Open thread

Nite nite. Flying back to DC tomorrow - that is, assuming the impending Chicago snowstorm doesn't get me stuck at the airport all day. Read the rest of this post...

Iraqi news employees weigh in on four years of US occupation (hysterical, and sad)

An absolutely hysterical, and sad, report from Iraq from the employees of McClatchy Newspapers. One employee ruminated about the good things that have come from the US occupation:

Yesterday Iraqis and the whole world kept talking about the memories of the war and some of the most important political developments in Iraq. Some Arabic reports concentrated on other sides especially the economical ones reflecting the reality in their own way. As an Iraqi, I feel I can't be more accurate than any channel because I lived the four years in Iraq. So lets see some of the most important achievements done by the great Iraqi and American administrations....

-- Some Iraqis became cleverer and they started to invent new ways in killing each other, stealing from each other, hiding weapons, kidnapping and cheating....

-- Iraqis [no longer] feel afraid of the electric shocks [from torture] because we have electricity power for only two hours a day or three hours as a maximum. The rest of the day we have to use small Chinese generator that cost something like 100 $ which are not really powerful enough to kill people.

Read the rest of this post...

They're back!

Photo credit: Bonnie Dalzell

They're back! At least in Chicago. The 17 year cicadas (also known, incorrectly, as the 17 year locusts) are coming back to Chicago in late May. I remember seeing them the first time when I was 9. They entirely covered the sidewalk, I used to ride over them with my bike, swerving as much as possible for maximal damage. The dog would eat them to her heart's content. Now they disgust me. Last time they appeared in DC, a few years back, I almost got hit by a car when one flew onto my head while I was crossing the street - I flailed, oblivious to the car heading right for me. We hates them. I'm not sure when they're coming back to DC. Read the rest of this post...

Bush offers to negotiate with Democrats provided that he gets what he wants and they agree to cave

Seriously. That's what Bush said today. He wants to meet with Democrats to work out an agreement over the war funding, provided that the Democrats understand that this isn't a negotiation, that Bush isn't going to change his mind, and that the Democrats will have to accept Bush's position 100%. Really, that's what he said.

From AP (since AP changed their story and made it more amenable to Bush, I'm going to quote the original AP story that gives the actual facts of what Bush said):

President Bush on Tuesday invited Democrats to discuss their standoff over a war-spending bill, but he made clear he would not change his position opposing troop withdrawals. The White House bluntly said the meeting would not be a negotiation.

"At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk," Bush said. "We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill, a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground. I'm hopeful we'll see some results soon from the Congress."

In other words, Bush wants Dems to report on the progress they've made in caving on their position and agreeing to Bush's. Real piece of work, that guy.

Oh, and you'll be glad to know that Bush got a "boost" today, at least according to AP, because our puppet in Iraq has now said that they don't need a timetable for US withdrawal to make them stand up and defend their own country rather than having our young men and women die for them. Uh huh. Kind of like asking a child if he needs rules - oh no, no rules needed, mom, you can trust me, just keep giving me that unlimited credit card and the key to the cars. For AP to call this a "boost" is beyond absurd. Read the rest of this post...

Bush will veto stem cell research bill -- again

Because George Bush is building a record of destroying lives instead of saving them, he made it clear he'll veto the stem cell bill that will pass the Senate this week. It's already passed in the House. He really is a heartless bastard. Read the rest of this post...

The Attorney General gets his first subpoena

In what will probably be the first of many, the Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, was subpoenaed today by the House Judiciary Committee:

The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today seeking hundreds of pages of new or uncensored records related to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year, officials said.

It is the first subpoena to be issued in connection with the dismissals and escalates the confrontation between Democrats and the Bush administration, which has resisted demands for more documents and for public testimony from White House aides about the dismissals.

"We have been patient in allowing the department to work through its concerns regarding the sensitive nature of some of these materials," Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the judiciary panel's chairman, wrote Gonzales in a letter that accompanied the subpoena. "Unfortunately, the department has not indicated any meaningful willingness to find a way to meet our legitimate needs."

