Froomkin Calls Bullshit

Dan Froomkin, of White House Briefing, has a post today (on another blog) about what's wrong with the MSM. Very good

Interesting Experiment

In the name of science, please go to this site and link to it, if you have a blog. The guy's trying to plot the size and speed of 'spread' through the blogosphere. Faster than a cold in a kindergarten is my guess!

Victory-ish

An L.A. (damned librul Kahleefohnyuns) judge ruled that part of Bush's anti-terror pogrom errrr program was unlawful:

A federal judge in Los Angeles, who previously struck down sections of the Patriot Act, has ruled that provisions of an anti-terrorism order issued by President George W. Bush after September 11 are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins found that part of the law, signed by Bush on September 23, 2001 and used to freeze the assets of terrorist organizations, violated the Constitution because it put no apparent limit on the president's powers to place groups on that list.

Ruling in a lawsuit brought against the Treasury Department in 2005 by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Collins also threw out a portion of Bush's order which applied the law to those who associate with the designated organizations.

"This law gave the president unfettered authority to create blacklists, an authority president Bush then used to empower the Secretary of the Treasury to impose guilt by association," said David Cole of the Washington-based Center for Constitutional Rights.

"The court's decision confirms that even in fighting terror, unchecked executive authority and trampling on fundamental freedoms is not a permissible option," he said in a statement

It's a start, it's a start....

Shearer on Newt

Harry Shearer has a post on HuffPo in which he comments on Newt's execrable comments in NH the other night:

But what got my attention was the next paragraph of the story:

"We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade," said Gingrich

For Newt's information, we actually have: it's called New Orleans, and we lost it not to terrorists, but to the design and construction failures of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Would less freedom of speech have saved it?

Of course, drowning 80% of a city is not the same as nuking 80% of it.

Still, the city has lost just about that percentage of its mental-health professionals after the citizens have undergone a profound civic trauma that might call for the services of, let's just hypothecate here, some mental-health professionals. Speaks well for the social conscience of the profession.

Muzzle Gingrich

Newt Gingrich, named after a toad, obviously, and pretender to the '08 Repug nomination for President, spoke Sunday at (wait for it) freedom of speech dinner and said:

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism.

Gingrich, speaking at a Manchester awards banquet, said a "different set of rules" may be needed to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message.

"We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade," said Gingrich, a Republican who helped engineer the GOP's takeover of Congress in 1994.

...

Gingrich sharply criticized campaign finance laws he charged were reducing free speech and doing little to fight attack advertising. He also said court rulings over separation of church and state have hurt citizens' ability to express themselves and their faith.

So, money talks and freedom of speech walks? This is why we have to make EVERY effort at EVERY level, from the school board to the White House, to make sure these people don't get elected. They don't believe in freedom, democracy, or America.

From the Mouths of Boobs.....

(or is that mouths with boobs....?) Anyway, speaking of Norah, she shot her mouth off again today (on Chris Matthews' hoe-down) and managed mostly to hit only her foot.

Edit: Sorry, senior moment.... I was talking about Maureen Dowd early, not Noron... but eventually, all the blowdried, brainfree talking heads start to coalesce into seemless unity.....

Happy Fucking Anniversary!

With the arrival of today (always a question in this nuke-you-ler era), the War in Iraq has now lasted longer than the WWII. Once again, W out-does Poppy Bush.

Goldwater Hates the Modern Repugs

Andrew Sullivan has a long quote from Barry G on the rise of the religious right:

Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them...

There's more, but that's the money shot.

More E-Voting

TPM has been almost as anti-e-voting as I am, and they have an interesting post today:

More on the voting problems in the mid-term elections:

Voting experts say it is impossible to say how many votes were not counted that should have been. But in Florida alone, the discrepancies reported across Sarasota County and three others amount to more than 60,000 votes. In Colorado, as many as 20,000 people gave up trying to vote, election officials say, as new online systems for verifying voter registrations crashed repeatedly. And in Arkansas, election officials tallied votes three times in one county, and each time the number of ballots cast changed by more than 30,000.

-- David Kurtz

Just An Observation

Watched MoDo being interviewed on CNN early this morning, before my nightly 'nap', and I have just one question. Is there a more annoyingly vacuous person on the face of the earth?

God Have Mercy on Your Souls...

...if you're traveling this week. If you are one of the 18 bazillion Americans traveling 'home' (whatever that means anymore) for the holiday, good luck, you're going to need it.

I hope everyone does have a great holiday, basks in the warm glow of family and friends, and eats wayyyyyy too much turkey and stuffing. And, of course, in the spirit of love, joy, and comity that Thanksgiving engenders, I hope the Cowboys kick the crap out of the Bucs!

