Friday Carmela Blogging

Visiting the family, figured I'd post a few pics of Carmela the wonder dog, who is now up to a whopping 8.5 pounds. Read More......

Communism 2.0

What's old is new again in Russia. But have no fear, Bush has seen Vladimir Putin's heart or soul or something, and apparently it's a real good one.

And for extra credit, Putin is stifling other nascent democracies too.

But hey, at least Iraq is a success. Read More......

Looky there, another privacy idea I gave to Democrats becomes a big winner for Republicans

"I told you so" pales to how strong a rebuke Democrats deserve for not owning this issue from day one. It's an issue that every American is concerned about - their private tax records being sold - and who's the villain but George Bush's own IRS.

What part of this issue isn't a winner for Dems? Well, actually, none of it is a winner for Dems because now the Republicans own it. Bra-vo.

Consumer advocates worry that people who visit a tax preparer may be getting more than help with their tax returns. Taxpayers also could unknowingly or unthinkingly give away private information to companies marketing other products....

Last week, the committee endorsed a proposal by Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., to allow private tax information to be used only for tax preparation purposes. The information could not be shared, even with customer approval, for any other reason.

"This will give taxpayers greater peace of mind," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "They'll know that when they go to a tax preparer, the sensitive personal information they provide will be protected."

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Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 7/07/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

I usually save this space to point out the rank hypocrisy and Rovian vulgarity that is today’s GOP. So in that spirit, let’s talk about Joe Lieberman. Lieberman, who was disappointed because he had to cancel plans to fly to Mexico and concede the election for the liberal party pre-finished recount to make the debate, showed up late with a scowl not on display when he played reach-around with Dick Cheney during their 2000 Vice-Presidential... conversation.

It was actually impressive. Lieberman, who was boorish, dismissive and pompous all at once, while debating challenger Ned Lamont, had that fire in his eye he usually reserves for strapping an underage rape victim to a gurney before using Mapquest to direct her to a hospital in Rhode Island for emergency contraception. Yes, JoeMania was sure on the prowl, ripping into the dignified Lamont, for crazy stuff like wanting to provide healthcare to people who haven’t donated to his campaign, not viewing Iraq through rosé-colored glasses and speaking in a voice that doesn’t remind you of one of Santa’s little helpers.

Mostly Lieberman seemed annoyed that he had to even submit the vagaries of democracy. Which one can understand after he rigged the 2000 election to make sure that no matter what happened to “his party,” he would still have plush offices in Washington within craps-tossing distance of Bill Bennett’s place, so he could make it over for a liberal-bashing session before the sans-slots-sweats got to be too overpowering for his olfactory nerves. Which is really what last night’s debate was all about. Whether you can spend 5+ years giving a nasal colonoscopy to a president who thinks when it’s raining that God had an oopsy and still retain any credibility whatsoever.

As I have said before in this piece, this is not just about the war. It is about the abject enabling of a law-breaking, morally ambiguous group of corporate hard-ons run by a 60-year old man-infant whose mother is beginning to look like The Petrified Forest. Yeah, I know that last part isn’t really relevant. But God do I detest Barbara Bush.

In any case, that’s the problem here Joe. It’s a “best of times, worst of times” kind of moment and America’s being led on the same basic trajectory as a Taepodong-2. We need a Democrat from a blue state to not agree with a talk show host with blue pills about what constitutes good policy. Got it Joe?

You and your elite chums like to claim you’re a JFK Democrat. But that’s not how you’ve acted Joe, and a guy who voted for that crappy bankruptcy bill and hangs out with Bill Bennett should certainly understand the concept of having debts called in. So the way I see it, you owe a debt to constitutional democracy and it's come calling...or "petitioning" as you might say.

Regardless, just remember when your political role model JFK said “ask not what your country can do for you… .” Oh right, my bad, Ann Coulter apparently coined that phrase in her book right before endorsing your candidacy. Read More......

Soldier who served in Iraq tackled by fliers after bizarre incident

Very sad. And I fear a sign of what George Bush and the Republicans have done, not only to our military preparedness, but to an entire generation of Americans preparing some day to come home and integrate back into society.

A frightening incident on a New York to Florida flight, where passengers tackled another flier they say rammed the cockpit door.
And it turns out the suspect is a U-S Army solider who served in Iraq.

This happened last night on a Delta flight to Tampa, where an airport spokeswoman says the soldier is in custody. Authorities are using a state law that lets them hold someone without charges if they pose a threat.

She says the soldier's brother told investigators he has mental problems related to his military service.

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Six More Abramoff White House visits uncovered

BREAKING NEWS from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Six more visits by Abramoff to the White House have been "unexpectedly discovered." CREW posted the letter from the Secret Service on their web site.

Talking Points Memo reminded us today of the close relationship between Abramoff and Mehlman (although Ken is in denial.) Read More......

Open Thread

For a week with a holiday, this seemed like a really long one. A lot happened. Let's regroup. Read More......

