Warm up the spit in Hades - here comes another one.
Oh yeah, right; I remember how you sued CBS and Mike Wallace for saying you deliberately gave Lyndon Johnson the wrong body count numbers during the Vietnam War. Well, if you and McNamara weren't responsible, then who was? Dean Rusk? Clark Clifford?
Dubya's murderous mess in Iraq is, unfortunately, an appropriate tribute to you (yes, I know you were a distinguished veteran, and maybe I should lay off, but I can think of approximately 58,000 reasons why I shouldn't).
Monday, July 18, 2005
Suffer
The most appropriate punishment I believe that we can administer to this cretinous jackal is to give him the very thing he denied to his victims, the only condition being that it is granted to him in a cinderblock cell behind a locked gate until the end of his miserable existence. His pleas that he acted for some "higher cause" in his demented mind is the typical lunactic logic of a murderous zealot.
Dubya's Enemies List
The only reason why I don't link to the Greenpeace site is that they use "cookies," and to my knowledge, none of the other sites that I link to do that. I wish Greenpeace would stop that dumb practice, but what are you going to do?
They may be watching us, people, based on this.
Good. That's all the more reason to keep up the fight.
They may be watching us, people, based on this.
Good. That's all the more reason to keep up the fight.
Land of Lost Opportunity
Paul Craig Roberts writes generally about economic news, and I'm linking to his most recent column because of what I said 10 days ago ("Jobs Gone Yesterday, Here Today"). What he writes about is a lot closer to the depressing reality, and the reader comments provide a lot of illumination also.
Duty, Honor, Country, and $$$
USA Today is reporting on how re-enlistments are up beyond the Army’s targeted numbers, which is good news. The main reason seems to be (as reported in the story) that huge cash bonuses are being handed out, ranging from about a grand to $150,000, with the average bonus at $10,000.
God bless our service people now and always, and may they be delivered home safely to their families and loved ones once their work in Bushco’s scurrilous scheme to annex Iraq unto their empire is completed. However, as far as I’m concerned, this is another example of Bushco’s hubris/arrogance/whatever, assuming that our people are doing this for any other reason except to get the dough, which they’re definitely entitled to (this is particularly the case given the fact that enlistment numbers are down so far to such a huge degree).
By the way, there’s an excellent post at The Daily Kos today called “Right and Wrong” which, as far as I’m concerned, is a good companion piece to what I wrote about “The American Reich” on July 4th.
God bless our service people now and always, and may they be delivered home safely to their families and loved ones once their work in Bushco’s scurrilous scheme to annex Iraq unto their empire is completed. However, as far as I’m concerned, this is another example of Bushco’s hubris/arrogance/whatever, assuming that our people are doing this for any other reason except to get the dough, which they’re definitely entitled to (this is particularly the case given the fact that enlistment numbers are down so far to such a huge degree).
By the way, there’s an excellent post at The Daily Kos today called “Right and Wrong” which, as far as I’m concerned, is a good companion piece to what I wrote about “The American Reich” on July 4th.
Fool Me Once, Twice…Whatever
OK, so we turned on the radio this morning and heard that Viacom had dumped Howard Stern, and he was just going to be on hiatus until he starts with Sirius Satellite Radio in January next year. But then, an hour goes by and…gee, whaddaya know? It was just a practical joke. He and the whole crew were back on the radio again. And of course, they were playing tapes of news stations reporting that they were gone and having a good laugh about it.
To me, the problem is that he already did this on April Fools Day a few months ago, and people went nuts of course, and then he and Robin Quivers came back on and laughed at everyone, saying “Look at the calendar people, ha ha.” OK, you got us. But then you did the same thing again today.
Howard, if it weren’t for you, I think just about everyone doing morning radio would be out of a job, unless they worked for an all-news or publicly funded station. You proclaim yourself as the King of All Media, and for the most part, you back that up. Good for you.
However, you should stop screwing with us like this. In our market, there are two good morning radio personalities named Preston and Steve who just came from a lousy station with no frequency to WMMR, which, in this market, is as good as it gets for their format. They are an excellent alternative for us when you leave the air.
We will probably go with Sirius (XM, however, has a lineup that’s just about as good…O&A can be funny, though the stunt that got them tossed before going to satellite was completely beyond tasteless), but we’re going to think about it some more after today.
To me, the problem is that he already did this on April Fools Day a few months ago, and people went nuts of course, and then he and Robin Quivers came back on and laughed at everyone, saying “Look at the calendar people, ha ha.” OK, you got us. But then you did the same thing again today.
Howard, if it weren’t for you, I think just about everyone doing morning radio would be out of a job, unless they worked for an all-news or publicly funded station. You proclaim yourself as the King of All Media, and for the most part, you back that up. Good for you.
However, you should stop screwing with us like this. In our market, there are two good morning radio personalities named Preston and Steve who just came from a lousy station with no frequency to WMMR, which, in this market, is as good as it gets for their format. They are an excellent alternative for us when you leave the air.
We will probably go with Sirius (XM, however, has a lineup that’s just about as good…O&A can be funny, though the stunt that got them tossed before going to satellite was completely beyond tasteless), but we’re going to think about it some more after today.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
God Knows He's Right
The Bucks County Courier Times carries a column that appears on Fridays called "From A Faith Perspective" with representatives of different beliefs commenting on their areas of expertise. I think some of the columns are pretty interesting, and I'll try to highlight them from time to time.
One regular contributor to the column is a man named Ayhan Ozer, who is affiliated with the Turkish-Muslim Cultural Association of Levittown, PA. What he writes, though, is far from the typical extremist diatribe you might expect from someone who is radicalized in one way or another. He usually presents a pretty clear and well thought out opinion.
I believe he did this again in his most recent column, which I'm posting below.
One regular contributor to the column is a man named Ayhan Ozer, who is affiliated with the Turkish-Muslim Cultural Association of Levittown, PA. What he writes, though, is far from the typical extremist diatribe you might expect from someone who is radicalized in one way or another. He usually presents a pretty clear and well thought out opinion.
I believe he did this again in his most recent column, which I'm posting below.
"In recent decades the search for new answers to the old problems of Islam is unfolding on a scale never before seen in Islamic history.I'll leave it up to you to see either the planned or unintended parallels that Ozer draws, I think, between Islam and much of Christianity, as well as the faux Christian evangelicals.
As the world becomes inundated with the news about Islam and Muslims, they examine their faith in the context of political, social, and intellectual challenges of the contemporary life (sic).
The questions such as what are the proper relationships of Islam and the state? (sic) Should religious scholars have a role in political governance? If intellectual freedom is a right, how far can a moderate Muslim go, for instance, the challenging of the Quran, or the Sunnah, or expressing doubts about his faith?
These are burning issues in Islam, and now they are being debated in some circles.
If we look to the Muslim world, there are several common denominations among individual states. Most of them are backward, anti-modern, poor, and lag behind the times.
Some of the learned Islamic scholars attribute this to the fact that Islam dries out vital resources of the state and its people, it stunts the creativity and aspirations of its adherents, and it hinders free thinking.
By imposing its own divine rules on temporal affairs, Islam pushes states back to the 7th century level. No wonder there is not any innovation and progress in the Islamic world for the last 1300 years. (sic) Also, by confining women to veil and depriving them of education, they shoot themselves in the foot.
To answer some of the above questions, Islam and the state should be separate. Divine and temporal are two different things. If we allow them to mix together then the religious scholars automatically should have a role in the governance of the state. We need to look at Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Arab world for the answer.
Religious scholars can only do harm to the state and the well being of its people. They are, by and large, alien to positive sciences, reason and progressive thinking.
They are heavily sedated with dogmatic teachings, and there is no spark, let alone a fire, in their mind.
Today's problems are dynamically complex: that is, the cause and the effect are far apart in space and time. They are socially complex, involving actors with different interests and persuasion. They are generally complex requiring solutions that are new, unconventional, and unfamiliar. And they are philosophically complex, requiring scientific rationality and spiritual enlightenment simultaneously.
We need an overarching, multidisciplinary and holistic paradigm to address and solve all of these issues. And holism sees living nature as interacting wholes that are more than the sum of their parts.
Therefore, Muslims cannot isolate themselves from the whole, and interaction is essential. They define themselves as tolerant and charitable. Out-reaching, they should show that those claims are not in the abstract.
There are signs, however, that point to a deep yearning among many Muslims for new thinking in Islam which they deem essential for political reforms and cultural vitality. Some progressive minded Islamic thinkers acknowledge that "The most critical problem facing the Muslim world is neither political nor economical, but deep confusion in our thinking and learning process in relation to ourselves, to Islam and to humanity at large. Without a relative, rational and objective Islamic discourse, our relationship to Islam will remain as a sentiment to the past."
Resistance to new thinking in Islam comes from several quarters. Authoritarian governments restrict public debates for their own sake. Tradition-bound religious establishments, allied to the state, reject new interpretations of Islamic scriptures because they are still a majority.
Political opportunists prefer religious slogans to genuine freedoms.
Orthodox Islamists read the Quran in a literal way, and maintain that theirs is the "correct" way of Islam, and all others heretical. Finally, extremists threaten new thinkers of Islam with violence.
All those developments, however slow, suggest that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the road to the light is perilous.
The conservative forces are more vocal and are likely to remain in control for some time to come.
We may not notice, never mind heed, that those pioneers are working to modernize their faith with ideas instead of debasing it with bombs, and they are on the march."
Message From Our Sponsor
I know Liberal Oasis and other fine blogs out there report on the Sunday punditry parades, which to me are total disinformation and propaganda barely concealed by shouts, character assassination and other cheap theatrics.
I know from whence I speak on this, because I watched "This Week with David Brinkley" for years. Brinkley, as a hopelessly jaded and world-weary journo, was actually funny at times because you could tell he never took it completely seriously (Brinkley, in my mind, tarnished himself by shilling for ADM before he died, however). At the end of the show, they would have a roundtable discussion (probably still following that format now, I guess, only with Pretty Boy George S. running things), and Brinkley would throw out a topic to George Will, who would pontificate in as sanctimonious a way as possible (and actually provide factual information on occasion) before Sam Donaldson would work himself into a lather responding to what Will said, and then the guest journo (usually Tom Wicker) would chime in with something else. On the whole, it wasn't bad. After that, I would watch "Dr. McLaughlin's Gong Show" in the afternoon and work myself into my own frenzy of sorts listening to the total conservative garbage seeping out of Novak, Pat Buchanan, Kudlow, Barone, Wattenberg et al.
Soon after all of this, though, I ended up getting married and putting all of this aside because I matured and became more sophisticated (and also because my wife told me she'd club me over the head with the Farberware skillet if I went back to watching this stuff:-).
My point (finally) is that I'd sooner give myself an appendectomy with a fondue fork than go back to watching these shows. I'll get my information from reliable sources elsewhere, thank you very much. I'll try to cover a wide range of topics here and make this site as interesting as I can, but I'm afraid I'll have to draw the line when it comes to the Sunday media barking heads.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
I know from whence I speak on this, because I watched "This Week with David Brinkley" for years. Brinkley, as a hopelessly jaded and world-weary journo, was actually funny at times because you could tell he never took it completely seriously (Brinkley, in my mind, tarnished himself by shilling for ADM before he died, however). At the end of the show, they would have a roundtable discussion (probably still following that format now, I guess, only with Pretty Boy George S. running things), and Brinkley would throw out a topic to George Will, who would pontificate in as sanctimonious a way as possible (and actually provide factual information on occasion) before Sam Donaldson would work himself into a lather responding to what Will said, and then the guest journo (usually Tom Wicker) would chime in with something else. On the whole, it wasn't bad. After that, I would watch "Dr. McLaughlin's Gong Show" in the afternoon and work myself into my own frenzy of sorts listening to the total conservative garbage seeping out of Novak, Pat Buchanan, Kudlow, Barone, Wattenberg et al.
Soon after all of this, though, I ended up getting married and putting all of this aside because I matured and became more sophisticated (and also because my wife told me she'd club me over the head with the Farberware skillet if I went back to watching this stuff:-).
