Friday night keyboard cat

As if it could be anything else. Read the rest of this post...

God, guns and goons

Maybe this is the America for him but it's certainly not the America I knew nor the American history that I know. How creepy is this?

Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.” And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration” puts it.

“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,” Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.”

The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama’s election in November.

Read the rest of this post...

Biden doesn't get it

Biden yesterday about the gay brouhaha:

“I am not unaware of the controversies swirling around this dinner,” Biden said, “swirling around the speed -- or lack thereof -- that we’re moving on issues that are of great importance to you and, quite frankly, to me and to the President and to millions of Americans.”

No, it's not the lack of speed. It's the fact that you compared us to pedophiles and incest. The fact that you're still kicking out two gay service members a day, and that you have the power to implement a stop-loss order immediately.

The sad part is, it's actually possible that no one even told him what the problem actually is.

The DNC is spinning the event as a million dollar fundraiser. We've seen reports that there were 180 people there -- and not sure all of them paid. Rumors are the haul was probably closer to $250,000, which is still a lot of money. We'll have to see if today's spin matches the actual numbers. The DNC has to file FEC reports every month. The next reporting deadline is Tuesday, June 30th. So, we'll see the reports in July. Then, we'll know who gave and how much. Read the rest of this post...

UPDATED: House passed major Energy Bill after debate featuring tantrum by GOP leader Boehner

UPDATE @ 7:17 PM: The House just passed the Energy bill by a vote of 219 - 212. 44 Democrats voted no, but eight Republicans voted for the legislation. That makes it bipartisan, which, as we all know, is the most important thing EVER. Hallelujah.

________________
For the past couple hours, I've made the mistake of watching the House debate H.R. 2454 - American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Minority Leader John Boehner gave an hour long rant. The Hill called it a "filibuster-like move":

In a highly unusual move, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Friday launched a filibuster-like move to delay a vote on the Democrats' cap-and-trade bill.

The House minority leader is going through the bill page-by-page in a speech on the House floor to protest changes made to the measure at just after three a.m. on Friday.

It looked and sounded like he was playing a game. The Republicans act pretty damn juvenile. One could easily forget that the GOP controlled the House from 1995 through 2007, yet never did anything of substance on energy. Seriously, Boehner sounded like a teenage punk with all his goofy gang members behind him, urging him on. Good god, they are useless. Speaker Pelosi turned down the opportunity for a speech and urged a vote.

The Obama administration has been aggressively lobbying for this legislation, which is a key part of his agenda. (When the White House wants something, they work for it.)

The House is now voting on, by a vote of 172 - 256, defeated a GOP substitute amendment to weaken the bill. The sponsor of the substitute, Randy Forbes from Virginia, is a real piece of work, too. Then, they'll go to final passage of the bill next. I'll update this post with final tallies shortly. Read the rest of this post...

Don't expect any action or big announcement on DADT or DOMA

NOTE FROM JOHN: The word in the gay grapevine is that the DNC and the White House are telling everyone who will listen that there's going to be a BIG announcement Monday on gay rights. Huge, even. Just how huge? Well according to Joe's post below, not so huge at all. Surprise!

At the beginning of today's press briefing, Robert Gibbs announced "He [meaning the President] will attend an event at the White House recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of LGBT Americans. Invited guests include families, volunteers, activists, and community leaders." Later in the briefing, Gibbs once again slammed the door on any hopes for presidential announcements on DADT or DOMA. So, if you're at the big gay White House party on Monday to honor LGBT Pride Month, just smile pretty for the cameras. It's a photo op, although there may not be a phote line. (And, yes, we know many of you who are going are fully prepared to talk policy. Sure.)

From the transcript:

Q You spoke about that it's going to be a salute to the accomplishment of gay and lesbian Americans. Is this a sign that the President is feeling political heat from this group, that he felt that he should schedule this?

MR. GIBBS: No, this is an event scheduled around Pride Month.

Q Around Pride Month? And this is the first time that the White House has done that sort of event here.

MR. GIBBS: This will be the first time we've had Pride Month while we're in the White House.

Q I was just wondering what -- are we to expect any substantive announcements on the two issues that that community has right at the forefront right now -- Defense of Marriage and "don't ask, don't tell"?

MR. GIBBS: No.

No. Got that. A one-word answer: No.

Now, that contradicts an earlier one-word answer on repealing DADT that Gibbs gave in January. Back then, the one-word answer was "yes."

Hey, we got the proclamation talking about DOMA and DADT. And, there is the party. Isn't it ever enough for the gays??? Read the rest of this post...

