GOP tries to deflect attention from bondage-themed, lesbian sex story

As Barb at DKos reports, it's not working. Read More......

WH spokesman Gibbs refuses to commit to repealing DADT this year, after Prez promised in SOTU

Regardless of your position on repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell this year, imagine how you'd feel if you were promised repeatedly that the discriminatory law would be repealed, then you were specifically promised in the State of the Union that it would be done this year. Then, when a reporter goes to the White House spokesman and asks, repeatedly, over the period of a few weeks, would you support the law's repeal this year, the spokesman chokes up.

In many ways, it's very much the public option all over again. Strong initial support for a position popular in the polls, then when the detail work begins, the White House backs off and starts to send mixed signals. It's a strange and rather inexplicable pattern, one that we've all been trying to get our heads around. But whatever the justification, it's a poor way to manage relations with any Democratic constituency months before a crucial midterm election. (And we mean you, Mr. Messina.) Read More......

Maureen Dowd also asked: Should There Be an Inquisition for the Pope?

Joe wrote a post linking to Maureen Dowd's column in the NYT. But, since Bill Donohue has become the leading defender of the child rapists, I had to point out this section:

Demonize gays, as Karl Rove did in 2004.

In an ad in The Times on Tuesday, Bill Donohue, the Catholic League president, offered this illumination: “The Times continues to editorialize about the ‘pedophilia crisis,’ when all along it’s been a homosexual crisis. Eighty percent of the victims of priestly sexual abuse are male and most of them are post-pubescent. While homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior, and most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesters have been gay.”

Donohue is still talking about the problem as an indiscretion rather than a crime. If it mostly involves men and boys, that’s partly because priests for many years had unquestioned access to boys.

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Ezra Klein on offshore drilling

Ezra Klein at the Washington Post:

"I think the term 'cap and trade' is not in the lexicon anymore," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on CNBC this morning. Oh, and he said it while announcing that the Obama administration was opening new areas up to offshore oil drilling. This follows the decision to massively expand loan guarantees for nuclear plants. As far as anyone can tell, these concessions to conservative ideas on energy have not attracted Republican allies for the administration's preferences on energy, and in fact, the center of this issue seems to be moving rapidly to the right.

There may be some brilliant strategy underlying all this, but no one in the administration has seen fit to explain what it is. I'd guess it's that they can say, and show, they're reaching out on the issue, but making these moves when the public isn't paying attention to energy policy seems of questionable relevance to perceptions of partisanship when the debate eventually takes off.

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RNC stripper stimulus

Headlines we love.

So maybe they're not so against stimulus after all. In fact, the Republican National Committee has been giving a little stimulus of their own to an overlooked demographic group: strippers.

That's right, according to last year's financial filings, the RNC spent nearly $2000 at Voyeur West Hollywood last year. Scoping out the post Schwarzenegger candidate field? Well, maybe, but how open minded! Voyeur West's "a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex."

Of course, we're sure the RNC staffers racking up the bills weren't stimulating anything other than the economy. And the RNC's already stated that chairman Michael Steele was never at Voyeur -- and had no knowledge of the expenditure. I guess that's the fiscal conservativism you've heard so much about. Conserving deniability.

But distributing the wealth, expanding the tent? That is what the RNC brought Steele in for after the slap-down of the '08 elections, and who better to consult than some ladies who know a thing or two about spankings?

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Teabonic: The Teabaggers command of the English language is... unique

Lots more. Read More......

Greenpeace uncovers massive anti-climate change payouts to right wing think tanks

Surprise, surprise. This obscure company, Koch Industries, has spent over $73 million to help fund the deniers. As always, follow the money.

Greenpeace says that Koch Industries donated nearly $48m (£31.8m) to climate opposition groups between 1997-2008. From 2005-2008, it donated $25m to groups opposed to climate change, nearly three times as much as higher-profile funders that time such as oil company ExxonMobil. Koch also spent $5.7m on political campaigns and $37m on direct lobbying to support fossil fuels.

In a hard-hitting report, which appears to confirm environmentalists' suspicions that there is a well-funded opposition to the science of climate change, Greenpeace accuses the funded groups of "spreading inaccurate and misleading information" about climate science and clean energy companies.

"The company's network of lobbyists, former executives and organisations has created a forceful stream of misinformation that Koch-funded entities produce and disseminate. The propaganda is then replicated, repackaged and echoed many times throughout the Koch-funded web of political front groups and thinktanks," said Greenpeace.

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Initial reactions to the President's new offshore oil drilling proposal

Hat tip Josh Nelson for pulling these together.

Morgan Goodwin — Our Generation Screwed Over by Obama’s Offshore Drilling Plan :

Obama inspired our generation to turn out to the polls, and he can do it again if he moves to actually inspire us. But youth across the South East have longer memories than this short-sighted political thinking. Under this proposal the first lease sales for drilling would be held in 2012, a year that Obama will be hoping to connect with us and convince us he stands for our interests. If young people don’t believe him, they aren’t going to be inspired to vote. That’s not change we can believe in.

MSNBC’s First Read:

The announcement is stunning for those of us who paid close attention to the presidential race. And it will be yet another test for Obama’s Democratic base — in this case, environmentalists.

Matthew Yglesias — Drill, Baby, Drill:

I don’t understand this at all. Increased coastal drilling would be a small price to pay in exchange for actual congressional votes for an overall energy package that shifts us to a low-carbon economy over time. But any price is too high a price to pay in exchange for nothing at all. This isn’t the greatest environmental crime in human history, but it sure does seem like poor legislative strategy.

Duncan Black — Drill, Baby, Drill:

Who’d we elect again?

Natasha Chart — Morning No: Different Priorities:

How’s that hopey changey stuff working out? I don’t know about for me, but I think there are going to be some drill happy Alaskans who feel better about it.