My point (finally) is that I'd sooner give myself an appendectomy with a fondue fork than go back to watching these shows. I'll get my information from reliable sources elsewhere, thank you very much. I'll try to cover a wide range of topics here and make this site as interesting as I can, but I'm afraid I'll have to draw the line when it comes to the Sunday media barking heads.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
My God, Save Izod and Eddie Bauer!
"JerseyBredFilly" over at The Daily Kos had a great post a couple of days ago about typical Repug demagoguery in the garden state. Seems that GOP wannabe guv Doug Forrester was screaming for the head of NJ AG Peter Harvey over the distribution of homeland security funds, with other Repug honchos in that state chiming in (which they will always do, as we know).
The post covered the whole situation pretty well, but I just want to add a couple of things (I don't live in NJ, but I work there and have frequent occasion to visit otherwise).
In a Courier Post story on this, Repug assemblyman Francis Bodine "said his district was denied $1.7 million in requests in 2005, including towns close to Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.'I live two blocks away from Lockheed Martin,' he said. 'This is a prime target for any kind of foreign destruction.'"
Uh, excuse me, Mr. Bodine; please allow me to point something out, OK?
Lockheed Martin is a software development and support services company. They are an extremely large company in this regard with probably more money flowing from Bushco's coffers onto their ledgers than we can possibly imagine, but that is what they are, OK?
As nearly as I can understand the terrorist mentality (and I'm happy to admit that I can't, and hopefully never will), I believe that their goal is to take out as many people as possible with little effort expended on their part to do so. As proof, witness the fact that 120 people have died from three car bombs over the last four days in Iraq. I don't believe that trying to destroy a software development services and support company would help bin Laden and his fellow crazies accomplish that goal.
The biggest tactical terrorist target in Assemblyman Bodine's district is the Moorestown Mall (with Fortune Magazine having just rated Moorestown as the best place to live in the country in a survey published this week). Somehow I think the other targets referred to in JerseyBredFilly's post would rate a bit higher (though, as she points out, those targets reside in heavily Democratic districts, making them ripe for Repug attacks regardless of how many vital services installations reside in those areas).
Another quote I want to highlight came from Repug State Senator and onetime local area news anchorperson Diane Allen. "I think it’s unconscionable to play politics with something as important as homeland security," she said.
I agree. Now instead of saying that to the media, try repeating it to the cabal of faux Christian, pro-business zombies and crooks running our government, practically all of whom come from your side of the aisle, and let me know how far you get with them, OK?
(P.S. - Speaking of which, Mark Shields had a great column this week on the supposed "shared sacrifice" in this country after 9/11, and Tom DeLay's typical disgusting exploitation of same.)
The post covered the whole situation pretty well, but I just want to add a couple of things (I don't live in NJ, but I work there and have frequent occasion to visit otherwise).
In a Courier Post story on this, Repug assemblyman Francis Bodine "said his district was denied $1.7 million in requests in 2005, including towns close to Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base.'I live two blocks away from Lockheed Martin,' he said. 'This is a prime target for any kind of foreign destruction.'"
Uh, excuse me, Mr. Bodine; please allow me to point something out, OK?
Lockheed Martin is a software development and support services company. They are an extremely large company in this regard with probably more money flowing from Bushco's coffers onto their ledgers than we can possibly imagine, but that is what they are, OK?
As nearly as I can understand the terrorist mentality (and I'm happy to admit that I can't, and hopefully never will), I believe that their goal is to take out as many people as possible with little effort expended on their part to do so. As proof, witness the fact that 120 people have died from three car bombs over the last four days in Iraq. I don't believe that trying to destroy a software development services and support company would help bin Laden and his fellow crazies accomplish that goal.
The biggest tactical terrorist target in Assemblyman Bodine's district is the Moorestown Mall (with Fortune Magazine having just rated Moorestown as the best place to live in the country in a survey published this week). Somehow I think the other targets referred to in JerseyBredFilly's post would rate a bit higher (though, as she points out, those targets reside in heavily Democratic districts, making them ripe for Repug attacks regardless of how many vital services installations reside in those areas).
Another quote I want to highlight came from Repug State Senator and onetime local area news anchorperson Diane Allen. "I think it’s unconscionable to play politics with something as important as homeland security," she said.
I agree. Now instead of saying that to the media, try repeating it to the cabal of faux Christian, pro-business zombies and crooks running our government, practically all of whom come from your side of the aisle, and let me know how far you get with them, OK?
(P.S. - Speaking of which, Mark Shields had a great column this week on the supposed "shared sacrifice" in this country after 9/11, and Tom DeLay's typical disgusting exploitation of same.)
Friday, July 15, 2005
Wasn't 'Eminent Domain' Enough, People?
I saw a story on CNN a few minutes ago that some leading women senators asked Sandra Day O'Connor to return as Chief Justice in the event that Rehnquist bags it (though he seems to have no intention of doing that). But apparently, the story is gone because I can't find a link. Hmmm...
With that in mind, I have this to offer. I'd apologize to the late, great Clyde McPhatter ("Lover Please") if I could for this one...
With that in mind, I have this to offer. I'd apologize to the late, great Clyde McPhatter ("Lover Please") if I could for this one...
Sandy please, please come backI could add more...but why?
Don't let Bushco appoint some hack
Like J.R. Brown whose temper is spent
Declaring war on the government
Sandy please, please don't go
Though we could tolerate Alito
Luttig clerked for Scalia - oh my
And not Gonzales, the torture guy
Sandy please, you're our "pet"
Hellfire from a "moderate"
You spoke for those at Guantanamo
But installed Dubya to run the show
Couldn't Find Bill's Member, Though
(See Atrios and The All Spin zone, by the way, to find out why ABC correspondent Ann Compton thought "Lewinsky-gate" was the most difficult story she had to cover in 30 years of reporting, including her White House stint during the Clinton Administration. I mean, I can see where it would make her squeamish, but I'd think either Iraq War I or especially II or Iran-Contra, portraying Reagan as a doddering old fool, would be harder to report.)
Reading this, I wonder if Hillary is trying to steal some thunder from the faux Christian "moral values" crowd. If so, I think it's a smart tactical move.
Doing this makes me think that, the more she says she's not running in '08 for prez, the more she really is. The problem is that's the dose of red meat that the right-wing barking head brigade tosses to its audience on a daily basis.
Reading this, I wonder if Hillary is trying to steal some thunder from the faux Christian "moral values" crowd. If so, I think it's a smart tactical move.
Doing this makes me think that, the more she says she's not running in '08 for prez, the more she really is. The problem is that's the dose of red meat that the right-wing barking head brigade tosses to its audience on a daily basis.
The Stupidity Defense
I was wondering how long it was going to take before Rove got around to this one.
Oh, so a reporter told him about Valerie Plame. Whatever (putting aside the fact that that is a preposterous argument which, if somehow true, assumes the same leaky security standards that permitted the Jeff Gannon fiasco, assuming that that wasn’t premeditated either – another highly shaky assumption).
None of this is credible. All of it warrants a special prosecutor and convening of a bipartisan congressional committee IMMEDIATELY (along with the revoking of Rove’s security clearance at the very least).
(Also, the great Paul Krugman weighed in on this recently as well.)
Oh, so a reporter told him about Valerie Plame. Whatever (putting aside the fact that that is a preposterous argument which, if somehow true, assumes the same leaky security standards that permitted the Jeff Gannon fiasco, assuming that that wasn’t premeditated either – another highly shaky assumption).
None of this is credible. All of it warrants a special prosecutor and convening of a bipartisan congressional committee IMMEDIATELY (along with the revoking of Rove’s security clearance at the very least).
(Also, the great Paul Krugman weighed in on this recently as well.)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
True Lies
"Zis is govanah Ahh-nold. I deed not take money from ze Amerikahn Media Operashuns Cahmpany to keel zee beel tu rahgulate diet saaplements. Now take ze peecture as I kees my bulging triceps."
No, what the Governator (or Herr Gropenfuhrer...whichever you prefer) did isn't a conflict of interest. Of course not. What's wrong with you? Don't you realize you've entered the world of Bushco, where black is white and white is black (and that hideous color of blue is banned)?
Update 7/15: I guess Maria ripped him a new one on this...
No, what the Governator (or Herr Gropenfuhrer...whichever you prefer) did isn't a conflict of interest. Of course not. What's wrong with you? Don't you realize you've entered the world of Bushco, where black is white and white is black (and that hideous color of blue is banned)?
Update 7/15: I guess Maria ripped him a new one on this...
Taking A Skate
It sounds like the NHL and the players association have reached a deal in principle for a new colllective bargaining agreement. That's good news, since I'm from the Philadelphia area and the Flyers are the only team around here besides the Eagles who have a remote shot at a championship (though the AHL Phantoms had a glorious season and won the Calder Cup).
For a bit of background, here is what I posted on the old site from 2/17 when last season was cancelled:
For a bit of background, here is what I posted on the old site from 2/17 when last season was cancelled:
So the NHL cancelled the season yesterday, huh? As someone who has been a pretty steadfast hockey fan for a long time (mainly because it was one of the only sports in which I showed a hint of ability), I have to say that I’m a bit saddened, but based on the short-sighted, idiotic posturing on the part of both the players and the owners, I’m not one bit surprised.I'll comment further on this when I find out more details on the agreement.
First of all, let’s keep something in mind: the players didn’t go on strike – they were locked out. That makes a difference to me. Second, a month or so ago, they agreed to give back a quarter of their salaries in an effort to end this. Tell me ANYBODY else who has done or ever would do something like that (I probably wouldn’t, but who can say?). However, that being said, the players and Bob Goodenow (their union rep) continue to live in this fantasy world that dictates that their salaries shouldn’t be tied to team revenues. As people who are conservative but have business smarts have said, no business entity of any kind can exist when anywhere up to 75 percent of its earnings are used to pay salaries. Since the NHL generates zero TV revenue because of lousy ratings (it’s just not a good TV sport, though it’s awesome live…the TV problem is the key to all of this, ultimately…and despite day-glo pucks and clever animated characters supposedly teaching the game to fans, it never will be, especially with those horrible variations of the “neutral zone trap” that EVERY team uses now, making the game terminally boring to watch, especially on the tube), the players don’t have the luxury of making the salary demands of other sports, such as basketball (which is fast approaching a reckoning also I may add, and it’s about time).
That being said, though, I understand that the players don’t want to commit to the salary cap based on team revenues because they know the owners are “cooking the books”, and once they commit (like the NFL), they’re committed for good. Also, the owners’ salary cap demands, even for the pittance of money that the league generates, are beyond miserly. I read a day or so ago that the players finally agreed to a cap of $52 million when the owners said they wouldn’t tie salaries to team revenues, but the owners (led by about eight who run small market teams who, not withstanding the apocalypse, would have NO SHOT at winning the Stanley Cup anyway) said, “no, the cap has to be $40 million”. That is walking around money to Ed Snider, owner of the Flyers (more on him in a minute). What the league needs is a third party to say a) there will be ONE SET OF BOOKS FOR EVERY TEAM showing the accounting stuff that is needed (revenues, expenditures, etc.), and if any of these numbers are wrong, the owners are going to be fined at the least, with the possibility of criminal charges if they have been deliberately falsified, and b) OK, players, this is the pool of money from which your salaries will be paid. The owners are entitled to some of it for their profit, some of it for their business costs, and some of it for your salaries. So it is written – so it shall be done.