Dan Froomkin wrote his last column for the Washington Post -- and once again pointed out the lies that so many reporters ignored

We haven't said enough about Dan Froomkin's dismissal from the Washington Post. What a stupid move by Fred Hiatt. Basically, I think the Post sucks. But, the one bright spot on the website was "White House Watch." I have lots of posts that just started with the word "Froomkin." That's all it took for people to know it would be good. Dan got us through the dark days by writing the truth and calling out the lies. He didn't get caught up in all the drama and stagecraft that is the White House press briefing room. He just called it as he saw it -- even when other journalists were just playing right along with Bush and Cheney and the rest of them.

John and I got to know Dan over the years. He's as engaging in person as he is online. Smart. Very smart and never bought into the DC BS. That's probably why he can't work at the Post anymore. The paper defines DC BS from Fred Hiatt to Sally Quinn to Dana Milbank and on and on...

Today, Dan wrote his last column at WashingtonPost.com. Here's how it starts:

Today's column is my last for The Washington Post. And the first thing I want to say is thank you. Thank you to all you readers, e-mailers, commenters, questioners, Facebook friends and Twitterers for spending your time with me and engaging with me over the years. And thank you for the recent outpouring of support. It was extraordinarily uplifting, and I'm deeply grateful. If I ever had any doubt, your words have further inspired me to continue doing accountability journalism. My plan is to take a few weeks off before embarking upon my next endeavor -- but when I do, I hope you'll join me.

It's hard to summarize the past five and a half years. But I'll try.

I started my column in January 2004, and one dominant theme quickly emerged: That George W. Bush was truly the proverbial emperor with no clothes. In the days and weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks, the nation, including the media, vested him with abilities he didn't have and credibility he didn't deserve. As it happens, it was on the day of my very first column that we also got the first insider look at the Bush White House, via Ron Suskind's book, The Price of Loyalty. In it, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill described a disengaged president "like a blind man in a room full of deaf people", encircled by "a Praetorian guard,” intently looking for a way to overthrow Saddam Hussein long before 9/11. The ensuing five years and 1,088 columns really just fleshed out that portrait, describing a president who was oblivious, embubbled and untrustworthy.

When I look back on the Bush years, I think of the lies. There were so many. Lies about the war and lies to cover up the lies about the war. Lies about torture and surveillance. Lies about Valerie Plame. Vice President Dick Cheney's lies, criminally prosecutable but for his chief of staff Scooter Libby's lies. I also think about the extraordinary and fundamentally cancerous expansion of executive power that led to violations of our laws and our principles.

When I think about the Bush years, I think about the lies, too. And, I think about how many "real" reporters sat in the briefing room while George Bush and his minions lied to their faces. Those reporters knew it and dutifully regurgitated the lies back to us. It was sickening. But, at least we had Froomkin.

So, I'll link to Dan from wherever his next perch is. And, I know the Post's loss will undoubtedly be some other entity's gain. Read the rest of this post...

White House makes excellent choice for advisor on Violence Against Women

Today, the White House made an outstanding move by naming Lynn Rosenthal to be the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. I've known Lynn for about ten years now, having served on her board at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. She is brilliant -- and an ardent, sophisticated advocate. This is really one of the best appointments I've seen so far. So please indulge me the opportunity to say so.

I just got the news from a White House press release:

Vice President Biden, the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, announced today the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Ms. Rosenthal is one of the nation’s foremost experts in domestic violence policy, and has worked at the local, state and national levels to create an environment where violence against women is not ignored and perpetrators are held accountable. This is a newly created position at the White House, dedicated specifically to advising the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.

“My proudest legislative achievement in the Senate was passing the Violence Against Women Act. We’ve made great strides since its passage – shining a light on an all too silent issue and reducing violence against women in significant numbers. But we have to do more,” said Vice President Biden. “That’s why we’re here today – to do more. It’s an honor to announce the first ever White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, Lynn Rosenthal. Lynn is passionate about these issues and knows them backwards and forwards. And as a former director of a shelter, she’s also seen the human face of this tragic problem. She will be a leader in this White House in stopping the violence and sexual assault of women and will be an integral part of this Administration.”

“Lynn Rosenthal has been a life-long advocate for women and she has been a real leader in developing effective policies to combat domestic violence,” said Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement. “She will be a tremendous asset to the President, Vice President and the entire Administration as we continue the battle against domestic violence and sexual assault.”

Indeed, she will be an asset.

Congrats, Lynn. Read the rest of this post...

