Happy 8th Month Little Dude
Friday, September 28, 2007
Jack and Daddy Sometime In July, I Think
I'll put up a few newer pics soon. The boy has gotten considerably bigger since then.
Congress shall make no law ...abridging the freedom of speech
Jack is 8 months old today and he becomming a fine young fellow. His daddy is very proud. The Patriot has been thinking of retiring for a while. Kick up his heels and leaving the angry blogging to those with more time and energy. I can’t quite bring myself to pull the plug though. Especially when Bush is still up to his old capitalist running dog tricks. Last week he came out against the State Children's Health Insurance program which would essentially double -- from 4 million to 8 million -- the number of children covered because it was “too expensive”. Now no one likes to beat up on the Democrats more than yours truly, but even I had to hand it to Sen. Robert Byrd who aptly pointed out that the president has freely spent over $378 billion of our treasury in Iraq, so his protestation that $8 billion needed to fund the Children’s Health Insurance is too expensive rings a little hollow.
The Senate voted 67-29 Thursday night to expand the program, although for some reason Democrats Joseph Biden and Barack Obama did not vote. Maybe they were busy.
In local news, the trial of William Talen, a/k/a Reverend Billy got under way in New York Supreme Court his week. Mr. Talen, leader of the “ Church of Stop Shopping” was arrested June 29 during a protest against the city’s new permit requirements for the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rally and proposed restrictions on photographers and filmmakers in public places. He was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, and stands accused of following a group of police officers while repeatedly reciting the 40-odd words of the First Amendment through a megaphone, which, as the Times described it, was “the kind commonly used by cheerleaders”.
In her opening statement he prosecutor told Judge Tanya Kennedy that Mr. Talen’s offense had been to shout the familiar lines beginning with “Congress shall make no law” while standing three feet from the officers, and ignoring their requests to stop. The prosecutor said his behavior was “obnoxious” by any standard. (The Patriot thinks that if obnoxious behavior is elevated to the status of a crime most New Yorkers would run afoul of the law on a regular basis.) His lawyers, Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, told Judge Kennedy that the law defined harassment as engaging in a course of conduct that is not only “alarming” and “annoying” but “which serves no legitimate purpose. Mr. Siegel argued that there could hardly be a more legitimate place than a protest rally to recite the First Amendment, with its lines barring Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech” and guaranteeing the rights “of the people peaceably to assemble.” Way to go Norm.
I feel kind of bad for the ADA who was told by her superiors to take this piece of shit to trial. If any case cries out for an outright dismissal it’s this one. Unfortunately the Manhattan prosecutor’s office has been charged with the responsibility of protecting the people from dangerous liberals reciting parts of the Constitution in public. Might start people thinking about their rights, and we can’t have that now can we?
The Senate voted 67-29 Thursday night to expand the program, although for some reason Democrats Joseph Biden and Barack Obama did not vote. Maybe they were busy.
In local news, the trial of William Talen, a/k/a Reverend Billy got under way in New York Supreme Court his week. Mr. Talen, leader of the “ Church of Stop Shopping” was arrested June 29 during a protest against the city’s new permit requirements for the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rally and proposed restrictions on photographers and filmmakers in public places. He was charged with two counts of second-degree harassment, and stands accused of following a group of police officers while repeatedly reciting the 40-odd words of the First Amendment through a megaphone, which, as the Times described it, was “the kind commonly used by cheerleaders”.
In her opening statement he prosecutor told Judge Tanya Kennedy that Mr. Talen’s offense had been to shout the familiar lines beginning with “Congress shall make no law” while standing three feet from the officers, and ignoring their requests to stop. The prosecutor said his behavior was “obnoxious” by any standard. (The Patriot thinks that if obnoxious behavior is elevated to the status of a crime most New Yorkers would run afoul of the law on a regular basis.) His lawyers, Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, told Judge Kennedy that the law defined harassment as engaging in a course of conduct that is not only “alarming” and “annoying” but “which serves no legitimate purpose. Mr. Siegel argued that there could hardly be a more legitimate place than a protest rally to recite the First Amendment, with its lines barring Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech” and guaranteeing the rights “of the people peaceably to assemble.” Way to go Norm.
I feel kind of bad for the ADA who was told by her superiors to take this piece of shit to trial. If any case cries out for an outright dismissal it’s this one. Unfortunately the Manhattan prosecutor’s office has been charged with the responsibility of protecting the people from dangerous liberals reciting parts of the Constitution in public. Might start people thinking about their rights, and we can’t have that now can we?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Here's a Surprise
Two hours ago a Republican filibuster in the Senate shot down a bipartisan effort to restore the right of terrorism suspects to contest their detentions and treatment in federal courts by using a writ of habeas corpus.
The 56-43 vote fell short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and move to a final vote on the amendment to the Senate's annual defense policy bill. The measure did garner the support of six Republicans, a small victory for its supporters, but couldn’t snag Lieberman. Six Republicans -- Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, John Sununu and Gordon Smith -- joined every Democrat in voting for cloture on the habeas corpus provision. Joseph Lieberman voted no.
As you may recall, last year's Military Commissions Act, which suspended the writ of habeas corpus for terrorism suspects at the military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other “off-shore” prisons.
When Democrats won Congress in November, liberal activists and civil libertarians naively assumed the new Democratic majority would quickly tackle address the excesses from President Bush's "war on terror," including the suspension of habeas corpus rights, wiretapping without court warrants, and the maintenance of the offshore prison in Guantanamo Bay. None of those constitutionally suspect laws have been reversed. Indeed, last month, our allegedly DemocraticCongress extended and expanded the administration's wiretapping program for six months.
