She's the Smart One

Americablog has a really horrifying snippet from MoDo (not horrifying in the usual bad writing/moronic thinking way, but in its content). And remember, Condi is the smart Bushie!

Is Rudy Toast?

Slipping in the polls in the face of the Willard Romney juggernaut, the last thing Rudy Giuliani needed was bad news. Well, he got that in spades today from the Politico (yeah, I know, but even a stopped clock, etc etc.....) which revealed that Rudy had been sporting off to Long Island to schtup then future wife Judith (while still married to now former wife Donna) and BILLING IT TO THE CITY! And covering it up! and lying about it!

sex+(stolen?) money= neverending scandal fodder

gotta love it! Onward to candidate Willard!

More Don't Let the Door Hit Ya

Trent Lott to resign by the end of the year. No (real) reason given, altho there's specutlation it's to beat to beat the new Lobbying restrictions effective next year.

13?!?!?!

I'm kindly disposed to the Edwards campaign, so I may not be the most impartial judge, but this is a great post (at DKos) even if written by an adult, let alone a thirteen year old. Go Read It and sign up with Edwards. (no promotional fees were received for this post, dammit!) ;)

Honky Powah!

Yosef 52, at Daily Kos, explains in excruciating exactitude why the Repugs are, inarguably, the party of race hatred!

The Disappeared

TPM, along with its year-end 'Muck' review, is also starting a 'missing' info project. One of the most disturbing aspects of the Bush administration (and there are SO many disturbing aspects!) is its willingness to classify or unreport information, in particular, information that has always been reported before, even more particularly, if that information is in any way negative (most particularly, if that info is negative to or about the Administration itself(and to a lesser extent, conservative shiboleths). They were goosed into this (or at least inspired by Steve Benen at Carpetbagger). It's a good list they've started with. My Faves:

* In 2005, after a government report showed an increase in terrorism around the world, the administration announced it would stop publishing its annual report on international terrorism.

* When Bush’s Department of Education found that charter schools were underperforming, the administration said it would sharply cut back on the information it collects about charter schools.

* On November 1st, 2001, President Bush issued an executive order limiting the public's access to presidential records. The order undermined the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which required the release of those records after 12 years. Bush's order prevented the release of "68,000 pages of confidential communications between President Ronald Reagan and his advisers," some of whom had positions in the Bush Administration. More here. (Thanks to Roger A. and nitpicker below.) Update: TPMm Reader JP writes in to point out that Bush did the same thing with his papers from the Texas governorship.

* In March 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services took down a six-year-old Web site devoted to substance abuse and treatment information for gays and lesbians, after members of the conservative Family Research Council complained.

* In 2002, HHS removed information from its Web site pertaining to risky sexual behavior among adolescents, condom use and HIV.

* In October 2003, the Bush administration banned photographs depicting servicemembers' coffins returning from overseas.

* In 2006, the Federal Communications Commission ordered destroyed all copies of an unreleased 2004 draft report concluding that media consolidation hurt local TV news coverage, which runs counter to the administration's pro-consolidation stance. (Thanks to Jim Tobias below.)

* In February 2004, the appointed head of the Office of Special Counsel -- created to protect government employees' rights -- ordered removed from a government Web site information on the rights of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in the public workplace. (via the National Council for Research on Women)

This is just a scattered selection, go see the rest!

More Proof.....

that John Stossel really is a knuckle-dragging moron.

Hope Everyone Had a Great Thanksgiving Day

Oh yeah, GO COWBOYS! ;)

Unbefreakinglievable!

Just read this. Then write, call, or accost your Rep and Senators to get this fixed. Now!

UPDATE: WOW! You guys do good work! :)

UPDATE II: Now the Pentagon says it was all just a big mistake. Yeah, right.... we made a mistake... we got caught.....

Fish Story

The Audubon Aquarium in NOLA was basically wiped out by Katrina. FEMA promised to pony up $600k+ for repairs/replacement fishies. At that point, all reason leaves our narrative. This is what happens when you let people who don't believe in government (end of thought!full stop!) run the government.

