"holes in their heads"

For some reason, my serial and combative commenter came to mind when I read this David Frum piece. I can't stand this man, you should know. He proudly took credit for originating the phrase "axis of evil" and has been one of the Bush soldiers who has undermined our country. But when he is right, he is right. When he says that conservatives have, in their attack on liberal elitism, completely dismissed competence as a requirement for office--he is right. If only he had that same thought in 2000.

And yet it also has to be admitted: Many of us on the conservative side have fed this monster. (Rightly) aghast at the abuse of expertise by liberal judges, liberal bureaucrats and liberal academics, we have sometimes over-reacted by denying the importance of expertise altogether.

" 'Heart' is crucial," one of George W. Bush's early evangelical supporters argued in a 2005 newspaper column. This same writer accused those conservatives who questioned Bush's "faith-based initiative" of having "holes in their souls."

So now instead of holes in our souls, we conservatives are getting candidates with holes in their heads.

Heh. So very true. Unfortunately, also true about his former boss, but I doubt that Frum would admit that. Not so true about the continue attack on "liberal judges" but that is right wing gospel.

For one, Frum is attacking Mike Huckabee, who he clearly thinks lacks the intellect or curiosity to be President. (yeah, once again, how did Bush pass?) And according to TPM, many on the right are wringing their hands about Huck's surge in the polls. Steve Benen and Kevin Drum suggest that the right is uncomfortable with Huckabee because he is the real deal--not some fake Christian who can speak to the churches. I have my doubts. Huckabee doesn't really suggest much more depth than Bush. He just speaks the faith language better.

I agree with Sully here. This is the right wing reaping the whirlwind they have been trying to sow this last 20 years. They have undermined government and competence to the point that they gave us Bush. Now they wonder why the right wing base prefers a person of faith to one who is competent.

Saturday review--edited

It is cold and dreary outside with occasional snow flurries. But it is (thankfully) warm inside and we are listening to some music and drinking coffee.

Ah, but the news continues. Why is it that Oklahoma's representatives continually embarrass? Inhofe constantly makes us look stupid by denying global warming, and now we find that Tom Coburn is blocking a bill that would investigate civil rights-era killings. Yeah, Tom, we get it. You are a fiscal conservative. But some things are worth spending.
(I originally had Coburn "blogging" the bill, but was alerted to the reality that there is no way that Coburn is smart enough to "blog.")

****

Speaking of funds, we continue to learn that SuperBaptist "I am not running for your Pastor in Chief" Huckabee is... how do we put it... ethically challenged. As it must be, I guess. The Pastor is the one who used a secret group to raise money he said to supplement his meager Lt Governor salary. How handy that the group funded the Huck to travel around and speak against the Clinton health care plan. Oh, and he didn't declare that income in his financial disclosure and refused to reveal the identity of his donors.

Sure glad he believes that

faith doesn’t just influence me, it really defines me.”

Imagine what a crook he would be if he didn't have his faith to rein him in?

*****
Natalie blogs about the idea of class in America

The Republicans were/are geniuses at this! One of the many successes they have had is regarding class. We can’t and won’t talk about class in our country because the Right has essentially outlawed any discussions about it. If anyone tries to bring up the issue, accusations of “class warfare” abound. Very ironic considering who it’s coming from.

Politically, Republicans have been very successful at controlling the dialogue on a lot of our political issues. This rejection of class warfare is just one. The absolute attack on any tax is another. And both harm us as a country. We can't talk about income disparity and we certainly can't talk about those things that hold us together.

This ice storm has been a good reminder of that. I was reminded as we sat in our cold house about how much we rely on others. We had to depend on utilities and city/state officials to manage this emergency well. And they did. But those things are worth paying for. Taxes are a good thing. Not all, of course, but many function as an investment in community. Hell, I thought conservatives liked communities.

****

Speaking of things that conservatives should fear, I haven't blogged about the Don Siegelman case at all, but there are legitimate concerns that Bush/Rove were able to so politicize the judicial system that they were able to convict and imprison a Democrat in Alabama.

I don't know if the story is true, but it does appear to me that conservatives should fear this. When Clinton allegedly acquired FBI files of their adversaries, there was a huge outcry--and not unreasonably so. But I am reminded that it has been conservatives who have done this in the past. LBJ would allegedly call people at home in the middle of the night to yell at them, but Nixon would call the IRS.

****

I blogged a while back about Bush allegedly referring to the Constitution as a "goddamned piece of paper." Factcheck.org doubts this story and I tend to agree. But as I noted in my original post, the fact that this event may not have happened does not lessen the feeling for many of us that Bush holds the constitution in that light. He certainly has acted that way.

*****

Finally, back to our favorite Christianist representative, Steve King. The other day, he backed a resolution in the House to defend Christianity (which is under assault, evidently) and now says that American history and Christianity are the same thing. Seriously, where do you Republicans find these people? We have our share of nutjobs in the Democratic party, but the Republican delegation appears to have more than its share of absolute whackjobs. In fact, it appears that they have a stranglehold on the party right now.

You sane and grownup Republicans should really do something about that.

Electricity on--allows me to read news--updated

Is that a good thing?

Not when I see this:

On Tuesday, our brave US House passed HR 847 by a count of 327-9 recognizing 'the importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith', because - really, these days - what else possibly deserves more of their attention?
The sponsor was Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who - as Think Progress reported - voted against similar legislation honoring holidays of other faiths. He then appeared on Fox News to explain the real reasoning behind this - I suppose - innocuous, if annoying bill. His actual intentions are of course far more expansive....

In more of a speech than an interview, King explained that his motivation was to uphold America's status as a 'Christian nation.'

"It's time we stood up and said so, and said to the rest of America, Be who you are and be confident. And let's worship Christ and let's celebrate Christmas for the right reasons."

Yes, what a great use of our House of Representatives--to defend Christmas. And how obnoxious for a sitting congressman to say that American has to worship Christ. Tony also posted on this and suggests that the King's legislation was a rather spiteful response to other equally useless resolutions recognizing other religions. No doubt that Congress could find other things to spend more time on, right? Energy legislation, Iraq, actual oversight?

Sigh

*****

Speaking of obnoxious, during our ice storm (or right before) some deranged person shot up two religious establishments in Colorado. I am sure you saw this. A horrible tragedy, and I am so sorry for those who lost family and friends. I am also sorry for the deranged individual who clearly was mentally disturbed.

So how did the Family Research Council respond?

If you are Tony Perkins, this is a time to whine, portray yourself as a victim and make utterly tactless comparisons between the shooting and alleged "hostility" toward Christians in the media.
In a statement e-mailed to supporters yesterday, this is what Perkins had to say: "It is hard not to draw a line between the hostility that is being fomented in our culture from some in the secular media toward Christians and evangelicals in particular and the acts of violence that took place in Colorado yesterday. But I will say no more for now other than that our friends at New Life Church and YWAM are in our thoughts and prayers."

So any criticisms of people like Tony Perkins fuels this kind of violence? Talk To Action reports that the shooter grew up in a deeply religious Christian family. As the blog notes, it would be irresponsible and offensive to blame that upbringing for the shooting, but Tony Perkins sees no problem in blaming it on liberals and secularists.

Sigh.

****
Eugene Robinson (one of my favorite writers right now) suggests that Huckabee is truly the scariest of the frontrunners on the Republican side. I think he is far too soft on Giuliani, who, as far as I can tell, would take Bush's policies and double them--but I agree with his take on Huckagee as essentially "anti-reason."

I guess I worry even more about clear signs that he's simply not up to the job and that he's also not the nice guy he seems to be.

It matters that Huckabee seems to have been the last person in the country to learn that U.S. intelligence agencies now believe Iran ended its nuclear weapons program four years ago. And it matters that so much of his gorgeous rhetoric is devoid of actual meaning.

In the debate Wednesday, for example, he answered a question about education with an eloquent, and apparently learned, disquisition on left-brain and right-brain thinking and the need to teach art and music so that going to school isn't just a boring grind. That sounds great, until you recall that it's in the boring, grind-it-out subjects where American students are lagging. Did he mean that our schools should teach less math and science? Or was it just a bunch of words designed to convey a certain sophistication in his thinking?

Even more troubling is the way he deals with questions about Romney's Mormon faith. Huckabee studied theology as a seminarian, yet when asked about Mormonism he becomes a country bumpkin who doesn't know anything beyond the rumors he has heard. He apologizes later -- as he did this week for his false suggestion that Mormons believe Satan is Jesus's brother -- but by then, of course, the damage is done. Huckabee could easily allay fundamentalist voters' qualms about Romney's beliefs, or at least put them in context. He chooses not to.

