compared with 36 percent in 2000.

Much of the rise in China’s ranking on the recall list has to do with its corresponding surge as the world’s toy chest: toys made in China make up 70 to 80 percent of the toys sold in the country, according to the Toy Industry Association.

And in case anyone thinks I’m using this story as an excuse to beat up solely on China for the terrible quality of its toys exported to this country, I should note this Chicago Tribune story about the efforts of Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Bobby Rush, both Illinois Dems, to introduce legislation giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission more power to recall deadly toys. This was spurred by a tragic accident that killed a Seattle toddler when he swallowed some loose magnets in a Magnetix playset (Magnetix is a product from MegaBrands based in The Netherlands).

I am something of an authority on both of these toys, I may add. The young one spent many, many hours enjoying himself with them, and they are good toys for the right age. However, it is unconscionable for anyone to still be using lead-based paint for children’s products, and though the Magnetix toys are good also, it is easy for tiny magnets to fall loose from them and present themselves as a hazard for a child who doesn’t know better than to put one of them in his or her mouth.

So where exactly is the head of Bushco’s Consumer Products Safety Commission while all of this is transpiring? That was the question asked by Rush as noted in this story about a House Consumer Products subcommittee hearing where the presence of Nancy Nord, the acting chair of the CPSC, was requested.

However, as the story notes…

The day before the hearing, the two panels, one consisting of Nord and the other consisting of consumer advocates, were collapsed into one because of scheduling conflicts with floor votes, subcommittee chairman Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) said.

Congressional witness panels rarely mix government administrators with private sector witnesses – a ceremonial tradition intended to show respect to governmental authority.

“Although unusual, we have had to have one panel in the past and mix government witnesses with other witnesses,” Rush said.

When Nord discovered that she would be sharing her panel with two consumer advocates from the Consumers Union and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, she decided not to attend or to send another Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) representative.

The story also notes the reactions of House Repug apologists Michael Burgess of Texas and Cliff Stearns of Florida who supported Nord’s decision not to attend the hearing because she would have been forced to soil herself, apparently, in the presence of those dreaded consumer activists that the Repugs so utterly despise.

However, I’m with Dem Rep. Jan Schakowsky on this (no surprise, but she “cuts right to the chase” here)…

…Democrats who made the paneling decision, and consumer advocates said regardless of tradition, Nord, a Bush appointee, should have attended.

“I hope we can get past standing on ceremony and deal directly with saving children’s lives,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said.

And by the way, as noted in the Tribune story, the CPSC doesn’t decide to test products until an incident is reported, and they negotiate every word of a recall alert with the manufacturer of a defective product. Both of those policies are seriously, seriously messed up! (trying to use polite language…)

And the last person nominated to head the CPSC, of course, was Michael Baroody, the executive VP of the National Association of Manufacturers (as noted here, and I was only kidding about the Irwin Mainway thing, but who knows who this bunch will nominate next for the post if Nord goes down for blowing off the subcommittee, as she should).

Fighting For "The Cause"

The latest from David Bonior of the John Edwards for President Campaign (sorry to "put the bite" on everyone like this)...

Dear Friend,

We can win this election, but it won't be because the media makes us their darling or because the big donors line up to win favors. When we win, it will be because of people like you and me—people who truly believe in big progressive change and are willing to go out there and fight for it. And your time is now.

There are just 12 days until the end of the quarter. We've got to hit our fundraising goal so we can keep fighting in every Iowa County, every New Hampshire town, and every other key battleground state in this election.

So take this moment to remember why this campaign is worth fighting for, and throw in a contribution of whatever you can afford.

Click here.

Yes, the bright lights of the media will shine on other campaigns for their money or their celebrities. But the big changes you and I are working for are what Americans are looking for—and that's what will really matter come Election Day.

Take a moment to consider what we're fighting for, and check out some recent poll numbers that show how much support these issues really have:

Global warming: John's plan to cap carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 is exactly the kind of bold step to halt global warming America wants. 70% of all Americans think the federal government should do more than it's doing now to try to deal with global warming.

Iraq: John has pushed to start bringing our home our troops immediately and be out of Iraq within a year. Congress won't do it, but Americans are right there with him. 68% of all Americans think that American troops should leave Iraq within a year, or sooner.

Health care: John is the only presidential candidate with a detailed plan to guarantee quality health care to every man, woman and child in America. 76% of all Americans support guaranteed health coverage for every American.