Rather than bother activists appearing at meaningless speeches by ex-presidential candidates, the brownshirt cops who administered an electronic spanking to Andrew Meyer should take their Taser and be sent to wander around the halls of Congress, shocking some sense into the idiots who think the Constitution is a document of convenience and can be messed with like corporate financial statements.
The 56-43 vote fell short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and move to a final vote on the amendment to the Senate's annual defense policy bill. The measure did garner the support of six Republicans, a small victory for its supporters, but couldn’t snag Lieberman. Six Republicans -- Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, John Sununu and Gordon Smith -- joined every Democrat in voting for cloture on the habeas corpus provision. Joseph Lieberman voted no.
As you may recall, last year's Military Commissions Act, which suspended the writ of habeas corpus for terrorism suspects at the military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other “off-shore” prisons.
When Democrats won Congress in November, liberal activists and civil libertarians naively assumed the new Democratic majority would quickly tackle address the excesses from President Bush's "war on terror," including the suspension of habeas corpus rights, wiretapping without court warrants, and the maintenance of the offshore prison in Guantanamo Bay. None of those constitutionally suspect laws have been reversed. Indeed, last month, our allegedly DemocraticCongress extended and expanded the administration's wiretapping program for six months.
Rather than bother activists appearing at meaningless speeches by ex-presidential candidates, the brownshirt cops who administered an electronic spanking to Andrew Meyer should take their Taser and be sent to wander around the halls of Congress, shocking some sense into the idiots who think the Constitution is a document of convenience and can be messed with like corporate financial statements.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Martial Law
I was reading an excellent Nat Hentoff article on Civil Liberties in the Village Voice yesterday and I realized that no matter how vigilant one is about tracking the steady stream of bullshit emanating from the White House and Congress, it is very easy to miss things if you aren’t paying close attention. In a column titled, “As our civil liberties disappear, where are the Democrats?” (great title by the way) Hentoff reminded me exactly how freaky and scary these Republi-fascists have become in the last six years, and exactly how little the dems have done to stop them:
“Last year, buried in the 591-page Defense Appropriations Act—as civil- liberties watchdog John Whitehead and others have reported—the Republican-controlled 109th Congress, doubtless at the Bush/Cheney administration's behest, inserted a provision that (in Whitehead's words) allows the president "to declare martial law and use the military as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, disease outbreak, terrorist attack or any 'other condition' " that undermines public order. (Emphasis added.)
How much due process would these military-police roundups of suspected internal enemies give those prisoners? And how long will that military power be in effect domestically?
Has Geoffrey Stone forgotten James Madison's warning: "A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive, will not long be safe companions to liberty"?
Let’s see, which Democrats crossed the isle to vote for this piece of shit? Surprise! Almost all of them. This bill the House of Representatives by roll call vote. The totals were 407 Ayes, 19 Nays, 6 Present/Not Voting. The Senate vote was even more of a disgrace, 98 Ayes, 0 Nays, 2 Present/Not Voting. Your opposition party at work folks. I wonder if Halliburton is getting the contract to build these concentration camps?
“Last year, buried in the 591-page Defense Appropriations Act—as civil- liberties watchdog John Whitehead and others have reported—the Republican-controlled 109th Congress, doubtless at the Bush/Cheney administration's behest, inserted a provision that (in Whitehead's words) allows the president "to declare martial law and use the military as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, disease outbreak, terrorist attack or any 'other condition' " that undermines public order. (Emphasis added.)
How much due process would these military-police roundups of suspected internal enemies give those prisoners? And how long will that military power be in effect domestically?
Has Geoffrey Stone forgotten James Madison's warning: "A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive, will not long be safe companions to liberty"?
Let’s see, which Democrats crossed the isle to vote for this piece of shit? Surprise! Almost all of them. This bill the House of Representatives by roll call vote. The totals were 407 Ayes, 19 Nays, 6 Present/Not Voting. The Senate vote was even more of a disgrace, 98 Ayes, 0 Nays, 2 Present/Not Voting. Your opposition party at work folks. I wonder if Halliburton is getting the contract to build these concentration camps?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
A Daily Quote or Two
Here is an excellent article from Margaret Kimberly posted on the Smirking Chimp. Highlights follow:
“Denial is not a river in Egypt, it is a toxic and dangerous force, leading to delusional and illogical behavior. Believing that the Democratic party will act in a different manner than it has been is truly delusional. The political process has done nothing but abandon the American people to terror committed by their government.
The only hope for America is mass dissent… The first step in activating those people who are willing to act is to first tell them the bitter truth. Cooperation with the system, including the Democratic party, is a recipe for continued warfare, loss of civil liberties and increased corporate power.
It makes no sense to beg John Conyers to begin an impeachment investigation. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee knows that the constitution demands it. Like every other politician he understands but one thing, the loss of his job. Conyers must face a challenge when he runs for re-election next year and he must not be alone.”
Yes dear readers I’ve said t before, its time to put pressure where pressure is due and run Reid, Pelosi and all the other mini Chamberlains out of Congress before we lose the country completely.
“Denial is not a river in Egypt, it is a toxic and dangerous force, leading to delusional and illogical behavior. Believing that the Democratic party will act in a different manner than it has been is truly delusional. The political process has done nothing but abandon the American people to terror committed by their government.
The only hope for America is mass dissent… The first step in activating those people who are willing to act is to first tell them the bitter truth. Cooperation with the system, including the Democratic party, is a recipe for continued warfare, loss of civil liberties and increased corporate power.