Conyers added that "further delay in receiving these materials will not serve any constructive purpose."

In other words, stop screwing around. The Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee -- and their staff -- play hard ball. Very hard ball. This is getting good.

This, again, is why having the majority matters. Read the rest of this post...

Bush continues to ignore American people. He has no strategy to end the war.

As we blogged below, Bush gave yet another speech about Iraq today. Lots of references to 9/11, but no plan for getting us out the quagmire. And, of course, the White House press corps dutifully reported his speech -- without providing a reality check. Bush continues to provide no strategy for Iraq beyond keeping the troops in Iraq.

Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a joint statement addressing the President's latest political ploy:

"The American people want the President and the Congress to work together to bring a responsible end to the war in Iraq. Congressional Democrats are willing to meet with the President at any time, but we believe that any discussion of an issue as critical as Iraq must be accomplished by conducting serious negotiations without any preconditions. Our goal should be to produce an Iraq supplemental bill that both fully funds our troops and gives them a strategy for success.

"With his threat to veto such a plan for change in Iraq, President Bush is ignoring the clear message of the American people: We must protect our troops, hold the Iraqi government accountable, rebuild our military, provide for our veterans and bring our troops home.

"The President is demanding that we renew his blank check for a war without end. Despite the fact that the President persists in trying to score political points at the expense of our troops, congressional Democrats have repeatedly reached out in the spirit of cooperation. We renew our request to work with him to produce a bipartisan bill that provides our troops and our veterans with every penny they need, but in turn, demands accountability."

The latest Associated Press confirmed that the American people want this war to end. Reid and Pelosi understand that. Bush doesn't care -- he never has. Bob Geiger also has a good analysis of the current political situation -- this debate is about ending the war: "Democrats want to bring American troops home." Read the rest of this post...

Don Imus on black "bitches" and more

You see, it was only one incident of Imus being a racist. He's really a good man. Well, other than all the other racist, misogynist, homophobic, anti-Semitic stunts Imus has pulled over the years. Read and listen to Imus and friends talking about black bitches and their boyfriends in jail. It's a classic.

I now hear that Imus says he's willing to hire a black person for his crew in order to help him with his racism problem. Great, does he plan on hiring a Jew, a gay guy, a woman and every other minority he's ever degraded? I don't care who Imus hires, I care who he gratuitously attacks. Let Imus keep his show, but the next time he broadcasts a bigoted segment, he's gone.

Next up: Imus as a symptom of the greater problem. CNN's Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, all of FOX News, and every other broadcast that loves to pander to hate and bigotry for ratings. Read the rest of this post...

Read what Imus said 3 weeks ago

In one single show over 4 minutes, Imus and his producer hit on the following topics:

- Beating up faggots.
- Knocking over Jewish tombstones.
- Setting homeless bums on fire.
- Anderson Cooper taking it in the poop chute.
- Obama as a colored man.
- Homos.
- Wishing that some "sissy" on American Idol be the victim of a vicious hate crime.
- Shaving Rosie O'Donnell's bush, you'd need a weed wacker.



Note that it's Imus' usual shtick to let his producer be the bigot, with Imus repeatedly saying "no, no, no." Yeah - no no no - then doing the same shtick over and over and over again for years. Imus has been doing bigotry for over 7 years now that I've been following his show. His racist comments about the basketball team were the latest offensive, not the first. Read the rest of this post...

Bush is giving another big speech about Iraq

Here he goes again. Bush is giving a speech about Iraq to the American Legion starting at 10:25 a.m. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is dutifully reporting the President's talking points in advance of the speech.

Don't suppose the American Legion would ever hold their Commander-in-Chief responsible for sending troops to war without proper equipment and proper training -- and, then, not treating the wounded soldiers. Unfortunately, they're just a political prop for Bush.

The Republicans are playing political games with Iraq. Bush will be doing the same thing in his speech.

Okay, CNN just started the coverage...Bush blamed "bureaucratic snafus" for the problems at Walter Reed. He's pathetic.