OK, now to Ed Snider. He quite rightly deserves respect and gratitude for being the person who, probably more than anyone else, is responsible for the success of professional ice hockey in the Philadelphia area to date (as well as the thrill I experienced as a teenager, watching Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent leading the Flyers to two Stanley Cups). Now that the season is down the drain, however, his glowering countenance graces the cover of this morning’s Inquirer sports page, forcefully intoning that “we did everything we could do, and we stand behind commissioner Gary Bettman one hundred percent”. I have a question for Snider, however. Where the hell were you when it mattered? Why didn’t you tell the owners who demanded the cap (the eight I referred to above, based on the analysis of Tim Panaccio of the Inquirer) to modify their position to save the season, or revisit it after the season (like going to war, canceling a season should be absolutely the last resort)? I also have a question or two for Bettman. Why did you keep expanding the league to cities that should not have been granted franchises? I’m talking about the Columbus Blue Jackets (please) in particular. Also, how many times has the NHL tried to start franchises in Atlanta and Minneapolis and failed? With that kind of business planning, is it any wonder that the league is going down the tubes (and good luck winning back fans after this fiasco).
I wish a pox on all of your houses on this point. Thanks for taking all ice hockey fans on a one-way zamboni ride to nowhere.
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Or, as Forrest Gump would say, “Life is like a box of chocolates, though a box of chocolates is an inanimate object incapable of rational thought or understanding of its actions, unlike the director of parks and recreation at Deerfield Beach, FL, who thinks it’s appropriate to play a tape of screaming 9/11 victims during the town’s Fourth of July celebration (here).
Even more ridiculous is his quote in the last sentence of the story where he says, ‘If it were Memorial Day, no one would have minded’. Uh, yeah…they would have minded, seeing that Memorial Day is intended to honor our service people and not civilians who were murdered by Middle Eastern cowards. It just shows that 9/11 is still an abstraction to many people who were not directly affected by it or know someone who was, and is instead an excuse for some cheap display of faux patriotism in the hope that it will never be put to the ultimate test."
"That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
(not much of an imitation, I know...)
P.S. - Speaking of 9/11, can someone let me know when the Bushco Justice Department actually convicts somebody involved with that terrible day and decides to stop harassing reporters instead over leaked information from Karl Rove? Thanks a lot.
Even more ridiculous is his quote in the last sentence of the story where he says, ‘If it were Memorial Day, no one would have minded’. Uh, yeah…they would have minded, seeing that Memorial Day is intended to honor our service people and not civilians who were murdered by Middle Eastern cowards. It just shows that 9/11 is still an abstraction to many people who were not directly affected by it or know someone who was, and is instead an excuse for some cheap display of faux patriotism in the hope that it will never be put to the ultimate test."
"That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
(not much of an imitation, I know...)
P.S. - Speaking of 9/11, can someone let me know when the Bushco Justice Department actually convicts somebody involved with that terrible day and decides to stop harassing reporters instead over leaked information from Karl Rove? Thanks a lot.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
In And Out
In: David Sirota, on The Huffington Post, explains the importance of unions and how they keep up our wages (on the "in" side for employment).
Out: Marie Cocco explains how Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is kow towing to his business friends and messing around with "defined benefit" plans for older workers (on the "out" side for retirement - it depresses me unutterably when I see Roman Catholic politicians join the Republican Party). In a way, Boehner is right, though. "Cash balance" plans are attractive, but only for the high-profile corporate types (God, when will people ever get wise to the fact that that is the ONLY audience the Repugs care about?).
Out: Marie Cocco explains how Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is kow towing to his business friends and messing around with "defined benefit" plans for older workers (on the "out" side for retirement - it depresses me unutterably when I see Roman Catholic politicians join the Republican Party). In a way, Boehner is right, though. "Cash balance" plans are attractive, but only for the high-profile corporate types (God, when will people ever get wise to the fact that that is the ONLY audience the Repugs care about?).
This "Peach" Is The Pits!
Well well, look who is back in the news (courtesy of Air America)...
Remember his wild-eyed, invective-spewing, spitting performance at the Republican National Hatefest in New York City last year? In case you don't, here's a refresher.
If he had any class, decency or guts whatsoever, he would leave his party (and preferably go crawl under a rock from which he could live out his remaining days).
Remember his wild-eyed, invective-spewing, spitting performance at the Republican National Hatefest in New York City last year? In case you don't, here's a refresher.
If he had any class, decency or guts whatsoever, he would leave his party (and preferably go crawl under a rock from which he could live out his remaining days).
Watch Out For The Tide
Spent yesterday with the young one on the incredibly crowded beach at Ocean City, NJ, getting properly scalded in the midday sun despite a layer or two of SPF 45. We ventured out a bit to the water, but mainly we worked with pail and shovel to build a moat and medium-sized towers surrounding it in anticipation of building a castle (never materialized, though).
A couple of boys stopped by about 6-9 years old and assisted in the process. As they did, I noted the continual parade of three and four-packs of young, tanned, toned, bikini-clad blonde teenage girls walking by. Nice work if you can get it, I thought (for both myself and them).
As I rubbed more Aloe lotion on this morning, I thought of our sea sculptures and other shore images (including eating Shriver’s fudge – yummy! – after an hour or two of rides at Castaway Cove) while I read the following news stories:
I was eventually able to divert him long enough to start expanding his castle moat when I asked him if he knew where his yellow-handled shovel was, which I’d failed to put in his pile of toys. He looked at me quizzically and said “I dunno” (we later found it).
Just stay over there and don’t bother to mess anything up over here, I thought. I don’t feel like dealing with a bully, because I have to be careful about getting in the face of other people’s kids, not that I want to anyway. I wasn’t too worried, though, because the boy’s mom had things well in hand.
A couple of boys stopped by about 6-9 years old and assisted in the process. As they did, I noted the continual parade of three and four-packs of young, tanned, toned, bikini-clad blonde teenage girls walking by. Nice work if you can get it, I thought (for both myself and them).
As I rubbed more Aloe lotion on this morning, I thought of our sea sculptures and other shore images (including eating Shriver’s fudge – yummy! – after an hour or two of rides at Castaway Cove) while I read the following news stories:
From Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer editorial page:Sorting out whose toys belonged to whom when we were finished was a bit of a chore. I eventually ended up taking my best guess and making a few different piles for each participant. Of course, the young one insisted on jumping in the moat several times, sending ocean water and muddy sand flying in every direction.
The unraveling of L'Affaire Rove offers two possibilities:
Either presidential adviser Karl Rove wasn't telling the truth to President Bush about his role in revealing the identity of a CIA officer. Or Bush wasn't telling the truth to the public about Rove's involvement. Neither option is defensible.
Rove has been choosing his words carefully on this matter for two years, a parsing that could not have escaped the President's attention. He has said he did not reveal the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame, and never even knew her name.
But Rove was involved in giving away her identity; that much is clear from recent statements by Rove's lawyer and from an e-mail written by Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper about his conversation with Rove in July 2003. Rove told Cooper that the wife of former ambassador Joe Wilson, who had accused Bush of hyping Iraq's nuclear ambitions prior to the war, "apparently" was a CIA employee specializing in research on weapons of mass destruction.
That would be Plame. So technically, Rove was correct when he claimed he never revealed Plame's name as payback for Wilson's criticism of Bush. But to contend that he had no role in revealing her identity is to engage in goofy posturing worthy of the old TV spy series Get Smart.
I was eventually able to divert him long enough to start expanding his castle moat when I asked him if he knew where his yellow-handled shovel was, which I’d failed to put in his pile of toys. He looked at me quizzically and said “I dunno” (we later found it).
From Chris Floyd’s latest column (regarding Bush and the Iraq War):The young one worked alone for a little while, as some of the boys went off to play in the ocean. When two of them returned, one started working again on the castle for the moat without saying anything, apparently angry, while another said to him in a pleading way, “I wasn’t calling you a name. I was just joking. Here, I’ll say something about myself if you want.”
Bob Herbert, who has been incandescent for months now, usefully (reminded us in a recent New York Times column) of the comedy routine that Bush performed for a sycophantic audience of TV and radio "journalists" back in March 2004: the infamous "hunt for WMD" in the Oval Office. As you'll recall, this was a series of cutesy shots showing Bush peering behind the office curtains, looking under the rug while cracking wise: "No weapons of mass destruction under here! Maybe they're over here?" and so on.
I thought then - and still think - that this performance was one of the most revealing - and sickening - episodes in American political history. The cynicism of it defies belief, outstrips all comprehension. Imagine sending men and women to die - and to kill - in a war over weapons of mass destruction, then joking about the fact that no weapons were ever found. All this, while thousands continued to die, including your own soldiers.
The fact that Bush would engage so openly in such murderous cynicism was a telling revelation: it showed, or rather confirmed, that America was being led by a brutal, mocking, heedless Caligula, a spoiled, shallow, vain and selfish fool, a moral psychopath incapable of ordinary human empathy. The reaction of the "journalists" present was another soul-sinking revelation: they laughed. Oh, how they laughed. "What a kidder this Dubya is, eh? What important insiders we all are - real players, tough and savvy - sharing this special moment of "knowing" laughter with the president!" As far as I know, not a single person walked out in protest, not a single "journalist" refused to take part in this open mockery of the dead - our own, and the tens of thousands of Iraqis who had died for the WMD chimera that Bush now found so funny.
My update (from CNN today):
A suicide bomber blew up a vehicle Wednesday near a U.S. military convoy and large group of Iraqi children in Baghdad, killing 27 people, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.
Iraqi police said most of the dead were children. The attack also left 20 people wounded.
Not so funny, eh?
From Brian McGrory’s column in today’s Boston Globe:A few yards away from us, I noticed a kid who was playing rough with another and scolded by his mother for doing so. As he got up and walked away from playing by the water, he picked up some muddy sand and threw it at the sculpture that his friend was working on, causing his mother to scold him even more.
"Today, I'd like to take a few moments to express profound thanks to Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the third-ranking Republican in the US Senate. In fact, all Bostonians should thank him for sharing his incredible wisdom and insight about this city and its depraved ways.
Specifically, here's what Santorum wrote about the church pedophile scandal on a religious website called Catholic Online. ''When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
So thank you, senator, for setting us straight about the problems with the clergy. Thank you for letting us know that all those pedophilic priests and the church leaders who covered up their crimes are the fault of every Bostonian.
Who knew that the president of Harvard, the people at the Museum of Science, and Mayor Thomas M. Menino were to blame for Cardinal Bernard F. Law's decision to move predatory priests from one parish to another? Here's who knew: Senator Rick Santorum.
(If Santorum were to visit,) what would he find up here, anyway? He'd find one of the most Catholic cities in the country.
He'd find academic institutions that are the intellectual engine of the nation, schools, by the way, that have churned out plenty of Republican leaders, George W. Bush among them.
And he'd find a city that is pretty much the birthplace of civil political discourse, a concept that Santorum essentially violates every time he opens his mouth."
By the way, according to the most recent polling data available from The Daily Kos, Democratic challenger Robert Casey Jr. is leading Santorum by 50 to 39 percent (however, the Senate election is over a year away).
Just stay over there and don’t bother to mess anything up over here, I thought. I don’t feel like dealing with a bully, because I have to be careful about getting in the face of other people’s kids, not that I want to anyway. I wasn’t too worried, though, because the boy’s mom had things well in hand.
In Monday’s Bucks County Courier Times, Republican State Rep. Matthew Wright justified the 16 to 34 percent pay raise the legislature authorized about a week ago, saying it took “courage” for him to vote for it. He partly used as justification the fact that he “has to be on call for his constituents on a 24/7 basis.”As we were finishing up, the young one decided to walk over towards the jetty and look for hermit crabs along with the other kids. I told him not to, because the sign was posted telling everyone to avoid the jagged stones and rocks upon which one could get seriously injured. “We have to obey the rules,” I reminded him.
Wright, however, had no comment on the fact that PA legislators receive the following perks: $129 in expense money for every day they’re in Harrisburg; up to $650 a month or $7,800 a year to lease a car; fully paid health insurance valued at $13,000 a year; and a fully paid pension.
As the Bucks County Courier Times noted, “The increasing cost of health insurance alone has wiped out the salary increases most people have seen in recent years. In all likelihood, millions of Pennsylvanians are taking home less than they were a few years ago.”