Huckabee is quick on his feet and funny. He, for all his religious posturing, loves to take cheap shots at liberals, and likes to credit God for his poll numbers (Jesus evidently doesn't love Hillary). And, as I have said before, the most troubling thing for me is his desire to use his faith for votes, but then claim that he doesn't actually have to think about how that faith might, just maybe, question how he treats other people, and maybe, just maybe, stop him from pulling the same crass political stunts that his opponents do.

Sigh.

Ok, enough. The heat is back on and just in time. We are expecting snow tonight.

Updated Just saw Hitting Bedrock: Hagee: God is an unreliable vending machine and remembered the old days when I used to watch John Hagee out of some kind of perverse entertainment. He strikes me as one of the worst of the bunch--horrible theology, and seemingly a worse person. I still remember one of his sermons where he bragged about how badly he hurt another football player in high school. I don't remember the theology, but remember thinking that I didn't like this person.

Glorious power--updated

And light and most importantly, heat. My older dog was shivering a lot this afternoon and I was worried about him. But after lunch, I saw the brave power people working in the alley behind us and walked back to the house to see lights. Stranger still, while my cable television (and high speed internet) line is draped under the very same tree that took out my power Monday morning--cable still works.

Here is hoping that our good fortune is shared by the rest of those without power. Like our friend Anglican.

Updated: I hate having power when so many still lack. Anglican is staying with friends and staying warm, though I know how disruptive that is. Keep a good thought for them. And for those like Sarah and Dwight who, like us, have dogs to keep warm--here is a special thought. And for those who live across the street from us, I am so very sorry that this side got power first.

Sigh

Still no power and I must admit that the cold nights are starting to wear on me. I feel like a real wimp saying that, but it is taking its toll. I think the real problem is that the house is not a sanctuary, but a place I dread going to.

But I am cautiously optimistic as I saw utility trucks in the neighborhood for the first time since this all started.

Some progress...

Today we had at least some progress towards normalcy. While talking to my friend M, she mentioned that our electrical contractor (she recommended these guys years ago) were at here house as we spoke. I dropped by and they agreed to come over and check out my downed power line. Luckily, there was no damage to the meter, panel or the conduit, so they were able to rehang the line.

We aren't out of the woods yet. First, the neighborhood still doesn't have power, and second, the city may still have to inspect the connection.

But it is progress. At the very least, we can take the dogs into the back yard.

On the down side, SOF's mom is back in the hospital and can use your good thoughts. We will keep you posted.

Still cold--still dark--obscenity warning

But so are most around us. Except for those rude people across the street with the generator. We can hear it since things are so quiet. Just annoying. And tempers are getting short. I ran into a friend at Borders yesterday and his response fit with others.

Me: Hey, you have power?

him: no.

Me (explains that tree took out our individual line)

him: Yeah, exactly. Tree fucking ripped that motherfucking thing off the wall. What do you call it? The meter?

Heh. That added some levity to the day. And yesterday was grim. It was rainy and overcast all day, and that started to wear on my own emotions. I think a little sunshine would help everyone's spirits.

But that may have to wait. The recent forecast calls for snow on Friday night. I doubt we will have power by then.

But we are doing ok. SOF went to work today and I am running errands and heading into school to give two finals.

Ice storm update

to a Borders for some internet access this afternoon. Last night was cold and dark, and the animals found it pretty upsetting, I think. We stayed warm, but did not sleep particularly well. Tonight we could get another round--which is unnerving, and we really have no idea when we will get power back. Could be 3 days. Could be a week or so. Who knows. What is weird is that much of the town is up and running. Finals were canceled yesterday, but are back on today and tomorrow (presumably). Listening to the radio has been rather frustrating. We get a few notices of stuff we know (lots and lots of people have lost power) and there might be more tonight--but then it is back to the ads for Christmas shopping.

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday. First, our maple.



And this in the back yard.



Unfortunately, we lost a few more limbs today and the backyard looks pretty grim--especially the downed power line.

Anyway. More later as I know it.

The Ice Storm isn't very fun

We lost power about 3 am this morning and awoke to find our wonderful maple in shreds in our front yard. We don't know if it will make it or not. After scrounging coffee from some amazing neighbors, we heard more trees crash and realized that a big one went down in our backyard taking out our power line, cable and phone.

So, my internet access is extremely limited and will be for sometime. We expect to be without power for several days--and that is the optimistic view.

Anyway, I will be back when I can.

The other part of that story

Tony noted the WaPo story in the comments that clearly defines waterboarding as torture. But the other part of the story--unfortunately, as Glenn Greenwald notes, is the Democratic leadership's knowledge and aquiesence to such lawbreaking by our President.

I wish none of this were true. I wish we had a genuine, vibrant opposition party. It would be indescribably beneficial if the rare, isolated and usually marginalized voices within the Democratic Party (and the even rarer and more marginalized voices in the GOP) were predominant. But they just aren't. That's just a fact that can't be ignored. The Democratic Party in Congress is largely controlled and led by those who have enabled and affirmatively supported the worst aspects of the Bush foreign policy and the most severe abuses of our country's political values.

Ice Storm cometh

Yeah, it is pretty dicey out there. The ground has not been frozen so the worst places are still the bridges and overpasses. We found that out on our brief and chilly walk.

In other news, local media is no better than the national. Watching one of the locals trying to get some up-to-date weather, they ended their brief bit with this "you are watching Ice Storm--2007"

Yeah, an ice storm isn't enough, we have to brand it. Sigh.

Keep warm.

Nutcracker

As the Bootlegger noted, attending ballet was not the normal event for me growing up. (Just a simple shepherd boy from the West...) And as I sat in that sold-out audience, I realized I had probably never attended a ballet before. Perhaps my mother can help me here--I am not sure I ever saw the Nutcracker before and I suspect that would have been the only option. I have attended many Christmas presentations--including the Messiah, but don't think I ever saw a ballet.

It was pretty impressive. I think the yoga over the last two years has given me a deeper appreciation for flexibility and core strength. Watching those dancers not only take poses that I know are hard, but then move in that pose was damn impressive. To say nothing of the standing on toes. And walking on toes. And running and jumping on toes. My feet hurt just watching them.

I enjoyed the evening. Several of my friends had kids in the production, and one told me he had sat through the show 3 or 4 times. His wife chimed in saying she was having "sugar plum nightmares." Heh. (Their daughter was a mouse in the production.) I was impressed with the set management and how they used the backdrop and drop screens to change scenery and sense of place quickly and seamlessly. The combination of little kids and professional dancers really gave it a magical sense, and I understood why this has been a favorite all these years.

This morning we awoke to a good old fashioned ice storm. We are staying inside, enjoying the insulation value of our windows, and trying to avoid the outside and slippery world. Today I turned on some Christmas music--Aimee Mann, Mindy Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Over the Rhine, and Sara McLachlan's Christmas albums make a nice sense of the season without making me enlist in the GWOC (Global War on Christmas).

So, those of you in the area and parts north--stay warm and safe today. Peace

The Liberal Dilemma

This week has been up and down. For whatever reason, though I love this time of year, I also usually find myself mildly depressed. Perhaps the shorter days and colder weather encourages a bit of introspection (not that I need encouragement on that front) or perhaps it is simply the end of the semester, I don't know. The highlight of the week came after the final period of my upper division class when 6 or 7 students just hung around to chat. That was pretty cool.

Tonight, SOF and I will attend the Nutcracker (and no, that isn't a Hillary fundraiser joke:) ) which should be fun. I am hearing that OU's is one of the best.

****

Over at Tony's blog, a few of us got into a discussion on masculine Christianity. Well, it started there and has moved in other directions. Tony and I have talked about our shared frustration with this "movement" over the last year or so. Flawed theology and a terrible approach to gender roles--if you ask me.

Well, Tony posted a nice critique of the latest iteration of this John Wayne Christianity and elicited a rather strident response from someone serving in the Armed Forces. You can read that exchange in the comments.

What interests me and is the topic of this particular post is this person's internalization of the conservative mindset on the war, liberals, and patriotism. And in that exchange, he stepped on a few of my pet peeves. First, he suggested that liberals as a whole, do not appreciate the military's contribution to this war--actually that they don't even appreciate the importance of the war--and are generally anti-American, and second that torture was subjective. On point one, I suggested otherwise, and he pointed to Dick Durbin's "nazi" comment and some vague reference to John Kerry as proof of the left's anti-american sentiment.