And, of course, September the 11th, September the 11th, September the 11th...that day changed everything in case you didn't know. He's really dwelling on 9/11. Bush is still talking like it's 2002. And, when he dwells on 9/11, he's grasping.

Ha....even CNN cut away from coverage probably because Bush is giving the same old speech.

Sticking with the talking point: We need to pursue the enemy over there so we don't have to face them here. Those people don't believe in the freedom to worship.

Uh-oh...he's doing that goofy smirk every time he says "functioning democracy."

This post from the Freeway Blogger says it all. (Thanks scarlet p.) Read the rest of this post...

Don Imus has to go

Don Imus' friends in the media and politics have been rallying around him. Apparently, all the rest of us don't really know what a good guy he really is. See, if you're not in the punditry club, you might not get understand. Of course, if you're in the punditry club, you're most likely a straight, older white male who has never been the brunt of hate and bigotry. Pam Spaulding has the quintessential post explaining why Imus has to go:

This is why Imus has to go. There will be no self-policing. "You probably can't do it anymore." Jesus. I guess [Newsweek's Howard] Fineman means you can't do it on the air, but in the clubby band of journalists and media figures, this kind of racism and misogyny is still worth a belly laugh among friends. It sounds like neither [The Boston Globe's Tom] Oliphant or Fineman would call him out on this in private conversation. They'd chuckle and just say "oh, that's just the I-Man."

After all, they're not the target of the "nappy headed hos" comment, and I doubt there are any decisionmakers of color (or racially aware, non-POC) at MSNBC or CBS who would have telegraphed years ago to Imus that he couldn't continue years of making a living tossing off racist and sexist comments for a profit. This time he wasn't picking on media stars or politicians, he was slurring a women's basketball team. They aren't public political figures; Imus and his clowning colleagues were attacking black women with the worst stereotypes imaginable.

Why cater to the most base elements of society while at the same time offering a program up as a platform for legitimate political discussion?

Why indeed? Read the rest of this post...

Americans want Congresss "to push for an end" to Iraq war

Approval of Congress is up to 40%. Still higher than Bush and way higher than the GOP-led Congress. The punditry seems to think Democrats are making a mistake by challenging Bush on Iraq, but that's not what the latest AP poll found:

[T]he AP poll indicates the public wants Congress to push for an end to a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops.

Forty percent of those surveyed said they approve the job Congress is doing, up from 25 percent approval registered for the Republican majority in the weeks leading to last fall's elections. Disapproval of Congress totals 57 percent.

The public opinion split is identical on the issue of Democratic handling of Iraq -- 40 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove.

The American people want more action to end the war. It's painfully obvious that Bush's policy has been a failure -- and now he's playing political games with the funding. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

What's the latest outrage? Read the rest of this post...

McDonald's to pay more for farm worker pay

It's only a penny per pound more for tomatoes, but it is a step in the right direction. Companies such as McDonald's carry considerable influence in the market because of their volume, so this is a very positive move.

McDonald’s Corp. agreed Monday to pay a penny more per pound for its Florida-grown tomatoes to help boost wages for the migrant workers who harvest them, following a two-year campaign by an advocacy group that called for the increase.

Under the agreement, a third party will verify that farmworkers who pick McDonald’s tomatoes will receive the increase. Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s will also require its suppliers to follow a workplace code of conduct that the workers would help create.

Read the rest of this post...

Maryland governor to sign "living wage" bill

The law is based on what Baltimore and other cities have already been doing, perhaps setting a new trend for other states.

Lawmakers gave final passage to the bill on the last day of the session, less than one week after legislative leaders and O'Malley hashed out an agreement to make the proposal palatable to some opponents. The bill, as revised, sets up two pay grades for the workers - at least $11.30 an hour in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and $8.50 an hour in rural areas.

"It doesn't make them rich," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton, a Charles County Democrat and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "We're just lifting them a little bit more out ... of poverty."

What seems fair to many comes as unwelcome news to business interests who complain of higher costs. Considering the excessive increases in executive pay it might be challenging finding a shoulder to cry on outside of boardrooms. Read the rest of this post...

Late night open thread

Bedtime Read the rest of this post...