Greg Sargent — The Morning Plum:

Just about every news org, reporting on the news that Obama will approve significant offshore drilling, used the headline: “Drill, baby drill.” Time to check you-know-who’s Facebook page…

Steve Benen — In Exchange for What?:

Obama has already effectively given Republicans what they wanted on energy. What is he getting in return?

Kevin Drum — Obama Opens Up the Coast:

When it comes to energy, conservatives are crazy about two things: nuclear power and offshore drilling. Now Obama has agreed to both. But does he seriously think this will “help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation”? Wouldn’t he be better off holding this stuff in reserve and negotiating it away in return for actual support, not just hoped-for support? What am I missing here?

Mark Thoma — Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling:

Increasing the risks to the environment in an attempt to save the environment seems like a less than optimal strategy.

Aaron Weiner — Obama to Open Atlantic Coast to Offshore Drilling:

If Obama’s goal here is to win support for a climate bill, wouldn’t he have waited to use this leverage until negotiations in the Senate had actually begun in earnest?

But hey, at least it will make Republicans happy, right? Not just yet: Boehner Rebukes Obama Offshore Drilling Plan.

Update — Greenpeace has released the following statement via email:

Is this President Obama’s clean energy plan or Palin’s drill baby drill campaign? While China and Germany are winning the clean energy race, this act furthers America’s addiction to oil. Expanding offshore drilling in areas that have been protected for decades threatens our oceans and the coastal communities that depend on them with devastating oil spills, more pollution and climate change.

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President compares environmentalists to 'big business', says both are 'tired,' wrong

From Greg Sargent:

Obama also notes that some in the business community and on the right wil say he didn’t go far enough. And he makes his now-familiar argument that his decision represents a pragmatic middle ground between opposing sides that are imprisoned by ideology:

Ultimately, we need to move beyond the tired debates between right and left, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure all and those who would claim it has no place. Because this issue is just too important to allow our progress to languish while we fight the same old battles over and over again.

The substance of Obama’s decision aside, drawing this equivalence between right and left on climate change issues risks antagonizing environmentalists.

The dilemma for the White House is two-fold. First off, the President, not even two years ago, was one of those who claimed that offshore oil drilling had no place. For him to today take the moral high ground, and label those who opposed drilling as "tired," and part of the problem, rings a bit odd.

Remember when, the during the campaign, then candidate Obama said that you could save as much from simply inflating your car tires as you could from offshore drilling?



The second problem is that the White House is in the process of antagonizing yet another key Democratic constituency. It's not entirely clear how, in effect, demonizing environmentalists helps to inspire a new generation of young people, most of whom seem themselves as environmentalists. If the President had been for offshore drilling during the campaign, then his current position, while misguided, would be understandable. But, as in the health care debate, gay rights, and other issues, the President stakes out one position, then later goes back on it, and the people simply asking the President to keep his promise are demonized as unrealistic or extreme.

Democrats are not extreme for simply expecting the President to stay true to his word. Read More......

Palin left Alaska with highest debt-to-GDP in the US

You betcha. Well, they do say everything is bigger in Alaska, so I guess that also means accounting games and debt. Bigger than Texas, again. How can someone who quit their job after leaving the state with its debt equal to 70% of its GDP lecture anyone? The people who believe her are even bigger fools, but yes, we knew that already.

New Hampshire and Colorado attempted to use program-specific pots of state money to plug holes in their general treasuries; Connecticut wrote its own accounting rules; Hawaii reduced the length of its school week; and California made its businesses pay their 2010 taxes earlier to make the budget appear more balanced than it is. But one thing every state is doing, including Alaska, is camouflaging its debts by not releasing how much its state employee pension funds will owe — or how far behind it is on its contributions to said pension funds.

Less than a year after then-Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) quit the government to pursue other projects, Alaska leads the way in its debt-to-GDP ratio when its unfunded pension obligations are taken into account, followed by Rhode Island, New Mexico, Ohio and Mississippi. And although Alaska’s ratio is far lower than Greece’s, it does give the state a debt-to-GDP ratio similar to that of Jordan and Palin’s favorite health care resource, Canada, and a higher ratio than Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, India, the Philippines or Uruguay.

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Vatican in p.r. frenzy, 'spending Holy Week practicing the unholy art of spin'

Via the Washington Post, the Vatican is on the defense, trying to protect the reputation of the Pope in the wake of the latest child rape scandals:

The defense of the pope, outlined in an interview Tuesday by the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's official spokesman, came as the church hierarchy is launching a public relations blitz in the United States and Europe to ease Catholic anger and bolster the pope's image in sermons and interviews ahead of Easter Sunday.

No sense of responsibility. These people are shameless.

In the New York Times, Maureen Dowd eviscerates the leadership of the Catholic Church. This one is a classic:

It doesn’t seem right that the Catholic Church is spending Holy Week practicing the unholy art of spin.

Complete with crown-of-thorns imagery, the church has started an Easter public relations blitz defending a pope who went along with the perverse culture of protecting molesters and the church’s reputation rather than abused — and sometimes disabled and disadvantaged — children.

The church gave up its credibility for Lent. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are now becoming Cover-Up Thursday and Blame-Others Friday.

This week of special confessions and penance services is unfolding as the pope resists pressure from Catholics around the globe for his own confession and penance about the cascade of child sexual abuse cases that were ignored, even by a German diocese and Vatican office he ran.

Definitely worth a read. Dowd was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools. Today's column is written by someone who knows the beast. It's appropriately vicious. Read More......

Obama to expand offshore drilling for gas and oil

Here we go again. Do people in the White House still think anyone from the "party of no" will support any Democratic proposal just because they cave in on Republican issues? They don't even like this awful proposal and are already complaining about it. How many times do we need to see this story play out before someone wakes up?

But while Mr. Obama has staked out middle ground on other environmental matters — supporting nuclear power, for example — the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback. And it is no sure thing that it will win support for a climate bill from undecided senators close to the oil industry, like Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, or Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana.

