Terminator In Chief

Normally, the Bush Administration does not subscribe to the "Buck Stops Here" theory of governance, but it looks like there may be a detour to the desk of the President with this one.

The New York Times, White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors and the Washington Post Firings Had Genesis in White House are both reporting that the White House was involved in the US Attorney purge. In fact, the White House originally wanted to fire all of the US Attorneys, according to the Times:

The White House was deeply involved in the decision late last year to dismiss federal prosecutors, including some who had been criticized by Republican lawmakers, administration officials said Monday.

Last October, President Bush spoke with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official.

* * * *

In early 2005, Harriet E. Miers, then the White House legal counsel, asked a Justice Department official whether it would be feasible to replace all United States attorneys when their four-year terms expired, according to the Justice Department. The proposal came as the administration was considering which political appointees to replace in the second term, Ms. Perino said.

Ms. Miers sent her query to D. Kyle Sampson, a top aide to Mr. Gonzales, the Justice officials said. Mr. Sampson, who resigned Monday, replied that filling so many jobs at once would overtax the department. He suggested replacing a smaller group, according to e-mail messages and other memorandums compiled by the Justice Department.

The Post provides details on how it was orchestrated:

The e-mails show that Rove was interested in the appointment of a former aide, Tim Griffin, as an Arkansas prosecutor. Sampson wrote in one that "getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc."

Sampson sent an e-mail to Miers in March 2005 that ranked all 93 U.S. attorneys. Strong performers "exhibited loyalty" to the administration; low performers were "weak U.S. attorneys who have been ineffectual managers and prosecutors, chafed against Administration initiatives, etc." A third group merited no opinion.

At least a dozen prosecutors were on a "target list" to be fired at one time or another, the e-mails show.

* * * *

Sampson also strongly urged bypassing Congress in naming replacements, using a little-known power slipped into the renewal of the USA Patriot Act in March 2006 that allows the attorney general to name interim replacements without Senate confirmation.

"I am only in favor of executing on a plan to push some USAs out if we really are ready and willing to put in the time necessary to select candidates and get them appointed," Sampson wrote in a Sept. 17 memo to Miers. "It will be counterproductive to DOJ operations if we push USAs out and then don't have replacements ready to roll immediately.

"I strongly recommend that as a matter of administration, we utilize the new statutory provisions that authorize the AG to make USA appointments," he wrote.

By avoiding Senate confirmation, Sampson added, "we can give far less deference to home state senators and thereby get 1.) our preferred person appointed and 2.) do it far faster and more efficiently at less political costs to the White House."

They expected a backlash and a plan to deal with it, dubbed Operation "Withstand Political Upheaval," as noted by the Times.

Via Talking Points Memo, who observed:

As has happened so many times in the last six years, the maximal version of this story -- which seemed logical six weeks ago but which I couldn't get myself to believe -- turns out to be true. Indeed, it's worse. We now know that Gonzales, McNulty and Moschella each lied to Congress. We know that the purge was a plan that began at the White House -- and it was overseen by two of President Bush's closest lieutenants in Washington -- Miers and Gonzales. Sampson is the second resignation. There will certainly be more.

Tags: News, Bush, Law, Politics, Attorneygate

Cartoon of the Day

* Pat Oliphant

Tags: Political Cartoons

Blue Magic

Last Sunday's NY Times had an article on lovers of old cars -- Volvos in particular, see Vintage Volvos Earn Their Stripes (Ask the General Who Owns One). As the article described:

Let's face it, with a reputation as reliable transportation for safety-minded drivers, Volvos weren't all that hip in the 1960s. Nobody stuck big yellow flower decals on them. But as baby boomers morphed into responsible homeowners, those boxy Volvos started to look better and better. Their longevity added to the cachet. The company created a High Mileage Club for cars that had traveled more than 100,000 miles, and owners attached the club's emblems to their cars as a badge of honor.

Mr. Singher has the emblem for his 122S, which has been fully restored. He has also restored a 1967 1800S. The 1800 was Volvo's period sports car, best known for its dramatic fins and the fact that ''The Saint'' (played by Roger Moore) drove one on television.

Another Volvo fan is Colin L. Powell. The former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was often found behind the chairman's quarters at Fort Myer in Virginia tinkering with his cars.

''At one time I had six, stashed at various places around the post so the M.P.'s wouldn't find them all,'' he said in a recent interview. ''My usual pattern was to fix them mechanically and then do enough body work to get them through a quick Earl Scheib paint job.

Although I am now the happy owner of The Red Menace (my red Toyota convertible), before this car, we've pretty much always been Volvo people. My first Volvo, known as "Blue Magic" (pictured), was a 1983 DL Model that I bought brand new for $13,000. We still have the car & are members of the High Mileage Club, with 199,000 plus miles. We've had several other Volvos since then, mainly because the car is safe and reliable.

As the Times piece said:

Volvos were popularly believed to be for pipe-smoking liberal college professors. In a 1985 Doonesbury cartoon, Duke asks Honey how she knows that a potential organ donor for him is a liberal. ''They pulled him from a Volvo,'' Honey says.

Bruce Potter, president of Volvo Sports America, a club originally set up to cater to 1800 owners, said he did not buy the liberal tag. ''Volvos then were for people who didn't want to make car payments for the rest of their lives. Volvo said it best in one of the old ads -- the cars offered the best bang for the buck. They publicized the fact that the average Volvo lived 17 years in Sweden.''

We may not be pipe smoking professors, but we definitely meet the liberal tag and we qualify as people who are interested in the best bang for the buck.

Long live Volvo -- and it does live long!

(Via Steph)

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor
(my all time favorite)
Born this day in 1948
Sweet Baby James

See also, Turn our Thoughts.

