Remember when we told you about that possible violation of the Hatch Act? Well, the Democratic National Committee is on it: The Democratic National Committee has submitted a request under the Freedom of Information act to the State Department, asking for records relating to actions by Canadian Ambassador David Wilkins in helping to set up a visit to Ottawa by Sen. John McCain. In the request, DNC Research Director Mike Gehrke asks for "any and all records (including but not limited to letters, written requests, memorandum, reports, telephone records, electronic communication) created on or after January 1, 2008 and relating to travel by U.S. Senator John McCain to Canada during the period April 1, 2008 to the present. " The Edmonton Sun reported Thursday that Wilkins contacted Thomas d'Aquino, the president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, to help set up what they described as a fundraiser before McCain's visit. McCain is scheduled to give a speech at the the Chateau Laurier Hotel and to meet with several Canadian officials. Democrats contend that by doing so, Wilkins violated the Hatch Act, which proscribes the kind of political activity a government employee may engage in.
We've had enough Mugabe to last us a lifetime--he needs to go: Zimbabwe's opposition leader called on his supporters Friday to challenge President Robert Mugabe's rule in next week's runoff election despite a "wave of brutality" he says the government has unleashed. Even as Morgan Tsvangirai urged Zimbabweans to have the courage to vote in the face of a violent crackdown, a judge ordered the No. 2 opposition leader held on treason and other charges until after the election. "The wave of brutality being inflicted upon our people is reminiscent of the worst days of" white rule, Tsvangirai said in an e-mail, one of the few ways he has of reaching voters. The opposition leader's attempts to tour the country have regularly been stymied by police at road blocks, and the state-controlled media here all but ignore him.
Thirty-five levees and counting: The crest of the flood-swollen Mississippi River moved steadily downstream toward St. Louis yesterday, but authorities said they expect levees there to hold -- in part because breaches and overflows upstream have reduced the volume of water in the river. So far, the Mississippi floodwaters have overtopped 35 levees along the river, three of them since Thursday, said Suzanne Fournier, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Those overflows have inundated towns along the upper Mississippi, knocked out roads, bridges and rail lines, and swamped millions of acres of farmland, driving up the prices of corn, soybeans and other foods. But by dispersing the floodwaters produced by heavy rains in recent weeks, the overflows have slowed down the river and reduced the pressure on levees farther south. "Right now we're watching the crest as it moves downriver," Fournier said in an interview today. She said the river is expected to crest at St. Louis tonight at 37 feet, well below the top of the 52-foot federal levees built there to withstand 100-year floods -- the type of inundation expected to occur, on average, about once a century.
It makes sense that they would eat more meat because they have more money--how is it that no one saw this coming? To understand the changing dietary habits of Chinese, it helps to listen to 6-year-old Lin Xingni talk about her favorite foods. "I like to eat chicken and fish. I also like pork ribs," she said...Chinese are eating more meat than ever. In 1980, the average Chinese ate 32 pounds of meat per year. By 1995, per-capita meat consumption had climbed to 86 pounds. Last year, Chinese wolfed down more than 117 pounds of meat on average, a little more than half of what an average American eats. Yet the carnivorous trend line keeps going up. A steady dietary transition is under way in China, as the country grows more prosperous. Barely half a century ago, the nation suffered a famine so severe that several million people died of hunger. Back then, the Chinese diet was mostly limited to rice, a limited selection of vegetables, soybean-based tofu and the rare meat dish. Now supermarket shelves sag under an array of foods. Meat is widely available. Fast-food restaurants dot the urban landscape, ranging from domestic noodle chains to familiar foreign brands. One chain in particular, KFC, is all over China, with 2,200 outlets in 450 cities. McDonald's trails with 930 restaurants in the country. And Chinese are consuming not just more meat. Lester Brown, the head of the Earthwatch Institute, a research center based in Maynard, Mass., described the phenomenon as "moving up the food chain," noting that Chinese also are eating more eggs, milk and high-protein foods.
