Open thread

Have we won yet? Read the rest of this post...

US Army: "Arabs, by American standards, are reluctant to accept responsibility."

Now they tell us. Read the rest of this post...

The day that was in Massachusetts

Just got a really interesting email from Chris Johnson, the Human Rights Campaign's online outreach guy, regarding today's big victory in Massachusetts

Marty Rouse, Human Rights Campaign National Field Director, was at the Massachusetts state capital for today’s historic constitutional convention vote that would determine if same-sex marriage rights would be threatened by a statewide vote on the 2008 ballot. After three years of equal marriage rights that resulted in almost 9,000 same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, supporters of the anti-marriage amendment needed at least 50 votes to win and put the amendment on the ballot.

As the former campaign director for MassEquality (www.massequality.org), Marty has played a key role in each step of the fight for equal marriage rights in Massachusetts. This is a first-hand account of the final moments, as he relayed it to us, leading up to today’s vote and the immediate aftermath of today’s historic win.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 9:15 PM

[Following an email from MassEquality campaign director Marc Solomon that Rep. Vallee will vote against the amendment] This is a hopeful sign. No one wants to be the first to go public with a switch unless there is a good chance many more will follow.

More meetings tonight and tomorrow before the 1pm ConCon.


Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:41 AM

Pandemonium outside the statehouse. Police have put opposing sides across the street from each other. Signs everywhere. Our side gets the overwhelming number of honks from the passing cars. Even the duck tour boat passengers are cheering us on.

Volunteers are handing out Dunkin Donuts to keep our blood flowing as if we need it. Adrenaline is everywhere.


Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:41 PM

Just got out of a closed door meeting of 30 or so of the legislative leaders who support marriage equality and are whipping for final votes. Scarfing down sandwiches held together with toothpicks adorned with American flags the meeting is in the basement of St. Paul's Episcopal Church across the Boston Common.

The mood is serious as every possible move is being plotted. It is almost reverent as legislators' are keenly aware of what is about to happen in less than one hour.

The leaders, Senator Stan Rosenberg and House Member Byron Rushing, gave the directions. The vote is expected to happen at 1:00 sharp and to be over quickly, if all goes well.

The legislators in the church are silent and seem to struggle to swallow their lunches. They stream out in silence and now head to the Statehouse. One by one, legislators say to me, “Welcome home.” The crowd outside the Statehouse, now in the thousands, is rather quiet, sensing the seriousness of the moment as the legislators file by them. I am now walking into the Statehouse to, hopefully, see history made in our country.


Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:55

I was the last one to enter the auditorium before they shut down the overcrowded statehouse.

In the 1,000 person auditorium where pro and antis watched on 12 ft TV screen, we all stood as the Senate President gaveled the Convention to order and asked all attendees and visitors to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. We all stood and spoke aloud but shouted ever louder the final two words "with liberty and justice FOR ALL!”

I got goose bumps and we all cheered and many had tears in their eyes.

Then total silence as we awaited the vote.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:25 PM

Over in four minutes. The building is shaking with thousands yelling to the legislators as they gather in Nurses' Hall: “THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” Senate president Therese Murray is the first to address the crowd to shouts of, “We LOVE Terry Murray!”

Hundreds shouting, cheering, crying tears of joy. David Wilson, one of the original plaintiff couples is here hugging everyone.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:44 PM

Governor Deval Patrick is now addressing the crowd, or trying to. The crowd is going wild. “Thank you, Deval!" "Today the freedom to marry is secure," he begins, to wild cheering.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 2:14 PM

The crowd of about 1,000 is leaving the now steamy statehouse and joining another 1,000 or so for an impromptu rally outside the statehouse steps.

Legislative allies, many of the 151 who voted against the marriage amendment are walking up the steps and being introduced via megaphone by a now-hoarse Marc Solomon, the tenacious Campaign Director of MassEquality.

Looking around at the old, young, black, white, and brown faces, I am starting to understand just what a momentous occasion we now have.

Massachusetts has now secured marriage equality not only by a court but by an overwhelming majority of elected representatives of the Commonwealth. Generations will always look back at this time and place.

The bar has been set for equality, nothing more and nothing less.

Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:02 PM – Marty reflects on his experiences working for marriage equality in Massachusetts.

It was a moving moment stepping into my old office at MassEquality and seeing the maps the charts. Together over many years we have built a politically powerful movement.

Here in Massachusetts, politicians have witnessed firsthand that a vote against the GLBT community can cost them their job. And just as important as the flexing of the political muscle is the need to be open and never give up on anyone.

The power of talking openly about your life to family, friends coworkers, and yes, legislators, makes change. From my recent vantage point of being in DC, I now see that Massachusetts has made a difference in my life and in so many others. The sacrifices so many have made, the long hours, the travel, the cajoling, the raising of money and more money, the speaking with the enemy to find some bit of common ground, all of that has been worth every moment.

I am so honored to have had this opportunity to help in my small way to make our country better for my sons, Sasha and David, and for the future of all of us. All you need is love

Read the rest of this post...

