Former SEC chairman calls for accountability and transparency in Congress

Not a bad read and I wish that a senior Democrat would be formulating such a plan. Transparency and accountability in government and business is something that the US is sorely missing right now. If we are going to get back on track with being a democracy, somebody is going to have to take the lead and I don't see those that have been running us into the wrong direction being the people to do it. Read the rest of this post...

Religious right zealot wants everyone to buy Microsoft stock and sell it on the same day to destroy the company

Or maybe all the far-right bigots can all jump at the same time on the same day and...

Not exactly a walking billboard for intelligent design. Read the rest of this post...

We're having a thunderstorm in DC in the middle of winter

But nothing wrong with the climate, oh no. It was 68 last weekend, then freezing, and now we have thunder and lightning, and it's the end of January. Very weird. Not to mention, we rarely get thunderstorms here to start with. Read the rest of this post...

Does anybody have contact information for the top executives at MSNBC?

I'd like their names, phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses. I'd prefer you email them to me directly, but if you want to post them in the comments, that works too. Thanks. And please no personal info, I don't want anyone's home phone.

Thanks guys, JOHN Read the rest of this post...

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter slaps Chris Matthews

Figuratively, of course.

This is a great statement from her.

Over the last few days, I have watched with concern as prominent media personalities and political pundits like Chris Matthews have engaged in reckless rhetoric comparing critics of the Bush Administration to the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. This isn't just offensive, it's absurd-- and harmful to our nation.

I share your outrage about the insulting comparison between Democrats and the man who is actively pursuing America's annihilation. I urge you to keep up your public pressure on MSNBC so that it gets the message that these reckless comparisons to Bin Laden made by its commentators don't have any place in our political discourse.

Read the rest of this post...

A tale of two sentences

In a police state, no one can hear you scream...

War Protester Sentenced to 6 Months for Damaging Upstate Recruiting Station

vs.

No Prison Time for Soldier Held in Iraqi's Death

Read the rest of this post...

Associated Press: New report says Army could be near breaking point

Now, why is it that Americans think Bush is making us safer when he is literally destroying our military? No wonder Iran is making all those nuclear noises.... they aren't afraid of Bush because they know we may no longer possess the military means to make good on our threats.

This is why the war in Iraq matters. This is why it matters if it was a mistake, it if was based on a lie, if it was poorly planned and poorly executed. Bush's folly is causing real world problems for us TODAY. Beyond the $300 billion he's already spent - money that we no longer have to pay for other domestic programs and problems (i.e., Katrina) - but we no longer have the military we once had, again thanks to George Bush. That puts every American family at risk.

Bush's mistakes have consequences, and anyone who says that his errors are water under the bridge doesn't understand that we're still standing on that bridge, and it's crumbling.

You get the commander in chief you vote for:

Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has become a "thin green line" that could snap unless relief comes soon, according to a study for the Pentagon.

Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended.

So John Murtha was right after all. Read the rest of this post...

Why does Dan Froomkin hate America?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Seriously, we're glad to hear that he was simply on paternity leave. We thought maybe Miss Gulch got him. Read the rest of this post...

Dan Froomkin is back....phew

Froomkin was away for awhile because he had a kid. But he's back...and he captures the President so damn accurately, no wonder the right wingers -- and the Post's stellar ombudsman -- have issues:

Promising his Midwestern audience insights into his worldview and decision-making process, Bush yesterday made a little news here and there, but mostly killed time with stale sound bites and folksy banter.

Just by virtue of his speaking so long, the meandering talk at Kansas State University generated zillions of column inches this morning in which reporters dutifully recorded the one genuinely new development -- his rechristening of "domestic spying" as "terrorist surveillance" -- as well as his playful digs at his wife, his hemming and hawing when asked about that gay cowboy movie, and so on.

And simply by taking a baby step outside his protective bubble and fielding unscreened questions (most, but not all of them, softballs) from a starry-eyed, solidly red-state audience, he garnered buzz about being forthcoming.

But he wasn't.

Ultimately Bush unplugged gave a performance of remarkably little substance. There was no new thinking on display. There were no real insights shared. Instead, we heard mostly restatements of policy, familiar phrases and even whole stories recycled from the 2004 campaign.

Bush is a President of remarkably little substance. Read the rest of this post...

ARG Poll: Bush approval drops to 36%, lowest of presidency

From ARG:

George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has returned to its lowest point in Bush's presidency as Americans again turn less optimistic about the national economy according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 34% approve and 60% disapprove.

Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Lots of news to come. Read the rest of this post...

GOP newspaper says impeachment is a real possibility

The really strange part is that this comes from the Washington Times (Insight is their magazine), the Republicans' unofficial party newspaper here in DC. And even weirder, the article in the Washington Times is hardly critical of the possible impeachment of George Bush. On the contrary, the article does a pretty good job of laying out the case for his impeachment.

Lots of tea leaves to read here, but this isn't the first time the Washington Times has hinted that it is no friend of this president. And again, you have to remember that this newspaper defends Republicans at all costs. For them to write about this topic, in this manner, is highly telling. Of something.

(Hat tip to the HuffPost) Read the rest of this post...

General Wesley Clark to attend press conference today in support of federal Telephone Records Protection Act

There was a reason I liked this guy as a candidate.

CONTACT: Israel Klein
January 23, 2006

202-224-7433

MEDIA ADVISORY:

WES CLARK STANDS WITH SCHUMER TO ENDORSE BIPARTISAN BILL TO STOP SALE OF CELL PHONE CALL LOGS TO PROTECT PRIVACY OF MILLIONS OF CELL PHONE USERS

- Last Week Chairman Arlen Specter and Sen. Bill Nelson Joined Schumer to Introduce Legislation to Criminalize Practice that Was Successfully Used Against Gen. Wes Clark and Millions of Others

- Thieves Steal and Sell Entire List of Every Call Cell Phone Owner has Made, Private, Business and Personal Relationships Made Public for a Small Fee

- Who your Physician is, Whether you see a Psychologist, Companies you do Business with, Private/Personal Relationships Can all be made Public

Last week U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer introduced legislation to combat the growing black market of cell phone call logs stolen and sold by criminals.

The bipartisan Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006, was introduced with Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and others and it will criminalize the practice of both stealing and selling these records for cell phone, landline and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) subscribers. Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 1:15pm Schumer will stand with Gen. Wesley Clark to urge the passage of this critical bill. Gen. Clark’s personal cell records were purchased online recently. A representative from Verizon Wireless will also participate in the press conference ­
Verizon and Cingular have both endorsed the Schumer-Specter-Nelson bill.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 24, 2006
TIME: 1:15 p.m.
PLACE: 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building
WHO: Senator Schumer, Gen. Wesley Clark, and a representative from Verizon Wireless

Read the rest of this post...

Chris Matthews on Tom Delay: "You're not in this business for the money, you live modestly..."

UPDATE: ThinkProgress now has the video up.

Just watching tonight's Hardball (I just have this strange nagging curiosity about the advertisers) and the lead-in to a commercial shows a segment of a hard-hitting upcoming interview Chris Matthews is doing with former House Majority Leader Tom Delay:

Americana sounding music softly plays in the background (I'm not making this up). Matthews and Delay are standing in front of a typical "Wonder Years" suburban Texas home where identical houses line the entire block. Cue Chris Matthews, who in a soft-spoken seductive voice asks Delay very very slowly...

MATTHEWS: Okay I gotta ask you a cosmic question. Tom Delay, you're not in this business for the money. You live modestly. You commute back and forth from Washington to Houston, Texas. Why? What drives you every day?

DELAY: What I believe in, the Constitution of the United States, Ronald Reagan got me involved in this, I fight every day for what I believe in...

It goes on, suffice it to say Delay rambled on and on and on about how he's just fighting for the American dream and Matthews didn't interrupt once. Read the rest of this post...

Alito to get committee approval today

What timing. Alito gets his first vote the day after a wink, wink, nod, nod from Bush yesterday to the anti-choice forces:

President Bush told abortion opponents Monday that they are pursuing "a noble cause" and predicted that their views would prevail eventually.

"We're working to persuade more of our fellow Americans of the rightness of our cause," the president told abortion foes gathered at the foot of Capitol Hill on a chilly, rainy day. He spoke by telephone from Manhattan, Kan., where he gave a speech.

"This is a cause that appeals to the conscience of our citizens and is rooted in America's deepest principles," the president said. "And history tells us that with such a cause we will prevail."

Lots of code talk from the GOP when it comes to the choice issue. They all know Alito will overturn Roe, but they won't say it. Alito knows Alito will overturn Roe...and he talked in legal code when he said that case wasn't "settled law"":

Alito also worried abortion-rights supporters by declining to call the landmark Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion "settled law," as Roberts had done in his own hearings.