Tags: James Taylor, Music Video

When, Not If

Frank Rich pens a column on the question of whether President Bush will end up pardoning Scooter Libby. In Why Libby’s Pardon Is a Slam Dunk (also found at Rozius Unbound), Rich opines:

Even by Washington’s standards, few debates have been more fatuous or wasted more energy than the frenzied speculation over whether President Bush will or will not pardon Scooter Libby. Of course he will.

A president who tries to void laws he doesn’t like by encumbering them with “signing statements” and who regards the Geneva Conventions as a nonbinding technicality isn’t going to start playing by the rules now. His assertion last week that he is “pretty much going to stay out of” the Libby case is as credible as his pre-election vote of confidence in Donald Rumsfeld. The only real question about the pardon is whether Mr. Bush cares enough about his fellow Republicans’ political fortunes to delay it until after Election Day 2008.

* * * *

The climactic chapter of the Libby saga unfolded last week when the guilty verdict in his trial coincided, all too fittingly, with the Congressional appearance of two Iraq veterans, one without an ear and one without an eye, to recount their subhuman treatment at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

I also thought that it was a matter of when, not if, in Scooter Can't Skate Out of this One. However, Rich does his usual excellent job of weaving together all the related threads in this don't miss op-ed.

Tags: Commentary, Frank Rich, Libby, Law, Politics

It's All Your Fault

I'm not sure what it is that compels us to want to blame the victim, at least in part, for whatever befalls them. However, it must be human nature to do so, since it happens time and again, regardless of the circumstances of the wrong that has been done to the victim. Rape? The woman did something to entice the male to do that to her -- suggestive clothing, leading him on, etc. Poverty? Didn't try hard enough to get a job.

This article, however, surprised even me. A Yahoo News story, Jews 'partly responsible' for their troubles: Churchill, reports:

The Second World War prime minister Winston Churchill argued that Jews were "partly responsible for the antagonism from which they suffer" in an article publicised for the first time Sunday.

Churchill made the claim in an article entitled "How The Jews Can Combat Persecution" written in 1937, three years before he started leading the country.

He outlined a new wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe and the United States, which was followed by the deaths of millions of Jews in the Holocaust under the German Nazi regime.

"It would be easy to ascribe it to the wickedness of the persecutors, but that does not fit all the facts," the article read.

"It exists even in lands, like Great Britain and the United States, where Jew and Gentile are equal in the eyes of the law and where large numbers of Jews have found not only asylum, but opportunity.

"These facts must be faced in any analysis of anti-Semitism. They should be pondered especially by the Jews themselves.

"For it may be that, unwittingly, they are inviting persecution -- that they have been partly responsible for the antagonism from which they suffer."

The article adds: "The central fact which dominates the relations of Jew and non-Jew is that the Jew is 'different'.

"He looks different. He thinks differently. He has a different tradition and background. He refuses to be absorbed."

Churchill was talked out of publishing it, and it was recently discovered in his papers. I am reading Night by Elie Wiesel for my Book Group (not to be confused with the LWL Gang*), which meets today, so this piece was especially poignant.

At some point after college, I read a series of books on the Holocaust, Hitler and the Third Reich. I was young and naive -- I just could not fathom how the world stood silently by while Germany rounded up a group of people and eventually tried to eliminate an entire race of people. I could never understand the fact that the world stood aside and just let it happen, without protest. In the late 70's, I spent some time in Germany on a European trip and visited Dachau, outside of Munich. I thought if I read enough about the time period, I would understand what was unique about that period that such horror could occur. The answer, however, did not come from the books, it came from observing life.

I'd like to say that the words outside of Dachau, "Never Again" would prevail, but I know that it is not so. I see things that occur today, such as the fact that the United States engages in torture and imprisons people without charge or trial -- for years -- that do not engender protest. Genocide is occurring in Darfur, with scant news coverage. We are aggressors in waging war. The list goes on.

So long as we can label someone "different," it is so much easier for us to be able to distinguish ourselves from them and dehumanize them enough to justify whatever treatment is brought to bear against them. Whether it's rounding people up in ghettos, reservations or concentration camps, engaging in torture or even applying the "final solution" -- death.

* Ladies Who Lunch (a/k/a my office mates)

~ ~ ~ ~

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

-- Elie Wiesel

Tags: Night, Wiesel, Churchill, Quote of the Day

Saturday Silliness

Bill Maher's New Rules from 3/9/07, discussing Mitt Romney, Pizza, Disneyland, the religion of peace, and Bush's rosy war.

(Via One Good Move)

Tags: Bill Maher, Comedy, Humor, New Rules, Video

Cartoon of the Day

* Mike Keefe, Denver Post

Tags: Political Cartoons

The Cleansing

It's one of those days where everything I read reminds me of the office. For example, this piece about Bush's Latin America trip:

Bush's seven-day tour of Latin America includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.

Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace.

See Priests to purify site after Bush visit.

This article really made me chuckle for a variety of reasons. I love the idea that the Mayans feel the need to cleanse the sacred site after Bush has been there. The other is the fact that it reminds me of my own experience with exorcising "bad spirits."

A few years ago, I went through a nasty partnership break-up, which ended up in litigation. Nothing worse than a nasty divorce between lawyers. The worst part of this particular ugly split was that it was totally unnecessary. We each had our own client base, so there was no real argument over who was getting which clients. There was nothing to fight about, but that didn't stop my associate who was a disturbed individual.

Once it was finally settled, the LWL* hired a woman (pictured above) to come to the office to perform an "exorcism" to purify the office of the bad spirits left behind by our former office mate. Being the LWL Gang, we then celebrated with a wine and cheese party. It worked. The office has had good karma ever since.

* Ladies Who Lunch (a/k/a my office mates)

(Via Crooks and Liars)

I'm Rejuvenated

When not blogging (or otherwise playing around), I am a health care attorney -- basically a business lawyer for doctors. An issue of great concern to many of my clients is the fact that, with declining reimbursements, physicians and other health care providers find that they are often working more hours, but earning less. For some, to compensate for this loss in income there is the continual quest to look for new ways to augment their revenues. The Washington Post, in Cosmetic Surgery's New Frontier, discusses one such augmentation:

Christopher A. Warner says he considers himself something of a maverick, a caring physician willing to challenge medical orthodoxy in order to help women.