Mystery solved: Reid confronted Gen. Pace because no one else apparently will

Well, mystery solved by Bob Geieger's tape recorder. Contrary to what the Politico reported, Harry Reid didn't call General Pace "incompetent" to a bunch of liberal bloggers. Reid said that he met with Pace and laid out for him, in person, what an incompetent man he was. First, to Reid's credit, he did this in person to Pace's face. Second, considering all the blunders in Iraq, I hope someone is laying out for General Pace (and General Petraeus), just how incompetently this war has been run. Folks can haggle whether Reid called Pace incompetent or whether he explained to Pace how he was incompetent, but the fact remains that no one in this administration is willing to take credit for bungling this disaster of a war. Not Bush. Not Pace. Then who? The troops? That's all who's left - is that who Bush and Pace think are responsible for this rank incompetence? And just as importantly, why is it that Harry Reid is the only person in the US government capable of holding our military commanders to account for the lousy job they've done running this war? And if they aren't doing a lousy job, then tell me: Are we winning yet? Read the rest of this post...

Tony Snow and McCain attack Harry Reid for allegedly blasting Gen. Pace (who is being fired by Bush)

The right-wing noise machine is in full attack mode against Harry Reid over comments he allegedly made on a conference call with several bloggers, including John and me, earlier this week. (John and I don't recall Reid saying what is being claimed.)

Greg Sargent has the background:

One of the big stories of the day is this front-page piece in The Politico that claims that Harry Reid blasted General Peter Pace as "incompetent" and described General David Petraeus in similar terms on a recent conference call with liberal bloggers.

The story has already sparked an uproar, and the conservatives have jumped all over it. It was linked on Drudge, and John McCain sent out a press release attacking Reid over it. And White House press secretary Tony Snow use it to hammer Reid as anti-military in today's White House briefing. Snow brought up the Politico story himself, saying that it was "outrageous" for Reid to be "issuing slanders" toward commanders "in a time of war."

But we've just spoken with three of the prominent liberal bloggers who say they were on the call, and they all say they don't remember Reid saying anything like this. One flatly denies that he said it.

Like I mentioned, John and I were on the call and we don't recall it either. And, an update, BarbinMD, McJoan and Kagro X, who were also on the call, don't remember hearing the alleged comments either.

Knowing Harry Reid, if he's going to call someone out for not doing their job, he'd say it right to Pace and/or Petraeus. He doesn't need us bloggers to be his conduit.

But, then again, what difference does it make?

If Pace is so competent, why is he losing his job as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff while we are in the middle of a war?

Is Tony Snow telling us that it's Pace's competence that has led us to where we are in Iraq? Pace is being fired as our top military commander either because he's incompetent (which is fine) or for purely political reasons (which is not fine in the middle of a war), so which one is it? Either way, Bush made the decision to get rid of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs "in a time of war." And now that Harry Reid agrees with Bush for once, he's the bad guy? Then who is to blame for how horribly things are going in Iraq? Not Bush, apparently. And not the military commanders either, we're now being told. So does the White House blame the troops, or did some magic pixie run the war into the ground when nobody was looking?

This is a vintage trick from the right wing. Take something that's based on a rumor, and that isn't a problem even if it's true, and try to turn it in to a story. The Politico article doesn't even have an attributable source as Greg noted:

The Politico story, which was written by John Bresnahan, only attributes the claim that Reid disparaged the generals to "several sources familiar with the interview," without saying whether these sources were on the call. It contains no direct quote of Reid beyond the one word "incompetent." It goes on to say that Reid "made similar disparaging remarks" about Petraeus, without quoting or paraphrasing any.

Um, bloggers aren't shy. If any of us had a story to break from a conference call that was on-the-record (and it was), we would. And no offense to the Politico, but we'd write it on our own blogs first, thank you very much. Read the rest of this post...

DOJ launches new investigation of Alberto Gonzales

Wash Post:

The Justice Department is investigating whether Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sought to influence the testimony of a departing senior aide during a March meeting in Gonzales's office, according to correspondence released today....

The disclosure could represent a serious legal threat to the embattled attorney general. Fine's office is empowered to refer matters for criminal prosecution if warranted....

In a May 23 appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Goodling testified that Gonzales had laid out his general recollection of events surrounding the prosecutor dismissals during a meeting between the two in March, as Goodling was preparing to leave the department. Gonzales asked whether Goodling "had any reaction to his iteration," and she said the conversation made her "a little uncomfortable" because of ongoing investigations into the issue, according to her testimony.

"I didn't know that it was maybe appropriate for us to talk about that at that point, and so I just didn't," Goodling testified. "As far as I can remember, I just didn't respond."

Gonzales has said in a statement that he "never attempted to influence or shape the testimony or public statements of any witness," including Goodling, and that his comments "were intended only to comfort her in a very difficult period of her life."

The meeting occurred several days after OPR had begun its probe into the U.S. attorney firings on March 14. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee in April that he had not talked to any potential witnesses about the firings "because of the fact that I haven't wanted to interfere with this investigation and department investigations."

If Gonzales doesn't resign, he could be facing criminal charges soon, and there is no way that anyone in the White House, or the Republican party, wants to have a sitting attorney general indicted. The only way to guarantee that doesn't happen is to have him resign now. What's astounding is that Gonzales doesn't simply fall on his sword and quit. Read the rest of this post...