Jeebus!

Bu$hCo really is the gang that can't shoot straight. Not only can't they govern, not only can't they run a war, not only can't they keep their zippers up, they can't even steal properly.

Glenn BitchSlaps the NeoCons

I really like Glenn Greenwald, and today he lets Robert Kaplan have it:

This is rank historical revisionism of the most deliberately dishonest strain, designed to cleanse the sins of neoconservatives and other Iraq war advocates, and it is spreading everywhere. It is vital to preserve the truth that the invasion of Iraq was not some slightly excessive extension of our long-standing idealistic desire to help the world's oppressed people. The opposite was true.

The invasion of Iraq constituted a radical departure from decades-long American foreign policy doctrine governing what constitutes a justifiable war against another country. To justify the war which Kaplan wanted so eagerly, the Bush administration issued a National Security Strategy in 2002 (.pdf) which "shifted U.S. foreign policy away from decades of deterrence and containment toward a more aggressive stance of attacking enemies before they attack the United States." That militaristic hubris is the doctrine which drove our invasion (and it is still in place, as the Bush administration re-affirmed it earlier this year).

Oh, WHAT A Shame.....

In a move that may have saved the universe from self-cancellation, FoxCrap announced today that it was cancelling the OJ book and televised interview. Apparently, even Fox stations weren't willing to stoop that low and were refusing to carry the show.

Noe Gets 18 Years!

WOW!

Bleh!

I am dying of a cold today and Nyquiled to the tits. So, since I can barely stay awake, let alone focus, I'm probably unlikely to post much today, barring the outbreak of world war. Which, casual perusal of CNN shows is highly likely! :)

Anyway, if something pops, I'll try to wake up enough to post; if not, see ya tomorrow.

More McCain Mania

John McCain, that tower of Jello ('why, yes, I love Jerry Falwell.....why do you ask?'), has flip-flopped on Roe v Wade. Now, he's in big favor of overturning it. Maybe we should all support him and encourage his candidacy; this push to the right can only weaken him overall in the general election, and the harder and farther to the right he has to push, the weaker he will become.

Karl to Stay?

So says the NYT.

The Wheels Are Coming Off!

Woohoo! Get the popcorn! This is gonna be FUN!!!!

Not since the Lewinsky/impeachment debacle have we seen this kind of pushback against a President from within his own party. The neo-cons are pissed (it's not THEIR fault, after all!!!! just ask 'em), and are starting to speak. Amazing what losing will do for party discipline. The SD and the Abwehr (Repug Editions) are going to be wailing at each other and the flying chunks of flesh will just provide more ummm red meat for them to feed on.

And all while Nancy Pelosi destroys the Dems from within, or whatever today's message from the MSM is......

Rove Out?

I doubt it, but it's a nice rumor!!

We're Not Crazy.....

... just disturbed.

Coming from the American military, I think this may be a badge of honor.

Repugs Maintain Status Quo

In a tip of the hat to defense lawyers everywhere, the House Repugs have kept Boehner and Blunt as the leadership team. They did such a great job careening the House into a ditch, how could you NOT reward them?

ACLU v UCLA?

Tasered UCLA student has hired prominent civil rights lawyer Stephen Yagman to represent him. I don't know the particulars of what Tabatabainajad did or didn't do at the Powell Library the other night, but by all reports it wasn't anything that necessitated the brutal assault by UCPD officers. Someone needs to be fired over this.

Scratch Rudy?

Josh at TPM deconstructs Rudy's chances:

Perhaps this is something of an existential question. But do we really have to pretend that Rudy Giuliani has more than a snowball's chance in hell of getting the Republican presidential nomination? Or can we all just stipulate that a multiple adulterer, who supports gay civil rights and choice, has deep and on-going ties to mobbed-up and now-disgraced Police boss Bernie Kerik, has a largely unscrutinized (outside of New York) resume, and had the bright idea of locating the NYC disaster center in the already-once-bombed World Trade Center probably will have some rough sledding in Republican primaries?

Campaign Infrastructure Imbalance

Regardless of the results last Tuesday, the GOP still has a huge advantage in terms of infrastructure; better co-ordination up and down the party, better lists, professional staff etc. A lot of it has to do with the difference in parties (it's more profitable to be a 'professional' Repug than a pro Dem; they pay better, are more tightly wired into business to allow moving back and forth from the party to the business world and back, and, in general, approach the entire thing more professionally than we do (not even factoring the wishful (non) thinking of the professional Dems in DC (you know, the hapless bozos now trying to take credit for the 50 state strategy). We need to change this, take the whole process seriously, and negate this advantage. The HUGE money advantage is enough to combat, without having to fight tanks with cavalry.