NH Phone Jammer: The White House made me do it

This scandal just keeps getting closer and closer to the White House political team which was run by Ken Mehlman. Via the Senate Majority Project:

According to a recent court filing, indicted phone jammer Shaun Hansen may offer an affirmative defense at his upcoming fall trial, arguing that the phone jamming scheme which his company carried out had the seal of approval of both the Republican National Committee and the White House.

Apparently, Hansen's defense strategy is not going to focus on whether or not he jammed Democratic phone lines on Election Day in 2002. Rather, his defense strategy will be to persuade a jury that he may have been persuaded not just that the phone jamming was legal, but that he would be carrying out the scheme on behalf of the United States government.

Unlike another defendant in this scandal, Mr. Hansen's legal expenses are not being paid by the RNC. But, seems like he is going to make them pay. Read More......

Nearly 2/3 of Americans want us to withdraw from Iraq

The Republicans now represent 1/3 of the American people. Read More......

Sponsor a missile, show you care

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Bush brags on TV today about the great success we've had with "electricity" in Baghdad. Total BS.

And I quote FOX News today:

An al-Sadr aide, Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, denounced the Baghdad raid, saying 11 civilians were killed and dozens wounded as U.S. jets fired on the area as people were sleeping on their roofs because of the searing summer temperatures and electricity shortages.

And the Foreign Policy journal, two days ago:

You can only manage the news to a certain degree. It is certainly hard to hide the fact that in the third year of this war, Iraqis are only getting electricity for about 5 to 10 percent of the day. Living conditions have gotten so much worse, violence is at an even higher tempo, and the country is on the verge of civil war.

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Bush doing a presser at 11 est

All Bush all the time. Larry King last night, a press conference today. His message according to CNN: I'm responsive.

It's all part of campaign 2006. And what a coincidence. He's doing a press conference right after an alleged terror plot was exposed.

Monitor the madness.... Read More......

Jobs growth feeble once again

Remember when the Bush crowd used to tell us that sure, jobs growth might be a little soft but it was the same or worse under Clinton in the early years. Now that we are well into the second Bush term, it's the same old story. Treading water and staying even with new entrants is around 150,000 new jobs per month but the last few months have been well under the number.

• April - 112,000 new jobs added
• May - 92,000 new jobs
• June - 121,000 new jobs

By my count we're falling short by at least 125,000 jobs, just to stay even. As a reference for the GOP apologists, the Clinton years averaged 248,000 new jobs each month. Read More......

Krauthammer misses the good ole' days when we threw Japanese-Americans in concentration camps

Conservative writer Charles Krauthammer laments the fact that the US Supreme Court won't give Bush powers akin to putting Japanese-Americans in US concentration camps. Per Krauthammer, apparently this was a good thing, and it's the kind of good thing the court needs to let Bush do too.

Seriously, are there any conservatives left who actually believe in the US Constitution, in limited government, in the rule of law, in anything they used to claim they believed in? Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Another week, another alleged terror threat uncovered. It's a campaign year.

Here we go. Read More......

Bush administration turns a blind eye to hate groups in military

If you pretend like it's not a problem, it must not exist, I suppose. With the desperate attempt to fill the ranks of the military, standards have really dropped as we can see with the latest rape charges in Iraq and now this horrifying story about hate groups who are joining the military despite regulations against them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia groups, estimated that the numbers could run into the thousands, citing interviews with Defense Department investigators and reports and postings on racist Web sites and magazines.

"We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator as saying in a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem."

Rummy has nothing to say about it so far, but I wouldn't expect him or anyone else in the administration to complain, as long as they get their numbers or close to the target numbers.

The groups are being abetted, the report said, by pressure on recruiters, particularly for the Army, to meet quotas that are more difficult to reach because of the growing unpopularity of the war in Iraq.

The report quotes Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator, saying, "Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don't remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members."

Mr. Barfield said Army recruiters struggled last year to meet goals. "They don't want to make a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military," he said, "because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists."

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Blair's Deputy PM in trouble again - more ties to Christian right extremism

John Prescott somehow managed to maintain his role as Deputy PM after his extended affair became public but now he appears to have gone too far for those in the Labour Party who still have a spine left. Prescott has had numerous secret meetings with American billionaire and radical right extremist Philip Anschutz to discuss plans for unloading the Millennium Dome and turning it into a casino, despite repeatedly saying otherwise.

This is just another example of the UK and the Blair crowd getting cozy with the hate-filled extremists from the US. Anschutz, who keeps a low profile, has spread his cash across the US to fund anti-gay legislation, anti-evolution/pro-creationism think tanks as well as anti-liberal attack organizations. Funny to see that Prescott's new mate is so right wing, yet pro-gambling. Interesting how that all works.

Let's see if Labour can find its roots again and unload Prescott and the cozy ties to the American wingnuts. Read More......

Open thread

Is it over yet? Read More......