Poverty: John Edwards is the only candidate to set a clear goal of ending poverty in America and he has an ambitious plan for combating poverty and disease around the globe. 61% of voters would be more likely to support a presidential candidate if they made fighting hunger and poverty in America and around the world a major priority.

This is more than a campaign, it's a cause. And as we work together for this cause over the next many months, it's important to remember how much support we really have.

So we don't need to smash records, and we don't need the most hype. But we can't lose one day in the race to show voters what John Edwards and this campaign is all about. America is with us. Our time is now.

Please contribute what you can right now to keep this campaign going.

Click here.

Thank you,

--David Bonior
Campaign Manager, John Edwards for President
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

To learn more, click here.

Beware The Center For Union Hacks

(Yes, I’m back, and I’m trying to get back into action once more – I’ll tell you more about where we’ve been for the last week or so a little later.)

In today’s New York Times, a full-page ad appeared that emphasized a quote from Bruce Raynor, president of UNITE HERE, in which he says, “There’s no reason to subject the workers to an election” (for union representation within their company, of course). The quote is presented in a way that is highly unflattering to Raynor, linking him to Idi Amin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (nice – Raynor describes the ad further in this linked story).

Of course, the full-page ad in the Times cannot provide the context for Raynor’s remark, so I will attempt to summarize here based on his column (and by the way, the quote is accurate and Raynor totally stands by it).

What Raynor is speaking out against is the fact that workers at Goya Foods in Florida near Miami voted overwhelmingly for union representation in 1998 by a margin of 83 to 31, which was particularly courageous on their parts because of Goya’s anti-union worker harassment.

After electing the union, the workers organized a variety of events within the Miami community to publicize their efforts for fight poor treatment, low wages, supervisor favoritism, and expensive health insurance. Because the union fought back against these issues and misconduct on the part of Goya against the union, the NLRB ended up filing 23 separate violations of U.S. labor law against the company.

Raynor continues…

The union, the workers, and the General Counsel took the case to a trial under federal labor law before an Administrative Law Judge in June 2000. In February 2001, the judge ruled in favor of the union and workers on every single issue in a well written and thoughtfully reasoned decision. He ruled that the four Goya workers were fired illegally for supporting the union and recommended that the NLRB order their reinstatement and back wages (no penalties are provided by the National Labor Relations Act). He found the company guilty of threats against workers who supported the union, interrogation of union supporters, and failure to bargain in good faith as required by federal law.

Of course the Company appealed -- creating another delay of justice. But by July of 2001, the record was complete: the briefs were in, the Board had the transcripts and the exhibits, and the case was, as they say, “ripe for decision.”

However, as Raynor notes, it took five years for the board to do anything, until…

Finally, the Board did rule -- on the last day of August, 2006. We won on every important issue. The company was found to have unlawfully withdrawn union recognition, and the Board ordered it to resume bargaining with us. But the Board hasn’t ordered that Goya agree to a contract for the workers -- it can't under our legal system.

The company was found to have engaged in unlawful threats, interrogation, and the like -- and for that, they have to post a notice in their plant saying they won't do it again and pay backpay to workers who lost work because of the company’s misconduct. That’s it. No fines, no penalties, no assessments, no order to pay the union’s (or the government’s) legal fees -- none of those remedies are available under our legal system.

So after seven years, winning doesn't look all that different from losing for these workers. They have lost seven years of wage increases, health care benefits, pension contributions, and other essentials that families need -- things they could have bargained for if they had a contract. Some lost their jobs, most lost respect for their employers, and immigrants lost faith in the system of their new home.

So, when Raynor says, “there’s no reason to subject the workers to an election,” what he means is that there’s no point in doing that unless legal remedies with teeth are provided for workers who are wronged by their employers so that they may obtain what is due to them and punish those responsible for the negligence that caused the problem.

But of course, we won’t find that out from The Center for Union Hacks, another front group founded by labor management attorney and restaurant industry executive Rick Berman, who collects approximately $10 million a year so he can attack organized labor and consumer activists, with Source Watch noting that only Berman and his bookkeeper wife know how much of that ends up in their own pockets (according to a July 2006 article in USA Today).

And of course, all of this is intended to derail passage of the Employee Free Choice Act; contact your senator from here and tell them to support it (and kudos to Bob Casey for signing on as a cosponsor).

Trapper John at The Daily Kos has more here.