Alert to US Senators: Harriet has a straw poll on her blog for you

Harriet Miers is trying to get a sense of what the final vote will be in the Senate on her confirmation, so she's put a straw poll on her blog. Please don't vote in it unless you're a certified US Senator!

The vote is 7 to 5 against her so far. Two Senators even voted while I was watching! Man the anticipation is killing me! Read More......

Does Harriet Miers think gay people should be thrown in jail?

The religious right wants to know, and you know what, I want to know too.

Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness.... says she is concerned about Miers' views on using foreign law in rendering Supreme Court decisions, as Sandra Day O'Connor and other justices did in the Lawrence v. Texas case. "That's the one that struck down all the sodomy laws remaining in this country," the CMR spokeswoman asserts. "It overturned a previous American precedent -- one that was not all that old and didn't need to be overturned. Foreign court rulings were used in support of that opinion." For this reason, Donnelly says the public needs to hear from Miers firsthand what her positions are on these crucial issues.

I'd LOVE for Miers to have to explain her views on Lawrence v. Texas. Should gay be people be thrown in jail simply because of who they are? Does Miers agree with Justice Scalia who argued so - uh - interestingly in his dissent that Lawrence v. Texas was a bad decision because it no longer would let the government regulate masturbation?

Inquiring minds, and hands, want to know. Read More......

Did Karl Rove tell James Dobson that women aren't as qualified for the Supreme Court as me

It sure sounds like Dobson just said that on ABC News tonight.

According to ABC, Dobson "revealed" what Karl Rove had confidentially told him about Harriet Miers' nomination. Among other things, Dobson quoted Rove as saying the president ONLY wanted a female nominee.

Ah, so she was an affirmative action nomination. Cool. Glad the conservatives have given up the battle on that issue.

Then Dobson said the following:

"And you can imagine what that did to the short list... That may have cut it by 80% right there."

Right, because there are more qualified men than qualified women to serve on Supreme Court? That's why Miers has such lousy qualifications. You see, she's a girl. And there just aren't that many girls that are as qualified for the big court as boys are because boys are smart and girls play with Barbies. So Bush had to pick a girl that wasn't so qualified, because in the land of girls, that makes her king (or queen).

Did Karl Rove really tell Dobson THIS was the reason Bush picked Miers? Maybe Laura Bush was right about that sexism thing after all - except she didn't realize the sexism wasn't just coming from the religious right, it was coming from the White House itself. Read More......

Senator Shelby again trying to block free enterprise

These so-called free enterprise Republicans really make me laugh. It's free enterprise when things go in the favor of the US but when things don't work out that way, suddenly it's time to put up fences and protect. The wingnuts are putting pressure on the UK government to have Westinghouse sold back to a US owner amid claims of national security. The big fear is that the company might receive strong interest from Japanese or Korean buyers and we certainly can't have Asians owning such a company, can we? It's not like we're close trading and security partners or anything.

So is the GOP free enterprise or protectionist? Read More......

"A Jewish man"?

I hear they killed Christ. Read More......

NBC/WSJ poll: Just when you thought things couldn't get worse...

A blog simply doesn't deserve this much happiness:

According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.... For the first time in the poll, Bush’s approval rating has sunk below 40 percent, while the percentage believing the country is heading in the right direction has dipped below 30 percent. In addition, a sizable plurality prefers a Democratic-controlled Congress, and just 29 percent think Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court.

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Not that there's anything wrong with it...

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Holy Harriet!

UPDATE: More from ItAffectsYou.org.

Reporters beat up on Scottie at the big house today over Harriet's "religion." An excerpt from E&P;, but do read the entire thing, it's really good:

MR. McCLELLAN: The President makes selections based on potential nominees' qualifications and experience and judicial temperament. That is what he has done in each and every instance when it comes to appointing people to the bench. He has a long track record of appointing people who have a conservative judicial philosophy, one that is based on interpreting our Constitution and our laws, not making law from the bench. And that's what he bases his decisions on, not someone's religion.

Q So her religion played no role in her making it to the final group and then, ultimately --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, the President makes decisions based on the person's qualifications and experience and judicial temperament.