The Senate is expected to take up a climate bill in the next few weeks — the last chance to enact such legislation before midterm election concerns take over. Mr. Obama and his allies in the Senate have already made significant concessions on coal and nuclear power to try to win votes from Republicans and moderate Democrats. The new plan now grants one of the biggest items on the oil industry’s wish list — access to vast areas of the Outer Continental Shelf for drilling.

But even as Mr. Obama curries favors with pro-drilling interests, he risks a backlash from some coastal governors, senators and environmental advocates, who say that the relatively small amounts of oil to be gained in the offshore areas are not worth the environmental risks.

Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Today is Cesar Chavez Day. The President is going to make it official later this afternoon when he signs a proclamation to honor Chavez on his birthday. He's also doing an event on "energy security" at Andrews Air Force base.

Tomorrow, the President is heading to my hometown of Portland, Maine for an event on health insurance reform. Now, I think this trip to Maine is about a year late. Keep in mind, for several months last year, Rahm Emanuel basically ceded the presidency to Maine Senator Olympia Snowe. And, despite the serious problems Mainers have with health insurance (there's no competition so they get gouged), Snowe and Collins both stuck with Mitch McConnell and opposed reform.

President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, caused a stir yesterday when they stopped at Ben's Chili Bowl, a local institution, for lunch. That's pretty much the opposite end of the food spectrum from what one expects from the leader of France. Good move.

It's finally stopped raining so Petey will venture out without looking at me like I'm torturing him. He really hates the rain.

What's the buzz this morning? Read More......

Credit crisis cost up to $10.5 trillion in UK alone

It would be interesting to see the full cost to the US as well. And remember, the GOP is tripping over themselves to support Wall Street who brought on these losses. The Republicans are keen to block any financial reform that is proposed instead of supporting the American public or even the mild reform that the Democrats are supporting. More on the Bank of England report:

Andrew Haldane, the Bank's executive director for financial stability, said that taking into account the permanent damage done to the productive potential of nations across the world, as well as the immediate costs of supporting the banks and the recession, there is an output loss equivalent to between $60trn and $200trn for the world economy and between £1.8trn and £7.4trn for the UK.

He put the hidden cost to the taxpayer of the implicit support offered to the big UK banks at more than £50bn.

Mr Haldane advocated new structural controls on the banks, a policy at odds with the current views of Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, and the Treasury.

Mr Haldane drew a contrast between the "taxation" solution – making risky banking more expensive by raising capital requirements, an idea favoured by the FSA and the Government – and the "prohibition solution", backed by the Bank and the Obama administration in the US. Prohibition means the separation of bank activities across business lines.

Read More......

Serbia apologizes for Srebrenica massacre

While they should have called it a genocide, this is a start. They're probably a generation away from facing the full reality of that horrible period of history. The Guardian:

A document put forward by Belgrade's ruling coalition of democrats and socialists condemning "the crime" and apologising that "not all was done to prevent this tragedy" was narrowly carried as Serbia continued its bid to become a member of the EU and attract business investors.

"We are taking a civilised step of politically responsible people, based on political conviction, for the war crime that happened in Srebrenica", said Branko Ruzic, whose Socialist party was led by Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s. Milosevic died while on trial for war crimes at the UN tribunal in The Hague in 2006.

A coalition deputy Jelena Trivan said: "We will clear the face of the nation with this declaration" but opponents rejected the move as "shameful" and "unjust".

They denied western accusations of mass executions and one, Slobodan Samardzic, warned: "Serbia will sign its own guilt with this declaration." Another, Velimir Ilic, said that in Srebrenica, "the crime was no greater than in other places", citing Croatian moves against Serbs.

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Largest gay group says Obama not showing leadership on 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'

Unfortunately it's the truth. Read More......

Consumer spending is up, which is a good sign for the economy

Wash Post:

The steady gains in consumer spending are boosting confidence that the engine of the nation's economy is starting to hum again. February's increase was particularly notable because it came despite a freeze on wages following six months of growth. That sent the personal savings rate down to 3.1 percent, the lowest level since October 2008.

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Wash. Post on the growing problem of 'food fraud'

Okay, I really want the Food part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get on top of this:

"Food fraud" has been documented in fruit juice, olive oil, spices, vinegar, wine, spirits and maple syrup, and appears to pose a significant problem in the seafood industry. Victims range from the shopper at the local supermarket to multimillion companies, including E&J; Gallo and Heinz USA.

Such deception has been happening since Roman times, but it is getting new attention as more products are imported and a tight economy heightens competition. And the U.S. food industry says federal regulators are not doing enough to combat it.

"It's growing very rapidly, and there's more of it than you might think," said James Morehouse, a senior partner at A.T. Kearney Inc., which is studying the issue for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the food and beverage industry.

John Spink, an expert on food and packaging fraud at Michigan State University, estimates that 5 to 7 percent of the U.S. food supply is affected but acknowledges the number could be greater. "We know what we seized at the border, but we have no idea what we didn't seize," he said.

The job of ensuring that food is accurately labeled largely rests with the Food and Drug Administration. But it has been overwhelmed in trying to prevent food contamination, and fraud has remained on a back burner.

It's disturbing that what we're eating isn't what we think we're eating.

And, I did love this part of the article:

The techniques have become so accessible that two New York City high school students, working with scientists at the Rockefeller University and the American Museum of Natural History last year, discovered after analyzing DNA in 11 of 66 foods -- including the sheep's milk cheese and caviar -- bought randomly at markets in Manhattan were mislabeled.

High school students can figure this out. Seems like FDA should be able to handle it. Read More......

Michele Bachmann thinks Rep. John Lewis is a liar. Yes, Civil Rights hero John Lewis.

Wow. Just wow. Via Steve Benen, who asks:

Oh, Michele Bachmann, is there anything you won't say out loud?