That's why the 39-year-old board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist recently opened the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Washington in a red brick townhouse off Washington Circle. There, he is building a business as the first area physician to perform controversial procedures that use a laser to enhance sexual gratification by repairing tissue damaged by childbirth, to give women a "youthful aesthetic look" or to make those who are not appear to be virgins.

Via Shaun Mullen at Kiko's House, who observed in his post Is This a Great Country or What?, he aptly decides:

I would vote for "or what" after reading that a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist apparently cares so much about his patients that he has opened the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Washington.

Picture that: Vaginal Rejuvenation. If you need imagery assistance, see, Feministing, Nothing says “empowered” like a trimmed labia, who also notes:

But perhaps the most vile aspect of this surgery is how doctors are appropriating feminist language to make the case for cutting up women. A press release from The Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of New York shouts, “Women Now Have Equal Sexuality Rights.” One of the doctors mentioned in the article, David Matlock (who we’ve also posted about before), calls one of his surgery packages the “Wonder Woman Makeover.” It includes “several vaginal procedures, breast implants and a breast lift, abdominal liposuction and a ‘Brazilian butt augmentation.’” Lovely.

The other aspect of this is that doctors who promote these types of procedures contribute to the perception that physicians are greedy -- and are more interested in making money than caring for their patients. Sort of like the conversation yesterday at lunch, when one of my colleagues mentioned that one of her clients had been hospitalized after an attempted suicide. Looking concerned, another member of the LWL* gang asked: "Did he pay his bill?" After we all booed the person for such a callous remark, the colleague said "Trust me, I have a retainer." It's why we're beloved. Doctors are just playing catch-up.

Of course, this whole topic also reminds me of a remark by Jon Stewart during his Daily Show skit on an American Legion speech by Bush. During Bush's intro, he compares the President of the American Legion Auxiliary to his mother, remarking that they get their hair done at the same place. Stewart quips: “How does the president know that woman has a Brazilian?” See The Largest Minority for the video.

* Ladies Who Lunch (a/k/a my office mates).

Tags: News

Cartoon of the Day

* Jeff Danziger, NYTimes

Tags:

Waltergate

Jon Stewart of the Daily Show covers the M*E*S*S* at Walter Reed Hospital and the Bush Administration accepting responsibility for the scandal.

And don't miss the follow up Walter Reed Daily Show videos, General Admission on Walter Reed , from The Largest Minority.

(Video via Crooks and Liars)

Tags: Daily Show, Jon Stewart, Comedy, Video

Cartoon of the Day

* Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Daily News

Tags: Political Cartoons

Scooter Can't Skate Out of this One

Of course, this item is on all the news, Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial, so there's no real point in my mentioning it, other than to add a final post-script to my various posts on the Plame leak. See, e.g., What's It All About, Alfie? and Waas is All That. As the Huffington Post reports:

Once the closest adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that shook the top levels of the Bush administration.

He is the highest-ranking White House official convicted in a government scandal since National Security Adviser John Poindexter in the Iran-Contra affair two decades ago.

In the end, jurors said did not believe Libby's main defense: that he hadn't lied but merely had a bad memory.

See also, Talk Left, Libby Verdict : Guilty of Four Counts.

What a shame. Not the verdict, but the fact that one of the Ladies Who Lunch (a/k/a my office mates) dated Scooter when he was a young lawyer in Philly, so she is going to be subjected to serious ribbing for having dated a convicted felon.

In fact, as Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake (the source for all Plame related news) noted that the Jurors in the Libby case thought that Libby was the fall guy for Cheney and Rove, see We Can Be Heroes…. After the verdict, she spoke with the former Washington Post reporter who was on the jury, Dennis Colins, who said:

He eventually got dragged before the cameras and said that there was a lot of compassion on the jury for Libby, that they felt he was the"fallguy," and they wanted to know where Karl Rove was in all of this. He was loathe to answer questions about Dick Cheney beyond the fact that Libby was obviously doing whatever he did at Cheney's behest, and the Cheney notes on the Wilson July 6 article seemed especially damning. He wouldn't say whether testimony by Cheney would have helped Libby or not, and seemed unwilling to discuss anything that they were not tasked with deliberating.

See also More for more on the post-trial interviews and for video, see Crooks and Liars, Juror Speaks Out: Libby is guilty, but he’s the fall guy.

So now, the next question is: will he or won't he? That is, will Bush pardon Libby. I'm not a betting woman, but if I were, I'd put my money on YES. In my view, it's not a question of if, but when.

UPDATE (3/7/07): Will Bunch of the Philly Daily News provides a very good summary of the case & verdict, LIBBY TAKES A BIG FALL.

Tags: News, Politics, Plame case, Libby

Cartoon of the Day

* Justin Bilicki, New York

Tags: Political Cartoons

Agony Air

A recent column by Monica Yant Kinney of the Philadelphia Inquirer made me cringe just thinking about my trip to Florida next week. In Better to stay on terra firma, in the wake of the JetBlue debacle, Kinney describes why she has given up flying. She details the various ways the airlines make air travel an experience from hell. And she add not to bother complaining about it, because no one in the industry cares. There is a reason for that -- it's all in the definition of service. For airlines, bad service is regular service. It follows that if bad service is the standard, then why voice complaints about what has become "normal" treatment?

Of course, as Kinney notes, we who live in Philly are used to lousy service in the skies (and on the ground) from US Air. US Air, originally named Allegheny Airlines and aptly nicknamed Agony Airlines, may have changed it's name years ago, but its reputation lives on. For example, a week after a normal snowstorm on Valentine's Day, lost baggage at the US Air terminal in Philly was still piled "sky high," see A weather-related pileup. The installation of a new computer reservation system, US Airways sees more delays for today, has caused long lines and delays going into its second day.