Obama tried to avoid the culture wars - so what did he get? - culture wars

A lot of us think that President Obama, and Democrats in Congress, have been backing away from their promises to the gay community in order to avoid "the culture wars." The logic goes, if you just give the gays a little to keep them appeased, and keep putting off the big stuff, like repealing DOMA and DADT, and passing ENDA, you can avoid the religious right crying "culture war!"

Well, guess what? Obama decided to piecemeal the gay community's civil rights, and even stab us in the back by comparing our marriages to incest and pedophilia - he decided to exclude health care from the benefits memo he just signed (even though several gay rights lawyers say he could have included the benefits even under DOMA) - all because someone is telling him to avoid the gays and avoid the culture wars. Well, the even with the minor crumbs Obama is throwing us, the religious right is screaming "gay marriage!"

President Obama and his staff need to learn the same lesson that Democrats on the Hill have had a hard time learning: No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to appease them, the Republicans and the far right will always attack you. Always. There is no point in compromising your principles in the hopes they'll call off the dogs. They'll never call off the dogs. Ever.

If Obama is going to be blasted no matter what he does for the gay community, then why not do something real and keep his promises. Read the rest of this post...

Michael Savage backed off his threat against Media Matters

Media Matters stood its ground after Michael Savage threatened its employees.

Yesterday, Savage backed down:

In a statement during his radio show today he appeared to back off, saying only that an unidentified person was researching publicly available information such as the group’s tax filings. Non-profit organizations must file IRS form 990 and are available for public inspection.

Apparently his call for right wing talkers and fellow travelers to rise up against this media watchdog was met with a resounding silence. His attempt to push back and silence his critics appears to be a failure. It is difficult for Savage to push back against reporting that includes recordings of his own words.

Savage is a bully with a big megaphone. But, look what happened when Media Matters stood up to the bully. He ran away with his tail between his legs. Read the rest of this post...

Obama admin. rejects CAP's practical plan to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

On Wednesday, John linked to the CAP report, "Ending 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell': Practical Steps to Repeal the Ban on Openly Gay Men and Women in the U.S. Military." It is just what it sounds like.

But, yesterday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected the practical advice:

In today’s press briefing, David Corn of Mother Jones asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs about the report and whether the Obama administration thinks this is “the way to go.” Gibbs largely dismissed CAP’s recommendations, saying that the White House is not interested in signing an executive order to temporarily halt DADT:

GIBBS: Well, the President has had meetings about this, has talked with members of Congress. His staff has talked with members of Congress. All of them have talked to Pentagon officials and the administration believes that this requires a durable, legislative solution, and is pursing that in Congress.

Q: I understand that for the long-term solution, but what do you take issue with about signing an executive order that will suspend the separations before an endurable solution is reached through the slow legislative process?

GIBBS: I mean, I think there could be differences on strategy. I think our belief is that the only and best way to do this is through a durable, comprehensive legislative process.

There's that damn "durable" language. He's also used the word "sustainable." This White House could just come up with a practical plan that would stop destoying the lives of service men and women.

It's bizarre how obstinate the Obama administration is on DADT.

Tomorrow, ServiceMembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is hosting a March on the White House at 2 PM. Here's the Facebook page. SLDN and the rest of us have to keep up the pressure.

Durable, my ass. Use the power of the presidency to do the right thing. Read the rest of this post...

Roy Blunt (R-MO) and the curious case of the coverup of his extramarital affair with a lobbyist who is now his wife

Via FiredUp Missouri, we get to add Missouri GOP Congressman/Senate candidate Roy Blunt's affair to the drama swirling around Mark Sanford's affair. That's because someone tried to scrub Blunt's affair.

But, just because a newspaper removes the reference to a Republican Congressman's affair with a lobbyist, who he subsequently married, did the affair not happen? Of course it still happened. The better question is why did the Examiner see fit to remove the reference to Roy Blunt's affair in an article about how Mark Sanford's affair affected Republicans in Congress.

Here's what it said initially:

Rep. Roy Blunt, the former House Majority Leader who is now a GOP candidate for Governor in Missouri, is no stranger to scandal, having gone through an affair, a public divorce and remarriage under the scrutiny of the press.

Here's photographic proof:

Here's what the article says now:

Rep. Roy Blunt, the former House Majority Leader who is now a GOP candidate for Senate in Missouri, is no stranger to scandal, having gone through a public divorce and remarriage under the scrutiny of the press.