That sounds bad, but as it turns out, Durbin did not compare our service men and women to Nazis.

Specifically, Durbin, on the Senate floor, said, “If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.”

Yet, if you google Durbin on this, you will see right wing site after site saying that he called our soldiers Nazis. And Durbin actually apologized for this.

Why does this bother me so? I am so tired of this mantra from the right that liberals are unAmerican. I have heard it from relatives. I have heard it from friends. Why is it that conservatives can support policies that undermine our national security and no one asks them if they are unAmerican? Why is it that AG nominee Mukasey can suggest the same thing and the right sits silent?

The torture issue simply floors me. And this service person's response makes me worry about our military. I have met enough service people in my classes to know that they are not all right-wing authoritarians, but the sentiment is common enough that it scares me. He said

Now about the torture. Depends on what your definition of torture is. When I was in the Army I went to ranger school and while there I was given very little food and even less sleep for a 120 days. I have friends who have been to SERE school which has even worse stuff than that. So the question is really what constitutes torture. Give me a clear cut definition. I am not offended but regardless of the context that doesnt make our soldiers comparable to NAZI'S.

Where are we when our service people parse the meaning of torture? Of course, they are only mimicking their civilian leadership. But it stinks.

What bothers me even more is how often the people parsing the meaning of torture are the same who are lecturing me about the country's moral decline and trumpeting the need for "Biblical values" and absolutes. But to me, they suggest that it is okay to torture terrorists because they are bad people.

Anyway. Perhaps I am just tired.

Presidential power

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse spent some time going through the Bush OLC documents and found some real gems. Evidently, Bush thinks that he can simply ignore an executive order. But the best example of their arrogance is their assertion that they can :determine the law:

"Here’s number two.

The President, exercising his constitutional authority under Article II, can determine whether an action is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority under Article II.

Yes, that’s right. The President, according to the George W. Bush OLC, has Article II power to determine what the scope of his Article II powers are.

Never mind a little decision called Marbury v. Madison, written by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803, establishing the proposition that it is “emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” Does this administration agree that it is emphatically the province and the duty of the judicial department to say what the President’s authority is under Article II? No, it is the President, according to this OLC, who decides the legal limits of his own Article II power.

The question “whether an action is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority under Article II,” is to be determined by the President’s minions, “exercising his constitutional authority under Article II.”"

What we suspected--Bush doesn't need Rove in order to lie

Dan Froomkin - Bush: Misleading at Best - washingtonpost.com: "The White House acknowledged last night that President Bush learned in August that Iran might have shelved its nuclear weapons program, contradicting what the president said at his press conference earlier this week."

Huck and the NIE again

Crooks and Liars � Huckabee flubs NIE test - again: "This week, for example, Huckabee was asked for his thoughts about the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, arguably the biggest foreign policy news in months, if not the year. Huckabee said he’d never heard of it. This morning, on MSNBC, he tried to rationalize his ignorance.

“Well, I don’t blame my staff. It is a situation where a report was released at 10:00 in the morning, the president hadn’t seen it in four years and I’m supposed to see it four hours later.”

That’s utter nonsense, and actually makes Huckabee look even dumber. As Kevin Drum explained, “The NIE was released Monday morning. He was asked about it Tuesday evening. That’s two days. Two days in which the NIE was on the front page of every newspaper; it was blanketing cable TV, talk radio, and the blogosphere; and the president of the United States addressed its conclusions in a press conference. It was blockbuster news on one of the most important foreign policy issues of the campaign and Huckabee didn’t even know about it.”

The phrase “not ready for prime-time” was practically custom made for a guy like this."

Unreal

Huckabee asked to explain how his campaign is "surging" (real bad choice of words, isn't it?) and he responds by essentially saying it is the same force that fed the 5,000. God prefers him to the other candidates and you should too. What a scumbag.

Sully has the video. I can't bear to post it--it makes me ill.

Huckabee on foreign policy

Seriously? I know he is campaigning, but doesn't his staff read the damn papers?

Huckabee not aware of NIE report on Iran - Jonathan Martin's Blog - Politico.com: "Kuhn: I don’t know to what extent you have been briefed or been able to take a look at the NIE report that came out yesterday ...

Huckabee: I’m sorry?

Kuhn: The NIE report, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. Have you been briefed or been able to take a look at it —

Huckabee: No.

Kuhn: Have you heard of the finding?

Huckabee: No.."

More Huck the Dodger?

Mike Huckabee bristled the other day when asked if he thought creationism should be taught in schools:

"That's an irrelevant question to ask me — I'm happy to answer what I believe, but what I believe is not what's going to be taught in 50 different states," Huckabee said. "Education is a state function. The more state it is, and the less federal it is, the better off we are."

Ah yes, a reasonable response. Until you look at his earlier statements:

"I believe God created the heavens and the Earth," he said at a news conference with Iowa pastors who murmured, "Amen."

"I wasn't there when he did it, so how he did it, I don't know," Huckabee said.

But he expressed frustration that he is asked about it so often, arguing with the questioner that it ultimately doesn't matter what his personal views are.

Hmm. He uses his personal views to claim role as "most Christian" in this race. But then doesn't want those personal views to be questioned when it comes to policy? He can preach to Iowa pastors for their "amen," but can't actually answer a question about whether Jesus would flip the switch on an execution? He can pander to Iowa fundamentalism about creationism, but then say that view is irrelevant to his views on education policy? Methinks the Huck wants to play it both ways. And that stinks.

More on Bush and our allies

(I posted this originally as an update to the Tuesday roundup but it made that post way too long.)

So now, Bush is worrying the British. Oh well, not that we need allies any longer, right?

Scott Harper has more Bushco insanity.

Continuing its recent spree of criminality in the alleged pursuit of law enforcement, the Bush Justice Department formally advised a British Court last week that it is fully entitled to kidnap foreigners (i.e., Britons) off the street around the world and carry them off to secret prisons. The claim was formerly thought to relate to terrorists. But no longer. Now the Bush Justice Department asserts the right to kidnap anyone it suspects of a crime. The Sunday Times (London) reports

****

Oh, and Joe Biden doesn't believe for one instance that Bush didn't find out about the NIE until this last week:

"“Are you telling me a president who is briefed every single morning, who is fixated on Iran, is not told back in August that the tentative conclusion of 16 intelligence agencies in the United States government said they had abandoned their effort for a nuclear weapon in ’03?” Biden said in a conference call with reporters.

“That’s not believable,” Biden added. “I refuse to believe that. If that’s true, he has the most incompetent staff in … modern American history and he’s one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history.”"

Hmm. Liar or incompetent? Need we choose?

Top Albums of 2007--4: Challengers

Sorry for the delay. In a funk or just tired, not sure which. This week's installment of 2007 best albums is the New Pornographers
Challengers. I have not listened to this album as much as I want, but every time through, I hear new stuff and enjoy it more. "Myriad Harbors" is a great track and I have grown quite attached to "All the Old Showstoppers." As I remarked to my friend D over coffee yesterday, I am not sure how they hear some of the rhythms and harmonies as they are writing. I am not versed enough in the older albums, but many I know call this the best of the New Pornographers. I don't know about that. I enjoyed Twin Cinemas a lot, but this is pretty damn good.

Tuesday roundup

I almost wrote "Friday" roundup. My weekly clock is messed up after guest-lecturing this morning. Man, do I hate that. Almost the worst gig in the business to lecture to someone else's class.

Anyway. Just a few things going on. First, what do we make of this nie report that says that Iran stopped its nukular program 4 years ago? Besides the obvious, that Bush and Cheney didn't want us to know that as they have been angling for a justification to bomb another country? As someone said on the blogs, this reinforces the unfortunate truth that we cannot accept anything this administration says on face value. We cannot trust them at all. And that is sad. Sure am glad he is a Christian. That makes this all better.

You can watch our President fumble around this question here. Sigh.

*****

Oh, but what about our MSM? NBC Journalist David Gregory was asked to name the cause of the increased polarization in our political dialogue today, he said it was the bloggers. Yeah, that's right, the bloggers. Words of Power suggests that is a flawed idea:

Yes, of course, it was the bloggers who polarized the US body politic.

--snip--

The bloggers impeached a popular President at a time of peace and economic prosperity over testimony in a civil suit involving sexual intercourse.

--snip--

The bloggers swift-boated John Kerry in 2004, morphed Max Cleland's face into Osama bin Laden's in 2002 TV ads, and smeared John McCain in South Carolina in 2000.