My brother and I are heading south for a long week-end to visit our parents next week. He is flying on US Air & stopping in Philly on his way to Florida. He couldn't understand why I refused to fly with him, instead booking a flight on another airline. It is certainly inconvenient for us to travel on different flights at different times, but I'd rather not go than travel on US Air. And, if the drive to Florida wasn't so long, like Kinney, I'd really rather not fly at all.

UPDATE (3/7/07): See what I mean? The Inquirer has a follow up article on US Air's problems with its computer reservation switchover, Once again, US Airways at the hub of discord. The view of the airline is that the cutover went mostly smoothly and that they had sufficient staff at airports to deal with the service glitches. This is only true if the expectation level is so low that it was in fact met. In other words, bad service is the expected level of service.

Tags: Philadelphia, Philly, US Air

Feel So Good

Jeremiah Trotter visits the JCC to kick off a new program between the Eagles and Jefferson University Hospital. I might also know a few other people featured in the video.

(Via KYW Video)

Cartoon of the Day

* Tony Auth, Philadelphia Inquirer

Tags: Political Cartoons

Eat Your Heart Out

Light posting lately -- the press of work, family and life (at least I don't need to be told to "get a life").

In the life department, last night was the "Eat Your Heart Out" fundraising dinner for West Mt. Airy Neighbors, the community association for the West Mt. Airy neighborhood we live in. The event is described as:

A modified progressive dinner, Eat Your Heart Out! begins at one sensational Mt. Airy home, where guests enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Then, participants fan out to sixteen beautiful Mt. Airy homes where they enjoy delicious meals created by some of the most talented chefs in the community.

We were one of the homes that hosted a dinner. I've mentioned before that we live in the West Mount Airy section of Philly, with lots of big old homes. Ours is big, but not McMansion-sized. Stone house, built circa 189o. I ran into a friend at a party over the holidays who is on the Board of WMAN and is the Chair of the Dinner Committee. We chatted a bit & somehow I agreed to host one of the dinners.

Despite my last minute moans & groans (of the "I've got to be out of my mind to be doing this" variety), the event turned out to be an extremely enjoyable evening. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about having 12 or so strangers come to my house for dinner, but it was fun. Everyone was interesting and entertaining -- the kind of people I could see myself being friends with.

The evening started with cocktails at a home located at the edge of Fairmont Park, two blocks away on my street. Although I'm not sure home is the right term -- mansion? castle? might better to describe this fabulous place. We stopped by briefly, then headed back to our house to wait for our guests.

Our chef was Herb Scott of Herb Scott's Catering and I can't say enough nice things about him. Good food from a good guy. He was extremely pleasant and professional, so everything was seamless from start to finish. He made verything so easy that I felt more like a guest myself than the host. We served what was billed as "Upscale BBQ," featuring dishes such as Mozzarella S'mores atop a salad, and a sampling of Char-Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Three Herb Chimichurri and Grilled Pork Kebabs with Ginger Molasses Barbecue Sauce. We ended with yummy looking -- and tasting -- Banana and Mango Spring Rolls with Chocolate Ganache. Dinner was delicious!

It was a delightful evening and we certainly ate our hearts out.

Cartoon of the Day

* Bill Shorr

Tags: Political Cartoons

It's His Day

Dr. Seuss
Born this day in 1904

It's a troublesome world.
All the people who're in it are troubled with troubles almost every minute.
You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot,
for the places and people your're lucky you're not!

See also Happy Birthday.

Tags: Dr. Seuss, Quote of the Day

Ricky@Inky?

This guy is definitely like that stuff that gets stuck on your shoe, emanates a certain odor & is difficult to get off.

He's our own "ex" -- ex-PA Senator Rick Santorum. Philly Magazine is reporting that he's in discussions with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Santorum to Pen Inky Column?.

Republican former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is in talks to become the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s newest op-ed columnist. Reached late Wednesday night, Santorum told us, “We’re sort of back and forth, haven’t decided anything, but we’re talking, yes.”

* * * *

Santorum wouldn’t go into more detail. He said his talks with the Inky were “an informal dialogue” and the column “may or may not happen.” Since losing big in last November’s midterm elections, Santorum has been hiring staff and “trying to do some things to influence the public discussion,” mainly on the issue of global terrorism. He joined a think-tank in Washington D.C., the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he heads the subtly named “America’s Enemies” project on radical Islam. He also signed with the Harry Walker lecture agency — whose client list includes Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Bono — and is working on a book about the terrorist threat. Santorum said that if he were to write an Inky column, “it would be on a variety of different things,” including his work on radical Islam. When we asked him about the chances for the column actually happening, Santorum said, “I’ve got a lot of other things that I’m doing. So part of it is just whether I have time to do it.”

He sure does have a lot to do. See, Public Enemy #1, for more on the Santorum gravy train.

This is all the work of Brian Tierney, the new "owner" of the Inquirer, see, e.g., And in a Blink, He Was Gone, who is determined to either turn the paper into the Philly Suburban Inquirer or go bust trying.

As for his buddy Rick, Eat The Press at The Huffington Post also confirmed reports Rick Santorum To Join Fox News.

Phawker has the absolutely, positively, without a doubt best coverage on the image of the "marriage" of "the vast ignorance-spreading power of Fox News and all the stupid useless self-righteous fearmongering hate-noise that comes out of Santorum’s mouth," in Santorum Finally Gets A Godamned Job.

Tags: Philadelphia, Philly, Journalism, Santorum

What's the Purpose?

I didn't want Black History Month to pass without acknowledging it. My contribution is The Daily Show's Senior Black Correspondent, Larry Wilmore, on Black History Month.