As I read the news and recalled the day before, I turned the radio on to the classic rock station, and I heard the following lyrics from an old Jimi Hendrix song:From Wikipedia.org:
On August 27, 2003, the State of Oklahoma filed a 15-count indictment against WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers. [6] The indictment charged that he violated the state's securities laws by defrauding investors on multiple occasions between January 2001 and March 2002. [7] These charges were dropped, with the right to refile retained, on November 20, 2003. [8] An agreement to extend the statue of limitations on these charges, allowing Oklahoma prosecutors time to see the results of federal sentencing, was signed on March 30, 2005. [9]
Federal authorities indicted Ebbers with security fraud and conspiracy charges on March 2, 2004. [10] [11] An amendment to the indictment on May 25, 2004 increased the list of charges to nine felonies: one count each of conspiracy and securities fraud, and seven counts of filing false statements with securities regulators. [12] Ebbers was found guilty of all charges on March 15, 2005.
Ebbers was sentenced today to 25 years in prison.
“And so castles made of sandHow perfectly appropriate, I thought.
Fall into the sea
Eventually.”
Henry Drummond Had It Right
We were initially shocked in this country when we found out that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols blew up the Murrah building in Oklahoma City, since we first thought it was the work of Muslim crazies. It's tragic that Londoners have now learned that it could be one of their own also.
"...fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding."
Spencer Tracy in "Inherit The Wind"
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Sssh...Don't Wake The Voters
The latest CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll showed that Bush actually got a slight bump in his approval rating, believe it or not, from the London terrorist attacks. I'd really like to know how they arrived at that number. I'd also like to know where I can get something to quiet my stomach, because I suddenly feel like I want to puke.
Also, I saw somewhere in a story on The Smirking Chimp yesterday that there apparently is yet another Downing Street memo that states that Bush and Blair will start to pull troops out of Iraq in time for next year's congressional elections.
OK, so let's see now. First, chronic liar Dick Cheney says the insurgency "is in its last throes," then Rummy says the war could go on for 12 years, and now Dubya wants to start pulling troops out in a year. As Molly Ivins has asked several times, do we have any adults in this administration? Hell, I'll settle for someone who actually knows what they're doing.
Also, I saw somewhere in a story on The Smirking Chimp yesterday that there apparently is yet another Downing Street memo that states that Bush and Blair will start to pull troops out of Iraq in time for next year's congressional elections.
OK, so let's see now. First, chronic liar Dick Cheney says the insurgency "is in its last throes," then Rummy says the war could go on for 12 years, and now Dubya wants to start pulling troops out in a year. As Molly Ivins has asked several times, do we have any adults in this administration? Hell, I'll settle for someone who actually knows what they're doing.
Monday, July 11, 2005
At Least She Didn't "Out" A Spy
So the first-term Democratic senator from New York gave a speech yesterday and hit Bush on shortchanging our troops, underfunding scientific research and doling out unnecessary tax cuts for the rich, and managed to call Dubya "Alfred E. Newman" again in the process. Of course, our corporate media is going for the "gotcha" sound bite or headline as always, and that's just the way the game is played unfortunately.
The good thing is that it's nice to see the Democrats show a spine now and again. The bad thing is that they just about always seem to fall into the negativity trap that allows the Repugs to trot out their standard responses and ignore the substance of what the opposition party is talking about. Is it fair that what they're trying to communicate is getting choked and distorted? No, but again, it's going to happen (Tim Russert and the Washington Press Corps are going to ignore all of the Rove/Plame stuff because that's what their "handlers" want them to do).
The thing the Dems hate to admit - and believe me when I tell you I hate to admit it also - is that, in spite of the illegal war in Iraq that is spinning out of control and continuing to kill our people and innocent Iraqis, our moribund economy heralding the descent of this country into what could become a third-world gulag, our continued fouling of the environment, our utter failure to invest in science and the technologies of the future, and the rote training approach (not "learning" at all as far as I'm concerned) and underfunding of "No Child Left Behind" as well as many, MANY other reasons...in spite of ALL of that, there are STILL way, WAY too many damn people in this country who actually LIKE BUSH and think he's doing a good job! As far as I'm concerned, it defies all logic and common sense, but there you are. For that reason, the public figures should lay off this clown and leave the name calling and personal attacks to the bloggers :-).
Oh, and by the way, this Edward Cox person who I believe was Nixon's son-in-law said in response that Sen. Clinton should do more to secure homeland security funding.
Perhaps he would like to read this (and note the date)...
The good thing is that it's nice to see the Democrats show a spine now and again. The bad thing is that they just about always seem to fall into the negativity trap that allows the Repugs to trot out their standard responses and ignore the substance of what the opposition party is talking about. Is it fair that what they're trying to communicate is getting choked and distorted? No, but again, it's going to happen (Tim Russert and the Washington Press Corps are going to ignore all of the Rove/Plame stuff because that's what their "handlers" want them to do).
The thing the Dems hate to admit - and believe me when I tell you I hate to admit it also - is that, in spite of the illegal war in Iraq that is spinning out of control and continuing to kill our people and innocent Iraqis, our moribund economy heralding the descent of this country into what could become a third-world gulag, our continued fouling of the environment, our utter failure to invest in science and the technologies of the future, and the rote training approach (not "learning" at all as far as I'm concerned) and underfunding of "No Child Left Behind" as well as many, MANY other reasons...in spite of ALL of that, there are STILL way, WAY too many damn people in this country who actually LIKE BUSH and think he's doing a good job! As far as I'm concerned, it defies all logic and common sense, but there you are. For that reason, the public figures should lay off this clown and leave the name calling and personal attacks to the bloggers :-).
Oh, and by the way, this Edward Cox person who I believe was Nixon's son-in-law said in response that Sen. Clinton should do more to secure homeland security funding.
Perhaps he would like to read this (and note the date)...
July 8, 2005Duuuhhh!!!
Senator Clinton Urges Secretary Chertoff to Release Homeland Security Funds
Washington, DC -- Senator Clinton today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff calling on him to release homeland security funding that Congress approved last year but that has not yet been sent to states. These critically needed funds would allow states to upgrade and strengthen rail and transit security and make other critical investments in homeland security. The letter was also signed by Senators Boxer, Carper, Corzine, Kennedy, Lautenberg, Lieberman, Reed and Schumer. “We ask that you instruct the Department of Homeland Security to expedite dissemination of homeland security funding that will help secure our rail and transit systems,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “In the face of these imminent threats, and with over nine billion trips taken on public transportation each year, our citizens deserve existing and additional security resources to be distributed immediately.”
The Senators underscored the need to get states the funds they are already owed right away. At the same time, they emphasized the need to continue to invest in transit security.
“It is essential that the President and Congress allocate sufficient resources to this mission. In light of these recent attacks, we believe that more funding is needed specifically for rail and transit security resources than is provided for in the President’s FY 2006 Budget to be sure we are doing all we can to prevent against future terrorist attacks in this country,” the Senators emphasized.
The text of the letter follows:
July 8, 2005 The Honorable Michael Chertoff
Secretary
United States Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We write to you in the immediate wake of Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London. Initial reports indicate that dozens have been killed and hundreds more injured. We support the efforts of officials charged with responding to these attacks. These acts of terrorism only strengthen our resolve to ensure that the freedom our society enjoys shall endure. The attacks on the trains and buses in London remind us of the gruesome cowardly attacks against which we must defend ourselves. These recent attacks also remind us of the horrific acts of terrorism that Madrid suffered in March, 2004, when nearly 200 people were killed and over one thousand were injured as a result of explosives planted on trains during their morning rush hour. The similarities of these attacks are an indication that terrorist groups continue to exploit vulnerabilities that exist in our public transportation systems. We simply cannot continue to ignore these weaknesses. As you know, the Department of Homeland Security is charged with preventing terrorist attacks within the United States and reducing our vulnerabilities to such attacks. It is essential that the President and Congress allocate sufficient resources to this mission. In light of these recent attacks, we believe that more funding is needed specifically for rail and transit security resources than is provided for in the President’s FY 2006 Budget to be sure we are doing all we can to prevent against future terrorist attacks in this country. Additionally, we urge you to ensure that funds already appropriated be made available without further delay. It is estimated that there is over $7 billion in security needs for our nation’s rail and transit systems and yet there has only been approximately $300 million allocated for such public transportation security needs since the September 11, 2001, attacks. We cannot continue to merely hope that attacks such as those we witnessed in Spain and now London do not occur in our cities across the United States. We must act to ensure that our transportation systems have the resources they need immediately. According to the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, many of the homeland security grants that were appropriated by Congress in the fiscal year 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations bill have not been distributed for upgrading and improving port security, improving intercity bus security, hiring additional firefighters, and improving transit security. Further, funds for the Buffer Protection Plans were not released until just recently. We ask that you instruct the Department of Homeland Security to expedite dissemination of homeland security funding that will help secure our rail and transit systems. In the face of these imminent threats, and with over 9 billion trips taken on public transportation each year, our citizens deserve existing and additional security resources to be distributed immediately.
###
Assorted Musings
I meant to add, regarding the prior post, that it was the product of reviewing the sordid garbage that has been spewed lately from Faux News, and I kind of imagined something that would approximate a left-wing, progressive response (and, unfortunately, the only venue that would be granted for that purpose).
The Daily Kos has some more on the whole Cooper/Novak/Plame memo thing (interesting minutiae), and a thought occurred to me on that, and I don't think anyone else has mentioned it.
I'm going to pretend to be a real Pollyanna for a second and throw this out there. Suppose Michael Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor from Bushco's "Justice" department, really is going to go after Novak, but he hasn't yet because Cooper and Miller have played smaller roles, and he's just trying to build up a case so that, when he does go after Novak, it will be as rock solid as possible. That's typically the way you prosecute someone suspected of a crime. I mean, with Watergate, they didn't start investigating Nixon right away, did they? Of course, I'll grant you that they didn't know it would lead to Nixon at the beginning, but as I said, the committee and Judge Sirica went after the underlings first. It's just a thought.
That being said, though, I believe something like the opposite scenario will take place. I think Fitzgerald wants Cooper on the stand, even though he turned in his notes (and though I was in grudging agreement with Pearlstine, Time's publisher, on that, I'm definitely still going back and forth) because Fitzgerald wants to discredit him and Miller (who, of course, is already in the slam). I think Fitzgerald's marching orders are to hammer anyone who reported the story or had anything to do with it, and when the time comes around to look at Novak, the "journalist" will just plead that it was all some kind of mistake and he was in error. A tactic like this is Bushco to a "t", and it would definitely let Rove off the hook.
The only problem is that such a tactic is also typical of a dictatorship.
P.S. - Today's David Sirota plug...check out his blog to find out why "compassionate conservatism" is an oxymoron (it's all in the numbers, as usual).
The Daily Kos has some more on the whole Cooper/Novak/Plame memo thing (interesting minutiae), and a thought occurred to me on that, and I don't think anyone else has mentioned it.
I'm going to pretend to be a real Pollyanna for a second and throw this out there. Suppose Michael Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor from Bushco's "Justice" department, really is going to go after Novak, but he hasn't yet because Cooper and Miller have played smaller roles, and he's just trying to build up a case so that, when he does go after Novak, it will be as rock solid as possible. That's typically the way you prosecute someone suspected of a crime. I mean, with Watergate, they didn't start investigating Nixon right away, did they? Of course, I'll grant you that they didn't know it would lead to Nixon at the beginning, but as I said, the committee and Judge Sirica went after the underlings first. It's just a thought.
That being said, though, I believe something like the opposite scenario will take place. I think Fitzgerald wants Cooper on the stand, even though he turned in his notes (and though I was in grudging agreement with Pearlstine, Time's publisher, on that, I'm definitely still going back and forth) because Fitzgerald wants to discredit him and Miller (who, of course, is already in the slam). I think Fitzgerald's marching orders are to hammer anyone who reported the story or had anything to do with it, and when the time comes around to look at Novak, the "journalist" will just plead that it was all some kind of mistake and he was in error. A tactic like this is Bushco to a "t", and it would definitely let Rove off the hook.