Hey, thanks for sharing all of this with us, but how about we quit with the Blue Dog shenanigans and get back to work, okay? "What Scripture are you going to read?"[Senator Claire] McCaskill froze: "I beg your pardon?" "Well, you know you're supposed to read a Bible verse when you take the oath," [Senator Ben] Nelson said. Panic. The aide who briefed her never said a word about Bible verses. Nelson let her fret for another moment or two, then relented. He'd done the same to Hillary Clinton years ago...
So much for free speech: American taxpayers are paying for a Middle Eastern television network that broadcast an anti-Israeli diatribe as recently as last month, a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and ProPublica reveals. This, despite the fact that Al Hurra management promised Congress nearly two years ago that they would take measures to prevent such mistakes, which had occurred repeatedly before...Al Hurra is headquartered in Springfield, Va.; it was created four years ago by the Bush Administration to counter what was seen as an anti-American bias at Arab satellite news channels like the Qatar-based Al Jazeera. Nearly half a billion dollars has been spent since its inception and its top executive, Brian Conniff, assures Scott Pelley things have improved editorially. "We now have a fully functioning assignment desk that views all packages and scripts…I have an independent monitoring system…."
You know, we never talk about Nigeria, do we? The most powerful militant group in Nigeria said it launched a rare attack against an offshore oil installation Thursday, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it shut down production from the area after the violence. A leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta told the Associated Press that militants in open-hulled boats traveled through heavy seas to attack the Bonga oil field more than 65 miles from land. But they were not able to enter a computer control room they had hoped to destroy. The militant leader spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid punishment. Olav Ljosne, a spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell confirmed the attack but gave no details. He said production had been stopped at the field, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels of crude per day. That accounts for about 10 percent of Nigeria's current daily output of about 2 million barrels per day - already significantly down from the amount produced before years of militant attacks on oil infrastructure.
Did they or didn't they? A recent operation uncovered an Iraqi insurgent weapons cache that contained, of all things, a downed drone aircraft normally used by the US military in Iraq...[b]ut "it wasn't shot down. it went down due to a mechanical malfunction," Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a military spokesman in Baghdad, tells DANGER ROOM. The UAV had been assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division. That unit left in March, and was replaced with 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, working out of Forward Operating Base Falcon. The cache was only 500 meters south of that FOB. Hence, another reason why the cache seizure by the IA [Iraqi Army] soldiers was good news for us. The UAV's recovery is also great news. How the [militants] got it... Well, it is speculation on my part, but they likely got to the area it went down ahead of us, they can't really use it - as it 'talks' to our system, the ground operator.
Juan Cole has more on Ahmadinejad's contention that Bush wanted to kidnap him: According to one of the lecturers present at the meeting, Dr Ahmadinezhad added: Simultaneous with my visit to Iraq, the Americans intended to carry out a calculated plan to abduct me and transfer me to the US so that they could use the issue of terrorism as an excuse to blackmail the Islamic Republic. The president continued: Despite this, praise be to God, the changes which were made to my travel schedule spoilt their plan. They were taken by surprise and realized what had happened when I was flying back to Iran. This was whilst we didn't even visit the Green Zone, which is Baghdad's safest area. The interesting point is that Bush, the US president, hasn't even stayed overnight in Iraq. No, he's just not that into slumber parties, but that's a whole other can of worms we'd better not open up.
Although, we're not holding our breath that they'll get it right this time: The Air Force has struggled mightily for years to build its KC-X tanker airplane. Its first attempt to procure the plane through a complicated leasing deal met a spectacularly bloody end, largely at the hands of Sen. John McCain and the Senate Armed Services Committee. Now, its second attempt has been derailed by the Government Accountability Office, which sustained Boeing's protest of an Air Force decision to award the contract to a joint venture of Northrop and EADS...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Okay, We're Feeling a Little Jilted
Obama is running to the center on this. There's no cover on the side of Russ Feingold and Chris Dodd--there are too many McCains, Grahams, Liebermans, McConnells and Bonds out there who will hammer him for being weak on defense:
Now, the reality of this is, there will be raw feelings and all that, but there will be a sense of being stabbed in the back that comes from this, too.
