Open thread

I'll be on Howie Kurtz's show on CNN tomorrow morning, something like 10:15AM Eastern or so. We'll be discussing the GOP presidential debate, how the candidates did, how Tweety did, etc. Read the rest of this post...

Iraqi politicians feeling the heat of accomplishing something...anything

They're under such pressure to deliver, they're going to take a two month holiday possibly with no progress or accomplishments. What an impressive spirit and can-do attitude. I'll bet Bush has been jawboning them too, just like the oil guys. Read the rest of this post...

Gee, another massive privacy violation and nobody in Congress or the Administration could give a damn

Yes, yet another massive privacy violation.

Really tired of beating a dead horse but would someone in Congress please understand that there are several stories each week about new privacy violations, and that privacy is at the base of so many issues that progressives care about from civil rights to choice to national security (i.e., illegal domestic spying). For the love of God, would someone in the Democratic party please get a clue when an issue that appears bipartisan on its face, yet has incredible partisan implications just below the surface, is repeatedly dropped in their damn laps several times a week for a period of years? What the hell will it take for you people? Read the rest of this post...

The farm bill

This is way outside my usual commentary, but hey, it's the weekend and it's a pet interest of mine. The NYTimes Magazine last week had a great (and relatively short) article on the upcoming farm bill and its sprawling, fascinating effects on our lives in everything from health to economics to trade. The farm bill, which comes up every five or so years and is once again impending, has perhaps the most effect of any law you've never heard of. It's colossal, complicated, and totally regressive -- the goals of this bill, which has all kinds of influence, have virtually nothing to do with effective agriculture policies and everything to do with politics, lobbying, and narrow interests.

The piece explains,

Processed foods are more "energy dense" than fresh foods: they contain less water and fiber but more added fat and sugar, which makes them both less filling and more fattening. These particular calories also happen to be the least healthful ones in the marketplace, which is why we call the foods that contain them "junk." Drewnowski concluded that the rules of the food game in America are organized in such a way that if you are eating on a budget, the most rational economic strategy is to eat badly — and get fat . . . For the answer, you need look no farther than the farm bill. This resolutely unglamorous and head-hurtingly complicated piece of legislation . . . sets the rules for the American food system — indeed, to a considerable extent, for the world’s food system.

The way it sets those rules is by providing huge subsidies for corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, and cotton.

For the last several decades — indeed, for about as long as the American waistline has been ballooning — U.S. agricultural policy has been designed in such a way as to promote the overproduction of these five commodities, especially corn and soy . . . The result? A food system awash in added sugars (derived from corn) and added fats (derived mainly from soy), as well as dirt-cheap meat and milk (derived from both). By comparison, the farm bill does almost nothing to support farmers growing fresh produce. A result of these policy choices is on stark display in your supermarket, where the real price of fruits and vegetables between 1985 and 2000 increased by nearly 40 percent while the real price of soft drinks (a k a liquid corn) declined by 23 percent. The reason the least healthful calories in the supermarket are the cheapest is that those are the ones the farm bill encourages farmers to grow.

I didn't know anything about these things until this past fall, when I just randomly read a book about nutrition. I was fascinated by how much junk I was eating, and how wrong I was in my general approach to food consumption. It lead me to read about the politics of food, and then more nutrition, and then more politics. The whole thing is a debacle, and it makes us fat, leads to dangerous foods (which we've seen with alarming frequency lately), and screws the agricultural economies of developing countries. Whether any of these problems will be rectified with the new version of the bill I have no idea, but I certainly hope so. Read the rest of this post...

Al Qaeda #2, Zawahiri, endorses Bush plan for Iraq

Isn't that nice? The number two guy in Al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri, says he doesn't like the Democrats' bill to get us out of Iraq. Why? Because he wants the US to remain in a quagmire where our troops are killed and killed and killed, i.e., he likes the Republican plan for Iraq.

From ABC News:

In a new video posted today on the Internet, al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al Zawahiri, mocks the bill passed by Congress setting a timetable for the pullout of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," Zawahiri says in answer to a question posed to him an interviewer.

Continuing in the same tone, Zawahiri says, "We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing 200,000 to 300,000 killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson."

Yes, Al Qaeda just endorsed George Bush's plan for Iraq. Funny how George Bush and the Republicans now sound exactly like Al Qaeda. Read the rest of this post...

Bush hits new low in poll

Newsweek has him at 28%.

"The NEWSWEEK Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head matchups....

"Though the New York senator and former first lady aims to project an aura of inevitability that she will win the Democratic nomination, Obama beats the leading Republicans by larger margins than any other Democrat: besting Giuliani 50 to 43 percent, among registered voters; beating McCain 52 to 39 percent, and defeating Romney 58 percent to 29 percent.

"Like Obama, Edwards defeats the Republicans by larger margins than Clinton does: the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee outdistances Giuliani by six points, McCain by 10 and Romney by 37, the largest lead in any of the head-to-head matchups. Meanwhile, Sen. Clinton wins 49 percent to 46 percent against Giuliani, well within the poll’s margin of error; 50 to 44 against McCain; and 57 to 35 against Romney.

"Where Clinton remains the undisputed champ is among Democrats. When matched against her main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Clinton is the choice of 51 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters over Obama’s 39 percent; and she defeats Edwards 57 percent to 38 percent. Obama has not substantially narrowed Clinton’s lead since the early March NEWSWEEK poll, where he trailed Clinton by 14 points. Edwards has narrowed Clinton’s lead over him though. Back in March Edwards trailed Clinton by 31 points; now her lead is down to 19 points."

Read the rest of this post...

Sunni vs. Shia

Like you knew. Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Bob Geiger has the weekly compilation of editorial cartoons. "Mission Accomplished" and the Iraq veto were the primary themes -- and the cartoonists captured them brilliantly. Watch the animated cartoons, too. Two of them.

The poem of the week is "Self Portrait" by Polish poet Adam Zagajewski. A mellow read for a Saturday morning.

To the media who are so giddy over the visit by England's monarch, which is such an archaic and bizarre concept: She's not our queen. We don't have a queen. We don't curtsy and bow in the U.S. We're not "commoners."

Thread away. Read the rest of this post...

GOP economy sputtering

88,000 new jobs last month and an increase in unemployment claims. It's amazing what the weight of a foreign adventure can have on an economy. At least America's corporate elite are profiting and paying themselves handsomely. Read the rest of this post...