--snip--

The bloggers fired eight US Attorneys for pursuing Bush-Cheney associates and not pursuing Bush-Cheney adversaries. The bloggers made Habeas Corpus and the Bill of Rights optional.

The bloggers established a Gulag system, instituted torture and rendition, and started disappearing people. The bloggers stayed on vacation while New Orleans drowned.

So many reporters seem to misunderstand the satire of Stewart and Colbert and seem to miss just how much they are the targets of that criticism. If someone like Gregory doesn't understand just how badly the MSM has dropped the ball on the key questions of the day, well,....

****

Opinions You Should Have agrees and has a very funny take on Karl Rove's recent spinfest:

Karl Rove today said that George Bush's presidency would have been a great success if Democrats had not forced Bush to make countless numbers of flawed decisions that have led the country down the path toward national disaster.

"We wouldn't have invaded Iraq, we would have saved New Orleans, we would have staffed FEMA," said Rove. "It's all the Democrats' fault."

Rove went on to say that if voters wanted a change from the disastrous Bush years, they'd have to vote Republican. "It's sad how these Democrats mishandled the Bush Presidency."

****

More humor. A friend of mine has a bumper sticker that reads "Impeach Bush/Torture Cheney." I am not sure I like it simply because I don't want us to torture anyone. But it does point to a reality that the people in support of torture are more like our enemies than they think.



****

And what is that torture policy gaining us? Scott Horton suggests that we are losing the respect of our allies.

Is America a nation that tortures? The question is being asked all around the world. It’s not a matter of idle speculation. Under international treaties, which many nations, not being liberated by the law-what-law?mantra of the Neocons, treat very seriously, there are specific prohibitions about cooperation with nations which torture. In particular, there is article 3 of the Convention Against Torture, which forbids any state party to return a prisoner to a nation where he is likely to be tortured.

In 2006, I had an off-the-record discussion with the chief law enforcement officer of one of America’s most important allies. Having read the torture memoranda out of the Justice Department, and having seen the reports issued by the Department of the Army dealing with abuses in Abu Ghraib, Bagram and Guantánamo, I asked, is your Government in a position to engage in prisoner exchanges with the Americans or to allow American interrogators unfettered access to persons in your Government’s custody? He responded in a manner that showed the question had been studied carefully. “I can assure you that we take our obligations under article 3 very seriously. We will not speak publicly about this, but of course we have terminated cooperation with the United States in ways that would violate article 3. And of course we have reached the only possible conclusion, which is that the United States has embraced torture as a matter of formal policy.” This is a nation which continues to be one of our dwindling number of allies, but it faces increasingly steep challenges in cooperating while it complies with the requirements of law.

And this judgment is a very broad one—now shared almost universally by America’s allies. We don’t have to consider what the enemies think.

In fact, Canada's Federal Court has actually ruled that America does not

comply adequately with Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention, which prohibits return to persecution, or Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture, which prohibits return to torture — specifically naming the Maher Arar case as an example of the United States’ failure to protect.

As one of the experts who described the ways in which U.S. asylum law (in particular, the one-year filing deadline) violates international law, I am proud to note that the court found “the Applicant’s experts to be more credible, both in terms of their expertise and the sufficiency, directness and logic of their reports” and “more objective and dispassionate in their analysis and report” than the government’s experts. Of particular note, the Court found that “it would be unreasonable to conclude that the one-year bar, as it is applied in the U.S., is consistent with the Convention Against Torture and the Refugee Convention” and that this bar “has a disproportionate impact on gender and sexual orientation claims” for asylum. The Court also found that women making asylum claims based on domestic violence are not sufficiently protected under U.S. law.

And these are our friends. I am sure glad that Bush and Cheney have been given such a long leash.

Rove weighs in on the partisanship

And it is laughable:

Without a trace of self-consciousness, Rove complained that politics in DC have become too negative because it’s gotten personal and nasty. He blames it on the Beltway predilection for carrying a grudge, unlike the folks down in Texas, where he says everyone shakes hands, moves on, and gets along.

Yes, because Bush and Rove were known for their magnanimity and grace towards their political enemies. Oh wait:

Hottest exchange: The first audience member to ask a question during the open Q&A wanted to know when Rove would stand trial for treason for his involvement in the outing of Valerie Plame. It was the only time all night Rove really seemed rattled. Visibly angry, Rove sputtered about the “stupid civil lawsuits” filed by Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson.

Just remember. Our great moral President not only hired Rove, but he protected him after Rove outed a CIA agent who worked FOR US!

If your brain is a liar, doesn't that make you one too?

Just a little reminder that our President protected and defended Karl Rove at every possible turn--even when he broke the law or undermined our security. Now that Rove is out of the White House, the little snake is on tour trying to revise history--evidently trying to influence Bush's legacy from the outside. First up, he has suggested that it was the Democrats who pushed for a 2002 war vote and that our beloved President opposed that because "thought it made it too political." Yes, the people who compared Max Cleland to Saddam thought forcing the Democrats to vote on the war right before an election might politicize it. Of course they did. That is why Bush and his toadies pushed for it. Hopefully, Rove is far too slimy to pull this off, and some news reports (and former colleagues) have already disagreed with him.

News accounts and transcripts at the time show Bush arguing against delay. Asked on Sept. 13, 2002, about Democrats who did not want to vote until after the U.N. Security Council acted, Bush said, "If I were running for office, I'm not sure how I'd explain to the American people -- say, 'Vote for me, and, oh, by the way, on a matter of national security, I think I'm going to wait for somebody else to act.' "

Or

Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary at the time, said Daschle had pressed Bush over the summer to bring the matter to Congress but for consultation, not necessarily a vote. Bush decided to seek a vote authorizing force, Fleischer said. "It was definitely the Bush administration that set it in motion and determined the timing, not the Congress," he said. "I think Karl in this instance just has his facts wrong."

Former White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. was asked on MSNBC yesterday about Rove's comments but told only that Rove asserted Democrats pushed Bush into war. Card laughed and said that "sometimes his mouth gets ahead of his brain."

But I hope every time this sleaze opens his mouth, America remembers that Bush didn't mind the Cleland stuff, or the Plame stuff. Every time Rove lied or broke the law, or did something despicable, Bush cheered. That is the kind of man we have in office.

Keep a good thought

SOF's mother is in the hospital recovering from surgery. Please keep a good thought for her.

Rudy's bad week

And it is pretty impressive. Check it.

The Religious Republican

H/T to my friend Mary who avoided all the evil from Yoga to send me this take on the Republican debate. This blogger has names for all of them. Romney is the "Ceo Republican" hell bent on making America better for other millionaires. Giuliani is the "Crime Boss Republican" which, quite frankly, is starting to sound redundant. But the part on the Huck is the best:

"Huckabee: The Religious Republican. The perfect embodiment of true Republican religion; sings to the majesty of a Jesus that has been painstakingly repainted in the Republicans' own image, scrubbed of inconvenient tendencies towards compassion. Huckabee does not know if Jesus would support the death penalty. He does not know if torture is anti-Christian enough to really make a big fuss over. He considers himself the most Christian candidate, but mere self-proclaimed knowledge of the Holy Will of God is not sufficient enough to go against the Republican edicts against the poor and sick that define his party. Republicanism is a stronger religion, on that stage, than Christianity will ever be, and Reagan a more heralded messiah: when it comes to Huckabee facing the phalanx of fervently 'religious' Republican voters that will oppose him if he steps too carelessly on their own agendas, Jesus will have to make do as usual with a bit of vapid praise and little else." [emphasis mine]

When you factor in the Republican focus group we mentioned yesterday the picture of the GOP is coming into focus. The Huck represents the best hope to put a fake compassion corsage on this hog and send him to the prom. Just as with Bush, the compassion won't be real, and it certainly won't be aimed at the people we don't like, and it will be dropped or shunted aside. If the Huck is our President, we can look forward to a gutting of science (er, I mean, a continued gutting of science) the further politicization of fertility and sexuality, and worst of all, the unending use of church hymns in speeches and press conferences. The Huck will be (if elected) smarter than Bush (come on!) but not better.

Pat Robertson--Yoga is evil

Pat Robertson Not Down With Yoga - Living on The Huffington Post: "Wednesday's '700 Club' featured a question about the Christian view of yoga. A concerned viewer asked, 'Does it really have its origins in evil?' Pat Robertson gave the verdict: Yes! According to Pat, stretching is fine, but by repeating common yoga mantras, you are actually praying to Hindu gods Vishnu and Krishna and you're not even aware of it! "

I knew it. And let me say that I always listen to whatever the Giant Head says.