Benen adds:

So, Michele Bachmann would have us believe that John Lewis is a liar. John Lewis, who has demonstrated more integrity, honesty, and courage in his career than Bachmann's limited intellect can even fathom, is deserving of mistrust, because he heard racial slurs and talked about it. Got it.

It is possible that Michele Bachmann does not know about the civil rights struggle in America and the role John Lewis played in it. She probably has no idea that she serves in Congress with a living civil rights legend. And, if she did, she wouldn't care. Read More......

Froomkin concerned about the White House counsel

From Dan Froomkin:

The White House counsel ideally serves as the president's conscience. But late last year, Barack Obama's conscience was surgically removed. Greg Craig, as Obama's top lawyer, was the point man on a number of hot-button issues, the fieriest being how to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Craig argued for holding fast to the principles that Obama outlined before he became president, regardless of the immediate political consequences -- an idealistic approach that, in a White House filled with increasingly pusillanimous pragmatists, earned him some powerful enemies. ... He was replaced by Robert Bauer, a politically adept consummate Washington insider whose expertise is in campaign finance law -- in short, a man whose job is to win elections, not defend principles. [...]

But decisions about whom the government should prosecute -- and how -- are precisely the kind that shouldn't be made on political grounds. The American justice system is supposed to transcend partisanship, and be beyond the realm of political horsetrading. There are limits to how much the White House should do when it comes to interfering with the Justice Department -- limits that, unfortunately, every modern president seems to push. And with Bauer serving in Craig's place, the pushback is lacking.

Even White House officials don't disagree that Bauer, who was general counsel for Obama's presidential campaign and chief counsel at the Democratic National Committee, is taking a fundamentally different approach to the job than his predecessor did.

Craig was undeniably opinionated. By contrast, a White House spokesperson told HuffPost: "Bob does not approach the position of White House counsel advocating for a particular set of policy preferences. He thinks that his role as counsel is to give the best legal advice available to the president and to other staff members in the White House."

So he doesn't stake out a position and defend it? "The White House counsel's office has not developed under Bauer a policy recommendation," the spokesperson said. "In the context of any pending legal question or pending policy, what they've done is to outline a range of options given their reading of the opportunities."

The White House did not make Bauer available for comment. And Craig declined several interview requests. But Craig's friends are horrified. Bauer is "becoming a validator and an enabler, rather than someone on the president's staff who keeps him out of trouble," said Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

What Craig did was to try to keep Obama true to his campaign rhetoric about reversing the extremist legal views of the previous administration. "To Greg Craig, that was a defining characteristic of what the Obama administration was supposed to be about," Clemons said. "He ended up being the guy who kept pulling Obama toward his own moral and legal and political commitments."

Read More......

Wash Post recaps the lesbian bondage voyeur club saga of GOP chair Michael Steele

He's a saucy guy, that Steele.

Although it is not unusual for either party to spend money in tony settings to cater to wealthy donors, the RNC's latest filings captured widespread attention for one expenditure at a risque nightclub: $1,946.25 for "meals" at Voyeur in West Hollywood, which features topless dancers wearing horse bridles and other bondage gear while mimicking sex acts.

Liz Newcomb posted some Yelp! reviews of Voyeur at AMERICAblog Gay. Read More......

Insurance industry caves on effort to cheat kids with pre-existing conditions

That was quick. But it goes to show you that we'll need to keep an eagle eye on the insurance companies, as this won't be the last time they try to find a loophole in the legislation. Good job by HHS on this one. Read More......

Obama's DOJ defends DADT in court, quite vigorously in fact, argues that it's entirely constitutional

Yes they did. And no, they didn't have to. They even quoted Colin Powell railing against gays serving in the military. Yet they failed to mention that Powell has since changed his mind. An inconvenient truth that the man we put into office didn't bother mentioning to the court.

Don't Ask, Don't Give. Read More......

Yet another child rape scandal ensnares the Vatican

New scandals involving the Catholic hierarchy are being exposed. Leaders of the Church really did enable and protect child rapists -- for decades. And, it's becoming obvious that the current pope was right in the thick of the cover up:

The Archdiocese of Miami, along with top Vatican authorities, knew as far back as 1968 that the Rev. Ernesto Garcia-Rubio, a priest later defrocked amid child sex-abuse allegations, had a troubled past in Cuba before transferring to South Florida, lawyers representing victims claimed Monday.

The lawyers say the Vatican's role is similar to what is alleged in the scandal now unfolding in Wisconsin, where top Catholic officials are accused of failing to defrock a priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys in a long career that paralleled the Miami cleric's. Pope Benedict XVI was in charge of the Vatican office that reviewed such cases when he served as Cardinal Ratzinger.

"It was a longstanding and well-known secret that the Vatican and Archdiocese of Miami knew exactly what Ernesto Garcia-Rubio was capable of," said Aventura attorney Jessica Arbour who with lawyer Stuart Mermelstein have filed several suits against the archdiocese involving Garcia-Rubio.

I really don't know how these people can live with themselves. I really don't.

I also don't understand how the Catholic bishops have any moral authority on Capitol Hill -- or anywhere else. Read More......

Bisphenol A (BPA) to be listed as 'chemical of concern' by EPA

It's not much, but it's a start. BPA is used in countless products despite concerns about its safety for humans. Industry has been looking for alternatives for years though to date, nothing her emerged. This may be the shot across the bow that pushes them to speed up their research.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it is formally listing Bisphenol A -- a chemical found widely in consumer goods -- as a "chemical of concern."

The chemical is added to plastics to harden them, and has been used in soda cans, baby bottles and food containers. It is so widespread that 90 percent of Americans show traces of it in their urine. But, in recent years, studies have linked BPA to heart disease and cancer in humans, and to abnormal development in animals.

In January, the Food and Drug Administration said it had concerns about the chemical's effect on human health.

Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

This morning, the President will sign the reconciliation bill at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Virginia. The setting is significant because of the student loan reforms that are included in the reconciliation bill. That was a huge accomplishment, which got overshadowed by the health care debate. At least student loan reform made it through, unlike almost everything else. (Obama will be introduced by Dr. Jill Biden, who teaches at NOVA Community College.)

Later today, the President is meeting with President Sarkozy of France. Then, he and Michelle are having dinner with Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni. That means DC has a non-political celebrity in its presence. DC-types get giddy over "real" celebrities.

It's Passover, so happy Passover to all who celebrate. Although, this marks one more year in which I did not get invited to a Seder.

Start threading the news...I've got to take Petey out before it starts raining again. Read More......

Myanmar opposition to boycott elections

The junta forced the issue by banning the opposition party from running in the elections as long as Aung San Suu Kyi remained in the organization. They refused to expel her and instead, voted to boycott the elections. They already won years ago by a large majority but were not allowed to govern so the elections have been proven to be all about show for the regime.

Loud cheering broke out at a meeting of the leaders of Burma's main opposition party after they voted unanimously to boycott an upcoming election that has been widely condemned as unfair and undemocratic.

The decision will further undermine the credibility of the poll. All 113 delegates at yesterday's gathering of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) agreed not to register the party with the election commission, effectively preventing it from participation in the polls that are expected to be held in October.

Read More......

Australia criticized for proposed internet filter

What are they thinking? This plan sounds like it's going down a very bad path for Australia.

"Our primary concern is that the scope of content to be filtered is too wide," Google wrote in its submission to the Australian government, suggesting that the filter – which would be mandatory and state-controlled – would slow browsing speeds.

The company said it already had its own filter to block child pornography.

"Some limits, like child pornography, are obvious. No Australian wants that to be available and we agree," Google said. "But moving to a mandatory ISP-level filtering regime with a scope that goes well beyond such material is heavy-handed and can raise genuine questions about restrictions on access to information."

Lucinda Barlow of Google Australia told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the proposal raised the possibility of banning politically and socially controversial material and went beyond filters used in Germany, Canada and Italy. Other critics say the filtering would put Australia in the same censorship league as China.

Read More......

Insurance companies trying to ban kids with pre-existing conditions anyway, in violation of new law

We should have nailed these jerks last year from the git-go.

HHS is hitting back. Read More......

Tea Party founder denies Teabaggers called John Lewis a 'n-gger.' Too bad Tea Party founder used word last month on a protest sign.

Oops. Read More......

Religious right upset with RNC over lesbian sex voyeur bondage club, etc.

It seems the men at the Concerned Women for America have a problem with the RNC frequenting voyeur lesbian sex simulation bondage clubs. Read More......

Increased calls by Republicans for party chair Steele to resign after lesbian voyeur club snafu

Sam Stein at Huff Post:

While several GOP strategists are willing to grant Steele a pass -- under the rubric that one has to spend lavishly to raise lavish amounts of money -- several big donors and party officials are completely baffled.

"For those donors who truly believe in conservative values, this latest news about Steele has to be very disturbing," said Douglas MacKinnon, former press secretary to Majority Leader Robert Dole. "No matter which side of the aisle you find yourself, if you are giving a political party your hard-earned money, you should have no doubts that it is going to be spent as advertised and not to provide a spoiled, egocentric, out-of-touch chairman with frivolous luxuries which are out of reach of the vast majority of the American people. Michael Steele needs to resign and let the RNC vote in a man or woman who understands that his or her needs do not come before the needs of the nation or the party."

"I think it certainly suggest a certain tone deafness," confirmed Mark DeMoss, a longtime GOP donor who has decided to stop giving to committees. "I think it suggests either that you are out of touch or that you are more important than your constituents and your donors and either case is bad, whichever one you are guilty of."

Read More......

GOP chair Michael Steele and the 'bondage-themed club that features topless female dancers imitating lesbian sex'

They call this a full-service bar. I bet.



How often do I get to write a headline like that, huh?

You know, I go for an allergy shot, and all hell breaks loose on one of my favorite topics. No, not bondage, but Michael Steele. Though in this case, they're one in the same.

I'll let Greg Sargent summarize:

The Republican National Committee has undertaken an investigation in the wake of news that nearly $2,000 in party funds was spent at a bondage-themed club that features topless female dancers imitating lesbian sex, an RNC spokesperson confirms to me.

The spokesperson adamantly denies that Michael Steele was the party who spent the money at the club and says Steele strongly disavows such actions.

The Daily Caller reported today that FEC filings show that $1,946.25 in RNC funds was spent in February at Voyeur West Hollywood, which features scantily clad waitresses and writhing performers amid a decor of orgy chic.

The Daily Caller suggested that the cash outlay at the club suggests “Steele travels in style,” without saying outright that he’s the one responsible for the expenditure. But an RNC spokesman sends over a statement adamantly denying it was Steele.

Here's a review of club Voyeur:

Welcome to Voyeur, a lavish new nightspot suggesting that highbrow elegance and a bit of S&M; are not mutually exclusive. Gotta say, you couldn't agree more.

Behind dank casement windows salvaged from the original New York Times building, there awaits a dark lounge filled with corset-backed chairs and antique sofas made from bounced-against headboards. Lithe women fuss with their lingerie behind glass, maybe, or they really enjoy the sax from the stage. (You might also see a beauty doing stretches on the trapeze net above you—she must be hitting the gym later.)

And far in the back, past the photo booth, apothecary bar and walls plastered in contact sheets from an illicit Mexico photo shoot, there's a private VIP room with a separate entrance and a giant chaise that could comfortably hold you and 10 beauties who appreciate furniture with well-placed handles…

And anybody else who likes to watch.