His response to Jon Stewart's question whether Black History Month serves a purpose:

Yess. The purpose of making up for centuries of oppression with 28 days of trivia.

Tags: Comedy, Daily Show, Jon Stewart, Larry Wilmore, Black History Month, Video

Oh, What a Day

On this day, in 1854, the Republican Party began.

~ ~ ~

Republican comes in the dictionary just after reptile and just above repugnant.

-- Julia Roberts

Tags: Quote of the Day, Republican Party

Cartoon of the Day

* Pat Bagley

The Sequel

The Best War Ever.

This video, by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton explores how America defeated itself in Iraq -- by believing its own spin.

Stauber & Rampton are also the authors of a book by the same name: The Best War Ever. The book delves into the spin machine that sold us the Iraq War & how they're still doing it—as the people who sold us the war in Iraq are now trying to sell an expansion into Syria and Iran.

The book is especially timely in light of the talk of a possible war against Iran. Seymour Hersh has a new article in the New Yorker, The Redirection, which is a must read (like all of his pieces are), in which he begins:

In the past few months, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has significantly shifted its Middle East strategy. The “redirection,” as some inside the White House have called the new strategy, has brought the United States closer to an open confrontation with Iran and, in parts of the region, propelled it into a widening sectarian conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

Read the rest. Recent interviews with Hersh discussing his article can be found at Crooks & Liars here and here.

Hersh has been sounding the warning about Iran for some time now, see, A Messy World.

~ ~ ~ ~
Lies got us into this war. Only the truth will get us out.

Tags: Commentary, Politics, Iraq, Iran, Video

Cartoon of the Day

* R. J. Matson

Tags: Political Cartoons

A New Way to Say You Suck

Via Dan McQuade at Philadelphia Will Do, comes the story of a man after my own heart (I guess I missed the story in the Inquirer between all the ads). McQuade explains the story:

When I was in high school, I used to drive by this couple almost every day that would stand out front of a store with sandwichboards on, urging people not to shop there. "Refund my $500, Andalusia Television," the one sign said (something like that, at least). "Don't shop at Andalusia TV," read the other. I can only assume that, unless Andalusia TV refunded their $500, the old couple is still there, still asking for $500, still urging people not to get their TVs repaired -- if people still do, indeed, get their televisions repaired -- at Andalusia TV.

Point is, people go a little over-the-top when they think somebody cheated them out of money. Such is the case with Jim Broomell, who hates Cherry Hill Dodge so much he's affixed magnetic signs on his truck saying "Cherry Hill Dodge Sucks." He even has a website dedicated to hating Cherry Hill Dodge, available at the easy-to-remember URL cherryhilltriplexscrewedmesuedmeandlost.com.

And, indeed, Cherry Hill Dodge -- aka Cherry Hill Triplex -- did sue Jim Broomell for putting those signs on the side of his truck, and did indeed lose after the lawsuit was thrown out on a technicality.

This is definitely something I've thought about doing several times, when I've felt that I've been taken advantage of by a company -- especially when they disclaim any responsibility for their mistake. It's not so much the original error, but the attitude problem that too often follows a complaint. Makes you wanna holler -- and then get revenge. Sounds like this guy did both! It's nice to know that there's someone will do it for all of us wimps who grouse about it, but then do nothing.

The story as told in the Inquirer gives it a slightly different slant. In its piece, The Internet as battleground of free speech, the paper focuses on the boundaries of free expression with this type of "speech:"

Still, the case raises this question: When does an expression of consumer dissatisfaction cross the line, particularly on the Internet, where the venues for venting are limitless?

Harold Pohlman, the director of the Law and Public Service Program at Dickinson College, said speech - even hate speech - is protected "until you get into intimidation."

"I would be shocked if a simple assertion of 'I want to hurt your business' would be dispositive... especially if the signs asserted a simple expression of opinion," he said.

Sheldon H. Nahmod, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, agreed that negative opinions of businesses are free speech, but said lawsuits "are going to happen more and more because of the Internet."

"This is not a new issue," he said. As to "what makes it different... look at the kind of communication involved."

I'm certainly not a 1st Amendment lawyer, but I'd be very surprised if this type of expression were not permitted. Seems to me saying that a business "sucks" is the essence of opinion, which is (or has been, up to now) protected speech. As the Judge in the case put it:

Although Snyder threw the case out, he did address the dealership's request for an injunction to stop Broomell from using his e-mail addresses.

"The Constitution protects this type of language," he said. "The fact that speech could result in economic harm isn't enough to override the burden."

Of course, that's not to say that a big company won't try to take action against an individual to intimidate or bully the individual, in hopes of making the person back down, as happened here.

Gee, rather than just moving our accounts, maybe I should create a site for that local Bank that screwed up the deposits for our business account & then tried to say it wasn't their fault . . .

Tags: News, Philly

The News

SNL mocks the Media's coverage of Anna Nicole Smith vs. real news.

Tags: Comedy, SNL, News & Media, Video

Cartoon of the Day

* Justin Bilicki

Tags: Political Cartoons

Believe in Life

W.E.B. DuBois

Born: February 23, 1868
(Belated)

To be a poor man is hard,
but to be a poor race in a land of dollars
is the very bottom of hardships.
~ ~ ~ ~
Believe in life!
Always human beings will live
and progress to greater, broader and fuller life.
(his last message, 1957)

For Dave

Tags: Quote of the Day, DuBois

(Don't Worry) If There's Hell Below . . .

As most people have heard by now, Dana Priest and Anne Hull of The Washington Post, in Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility and The Hotel Aftermath, as well as related articles in the series, see The Other Walter Reed, told the shameful story of the treatment of returning soldiers who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month I wrote about the woefully inadequate manner in which the military treats those who seek treatment for mental health services, see And How About Them?.