Does that mean you go and vote for McCain? No, because McCain couldn't tell you from one day to the next where he stands. But I guarantee you one thing--if there's a Democrat in the White House on January 21, 2009, this legislation will come up again. This is not the end of it, not by a longshot.
No Republican is ever going to sit idly by and let a Democratic President have this kind of power. We will see every possible limitation on Presidential power reintroduced into our lexicon should that happen.
Obama is betting there will be a terrorist attack on the United States, apparently, and that's sad. So what if there is? No amount of warrantless wiretapping would stop it. No amount of invading the privacy of Americans would make a difference. This legislation doesn't protect anyone--it just robs them of their privacy so that politicians can appear to be doing what amounts to busywork in the face of a crisis. We have to find a way to not lose our minds if a terrorist hits our country. We must survive it, close ranks, and do what is necessary to protect Americans any way we can, even though we know there's virtually nothing we can do to stop the next attack. We must never allow a terrorist to think they can stampede us into abandoning our principles for the false promise of a little security.
--WS
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) today announced his support for a sweeping intelligence surveillance law that has been heavily denounced by the liberal activists who have fueled the financial engines of his presidential campaign.
In his most substantive break with the Democratic Party's base since becoming the presumptive nominee, Obama declared he will support the bill when it comes to a Senate vote, likely next week, despite misgivings about legal provisions for telecommunications corporations that cooperated with the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program of suspected terrorists.
In so doing, Obama sought to walk the fine political line between GOP accusations that he is weak on foreign policy -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called passing the legislation a "vital national security matter" -- and alienating his base.
"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program," Obama said in a statement hours after the House approved the legislation 293-129.
This marks something of a reversal of Obama's position from an earlier version of the bill, which was approved by the Senate Feb. 12, when Obama was locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
Now, the reality of this is, there will be raw feelings and all that, but there will be a sense of being stabbed in the back that comes from this, too.
Does that mean you go and vote for McCain? No, because McCain couldn't tell you from one day to the next where he stands. But I guarantee you one thing--if there's a Democrat in the White House on January 21, 2009, this legislation will come up again. This is not the end of it, not by a longshot.
No Republican is ever going to sit idly by and let a Democratic President have this kind of power. We will see every possible limitation on Presidential power reintroduced into our lexicon should that happen.
Obama is betting there will be a terrorist attack on the United States, apparently, and that's sad. So what if there is? No amount of warrantless wiretapping would stop it. No amount of invading the privacy of Americans would make a difference. This legislation doesn't protect anyone--it just robs them of their privacy so that politicians can appear to be doing what amounts to busywork in the face of a crisis. We have to find a way to not lose our minds if a terrorist hits our country. We must survive it, close ranks, and do what is necessary to protect Americans any way we can, even though we know there's virtually nothing we can do to stop the next attack. We must never allow a terrorist to think they can stampede us into abandoning our principles for the false promise of a little security.
--WS
Friday morning quick hits
Late start today - I had to go have labs drawn and made a morning of it. (Word of advice: Always treat the people who work under you with respect, dignity and fairness. One of them just might be the one who is coming at you with a needle some day.) We left the hospital and took a long walk, then caught a bus to the River Market, walked out on the Westport Landing observation deck, and then went to the green grocer at the city market. We don't get that many chances to just be a couple who has paid their dues and emptied the nest, and remembers why they liked one another so damned much to begin with. We had a chance to talk and lets just say that we are in agreement that if we had known when we were younger what this country would become...well, both of our resumes would read a hell of a lot different.
This looks like a Hatch Act violation to me Why is the U.S. ambassador to Canada organizing a $1000-per-plate fundraiser for McSame in Ottawa? He is using his position to promote a particular brand of politics, and that is illegal.
