Pics from the YearlyKos conference

Me and Maureen Dowd, the fantabulous writer from the New York Times. She was really really nice. Everyone wanted to talk to her, and did, and she took the time to talk to everyone, get pictures snapped, etc. We talked at length about Jeff Gannon (she was one of the good journalists who actually wrote about it). I did hear that things got a bit weird when one excited fan came up to her and said "I love you Arianna!" (true story).


Panoramic view from my hotel window (click to see larger image).


Air America's Sam Seder on a panel with me about the media.


The view of the Paris hotel, or whatever it's called, from the Bellagio (click to see bigger pic). I'm sorry, but Vegas is just stunning. It may have been tacky once, and a lot of the tourists are still tacky, but the new architecture is stunning.


Markos speaking on the "Hot Topics" (i.e., free for all) panel with me, Atrios and Jane from Firedoglake.


Another view from the hotel window.


Naomi (left) and Melanie (right) of CREW, the kick-ass ethics watchdogs.


Yep, another panorama (click to see it large).


Atrios, being salient. Read the rest of this post...

Help Gina and Jeremey over at DKos, if you can

Res ipsa loquitur. Read the rest of this post...

When Bush goes from 35% to 33%, it's not a bounce

The media seems to be waiting for a Bush surge. Not happening according to the CBS News which we got from Atrios:

Zarqawi's killing hasn't helped President Bush with the public, either. His overall job approval rating remains just 33 percent — down slightly from 35 percent last month — while 60 percent disapprove.

Mr. Bush's approval rating for handling the war in Iraq is unchanged at 33 percent, while approval for his handling of terrorism remains just below 50 percent.

Read the rest of this post...

What Markos says

Apparently some people were upset that Mark Warner (aspiring presidential candidate) spent money on a party at the YearlyKos conference. How much did that party cost - they asked - how many starving children in India could it have saved? (Okay, they didn't ask about India, but you get the picture.)

Here is Markos' response:

Here's what pisses me off -- there are people who complain when candidates and politicians diss the netroots. Then, when they pay attention to us, they complain some more.

My take:

• First off, you know I'm not a big fan of the money-hating-left.
• Second of all, Markos is correct: Don't whine about being ignored, THEN whine about being the object of affection.
• Third, personally I was a bit Warnered-out by the end of the conference - he did kind of go a bit wild on the publicity. But that's not a money-is-bad issue, that's just a enough-of-Mark-Warner-I-get-it-already issue.
• Fourth, some people are never happy.
• Fifth, someone is always going to be unhappy, so sometimes you just have to say "whatever."
• Sixth, just because someone complains doesn't make them right.
• And seventh, just because someone complains loudly doesn't make them representative of anyone more than themselves.

In any case, I'm glad Markos is done with his book tour. Now I don't have to be the only bitch of the blogosphere anymore. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Just heard on CNN that the House Repubs. are going to offer another resolution on Iraq this week -- it's purely political, of course.

What are you hearing? Read the rest of this post...

The bogus war on terror in the UK

Just a week after the highly publicized raid in East London, which involved the Metropolitan Police shooting one "suspect" during the raid, the big arrests were so fruitful that the two men arrested during the operations have been released. Quality work in action starting with intelligence right on up.

Governments really love churning up stories and spicy headlines in these cases whether we're talking the UK, US and possibly now even Canada. Plenty of fear to help push blind government support but the facts too often seem to run counter to the talking points. If we are going to have a real war on terror, we have to get a hell of a lot more serious then this.

Both had been detained under the Terrorism Act 2000, suspected of being involved in a plot to make a chemical device that could be used in a terrorist act.

They had denied any involvement in a terrorist plot and the raid, which involved 250 officers, some dressed in chemical suits, has attracted severe criticism from the local community and prominent Muslim leaders.

Read the rest of this post...

Can you hear this?

ANOTHER UPDATE: Oooh, another sound you can test. This is the "mosquito" sound that some stores use to drive loitering kids away. Click and see if you can hear the sound, or simply the ambient noise outside the store. (Hat tip: The Sneeze blog, and good ole Dave.)

UPDATE: I'm bumping this thread since it seems to have caught folks' interest. Interestingly, a LOT of you can hear this, even the "older" folks. I of course can't, or can only barely hear it. Joe hears it very slightly. You?

They've developed a cell phone ring tone that adults generally can't hear, but kids can.

Click this and listen - I can't hear a thing. Can you? Post your experience in the comments, and if you feel comfortable so doing, let us know your age.

Okay, this is interesting. If I put my ear close to the speaker and sway my head a bit back and forth (left to right), I can barely hear a VERY high pitched sound. Anybody else? Read the rest of this post...

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I'm really intrigued by this article. I'm a bit eeked out, and a bit laughing at the same time.

What do you think? Read the rest of this post...

Santorum spinning himself

When Santorum isn't obsessing about gay sex and sodomy, he can't seem to keep his words straight. Political Wire has the goods. Read the rest of this post...