And then yesterday, I listened to an NPR report on the toll on families of those who serve that made my heart ache, Iraq War's Effects Seen, Felt in High School's Halls. For example:

She also says some students worry their mothers might commit suicide while their fathers are deployed. As a result, the kids stay up all night, keeping watch.

In the video above, Keith Olbermann also devoted a segment on his Countdown show, describing in detail the conditions at Walter Reed, including an interview with Dana Priest.

Like every other word uttered by the Bush Administration, the slogan "Support our Troops" is just a catchphrase.

As I heard the stories on NPR, I could imagine a special place in hell that must be reserved for Bush & Cheney. Then this morning, I saw this & realized the folly of my thoughts:



(Video via The Largest Minority and poster via Crooks and Liars).

Tags: Bush, News, Iraq War, Countdown, Olbermann, Video

Cartoon of the Day

* Jeff Danziger, NY Times

Tags: Political Cartoons

We'll Have Nun of That

The Washington Post reports on the latest in the US Attorney purge (that's purge, not surge), Justice Department Fires 8th U.S. Attorney, with the forced resignation of US Attorney Margaret Chiara. The paper reports:

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell, the chief judge in Michigan's Western District, said in an interview yesterday that Chiara has an excellent reputation in Grand Rapids.

"This is a very classy, distinguished, highly regarded public servant," said Bell, who was appointed to the bench during the Reagan administration. "She's one of the best United States attorneys we've had in this district, and all of my colleagues agree. . . . To have her suddenly disappear without warning catches us all flat-footed."

See also, Prosecutor Purge: Number Eight?

As All Spin Zone, US Attorney Fired for Not Loving Death Enough, explained: "It appears Ms. Chiara, who studied to be a nun earlier in her life, was asked to resign because she holds a different personal opinion about the death penalty than does the Bush Administration." Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left, AG Gonzales Terminates 8th U.S. Attorney, concurs:

So, why are these U.S. Attorneys being fired?

Nearly all of the dismissed prosecutors had positive job reviews, but many had run into political trouble with Washington over immigration, capital punishment or other issues, according to prosecutors and others. At least four also were presiding over high-profile public corruption investigations when they were dismissed.

The prosecutors' views on the death penalty may be a factor:

Chiara -- who had once studied to be a nun -- is personally opposed to capital punishment....Another of the fired U.S. attorneys, Paul K. Charlton of Phoenix, also clashed with Washington over the death penalty.

An ex-nun who opposes the death penalty because of religious beliefs? As I mentioned in my last post, Onward Christian Soldiers, Alberto Gonzales has introduced a new program to protect religious freedom. This is just the sort of case that the Department of Justice's new "First Freedom Project" is looking for! And Gonzales can have the honor of prosecuting it against himself.

The irony is just too delicious. God just has to have had a hand in it.

Tags: Civil Liberties, Religion, Law, News

Onward Christian Soldiers

In Attorney General Gonzales Deputizes the Southern Baptist Convention in New Initiative, Talk to Action reports on a new "First Freedom Project" that the Department of Justice "announced earlier this week by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, [in] an effort to tout and enhance the Department's pursuit of religious discrimination claims through the Civil Rights Division."

Don Bird of Talk to Action also observed that Gonzales has enlisted the Christian right to help the DOJ protect religious freedom:

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sought out a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee as his venue to unveil the new religious liberty initiative of the Department of Justice during a speech in Nashville on Tuesday. The "First Freedom Project" touts the Administration's record arguing religious freedom claims through its Civil Rights Division, provides resources on free exercise rights, and a new "Report on Enforcement of Laws Protecting Religious Freedom." The project also invites tips on potential discrimination the DOJ might investigate. Gonzales made special mention of this near the end of his talk:

[M]ake no mistake, I am here to ask the Southern Baptist Convention, and all of you in this room, for your help. The Department of Justice has many tools to protect religious freedoms in this country, and we are using them. But even with all of our passion and our dedication to this cause, we cannot do it alone.

This has been part of the "mission" of DOJ for some time. Last summer I cited several articles noting a trend in the Department of Justice away from traditional employment related claims alleging discrimination on the basis of race, instead focusing on reverse discrimination claims against whites and religious discrimination against Christians, see Civil Rights & Estate Taxes.

Of course, now that we've eradicated discrimination on the basis of race and sex, it's time to turn our efforts elsewhere. Gays have no rights, so that leaves religion. Of course, we're not talking about freedom from bias against religions such as Islam, or even for non-believers, such as Atheists (Agnostics, who can't decide, probably don't deserve protection). No, the focus is on those long suffering Christians.

As a born & bred Catholic, I can't tell you how often I have felt the burden of discrimination because of my faith!! Any discrimination on the basis of sex that I may have experienced over my career pales in comparison. Thank god the DOJ is finally taking action.

~ ~ ~ ~

Whenever I read about this issue, I am reminded of this quote by Jon Stewart:

"Is there an expiration date on this Christian Persecution Complex? Because last time I checked, you guys have pretty much controlled everything since Constantine was in power. Can we move on, please? And he converted in, ahhh, what was it, 312 AD? I'm just saying, enjoy your success."

- Jon Stewart

Tags: Religion, Civil Liberties, Quote of the Day

Cartoon of the Day

* Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press

Tags: Political Cartoons

How About None of the Above?

This graph shows the results of a USA Today/Gallup Poll that asked the following question:

"Between now and the 2008 political conventions, there will be discussion about the qualifications of presidential candidates -- their education, age, religion, race, and so on. If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be [see below], would you vote for that person?"

Not good news if your an older, gay non-believer who's thinking of running for President.

The Carpetbagger Report also has a breakdown of the results, What kind of people won’t Americans vote for?, by political ideology. The study showed that liberals are more open to "non-traditional candidates" (read that: someone other than a WASP male) than those who are conservative. I'm glad I was sitting down when I read that one. Who would have thunk?