But there was pandering to be done! Iowa governor Chet Culver requested McCain stay away, rather than exploit the citizens of his state for a cheap photo-op, but hey, he's only the Governor, McCain is a veteran (who lost five planes and had he been a better pilot might not have his big ol' "POW" cudgel to bash all detractors with). Patrick Dillon, Culver's chief of staff, said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain. Pish! He came anyway, because if there is one thing all those taxpayer-funded junkets to Iraq have shown us, the doddering old sunuvabitch can't resist a dog and pony show.
At this point he's just taunting us Like the drunken, officious fuckhead he is. Now he is asserting that he doesn't have to give the Oversight Committee the climate change documents that were requested. You guessed it. Executive privilege. Apparently that means it is his privilege to tell us all to fuck off and die, he is gonna do whatever he wants because that stupid fucking Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table. I hope she gets a brutal comeuppance. I will laugh, oh, how I will laugh...and mock most cruelly. She is every bit as bad as the chimp. No, she's ten times worse, because she has enabled him for two years. We need all new Democrats in leadership. Not one of the ones there now would be worth pissing on if they were on fire.
That wasn't a compromise. It was capitulation. We agree with the ACLU. "No matter how often the opposition calls this bill a ‘compromise,’ it is not a meaningful compromise, except of our constitutional rights. The bill allows for mass, untargeted and unwarranted surveillance of all communications coming in to and out of the United States. The courts’ role is superficial at best, as the government can continue spying on our communications even after the FISA court has objected. Democratic leaders turned what should have been an easy FISA fix into the wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights. Russ Feingold agrees with us - verbatim, and that's good enough for me - I've been in worse company. Hell, I am worse company.
This looks like a Hatch Act violation to me Why is the U.S. ambassador to Canada organizing a $1000-per-plate fundraiser for McSame in Ottawa? He is using his position to promote a particular brand of politics, and that is illegal.
But there was pandering to be done! Iowa governor Chet Culver requested McCain stay away, rather than exploit the citizens of his state for a cheap photo-op, but hey, he's only the Governor, McCain is a veteran (who lost five planes and had he been a better pilot might not have his big ol' "POW" cudgel to bash all detractors with). Patrick Dillon, Culver's chief of staff, said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain. Pish! He came anyway, because if there is one thing all those taxpayer-funded junkets to Iraq have shown us, the doddering old sunuvabitch can't resist a dog and pony show.
At this point he's just taunting us Like the drunken, officious fuckhead he is. Now he is asserting that he doesn't have to give the Oversight Committee the climate change documents that were requested. You guessed it. Executive privilege. Apparently that means it is his privilege to tell us all to fuck off and die, he is gonna do whatever he wants because that stupid fucking Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table. I hope she gets a brutal comeuppance. I will laugh, oh, how I will laugh...and mock most cruelly. She is every bit as bad as the chimp. No, she's ten times worse, because she has enabled him for two years. We need all new Democrats in leadership. Not one of the ones there now would be worth pissing on if they were on fire.
That wasn't a compromise. It was capitulation. We agree with the ACLU. "No matter how often the opposition calls this bill a ‘compromise,’ it is not a meaningful compromise, except of our constitutional rights. The bill allows for mass, untargeted and unwarranted surveillance of all communications coming in to and out of the United States. The courts’ role is superficial at best, as the government can continue spying on our communications even after the FISA court has objected. Democratic leaders turned what should have been an easy FISA fix into the wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights. Russ Feingold agrees with us - verbatim, and that's good enough for me - I've been in worse company. Hell, I am worse company.
Scott McClellan Talks...
No shit.
It used to be called treason. Is Scott McClellan aware that there is probably a full pardon of Scooter Libby, awaiting the right moment for approval by the President?
UPDATE 12:50 PM
Something that'll make your head explode:
If Judas betrayed Jesus, that's one thing.
If Scott McClellan is Judas, and he has betrayed George Bush, then Bush is Jesus?
If Bush is Jesus, when the fuck is he going to start acting like it?
-WS
It used to be called treason. Is Scott McClellan aware that there is probably a full pardon of Scooter Libby, awaiting the right moment for approval by the President?