"This can be a distraction," Blunt said of the Ensign and Sanford scandals. "But I think the issues are big enough that they will quickly overcome the distraction."

Now, there was an obvious error in the original report. Blunt is running for Senate, not Governor. That got corrected. The affair part, however, wasn't wrong and certainly was relevant. Media Matters picked up this story, too:

So, why was the story changed when it is demonstrably true that Blunt did have an affair with a tobacco lobbyist who would go on to become his current wife?

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

Colbert's word of the day: Stonewalling

Classic:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Stonewalling
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

What a week. What a week.

So, the President is meeting with Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, today. Apparently, there's some tension between them over issues like Afghanistan. (Note to Obama: Don't go with the backrub to fix it.)

The House may vote on the energy bill today. It's a huge undertaking, very complex, but looks like it will pass. There's been intense lobbying on the Hill from Team Obama. If it comes to the floor today, it will pass. We'll be watching.

Let's get rolling... Read the rest of this post...

Banks preparing for more losses this quarter

Proving once again that all is not well in that industry. But at least they're paying themselves as though nothing happened. (What's that? Billions lost and a global recession? What ever do you mean? Ohhhhh...*those* losses.) Governments around the world injected billions to help this industry recover and in the short term, it saved them from ruin. It had to be done to prevent something much worse but the belief that all of the banking troubles were gone was wishful thinking.

Imagine the reaction of the public if one of these banks does require more capital, soon after bamboozling the government with pay increases and record bonuses. How much support to the banks really think is going to be there the next time? For now they can always count on the uselessness of Congress to ignore taking action but even Congress responds when voters are angry. Nobody in their right mind thinks Citi is a healthy organization so what is the incentive now for helping the troubled bank in the future after their sneaky move? Who wants to help people like this? Short-sighted thinking once again.

Of the banks that are looking soft, Phil Gramm's UBS is not much of a surprise. The Swiss giant made so many poor choices but hopefully they weren't deeply invested in Eastern Europe like many of their fellow European banks. If so, things could become much worse.

Stateside, the ever-popular Bank of America is likely to pay an even higher price for the Merrill Lynch deal. While GOP conspiracy theorists wonder about the forced sale, everyone else is more interested in where that bank is going. The recent Wall Street surge is starting to hit the headwinds of the real world so it might get a bit bumpy for a while. Which bank will be next to warn of losses? Read the rest of this post...

German eco town goes car free

It's easy to live in a city and not bother with a car. In our case we have a Metro station at either end of the street and on the few occasions when we need to use a car we either borrow or rent one. If anything, having a car in the city is a hassle and much too costly. Friends and family who live in the suburbs or country have a much more difficult time managing without a car but this little village in Germany is going to be an interesting case study.

The village is outside of another small town and the focus is on the environment. Houses are equipped with solar panels to generate power and because of the thick, insulated walls, they even sell surplus energy back to the power grid. Getting to work or shopping is as easy as jumping on the tram or car-sharing. Could this be replicated elsewhere?

In Vauban, a suburb of the university town of Freiburg, luxuriant beds of brilliant flowers replace what would normally be parking outside its neat, middle- class homes. Instead of the roar of traffic, the residents listen to birdsong, children playing and the occasional jingle of a bicycle bell.

"If you want to have a car here, you have to pay about €20,000 for a space in one of our garages on the outskirts of the district," says Andreas Delleske one of the founders and now a promoter of the Vauban project, "but about 57 per cent of the residents sold a car to enjoy the privilege of living here." As a result, most residents travel by bike or use the ultra-efficient tram service that connects the suburb with the centre of Freiburg, 15 minutes away. If they want a car to go on holiday or to shift things, they hire one or join one of the town's car-sharing schemes.

Because it has no cars, Vauban's planners have almost completely dispensed with the idea of metalled roads. Its streets and pathways are cobbled or gritted and vehicles are allowed in only for a matter of minutes to unload essential goods. Being virtually car-free is only the start of what has been hailed as one of Europe's most successful experiments in green living and one which is viewed increasingly as a blueprint for a future and perhaps essential way of living in an age of climate change.

Read the rest of this post...

UK Iraq war inquiry to allot blame and praise

Something tells me there's going to be a lot more blame than praise during this exercise and rightly so. The pro-war crowd wasn't very gentle with the anti-war people so let them take on their share of blame for cooking up their bogus stories. They've managed to get away with leading people into an invasion and killing innocent civilians so of course blame ought to be dished out.

As MPs rounded on the government over its handling of the inquiry, David Miliband responded to one of the main criticisms of the process when he said that the five-strong body would be free to write what it likes.