The only problem is that such a tactic is also typical of a dictatorship.
P.S. - Today's David Sirota plug...check out his blog to find out why "compassionate conservatism" is an oxymoron (it's all in the numbers, as usual).
The Return Of "Gunga Dan"
This is the HBO Evening News, Dan Rather reporting. Yes, I’m back because I couldn’t stand my new assignment at CBS any more, and that was to review and “sanitize” the scripts for the evening newscasts in accordance with the demands of new anchor and onetime colleague Bob Schieffer, whose brother has partnered with individuals close to the Bush family in Texas to run a small business. Bob refused to see a conflict of interest in this arrangement and because of that, he insisted that I change or remove any news references that the Bush family might find to be “uncomfortable.”
My working arrangement in this way was personally stipulated by the Bush family as a punishment for the negative publicity created by the National Guard story that I reported based partly on documents from longtime Bush antagonist Bill Burkett that could not be authenticated. As you recall, the story stated that George W. Bush received favorable treatment and was allowed a spot in the Texas Air National Guard to escape the draft which surely would have sent his lily livered, Ivy League, drunken butt over to the ‘Nam.
However, even though this has been reported and substantiated by news organizations around the world, including by journalists such as Greg Palast, CBS News did not appreciate the dustup among its shareholders and the negative publicity generated by the corporate media’s right wing echo chamber, resulting in my acceptance of a new assignment and the firing of three other highly skilled news professionals.
When I sought a new position, I contacted my good friend Jim Lehrer to see if I could work as a part-time anchor or correspondent for the News Hour, but Jim told me in no uncertain terms that I was considered to be poison in the news business as a result of the National Guard fiasco. Besides, since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now run by Kenneth Tomlinson, a conservative demagogue working on behalf of the Bush family, Jim told me that it’s all he can do to hold onto his own job, let alone trying to use whatever clout he has left to create an opportunity by someone who, to use Jim’s words, is “vilified like no other” by the conservative media juggernaut.
I will spare you the particulars of how I came to enter my current relationship with Home Box Office. Suffice to say that this news program officially begins its six-week trial run with this broadcast, and even though I hope to salvage whatever credibility I still have in this business by anchoring a program of in-depth reporting and analysis on the current issues of the day, taking a sometimes hard-hitting look in the best tradition of advocacy journalism, it is projected that the ratings for this broadcast will fall somewhere in between the broadcast of the NHL draft on ESPN and the finals in this year’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” tournament.
On tonight’s newscast, Richard Threlkeld reports on the prospects for future incidents of Mad Cow disease in the meatpacking and poultry industries due to the relaxation of FDA regulations since the Reagan Administration and the further relaxation of guidelines under the current Bush Administration, Lynn Braver reports on how many laps President Bush did in his pool today while 20 coalition force members and Iraqi civilians died in a series of IED and car bomb explosions, Richard Valeriani reports on further stonewalling in the U.S. Congress and the Ohio legislature in a response to inquiries regarding improprieties and possible illegalities in that state concerning the November 2004 presidential election from U.S. Representative John Conyers, Walter Cronkite provides a special report on the under funding of the police, fire and rescue departments in this country which would serve as “first responders” in the event of a terrorist attack in light of the recent London bombings, and Allen Pizzey reports on proposed new regulations in Congress that would ensure a steady stream of liquidity for evangelical millionaires at the expense of the growing number of Medicaid recipients in this country.
But first, this program note. Tune in for the season premiere of “The Sopranos” in which Tony and Paulie Walnuts learn how to play chess, Carmela tries to oppress her simmering lust for Father Phil, prison inmate Johnny Sack completes his initiation and officially become a member of Opus Dei, and Silvio quits the racket to play guitar for Bruce Springsteen and the “E” Street Band.
My working arrangement in this way was personally stipulated by the Bush family as a punishment for the negative publicity created by the National Guard story that I reported based partly on documents from longtime Bush antagonist Bill Burkett that could not be authenticated. As you recall, the story stated that George W. Bush received favorable treatment and was allowed a spot in the Texas Air National Guard to escape the draft which surely would have sent his lily livered, Ivy League, drunken butt over to the ‘Nam.
However, even though this has been reported and substantiated by news organizations around the world, including by journalists such as Greg Palast, CBS News did not appreciate the dustup among its shareholders and the negative publicity generated by the corporate media’s right wing echo chamber, resulting in my acceptance of a new assignment and the firing of three other highly skilled news professionals.
When I sought a new position, I contacted my good friend Jim Lehrer to see if I could work as a part-time anchor or correspondent for the News Hour, but Jim told me in no uncertain terms that I was considered to be poison in the news business as a result of the National Guard fiasco. Besides, since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is now run by Kenneth Tomlinson, a conservative demagogue working on behalf of the Bush family, Jim told me that it’s all he can do to hold onto his own job, let alone trying to use whatever clout he has left to create an opportunity by someone who, to use Jim’s words, is “vilified like no other” by the conservative media juggernaut.
I will spare you the particulars of how I came to enter my current relationship with Home Box Office. Suffice to say that this news program officially begins its six-week trial run with this broadcast, and even though I hope to salvage whatever credibility I still have in this business by anchoring a program of in-depth reporting and analysis on the current issues of the day, taking a sometimes hard-hitting look in the best tradition of advocacy journalism, it is projected that the ratings for this broadcast will fall somewhere in between the broadcast of the NHL draft on ESPN and the finals in this year’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” tournament.
On tonight’s newscast, Richard Threlkeld reports on the prospects for future incidents of Mad Cow disease in the meatpacking and poultry industries due to the relaxation of FDA regulations since the Reagan Administration and the further relaxation of guidelines under the current Bush Administration, Lynn Braver reports on how many laps President Bush did in his pool today while 20 coalition force members and Iraqi civilians died in a series of IED and car bomb explosions, Richard Valeriani reports on further stonewalling in the U.S. Congress and the Ohio legislature in a response to inquiries regarding improprieties and possible illegalities in that state concerning the November 2004 presidential election from U.S. Representative John Conyers, Walter Cronkite provides a special report on the under funding of the police, fire and rescue departments in this country which would serve as “first responders” in the event of a terrorist attack in light of the recent London bombings, and Allen Pizzey reports on proposed new regulations in Congress that would ensure a steady stream of liquidity for evangelical millionaires at the expense of the growing number of Medicaid recipients in this country.
But first, this program note. Tune in for the season premiere of “The Sopranos” in which Tony and Paulie Walnuts learn how to play chess, Carmela tries to oppress her simmering lust for Father Phil, prison inmate Johnny Sack completes his initiation and officially become a member of Opus Dei, and Silvio quits the racket to play guitar for Bruce Springsteen and the “E” Street Band.
Friday, July 08, 2005
We Distort, You Deride
Wow, first Brian Kilmeade, then Brit Hume, then Simon Marks, then John Gibson, and then who else but the biggest barking head chickenhawk demagogue of them all (right here)...
(I'm almost too shocked to post this. This is particularly gut churning, even for these bastards.)
Oh, and as you read that, consider this.
“Hello, I’m Rush Limbaugh. OxyContin has hopelessly addled my brain and turned me into a lunatic demagogue of the radio airwaves. Please do anything you can to avoid this miserable substance. This has been a public service announcement from the National Council of Churches and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.”
(I'm almost too shocked to post this. This is particularly gut churning, even for these bastards.)
Oh, and as you read that, consider this.
“Hello, I’m Rush Limbaugh. OxyContin has hopelessly addled my brain and turned me into a lunatic demagogue of the radio airwaves. Please do anything you can to avoid this miserable substance. This has been a public service announcement from the National Council of Churches and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.”
Are They "Lovin' It" Over This?
Now before anyone out there gets all stirred up over the fact that this man rejected a $300,000 settlement, consider the cost of the drugs he has to take to stay alive.
Just because there haven't been many stories lately about AIDS, don't think for one minute that it is no longer a scourge.
Just because there haven't been many stories lately about AIDS, don't think for one minute that it is no longer a scourge.
Money For Nothing (Not Much Anyway)
This is a long one coming up having to do with Pennsylvania state politics (you are duly warned).
Not unlike a little kid trying to sneak one last cookie from the jar before dinner when our back is turned, our august legislators in the state of Pennsylvania voted themselves a pay raise at 2 AM this morning, shortly after they finally passed a state budget (weeks overdue again, as is the case just about every year).
The percentage of the raise? Anywhere from 16 to 34 percent, depending on whether or not you are a newly-elected legislator or a senior member of a high-profile committee.
As the Bucks County Courier Times opined this morning:
Some lawmakers did the right thing and voted against this increase, and I’ll mention two of them later.
So what has this gang accomplished to merit such a huge jump in compensation? Here is a short list in no particular order (I’m sure I could find some more gems, but for now…):
Not unlike a little kid trying to sneak one last cookie from the jar before dinner when our back is turned, our august legislators in the state of Pennsylvania voted themselves a pay raise at 2 AM this morning, shortly after they finally passed a state budget (weeks overdue again, as is the case just about every year).
The percentage of the raise? Anywhere from 16 to 34 percent, depending on whether or not you are a newly-elected legislator or a senior member of a high-profile committee.
As the Bucks County Courier Times opined this morning:
“The early morning vote hiked salaries from $69,647 to slightly more than $81,000, making them the second-highest paid legislators in the nation behind California. Not bad considering the average Joe earns $38,000 a year in PA and gets maybe a 3 percent pay hike.Yep. Also…
But regular people don’t get the kind of perks lawmakers get: $129 in expense money for every day they’re in Harrisburg; up to $650 a month or $7,800 a year to lease a car; fully paid health insurance valued at $13,000 a year; and a fully paid pension.
The increasing cost of health insurance alone has wiped out the salary increases most people have seen in recent years. In all likelihood, millions of Pennsylvanians are taking home less than they were a few years ago.”
“That a pay raise vote hasn’t taken place in a decade might lead to the conclusion that they’re due. We might agree, except that 10 years ago lawmakers not only voted themselves a pay hike, they also enacted annual cost of living raises. Those automatic increases have hiked legislative salaries some 25 percent since then.”Also, as John Grogan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported…
“There is plenty to be outraged about here: The amount of the hike, the secretive way it was handled, and the insensitivity to the financial reality of the taxpayers who must foot the bill.I agree (Alison Hawkes, a beat reporter for the Courier Times, also did a good job reporting this story).
But most outrageous of all is the slippery end-run the lawmakers made around the state constitution in order to get their raises, pronto.
The constitution bans lawmakers from accepting a pay raise in the same legislative term in which they approve it. The rule is there for a good reason: to discourage greed and avarice. It is an essential safeguard in a system that allows politicians to decide how often and by how much they raise their own pay.
How did the legislature respond to that safeguard, which would have delayed the raises until December 2006? By taking advantage of a dubious and ethically challenged loophole.
Until the pay raise becomes official, lawmakers will receive it under the table in the form of unvouchered expense checks (no receipts necessary!).
This, taxpayers, is beyond outrageous. This is a willful perversion of the law of the land, a law put in place to keep politicians honest.
This is a travesty.”
Some lawmakers did the right thing and voted against this increase, and I’ll mention two of them later.
So what has this gang accomplished to merit such a huge jump in compensation? Here is a short list in no particular order (I’m sure I could find some more gems, but for now…):
The good news (and again, you have to look hard) is that Dave Steil, our Republican state rep, voted against the salary increase, as well as Tommy Tomlinson (he isn’t our state senator, but he has helped Rendell in the past, partly because the race track that would benefit from casino gaming resides in his district). More bad news? Our state senator, Joe Conti (who I thought once would be a better choice for U.S. Rep than Mike Fitzpatrick) voted for it. Care to explain, Joe?- Passing a law that allows any of the estimated 1,300 retail establishments that sell beer to do so on Sundays, for a $100 fee of course (I don’t know what is more ridiculous – the fact that this law had to be passed in the first place, or that the state found a way to do it and gouge business owners in the process).
