Great Quote

"You're going to be up against people who have an
opinion, a modem, and a bathrobe. All of my life,
developing credentials to cover my field of work, and
now I'm up against a guy named Vinny in an efficiency
apartment in the Bronx who hasn't left the efficiency
apartment in two years" -- Brian Williams, anchor of
the "NBC Nightly News," speaking before New York
University journalism students on the challenges
traditional journalism faces from online media. (Source: WSJ)

(I happen to know for a fact that Markos has no opinion, and Duncan no bathrobe.) Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

How do you spell "Imus"?

B-e-c-k Read the rest of this post...

Reid and Pelosi to meet with Bush to talk about Iraq

They're going to bring the concerns of the American people, that he's an utter failure, to the boy in the plastic bubble. Read the rest of this post...

RNC set up email accounts for White House staff to hide official emails from federal legal requirement to archive official records

Conspiracy. Nice. Basically, in order to get around those quaint things in federal law like the federal records act that requires White House written communications to be archived, and other pesky things like congressional subpoenas, Bush decided to have his top employees use non-White-House email addresses and Blackberrys, both issued by the Republican National Committee, so that their particularly embarrassing work, like the firing of the US Attorneys, would never appear in the official record - i.e., there'd be no evidence. Only thing is, they got caught.

And surprise surprise, some emails were mysteriously deleted. Read the rest of this post...

Study: 2 in 10 troops have traumatic brain injury

Bush loves the troops, to death. Read the rest of this post...

MSNBC drops Imus' show, permanently

More from AP. Read the rest of this post...

Iran reportedly training Sunni insurgents. In related news, government is full of it.

Blogs spend a lot of time critiquing the media. Much of that is deserved, some isn't, and a significant amount is misunderstood as partisan bickering. Most of the criticism, at the most fundamental, is about news outlets either 1) getting things wrong or 2) reporting questionable information as fact. (In reality, these two often overlap for news consumers -- e.g., when I read about the Middle East I can usually tell when something is definitely wrong, whereas for a non-expert it might just seem dubious; for me, on the other hand, I sometimes read health care reporting that seems off though I'm not sure why but, say, Ezra knows -- and can explain why -- it's utter crap.)

All of which is to introduce, in a roundabout fashion, the stunningly obtuse articles now being posted on administration claims that Iran is helping Sunni insurgents in Iraq. Basically the military is saying that Sunni groups are now using weapons provided -- and being trained in their use -- by Iranian intelligence operatives. Regular readers of this blog (and sentient beings everywhere) know that Iran is a Shia fundamentalist state and Sunni insurgents are mostly secularists with some jihadist, fundamentalist Sunnis as well. Iran overwhelmingly supports the religious Shia government in Iraq, hates (Sunni) Baathists (from when they, y'know, fought an eight year war with Iran in the 1980s), and recognizes that Sunni insurgents often attack the Shia government (and population) in Iraq. So . . . why on earth would they supply Sunnis with advanced weapons and training?

Now, here's the thing: it's possible. Everything is possible, right? I can't definitely say that the military statements are wrong. What I can absolutely, positively say is that the claims should be treated with some skepticism! In none of the articles I've read thus far (and, to be fair, later versions of the stories may be more complete) is there any mention of the demographic realities of the situation, let alone the fact that this kind of information helps further the administration goal of brinkmanship with Iran.

In several articles, reporting jumps back and forth between talking about "Sunni" or "Shia" extremists with "insurgents" in general, which further confuses the issue (and the reader), and in none is there a quote from an outside expert or any evidence of journalistic efforts to reconcile the paradox of claiming a fundamentalist Shia government would support insurgents against a neighboring government it fully supports. There are pretty basic issues, and they're being profoundly obscured. One would think that reporters would understand at this point that just because the administration says something doesn't make it true, and on Iraq in particular, the claims are quite often totally false and worth at least exploring and challenging before parroting. Read the rest of this post...

Home prices predicted to drop in 2007

Now that our friends on Wall Street are whining about wanting less government oversight, maybe they can explain to the rest of us why the financial mess they created (together with their codependent friends in the GOP and the SEC) is going to drag down the entire system. Go ahead, tell us how the market really needs to be left alone and let market forces dictate.

In its latest monthly forecast, the group said it expects a 0.7 percent decline in the median price of an existing home sold in 2007. A month ago it had been projecting a 1.2 percent increase. Half of all homes sell for more than the median and half for less.

The subprime mortgage mess led the group to cut its sales forecast as well. It said problems some buyers may have getting financing reduced its forecast for sales of existing homes this year by 100,000 homes to 6.34 million. That sales pace would be 2 percent below the 6.48 million sold in 2006.

The subprime mortgage sector, which handles loans to people with less than top credit, has seen a number of top lenders stop making loans, while others have gone bankrupt in recent months as delinquencies and mortgage default rates rise. That has led remaining lenders to tighten underwriting standards and raise rates for those borrowers.

Will the improved standards help? Of course. The question is how long will that process take and it is obvious that it won't happen overnight. The National Association of Realtors can see sunshine in the middle of a hurricane, so get ready to see larger and larger decline forecasts as this market stumbles. Read the rest of this post...