It makes no sense to beg John Conyers to begin an impeachment investigation. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee knows that the constitution demands it. Like every other politician he understands but one thing, the loss of his job. Conyers must face a challenge when he runs for re-election next year and he must not be alone.”
Yes dear readers I’ve said t before, its time to put pressure where pressure is due and run Reid, Pelosi and all the other mini Chamberlains out of Congress before we lose the country completely.
Patraeus Betrayed Us
So what is there to say really about the dog and pony show being put on in Congress this week that hasn’t been said already? The fact that Field Marshal Patraeus is willing to get up in front of the nation and regurgitate the spin which has been spoon fed to him by the White House speaks volumes about his character and about what it takes to rise to the top of the armed forces. I guess he’s been taking private lessons in reputation sullying from Colin Powell in his spare time. Ultimately Patraeus’s performance isn’t too surprising; the military gets its marching orders from the civilian leadership and can hardly stand up in Congress and tell the truth about the state of things in Iraq. This would reflect badly on the Commander in Chimp. Nor is it really surprising that the Democrats have been muted in their criticism of the general. Half the democratic interviewees spent precious soundbite time distancing themselves from Move On’s “Patraeus/betray us” campaign. (More on this in the next post). No, what surprises even me is how soft the mainstream media has been in reporting on the General's obvious misstatements, half-truths and outright falsehoods about what is going on in Iraq. It's as if Patraeus's uniform has rendered him immune to any discussion in the press about his motivations. Did the media learn nothing from Oliver North draping himself in the flag in the 1980s when testifying before Congress at the Iran-Contra hearings? Apparently not. Can't attack the generals, it would mean we aren't Supporting Our Troops!
One thing clear to anyone listening even half-heartedly to the news is that no matter what we liberal bloggers and the rest of America want, it is inescapably clear that we will remain in Iraq in full force through the end of the Bush presidency. Moreover, according to a Fox News report this morning, "'everyone in town' is now participating in a broad discussion about the costs and benefits of military action against Iran, with the likely timeframe for any such course of action being over the next eight to 10 months."Rock on fascists, rock on.
One thing clear to anyone listening even half-heartedly to the news is that no matter what we liberal bloggers and the rest of America want, it is inescapably clear that we will remain in Iraq in full force through the end of the Bush presidency. Moreover, according to a Fox News report this morning, "'everyone in town' is now participating in a broad discussion about the costs and benefits of military action against Iran, with the likely timeframe for any such course of action being over the next eight to 10 months."Rock on fascists, rock on.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Get This Party Started
How many of you all thought that when field marshal Patraes delivers his report to Congress next week on the effects of the surge, the Democrats would be presented with a golden opportunity to hammer the administration on Iraq and demand troop withdrawals which they would take full advantage of? Show of hands. Anyone? Anyone? Right. According to the Washington Post today, our spineless boot lickers in Washington are planning on throwing in the towel before they even hear what our American Rommel of the shifting sands has to say about the pacification of Baghdad. According to the Post, “Democratic leaders have signaled they are open to a more bipartisan approach to Iraq that would force the Bush administration to begin publicly planning for troop withdrawals but would stop short of requiring a firm timeline.”"Clearly, we don't have the numbers to override the president's vetoes, as has been clearly demonstrated," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), "nor do we expect to for a long time." That’s the spirit! If we can’t override a veto, why even express our discontent? After all only 4000 Americans have died in this bullshit exercise. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) even said that he could drop his demand for a firm troop withdrawal next spring to win GOP votes. Of course it has nothing to do with votes and everything to do with political will.
As Salon notes in the War Room “Do the Democrats have the numbers to override Bush's veto? No, Hoyer's probably right about that. But the fact is, Bush can't fund the war himself, or at least not for very long. At some point, he needs an affirmative vote from Congress, giving him the funds to continue. And if Congress won't give that to him without a timeline, well, at some point, Bush, not Congress, would have to be the one who blinks. Will that happen? Of course it won't. But it won't be because the Democrats lack a veto-proof majority. It's because too many of them lack the courage of their convictions; they'll say that the war is going badly -- maybe even that it's "lost" -- but they won't take the political risk of saying, "We're not going to pay for it anymore."
The Democrats have betrayed the voters who gave them the majority last November and they should be punished. By punished I mean replaced by other representatives who will actually go to Washington to do the people’s work Moveon.org is currently testing the waters by circulating a survey among its members asking whether they would support funding primary challengers running against conservative Democrats next November. I think that is as good a place as any to get rid of these useless Republicrats and replace them with actual hardcore left-wing anti-war liberals. I invite you all to meander over to moveon and maybe drop a dime or two in the kitty so we can get the party started, so to speak.
As Salon notes in the War Room “Do the Democrats have the numbers to override Bush's veto? No, Hoyer's probably right about that. But the fact is, Bush can't fund the war himself, or at least not for very long. At some point, he needs an affirmative vote from Congress, giving him the funds to continue. And if Congress won't give that to him without a timeline, well, at some point, Bush, not Congress, would have to be the one who blinks. Will that happen? Of course it won't. But it won't be because the Democrats lack a veto-proof majority. It's because too many of them lack the courage of their convictions; they'll say that the war is going badly -- maybe even that it's "lost" -- but they won't take the political risk of saying, "We're not going to pay for it anymore."