Q All right. So there was no -- no role at all in the President's decision-making of Harriet Miers' religion?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's part of who she is. That's part of her background. That's what the President was talking about in his remarks in the Oval Office.

Q Why is Karl Rove calling up religious leaders telling them it's okay, she belongs to an ultra evangelical church?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're calling up a lot of people --

Q Why that?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- to reach out to them and talk to them about the President's selection of Harriet Miers. And what he is emphasizing in those conversations, Terry, is that she is someone who is strongly committed to a conservative judicial philosophy.

Q What is somebody's --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, why wouldn't --

Q Wait, wait, wait. What relevance does how a person prays have to the judicial philosophy?

MR. McCLELLAN: Didn't say that it did.

Q So why are you peddling it?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's part of her background, Terry; it's part of who she is.

Q But you just said it was not relevant to judicial philosophy.

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Bush says Harriet's religious beliefs factored into his choice of her

So, a person's religious beliefs are relevant when choosing them for high office in this country. Fascinating. This also means that Bush overlooked other candidates because he wasn't happy with what he saw as their religious beliefs, at least as compared to Harriet's religious beliefs.

I like this new "Bush religious litmus test." It means it's okay to support or oppose who gets an appointment based on how WE feel about their religious beliefs.

Pat Robertson, your candidates are toast. Read More......

Afternoon Open Thread

Today's drink isn't for the President, it's for us.

Christmas might have come early this year. A real investigation of a conspiracy that led us into war in Iraq. Can it be true? John peed his pants and I, literally, feel like I did when I was seven or eight the night before Christmas.

Today my Santa is the Wall Street Journal. So, an early holiday theme drink:

Christmas Martini

Scale ingredients to servings
3 oz gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1 tsp peppermint schnapps

Pour the gin, dry vermouth and peppermint schnapps into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice. Shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a candy cane, and serve.

Open thread away. Read More......

On October 12, 1998 Matthew Shepard died

Someone just sent me this.

Mourners bid goodbye to friend
By Robert W. Black, Associated Press writer
(This article was written in Oct. 1998)

CASPER, Wyo. -- Matthew Shepard, the gay University of Wyoming student beaten and left to die on a split-rail fence, was remembered at his funeral yesterday as someone who "struggled to fit into a world not always kind to gentle spirits."

"Matt was a young man who met the world with eager expectation, who offered trust and friendship easily and lived honestly," said the Rev. Anne Kitch, Shepard's cousin from Peekskill, N.Y. "Matt trusted in the good of God's world."

A wet autumn snow shrouded the 700 mourners as they filed into the brick St. Mark's Episcopal Church, where Shepard was baptized.

Shepard, 21, died Monday, five days after his skull was smashed with a pistol butt and he was lashed to a fence in near-freezing temperatures outside Laramie. Two 21-year-old men have been charged with murder.

Police said robbery was the primary motive, but that Shepard also was singled out because he was gay.

Click Here to Proceed to MatthewShepard.org

A note from Judy Shepard

October 12, 2005

October 12 th 2005, is the seventh anniversary of my son Matthew's murder. His murder prompted unprecedented media coverage and focused the nation's attention on anti-gay hate crimes like never before. These past few weeks I have been thinking about what has changed - and what has not changed. What has been done to make our communities safe from violence resulting from anti-gay hate? I quickly learned my son's violent death was a fairly common occurrence. This prompted our family to create the Matthew Shepard Foundation and do our part to create a more respectful and caring culture free from hate. I have spent the past seven years traveling across the nation, speaking to schools, churches, anyone who will listen, to try and stem the tide of hate that is eating away at the fabric of our culture.

The number of hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people has not varied much during the last five years. They remain the third highest category after race and religion. However, it is apparent that there are certain changes in the 'environment' that do impact hate crime activity. In New York City, every July, anti-gay violence usually increases by about 8% as people respond to the outreach programs and the visibility of the Pride celebrations. After the Lawrence v. Texas decision and the premiere of additional gay identified television shows, anti-gay violence in New York City rose 52%.