Heh--Rudy angry

Angry Rudy Refuses To Answer Questions, Aides "Unusually Physical" With Reporters - Politics on The Huffington Post

And that photo is just too damn funny. Rudy is a wackjob and a dangerous one. On foreign policy he sounds like Bush on steroids. Yet as a Mayor and as a person, he exemplifies the morality of a Tom Delay. Ruthless to the core. Sully said it best when he called him "a small man in search of a balcony."

More liberal media

Oh wait.

Glenn Greenwald has been writing about Time magazine (and the aforementioned Joe Klein) and how they have resorted to really poor reporting. In Klein's case, he passed on bad information from GOP insiders as if it were fact and then refused to investigate the truth or fiction of the allegation in the legislation itself. As Leighton pointed out, the WaPo demonstrated equally bad journalism by giving the "Obama as Muslim" rumor some credibility by repeating it. Greenwald describes the failing of the media better than I can:

"This is without question one of the most significant problems in how our establishment media functions. They refuse to subject claims -- particularly claims from the GOP power structure and the right-wing noise machine which they fear -- to any critical scrutiny.

For various reasons, they simply will not investigate such claims and, when warranted, identify such claims as false. The most they are willing to do is simply write down each side's claims and treat them equally, even when one side is blatantly lying. GOP operatives know that this is how the press functions and thus know that they can easily get away with spewing lies, and can even recruit the media into helpfully spreading them (using the predominant 'he-said/she-said' template). That's the same process that led us into Iraq, kept us there for so long, protected endless presidential lawbreaking and enabled all sorts of fact-free smears."

The Daily Show has mocked this process very effectively noting that you can simply say that "some say that Jon Stewart has sex with goats" and then note that "others disagree" and leave it at that--as if every side has equal legitimacy. In that context, the holocaust deniers share equal billing with the documented historians, and the creation scientist is perfectly equal to the biologist who studies the process of evolution every day.

But, as Greenwald notes, there are some good examples out there, and this NYT expose of Giuliani's constant lying on the stump is one.

Had this story been reported in accordance with the prevailing establishment media norms -- the type practiced by Time and defended by Romano -- it would have simply been presented as a mindless recitation of what "each side claims", as in: "Some claim that Giuliani has exaggerated his record of accomplishments as Mayor, while Giuliani campaign aides insist that his statements are accurate." But Cooper took the next step -- the one that distinguishes the basic reporting function from the role of propagandists and stenographers: namely, he investigated the competing claims and identified which ones were factually true and which ones were factually false.

Just more Friday outrage

Tony blogs about sweatshop labor making crucifixes aimed for mega-church gift stores and your local mega-Bible Bookstore:

"The report records The Singer Company that markets the crucifixes, part of the Association for Christian Retail, made $4.63 BILLION last year."

The workers take home around 9 cents an hour.

I wonder if Joel Osteen can smile at this story?

This is disturbing

Joe Klein, who I don't care for, actually, blogs about sitting in a Republican focus group during the most recent debate. The focus people turned little dials to demonstrate how they felt about what was being said at the time.

"In the next segment--the debate between Romney and Mike Huckabee over Huckabee's college scholarships for the deserving children of illegal immigrants--I noticed something really distressing: When Huckabee said, 'After all, these are children of God,' the dials plummeted. And that happened time and again through the evening: Any time any candidate proposed doing anything nice for anyone poor, the dials plummeted (30s). These Republicans were hard.

But there was worse to come: When John McCain started talking about torture--specifically, about waterboarding--the dials plummeted again. Lower even than for the illegal Children of God. Down to the low 20s, which, given the natural averaging of a focus group, is about as low as you can go. Afterwards, Luntz asked the group why they seemed to be in favor of torture. 'I don't have any problem pouring water on the face of a man who killed 3000 Americans on 9/11,' said John Shevlin, a retired federal law enforcement officer. The group applauded, appallingly."

If you want to know why my belief in this country and certainly respect for the GOP is falling, you need look no farther. Anyone who can say that about torture (former federal law officer or no) is uninformed and chooses to remain so. What is more, their moral compass has now joined Stalin and the dictators who employ secret police. They don't value democracy, morality, or anything except hatred towards others.

Damn liberal media

Media Matters - CNN's Brown called MoveOn.org "American insurgents": "BROWN: General David Petraeus made his reputation taking on insurgents in Iraq. But when he came to Capitol Hill in September, he was confronted by American insurgents, a liberal anti-war group called MoveOn.org. MoveOn bought this full-page ad in The New York Times. It accused Petraeus of betraying us by cooking the books on progress in Iraq."

Yeah, that's right. MoveOn.org is just like terrorists who blow people up with IEDs.

Heh

Former ORU President Richard Roberts claimed that God told him to not attack his attackers and to resign.

NewsOK: Roberts says God told him to resign: "The word of the Lord came to me again, and said do not consider the dark days of October, but look to the day of thanks,” Roberts said.

The next message came early Thanksgiving morning, when Roberts was praying. “The Lord spoke to me. He said: ‘Resign tomorrow,’” Roberts said.

Roberts stopped speaking to the crowd for a moment. His breathing became heavy and his tears returned. His voice cracked when he began speaking again. “Every ounce” of his flesh told Roberts not to resign, but he said God persisted with an order to “do it tomorrow.”

Evidently God can be very specific to Roberts, but was not very specific in telling him not to use University funds to fly his family on expensive vacations.

The Huckabee dodge

Someone else saw it the same way (What would Jesus Dodge?):

Huckabee was dodging a direct question on the very area -- the intersection of religion and policy -- on which he is building his campaign. The man whose ads call him a "Christian Leader" and who says his faith "defines me" wouldn't answer a pretty simple question on how his faith affects his opinion on a policy issue.

And worse, Huckabee uses his nice guy Pastor act to mask something else--being an ass.

Let's take his answer to a question about NASA sending humans to Mars; in his answer, he said, "Now, whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know. But I'll tell you what: If we do, I've got a few suggestions, and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars." Everyone laughed. But the best word to describe that crack is is probably "bitchy." It was just a cheap shot, both ugly and shamelessly pandering. It came from a place of hate within Mike Huckabee's heart and those of the audience whose favor he was seeking. But he said it with a smile, so I guess that means it's OK.

The part that bugs me is that the blogger is right. For all the talk about Christian love and compassion, there is a huge well of hatred in the religious right that belies their putative faith. And what makes that worse is that they believe they are more righteous than the rest of us, and therefore less hateful than the rest of us. Which makes Leighton's comment all the more scary--about the rumor circulating (and given some credence by the Wapo) that Obama is a closet Muslim. Ten bucks says that is cycling through religious right email lists and will become part of the dialogue. Either they will hate Hillary or Obama and try very hard to give us another Pastor in chief.

Thursday morning

SOF has been on the road this week, making me Menagerie Keeper. Besides teaching this week, I also brewed a Christmas beer and completed a few work tasks that had been on my plate.

Now to the news.

Nathan points us to this Anna Quindlen column that illustrates the ridiculous quality of our political dialogue. Religious conservatives demand that their politicians hate gays, abortion and evolution, but don't demand that they actually attend to basic human needs:

"The truth is that America is so rich that political leaders could actually produce some variant of that miracle if they had the will. And, I suppose, if they thought there were votes in it. Enough with the pious sanctimony about gay marriage and abortion. If elected officials want to bring God talk into public life, let it be the bedrock stuff, about charity and mercy and the least of our brethren. Instead of the performance art of the presidential debate, the candidates should come to Holy Apostles and do what good people, people of faith, do there every day—feed the hungry, comfort the weary, soothe the afflicted. And wipe down the tables after each seating. Here's a prayer for every politician: pasta, collard greens, bread, cling peaches. Amen."

My frustration with religious conservatives grows with each day. As I have said numerous times, I believe they have replaced reason with "faith" (which means to them what they believe) and refuse to reassess once they have made up their mind. As a result, they seem completely unwilling to reassess how they decided that Bush was a good Christian and would be a good President. I fear, with some reason, that since they don't believe they erred, there is no reason to look at their process, and so means they will likely vote for whoever the GOP throws up there--anti-science, pro-torture--whatever, all framed in religious rhetoric. Ten bucks says that we will all hear Christians justify voting for Rudy or Romney or Huckabee because they "aren't comfortable" voting for a black or woman for President. "America just isn't ready for that."