The Democrats have betrayed the voters who gave them the majority last November and they should be punished. By punished I mean replaced by other representatives who will actually go to Washington to do the people’s work Moveon.org is currently testing the waters by circulating a survey among its members asking whether they would support funding primary challengers running against conservative Democrats next November. I think that is as good a place as any to get rid of these useless Republicrats and replace them with actual hardcore left-wing anti-war liberals. I invite you all to meander over to moveon and maybe drop a dime or two in the kitty so we can get the party started, so to speak.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Weapons of Mass Deception
Sorry for the gap between postings kids. Jack's been sick and work pretty busy. I hope you all will forgive me. Speaking of forgiveness, will I be forgiven for enjoying the spectacle of Senator Craig twisting in the glare of public humiliation? Apparently the Senator is rethinking his resignation from the Senate and looking to withdraw his guilty plea, all on the advice of some rather high-priced lawyers, including the attorney who recently represented Michael Vic, the erstwhile NFL star and dog killer. I still think Craig's as good as gone. I saw an interview with Dan Bolton on McNeil Lehrer and he was pretty adamant when he said the White House thought the Senator was doing the right thing by resigning and that in time, the Senator himself will realize that.
Something else in the news this morning caught my attention. A few days ago New York was in a tizzy because someone discovered some nerve gas, purportedly taken from an Iraqi chemical weapons plant, lying around in a file cabinet at the UN. Further investigation revealed that the substance found at a UN weapons inspectors' office last month appears to be a non-toxic solvent.
The material was originally found Aug. 24 at a UN office in midtown Manhattan. The material, from a bombed-out Iraqi research facility, was in inventory files with a label that indicated it could be phosgene, a chemical substance used in the First World War.But it wasn’t phosgene, was it? . “If it turns out to be something that was mislabelled, we'll need to find out why it was mislabelled," said a UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yes, by all means let's find out why innocuous solvent was mislabeled as a WMD in the run up to the first gulf war, although I wouldn’t expect that the investigation into this “mislabeling” will go very far. What this tells me is that the plan to invade Iraq and depose Sadam Hussein based on manufactured evidence extends as far back as the first Bush administration. The fruit doesn’t fall too far from the tree does it? Of course Dick Cheney was the defense secretary under Bush I so the fact that there was phony WMD evidence around in 1991 isn’t really all that surprising.
Something else in the news this morning caught my attention. A few days ago New York was in a tizzy because someone discovered some nerve gas, purportedly taken from an Iraqi chemical weapons plant, lying around in a file cabinet at the UN. Further investigation revealed that the substance found at a UN weapons inspectors' office last month appears to be a non-toxic solvent.
The material was originally found Aug. 24 at a UN office in midtown Manhattan. The material, from a bombed-out Iraqi research facility, was in inventory files with a label that indicated it could be phosgene, a chemical substance used in the First World War.But it wasn’t phosgene, was it? . “If it turns out to be something that was mislabelled, we'll need to find out why it was mislabelled," said a UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yes, by all means let's find out why innocuous solvent was mislabeled as a WMD in the run up to the first gulf war, although I wouldn’t expect that the investigation into this “mislabeling” will go very far. What this tells me is that the plan to invade Iraq and depose Sadam Hussein based on manufactured evidence extends as far back as the first Bush administration. The fruit doesn’t fall too far from the tree does it? Of course Dick Cheney was the defense secretary under Bush I so the fact that there was phony WMD evidence around in 1991 isn’t really all that surprising.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Quote(s) of the Day
This gem is from a Joe Bageant essay on the American Hologram and how the American consumer machine can turn anything into a commodity:
"Healthful organic foods and hemp fiber clothing were once merely a holistic hippie thing, but we've see them endure, even grow. And become expensive, of course. (Organic foodwise, I just bought a quart bottle of lemon berry juice with echinacea for nearly eight bucks, though I doubtlessly screwed up it's healthful benefits by mixing it with cheap Aristocrat vodka -- $9 a half gallon. I named the drink "The Echinacean Whore.") And hemp fiber clothing is a low-cost, practical solution to dozens of ecological problems. Just the other day I saw a $60 pair of hemp fiber, bibbed play shorts for the morally superior baby. Market capitalism can co-opt virtually any low-cost alternative and sell it right back at ridiculous prices."
And this from the same essay, on the problem with mass media, specifically television:
"Deploying 250 million televisions which absorb 11 years of the average America's lifespan, the hologram regulates the nation's neurological seasons. Football season is delivered with its competitive passions, political election seasons, Christmas shopping season, but especially marketing seasons. It regulates the national mood, stirring our patriotic passions during wars and anxious vigilance against the threat of unseen terrorists who look absolutely normal. Together, we live within a media-generated belief system that functions as the operating instructions for society. It shows us how successful people supposedly behave, invest, and relate to each other. Through crime shows, it demonstrates what happens to us if we don't behave. It shows us who we should hate (Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, for starters). Anything outside of its parameters represents fear and psychological freefall."
Haha. "The Ecinacean Whore." The whole essay can be found here.
"Healthful organic foods and hemp fiber clothing were once merely a holistic hippie thing, but we've see them endure, even grow. And become expensive, of course. (Organic foodwise, I just bought a quart bottle of lemon berry juice with echinacea for nearly eight bucks, though I doubtlessly screwed up it's healthful benefits by mixing it with cheap Aristocrat vodka -- $9 a half gallon. I named the drink "The Echinacean Whore.") And hemp fiber clothing is a low-cost, practical solution to dozens of ecological problems. Just the other day I saw a $60 pair of hemp fiber, bibbed play shorts for the morally superior baby. Market capitalism can co-opt virtually any low-cost alternative and sell it right back at ridiculous prices."