(This one's for the Ladies Who Lunch)

Tags: Politics, Election

In the Name of the Father & Son

As described by the YouTuber who posted it:

A song parody of Cat Stevens tune, "Father and Son", written, produced and sung by Stew (the man of 1000 voices). I love America and support the troops but sometimes dissent is patriotic. Dedicated to Jon Stewart, Al Franken, Michael Moore and especially for all those who lost their lives in the Iraqi debacle.

(Via onegoodmove)

Tags: Music Video, Politics, Satire

Cartoon of the Day

* Pat Oliphant, NYTimes

Tags: Political Cartoons

Hemlock for Helen

Calling it "a sign of Washington’s changing pecking order, and of the new ways that Americans get their news," Mike Allen of the Politico Helen Thomas Moving Back After 46 Years Down Front, reported:

The press corps is scheduled to move from temporary facilities back into the spiffed-up, rewired briefing room in May or June. Thomas, who has been questioning presidents and press secretaries for 46 years, plans to be there. But her front-row seat won’t be. Plans call for her to be moved to the second row to make room for a cable news channel. . . .

As I noted in Move to the Back of the Bus, the rumors of her banishment were first raised last week, even earning a mention on the Colbert Report.

So the new media has a new way of reporting the news? Does that refer to the sycophantic stenography that the media has been giving us in lieu of real reporting? Or is it the all entertainment, all the time "news" format that parades as news? Whatever it is, it's not journalism.

Likewise calling it Helen Thomas Goes to the Back of the Bus, Night Bird's Fountain reacted to the phrase in a different way:

Well, I can't help but think that it's more than the "new ways that Americans get their news" that relegated Helen to the back of the pack. I think it has more to do with her biting criticism of this administration and their inability to answer truthfully. In any case, it is a shabby way to treat a remarkable hero of American Journalism. And, yes, after 46 years, I consider the second row the back of the bus.

Thomas, ever the professional, shrugged it off, as Allen's piece continued:

“I didn’t think I had a monopoly on that seat,” Thomas, 86, said in a telephone interview. “Since my peers have decided that I don’t belong there, I’ll bow to their – I’ll drink the – What did Socrates drink?”

Hemlock?

“I’ll drink it,” she said. “You have to submit to the will of the people, and apparently this is the will of my peers. It’s OK with me. I’ve had a good run in the front seat.”

* * * *

She is deeply disillusioned by the state of press-presidential relations. “I think we have a public trust, and I think we have fallen down on the job,” she said. “The newest crop of journalists don’t do their job. For one thing, they’re being blocked. I think they came out of their coma on Katrina. But the questions that should have been asked have not been asked and time has passed us by.”

I pointed out that there is a school of thought that questions are worth asking even if the president won’t answer them. “At least the public’ll know you’re doing your job,” she said. “Questions should be out there, because the American people have seen us become so compliant and complicit. You were there for the run-up to the war. Where were the questions? Who asked why, what, what do you mean? We drop bombs and we accuse the enemy of meddling? We attack a country that did nothing on us? We dropped bombs on innocent people and started this war. You were there. Nobody said why.” When she paused and I filled the silence with “fascinating,” she continued: “It isn’t fascinating. It’s rid– it’s, it’s sad.”

Sad, but true.

(Photo & story via Cliff Schecter)

Tags: Commentary, News & Media, Helen Thomas

Cartoon of the Day

* Pat Olipant, NYTimes

Tags: Political Cartoons

The Alarms are Ringing

Via Attytood, who inquires "Did anyone know about this?" a recent NYTimes editorial, Making Martial Law Easier, notes:

A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law.

The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty. One is the doctrine that bars military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in law enforcement. Called posse comitatus, it was enshrined in law after the Civil War to preserve the line between civil government and the military. The other is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which provides the major exemptions to posse comitatus. It essentially limits a president’s use of the military in law enforcement to putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights.

The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”

Changes of this magnitude should be made only after a thorough public airing. But these new presidential powers were slipped into the law without hearings or public debate. The president made no mention of the changes when he signed the measure, and neither the White House nor Congress consulted in advance with the nation’s governors.

A bipartisan bill was recently introduced to repeal this alarming law (as Will Bunch of Attytood rightfully terms it), which is no doubt what brought this to the attention of the Times Editorial Board.

In a way, the answer to Bunch's question proves even more disturbing. In an October 29, 2006 post, No More Disorder, I quoted:

The historic and ominous re-writing of the Insurrection Act, accomplished in the dead of night, which gives Bush the legal authority to declare martial law, is now an accomplished fact.

This was from a post by the Unknown Candidate, and I called this yet another sign of a Creeping Dictatorship.

The Times editorial notes that this law is serious enough that it is a threat to our our democracy itself. So where was the Times (as well as the rest of the media) when this odious law was first passed? Why is this just being brought out in an editorial, rather than being reported first as the news it is (or I should say, was)? It couldn't have been that hard to discover, if I discovered it within a few days of its passage.

And, once again, this assault on our freedom was enacted shortly before the 2006 midterm elections, but is only being addressed now. If the press had spent as much time reporting on this issue, as say, who the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby is, who knows what the election results could have been. I seem to recall this happening before . . . .

The real question is: Why didn't everyone know about this?

Tags: Commentary, Civil Liberties, Law, News & Media

Cartoon of the Day

*Joel Pett

Tags: Political Cartoons

Never Say Never

In an excerpt from his new book, Salon columnist Joe Conason explains why, for the first time since the resignation of Richard M. Nixon, Americans have reason to doubt the future of their democracy. In It could happen here, Conason warns:

For the first time since the resignation of Richard M. Nixon more than three decades ago, Americans have had reason to doubt the future of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. Today we live in a state of tension between the enjoyment of traditional freedoms, including the protections afforded to speech and person by the Bill of Rights, and the disturbing realization that those freedoms have been undermined and may be abrogated at any moment.