Miliband said the privy council inquiry, to be chaired by Sir John Chilcot, would not establish civil or criminal liability. But he added: "Everything beyond that will be within its remit. It can praise or blame whomever it likes and it is free to write its own report at every stage."

The concession was in sharp contrast to restrictions placed on the inquiry by Gordon Brown when he established it last week. He told MPs on 15 June: "The primary objective of the committee will be to identify lessons learned.

The committee will not set out to apportion blame or consider issues of civil or criminal liability."

Civil or criminal liability should not have been dismissed but this is still good news. Read the rest of this post...

German archaeologists with another amazing find

The Germans have been finding a lot of amazing pieces of history recently but this one is really something. Click through to see the photo of this beautiful flute.

A bird-bone flute unearthed in a German cave was carved some 35,000 years ago and is the oldest handcrafted musical instrument yet discovered, archaeologists say, offering the latest evidence that early modern humans in Europe had established a complex and creative culture.

A team led by University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard assembled the flute from 12 pieces of griffon vulture bone scattered in a small plot of the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany.

Together, the pieces comprise a 8.6-inch (22-centimeter) instrument with five holes and a notched end. Conard said the flute was 35,000 years old.

Read the rest of this post...

DNC LGBT caucus member responds

A member of the DNC's LGBT leadership council sent me a message, hoping to give us more insight into what exactly took place on that phone call the other that the White House held with the senior gay members of the DNC. The most important part of the message was the description of the "successes" to date from the Obama administration on gay rights issues. And I quote:

I’m hoping you also heard about the list of priorities/accomplishments: 1) signed UN declaration on gay rights

Yes, this would be the UN declaration that commits the Obama administration to push other countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Okay, I'm game. What's the Obama administration's "plan" for pushing other countries to decriminalize being gay? In Iraq, for example, we regularly read of atrocities against gays and lesbians. In Turkey too. So what has the administration actually donehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif to make the lives of gays and lesbians in Iraq and Turkey better? I know they signed a document promising to help, but what have they actually done to help, besides simply offer campaign-style promises?

2) moving forward with inclusive Hate Crimes

Ah, "moving forward." In fact, the hate crimes bill is moving backward. It was supposed to come up for a vote last week, and now we're told it's been postponed several months because they just can't all agree where to put the bill. This piece of legislation that passed both the House and Senate in the last congress, and even survived a filibuster in the Senate, is now stuck in the mud. It's not "moving forward" at all. And in any case, tell us exactly what the Obama White House has done to help it move forward.

3) federal benefits within allowances of DOMA & active support for Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act

Well, kind of. Those federal benefits already existed, and gay employees were already eligible to get them. But it was up to their supervisors whether to give them out. Second, the benefits don't include health care or retirement. Obama said DOMA stops him from giving those benefits. Gay lawyers I talk to say that this is a lie. In fact, we now know that when gay legal groups tried to sit down with the Obama administration in order to work out why Obama thought DOMA precluded healthy benefits, when the groups say it does not, the Obama administration refused to sit down, refused to provide any information that might have helped these groups create a work-around around DOMA.

4) proceeding with lifting HIV entry ban

Proceeding? That's another of saying "we haven't done it yet."

5) developing a new national HIV/AIDS strategy

Maybe they are, maybe they're not. Perhaps there's some massive inter-governmental effort to develop a new national strategy - if so, we'd like to hear more about this.

6) inclusion of LGBT counts in census

Yes, that was very nice. Not on our radar, but very nice.

7) hiring & appointment of LGBT personnel

Again, very nice, but Bill Clinton in 1993 hired LGBT personnel, as did George Bush. In 2009, you don't credit for not discriminating against minorities in hiring UNLESS you break a glass ceiling, such as picking an openly gay person for your cabinet or for the Supreme Court. And it's clear that no openly gay person will be stepping into that cabinet room for a long time coming.

8) working toward repeal of DADT

Okay, I'm game. Tell us all the "work" the Obama administration has done to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. Is part of that "work" refusing to issue a stop-loss order which would spare the careers of two gay service members a day?

9) full support for ENDA and work for its passage

My dog "supports" ENDA. We expect our president to lead, not follow. Support is something you do when you run for president. Actually work towards passage of legislation is something you do when you ARE president. What has Barack Obama done since taking office to advance ENDA?

And finally, not a word about the anti-gay DOJ brief comparing us to incest and pedophilia. Apparently, we don't even merit an explanation, let alone an apology. Read the rest of this post...