And this from the same essay, on the problem with mass media, specifically television:
"Deploying 250 million televisions which absorb 11 years of the average America's lifespan, the hologram regulates the nation's neurological seasons. Football season is delivered with its competitive passions, political election seasons, Christmas shopping season, but especially marketing seasons. It regulates the national mood, stirring our patriotic passions during wars and anxious vigilance against the threat of unseen terrorists who look absolutely normal. Together, we live within a media-generated belief system that functions as the operating instructions for society. It shows us how successful people supposedly behave, invest, and relate to each other. Through crime shows, it demonstrates what happens to us if we don't behave. It shows us who we should hate (Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, for starters). Anything outside of its parameters represents fear and psychological freefall."
Haha. "The Ecinacean Whore." The whole essay can be found here.
Republican Family Values
So, yet another self-hating gay Republican Senator was nailed with his hand in the cookie jar the other day. Larry Craig, the junior Senator from Idaho was arrested playing footsie with an undercover police office in a bathroom stall in the Minneapolis St. Paul airport back in June. He pled guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct on Monday. The CNN story can be found here.
The disgusting part of the story isn’t what Craig was doing in the bathroom stall. Hell, the Patriot doesn’t care who or even what Republican Senators decide to have sexual relations with on their own time. And maybe the diversion of a sexual encounter in an airport bathroom helped the man reduce some tension caused by waiting in a 2 hour line to get through security. Hell, flying sucks these days and everybody knows it. No, the truly disturbing part of this story is that Craig was one of the most ardent senators when it came to pushing so-called “family-values” issues while all the while he’s been trolling airport men’s rooms for blow jobs. Craig is a morality crypto fascist; a conservative who believes that the government should stay out of the financial markets but install a camera in your bedroom. Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. He has also supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states. Talk about self-hating!
The other chuckle to come out of this story is that Craig now regrets his guilty plea and claims he was railroaded into it because he didn’t have the advice of a lawyer. How a Republican Senator can say that kind of thing with a straight face is beyond me. The tough-on-crime Republican party has tried to do away with the right to counsel for years from their assault on Miranda to their gutting of the Constitution. How quick the little rats are to run behind the tattered document when it’s their own sorry ass in the sling.
The disgusting part of the story isn’t what Craig was doing in the bathroom stall. Hell, the Patriot doesn’t care who or even what Republican Senators decide to have sexual relations with on their own time. And maybe the diversion of a sexual encounter in an airport bathroom helped the man reduce some tension caused by waiting in a 2 hour line to get through security. Hell, flying sucks these days and everybody knows it. No, the truly disturbing part of this story is that Craig was one of the most ardent senators when it came to pushing so-called “family-values” issues while all the while he’s been trolling airport men’s rooms for blow jobs. Craig is a morality crypto fascist; a conservative who believes that the government should stay out of the financial markets but install a camera in your bedroom. Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. He has also supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states. Talk about self-hating!
The other chuckle to come out of this story is that Craig now regrets his guilty plea and claims he was railroaded into it because he didn’t have the advice of a lawyer. How a Republican Senator can say that kind of thing with a straight face is beyond me. The tough-on-crime Republican party has tried to do away with the right to counsel for years from their assault on Miranda to their gutting of the Constitution. How quick the little rats are to run behind the tattered document when it’s their own sorry ass in the sling.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Gonzales Has Left The Building
So the Democratic majority is savoring their non-victory now that Alberto Gonzales has followed Karl Rove into the annals of history. Along with some empty chest beating about continued investigations, the democratic leadership in the house and senate are falling all over themselves taking credit for running Alberto out of town on a rail. Chuck Schumer stated that , "no one thought Alberto Gonzales was up to the job" saying that "we need someone who will put rule of law first." Admirable sentiments which make the lack of a filibuster at the time of the Attorney General’s confirmation all the more puzzling. Edward Kennedytalked with fellow lawmakers about a possible filibuster of the nomination but the idea that was dropped when Democrats could not muster the 41 votes needed. In fact Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., urged his colleagues not to filibuster but to generate as many "no" votes as possible to send a message to the White House. Gonzales was ultimately approved on a 60-36 vote, so it bears remembering that six democratic senators crossed the isle to support him. These six are probably as responsible as anyone for our current Constitutional crisis. In case anyone forgot their names, the six senators were Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (?-CT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Ken Salazar (D-CO).
Several Democratic Senators expressed surprise about Gonzalez’s evasive non-answers while testifying at the Congressional hearings about the fired US attorneys a few months ago. This is also curious because of the comments some made at the time of his confirmation. According to an article at commondreams.org, “While Gonzales came across as modest and affable [at his confirmation hearing], he infuriated the panel's Democrats by giving what they said were evasive answers about his role in crafting the torture policy.
"He simply refused to say without equivocation that the president is not above the law," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. "The Judiciary Committee and the American people deserve to hear whether the next attorney general agrees that the president has the power to disobey laws as fundamental to our nation's character as the prohibition on torture." Indeed. The failure of the Democrats to filibuster Gonzalez confirmation led directly to the current climate of warrantless searches, torture, unchecked police power and the evisceration of the Constitution. Where was the opposition party? They are even more culpable because they knew he was a bastard from the get go and still did nothing to stop his appointment. Moving on.