Yep, but we have been ready, evidently, for an idiot President who has destroyed our constitution.

Sigh.

*****

Speaking of the competition, Mike Huckabee was asked about the death penalty in the GOP debate last night (no I didn't and wouldn't watch--I don't watch the Democratic debates either) and the question was framed as "What would Jesus Do." Huckabee recognized the disconnect for people who are pro-life, but cheer the death penalty, but then dodged and said that there was a difference between killing someone who was judged guilty and an innocent baby. Fine. But what about the race, class and regional biases to capital punishment? And what about those who might be innocent? Anderson Cooper followed up and restated the WWJD part, to which Huckabee responded:

"Jesus was far too smart to seek public office."

Unbelievable, and telling. I think far too many religious conservatives see some kind of purposeful disconnect between actually living the Christian life and acting in politics. One of my friends has suggested that almost directly--that when Bush does bad stuff in office, it doesn't distract from his Christian faith, because that is "part of the job." Huckabee reiterates that here. Instead of addressing what Jesus might actually have to say about difficult issues, he suggests that Jesus would not be political, but then asserts that his faith in Jesus is what makes him the best candidate.

Sigh.

*****

How about the guy leading in national polls? America's Mayor, or The Man Who Loves 9-11. The media tends to ignore a lot about this guy--including the fact that he chose the World Trade Center as the terrorism command center because it was close to his office and he used the site to carry on his affair with his now wife. Turns out that there is more of that type of corruption:

As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to previously undisclosed government records.

It gets worse. Mr. 9-11 is also accused of actually profiting from relationships to people who sheltered terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The contradictory and stunning reality is that Giuliani Partners, the consulting company that has made Giuliani rich, feasts at the Qatar trough, doing business with the ministry run by the very member of the royal family identified in news and government reports as having concealed KSM—the terrorist mastermind who wired funds from Qatar to his nephew Ramzi Yousef prior to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and who also sold the idea of a plane attack on the towers to Osama bin Laden—on his Qatar farm in the mid-1990s.

Just imagine the media outcry if that were Hillary Clinton or John Edwards?

I think that is all I can handle today.

Elmo and MaHoosomeone

Olbermann was not impressed with Bush's photo op, and neither am I. I am not convinced that he really cares about this, and if he does, why did it take so long? Why did he dismantle the progress from the last administration in this area?

And seriously, can't the man pronounce anything?

Back

Tony gave this blog a compliment tonight--asking if we were going to get back to the posting. Sure, it was nice to be nominated for a blog award, but nicer still to have a steady reader suggest that this blog is necessary to understanding the world. Although, the blog awards are pretty nice. And why haven't more of you nominated us for more awards? What the hell are you all doing out there?

Ok, I am still recovering from the last week. But a couple of news items. From Tony himself a good discussion of Mike Huckabee's recent campaign commercial. It seems that many in the GOP have not learned anything from the Bush administration's manipulation of religious imagery. Or at least Mike Huckabee believes that and thinks that he can woo those voters by claiming that his faith is central to his life. I wonder if he claims Jesus as his favorite political philosopher?

Sigh.

Speaking of Bush, I think we were all a bit surprised that he is hosting a Mideast Summit to find some kind of solution for the Israeli/Palestinian problem. I understand that my conservative friends fear that Bush could do nothing to please me....and this will not change their mind. What took him so damn long? Was it the realization that his term was about over and we were going to only think of him in terms of Katrina and Iraq and torture and signing statements? Perhaps.

I still recall his early months in office. I have described it thusly: "he took office with his middle finger aimed at the rest of the world." Double that if Clinton had done anything in that area. 9-11 gave him an unique opportunity, which he used to invade two countries. Only now, with his administration headed for the Harding category does he turn to something he had ignored for 7 years.

Ok, off to bed. More tomorrow.

Light blogging

Thanksgiving week and all. I hope you all had a good one. We have been busy. My folks drove in from Colorado for the smoked turkey and good conversations. Or to see us, I am not sure.

But as I said, we were busy. Thursday, after eating, we went to our friends M&M for desert with the Norman family. When you have two pie makers with the ability of SOF and M's sister S, you know you are in for some great food. On Friday, my Dad and I played golf and snuck in 9 holes before it turned chilly. We all sat around and watched OU wax OSU. We had a real nice week and are thankful for our good friends and family.

I think some news happened while we were busy, but that will have to wait. In the meantime, here is a clip from Wilco's ACL show that is just great. I looked for "Handshake Drugs," but until I find a copy, this version of "Impossible Germany" will have to suffice. Nels Cline is just spectacular on this one.

More later.

Isn't this interesting?

Good day before Thanksgiving everyone. Or is it Happy Thanksgiving Eve? I can never keep those straight. All I know is that I am looking forward to some turkey. I have heard about people eating other meats for Thanksgiving--in Communism!--but for us and our house, we say "nyet" to that.

And by the way, here is a special thought for all traveling this week. I always think traveling is stressful, and doing so this week is that much more so. So, if you are flying, stay patient and keep the Ipod charged. If you are driving, take care.

Now for the news of today. I saw a blurb about this last night while cooking, but didn't really understand the implications. Evidently, Scott McClellan is naming names, and one of them is named "W."

“I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the seniormost aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby,” McClellan wrote. “There was one problem. It was not true.” McClellan then absolves himself and makes an inflammatory — and potentially lucrative for his publisher — charge. “I had unknowingly passed along false information,” McClellan wrote. “And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself.' "

Watching this admin at the beginning, they seemed so effective at chilling critics. John Dillulio calls them "machiavellian mayberries" and suggests that they politicize everything--yet a week later he backs down completely. Paul O'Neill says that they planned on invading Iraq from the beginning, he is savaged by the machine.

But you can only brutalize critics so long, and you can only punish people like this when you have complete control. In the early days, they did. But now, with the President hovering at 29%, the political power lies elsewhere.

And now, we just get one more reminder that Bush lies and holds us in complete contempt.

Top Albums of 2007--3: Neon Bible

Ubub and Foubub introduced us to the Arcade Fire a few ACL Festivals. We were unprepared for the sound and it took a while to adjust. We soon found ourselves listening to many of the tracks off their first full-length album (Funeral) and then looked forward to hearing the new Neon Bible. It did not disappoint. A very dark album, but also very enjoyable. I love the title song as well as the "(Antichrist television blues)," and "Keep the Car Running." As I said, dark, but also very inventive and interesting. Not, perhaps for everyone.

After I wrote this, I noticed that SOF caught the Arcade Fire on ACL. (The week before was Wilco--including the most amazing version of "Handshake Drugs" that I have ever heard). We sat down and watched the set and were reminded of how interesting this band is and how much we really liked their first album as well.

Great album and well worth the listen.

I would have thought it would be: "I don't recall."

Gonzales has advice for Mukasey:

"Always do the right thing. Follow the law. That was always my lodestar, my guiding principle, and I’m sure that will guide General Mukasey."

Yeah. Whatever, Al.

Yet another reason to dislike Oklahoma State University

And this little fact had eluded me in the past. But huge donor and benefactor for OSU is none other than T. Boone Pickens, who is none other than one of the wealthy right wingers who financed the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry. Turns out Pickens has offered $1M To Anyone Who Can Prove Ads Were Wrong and John Kerry is taking him up on the offer. Or something. Either way, I am cheering against T. Boone Pickens and OSU.

Friday morning

First of all, Happy Statehood Day. Oklahoma Statehood Day, that is. 100 years old, eh? I still think Oklahoma doesn't look a day over 98.

*****

TPMmuckraker reports that Dems finally stood up against the Bush machine and voted against telecom immunity--at least in committee. The stakes are probably not what Bush suggests:

"AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein says that the reason isn't to spare the telecoms financial indemnity, or a matter of 'fairness,' as administration officials claim. Rather, it's to stop some 40 class-action suits against the companies from revealing how massive, how domestic and how illegal warrantless surveillance was between 2001 and 2007. Revelations from those suits could even, hypothetically at least, lead to criminal charges against administration officials and telecom companies."

****

Martin Schram asks how a Bush/Cheney/Rove campaign would look like if it were run today against a President Clinton (either one) who had allowed bin Laden to get away and then frequently videotape threats and taunts to us from Pakistan (our supposed ally).

