Why we need a Privacy Bill of Rights

Betty Ostergren of The Virginia Watchdog is receiving quite a lot of attention these days as we see personal data horror stories coming out every week. The WashPost article today mentions a few of the high profile politicians that Betty has warned about their own personal data being available and free to everyone, anywhere in the world. Good old Jeb Bush, lover of democracy and freedom, was kind enough to have his own personal data hidden when warned, though to hell with the rest of the people who still have their data floating around the internet free for the taking. It must be nice being part of the ruling class of America when you're so far above the rest of us schmucks. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Orchid Blogging

Some things never change.

Been a rather good week for all of us. Filibuster. Bolton. Coin-gate. Ralph Reed. And even the anti-Muslim DOD photo. :-)



This is a phragmipedium (another pic from the NY orchid show). Not always the easiest to grow - I've got a few, though not this exact type, and while beautiful, they can rot (they like it very wet, and can go bad where the leaves meet the base of the plant). Anyway, there are several types of phrags that look like this - so I'm not sure which exact one this is, but it's clearly either a Phrag besseae or a phrag with besseae in its parentage (thus the form and the very bright red color). Sometimes these are more orange-red, but when they're bright red they're absolutely stunning. Also, these tend to bloom sequentially, meaning, you'd have anywhere from a few to a lot of flowers on the same spike coming growing up from the plant.

Enjoy, and have a great holiday weekend. JOHN Read the rest of this post...

AP makes it official - Ralph Reed has left the building

Ooh yeah.

Microsoft Corp. said Friday it has severed ties with Ralph Reed, a Republican lobbyist who once headed the Christian Coalition and who is running for lieutenant governor in Georgia.

"Ralph Reed is no longer on retainer with Microsoft," company spokeswoman Ginny Terzano told The Associated Press.

Again, kudos to Microsoft. Welcome back. Read the rest of this post...

Please sign Congressman Conyers' letter to Prez Bush about Iraq-gate

This is important. It's also really good. Read the congressman's letter he posted on DailyKos about the Downing Street Memo, then go to Conyers' Web site and sign the letter he's sending to Bush. I'm usually not one for sign-ons, but this is good - it could actually have some impact. Read the rest of this post...

Summary of Ohio GOP Coin-gate to date

I was talking to John last night about the coin-gate scandal. So much has happened, he asked me to write a condensed version about it.

On April 9th, I got a call from a friend in Ohio who told me that the Toledo Blade was reporting that the Ohio Workers Compensation Board had invested $50 million in a rare-coin fund. The fund was managed by Tom Noe who is THE major GOP fundraiser in Ohio. He was even a Bush Pioneer. He had a couple of major appointments from the governor under his belt, too. His wife, Bernadette, is also a major player in Ohio GOP politics. She was the chair of the GOP in Lucas County and was on the county's board of elections during the 2004 elections.

Noe, btw, is under investigation by the US Attorney for federal election issues. Think about that one....the US Attorney is a Bush appointee...and he's already investigating Noe for something that happened just last fall...it had to scream out for attention.

Initial calls by Democrats for an investigation were met with disdain by the Republicans who control Ohio. Republican leaders kept maintaining that the fund turned a profit and that was all that mattered. But every day it seemed the story got more complex.

After the Blade broke the story, there were a series of developments. First, it turned out that 121 of the coins were missing. Then, there was the development that the Governor's Chief of Staff was a guest at Noe's vacation home in Florida..at a very reduced rate. Noe was on the verge of receiving another $25 million from the state. When the Ohio Supreme Court was asked for a ruling in the case, five of the seven justices had to recuse themselves because they had received large contributions from Noe.

In Ohio, all GOP roads lead to and through Tom Noe.

This week, it was learned that the rare coin fund was investing in other "collectibles" -- which no one in the state government knew about.

An investigation was ordered of the premises, but Noe prevented the authorities from entering his premises. Then, last night, Noe's attorney announced that 10 - 12 million was missing.

Every major player in Ohio GOP politics is connected to Noe: Governor Taft, Senator Voinovich, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro, State Auditor Betty Montgomery....they all had to be pushed and prodded into taking action.

And that whole thing about the rare coin fund making a profit...hmm...that's gone now too.

Today, the Toledo Blade (which should win a Pulitzer for their coverage) reported that Governor Taft did a press conference announcing that the head of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation was resigning. He also said “I am outraged, angered, saddened, sickened by what we learned yesterday from Mr. Noe’s attorney.”

The people of Ohio should be outraged, angered, saddened and sickened by the behavior of their elected officials. Ohio is a GOP stronghold. Everything about this scandal reeks of hubris, arrogance and total disregard for the public interest. They have absolute power....and it does corrupt absolutely. Read the rest of this post...