Bye Bye, Rache

The wicked witch of the west Rachel Paulose, the insaneAG in Mpls, has been ‘promoted’ to a position at Main Justice. While it’s good to see her gone (don’t let the door hit ya…..), it’s a shame she’s being ‘rewarded’ out of the position. Peter Principle in action?

Good Point!

From Atrios:

Maybe He's Not Insane

Certainly one looks at Fred Thompson and doesn't really see someone who wants to be the preznit. Maybe he's really running for Veep.

But generally the sad thing is that literally everyone who really wants to be president right now is basically nuts. That's true generally, and it's extra true now.

I don't think ALL the Dems are nuts, but the excess of nuttiness on the Repug side certainly balances it out to 100% per candidate.

Udall In

The race to replace Pete Domenici in NM's Senate seat now has a 'name'. Tom Udall is in. Chavez is already slinging mud and somewhere, Heather Wilson is blaming the librul media.

New New Deal?

DHinMI at DKos writes a compelling and thorough argument as to why next year's election could be analogous to 1932, in terms of the depth and breadth of a possible Dem victory. Good read.

Friedman IS a Unit!

Four more years of Cheney as Obama's veep? Is he nuts? Yes, that is a rhetorical question.

Greenwald responds.

Another Candidate 'Selector'

VAJoe Candidate Calculator

Apparently, I am the champion of lost causes. The top match was Kucinich, followed by Gravel. Preventing me from moving to Bolivia, it put Edwards third (which is, unfortunately, where I fear he will finish.....)

More Repug Incompetence Burning CA to the Ground?

HuffPo headlines an article indicating that incompetence and (at best) miscommunication between state and federal fire fighting authorities may have contributed to the scope of the recent CA fires by keeping a huge portion of the air fleet grounded in the early stages. Ahnuld is touted as a new style Repug, but it appears the new boss is just like the old boss and completely incompetent in a crisis.

Wolf's Stupid Question

Wolf Blitzer (who is rapidly approaching the most useless person on tv status) asked the Dem candidates last night which was more important, human rights or national security. The Candidates answers were all over the place, but the bigs basically came down on the side of security (so much for seriousness in taking the Oath if they win!)

deaniac83 at dKos responds forcefully to this bullshit. He sums it up well:

It is because the most powerful weapon in our national security arsenal is not the nuclear bomb, it is the ideal that is America. The Soviet Union collapsed because behind the iron curtain, people wanted to be like us. In the aftermath of World War II, a victorious United States insisted upon adhering to human rights for even its prisoners of war, and turned them over to international law. And a generation of people everywhere bowed in respect for the beacon of freedom. We intervened in Kosovo during the 1990's to stop a genocide, and a decade later, the people of there gave President Clinton a hero's welcome.

The establishment of free and democratic nations that respect human rights and the rule of law are not simply the most effective security strategy for the United States; it is indeed the only thing that can result in a more secure America and a more secure world. Security and freedom and human rights are not conflicting values. Only those with an interest in undermining freedom would argue that they are.

No Telecom Immunity?

Looks like it. Per TPM:

This is pretty big. As some people have been speculating today, aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have confirmed to me that the version of the FISA bill that was just reported out of the Judiciary Committee does not -- repeat, does not -- contain retroactive immunity for the telecom companies.

And a source close to Reid says that this is "most likely" the version that the Majority Leader will file a motion to proceed on. The aide declined to comment when this might happen, however, saying that it could happen next month.

All in all, it looks like a big victory for opponents of telecom immunity.

More on the hypocrisy of it all.

Bonds Indicted

Perjury and obstruction (per ESPN- haven't seen anything on online news svcs yet.... will update later

Details here and here

Censure DiFi

I'm not alone in my vast displeasure with Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Liebermania) in her departure from Dem principles and ideals lately. The final straw on this particular camel was voting for Mukasey the other day. There is now a movement to get the Cal Dems to censure her (worthless, but makes a point.) Go sign the petition urging the censure.

Is Novak Slipping?