It’s clear to anyone paying attention to the goings on in Washington that Rove’s departure opened up the flood gates for a mass exodus of Bush’s political hack appointees who are no doubt thinking about where they’re going to land in the private sector after the ship finally goes down in November of 2008. According to CNN, after Rove's resignation, senior administration officials said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten had told senior aides that if they intended to stay after Labor Day, they should plan to remain for the rest of Bush's term through January 2009
The rumor in DC today is that Michael Chertoff is being considered to replace the departing Gonzales. Here’s hoping he doesn’t treat the DOJ the way DHS treated New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. It is typical of the Bush administration to reward fuck-ups with promotions and medals (George Tenet anyone?) Even I think that Bush is going to have a hard time coming up with anyone who truly wants to be associated with the Department of Justice after the damage it has done to the rule of law.
Several Democratic Senators expressed surprise about Gonzalez’s evasive non-answers while testifying at the Congressional hearings about the fired US attorneys a few months ago. This is also curious because of the comments some made at the time of his confirmation. According to an article at commondreams.org, “While Gonzales came across as modest and affable [at his confirmation hearing], he infuriated the panel's Democrats by giving what they said were evasive answers about his role in crafting the torture policy.
"He simply refused to say without equivocation that the president is not above the law," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. "The Judiciary Committee and the American people deserve to hear whether the next attorney general agrees that the president has the power to disobey laws as fundamental to our nation's character as the prohibition on torture." Indeed. The failure of the Democrats to filibuster Gonzalez confirmation led directly to the current climate of warrantless searches, torture, unchecked police power and the evisceration of the Constitution. Where was the opposition party? They are even more culpable because they knew he was a bastard from the get go and still did nothing to stop his appointment. Moving on.
It’s clear to anyone paying attention to the goings on in Washington that Rove’s departure opened up the flood gates for a mass exodus of Bush’s political hack appointees who are no doubt thinking about where they’re going to land in the private sector after the ship finally goes down in November of 2008. According to CNN, after Rove's resignation, senior administration officials said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten had told senior aides that if they intended to stay after Labor Day, they should plan to remain for the rest of Bush's term through January 2009
The rumor in DC today is that Michael Chertoff is being considered to replace the departing Gonzales. Here’s hoping he doesn’t treat the DOJ the way DHS treated New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. It is typical of the Bush administration to reward fuck-ups with promotions and medals (George Tenet anyone?) Even I think that Bush is going to have a hard time coming up with anyone who truly wants to be associated with the Department of Justice after the damage it has done to the rule of law.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
T For Texas
Hi kids. The Patriot is still in
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/20/bear.death.reut/index.html
Monday, August 20, 2007
Don't Mess With Texas
This week the Patriot finds himself in
I was reading a copy of the Dallas Morning News last night and the first two stories in the Metro section caught my eye right away as they both epitomize the
I’m also hoping to visit a sight of more murder and mayhem before I run back screaming to
Friday, August 17, 2007
Debt Slavery
The current melt down on Wall Street, largely fueled by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, got me to thinking about the availability of easy credit and the inability of anyone drowning in their debt to do anything about it.
The news media rarely give any explanation for why Americans have been racking up debt at rates heretofore unseen in American society, leaving one to infer that the debt explosion is some sort of inevitable by-product of today's moral and economic climate. Nah. All that debt was made possible by one small change in the laws of consumer finance which transformed centuries of economics in a hot instant. In 1978, the Supreme Court interpreted ambiguous language in a little-known federal statute and opened the door for banks to "export" interest rates from one state to another. For example, a bank with lending operations in South Dakota -- where the interest ceiling was 24 percent, could now issue loans at 24 percent interest to a family living in New York (where the max rate is about 12%) without worrying about their corporate officers ending up in Riker’s Island perched next to loan sharks who collected overdue debts by breaking kneecaps. This set the stage for the explosion of the credit card industry and the availability of huge amounts of credit. The problem with all of that available credit is that people were quickly overextending themselves (by paying things like medical bills) and declaring bankruptcy, thus depriving poor little companies like MBNA of their minimum monthly payments and 27% interest payments. (In fact, nearly 90 percent of individuals filing for bankruptcy this past year had been felled by a job loss, a medical problem, or a family breakup, or by some combination of all three.) The solution the credit card companies came up with was to push for reform of the bankruptcy law. They achieved their goal in 2001. It is noteworthy that the bankruptcy bill could not have passed Congress without bipartisan (read, Democratic) support.
Americans in the 21st Century have become little more than debt slaves on a capitalist plantation. Up until a few years ago if you got in over your head you could declare bankruptcy and get a fresh start. No longer. The credit card industry, lead by MBNA and assisted by none other than Senator Hilary Clinton, effectively put an end to American’s ability to reboot their financial lives with a Chapter 7 filing. Of all the despicable things the Senate Democrats have done ion the last six years, and there have been many, none has had and will have such a devastating effect on the middle class than the passage of that bankruptcy bill. As thousands of overextended homeowners face the prospect of losing their homes and still remaining mired in debt for years, the credit card industry is raking in massive profits from jacked up interest rates and over limit penalties.
The industry authored bill to “reform” the bankruptcy system was first introduced when Bill Clinton was in the White House. Then First Lady Hilary Clinton convinced the President that the bill would devastate poor and middle class families if it were signed into law. A lame duck at the time, Clinton vetoed the bill in October of 2000.
In the spring of 2001, the bankruptcy bill was reintroduced in the Senate, essentially unchanged from the version President Clinton had vetoed the previous year. This time freshman Senator Hillary Clinton voted in favor of the bill. When the bill came up again in 2005, she missed the vote because her husband was in the hospital, although she indicated she would have opposed it. I call bullshit on that excuse. It is no coincidence that Senator Clinton received $140,000 in campaign contributions from banking industry executives in a single year, making her one of the top two recipients in the Senate.