GOP: polarize, then monetize

The GOP strategy is explained by a GOP insider who is also, like so many of his colleagues, a convict. Basically, they play to win using any means necessary. According to Mr. Raymond, they're "ruthless" -- not necessarily a newsflash, but important to hear. Elections aren't about doing the right thing for the GOP, they want to win:

But he said the scheme reflects a broader culture in the Republican Party that is focused on dividing voters to win primaries and general elections. He said examples range from some recent efforts to use border-security concerns to foster anger toward immigrants to his own role arranging phone calls designed to polarize primary voters over abortion in a 2002 New Jersey Senate race.

``A lot of people look at politics and see it as the guy who wins is the guy who unifies the most people," he said. ``I would disagree. I would say the candidate who wins is the candidate who polarizes the right bloc of voters. You always want to polarize somebody."

And after they win, they turn the government -- and your tax dollars -- in to their own private cash machine:

``Republicans have treated campaigns and politics as a business, and now are treating public policy as a business, looking for the types of returns that you get in business, passing legislation that has huge ramifications for business," he said. ``It is very much being monetized, and the federal government is being monetized under Republican majorities."

Yes, this is the party that claims to represent moral behavior and values. Read the rest of this post...

Violent crime increasing

Another feather in the cap of the Bush administration. The new FBI crime numbers are out -- and for the first time in five years, violent crime is on the rise:

Murders, robberies and aggravated assaults in the United States increased last year, spurring an overall rise in violent crime for the first time since 2001, according to FBI data.

Murders rose 4.8 percent, meaning there were more than 16,900 victims in 2005. That would be the most since 1998 and the largest percentage increase in 15 years.

And Bush does have a role in this. He's cut federal funding for prevention programs:

Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect the nation's complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the 1990s and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns.

"We see that budgets for policing are being slashed and the federal government has gotten out of that business," said James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston. "Funding for prevention at the federal level and many localities are down and the (National Rifle Association) has renewed strength."

You get what you pay for. Read the rest of this post...

Meet Bush's fact-filled, cheerful and optimistic adviser on Iraq

This explains a lot. The White House is holding the big summit on Iraq today. One of the key players is Meghan O'Sullivan -- the staffer who "Meghan-izes" (defined below) to keep Bush up-to-date on Iraq. Apparently, she's learned to speak his language -- so he listens to her. In other words, sounds likes she authors "Iraq for Dummies":

She coordinates the political, security and reconstruction efforts for Iraq throughout the agencies of the government. Not least, she briefs the president before all of his phone calls and meetings with Iraqi leaders.

Although Ms. O'Sullivan does not make major decisions — the administration's policy is run by Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — she is important because of her closeness to the president and her role in helping to form his thinking.

"She's able to go to the president and say, 'Look, here's what's happening,' and distill a complex mass of developments into something more penetrable," said Larry Diamond, a former senior adviser to Mr. Bremer.

Ms. O'Sullivan, who was crisp and wary in a recent interview in her office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, would say little more about her conversations with Mr. Bush. But people who have seen her brief the president say she has been succinct, unpretentious, full of facts and cheerful — exactly what Mr. Bush likes.

Because what Mr. Bush likes is way, way more important than trying to come up with a strategy that will end the violence. First and foremost, be succinct and cheerful. That style doesn't work for everyone:

In Baghdad, American Embassy officials sometimes use the phrase, "Let's not Meghan-ize the problem," meaning, let's not try to impose order on the chaos of Iraq with one of her five-point presentations.

And while Bush may like cheerful and succinct Meghan-izing, the rest of us now realize the harsh reality, as Think Progress documents, that we're never leaving Iraq. Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Another week begins. What's on the agenda? Read the rest of this post...

Judge to hear ACLU argument against domestic spying

"Trust us" just doesn't work as well for the Bush administration as it did in the past.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor was to hear the case brought by the ACLU against the National Security Agency. The Bush administration has asked Taylor to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the litigation would jeopardize state secrets.

But Taylor said she would first hear arguments on the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, despite the government's assertion that no court can consider the issues.

Read the rest of this post...

Europe looking ahead to new political leaders

In France, Chirac has been part of the political landscape since what seems like the beginning of the industrial revolution and Blair also gives the impression of someone who has been along well past his date of expiration. The UK is already prepping themselves for Gordon Brown taking over while France is hearing the early shots of the 2007 elections. This past week Ségolène Royal, the likely Socialist candidate for president in France, has "passed Sarkozy on the right" and has backed off of support for the 35 hour work week and talked about using the military for troubled youth. The left is in shock as Royal tries to make the Socialistrelevantnt in time for the election.

It's an interesting time right now in European politics as the older generation, who created the vision of the EU, goes into retirement and the newer generation attempts to readjust Europe for the future. As an outsider there appeared to be too much distant idealism that never connected with voter fears on issues ranging from competition, social reform and EU expansion. The new leaders have some tough challenges coming but it's positive to see them actually talking about issues that truly impact regular people. Read the rest of this post...