No Asian moms need apply

From the Wash Post:

Everyone agrees that Ligaya Lagman is a Gold Star mother, part of the long line of mournful women whose sons or daughters gave their lives for their country. Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan, but American Gold Star Mothers Inc., has rejected Lagman, a Filipino, for membership because _ though a permanent resident and a taxpayer _ she is not a U.S. citizen.

"There's nothing we can do because that's what our organization says: You have to be an American citizen," national President Ann Herd said Thursday. "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows."

Bitch.

goldstarmoms@yahoo.com Read the rest of this post...

Apparently there's no real crime in NY

Otherwise the prosecutor wouldn't be wasting his time going after Jason West, the mayor who wed the gay couples last year. This is outrageous. There'd better not be ONE CRIME outstanding in that state, or the prosecutor had better explain why they're wasting limited resources prosecuting this. Read the rest of this post...

Tom DeLay, cry baby - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Suddenly Tom DeLay cares about the safety of judges. NBC apparently mentioned him in a Law and Order episode last night about judges being killed, and the mention was well deserved for Mr. I'm Gonna Get You, Judges.

Hey, maybe the Republicans can now ban fictional TV shows they don't like? Eh, Herr DeLay?

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Read the rest of this post...

Happy Birthday, Daily Kos

Three years old, yesterday. Read the rest of this post...

Lott calls Dobson "un-Christian"

Uh oh, divisions in fundie land... This was from a few days ago, but still it's telling - some in the GOP are getting fed up with our Taliban.

From Kos:

"James Dobson: Who does he think he is, questioning my conservative credentials?" Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said in an interview. Dobson, head of the conservative group Focus on the Family, criticized Lott for his efforts to forge a compromise in the fight over the judges. Lott is still angry. "Some of his language and conduct is quite un-Christian, and I don't appreciate it," the senator said.

Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

It never slows down... Read the rest of this post...

Rick "Man-Dog Sex" Santorum has another ethics issue

AP has the latest of Little Ricky:

Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data.

The disclosure has renewed criticism of the measure, which Santorum, R-Pa., maintains would allow the weather service to better focus on its core mission of getting threatening weather info out in a "timely and speedy basis."

Opponents say the bill would endanger the public by preventing the dissemination of certain weather data, and force taxpayers to pay for the data twice. The bill would prevent the weather service from competing for certain services offered by the private sector.

What a pig. And Little Ricky, you may not realize how bad this is, but you have CREW dogging you now:

"I think the timing of it is what makes it so suspect," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, a Democratic-leaning watchdog group. "It's like here's the money and you're going to do what I want."

Read the rest of this post...

The Laura love-fest continues

Is this a joke or what? Who gives a damn about what the Laura thinks of the Mubarak election plan? The MSM is taking boot licking to a new low with this story. Maybe she'll be named the special envoy for the Iran or North Korea crisis since she now has to much clout and is so well respected. Read the rest of this post...

Ohio GOP Coin-Gate: Charge of "Actual misappropriation of state funds" by major GOP fundraiser

Tom Noe, the maga-GOP fundraiser is now accused of "actual misappropriation of state funds" while he was raising money for Bush-Cheney and the other Ohio GOP leaders. Today's Toledo Blade article gives a good overview of the scandal and the latest angle:

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said yesterday that he has “reason to believe” Mr. Noe, a prominent Toledo-area Republican fund-raiser and rare-coin dealer, has misappropriated “more than $10 million” in state assets.

“I have reason to believe it is more than just missing assets or lost assets or otherwise,” said Mr. O’Brien, a Republican. “I have reason to believe there is actual misappropriation of state funds involved ... I’m talking about conversion for personal use.”

It is unclear whether Mr. Noe used some of the state’s money to make contributions to Republican candidates, including President Bush’s re-election campaign, Mr. O’Brien said.

The Bush-Cheney campaign lists Mr. Noe as a “Pioneer,” for raising from $100,000 to $250,000 for the President’s re-election campaign.

The U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI are investigating whether Mr. Noe violated campaign-finance laws. That probe has focused on an October, 2003, fund-raiser in Columbus that generated $1.4 million for the Bush campaign.

Gov. Bob Taft has scheduled a Statehouse news conference today to respond to the unfolding GOP scandal.

Every day, there is another angle to this story. But today's news is almost stunning. The Republican prosecutor can't say that the money wasn't used to help elect George W. Bush. That's rich. The scandal should bring down the Ohio GOP hierarchy.