Lest anyone forget, the following Democratic Senators voted for the version of the bill that ultimately passed and was signed into law by President Bush: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware), Sen. Tom Carper (D-Delaware), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii), Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont),Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida), Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan).
The news media rarely give any explanation for why Americans have been racking up debt at rates heretofore unseen in American society, leaving one to infer that the debt explosion is some sort of inevitable by-product of today's moral and economic climate. Nah. All that debt was made possible by one small change in the laws of consumer finance which transformed centuries of economics in a hot instant. In 1978, the Supreme Court interpreted ambiguous language in a little-known federal statute and opened the door for banks to "export" interest rates from one state to another. For example, a bank with lending operations in South Dakota -- where the interest ceiling was 24 percent, could now issue loans at 24 percent interest to a family living in New York (where the max rate is about 12%) without worrying about their corporate officers ending up in Riker’s Island perched next to loan sharks who collected overdue debts by breaking kneecaps. This set the stage for the explosion of the credit card industry and the availability of huge amounts of credit. The problem with all of that available credit is that people were quickly overextending themselves (by paying things like medical bills) and declaring bankruptcy, thus depriving poor little companies like MBNA of their minimum monthly payments and 27% interest payments. (In fact, nearly 90 percent of individuals filing for bankruptcy this past year had been felled by a job loss, a medical problem, or a family breakup, or by some combination of all three.) The solution the credit card companies came up with was to push for reform of the bankruptcy law. They achieved their goal in 2001. It is noteworthy that the bankruptcy bill could not have passed Congress without bipartisan (read, Democratic) support.
Americans in the 21st Century have become little more than debt slaves on a capitalist plantation. Up until a few years ago if you got in over your head you could declare bankruptcy and get a fresh start. No longer. The credit card industry, lead by MBNA and assisted by none other than Senator Hilary Clinton, effectively put an end to American’s ability to reboot their financial lives with a Chapter 7 filing. Of all the despicable things the Senate Democrats have done ion the last six years, and there have been many, none has had and will have such a devastating effect on the middle class than the passage of that bankruptcy bill. As thousands of overextended homeowners face the prospect of losing their homes and still remaining mired in debt for years, the credit card industry is raking in massive profits from jacked up interest rates and over limit penalties.
The industry authored bill to “reform” the bankruptcy system was first introduced when Bill Clinton was in the White House. Then First Lady Hilary Clinton convinced the President that the bill would devastate poor and middle class families if it were signed into law. A lame duck at the time, Clinton vetoed the bill in October of 2000.
In the spring of 2001, the bankruptcy bill was reintroduced in the Senate, essentially unchanged from the version President Clinton had vetoed the previous year. This time freshman Senator Hillary Clinton voted in favor of the bill. When the bill came up again in 2005, she missed the vote because her husband was in the hospital, although she indicated she would have opposed it. I call bullshit on that excuse. It is no coincidence that Senator Clinton received $140,000 in campaign contributions from banking industry executives in a single year, making her one of the top two recipients in the Senate.
Lest anyone forget, the following Democratic Senators voted for the version of the bill that ultimately passed and was signed into law by President Bush: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware), Sen. Tom Carper (D-Delaware), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), Sen. Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii), Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont),Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida), Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan).
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Here’s a little diversion for the readers. The Oracle of Starbucks will tell you secrets about your personality when you enter your usual coffee order into their algorithm and click the submit button. Sort of a twisted caffine influenced horoscope. My usual order these days is a double shot vanilla latte. Behold the Oracle's wisdom:
Personality type: Ass-clown
You tell people that you're an executive at your company. You think that your repeated references to being "addicted" to caffeine make you seem intriguing and dangerous. People think you're a sucker because you spend 60% of your annual income at Starbucks. Everyone who drinks vanilla double shot latte ends up addicted to crack.
Also drinks: Zima
Can also be found at: Karaoke bars
I’d have to say that’s about 50% accurate, although the last time I had a Zima was in 1986. Have fun with it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Iraq
Yesterday 200 people were killed in Iraq when successive truck bombs went off in northern Iraq. 200 people. People with families and lives and hopes and dreams and everything else that makes up the human condition. Dead because of our meddling in an area of the world we don’t belong. The lead story on CNN? A crooked NBA referee takes a plea in a basketball gambling case. No dead Americans, no story. The Iraq story? If you can find it, note that it blames the attack on al Qaeda in Iraq, an entity that came into existence only after the United States invaded. It is easy to say that the blood of every man woman and child killed in that country is on the hands of George Bush and his evil Christian cohorts in the White House. The reality is that their blood is on the hands of every indifferent American who’s support of the troops extends to placing a yellow ribbon manufactured in China on the back of their SUV.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Messianic Militarism
So Rove is packing up his black bag and leaving town, having accomplished pretty much everything he set out to when he goose-stepped into the White House with his faux cowboy boss in 2000. The mainstream media is taking his departure rather well and has actually been running creepily laudatory stories about his career in politics. The Republicans now have a permanent majority, in ideology if not in numbers. Can anyone argue that the political atmosphere in this country hasn’t tacked hard to the right since Bush took office?
After recently finishing Joe Bageant’s Deer Hunting With Jesus, the Patriot has gotten his panties in a twist about fundamentalist Christians again. Every time I try to ignore them they keep traipsing, uninvited, back into my life. For example, lately a very annoying man on the Staten Island Ferry has taken to preaching the gospel at the top of his lungs on the 7:45am boat. That asshole is lucky I’m a free speech absolutist or I would have tossed him over the side days ago.