- Failing to pass any one of three bills to raise the state's minimum wage from the borderline-indentured-servitude rate of $5.15 per hour.
- Slicing state Medicare funding by a third when they passed the budget Thursday morning, resulting in about $243 million in service cuts, limiting doctor’s visits and hospitalizations for some of the state’s poorest and sickest residents (hey, you guys get all your health care coverage gratis. Care to “share the wealth”?).
- Passing a tort “deform” bill, which precludes patients from recovering damages for medical expenses already paid by insurers. "While this bill begins to address patient safety, it falls short of the public disclosure needed to curb the rise of serious medical errors," said Cliff Rieders, president of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. "Patients did not get what they deserved from this bill."
- The sabotaging of Act 72, which is Gov. Rendell’s attempt at property-tax reform through reducing school taxes and making up the difference with gaming revenue. As far as I’m concerned, the fault lies primarily with the school boards that refused to participate, no doubt unwilling to release control of their purse strings, but this was aided in no small way by state Repug politicians who abhorred the idea of gaming from the very start. Hey, I’m not in love with it either, but what sense does it make to continue losing this money to Atlantic City and elsewhere? Besides, Rendell ran for governor on this idea and told everyone what he planned to do. It was just ducky for everybody at the time, I guess, but “when the rubber met the road,” some legislators bailed on him.
- FINALLY providing a dedicated source of funding for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) for train, bus, subway, and trolley service, though SEPTA ranks 19th on the funding list of the top 25 transit systems in this country (click here for more information).
- Overturning a law passed by then-mayor of Philadelphia Rendell limiting gun purchases to one per month in a manner that prohibited Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from ever attempting to pass such a law again (special raspberry to State Representative Dennis O’Brien of Philadelphia, chairman of the state house Judiciary Committee, for squashing any attempts to get this issue resolved again – this was pointed out by John Grogan in a column earlier this year). This whole sorry spectacle points out once more how many legislators are in the “hip pocket” of the National Rifle Association.
- Lastly (and maybe most egregiously), the creation of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, a body dependent on state funding and toll revenue which has no regulatory oversight. None. You can’t find out how much money they’ve raised or how they fund their projects. I didn’t know this sort of thing was possible in this country, but apparently it is, and these geniuses created it.
As The Mending Begins
More from CNN (up to 50 dead now...let us extend our condolences, pray, and tend to anyone wounded or grieving. The reprisals are beginning, and more will come later)...
Also, more from Chris Floyd and Arianna Huffington...
Also, more from Chris Floyd and Arianna Huffington...
Not All Of Us Are Londoners Now
By the way, check out Media Matters/Atrios/Outsourced American/Brandoland (welcome back) to read about why Brit Hume and Brian Kilmeade are lobotomized right-wing robots incapable of feeling or thought.
Also, if you go to Media Matters, read about why this blow-dried, great-haired pretty boy named John Gibson is a d*ck and a smartass (I mention at the very bottom of this site that I don't advocate violence against anyone, but if I did, it would be against him).
Also, if you go to Media Matters, read about why this blow-dried, great-haired pretty boy named John Gibson is a d*ck and a smartass (I mention at the very bottom of this site that I don't advocate violence against anyone, but if I did, it would be against him).
Jobs Gone Yesterday, Here Today
Wait a minute...didn't we just heat that the job cuts for June were the highest since January of last year?
What the #@$! is going on with this?
What the #@$! is going on with this?
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Thank You, Admiral
Thanks to Ruminate This and Air America for reminding us of what this man endured on behalf of our country (sorry I'm a day late with this). He should be remembered for the sum total of his sacrifice and accomplishments, not as some befuddled individual onstage in a debate with Al Gore and Dan Quayle in 1992 (the fact that Quayle actually got that close to the Oval Office should have been a warning to anyone voting for Dubya eight years later, but...).
Thanks, Morons
I was actually feeling a tinge of regret for my "American Reich" post on July 4th, until I read the Letters section of this morning's Inquirer and saw the screeds from E.J. Messersmith and chronic repeat intellectual offender Anthony P. Schiavo. They ended up making my case better than I could actually have made it myself.
BASTARDS!
How many times does it have to be said that Iraq War II turned that country into a proving ground for terrorists? They have been able to fine-tune their cowardly and murderous tactics in preparation for something like this.
It appears that this was a highly coordinated attack with four, possibly as many as seven different explosions taking place in a close timeframe, though details are still being hashed out, of course.
Only a fool would think Al Qaeda (or whatever splinter group is responsible for this) would not feel emboldened now to try something else in this country again.
(by the way, great stuff at Atrios and especially The Daily Kos today about this tragedy.)
It appears that this was a highly coordinated attack with four, possibly as many as seven different explosions taking place in a close timeframe, though details are still being hashed out, of course.
Only a fool would think Al Qaeda (or whatever splinter group is responsible for this) would not feel emboldened now to try something else in this country again.
(by the way, great stuff at Atrios and especially The Daily Kos today about this tragedy.)
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Where's A Steep Cliff When You Need It?
To wit... oh, and by the way:
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday President Stupid Head
Sorry You Didn't Break Your Face
(fa la la...)
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday President Stupid Head
Sorry You Didn't Break Your Face
(fa la la...)
Atlas Gagged (Hacked Up, Even)
As I always say, if you're a baseball team and partisanship "strikes," it's time for some "balls."
(tee hee...just got a tip on this one - maybe they could try a chimp face instead?)
(tee hee...just got a tip on this one - maybe they could try a chimp face instead?)
Eat At Papa John's Instead
It's better pizza anyway, and this is another good reason (my daily plug to David Sirota).
An MSM Idiot Speaks
What follows is the most recent column from Steve Chapman, a columnist based with the Chicago Tribune that appeared at creators.com (blocked out in brown below). As you can read below, I take issue with some of his remarks.
(For the longest time, Chapman took positions which were left-wing or middle of the road on most issues. As far as I’m concerned, though, he has officially “gone over to the dark side” with this one)…
When I first heard about what Normal Pearlstine did (the editor in chief), I got PO’ed. However, after I read the article about the Miller/Cooper/Plame case in Time this week, I understood that he had exhausted all the legal remedies that he could and that his course of action, though regrettable, was understandable. It would have been unthinkable in the era of Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, but everything is “through the looking glass” now.
By the way, I’ve read comments from some lefties who have decided to gang up on her (such as Atrios) in part because she was a cheerleader for Iraq War II and she dumped on John Kerry during the last election. Wrongheaded as it was for her to do that, that’s not at issue here.
A seasoned reporter such as George Anastasia of the Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, reports on organized crime frequently. I know he’s had some run-ins with both the people he reports on and law enforcement, but part of the reporter’s job is to know how to straddle “the razor’s edge”.
(Actually, as I read Chapman’s remarks, I’m starting to wonder exactly what his background in journalism was before he landed this column gig at the Trib.)
Cooper is cooperating, but apparently that isn’t enough to satisfy Mad Dog Fitzgerald. But I’m sure he’ll make an example of Miller all the same (update: he did).
Besides, the reporters weren’t asking for immunity from testifying. They and their news organizations were asking for some judgment and common sense on the part of the special prosecutor, which I guess isn’t going to be forthcoming.
Yeah, so Cooper and Miller did this because they LIKE prison and they LIKE being the objects of scorn and ridicule by hammerheads such as yourself, and they LIKE having their lives turned upside down.
Steve, if you have any sense of integrity left, go get a job with Fox and be more honest about passing yourself off as the shill you truly are. Somebody else around here needs to look in the mirror too.
P.S. - One more thing, Mr. Chapman: Read this column from Molly Ivins to get a clue.
(For the longest time, Chapman took positions which were left-wing or middle of the road on most issues. As far as I’m concerned, though, he has officially “gone over to the dark side” with this one)…
The editor in chief of Time Inc. made news the other day by offering to do what most of us take for granted: obey the law. It's about time.Note Chapman’s huffy and self-righteous tone. It gets worse.
When I first heard about what Normal Pearlstine did (the editor in chief), I got PO’ed. However, after I read the article about the Miller/Cooper/Plame case in Time this week, I understood that he had exhausted all the legal remedies that he could and that his course of action, though regrettable, was understandable. It would have been unthinkable in the era of Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, but everything is “through the looking glass” now.
Reporter Matthew Cooper has declined to testify in the federal probe of the outing of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. But after the Supreme Court spurned his appeal on Monday, his superiors elected to turn over his notes, which apparently will make his refusal irrelevant.Uh, no. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, for some reason that is an utter mystery to me, still wants Cooper to testify. And it’s probably a good thing the Supremes didn’t hear it, because any ruling coming from this bunch may have further eroded the reporter’s right to confidentiality.
"The same Constitution that protects the freedom of the press requires obedience to the final decisions of the courts," said editor Norman Pearlstein -- an insight that has eluded many of his fellow journalists.“Many” reporters, huh? Do you have “many” examples?
That would include New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who claims the prerogative of deciding for herself what information the grand jury is entitled to hear, and whose publisher backs her up.Who claims the prerogative of giving up information in a way that protects her sources, yes, and her published SHOULD back her up.
By the way, I’ve read comments from some lefties who have decided to gang up on her (such as Atrios) in part because she was a cheerleader for Iraq War II and she dumped on John Kerry during the last election. Wrongheaded as it was for her to do that, that’s not at issue here.
Like Cooper, she apparently had a conversation with the leaker (or leakers) about Plame. Even though she didn't write a story, that could make her a witness to a federal crime, since it is illegal for a federal employee to unmask a covert agent.Yes, but she didn’t do the unmasking, did she? (Chapman will get to that shortly).
But Miller feels she has the right and the duty to keep her promise of confidentiality to her source, never mind that her source had no respect for his own secrecy obligations. She says she will go to jail rather than cooperate, and this week, she may get the chance.If you follow this logic, then anyone who has broken or will break a law should not be used as a source for a news story. If you take that logic one step further, then that would invalidate most plea bargains where criminals agree to lesser charges in order to give somebody up.
A seasoned reporter such as George Anastasia of the Philadelphia Inquirer, for example, reports on organized crime frequently. I know he’s had some run-ins with both the people he reports on and law enforcement, but part of the reporter’s job is to know how to straddle “the razor’s edge”.
(Actually, as I read Chapman’s remarks, I’m starting to wonder exactly what his background in journalism was before he landed this column gig at the Trib.)
Her fortitude would be admirable in a noble cause, which unfortunately this is not.No argument here.
Plame is the wife of former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who infuriated the White House by publicly rejecting claims that Saddam Hussein was trying to acquire nuclear weapons. After he wrote an article criticizing the administration's evidence, someone leaked the information in an attempt to discredit him.I was actually going to give Chapman the benefit of the doubt and attribute his remarks to being blinded, so to speak, by righteous outrage over Bushco’s antics in this, until I read the following paragraph.
Columnist Robert Novak obligingly published Plame's name, which he said he got from "two senior administration officials." (Novak refuses to say whether he's testified, but since he hasn't been threatened with jail, it's safe to assume he has.)No it isn’t. What kind of a statement is that? It’s not safe to assume that Novak and Fitzgerald have had any communication at all. Who’s your daddy, Steve?
Miller and Cooper have chosen to shield someone who blew an American agent's cover for political revenge.That’s assuming that Miller and Cooper’s source did that (paging Karl Rove), but again, that’s ultimately up to the courts to decide.
This is a terrible mistake for two reasons. In the first place, as the Supreme Court made clear, it is based on a legal privilege that exists only in the fertile imagination of journalists.It has also been substantiated in practice and through case law over many years.
In the second, it may serve to protect a serious felon from being brought to justice.Consider the chilling effect, Steve. No source would ever talk to a reporter again. Besides, as I’ve already said, if Fitzgerald wanted to get from A to B as directly as he could, Novak would be sweating it out in the box (oh, uh…sorry, I forgot. He must have testified already, right?).
Cooper is cooperating, but apparently that isn’t enough to satisfy Mad Dog Fitzgerald. But I’m sure he’ll make an example of Miller all the same (update: he did).
