open thread

sorta slow here in the US while John's out and about in Paris. Maybe folks out there could let us know what they'd like to see...
Read More......

At least the baggage screeners are doing their jobs

Conservative Republican Congressman John Hostettler (R-National Rifle Association) got a nifty plea bargain for bringing a loaded glock to the Louisville, KY airport. Sixty-day suspended sentence. For the next two years, he can't carry a gun in Kentucky and he can only buy a gun in his home state of Indiana.

So this is what conservatives call "enforcement" of gun laws already on the books. Zero jail time for bringing a loaded gun to an airport in the post 9-11 world. He still gets to buy a gun anywhere in his home state.

Shouldn't we hold members of Congress who are bought by the NRA to a higher standard?

And who needs to put a glock in their carry-on?
Read More......

Porter Goss's Record

Porter Goss has a great record -- of defending Bush and carrying water for the administration. He poo-pooed the idea that there was a need for an investigation into the outing of a CIA operative that endangered the lives of people who had risked their lives to provide information to our country. As far as he was concerned, there was no evidence to suggest that the leaking of the info to reporters had been willful.

"Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation," Goss said at the time. (Hey, that's two Democratic slams at once! Nice job.) Of course, if you don't investigate, there won't be any evidence. One might make a reasonable objection to an investigation on such a serious issue -- let's not forget, we have every reason to believe there is a felon in the White House that should go to jail for this crime and Bush doesn't care. This gratuitious slam indicates Goss's cavalier attitude towards national security and the safety of our agents and their contacts.

Recently, Goss got on the floor of the Congress to belittle John Kerry and claim he was weak on intelligence -- perfectly reasonable partisan politics, but not the sign of someone who would gain broad support when a quick and timely transition is so imperative.

Senator Pat Roberts, the Republican head of the Senate Select Committe on Intelligence assumed Goss wouldn't be nominated because top Democrats objected to Goss as too partisan. Roberts didn't agree with them but thought it was too important to move quickly to get into a dragged-out partisan fight.

“My only message to the White House is if they do this, make it an extraordinary person that will get bipartisan support," said Roberts. "My criterion for it is that the intelligence director should be someone who has a lot of information-management experience because that’s what it’s all about.”

In June, Goss blasted George Tenet and the C.I.A. via his committee's report. Isn't everyone? Yes, but Goss's complaint was unique: the C.I.A., Goss says, spends TOO MUCH time focusing on counterterrorism.

Goss was a sponsor of Patriot II, which would give the government the right not only to secret grand juries but secret arrests of US citizens. Lovely. He is widely seen by critics as a hand-puppet of Dick Cheney. Who will he report directly to: Condi Rice as would be traditional? One big warning sign of further politicization of the C.I.A. would be if he reports instead to Dick Cheney.

Finally, as head of the House Intelligence Committee, he is one of the principal people directly responsible for the shameful lack of oversight that led to both 9/11 and the shoddy, misleading evidence used to bolster Bush's determination to invade Iraq. If Goss was part of the problem, why would he be part of the solution?
Read More......

Economic recovery? We'll get back to you...

So much for "turning the corner."

Today's "Blue Chip" Survey of economists shows a consensus for reducing, yet again, previous forecasts for economic growth.

Something about "sky-high energy costs" and "low consumer spending." But then, that's what happens when you start a war in Iraq and give your tax breaks to super-rich people who won't spend it.
Read More......

Bush Plays Politics Again In Fight On Terror; Nominates Controversial Porter Goss for CIA

Bush again puts partisan politics ahead of the fight on terror by nominating Porter Goss of Florida for the C.I.A. Both top Republicans and Democrats have been saying for weeks after his name had been floated that Goss was too partisan, too political and too controversial a choice to have the slightest chance of being nominated. That didn't stop Bush, who'd rather choose someone that can stir up partisan political fighting rather than someone of substance that both major parties could quickly support so that we could get on with the war on terror.
Read More......

Today's Krugman

Nice piece by Paul Krugman in today's NY Times on the jobs picture.

Consider: this has been President Bush's best year in terms of job growth, but it's been anemic growth at best. Using the same numbers, it would have been President Clinton's worst year in his presidency.

But don't worry - those tax cuts for the super-rich will kick in any day now. Read More......