Will John Sununu Help President Bush Veto Stem Cell Cures?

From ThinkProgress:

The Senate is expected to vote tonight to overturn President Bush’s strict limits on funding for embryonic stem-cell research, giving our scientists access to the best tools available in the race for life-saving cures.

The president has already said he will veto the bipartisan legislation, just like he did last year. But stem cell advocates believe they are now just one vote shy of the 67 needed to overturn the veto. The key senator hanging in the balance is New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu (R).

Sununu’s ideological alliance with President Bush puts him in an extremely lonely position. Last year, Sununu was the only member of New Hampshire’s entire congressional delegation to oppose embryonic stem cell research.

Read the rest of this post...

Don Imus show calls Post's Howie Kurtz "boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jew boy"

That was back in the year 2000. Seven years ago. SEVEN YEARS AGO. We're to overlook Imus' race-baiting bigotry because, you know, it's just a one-time indiscretion. Better we look at the totality of his work, we're told. Fine. Look at the totality of his work. The man's show has been racist for years. And even more interesting, back in 2000 Imus promised to stop the bigotry - so he was on notice before of his "problem," and he broke his promise.

A few of the slurs from Imus' show back in 2000, courtesy of TomPaine.com (they raised the issue of Imus' hate back in 2000):

A sample of the Imus team's routine sport:

On the New York Knicks: "chest-bumping pimps� the New York Crips."

On superstar Gloria Estefan: "this little Chihuahua-looking 'ho."

On serial gay-killer Andrew Cunannan: "Why are they bothering to catch this guy? He's just whacking off freaks!"

On Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Native American: "The guy from F Troop."

On CNN's female anchors: "dyke-ie broads."

On media critic Howard Kurtz: "boner-nosed, beanie-wearing Jew boy."

In classic form, Imus reportedly distanced himself from the worst of the slurs as the show went on. Just like he did when his producer talked about murdering gays and knocking over Jewish tombstones 3 weeks ago. Imus always demurs when his cohosts go bigoted - again, and again, and again. It's part of his schtick. His racist, homophobic, misogynist schtick. And he's been doing it for at least seven years.

But don't be fooled. Imus has said enough slurs himself, including the following about a black critic that he said in 2001:

I wish I had known he was African American I could have included that in my attacks on him, but I attacked him as if he were a real person -- ha ha.

So spare us the "it was only one slip of the tongue" crap. You're listening to vintage Imus. It's who he is.

NB Read MUCH MORE about Imus' bigotry, circa the year 2000, here. Read the rest of this post...

Bush wants to abdicate role as commander in chief to unelected political appointee

Bush should be abdicating his role as president. The "wimp factor" is back. So they're looking for a "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And apparently a slew of top generals said "thanks, no thanks." The Washington Post reports:

At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.

"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," said retired Marine Gen. John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting the job. Sheehan said he believes that Vice President Cheney and his hawkish allies remain more powerful within the administration than pragmatists looking for a way out of Iraq. "So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks,' " he said.

He didn't just say "no, thanks," he went public with his "no, thanks" - that's a big deal. It means that a senior general, trusted by the Bush administration to take over the entire war effort, just publicly rebuked Bush and his entire war non-policy.

I think there is also a constitutional issue here - the president can't just abdicate his constitutional role of commander in chief to some flunky:

The new czar would also have "tasking authority," or the power to issue directions, over other agencies, they said.

So this political patronage job will have control over numerous government agencies, including control over the Pentagon and the entire war itself, but the person won't have been elected or even confirmed by the Congress. Are they mad?

Rep. Rahm Emanuel weighs in:

Emanuel's Response to War Czar

CHICAGO, IL - Today, U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) released the following statement in response to reports that the White House cannot find a war czar to oversee war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The Washington Post reports that the White House wants to appoint a war czar to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but they can't find anyone to do it. Someone needs to tell Steve Hadley that position is filled, it's the Commander in Chief, unless the decider's become the delegator."

Read the rest of this post...

Gays thank religious right for supporting federal investigation of hate crimes

I love the men at the Concerned Women for America. They're so cute when they screw up, which is often. More from the Human Rights Campaign:

In a story published online yesterday, Concerned Women of America actually called for the Department of Justice to begin investigations into hate crimes. That's a first because the Department of Justice won't actually have that authority unless the hate crimes bill passes. Oh sure, CWA nefariously claims they want to determine the "validity" of alleged hate crimes. We'd welcome that inquiry because HRC knows from our extensive work with victims that hate crimes happen in America far too often. So, without realizing it, CWA is actually asking the federal government to do almost exactly what the hate crimes bill asks -- involve the U.S. Department of Justice when gay Americans are victims of hate crimes. We assume that CWA wants to determine if hate crimes based on religion, race, color, national origin, gender and disability are real, too. We have no doubt those hate crimes will be validated as well (to use their terminology).