Apparently, the well-connected Prince of Darkness is losing his predictive mojo.

And yes, he is a stupid, evil SOB.

Googlicious!

United Hollywood is doing a good job of presenting the WGA strike from the writers' POV (for those of you outside the L.A. basin, feel free to take a nap....) and a post today presents a novel, and potentially wicked, proposition: the union tells the AMPTP (the 'producers') to go Cheney themselves and strike a deal with Google. It could work, and it would wreck the current tv setup, which watching most of the crap this season is a profoundly GREAT idea!

Mukasey Confirmed

In a victory for something un-American, the Senate confirmed Michael Mukasey as AG, 53-40. Go torture! Blah!

Mukasey Mullings

Froomkin sums it up (as usual) in one pithy (no, not PISSY!) sentence:

So it's come to this: A promise to enforce the law (in most cases) is enough to get an attorney general nominee confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate.

Market Meltdown

The stock market fell further today, down over 350 points. I think most of this is due to credit problems engendered by the housing problem, but I think a lot of it is an outgrowth of the overall economic malaise that seems to affecting everyone in this country with an income under (random number...) $100,000. The benefits of the explosive growth in corporate profits and market growth have channeled to a very small group, and have been, if not primarily, then largely, at the expense of EVERYONE else. Wage growth in real and current terms is nil, if not negative. Benefits are being slashed, if not eliminating. The bankruptcy bill screwed everyone with financial woes, except the banks (good news, debtors! the banks may be out of business before you are!)

I don't see any short term relief from the market meltdown (there may be help for the mass in the middle if the Dems win big next year, tho!) In a previous life, I followed the markets closely and all my indicators/tracking models are pretty negative, so I just don't hold out any short term hope (my main long term model has been negative since the early nineties, so take that with a grain of salt (or prepare for a monumental crash! ;) )) In the long term tho, the only two places to be invested are in the stock market and real estate, so remember, every crash is someone else's buying opportunity (reason #1 that the RICH get richer.....)

Yay Us!

Looks like the Dems are cruising in Kentucky: Beshear is crushing Fletcher in the Guv race (60-40 margin, seems to be holding across the state), and the Dems are apparently going to take the Treasurer and the AG spots as well). Go Dems!

WTF is MoDo's Problem?

Yeesh!

More OC Conservative BS

Good overview of Sheriff Carona's reign of shame.....

Pakimania

I don't know what's going to end up happening to Pakistan, but it probably won't be good (welcome home, Ms. Bhutto.) At the moment, it looks like Musharref is going to be in control, and cleaning house, which is mostly good, from the U.S. perspective, since he's mostly pro-American. But as with all things in the middle east, there's no clear black and white. He's a thug, and a dictator, and in the long run, that never works out well. So, in the short term, it's plus for our side, but in the longer term, it may make for a more a militantly anti-US Pakistan, particularly if we're seen as aiding or promoting his actions.

Of course, in Washington, long term ends in Jan 09; nothing after that matters- it won't be W's fault.

Ah ha!

I don't think it answers all the questions as to why there's major obstruction, but it always pays to follow the money!

Dianne Must Be Removed

Our dearly beloved senior Senator from California just stuck ANOTHER knife in the back of the liberal/progressive movement of which she SHOULD be a mover and shaker. She announced that, despite continual stonewalling on the part of the Administration, and on the part of its nominee, Mukasey, she would vote in committee to CONFIRM him. This gave Schumer the cover to magically reappear from whatever undisclosed location he'd been hiding in the last week or so and announce that he TOO would support his old buddy.

On issue after issue lately, Senator Feinstein has been on the wrong side of the argument, usually in the name of comity, and usually out in front of other waverers. She must be removed from office. I don't care what shows up in the primaries against her, I will vote for it. Gimme Mussolini in drag, I don't care(at least then, I'd EXPECT the betrayal.) If there were time and a prayer, I'd start a recall movement. JESUS!

Conservatives Have Screwed Up Orange County and 'Liberal' CA

A primer, out of the flames.....