It's clear that in some ways, our nation has become a more accepting place. We have witnessed the progress of gay and lesbian rights with the recent Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v Texas. We have seen our neighbor to the North - Ontario, Canada - acknowledge same-sex marriages. They have recognized that same sex couples are as deserving of the same equal rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples. We have seen gay adoptions increase. We have seen growing visibility, acceptance and understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in our families, in the corporate world and in our culture.

However, we must also remember that there has been scant progress in areas of legislation and securing equal rights for the gay community. We continue to fight for hate crime legislation that will include sexual orientation, gender, and disability, and for federal job protection based on sexual orientation. Yes, you can be fired for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in 36 states of this nation. It is as if we are living in two Americas - one that tunes in to "Queer Eye for a Straight Guy" but turns a blind eye to the injustices gay and lesbian people still face.

It is evident that with progress comes the inevitable attack by those who are threatened by our work for justice and fairness. Visibility - whether in the media or being out of the closet if you are gay - can serve as an unfortunate catalyst. Those who are threatened by our community are threatened by these strides. In 2003, more than 30 cities and towns reported crimes against gays. The vast majority do not garner national headlines like my son's murder did. Sakia Gunn, a 15 year old lesbian was fatally stabbed in Newark, New Jersey on 5/11/03, F.C. Martinez, a Navajo, transgender 16-year old murdered in a bias motivated attack are two examples but the list goes on. We have so far to go, so much hate is out there. It must be acknowledged, addressed and erased before any of us are safe.

As we approach the anniversary of Matthew's murder it is appropriate to redouble my efforts to invoke a grassroots solution to this problem. It is a solution that begins with parents, educators, clergy and our communities as a whole. We have the opportunity to help our children understand and accept diversity before their school years begin and before hate can provoke violent actions. If we do our jobs correctly, it should never cross the minds of our children to harm someone, physically or emotionally, because of their gender, race, national origin, religion, disability or gender identity and expression.

Hate is a learned behavior. If a child is taught to hate and fear diversity, then the next place he or she expresses that hate is at school. Ten percent of all hate crimes occur at schools and colleges . Bullying in our nation's schools has resulted in countless acts of violence. The cycle continues until that child who is filled with hate becomes an adult citizen in your community and begins to teach others to hate.

Please help your children understand diversity without fearing it. Be an example of acceptance and compassion. The consequences of hate hurt everyone. It hurts not only the victim - it hurts their family and friends. It destroys the families of the perpetrators. Lives are lost, lives are ruined and lives are changed forever.

~Judy Shepard

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The White House/Pentagon/Downing Street Conspiracy

Digby has an interesting, and plausible, take on what the special prosecutor may now be looking at. Bottom line: a broader conspiracy to intentionally lie to the American people in order to get them to support declaring war on Iraq.

My question for the legal types out there: What might possibly be illegal about this? Lying to the public is a bad thing, but is it illegal?

I do know that the State Department is forbidden BY LAW to propagandize to the American people - if they were involved in this effort to influence the American people, whether with the truth or a lie, then PER SE it's a crime.

But what about the other agencies and the White House? Where's the crime here?

I'm not saying there isn't one, I'd just like to know what it is. Read More......

RADAR: Closet Heterosexuals

My new RADAR article is up. It's about the ambiguous sexual orientation of Harriet Miers, Ken Mehlman, David Dreier and Condi Rice.

I'm particularly happy with this one, please do check it out. Here's a short excerpt (I include the conclusion, so honestly, I'd you recommend you just click and read the whole story first):

Bush's Closet Heterosexuals
Radar thinks the ambiguous sexual orientation of rabid Republicans is a valid story. Why doesn’t the rest of the media?
by John Aravosis

[snip]

....Even if the mainstream media had the goods on Mehlman, Dreier, Rice, or Miers to report, it probably wouldn’t, on the grounds that a politician’s private life is off limits. Clinton getting a blowjob, that was legit. But the possibility that a number of top Republicans may be currying favors with the family values wing of the party by day while practicing what the same people would consider abominations by night—nope, that ain’t news.

The fact is that if Miers is a lesbian and that became known, it would absolutely kill her appointment. The religious right wouldn’t allow it. Miers’s sexual orientation, like her opinion on abortion, matters most to the people she’s trying to win over and whose views she claims to support.