Over the last six years, fundamentalist Christians have been allowed to set the terms of the debate on a host of social issues in the media and their positions are reported with due consideration, as though believing in the rapture is the most normal thing in the world. The fall out from this sort of acceptance is that speech is banned, abstinence is taught in the schools as sex education and even papers as supposedly liberal as the New York Times are publishing “debates” about intelligent design and evolution. Lest we forget, 79% of Americans surveyed in 2004 by Newsweek believe that as the Bible says, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without a human father. Curiously, a mere 63 percent of Americans believe the Bible is literally true and the Word of God. I guess this means that 16% of those that don’t believe the bible is the word of God make an exception for the part about the virgin birth.
When broken down into different demographics, the poll somewhat unsurprisingly showed 77 percent of Republicans believe in the literal truth of the Bible as do 59 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of those not affiliated with either major party. These numbers are not encouraging for the rationalists among us who would rather base our middle-east foreign policy decisions on something other than the Book of Revelations. Which brings us, somewhat circuitously, to the concept of Christian Zionism.
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. Christian Zionists also believe that Christ cannot return to earth until certain events occur. The Jews must return to Palestine, (done) gain control of Jerusalem (not yet), rebuild a temple, and then we all must engage in the final, great battle of Armageddon, after which the righteous will be brought up to heaven and the heathens (including, one assumes, any Jews left hanging around after the conflagration) sent off to push heavy stones around with the devil. Which Christians believe in this nonsense, you might ask? Well, I hate to break it to you but, well, lets just say that the Bush administration’s foreign policy is heavily influenced by the writings of a cave-dwelling hermit who had apocalyptic visions some 2000 years ago.
So while Rove took great pains to court the fundamentalist Christians, who are, after all, the largest voting bloc in the Republican Party, he chose to ignore the danger of coddling messianic militarism. This may well end up being Rove’s true legacy. Granting unprecedented political access to Christian Jihadists and allowing them to govern-from the oval office-using the Bible as a roadmap.
After recently finishing Joe Bageant’s Deer Hunting With Jesus, the Patriot has gotten his panties in a twist about fundamentalist Christians again. Every time I try to ignore them they keep traipsing, uninvited, back into my life. For example, lately a very annoying man on the Staten Island Ferry has taken to preaching the gospel at the top of his lungs on the 7:45am boat. That asshole is lucky I’m a free speech absolutist or I would have tossed him over the side days ago.
Over the last six years, fundamentalist Christians have been allowed to set the terms of the debate on a host of social issues in the media and their positions are reported with due consideration, as though believing in the rapture is the most normal thing in the world. The fall out from this sort of acceptance is that speech is banned, abstinence is taught in the schools as sex education and even papers as supposedly liberal as the New York Times are publishing “debates” about intelligent design and evolution. Lest we forget, 79% of Americans surveyed in 2004 by Newsweek believe that as the Bible says, Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, without a human father. Curiously, a mere 63 percent of Americans believe the Bible is literally true and the Word of God. I guess this means that 16% of those that don’t believe the bible is the word of God make an exception for the part about the virgin birth.
When broken down into different demographics, the poll somewhat unsurprisingly showed 77 percent of Republicans believe in the literal truth of the Bible as do 59 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of those not affiliated with either major party. These numbers are not encouraging for the rationalists among us who would rather base our middle-east foreign policy decisions on something other than the Book of Revelations. Which brings us, somewhat circuitously, to the concept of Christian Zionism.
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. Christian Zionists also believe that Christ cannot return to earth until certain events occur. The Jews must return to Palestine, (done) gain control of Jerusalem (not yet), rebuild a temple, and then we all must engage in the final, great battle of Armageddon, after which the righteous will be brought up to heaven and the heathens (including, one assumes, any Jews left hanging around after the conflagration) sent off to push heavy stones around with the devil. Which Christians believe in this nonsense, you might ask? Well, I hate to break it to you but, well, lets just say that the Bush administration’s foreign policy is heavily influenced by the writings of a cave-dwelling hermit who had apocalyptic visions some 2000 years ago.
So while Rove took great pains to court the fundamentalist Christians, who are, after all, the largest voting bloc in the Republican Party, he chose to ignore the danger of coddling messianic militarism. This may well end up being Rove’s true legacy. Granting unprecedented political access to Christian Jihadists and allowing them to govern-from the oval office-using the Bible as a roadmap.
Monday, August 13, 2007
A Blog Recommendation For You
Hey!
I want all of my loyal readers (and disloyal readers too-Distraction, I’m talking about you,) to go check out my friend’s blog here:
http://dreamingawake-cls.blogspot.com/
Dreamingawake contains the “[u]nedited (mostly) musings of a professional editor, sleep-deprived mother, political junkie, and wannabe foodie.” The writing is top notch, and there are great food porn pictures. Because the author is a professional editor you won't find as many misspellings and incorrect verb tenses as you do here. Should make it easier on the eyes. Come on, do it now before you forget.
-P
I want all of my loyal readers (and disloyal readers too-Distraction, I’m talking about you,) to go check out my friend’s blog here:
http://dreamingawake-cls.blogspot.com/
Dreamingawake contains the “[u]nedited (mostly) musings of a professional editor, sleep-deprived mother, political junkie, and wannabe foodie.” The writing is top notch, and there are great food porn pictures. Because the author is a professional editor you won't find as many misspellings and incorrect verb tenses as you do here. Should make it easier on the eyes. Come on, do it now before you forget.
-P
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Happy Weekend
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