And another review:

In Los Angeles, it takes a lot to shock and awe. When you walk into Voyeur on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, you might not be completely shocked at the almost naked women writhing on each other but you will undoubtedly be in awe.

Voyeur is an intimate space, provocative and sexy, sophisticated and interesting. Inspired by Eyes Wide Shut and London lounge, Annabelle’s of London, Voyeur transports you to a world of risqué sexuality and eroticism. In fact, even if you tried to escape looking at the naked women all around you, you would ultimately fail. But then again, why would you even try?

Of course the guests are sexy, but the walls are also lined with black and white pictures of beautiful naked girls from decades past while temptresses wearing nothing more than pasties and a black thong “stretch” on tables or in large glass boxes. Yes, the women don’t strip or show off their outdone go-go girl dance moves. Instead, they hold onto ropes on the walls and literally stretch, like yoga class but much sexier (and probably more naked).

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FIFA to highlight non-South African musical talent at South African World Cup

What a missed opportunity for the rest of the world to hear great music. The Guardian:

In the latest blow to South African pride in hosting a competition expected to be watched by billions of TV viewers, local artists are to stage protests over being sidelined by the likes of Keys, the Black Eyed Peas and Shakira.

To mark the disappointment of local musicians, Arthur Mafokate, a star of the local musical genre known as kwaito, has called on South African radio stations to play only African music for the duration of the tournament. "At least the tourists might hear us on the radio,'' he said.

Actor Mabutho "Kid" Sithole, a spokesman for the Creative Workers' Union, added: "It is not as though we want second-rate performers to replace the Americans. Performers such as Johnny Clegg, the Soweto Gospel Choir and Ladysmith Black Mambazo – can stand head and shoulders alongside them.''

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The right's wrong for America

From David Mixner:

The extreme right record of utter and total failure to stop the march to progress is the reason we should not have to bear their craziness anymore. The record is numbingly clear: They were wrong about Social Security. They were wrong on integrating the military forces under President Truman. They were wrong about McCarthyism in the early 1950's. They were wrong about passing civil rights legislation in the 1960's. They were wrong on Medicare. They were wrong about women rights. They were wrong about 'trickle down economics.' They were wrong about tax breaks for the rich. They were wrong about the war in Iraq. They were wrong about climate change. They were wrong about LGBT rights and they are wrong about healthcare reform.

Can you imagine our world if they had been successful in stopping any of the forces for change above? We would have a world with our seniors poor and unable to have healthcare. We would have African-Americans unable to vote. We would see women relegated to being housewives and not leading our nation. All homosexuals would still be in the closet with many having lobotomies, committing suicide and being arrested. The world has become and is still becoming a better place because of progressive legislation and ignoring the calls, shouts and anger to protect the narrow-minded status quo.

Fact is, they can't have their country back. Their country is moving forward into a greatness with a richly diverse and exciting population.

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White southern GOPer calls C-SPAN, says too many blacks are phoning in, should rename it Black-SPAN

And C-SPAN, rather than calling out the racist, kind of apologizes to him - tell him "we appreciate your input."

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Frank Rich on the Teabaggers and GOP extremism throughout history

Frank Rich in the NYT:

In fact, the current surge of anger — and the accompanying rise in right-wing extremism — predates the entire health care debate. The first signs were the shrieks of “traitor” and “off with his head” at Palin rallies as Obama’s election became more likely in October 2008. Those passions have spiraled ever since — from Gov. Rick Perry’s kowtowing to secessionists at a Tea Party rally in Texas to the gratuitous brandishing of assault weapons at Obama health care rallies last summer to “You lie!” piercing the president’s address to Congress last fall like an ominous shot.

If Obama’s first legislative priority had been immigration or financial reform or climate change, we would have seen the same trajectory. The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened minority in the country no matter what policies were in play. It’s not happenstance that Frank, Lewis and Cleaver — none of them major Democratic players in the health care push — received a major share of last weekend’s abuse. When you hear demonstrators chant the slogan “Take our country back!,” these are the people they want to take the country back from.

And they can’t pretend that we’re talking about “isolated incidents” or a “fringe” utterly divorced from the G.O.P. A Quinnipiac poll last week found that 74 percent of Tea Party members identify themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents, while only 16 percent are aligned with Democrats.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, some responsible leaders in both parties spoke out to try to put a lid on the resistance and violence. The arch-segregationist Russell of Georgia, concerned about what might happen in his own backyard, declared flatly that the law is “now on the books.” Yet no Republican or conservative leader of stature has taken on Palin, Perry, Boehner or any of the others who have been stoking these fires for a good 17 months now. Last week McCain even endorsed Palin’s “reload” rhetoric.

Are these politicians so frightened of offending anyone in the Tea Party-Glenn Beck base that they would rather fall silent than call out its extremist elements and their enablers? Seemingly so, and if G.O.P. leaders of all stripes, from Romney to Mitch McConnell to Olympia Snowe to Lindsey Graham, are afraid of these forces, that’s the strongest possible indicator that the rest of us have reason to fear them too.

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Air Steele: GOP chair Michael Steele wanted a private jet for the RNC

Hey, if the GOP's benefactors all have private jets, why shouldn't the GOP have one of its own? According to Jonathan Strong at the Daily Caller, that idea was actually under consideration at the Republican National Committee:

According to two knowledgeable sources, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele once raised the possibility of using party money to buy a private jet for his travel.

“I know that … regular ongoing use of planes was something that was looked at,” says one person with direct knowledge. “I can’t speak to how serious those inquiries were.” Both sources say Steele considered purchasing a plane outright, or buying fractional ownership in one, through a company such as NetJets.

Steele’s spokesman, Doug Heye, did not deny that such discussions took place, responding that the RNC never had a “plan” to buy a plane. “I don’t know what somebody might have discussed or might not have discussed.”