Miller insists that her subpoena, by compromising the confidentiality of news sources, threatens the public's right to know. But there are some things the public has no right to know -- including the names of covert agents. If Plame's exposure had made her a terrorist target, that would be painfully obvious.Hello, I’m Steve Chapman. I'm going to talk down to you like you're a moron for a little while. Do you mind?
The law in question was passed in 1982 after rogue agent Philip Agee outed more than 1,000 CIA operatives, potentially jeopardizing their lives. No one has argued it should be repealed. But if federal employees can leak names to journalists without fear that the reporters may testify against them, the law would have all the value of a Confederate bank note.Fear of testifying against them might “dry up” these potential sources also (how many times do I have to keep mentioning this?).
It may not be surprising to find a couple of journalists behaving irresponsibly.To you, maybe, though I don't consider Miller and Cooper's behavior "irresponsible".
What is surprising is that the entire press has rallied behind them. A host of news organizations signed a brief siding with Cooper and Miller during their court battle. Editorialists at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, who normally can't agree that shamrocks are green, both condemned special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald…That should be your first clue, Sherlock.
…for thinking the protection of our spies justifies inconveniencing reporters.That may be the snottiest remark of this whole rant. I would consider jail a bit more than a minor inconvenience.
But even the states that have shield laws allow prosecutors to subpoena reporters under certain conditions. Federal courts have ruled that even if there were a reporter's privilege not to testify, it would not be enough to excuse Miller and Cooper, because the information sought is crucial and the prosecutor has exhausted every other means of getting it.That may be the biggest LIE of this whole rant. How has Fitzgerald “exhausted” his ability to get information out of Novak?
Besides, the reporters weren’t asking for immunity from testifying. They and their news organizations were asking for some judgment and common sense on the part of the special prosecutor, which I guess isn’t going to be forthcoming.
The only protection that might help is an absolute shield, akin to the attorney-client or doctor-patient privilege. But as University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone notes, even those have exceptions.As they should.
If a client asks his lawyer how to get away with robbing a bank, the conversation is not protected, because the privilege was never meant to facilitate violations of the law.Oh, so now you’re suggesting that, somehow, Cooper and Miller are co-conspirators because they “facilitated violations of the law.” What journalism school did you graduate from anyway? Whattsamatta U?
The sort of privilege sought by the news media, however, would do just that. Reporters who are witnesses to a crime could evade the normal duty of citizens to tell what they know.Sure, they “could,” and so could other professionals. Also, monkeys “could” fly out of my butt. Guess the glass is always half empty, isn’t it Steve?
Journalists like nothing better than exposing self-seeking behavior by special interests who care nothing for the public good. In this case, they can find it by looking in the mirror.I take back what I said earlier. THIS is the snottiest sentence in this whole rant.
Yeah, so Cooper and Miller did this because they LIKE prison and they LIKE being the objects of scorn and ridicule by hammerheads such as yourself, and they LIKE having their lives turned upside down.
Steve, if you have any sense of integrity left, go get a job with Fox and be more honest about passing yourself off as the shill you truly are. Somebody else around here needs to look in the mirror too.
P.S. - One more thing, Mr. Chapman: Read this column from Molly Ivins to get a clue.
Ship Of State Needs A Bailout
(Actually, at this point, I think I'd settle for an acknowledgement from Bushco that we even exist.)
This story shouldn't surprise me in the least. I think this paragraph is the most telling one:
Grrrr.....
This story shouldn't surprise me in the least. I think this paragraph is the most telling one:
"The cuts are not necessarily an indication of economic weakness, but rather the by-product of numerous trends, including changing consumer demand, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions, automation and consolidation. We are also starting to see job cuts resulting from higher health care costs as well as higher oil and natural gas prices," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.Just look on the bright side, though. If this affects you, you can just take whatever you may get in unemployment and stay longer at Morry's Pier in Wildwood and blow it on rides for the kids, since you won't have a job to go back to.
Grrrr.....
A Movie Giant Passes
Movies which he either wrote or co-wrote showed everywhere in the late 50s and early 60s. This link provides quotes that came primarily from "North by Northwest" or "The Sound of Music".
(If I were to include the great quotes from "Sweet Smell of Success" which he co-wrote with Clifford Odets, I'd have to include just about the entire screenplay.)
(If I were to include the great quotes from "Sweet Smell of Success" which he co-wrote with Clifford Odets, I'd have to include just about the entire screenplay.)
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Don't Tear Down The Fourth Estate
Time Magazine had an excellent article this week about the situation with Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller being compelled to reveal their sources. The person who seems to be emerging as the driver behind all of this is Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, and Patricia Taylor over at The Daily Kos pretty much said the same thing on July 4th. The question is whether Fitzgerald is corruptible or not. He has not shown that he is thus far (and he has a solid record of prosecuting terrorists and crime figures, with a couple of over-zealous mishaps that are probably inevitable).
Still, though, there are at least two aspects to this story that disturb me:
1) The “hands off” treatment given to conservative shill Robert Novak of the Chicago Tribune, when HE is the one that wrote the story that caused the mess. If Fitzgerald wanted to traverse “the shortest distance between two points” in this, as it were, he would subject Novak to the treatment that he’s giving to Miller and Cooper.
However, I don’t know if Fitzgerald is conducting this investigation the way he is because of some jurisdictional dispute between Chicago and New York (though his office operates freely in both locations), or maybe because the Tribune is standing up to him more than the Times did. It’s all speculation at this point. Also, though I detest Novak, he does have a reputation for asking the tough questions over 41 years of reporting, so I grudgingly have to acknowledge that.
2) The fact that Fitzgerald is running roughshod over the protection granted to reporters and their sources which has been acknowledged and respected through institutional practice and legal precedent throughout our country’s history. My hunch is that he’s doing this because he has determined that he can get away with it, and unfortunately he’s right. This also impresses his superiors who reflect Bushco’s mindset, goals, and attitudes, and that must be a consideration in Fitzgerald’s mind also.
Something else that is painfully obvious is that we need a national shield law to protect reporters and their sources (and also weaselly politicians and other operatives who leak information – this is a disreputable practice as far as I’m concerned, but it shouldn’t be illegal). This page provides information on pending legislation in Congress in this vein.
Please contact your U.S. senator or congressperson and ask them for their support. I’m going to track down Rep. Fitzpatrick and Sen. Specter on this (Specter will have his hands full shortly trying to replace O’Connor, but he should sign off on this also). I’d contact Rick “Pennsylvania Uber Alles” Santorum on this, but I’m not going to waste my time (he apparently said something else stupid today, this time about working parents trying to raise their kids…hee hee – keep it up and make it a cakewalk for Casey Jr.!).
Still, though, there are at least two aspects to this story that disturb me:
1) The “hands off” treatment given to conservative shill Robert Novak of the Chicago Tribune, when HE is the one that wrote the story that caused the mess. If Fitzgerald wanted to traverse “the shortest distance between two points” in this, as it were, he would subject Novak to the treatment that he’s giving to Miller and Cooper.
However, I don’t know if Fitzgerald is conducting this investigation the way he is because of some jurisdictional dispute between Chicago and New York (though his office operates freely in both locations), or maybe because the Tribune is standing up to him more than the Times did. It’s all speculation at this point. Also, though I detest Novak, he does have a reputation for asking the tough questions over 41 years of reporting, so I grudgingly have to acknowledge that.
2) The fact that Fitzgerald is running roughshod over the protection granted to reporters and their sources which has been acknowledged and respected through institutional practice and legal precedent throughout our country’s history. My hunch is that he’s doing this because he has determined that he can get away with it, and unfortunately he’s right. This also impresses his superiors who reflect Bushco’s mindset, goals, and attitudes, and that must be a consideration in Fitzgerald’s mind also.
Something else that is painfully obvious is that we need a national shield law to protect reporters and their sources (and also weaselly politicians and other operatives who leak information – this is a disreputable practice as far as I’m concerned, but it shouldn’t be illegal). This page provides information on pending legislation in Congress in this vein.
Please contact your U.S. senator or congressperson and ask them for their support. I’m going to track down Rep. Fitzpatrick and Sen. Specter on this (Specter will have his hands full shortly trying to replace O’Connor, but he should sign off on this also). I’d contact Rick “Pennsylvania Uber Alles” Santorum on this, but I’m not going to waste my time (he apparently said something else stupid today, this time about working parents trying to raise their kids…hee hee – keep it up and make it a cakewalk for Casey Jr.!).
Some 'Bling While You're At It?
This is all well and good, but my concern is how well the stains and smell will wash out when the grease trap of burger remains splatters on them and the blowback from the fry vat shortening musses up the designer logos.
And that's not even considering trying to clean up after a kid gets sick in the lobby from the food and whatever may get on your "duds" then (sorry - hope you're not eating as you read this).
My suggestion would be to add a scrolling LED dog tag with the attire, and if they're going to plug movies, the first one could be "Super Size Me" by Morgan Spurlock :-).
And that's not even considering trying to clean up after a kid gets sick in the lobby from the food and whatever may get on your "duds" then (sorry - hope you're not eating as you read this).
My suggestion would be to add a scrolling LED dog tag with the attire, and if they're going to plug movies, the first one could be "Super Size Me" by Morgan Spurlock :-).
A Sap For A Tree
If the voters of Florida actually send her to the U.S. Senate, they should be forced to renounce their citizenship.
Luckily, We Fired HIM
Whenever a story appears involving the Supreme Court, somehow as if by magic, Robert Bork reappears under the inevitable headline, “Conservatives Still Smarting Over What They Perceive as Bork Injustice,” or some variation thereof, pertaining to the defeat of his nomination for the Supreme Court in 1987.
Putting aside the fact that it’s at best counterproductive and at worst a monumental waste of time to keep fighting battles that are over 18 years old, let’s consider the fact that, after the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were sufficiently cowed by the resulting conservative backlash as a result of Bork’s defeat, the next candidate, Antonin Scalia, had a cakewalk, and he is at least as bad as Bork could have been. Worse, he will probably be the next chief justice, since Rehnquist will surely follow O’Connor’s path out the door now.
Also, regarding Judge Bork, let’s recall his role in the Watergate scandal for a moment (yes, he had one).
See, Nixon was getting mad at special prosecutor Archibald Cox because, well, gosh, it seemed the man was getting too close to the Oval Office during the course of his investigation (imagine that). I’ll let William Rivers Pitt provide the next bit of information.
So guess who ended up firing Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox?
U.S. Solicitor General Robert H. Bork.
So, as far as I’m concerned, Bork put party loyalty above his duty to protect our government and the Constitution. That tells me all I need to know about his qualifications, now or ever, for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Also, Bork testified before Congress in 1987 that he did not believe there was such a thing as a constitutional right to privacy. Maybe not literally, but I would strenuously argue that such a thing exists in the spirit of the Constitution and in its implementation as the foundation of our government over lo these 229 years.
I would humbly ask that you keep this in mind the next time you hear Robert Bork pontificating about the importance of an “originalist” orientation for a Supreme Court justice.
Putting aside the fact that it’s at best counterproductive and at worst a monumental waste of time to keep fighting battles that are over 18 years old, let’s consider the fact that, after the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were sufficiently cowed by the resulting conservative backlash as a result of Bork’s defeat, the next candidate, Antonin Scalia, had a cakewalk, and he is at least as bad as Bork could have been. Worse, he will probably be the next chief justice, since Rehnquist will surely follow O’Connor’s path out the door now.
Also, regarding Judge Bork, let’s recall his role in the Watergate scandal for a moment (yes, he had one).
See, Nixon was getting mad at special prosecutor Archibald Cox because, well, gosh, it seemed the man was getting too close to the Oval Office during the course of his investigation (imagine that). I’ll let William Rivers Pitt provide the next bit of information.