Scooter Libby is going to jail

CNN reports that Scooter Libby must go to jail. The judge just ruled Libby cannot stay free while he appeals his case. That means that the issue of Bush pardoning Scooter is now ripe. Either Bush pardons Scooter now, or Scooter spends the rest of the Bush term, pending appeal, in jail. The GOP base won't stand for Scooter doing time, but how much more damage can Bush take, is Bush willing to take, to his approval ratings? So much for the Bush administration being a "beyond reproach" alternative to the Clinton administration.
Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: Gay Marriage wins in Massachusetts

BIG WIN IN MASSACHUSETTS. Opponents of gay marriage lost. They only got 45 of the votes needed to put the measure on the ballot. They needed 50.

So glad Mitt Romney decided to run for President. The pro-gay Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, among many others, helped make this outcome happen. Read the rest of this post...

The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention on gay marriage has begun

The proceedings in the Mass. State House started at 1 P.M. To get a measure on the ballot to repeal gay marriage, opponents need 50 votes. It's going to be close.

The ConCon can be viewed live here.

Bay Windows is live blogging. Read the rest of this post...

White House Spokesman Tony Snow contradicted General Petraeus

Yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow is now flatly contradicting General Petraeus, telling reporters that it's basically absurd to think that we'll be able to judge the efficacy of the Iraq surge by this September. Unfortunately, that's exactly what General Petraeus told Bush - that by September we'll have a good idea of how the surge is going.

So, was Petraeus wrong, and if so, what is he doing leading the surge if he has no idea when we'll know how it's going? Or, more likely, is the White House now distancing itself from Petraeus and/or choosing to make military decisions that supposedly were to be left in his hands - namely, the determination as to how our military efforts are faring? Either way, the White House is distancing itself from the good General, and that doesn't spell good news for his future. Oh the tangled web we weave... Read the rest of this post...

Why is Bush personally protecting law breakers?

No, not Libby, but Enron, the company that went bankrupt after corrupt business practices that resulted in the loss of billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. If ever there was an example of a valid lawsuit, this is it. To pile the Enron lawsuits together with someone burning themselves because of a hot cup of coffee is insane. Numerous members of the management team including infamous names such as Ken Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow and more were found guilty and served (or were due to serve) time in jail. For the president to personally involve himself against shareholders is a slap in the face to honest Americans.

It makes you wonder how he plans to address the Libby conviction as well as what the president thinks of our justice system. Read the rest of this post...

New Pentagon report contradicts Petraeus

A new report from the Pentagon flat-out contradicts the rosy view of Iraq that top-US general David Petraeus tried to peddle only a few weeks ago. The report says that violence is getting worse, in spite of the surge, and that "it was too soon to judge whether the security crackdown was working." Contrast that with General Petraeus leaking to ABC, only two weeks ago, news that he's already seen enough progress to decide that come this September he's going to call the surge such a success that he wants it to continue twice as long.

So, on the one hand we have the Pentagon saying that everything is going to hell in a hand basket, but that it's still too soon to reach any judgment, and on the other we have General Petraeus saying that things are going so well that he already knows that come September he's going to tell us that everything is going great.

So who's the liar? The Pentagon, admitting that things are looking increasingly bleak, or General Petraeus, whose prescient positive forecast seems to come straight from the psychic hotline? Read the rest of this post...

Thursday Morning Open Thread

So, the Democrats are going to start turning up the heat on Iraq -- again. That's what the American people want. The question is whether the Republicans in the Senate will keep doing Bush's dirty work. So far, they've stuck with Bush -- no questions asked. We'll know over the next couple weeks.

Start threading the news. Read the rest of this post...

Bush hits a new low in NBC/WSJ poll

Congress, who is still struggling to address Iraq, political pork, privacy, environment and numerous other issues that brought them into power, are also dropping in the polls. The bad news for Bush is that his base continues to weaken. Read the rest of this post...

US Justice Dept to move on BAE-Saudi arms deal

BAE is already large and has been seeking deeper inroads in the US, though those plans may be put on hold with the US Department of Justice now building its case against the British defense contractor on charges of corruption and bribery which are against US federal laws as well as an OECD treaty which includes both the US and UK. As sensitive as Washington can be on foreign ownership in certain business sectors - defense contracting being high on the list - you can be sure that this will be played by home grown defense contractors. It is also not unreasonable to have more competition instead of the consolidation that is underway, though the Republicans do tend to encourage corporate behemoths these days, in stark contrast to the competitive, flexible model of earlier times.

Strangely enough, Blair is accepting complete responsibility for halting a corruption investigation into the multi-billion dollar scandal, claiming national security and it remains to be seen whether the British public accepts that defense or if they prefer the rule of law. Blair will also find out, yet again, just how much political cover Bush is willing to extend to the UK despite Blair's broad support for Bush and his policies.

More broadly, this chipping away at traditional democracy, both in the UK and the US and often under the guise of national security, needs to be addressed much more seriously and with much more vigor. Read the rest of this post...