While Steele has not purchased a plane, he continues to charter them. According to federal disclosure records, the RNC spent $17,514 on private aircraft in the month of February alone (as well as $12,691 on limousines during the same period). There are no readily identifiable private plane expenses for Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine in the DNC’s last three months of filings.

And, there's this little tidbit about Steele's travels:

Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.

Voyeur West Hollywood? Read More......

To be clear: GOPers are trying to block real financial reform to abet Wall Street and the Big Banks

Paul Krugman explains how the GOPers are going to fight financial reform, despite what the financial services industry did to our nation's economy. They're going to lie about the legislation, which is, of course, a key component of any GOP strategy these days:

Back in January, Frank Luntz, the G.O.P. strategist, circulated a memo on how to oppose financial reform. His key idea was that Republicans should claim that up is down — that reform legislation is a “big bank bailout bill,” rather than a set of restrictions on the banks.

Sure enough, a few days ago Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, in a letter attacking the Dodd bill, claimed that an essential part of reform — tougher oversight of large, systemically important financial companies — is actually a bailout, because “The market will view these firms as being ‘too big to fail’ and implicitly backed by the government.” Um, senator, the market already views those firms as having implicit government backing, because they do: whatever people like Mr. Shelby may say now, in any future crisis those firms will be rescued, whichever party is in power.

The only question is whether we’re going to regulate bankers so that they don’t abuse the privilege of government backing. And it’s that regulation — not future bailouts — that reform opponents are trying to block.

So it’s the punks versus the plutocrats — those who want to rein in runaway banks, and bankers who want the freedom to put the economy at risk, freedom enhanced by the knowledge that taxpayers will bail them out in a crisis. Whatever they say, the fact is that people like Mr. Shelby are on the side of the plutocrats; the American people should be on the side of the punks, who are trying to protect their interests.

Proving Krugman's point, a couple weeks ago, at a gathering of bankers, that same Mr. Shelby told those bankers how to defeat financial reform -- elect more GOPers, starting with Roy Blunt:

Asked what bankers could do to change the agenda, Shelby said, "What you can do is elect more Republicans to the U.S. Senate, that would help immensely." He asked each of the attendees to send $10,000 to Roy Blunt, a former House leader who is now running for Senate as a Republican in Missouri.

Couldn't be more clear than that. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, by now everyone knows Obama didn't go to Camp David for the weekend. He went to Afghanistan and gets back this morning at 9:00 AM Eastern. Sounds like one purpose of that trip was to push Karzhai to clean up his government. A friend who worked in Afghanistan for years told me that government corruption is one of the biggest obstacles to success. Obama's visit comes as the military gears up for the next battle is Kandahar.

Congress is in recess until April 12th. Members are going to be getting feedback from the people who actually elect them. I've always thought lobbying back home is way more effective. When members of Congress are in DC, they get extra special treatment from their staffs, lobbyists and the traditional media. They're put on pedestals here. Back home, they're all just retail politicians who need your vote.

Chris has a great post about the Pope's message at the Palm Sunday mass yesterday. In his mind, Benedict is the victim, not the real victims of child rape. New York's Archbishop compared the criticism of Benedict to the suffering of Jesus Christ:

The charges being hurled at Pope Benedict XVI are the "the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob and scourging at the pillar" suffered by Christ, Dolan said in his first Palm Sunday Mass as New York archbishop.

I don't remember hearing anything about Jesus Christ covering up for criminals who raped children. Admittedly, I was a public school kid who only went to CCD, but that comparison sounds pretty pathetic and bizarre.

Let's this week started...it's raining here in DC, which means Petey will not want to go out. He can be very stubborn about it. Read More......

Female suicide bombers kill dozens in Moscow subway

It's not common to have one, let alone two female suicide bombers. MSNBC.com:

At least 37 people were killed Monday when suicide bombers detonated explosives on two packed Moscow metro trains during rush hour, the worst attack in the Russian capital for six years, officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts but suspicion was likely to fall on groups from Russia's North Caucasus, where the Kremlin is fighting a growing Islamist insurgency.

"Two female terrorist suicide bombers carried out these bombings," Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told reporters.

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Pope's Palm Sunday service: poor me, I'm the victim

Oh please. This guy is too stupid to know when to stop focusing on himself and start focusing on the problem that is obvious to everyone else. This problem is not about victimizing the Pope, but about the consistent hiding of the truth and skirting the law by the Catholic church. It's about the real victims, as in the kids who were raped by priests and then shuffled around to new jobs. Someone is being dishonest here and it's not the media.

The 82-year-old pontiff led tens of thousands of people in a sunny St. Peter’s Square in a Palm Sunday service at the start of Holy Week events commemorating the last days in the life of Jesus.

While he did not directly mention the scandal involving sexual abuse of children by priests, parts of his sermon could be applicable to the crisis.

The pontiff said faith in God helps lead one “towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion.”

He also spoke of how man can sometimes “fall to the lowest, vulgar levels” and “sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty.”

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Video emerges of black congressman being spat on by white teabagger

Teabaggers spitting on Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. FOX's Sean Hannity tried to pretend that it didn't happen. Huffington Post now has video. It's pretty sickening. And listen to the crowd - these people are sick in the head. But they're also typical Republicans, at least the Republicans who currently run the party. If you don't do exactly as they say, even when they massively lose an election, you're a socialist dictator who must be stopped. Listen to the crowd. You wouldn't know that they controlled Congress for 14 years, and controlled the White House for 8 years, just until 14 months ago. Now it's suddenly the end of world. Drama queens. Read More......

Sarah Palin discovers drunk-Facebooking

Paragraphs three and four are the best. This is real. Apparently, Sarah Palin is the only person in America who doesn't find troublesome the recent violent tenor of political talk by the right, and their Teabagger surrogates, directed at members of Congress. So she decided to invoke more imagery of guns and executing people to prove her point that only PC people get upset when you call a congressman a "nigger" or a "faggot," or attempt to cut the gas line to their home.