It would be the height of hypocrisy for a conservative to embrace her party’s most extreme views while simultaneously embracing a member of the same sex. The GOP rank and file takes its values seriously. Just imagine the outrage were Rush Limbaugh revealed to be a drug addict, William Bennett a compulsive gambler, Gary Bauer a philanderer, Strom Thurmond the father of a black child, or George Bush a coke fiend. They’d never work in this town again.

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WSJ: Fitzgerald Looking at White House Iraq Group

Christmas, indeed, can come early. As John mentioned last night (when he nearly peed his pants), it appears that Fitzgerald is really biting into the White House hard. From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Fitzgerald's pursuit now suggests he might be investigating not a narrow case on the leaking of the agent's name, but perhaps a broader conspiracy.
...
Lawyers familiar with the investigation believe that at least part of the outcome likely hangs on the inner workings of what has been dubbed the White House Iraq Group. Formed in August 2002, the group, which included Messrs. Rove and Libby, worked on setting strategy for selling the war in Iraq to the public in the months leading up to the March 2003 invasion. The group likely would have played a significant role in responding to Mr. Wilson's claims.

Given that the grand jury is set to expire on Oct. 28, it is possible charges in this case could come as early as next week. Former federal prosecutors say it is traditional not to wait for the last minute and run the risk of not having enough jurors to reach a quorum. There are 23 members of a grand jury, and 16 are needed for a quorum before any indictments could be voted on. This grand jury has traditionally met on Wednesdays and Fridays.

While this appeared on A3 of the Journal, they have three writers working this story. And this is the Wall Street Journal. Bloomberg is also reportedly working on a similar story.

Rove and Libby in handcuffs and Cheney at least as an unindicted co-conspirator - that's my dream. Could it be Christmas in October? Read More......

Bush fails to protect Americans, again

So what's the excuse this time? Despite being funded by Congress and ordered to deliver potassium iodide pills to Americans living within close proximity to nuclear power plants the Bush team has failed miserably to provide the pills by 2003. The pills are to be used in cases of nuclear emergency to help people avoid thyroid cancer. Why does the president hate America? Read More......

Even the GOP staffers are bashing Harriet

Okay, you know it's not going to happen when even Hill staffers are emboldened enough to challenge the President:

As the White House seeks to rally senators behind the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers, lawyers for the Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee are expressing dissatisfaction with the choice and pushing back against her, aides to 6 of the 10 Republican committee members said yesterday.

"Everybody is hoping that something will happen on Miers, either that the president would withdraw her or she would realize she is not up to it and pull out while she has some dignity intact," a lawyer to a Republican committee member said.

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Open Thread

Oh how the mighty are on the verge of falling.

Note to Democrats: Kick them while they're down. Kick hard so they can't get back up. Read More......

Dissecting the body language of Bush

I love interpreting body language and have found it very useful ever since I discovered it years ago. For those of you who watched the now famous Matt Lauer interview with Bush yesterday, check out this review by the Wash Post. Eye blinking or touching your nose generally indicates that someone is telling a lie or is very uncomfortable with the answer that they are providing, unsure of how it will be received by the listener. Hmmm, what does it all mean?

Bush blinks twice. He touches his tongue to his lips. He blinks twice more. He starts to answer, but he stops himself.

The president was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere.

The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning.

When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling.

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Winter heating bills expected to be 50% higher this year

It's a good thing we have an administration that cares so dearly for the poor and middle class and who promised to jawbone the oil producing countries about high prices. For the sake of most Americans, let's hope that this winter is a mild one because we can't rely on Bush to offer any relief to anyone outside of his circle of friends. Surely we wouldn't expect him to interfere with those friends in Big Oil raking in record profits on the backs of US taxpayers. Read More......

Off to bed open thread

Until Chris wakes up, buh bye. Read More......

Bush tax panel considering screwing homeowners

Ownership economy, my ass.

President Bush's tax advisory commission indicated today that it would not propose replacing the income tax with a national sales tax or a value-added tax but would recommend modifications in the popular tax deductions for mortgage interest and employer-provided health insurance.

America is about to find out that $300bn frivolous wars come with a price tag. Read More......