…In Watergate, Congress did not commence impeachment proceedings to hold President Nixon accountable for his abuse of power until the American people demanded action after the Saturday Night Massacre (in which Nixon ordered the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox to keep him from getting incriminating personal tape recordings).And this information appears courtesy of CBS News (this is what happened):
When Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor investigating the White House, refused a presidential order to make no further attempts to subpoena the Nixon tapes, President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused and resigned as did his deputy, William Ruckleshaus.I seem to recall that Nixon fired Ruckleshaus, but if CBS News said he resigned, then I’ll defer to them.
So guess who ended up firing Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox?
U.S. Solicitor General Robert H. Bork.
So, as far as I’m concerned, Bork put party loyalty above his duty to protect our government and the Constitution. That tells me all I need to know about his qualifications, now or ever, for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Also, Bork testified before Congress in 1987 that he did not believe there was such a thing as a constitutional right to privacy. Maybe not literally, but I would strenuously argue that such a thing exists in the spirit of the Constitution and in its implementation as the foundation of our government over lo these 229 years.
I would humbly ask that you keep this in mind the next time you hear Robert Bork pontificating about the importance of an “originalist” orientation for a Supreme Court justice.
Monday, July 04, 2005
The American Reich
I should tell you that this post is particularly inflammatory, but I believe not without cause. It may also seem in particularly bad taste for July 4th, but as far as I’m concerned, it needs to be stated.
I’ve read a great deal of news articles and columns where the authors don’t seem to understand the mood of the country and why there is no unified resistance to the Iraq war or the policies of the Bush administration in general (granted, a lot of these authors are liberal or progressive, and yes, there is a difference between the two). I believe there are several reasons for this.
One is the fact that the mainstream media upon which most of this country relies for information has been totally co-opted by a pro-business, conservative agenda more concerned with stories such as the tragic disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba and how the latest GDP numbers from Bushco are going to affect the leading economic indicators on Wall Street such as the Dow Jones industrial average.
Another is the truly ineffectual state of what laughably passes for an opposition party in this country. David Sirota (yet another plug) has posted twice on this subject over the last week, with the most recent one having to do with how 28 Democratic legislators in the House actually voted against a bill from fellow Dem Rose DeLauro to ban government contracts to companies that use offshore loopholes to avoid paying taxes in this country (including the pathetic Rahm Emanuel of Illinois who, when asked last year if we were right to invade Iraq without WMD actually said yes!). The bill was ultimately voted down (another Democrat who caved was John Murtha of Pa., a former Marine who I thought knew better).
Another reason is the fact that Bushco are, collectively, the most skilled propagandists I’ve ever seen, unfortunately. With their “Project for a New American Century” they envisioned a way to consolidate power by allowing for a total collapse of our economy and creating an environment for an attack on this country (Note 1: I will NEVER say that they knew 9/11 was coming and let it happen, if for no other reason than because Barbara Olsen, wife of connected conservative lawyer Ted Olson, was killed in the Pentagon attack, and she was definitely one of their own). Subsequently, the people of this country would instinctively rally around a leader who, by all appearances, was trying to put things back together.
Given all of this, I have this to offer regarding the mood of the vast majority of the people in this country. I think it can best be described as a kind of shocked anxiety, not having a clue as to what’s coming next and kind of numbed into a state of inertia because of repeated “fear and smear” warnings from Bush and his acolytes (how many times did Bush shamelessly mention 9/11 in his speech on Iraq last week?). That definitely explains the results of the election as far as I’m concerned, along with the fact that John Kerry was running an unimaginative campaign with themes from the 90s, along with voter intimidation and harassment in Ohio and Florida along with electronic fraud.
Bush’s strategy to shape public opinion in this way (assuming for a minute that he came up with this himself, which would be giving him far too much intellectual credit) recalls Nazi propaganda of an earlier day, as far as I’m concerned (Note 2: I am NOT saying that Bush is Hitler, only that he’s trying to copy Hitler’s tricks). All politicians and other propagandists want to address favorable audiences, but Bush and his cronies have elevated this throughout his administration in a manner not unlike der Fuehrer riding in the open jeep on his way to address the sixth Nuremberg Party Congress in 1934.
One difference I would note is that, after World War I, Germany was in such a state politically and economically that they were ripe for domination by a group such as the National Socialists. In this country, the conditions had to be created for plutocratic rule.
Though I am not old enough to recall the rise of Nazi Germany firsthand, I have a pretty clear picture of how those sympathetic to Hitler felt during that time, particularly in Austria. It was a total unquestioning acceptance of his policies, much like I see in the followers of Bushco today. Also, it was pretty clear early on that the Nazis sought world domination (thank God Winston Churchill had read Mein Kampf and understood what Hitler was about in the 30s while the rest of England was recovering from WWI), and everything they did was geared towards achieving that goal, and their followers dismissed some of the pre-war rhetoric about eliminating non-Aryans as some type of fictional propaganda. Bushco is relentless in their goals also, and they do not, nor have they ever, sought a compromise on anything. Likewise, I see the same sort of denial among their followers regarding news stories about what really is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Gitmo.
Germany as a nation suffered long-term repercussions for their support of Nazi Germany, and I’m afraid this country is in for the same fate because of its collective support for Bushco.
However, one note of hope that we can hang onto this day is that, due to the framework of our government and the vast well of patriotism and people doing the right thing on a grass roots level of either party, as far as I’m concerned, the kind of fascist rule that Bushco is trying to foist on us will never take hold. It is my hope and dream that that will be the case now and always.
I’ve read a great deal of news articles and columns where the authors don’t seem to understand the mood of the country and why there is no unified resistance to the Iraq war or the policies of the Bush administration in general (granted, a lot of these authors are liberal or progressive, and yes, there is a difference between the two). I believe there are several reasons for this.
One is the fact that the mainstream media upon which most of this country relies for information has been totally co-opted by a pro-business, conservative agenda more concerned with stories such as the tragic disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba and how the latest GDP numbers from Bushco are going to affect the leading economic indicators on Wall Street such as the Dow Jones industrial average.
Another is the truly ineffectual state of what laughably passes for an opposition party in this country. David Sirota (yet another plug) has posted twice on this subject over the last week, with the most recent one having to do with how 28 Democratic legislators in the House actually voted against a bill from fellow Dem Rose DeLauro to ban government contracts to companies that use offshore loopholes to avoid paying taxes in this country (including the pathetic Rahm Emanuel of Illinois who, when asked last year if we were right to invade Iraq without WMD actually said yes!). The bill was ultimately voted down (another Democrat who caved was John Murtha of Pa., a former Marine who I thought knew better).
Another reason is the fact that Bushco are, collectively, the most skilled propagandists I’ve ever seen, unfortunately. With their “Project for a New American Century” they envisioned a way to consolidate power by allowing for a total collapse of our economy and creating an environment for an attack on this country (Note 1: I will NEVER say that they knew 9/11 was coming and let it happen, if for no other reason than because Barbara Olsen, wife of connected conservative lawyer Ted Olson, was killed in the Pentagon attack, and she was definitely one of their own). Subsequently, the people of this country would instinctively rally around a leader who, by all appearances, was trying to put things back together.
Given all of this, I have this to offer regarding the mood of the vast majority of the people in this country. I think it can best be described as a kind of shocked anxiety, not having a clue as to what’s coming next and kind of numbed into a state of inertia because of repeated “fear and smear” warnings from Bush and his acolytes (how many times did Bush shamelessly mention 9/11 in his speech on Iraq last week?). That definitely explains the results of the election as far as I’m concerned, along with the fact that John Kerry was running an unimaginative campaign with themes from the 90s, along with voter intimidation and harassment in Ohio and Florida along with electronic fraud.
Bush’s strategy to shape public opinion in this way (assuming for a minute that he came up with this himself, which would be giving him far too much intellectual credit) recalls Nazi propaganda of an earlier day, as far as I’m concerned (Note 2: I am NOT saying that Bush is Hitler, only that he’s trying to copy Hitler’s tricks). All politicians and other propagandists want to address favorable audiences, but Bush and his cronies have elevated this throughout his administration in a manner not unlike der Fuehrer riding in the open jeep on his way to address the sixth Nuremberg Party Congress in 1934.
One difference I would note is that, after World War I, Germany was in such a state politically and economically that they were ripe for domination by a group such as the National Socialists. In this country, the conditions had to be created for plutocratic rule.
Though I am not old enough to recall the rise of Nazi Germany firsthand, I have a pretty clear picture of how those sympathetic to Hitler felt during that time, particularly in Austria. It was a total unquestioning acceptance of his policies, much like I see in the followers of Bushco today. Also, it was pretty clear early on that the Nazis sought world domination (thank God Winston Churchill had read Mein Kampf and understood what Hitler was about in the 30s while the rest of England was recovering from WWI), and everything they did was geared towards achieving that goal, and their followers dismissed some of the pre-war rhetoric about eliminating non-Aryans as some type of fictional propaganda. Bushco is relentless in their goals also, and they do not, nor have they ever, sought a compromise on anything. Likewise, I see the same sort of denial among their followers regarding news stories about what really is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Gitmo.
Germany as a nation suffered long-term repercussions for their support of Nazi Germany, and I’m afraid this country is in for the same fate because of its collective support for Bushco.
However, one note of hope that we can hang onto this day is that, due to the framework of our government and the vast well of patriotism and people doing the right thing on a grass roots level of either party, as far as I’m concerned, the kind of fascist rule that Bushco is trying to foist on us will never take hold. It is my hope and dream that that will be the case now and always.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Giving Thanks
During this holiday weekend, I think it’s appropriate to take a minute and reflect on all of the people and blessings in general for which we can be grateful. Here are some of mine:
Our service people all over the world, including our reservists, who make the dangerous and often lonely sacrifice to preserve our way of life (we can, as always, send our prayers and good wishes to both them and their families). With our people in mind, I should mention that Michael Moore's site has a link called, "How Can I Help The Troops," and the Friends of Bruce Cockburn site has a link to the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.
Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko, who survived dioxin poisoning, believed to have been administered during the campaign by government agents, and won the presidency in December after courts overturned the election of his rival. This is unbelievable to me – as much as I dislike Dubya and the conservatives, I would NEVER consider doing something like that to them.
(Yushchenko, by the way, is this year’s winner of the Liberty Medal, but due to schedule conflicts, he will not receive it until September 17th, Constitution Day, in a ceremony at the National Constitution Center.)
The governor of Washington State, Christina Gregoire, whose election was validated after two vote recounts against Repug challenger Dino Rossi
The rescue of one member of a U.S. special operations team in Afghanistan, which tempers somewhat the loss of 16 other special ops members when their helicopter was shot down in that area
The rescue of Shasta Groene in Idaho, and the community support that made that possible (Though the outcome for her brother doesn't look good, let's pray and hope for him also.)
The news about Karl Rove which Newsweek will blare out to the world shortly (which precedes, of course, the inevitable denials from Rove’s lawyer…what else can you expect?)
The fact that Howard Dean hasn’t said anything stupid for the last couple of weeks (continually keeping my fingers crossed on that one:-)
Shadow Of A Doubt
From the Associated Press, reported in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer:
A former top Iranian secret agent said yesterday that the hostage-taker in a 1979 photograph that has come under intense scrutiny is not President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but a former militant who committed suicide in jail.Fine. You know what I want to see, then? I want a complete list of all of the terrorists (not "students" as far as I'm concerned) who held our people hostage in 1979; their names, faces, date and time last seen and where they are now, and I want the list to be verified by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. It's just a bit too convenient that this Taqi Mohammadi guy just happened to commit suicide in jail to avert any suspicion (it's always easy to blame it on the dead guy, right? - see Iran-Contra and Casey, Bill).
Saeed Hajjarian, an adviser to outgoing President Mohammad Khatami and a former high-ranking official in the Intelligence Ministry, identified the man in the photo dating to the 1979 U.S. Embassy siege as Taqi Mohammadi.
Iran's newly elected president has been accused of being a main participant in the taking of American hostages at the embassy. Six former U.S. hostages who saw the president-elect in photos or on television said they believed Ahmadinejad was among the hostage-takers. One said he was interrogated by Ahmadinejad.
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