Course, that wasn't news, because the traditional media had to focus on the big news that his wife cried. There are probably more than a handful of Members of Congress who have benefitted Roe v. Wade. Just like many of them have benefitted from the privacy rights established by Griswold v. Connecticut. But, make no mistake, those rights are on the chopping block. For the theocrats, Roe is the low hanging fruit. They want to strip all our privacy rights. But, they'll never say it out loud...they'll just talk in code. Read the rest of this post...

CNN Doing a Domestic Spying "Reality Check"

Following up on yesterday's interview with Dan Bartlett, CNN had on Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez this morning. He and Bartlett are peas in a pod. They said exactly the same thing, and once again, journalists seem to have a hard time asking the most basic an simple question:

How is wiretapping without a court order NOT a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution?

The Fourth Amendment is unambiguous:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Fourth Amendment, United States Constitution

Going after terrorists does not automatically suspend the United States Constitution. Period.

CNN is about to "fact check" its interview with Gonzalez with Jeffrey Toobin. We'll see if it's any better than last night's Larry King suck up hour:

Interview with Former President George H.W. Bush; Evangelists Robert Schuller and Son Discuss Ministry

Oh yeah, and here's what Daddy Bush had to say about syping on Americans without a court order:

Well this may surprise you, but I support the president, because you know, we -- we've gotten -- we've gotten a little forgetful, Larry about 9/11. And I think if one call is intercepted that can guarantee against another such plot or make another such plot fail, it's worth it.

And he spelled out what they're trying to do in listening and it's not like they're invading everybody's homes, some guy in Des Moines talking to somebody in Reno. That's not what this is all about, so I'm supportive, and I think a lot of people say, "Well, you're pounding or impugning our civil rights. You're not giving -- you're invading our privacy."

It's a very narrow band that's being used, and I think the president's pretty darn clear on it. And fortunately, the country seems to be backing on him from what I've seen.

We're only violating your civil rights a little...

UPDATE 1: Saw the segment, it was pretty useless. This is NOT a transcript, but here's the basics: Toobin pointed out you need a warrant under FISA, but that it's a "political" issue and there is no "case" to be judged because no one can prove their calls were violated. Miles did point out that FISA gives after the fact warrants, and basically asked - should we trust them? Ensor's answer - I've met them and they are admirable but what about checks and balances? Read the rest of this post...

A $22 billion gift from the GOP to the insurance industry

The GOP's culture of corruption is alive and well and costing American billions and billions:

House and Senate GOP negotiators, meeting behind closed doors last month to complete a major budget-cutting bill, agreed on a change to Senate-passed Medicare legislation that would save the health insurance industry $22 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The Senate version would have targeted private HMOs participating in Medicare by changing the formula that governs their reimbursement, lowering payments $26 billion over the next decade. But after lobbying by the health insurance industry, the final version made a critical change that had the effect of eliminating all but $4 billion of the projected savings, according to CBO and other health policy experts.

Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

What is going on out there? Read the rest of this post...

European investigation: US outsourced torture

Policy has already been outsourced to special interests so this comes as no surprise.

"There is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture," Marty said in a report presented to the Council of Europe, the human rights watchdog on whose behalf he is investigating.

"Acts of torture or severe violation of detainees' dignity through the administration of inhuman or degrading treatment are carried outside national territory and beyond the authority of national intelligence services."

"It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware," it said.

Read the rest of this post...

Bush caught in a lie once again

As if anyone had any doubt before, documents will be released today that prove what many claimed during the post-Katrina news cycles. Bush lied to the American public.

A Homeland Security Department report submitted to the White House at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, "Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching."

The internal department documents, which were forwarded to the White House, contradict statements by President Bush and the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, that no one expected the storm protection system in New Orleans to be breached.

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Mr. Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1. "Now we're having to deal with it, and will."

Other documents to be released Tuesday show that the weekend before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Homeland Security Department officials predicted that its impact would be worse than a doomsday-like emergency planning exercise conducted in Louisiana in July 2004.

Read the rest of this post...

58% of Americans want a special prosecutor to investigate Bush's domestic spying

Now you know why Bush is mounting such a sudden full-court press on this issue. They've lost control of the public opinion on it.

A new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows that 51% of Americans say the administration was wrong to intercept conversations without a warrant. The poll also showed that 58% of Americans support appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the issue. The poll of 1,006 adults was taken Friday through Sunday and has a margin of error of +/—3 percentage points.

Read the rest of this post...