Morgan in Austin, at Dkos, has a great diary on how it was to work on a campaign, with the ups and down, and ins and out, and haves and have nots, of working in the Dem sphere.

Say What?

I hadnt seen any coverage from the Dallas Morning News (partly avoiding the Cowboys, partly avoiding the shame of seeing my birthplace slide into the maw of Satan), so I missed the election out of Dallas County. Kos had coverage this morning and suddenly I'm sorry I missed the DMN's coverage.

From dKos: Dallas Turning Indigo Blue

Allen Bowing Out?

CNN reported last night and WaPo follows up today that George Allen will probably concede today, assuming the state of Virginia audit of the vote confirms that Webb won. Who'd have thought it? First, Santorum bows out with class, now Allen. Anyone spot any flying pigs?

According to TPM, Burns has conceded as well (no details on the level of 'grace')

Ed Bradley Dies

CBS newsman Ed Bradley, one of the co-hosts of Sixty Minutes, and one of the first major black newspeople, died today at age 65, of leukemia.

Quick Question

maybe someone out there can answer (my connection is still pretty f'ed up, so doing a serious search is tedious) this for me..... Is Corker in Tennessee on trial on felony charges, or has that all gone away? I didn't hear one word about it during the campaign season, but a lot about it prior. So, if anyone knows, leave a comment and let me know.

Rumsfeld Out

Rumsfeld quit/Bush fired him; take your pick. Despite apparently lying about it to the press for a week, Bush fired or accepted Rummy's resignation today. The replacement is Bob Gates, Daddy 41's ex-CIA Director and unindicted Iran-Contra co-conspirator.

The House Is Ours!

CNN has called the House for the Dems. It appears as of now that the Dems WILL control the House come January (invest in paper shredders and international relocation companies!)

The Senate is still in play. There are three seats still up for grabs (MT, MO, and VA). Montana looks like a lock (roll that sentence over in your head for a minute), Missouri and Virginia are still VERY close, but at this moment look like the Dems should win. Virgina will be recounted by law, barring some really weird results in the final votes that push Webb past a 1 percentage point lead, but in all likelihood, there will be a recount. In Missouri, I don't the law but both CNN and MSNBC are talking recount, so I'll bow to their experts (on the law, if not the politics! :) )

Turnout

If you haven't voted yet, go do so, NOW! I'll wait :)

Thank, welcome back. It appears that you were part of a (potentially record) heavy turnout to vote today. If the feedback from the exit polls is accurate (and that's always questionable), it looks good for the Dems to take the House. The Senate is horserace and a longshot, at best.

The early exit polls say that Dem turnout is running ahead of Repug turnout, and that response on the issues looks good for progresives/Dems. Keep your fingers crossed.

And if you live in Chicago or South Texas, go vote again ;)

Argh!

Earthlink cratered on me yesterday (I HATE HATE HATE their access program and all it's bell and whistles that do nothing but slow it down and eat resources) so I'm having trouble accessing the net and posting. Great timing, Earthlink! Anyway, I'll post as I can on things that jump out at me. For blow by blow blogging, check out Talking Points and Daily Kos (in the links).

Saddam Found Guilty, To Hang

From WaPo, about five minutes ago....

Saddam Hussein and his half brother were convicted and sentenced Sunday to death by hanging for war crimes in the 1982 killings of 148 people in the town of Dujail, as the visibly shaken former leader shouted "God is great!"

After the verdict was read, a trembling Saddam yelled out, "Life for the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!"

Well, mission accomplished. Can we go home now?

Katrina on Voting Reform

Katrina van den Heuvel (you know, Rush's 'Hurricane Katrina'...) had a great post on what's needed to fix the voting problems we've seen in the recent past. Her 10 point program is excellent, can't argue with any of it.

Why Repugs Are a Bad Idea

Runaway Nukes: Bush Not First Republican President to Betray US by kidneystones at dKos is scathing indictment of Repug Presidents, past and present. None of it is new, but compiled in one article, it's pretty overwhelmingly disgusting.

WE KNOW Republican Presidents Reagan and George Bush also provided chemical and biological weapons to Iraq, nuclear weapons to Pakistan, and chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to South Africa. And that this pattern persisted every time a Republican sat in the Oval office. Reagan played an especially damaging role, providing South Africa with the materials to manufacture chemical and biological weapons that have been linked to attacks by racist rightwing groups in the US.

And that's the FRIENDLY part!