UPDATE 12:50 PM
Something that'll make your head explode:
If Judas betrayed Jesus, that's one thing.
If Scott McClellan is Judas, and he has betrayed George Bush, then Bush is Jesus?
If Bush is Jesus, when the fuck is he going to start acting like it?
-WS
Looking Beyond the FISA Bill
You didn't really expect them to do the right thing, did you?
That's okay. I was naive once. We've all been a little naive. The issue with telecom immunity boils down to this--there was no way that the telecom companies that illegally assisted the government with an illegal warrantless wiretapping program that did nothing to protect the American people were ever going to face true legal jeopardy. There was no way they were going to pay the penalties. No way were the decision makers going to face the music. There was no chance of a perp walk similar to the one we saw yesterday with the people at Bear Stearns. There was no way their cadre of lobbyists was going to allow legislation to come out of the Congress that would eviscerate these companies and cost them billions in liabilities.
With Fred Fielding in the White House and Michael Mukasey at the Justice Department? Forget it. Only a naive, pie-in-the-sky worshipping bobble-eyed hippie would have hoped it would all turn out right. Have we been able to set aside the freakout and accept such a bummer outcome all along? Did we know it was all going to turn to shit?
We may never know the full extent of what happened--nor should we care to. Someone waved papers at someone else across a table and someone had more intestinal fortitude than someone else. Someone got beat, and beat badly. That's all there is to it.
You can go read Jessalyn Radack and you can go read Glenn Greenwald and I will tell you--everything they're saying is correct.
But there is one thing no one knows--and that is, how bad was the thing that was used to threaten the Democratic Party to roll over on this issue? How bad was the thing they were threatening to use against anyone who opposed them? Was it the fact that there are archives on every Democratic politician kept sealed away--archives of their personal conversations, archives of their monetary dealings, details of their sex lives?
Here's one thing I do know--nothing is outside the realm of possibility. Nothing is too crazy, too paranoid or too outlandish to rule out. Did someone threaten to destroy the careers of a few prominent Democrats? Did a few lobbyists band together and threaten to have someone's dog shot and killed on a suburban street? Did someone produce photos of a lawmaker pressed naked against the headboard of a cheap hotel bed?
Something had to have been done to produce this result. Something awful.
You are never going to beat these people with outrage. You are never going to beat them with righteous indignation. You are never going to beat these people by citing the US Constitution as proof they do not respect the rule of law.
Because that's a fool's paradise in America, circa 2008.
No, you're only going to beat these people by quietly and purposefully organizing strong opposition to their efforts by backing candidates for office that have a chance of defeating them in primary races or in general election races. We need better Democrats now, not necessarily more Democrats, just better ones. We need to get rid of the Steny Hoyers, Jay Rockefellers, and the concern trolls like Harold Ford Jr. and James Carville. Their time is over. Not one thin dime, to any of them. They are craven fools who have sold us out.
The only way to beat them is to assume that, for the next ten years, you're not going to win anything. Assume that it will take that long, or longer, to find grassroots candidates who believe in what is right and are willing to fight against the people who are selling us out. Assume that there's a good possibility you'll never get there. Assume you'll get half way there and your candidate will sell you out.
That's how it works in the grown up world. You take what you can get. You fight to get whatever you can. But if you toughen up and learn to expect disappointment and frustration, those times when you do win and when you do make a massive impact will be all the more fulfilling. If you're up against tight-fisted, mean and nasty people who will say or do anything to hold on to what little they have then you've got to get just as mean and just as nasty and be willing to go where they won't--like, door to door in the rain signing up voters or being the only person you know who cares.
It is time to grow up--we're not going to get what's right. We're not going to get what's fair. We're going to get a cold, hard, bitter tasting pill to swallow. The question is--do you give up? Do you fight harder? Do you take this as a legitimate grudge against the people who sold you out and use it against them when they are weak and vulnerable and damn them to hell with it? When you're both exhausted and on the ground, and when your opponent reaches out to you for mercy, do you slap their hand away and stomp them into the ground and remember back to this moment and savor the victory?