One key thing....when the Blade first reported the rare-coin investment, back in early April, the state's leading GOP elected officials were disdainful. They would not investigate or even question the investment.

The Toledo Blade reported on April 6, 2005 that the Ohio Workers Compensation Board attacked Democrats for asking for an investigation:

Yesterday, Jeremy Jackson, the bureau's press secretary, said it was "unfortunate that there is a group of legislators trying to use taxpayers dollars to investigate a profitable investment. In our opinion, that is the real waste of taxpayers' dollars."

The head of the Workers Compensatio Bureau sent a letter to legislators telling them to back off:

James Conrad, administrator of the bureau, sent letters this week to several Ohio Democrats who were critical of the coin deal. In his letter, Mr. Conrad said the bureau made money on the investment and that it was properly vetted.

"The fact is both Capital Coin funds have performed well for the benefit of Ohio's employers and injured workers," Mr. Conrad wrote.

Conrad and his decision to invest $50 million in Noe's fund was supported by Ken Blackwell, the Secretary of State and a candidate for Governor (who oversaw the 2004 elections). Blackwell:

"would not criticize the bureau's investment in rare coin funds."

"I would never have any reason to question Jim Conrad's integrity. When you run a fund size of $18 billion and you're looking at $50 million, 'Beyond what one's disposition might be, is that an irresponsible amount of risk?' Most people would say no," he said."

Hey, Ken, what's $50 million among friends? That kind of attitude is pervasive in Ohio...and in DC for that matter.

See, the reality, which most Americans don't understand is that the GOP really does have no respect for public money. If it's not rare coins in Ohio, it's the federal deficit. And, to prove that, today's Blade also gives some insight in to what the people of Ohio have invested their $50 million in:

The inventory inspection also involves an investigation of whether Mr. Noe’s Capital Coin invested part of $55 million in state funds to buy autographs, paintings, sports cards, and other collectibles, or whether those items were used as collateral.

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said that besides the Christmas card signed by Jacqueline Onassis and the document signed by Thomas Jefferson, other collectibles bought with state funds include a rare photograph of Abraham Lincoln without a beard, a Norman Rockwell painting, and baseball cards and autographed baseballs.

There are thousands of items in the store, and include items related to almost every president.

“He’s claiming these were all investments,” the source said.

Read the rest of this post...

We Won :-) DOD removes anti-Muslim tank from Marines' Web site

Ok, that's two wins today (we broke the story on the tank here last Sunday). Also, the Washington Times reported on it this morning, which I'm sure is why the DOD finally freaked out. Wonder what Pat Robertson thinks - his little George Bush didn't want to offend the Muslims...

Here's what the link to the tank page on the Marine Corps site gets you now.



Yeah, you need to apologize for more than the inconvenience.

From the Moonie paper:

"New Testament": It's a mighty name for a 70-ton battle tank.
The biblical words are neatly printed on the main gun of an M1A1 Abrams tank rolling along somewhere near Haditha, Iraq. To the Marines of the 4th Tank Battalion, "New Testament" is a fierce beacon and impervious to insurgent mortar fire.
But some critics grumble that an official photo of the tank accompanies a Marine Corps press release about the company's mission with a caption that reads, "The 'New Testament' ... prepares to lead the way during a recent mission." The name of the tank is not mentioned in the story.

This is what WAS on DOD's site:



See better pics here. Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: Microsoft Fires Ralph Reed

And they said it couldn't be done...

From the Seattle Weekly:

And as for Reed, if he ever had anything to do with Microsoft's role, or lack thereof, in this state's gay-rights debate, he won't next time. He's being deleted from the Redmond software giant's payroll, two company sources say, and he likely gets his last $20,000 check this month.

Read the rest of this post...

Military finds soldier innocent who killed Iraqi then tried to cover it up

I can't even comment on this shit anymore.

An Army staff sergeant was acquitted of murder Thursday in the death of an unarmed Iraqi he said he shot to save a fellow soldier....

Before the jury announced the verdict, the judge found Werst innocent of obstruction of justice, so the jury's verdict on that charge was not revealed. Col. Theodore Dixon said he decided to rule on that charge....

After shooting Ismail, Werst said he quickly fired the Iraqi pistol into a couch and told the other soldier, Pfc. Nathan Stewart, to put the man's fingerprints on it....

Seamone also reminded jurors of the testimony of Stewart, who said Werst got mad because he thought Ismail lied about his identity. Werst then said, "Come on, Stewart — we're going to kill this (expletive)," Stewart testified.

Oh yeah, nothing premeditated there. Jesus fucking Christ, is this country for real? Where the fuck do we live anymore? Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

A lot happened yesterday...but it's a long weekend.... Read the rest of this post...