I know, she revels in attention, and poking people in the eye. But it's serious when the FBI has to give security to ten-plus members of Congress, and there are concerns about the safety of the home of the Senate Parliamentarian. Palin thinks this is a joke. That is why this woman is and always will be a blithering idiot, and a dangerous one at that.

March Madness battles rage! My family and I join millions of Americans enjoying college basketball’s finest through March Madness. Underdogs always get my vote as we watch intense competition bring out the best in these accomplished teams.

The Final Four is an intense, contested series (kind of like a heated, competitive primary election), so best of luck to all teams, and watch for this principle lived out: the team that wins is the team that wants it more.

To the teams that desire making it this far next year: Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season’s targets! From the shot across the bow – the first second’s tip-off – your leaders will be in the enemy’s crosshairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics. You won’t win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons – your Big Guns – to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win.

Focus on the goal and fight for it. If the gate is closed, go over the fence. If the fence is too high, pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, parachute in. If the other side tries to push back, your attitude should be “go for it.” Get in their faces and argue with them. (Sound familiar?!) Every possession is a battle; you’ll only win the war if you’ve picked your battles wisely. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!

- Sarah Palin

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Rubio Admits Repealing Health Care Isn’t Realistic, But Says GOP Should Campaign On It Anyway

From ThinkProgress:

WALLACE: Mr. Rubio, now that the health care reform bill is law, would you, if you go to Washington, work to repeal it? How would you do it given the fact that Barack Obama will still be president and could veto a repeal? [...]

RUBIO: I think the first step is to repeal it. We need to win a few elections before we can get there. But we certainly need to start campaigning and talking about it.

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2000-2009 warmest decade on record

Uh oh. The flat-earth teabaggers are not going to like this. Then again, when did facts ever get in the way of a loony rant or act of violence? Read More......

For Catholics, it's Holy Week. The message: 'The Pope should resign'

Holy Week is a big week for the Pope. He's on a worldwide stage almost every day. Benedict's role in enabling and protecting child rapists has become more widely known over the past weeks and months. And, there's increased talk of something that would never have been suggested. The Pope should quit. Here's a column from Margery Egan in today's Boston Herald:

The Pope should resign. He should offer himself up to authorities for prosecution, like the sacrificial lamb he’s supposed to represent here on earth.

Long ago he should have opened the secret church books on priestly abuse. He hasn’t. Courts finally forced that in Boston almost a decade ago and, oh, what horrors we found. Remember? The Vatican hierarchy then blamed our scandal on a decadent American culture. Now the same priestly disease has swept Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, on and on across Europe and beyond. So was all the world, from the 1950s on, just one huge, decadent Gomorrah? Or was the Catholic hierarchy, from the ’50s on, run like an international crime organization aiding and abetting child abuse, then covering up its cover-up?

A few years back, former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating caused an uproar by comparing secret-keeping American bishops to La Cosa Nostra.

He was but ahead of his time.

Expect Bill "Hollywood is controlled by anal-sex loving Jews" Donohue to continue his defense of the enablers and protectors of child rapists. He's been all over the cable shows spewing and spitting about how everyone is picking on the Catholic Church. It's hard to find anyone else who'll defend the horrific behavior of the Catholic hierarchy.

On the Chris Matthews show this morning, Andrew Sullivan said Benedict has no moral authority. It's true. Even the Vatican admits there's a problem, which is a rarity:

On Saturday, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, acknowledged that the way the church responds to the abuse scandal is "crucial for its moral credibility."

He noted that most of the cases that have come to light recently occurred decades ago.

"But recognizing them, and making amends to the victims, is the price of re-establishing justice and 'purifying memories' that will let us look with renewed commitment together with humility and trust in the future," he said in a statement on Vatican Radio.

The church has had decades to make amends. It hasn't. It won't. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

The health care debate has ended in Congress, but it's alive and well on the talk shows today. The White House is sending out Jarrett and Axelrod to give the Obama perspective -- and we should get some signals about what's next. (PS to White House: We're expecting you to keep the President's promise to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell "this year.")

In what's got to be one of the most obnoxious pairings in awhile, "Face the Nation" is hosting two of the most toxic members of Congress: Sen. Jim DeMint and Rep. Michele Bachmann. That should generate lots of crazy.

Also, FOX is hosting a debate between its party's two candidates for Senate in Florida: Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist.

Here's the lineup. Read More......

Town Called Malice

I still remember buying The Gift album at the record store along the river in New Hope back in the early '80s. Loved it from the start and this was one of my favorites.

How'd Earth Hour go for everyone last night? We had a few dozen candles around the room over aperitif. (Yes, we're late eaters.) After we worked through about half of the massive pot of daube that I made for dinner. Leftovers are always the best! I woke this morning to find an email from friends from Toronto who prepared an incredible dinner here in Paris for us last year on Earth Hour evening. This year instead of rabbit in a mustard sauce over lentils, they celebrated with halibut. Read More......

More child abuse stories coming out of Italy?

The news coverage of the child rape stories in Ireland triggered victims to emerge in Germany. Now with the latest coverage of abuse in Germany and Holland, other victims in Europe are emerging including Italy. The Guardian:

"We are likely to discover that the Vatican worked even harder in Italy with bishops than elsewhere to hide cases, simply because the contact was closer and the church is so powerful in Italy," Mirabile added.

Sergio Cavaliere, an Italian lawyer who has documented 130 cases of clerical paedophilia, also believes that the Vatican's backyard could follow Ireland, the United States and Germany in producing a wave of abuse revelations. "The cases I have found are just the tip of the iceberg given the reluctance of many victims to come forward until now," said Cavaliere. "And in no single case did the local bishop alert police to the suspected abuse."

Another startling development is how recent most of the allegations are, unlike the decades-old cases in Munich and Milwaukee that Benedict was last week accused of failing to act on.

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