CWA's acknowledgment of the need for federal involvement is a welcome sign for those advocating for the passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act currently being considered in the U.S. Congress. That legislation already passed in both the House and Senate under Republican leadership. It could be that CWA has realized the legislation is inevitable -- or that it looks remarkably un-Christian to oppose legislation designed to punish violent crimes motivated by hatred. Either way, their convoluted reasoning for wanting a study of hate crimes is the first time they've welcomed the involvement of the Department of Justice.

Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign, explained what this development means, "It's not what they intended, but the only response to this public acknowledgment by the Concerned Women for America is to say, 'thank you'. Because of the opposition of right wing groups like Concerned Women for America, too many Americans have waited for too long for the federal government to provide the protections against criminal acts of violence based on hate. This year offers an important opportunity to finally pass a federal hate crimes law, and we are heartened -- though surprised -- that CWA has finally acknowledged the need for federal involvement to investigate these violent acts of hate that terrorize whole communities of their fellow Americans. Miracles do happen."

Read the rest of this post...

Fred Thompson has lymphoma

CNN is reporting that former Senator, current actor and potential GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson has lymphoma. It's a "treatable form" of that cancer. Read the rest of this post...

College loan scandal "like peeling back an onion"

Besides the actual scandal, where top American universities have been cashing in on the backs of students, what really stands out here is that this investigation is happening at the state level and not the federal level. Now why is it that the feds have no interest in pursuing such a scandal?

Cuomo would not divulge where the burgeoning investigation is headed next, including whether more subpoenas are on the way. But he said the investigation could lead to criminal charges against high-ranking officials at both lending companies and universities.

''This is like peeling an onion,'' Cuomo said. ''It seems to be getting worse the more we uncover. It's more widespread than we originally thought ... More schools and more lenders at the top end.

''We have demonstrated this is not just the exception,'' he said. ''This is the rule.''

Cuomo is investigating alleged kickbacks to school officials who steered students to certain lenders. His investigators say they have found numerous arrangements that benefited schools, financial aid officers and lenders at the expense of students.

Investigators found that many colleges have established ''preferred lender'' lists and entered into revenue sharing and other financial arrangements with those lenders. Some colleges have ''exclusive'' preferred lender agreements with the companies.

Read the rest of this post...

The GOP has become a cowering, withered party thanks to their beloved W.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. For the past seven years, we've been subjected to the media buying Karl Rove's theory of GOP dominance. It wasn't so long ago that the Bush swagger awed the GOP and the media. Those days are so over -- according to Republicans themselves -- they are freaking out.

The NY Times reports on the precipitous demise of the GOP. What a bunch of pathetic, whiny losers they've become. That didn't take long:

Republican leaders across the country say they are growing increasingly anxious about their party’s chances of holding the White House, citing public dissatisfaction with President Bush, the political fallout from the war in Iraq and the problems their leading presidential candidates are having generating enthusiasm among conservative voters.

In interviews on Tuesday, the Republicans said they were concerned about signs of despondency among party members and fund-raisers, reflected in polls and the Democratic fund-raising advantage in the first quarter of the year. Many party leaders expressed worry that the party’s presidential candidates faced a tough course without some fundamental shift in the political dynamic.

Bush is destroying the Republican party even faster than he is destroying America.

The Republicans let Bush reign without any challenge or any oversight. Payback's a bitch. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

The women of the Rutgers basketball team, starting with the coach, C. Vivian Stringer, are class acts and truly inspirational. The dignity with which they've handled the situation makes Imus look like an even bigger ass. They were dragged in to a horrible situation by Imus, but they've come out the winners. The women are so impressive.

I watched that press conference after watching Bush give his speech yesterday to the American Legion. What a juxtaposition. The best thing about Bush's speech was when CNN cut away.

What's going on? Read the rest of this post...

Neo-colonialism hard at work in Africa

This sounds like a modern-day purchase of Manhattan for a few beads and trinkets.

More than 150 contracts covering an area of rainforest nearly the size of the United Kingdom have been signed with 20 companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past three years. Many are believed to have been illegally allocated in 2002 by a transition government emerging from a decade of civil wars and are in defiance of a World Bank moratorium.

And the price for the logging rights?

To gain access to the forests for the next 25 years, the European companies have made agreements with village chiefs, offering bags of salt, machetes and bicycles, and in some cases promised to build rudimentary schools, the report states.

Yesterday the companies admitted that many of the agreements that they have signed with local communities in return for gifts needed to be reassessed.

Maybe it is time we start examining such cases at an international level instead of continuing to allow business to manipulate poor and hungry populations who had been caught up in war for years. Examining the role of the World Bank on this process could be an interesting exercise as well, though it might not help its image in the developing world. Read the rest of this post...

More pet food recalls, CFO sells stock

So now it looks like we could be moving from a FDA scandal to an SEC investigation scandal. Insider trading is generally not very well received by the SEC.

The latest update -- the first to involve its Ontario plant -- comes amid news that the chief financial officer of Menu Foods Income Fund sold nearly half his units in the pet food maker less than three weeks before it announced its massive product recall, according to insider trading reports.

Let's hope the SEC is more serious about their work than the FDA, who seem uninterested in protecting consumers and more occupied with providing shelter to big business. Read the rest of this post...