Molly Ivins Advice

...to Dems if we win on Tuesday:

I realize for many Democrats it has been so long since we won, we have completely forgotten the etiquette. And I realize I'm taking a chance here -- there's nothing more dangerous than overconfidence -- but you have to practice for victory as well as defeat.

First rule: No gloating. Actually, there is gloating allowed, but only in the exclusive presence of other Democrats. Gloating in the face of Republicans is rude and unsportsmanlike, and just gives them one more thing to complain about. Also, remember there is a possibility there may be some Republicans on the civil service staff -- I have seen this when the R's win -- and it is really not good manners to watch them wailing around with their eyes brimming with tears.

Second, I'm sure we will all be full of grand theories if Republicans lose and we win. Dems will be ready to be helpful, offer advice and sort of try to perk the R's up. I do not recommend this. It somehow never feels to me when R's are dumping truckloads of good advice on the D's that they are, actually, sincere about it.

Third, celebratory jigs, reels and renditions of "Danny Boy" are best limited to Irish bars.

Fourth, try to refrain from insulting Republicans en masse. A good start would be, "You know, it was mostly the ones under indictment that hurt you."

Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get ANY Weirder......

... the US government puts the plans for a nuclear weapon on the internet. At the insistence of the Repugs in Congress, none the less!

Oh God (So To Speak....)

Yet ANOTHER! The Rev Ted Haggard (you'll know him when you see the picture), one of the leading evangelicals in the country, head of the largest mega-church in Colorado, buddy of Jim (Focus on Your Own Family, Dammit!) Dobson, and adviser to Dumbfuck, has stepped down from his pastoral position today after it was revealed that he'd had an on-going relationship with a male prostitute. What was the old joke about corruption? With the Repugs, it's always money; with the Dems, it's always sex. Apparently, the modern rapacious Repugs are trying to put the Dems out of even that, and covering both money and sex themselves!

It may or may not be true (if not, thought, why did he resign so suddenly, forcing cancellation of a meeting of church 'elders' to support him), but if it turns out to be true, this could be the straw that really, truly annoyed the camel. Colorado, long a serious Red state, is already showing purplish tinges; this could help make things there a bright, cheery Blue.

30+ ?

Ruy Texeira at Washington Monthly probes the polls in depth and predicts 31-33 seat pickup in the house, and probably 6+ in the Senate. He also has info deconstructing the myth of Repug GOTV efforts. Good stuff!

Ann Heading for the Slammer?

Sounds like a possibility- she's not co-operating with PB investigation, and that's never a good sign, at least for the 'suspect'.

I'll wait for the jury verdict to start giggling.

Keith Speaks (Again)

Olbermann weighed in tonight on the Kerry comment and Bush and the whole fluff-up. Link is to the transcript, will ad video when C&L or YouTube post it. (now linked)

There is no line this president has not crossed — nor will not cross — to keep one political party in power.

He has spread any and every fear among us in a desperate effort to avoid that which he most fears — some check, some balance against what has become not an imperial, but a unilateral presidency.

And now it is evident that it no longer matters to him whether that effort to avoid the judgment of the people is subtle and nuanced or laughably transparent.

Sen. John Kerry called him out Monday.

He did it two years too late.

...

The context was unmistakable: Texas; the state of denial; stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required.

And Mr. Bush and his minions responded by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.

They demanded Kerry apologize to the troops in Iraq.

And so he now has.

That phrase — “appearing to be too stupid” — is used deliberately, Mr. Bush.

Because there are only three possibilities here.

One, sir, is that you are far more stupid than the worst of your critics have suggested; that you could not follow the construction of a simple sentence; that you could not recognize your own life story when it was deftly summarized; that you could not perceive it was the sad ledger of your presidency that was being recounted.

This, of course, compliments you, Mr. Bush, because even those who do not “make the most of it,” who do not “study hard,” who do not “do their homework,” and who do not “make an effort to be smart” might still just be stupid, but honest.

No, the first option, sir, is, at best, improbable. You are not honest.

The second option is that you and those who work for you deliberately twisted what Sen. Kerry said to fit your political template; that you decided to take advantage of it, to once again pretend that the attacks, solely about your own incompetence, were in fact attacks on the troops or even on the nation itself.

The third possibility is, obviously, the nightmare scenario: that the first two options are in some way conflated.

That it is both politically convenient for you and personally satisfying to you, to confuse yourself with the country for which, sir, you work.

A brief reminder, Mr. Bush: You are not the United States of America.

...

And in leaving him out of the equation, Sen. Kerry gave an unwarranted pass to his old friend Sen. John McCain, who should be ashamed of himself tonight.

He rolled over and pretended Kerry had said what he obviously had not.