Such foreboding, which would have been dismissed as paranoia not so long ago, has been intensified by the unfolding crisis of political legitimacy in the capital. George W. Bush has repeatedly asserted and exercised authority that he does not possess under the Constitution he swore to uphold. He has announced that he intends to continue exercising power according to his claim of a mandate that erases the separation and balancing of power among the branches of government, frees him from any real obligation to obey laws passed by Congress, and permits him to ignore any provisions of the Bill of Rights that may prove inconvenient.

* * * *

As the midterm election showed, more and more Americans realize that something has gone far wrong at the highest levels of government and politics -- that Washington's one-party regime had created a daily spectacle of stunning incompetence and dishonesty. Pollsters have found large majorities of voters worrying that the country is on the wrong track. At this writing, two of every three voters give that answer, and they are not just anxious but furious. Almost half are willing to endorse the censure of the president.

* * * *

Bolstered by political impunity, especially in a time of war, perhaps any group of politicians would be tempted to abuse power. But this party and these politicians, unchecked by normal democratic constraints, proved to be particularly dangerous. The name for what is wrong with them -- the threat embedded within the Bush administration, the Republican congressional leadership, and the current leaders of the Republican Party -- is authoritarianism.

The most obvious symptoms can be observed in the regime's style, which features an almost casual contempt for democratic and lawful norms; an expanding appetite for executive control at the expense of constitutional balances; a reckless impulse to corrupt national institutions with partisan ideology; and an ugly tendency to smear dissent as disloyalty. The most troubling effects are matters of substance, including the suspension of traditional legal rights for certain citizens; the imposition of secrecy and the inhibition of the free flow of information; the extension of domestic spying without legal sanction or warrant; the promotion of torture and other barbaric practices, in defiance of American and international law; and the collusion of government and party with corporate interests and religious fundamentalists.

What worries many Americans even more is that the authoritarians can excuse their excesses as the necessary response to an enemy that every American knows to be real. For the past five years, the Republican leadership has argued that the attacks of September 11, 2001 -- and the continuing threat from jihadist groups such as al Qaeda -- demand permanent changes in American government, society, and foreign policy. Are those changes essential to preserve our survival -- or merely useful for unscrupulous politicians who still hope to achieve permanent domination by their own narrowly ideological party? Not only liberals and leftists, but centrists, libertarians, and conservatives, of every party and no party, have come to distrust the answers given by those in power.

The whole excerpt is well worth a read. I think I may have to add Conason's book to my reading list. I have expressed similar sentiments (although not in such eloquent terms), and I know that some of my friends and colleagues think I am being histrionic and am exaggerating the level of concern that we are truly in danger of losing our democratic way of life.

However, after college I became "obsessed" with the Third Reich in Germany and read (and still have) a number of books on Hitler and the rise of the Nazi Party. I just could not understand how the Holocaust could have happened. Not in the Holocaust denial sense, but rather -- how could the German people (as well as the rest of the world) stand by and allow a group of fanatics to take over and annihilate millions of people because of a difference in faith? After immersing myself in that shameful period in history, I realized how just how easily it happened.

I certainly don't want to raise the specter of Nazism (which is not what I believe is happening here), but I do believe that there is an aura that existed then is present today. Fear mongering, inciting racial and ethnic hatred and exaggerated patriotism are all indicia of the type of environment that is ripe for an erosion of our rights and freedoms.

After the fall of Hitler, the motto was "Never again." I think the motto today should be "Never say never."

Tags: Bush, Civil Liberties, Law, Politics

Sunday Funnies - President's Day Edition

I saved the Sunday Funnies for Monday in honor of President's Day.

(Via Daily Kos)

Tags: Comedy, Sunday Funnies, Video

To Bush on Presidents Day

Al Neuharth founder of USA Today, corrects himself and issues a Mea culpa to Bush on Presidents Day. He explains:

A year ago I criticized Hillary Clinton for saying "this (Bush) administration will go down in history as one of the worst."

"She's wrong," I wrote. Then I rated these five presidents, in this order, as the worst: Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Hoover and Richard Nixon. "It's very unlikely Bush can crack that list," I added.

I was wrong. This is my mea culpa. Not only has Bush cracked that list, but he is planted firmly at the top.

He's #1.

In honor of President's Day, here are a few other posts on the issue:
Sui Generis, Without.A.Doubt and And the Winner Is?.

(Via Editor & Publisher, Al Neuharth: Bush Is Worst President of All-Time)

Tags: Bush, Commentary, Politics, President's Day

Cartoon of the Day

* Jeff Danziger, NYTimes

Tags: Political Cartoons

Move to the Back of the Bus

Citing the new Politico blog, the Huffington Post, in Helen Thomas Losing Her Seat?
reports that:

Helen Thomas, long-time Presidential correspondent, may be about to lose her front row seat in the Press Briefing Room.

Apparently, being the first woman officer of the National Press Club, the first woman member (and president) of the White House Correspondents Association, and the first woman member of the Gridiron Club, not to mention covering every president since John F Kennedy, does not necessarily entitle Thomas to a front row seat.

It seems that CNN and Fox News want the front row, but the Press Room renovations will only create one extra seat per row. So, there's talk that Helen Thomas may be banished from her front row seat to make room for the cable news boys.

Of course, moving White House Correspondent Helen Thomas to the back of the Briefing Room will hardly work to silence her voice. The video shows Stephen Colbert taking on Steve Doocy of Fox News for trying.

Best quote:

He's starting an email campaign to steal an old lady's chair. Bravo, sir. That takes courage. And of course FOX News deserves that chair. If anything, they should get two chairs because Tony Snow has been polite enough to stand for the past year.

And of course, I'm Helen's #1 fan. See e.g., No Gentle Good Night for Her and Thomas the Terrible.

(Video via Crooks & Liars)

Tags: News & Media, Journalism, Helen Thomas, Stephen Colbert, Video