"We all know the answer: What Bush-Cheney-Rove and company would have done to either Clinton would have made what they did to one-time Vietnam War POW John McCain, triple-amputee Vietnam veteran Max Cleland and Vietnam Purple Heart medalist John Kerry look like a Crawford, Texas, picnic. They would have accused either Clinton of selling out and ducking out, of cutting and running from the vow to get Osama bin Laden and crush al Qaeda. . . .

"Bush-Cheney-Rove would have had America believing that a President Clinton who had done all of the above had sold America and our Star-Spangled Banner to the terrorists. They would have had us distrusting and despising a president who had been so weak after talking so tough.

"And they would have been right."

******

Some more evidence that evangelicals might be shifting politically:

"Evangelicals, particularly younger evangelicals, are undergoing a shift in attitudes. Many have little interest in the self-destructive purity of the prophet or the raw pragmatism of the kingmaker. They remain culturally conservative, but uncomfortable with a harshly judgmental tone in their politics. They find the model of the religious right too narrow and are increasingly motivated by a broader range of social concerns, from disease in Africa, to the environment, to racial reconciliation. And they want to be a witness to these values instead of a tool in the power games of others."

******

Now for a bit of humor. Thanks to Jadon for pointing to this piece which suggests I am not the only one who thinks those who love Mel's Passion film AND Bush's torture policy might need to rethink things:

"'The subject of our meeting is crucifixion, or as the crowd is calling it, 'hammer boarding,' Pilate announced. 'There has been an outcry by some that the practice is not worthy of a civilized people and possibly ineffective. Some feel the practice may cause us more trouble in the long run. But are there any options?"

Nice

Ah, the GOP. Where the Confederacy lives on.

Oh, and I forgot this one

Remembering that the GOP has become the party of torture apologists, Andrew Sullivan finds this:

"A fascinating nugget from American history, unearthed by guest-blogger Shertaugh at the IsThatLegal? blog. Waterboarding was sometimes used in the Deep South to torture African-Americans and to extract false confessions to alleged crimes. And when it emerged in an appeal as long ago as 1926, even the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled it categorically 'a specie of torture well known to the bench and bar of the country,' and 'barbarous.' They over-turned a guilty verdict for murder by an African-American man against a white man because such methods invalidated any notion of a reliable confession"

A 1920s Mississippi court thought it barbaric, but Cheney thinks it is a water ride and most of America thinks it is part of a television show. We torture now. We defend torture.

Sigh.

Ah, good old politics

And media conglomeration. The New York Times is reporting that Judith Regan (famous for trying to publish OJ's "if I did it" book and having an affair (including carrying on the affair "at an apartment near ground zero that had been donated as a haven for rescue and recovery workers") with Giuliani friend and millstone/scumbag Bernie Kerik) is alleging that News Corp (famous for America's own millstone and scumbag duo of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch) tried to influence her testimony on her affair. Why? To protect America's Mayor in his search for the White House. Yeah, that old liberal media was really a problem. Good thing we have replaced it with people like this who manipulate the news purposefully to help out their own horses.

******

We have hopes that Mukasey will be a decent AG, though his insistence on not defining waterboarding suggested that Dick Cheney was watching his testimony with a gun to Mukasey's dog or something. But his decision to reopen the wiretapping probe that Bush originally shut down under Gonzales is positive. At least for now. Of course, compared to Gonzales, this Macbook would make an excellent AG. Time will tell. Cheney's brilliance (and really his only skill as far as I can tell) is to work the system from behind. He won't allow Mukasey to hang him out.

*****

Speaking of the President, I really wonder about Bush. Does he recognize that he is a failed President? Or does he just think that we are all too stupid to understand his greatness? After all, "childrens do learn." Even though he is down in the polls, he has to appeal to the homophobic part of his 29% base and one way was to appoint religious conservatives to positions in government. YOu know, appointing someone opposed to birth control to oversee, well, birth control. But appointing this gay hating doctor to Surgeon General seems unnecessary. And it looks like the fact that the nomination is dead just means that Bush will use a recess appointment. Bush has ruled this country with a middle finger extended to anyone who disagrees, and I think that will be his last gesture as he leaves the White House. He really has contempt for a majority of the country.

*****

Speaking of Bush's America, our friend Jon Swift points to a story that just makes us scratch our heads. Evidently, when the American bridge team won the World championship (evidently there is one) in Shanghai, one held up a hand-written sign that said, "we did not vote for Bush." The American Bridge something organization is actually considering punishing these women:

"'This isn't a free-speech issue,' explains Jan Martel, president of the United States Bridge Federation, commenting on what the organization refers to as the 'Shanghai Incident.' 'There isn't any question that private organizations can control the speech of people who represent them.' A statement released by the USBF reiterates, 'This situation is not about free speech; it is about determining whether the USBF has a responsibility to its membership to impose sanctions on those who have acted contrary to the best interests of the organization and its members.'"

I just remember when conservatives loved to trash Clinton here, overseas, on television, radio, in Country songs, in speeches and ads, from the House floor, or behind a pulpit. The good old days. I am sure that conservatives and corporations will recover that love of dissent when a democrat runs the country. We already see signs of something like this, certainly about Hillary:

"At a campaign event in South Carolina Monday, a female supporter asked John McCain: "How do we beat the bitch?"

If the Arizona senator objected to that particular characterization of Sen. Hillary Clinton, he didn't exactly say so.

Instead, as the room erupted in laughter, McCain said he'd try to offer a "translation." Somebody in the audience shouted out, "I thought she was talking about my ex-wife." There was more laughter all around, and then McCain said: "That's an excellent question."

As TPM and others have noted, this is the same candidate who bent over backwards to apologize for his mother's attack on Mitt Romney's mormonism. Calling Hillary a "bitch" is ok, I guess.

Wow, the GOP just impresses me each and every day.

Sigh

"Jesus Died So We Could Be Rich!": "Jesus Died So We Could Be Rich! Declares Biblical Expert and Best Selling Author Dr. Norman Robertson Believes U.S. Investigation on Mega-Church Pastors is Unjust Because God Wants Us to Be Rich"

Bushism

Surfing Slate and saw this old clip with Bush declaring that "childrens do learn," but this time saw something I missed before--missed because the other clips (Daily Show, Olbermann, etc) were from a slightly different angle. In this one, you can watch Margaret Spelling's face as Bush speaks. She keeps a pretty blank face, but it seems like she is wincing inside. Or maybe that is me just hoping that she is wincing. You be the judge.

Top Albums 2007--2--The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

I really liked Josh Ritter's "Animal Years" from last year. His song "Girl in the War" is still a favorite and one I worked up for guitar. And his rambling rant "Thin Blue Line" is simply gloriously angry. Other tracks on that album kind of fell away. Still a great album, but one that I don't listen to as much. (Of course, this annual best list always opens itself to the albums that don't last--but you can't tell that in a year. That is a different exercise--one where some people choose Bob Dylan posters for their desert island.) And, speaking of rambling songs, I love his acoustic version of "Golden Age of Radio."
But much of his stuff is heavily acoustic and folky (technical music term). So, when Ritter released The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, I pushed it to the back of the todo list. Not that I have anything against folky, but have been more in the mood for something with a bit more energy. But his album kept showing up on other people's best of the year, and so I finally broke down and bought it. The other reason I delayed my purchase was that I kept waiting for it to show up on Emusic. (Now that I bought it from Itunes, that means it will show up immediately.)
What an album. The variety of sounds--from almost choral background, to raucous horns and piano, to finger picking folk, to dissonance--this album has it all. Favorite tracks so far include "Open Doors," and "The Temptation of Adam." The "Right Moves" makes me a bit dancy (technical term) and "Still Beating" makes me sad. Like I said, the album has a little of everything.

I am really enjoying this album.

Sunday evening

Tired and not ready for the week to begin. But a few notes before I turn in.

****

At the risk of attracting trolls, let me note that Paul Krugman is still upset with Reagan's manipulation of southern racial politics. And no, I am not saying that all white southerners, all Republicans, all Southern Republicans, or all Southern White REpublicans are racist.

Whew.

******

Speaking of Republicans, I am increasingly tired of their (and Joe Lieberman's) saber-rattling with Iran. As is Admiral Fallon, head of Cent Com, who says that we are not prepping for an attack, and right wing rhetoric is not helping!

Now just waiting to hear how Fallon is UnAmerican, weak on terror, or deserving of a Swift-Boating.

*****

After a weekend of football, I found thisversion of Mike Gundy's rant set to Survivor. (Click on the "I am a Man" link below the YouTube clip). Sorry, OSU fans, but I cringe every time I watch that spectacle. It deserves some mocking.