Only, the symbolic stick he broke over Kerry’s head came in a context even more disturbing.

Mr. McCain demanded the apology while electioneering for a Republican congressional candidate in Illinois.

He was speaking of how often he had been to Walter Reed Hospital to see the wounded Iraq veterans, of how “many of them have lost limbs.”

He said all this while demanding that the voters of Illinois reject a candidate who is not only a wounded Iraq veteran, but who lost two limbs there, Tammy Duckworth.

Support some of the wounded veterans. But bad-mouth the Democratic one.

ccc

Reid Responds to Boehner

Reid speaks (well, writes.....):

"John Boehner ought to be ashamed. He's blaming our troops for failures in Iraq. If he wants to cast blame, he can start by looking in the mirror because he and his Congressional Republican colleagues have rubberstamped the Bush Administration's failed policy for nearly four years. Our troops in Iraq have performed bravely. It's political leaders like Congressman Boehner and Donald Rumsfeld, who have failed. I expect President Bush and Congressional Republicans, who demanded John Kerry apologize, hold their own party's majority leader to a much higher standard. There's no spinning his disparaging comments. He made them. He needs to apologize."

These Guys Are UnbeFREAKINGlievable!

Boehner was on The Situation Room today. If that isn't nausea inducing in and of itself, try this one for size:

BLITZER: You said "he's the best thing that's happened to the Pentagon in 25 years." You know, a lot of people strongly disagree with you, including an increasing chorus of fellow Republicans.

BOEHNER: Well, there are a lot of people who want to blame what is happening in Iraq on Donald Rumsfeld, but when you look at the transformation that our military has been through, it's nothing short of remarkable.

And I think there's only one person in America who could have brought about that transformation, and that is Donald Rumsfeld. He's smart, he's been through the Pentagon, knows how it works. And now we have a lighter, more flexible force, a quicker force. It would not have happened without him.

BLITZER: But, you know, General Zinni, who used to be the commander, Anthony Zinni of the Central Command, he says that Rumsfeld threw out 10 years of planning for Iraq, 10 years of strategy with 500,000 troops that would be needed, not to necessarily topple Saddam Hussein, but to win the peace quickly. He just threw that out because he wanted that lighter force and, as a result, the U.S. is paying the price right now.

BOEHNER: Well, Wolf, you have to understand that the generals who have been in charge of the Pentagon have been very resistant to change. It's the younger generals who understand this new force structure that we need to be -- to have the military of the 21st century. And so I think Rumsfeld is the right guy for the job, and I know the president supports him and I'm glad he does.

BLITZER: Let me read to you what a few of your fellow Republicans have said in recent days. "I don't like the guy. I simply don't think he has measured up on running the war on Iraq. Would I vote for a no confidence resolution on Secretary Rumsfeld? Yes." Chris Shays, Republican of Connecticut.

"If I had my way, he wouldn't be secretary of defense now. I would have accepted his resignation after Abu Ghraib. I have lost confidence in him." That's the Republican candidate for the Senate from Washington state, Mike McGavick.

And Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, Republican of Virginia: "It's probably the only thing in my life I've ever agreed with Hillary Clinton about. He's probably a nice guy, but I don't think he's a great secretary of defense."

BOEHNER: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

BLITZER: But he's in charge of the military.

BOEHNER: But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president. We've seen this run up in violence as we get closer to the election, as we get closer to Ramadan, same thing we've seen over the last couple of years.

As we enter into Ramadan, we see this big spike in violence and there's no question, in my mind, that the terrorists, very smart people, are also trying to increase the violence as we get closer to the U.S. elections.

BLITZER: Well, I want to move on and get to some other important issues, but a quick question. Were you satisfied in the planning that the Pentagon did, specifically the defense secretary, not necessarily for getting rid of Saddam Hussein's regime, but for the post-war? Because it's been three-and-a-half years and $300 billion, $400 billion, 3,000 almost U.S. deaths ...

BOEHNER: Wolf, there's no question that there have been mistakes along the way. We're fighting an enemy that's unconventional, and we're -- and this has become the central front in our war with al Qaeda. Al Qaeda continues to bring people into Iraq to let off these bombs, to stir up sectarian violence and we're always have to adapt on the ground.

So, let's get this straight.... Rumsfeld isnt responsible because he was too busy transforming the Army into something that he can't use properly to do what he wants, and the Generals using the transformed Army are responsible cuz they're in charge. That's a Republican 'talking point' we need to hammer and hammer and hammer.

Gaffes

Okay, Kerry (not known for his brilliant sense of humor) botched a joke. Dumbfuck botched a war and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Compare and Contrast.