The next fight is forming. They're not sitting there feeling sorry for you. They're celebrating. They popped corks last night and drank themselves silly because they won and we lost.
Are you going to take that?
That's okay. I was naive once. We've all been a little naive. The issue with telecom immunity boils down to this--there was no way that the telecom companies that illegally assisted the government with an illegal warrantless wiretapping program that did nothing to protect the American people were ever going to face true legal jeopardy. There was no way they were going to pay the penalties. No way were the decision makers going to face the music. There was no chance of a perp walk similar to the one we saw yesterday with the people at Bear Stearns. There was no way their cadre of lobbyists was going to allow legislation to come out of the Congress that would eviscerate these companies and cost them billions in liabilities.
With Fred Fielding in the White House and Michael Mukasey at the Justice Department? Forget it. Only a naive, pie-in-the-sky worshipping bobble-eyed hippie would have hoped it would all turn out right. Have we been able to set aside the freakout and accept such a bummer outcome all along? Did we know it was all going to turn to shit?
We may never know the full extent of what happened--nor should we care to. Someone waved papers at someone else across a table and someone had more intestinal fortitude than someone else. Someone got beat, and beat badly. That's all there is to it.
You can go read Jessalyn Radack and you can go read Glenn Greenwald and I will tell you--everything they're saying is correct.
But there is one thing no one knows--and that is, how bad was the thing that was used to threaten the Democratic Party to roll over on this issue? How bad was the thing they were threatening to use against anyone who opposed them? Was it the fact that there are archives on every Democratic politician kept sealed away--archives of their personal conversations, archives of their monetary dealings, details of their sex lives?
Here's one thing I do know--nothing is outside the realm of possibility. Nothing is too crazy, too paranoid or too outlandish to rule out. Did someone threaten to destroy the careers of a few prominent Democrats? Did a few lobbyists band together and threaten to have someone's dog shot and killed on a suburban street? Did someone produce photos of a lawmaker pressed naked against the headboard of a cheap hotel bed?
Something had to have been done to produce this result. Something awful.
You are never going to beat these people with outrage. You are never going to beat them with righteous indignation. You are never going to beat these people by citing the US Constitution as proof they do not respect the rule of law.
Because that's a fool's paradise in America, circa 2008.
No, you're only going to beat these people by quietly and purposefully organizing strong opposition to their efforts by backing candidates for office that have a chance of defeating them in primary races or in general election races. We need better Democrats now, not necessarily more Democrats, just better ones. We need to get rid of the Steny Hoyers, Jay Rockefellers, and the concern trolls like Harold Ford Jr. and James Carville. Their time is over. Not one thin dime, to any of them. They are craven fools who have sold us out.
The only way to beat them is to assume that, for the next ten years, you're not going to win anything. Assume that it will take that long, or longer, to find grassroots candidates who believe in what is right and are willing to fight against the people who are selling us out. Assume that there's a good possibility you'll never get there. Assume you'll get half way there and your candidate will sell you out.
That's how it works in the grown up world. You take what you can get. You fight to get whatever you can. But if you toughen up and learn to expect disappointment and frustration, those times when you do win and when you do make a massive impact will be all the more fulfilling. If you're up against tight-fisted, mean and nasty people who will say or do anything to hold on to what little they have then you've got to get just as mean and just as nasty and be willing to go where they won't--like, door to door in the rain signing up voters or being the only person you know who cares.
It is time to grow up--we're not going to get what's right. We're not going to get what's fair. We're going to get a cold, hard, bitter tasting pill to swallow. The question is--do you give up? Do you fight harder? Do you take this as a legitimate grudge against the people who sold you out and use it against them when they are weak and vulnerable and damn them to hell with it? When you're both exhausted and on the ground, and when your opponent reaches out to you for mercy, do you slap their hand away and stomp them into the ground and remember back to this moment and savor the victory?
The next fight is forming. They're not sitting there feeling sorry for you. They're celebrating. They popped corks last night and drank themselves silly because they won and we lost.
Are you going to take that?
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