Enough for tonight.

Mel Gibson to remake "Passion of the Christ?"

According to Hollywood insiders, Mel Gibson has decided to remake his popular and Easter-required film, The Passion of the Christ. Gibson told a reporter that even though the film was only a few years old, it was time for a remake to capture the different context of the time. "We decided to recast the film with a bit more sympathy toward the Romans and the difficulties they faced keeping a government afloat with threats from within," said Gibson. "Make no mistake, the Jews are still responsible, but we thought that our audience would have more sympathy with the ruling government now."

Gibson admitted that the new remake included controversial scenes of water-boarding and sleep-deprivation. "It only made sense," he said. "Knowing what we know now, the government had every right to question insurgents to find out the depth of the rebellion. A simple scourging and crucifixion would kill the one insurgent, but not the rest. The Roman Government had to know where the others were and what their intentions were."

Gibson refused to discuss the new consultants to the film, but insider rumors have Rudy Giuliani demonstrating his own tactics against mob bosses in New York, and the natural cameo by Dick Cheney as Satan. Michael Mukasey had no comment on whether the new film represented Christianity, and Chuck Shumer voted for it before even seeing the sneak previews.

Now back to the ranting

Once again, Bush takes us into uncharted waters, though this is really more about him than us. Turns out that more people strongly disapprove of him than did Nixon at the height of Watergate. Of course, the poll shows that the Republican base still supports him (that 29% must be able to manufacture their own reality) but Independents are leaving him in droves. The rest of us look at a situation where America has lost moral standing. An America, for example, THAT TORTURES, and has a leader who says to Pervez Musharraf (evidently with a straight face) that a) fighting terror is no reason to undermine your constitution, and 2) 'you can't be President and head of the military at the same time'.

Sigh.

If you want an example of the deluded 29 percenter, look no further than this guy:

"By almost all accounts, this Administration has done more to improve government effectiveness than any previous Administration, ever.' --Clay Johnson, Bush buddy turned deputy director of OMB who also chairs the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, which oversees all government inspectors general."

Yes, by all means. Effective. That was the word we were looking for.

*****

Salon.com has some excerpts from a new book on W called The Fall of the House of Bush by Craig Unger. One addresses the story of Bush's conversion experience, and says that the entire "Billy Graham led George to Jesus" is a lie--constructed by his staff. He did have a conversion experience, but just not with Billy. Seems like an odd thing to lie about, but I guess connecting Bush to someone as respected as Billy Graham seemed like a good idea at the time.

More interesting to me was the battles and disagreements between W and his father. I have argued for years that lay at the heart of this little drama, and Unger has some additional info to support it. From appointing Rumsfeld (who Daddy hates) to barring HW's closest friends Scowcroft and Baker from access to the White House, to saying this:

"But now his son had not only reversed his policies, he had taken things a step further. 'The stakes are high ...' the younger Bush told reporters on April 21. 'And the Iraqi people are looking -- they're looking at America and saying, are we going to cut and run again?'"

Again? Nice little shot at Daddy. And we find out that Bush doesn't talk to his Dad about anything of substance. Yeah, it isn't as if Daddy had some experience with the job.

Sigh.

*****

The GOP as party of Family values appears to be fading fast--replaced by the Party of Jack Bauer. As LA Times columnist Rosa Brooks suggests, Torture is the new abortion--but not in a good way.

These days, you can forget that old-style GOP rhetoric about "values," "human dignity" and the "culture of life." Because the GOP has a new litmus test for its nominees: Will you or will you not protect U.S. officials who order the torture of prisoners?

As Scott Horton reports in his Harper's Magazine blog: "Several days before his first meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Michael Mukasey's Justice Department handlers arranged a private meeting for him with a number of 'movement conservatives.'... They pushed aggressively on the torture question. They wanted Mukasey to pledge that he would toe the administration's line" by not criticizing the administration's approval of waterboarding and similar interrogation techniques, and they wanted him to "protect those who authored the [interrogation] program" by issuing opinions that would keep those responsible for the program from facing criminal prosecution. "

And speaking of torture, Andrew Sullivan notes the Christians who enthusiastically endorse torture and some who even provide some Bible verses to justify such actions. I hope those represent the fringe, but given the tacit approval for torture from people like Dobson, Robertson, Land and others, I fear that Sully is correct when he says:

Christianism - as opposed to Christianity - is quite comfortable with torture, as long as it is wielded by a Master to protect his Servants, and as long as it is used for revenge against what Robertson calls Islamic "bloodlust." When you fuse Christianity with power, it isn't long before Christians start imposing the cross on others rather than taking it up for themselves. God is on their side, remember? And so they can do no wrong. You're either with them or against them, for torture or against America. Get it?

****

From the "funny if it weren't so damn depressingly true" category, Maureen Dowd has a suggested rewrite for Bush's second inaugural. Sounds more accurate than anything he has ever said.

Condi was very worried about Mushy suspending the Constitution, but Vice says Constitutions are for sissies. He doesn’t see anything wrong with Mushy’s press blackout. He thinks we can learn a few lessons from him.

Vice says if we had someone decisive like Mushy in Iraq instead of those floppy Iranian puppets we put in power, we’d be a lot better off.

All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will ignore your oppression and excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will not stand with you.

--

In the long run, there is justice without freedom, and there can be human rights once the human rights activists have been thrown in the pokey.

Looks like it is official

And we didn't lose. Completely.

Thanks for the voting and support. We edged out of last place yesterday and held on to that spot. Actually, with all due respect to the other competitors in the "Best of the Top 3501-5000 Blogs," we essentially tied for last place. :) Congrats to Durham-in-Wonderland for beating the rest of us like a drum.

But it was fun, and as trite as it sounds, quite amazing just to be nominated.

Shorter Cal Thomas on torture

If it works, better them than us and screw the trivial concerns over "civil liberties."

Sigh.

Shameless self-promotion

At Mary's suggestion, I have posted a Weblog Finalist logo to the right. Of course, it doesn't really help that my poor blog is in last place in that category. I blame all of you for that. :) Certainly, I can't be blamed for not inspiring you all to vote repeatedly in this, and all future elections. (Vote For Streak's Blog here)

I certainly can't blame Jon Swift. Not only did he nominate our little blog, but he once again has promoted us on his great blog. And I know he feels my pain as he is not winning in his category either--though he is doing much MUCH better than Streak's Blog. (Vote Jon Swift for Funniest Blog here NOW!)

Huh

Press Briefing by Dana Perino: "MS. PERINO: We do not believe that any extra-constitutional means were necessary in order to help prevent terrorism in the region. And that's why we are deeply disappointed with the actions, and we asked them to not do it.

Q Is it ever reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism?

MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no."

Huh:

The president claims an inherent power to imprison American citizens whom he has determined to be this country's enemies without obtaining a warrant, letting them hear the charges against them, or following other safeguards against wrongful punishment guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Under his administration, the government has engaged in inhumane treatment of prisoners that amounts to torture — and when Congress passed legislation to ban such treatment, he declared he would simply interpret the law his own way. Although the Constitution says treaties are the "supreme law of the land," the president has abrogated them on his own. And, we now know, he ordered a secret program of electronic surveillance of Americans without court warrants.

Top albums of 2007--1--Sky Blue Sky

I always start this and rarely finish, but would like to post some of my favorite albums from this year. With that in mind, I will post some here and there on my favorites and if I hit the top ten, that is great. If not, oh well.

No real order, but wanting to talk about those albums that I really like. Top on that list, I think, is Wilco's Sky Blue Sky

I have heard many Wilco fans complain about this album, but I really like it. It is a sharp departure from the last two albums, to be sure, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was more political and global, while A Ghost Is Born was far more about personal pain and anguish. YHF had the amazing songs "Poor Places" and the "Ashes of American Flags" while A Ghost had the deeply personal "Handshake Drugs" about Tweedy's own battles with addiction.

Tweedy himself said that he wanted to make an album that would not make his wife sad, and Sky Blue Sky is that album. Not as dissonant as either of the previous two, SBS retains much of the musical complexity of Wilco's latest work. The album's opening verse sets the tone:

Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will blow away
Maybe I won't feel so afraid
I will try to understand
Either way

My personal favorite from this album is the title track, though "Impossible Germany" is also an amazing song.

My top ten will be a tough list. There are some albums out from people I really like--but albums that I really don't know that well. This is not one of those. I have listened to this one a lot, and while it is no YHF or Ghost, it is a very good album and well worth the listen.