"He has no political capital," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster. "Slowly but surely it's been unraveling. There's been a direct correlation between the trajectory of his approval numbers and the -- I don't want to call it disloyalty -- the independence on the part of the Republicans in Congress."The White House denies it, but it's true. Bush has no political capital. None. And, no Democrat should ever fear him again. Ever. Read the rest of this post...
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Thursday, March 09, 2006
Top GOP consultant on Bush: "He has no political capital"
Someone on the other side has said the Emperor has no clothes:
Open Thread
Another interesting day. And to top it off, Ad Nags is blogging again.
Read the rest of this post...
More delusions about Iraq from Rummy
Earlier this week, Rummy blamed the media for exaggerating about the war in Iraq.
Today, in another of his delusions, he told the Senate that Iraqi forces could prevent the civil war:
Today, in another of his delusions, he told the Senate that Iraqi forces could prevent the civil war:
Mr. Rumsfeld replied that the "sectarian tension and conflict" in Iraq do not constitute a civil war "at the present time by most experts' calculation."What Iraqi forces is he talking about? Not one of the Iraqi batallions can fight on their own we learned from just last month. Not one:
The secretary went on to say that he believed the unrest in Iraq "while changing in its nature from insurgency toward sectarian violence" was still "controllable by Iraqi security forces and multinational forces."
The number of Iraqi army battalions judged by their American trainers to be capable of fighting insurgents without U.S. help has fallen from one to none since September, Pentagon officials said yesterday.Does anyone know what the hell is really going on over there? Read the rest of this post...
Another House Committee passes cell phone privacy legislation
As a follow up to John's post below on the cell phone issue, Congress has actually been acting unusually fast on this privacy issue. It has struck a chord. The lastest step was in the House Energy and Commerce Committee:
Fraudulently obtaining and selling a person's telephone records would become a crime under legislation approved Wednesday by a House committee.Too bad no one gave any of the Democrats on the Hill the idea that this could be a good political issue....oh, wait. John did. None of the smarty pants policy people (of which there are way too many) listened. Read the rest of this post...
The bill also would require telecommunications companies to get consumers' permission before sharing information about their calling records with business partners.
AMERICAblog coffee meet-up in San Fran tomorrow (Fri) 10:30AM at $3 Bill Cafe in LGBT center
(Re-posting this one for everyone in the Bay Area)
Ok, it's decided. Yes, the Three Dollar Bill Cafe sounds a bit more of a schlep than the Hyatt or Bodin's, but it also sounds way nicer and cozier and exactly the kind of place a bunch of online activists in San Francisco should be meeting (someone's point about the Hyatt is spot-on, I mean, what kind of liberal activists meet at the Hyatt?) :-)
Would someone like to give the cafe a heads up that we're coming, 10:30AM till around noon-ish, tomorrow: Phone 415.503.1532
So, here we go:
WHAT: AMERICAblog reader meet-up coffee with John Aravosis
WHEN: Friday, March 10, 2006, 10:30AM - Noon (or so)
WHERE: Three Dollar Bill Cafe, in the LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, Phone 415.503.1532 And here's the Google Map.
More info on the cafe:
http://www.threedollarbill.com/about/index.php Read the rest of this post...
Ok, it's decided. Yes, the Three Dollar Bill Cafe sounds a bit more of a schlep than the Hyatt or Bodin's, but it also sounds way nicer and cozier and exactly the kind of place a bunch of online activists in San Francisco should be meeting (someone's point about the Hyatt is spot-on, I mean, what kind of liberal activists meet at the Hyatt?) :-)
Would someone like to give the cafe a heads up that we're coming, 10:30AM till around noon-ish, tomorrow: Phone 415.503.1532
So, here we go:
WHAT: AMERICAblog reader meet-up coffee with John Aravosis
WHEN: Friday, March 10, 2006, 10:30AM - Noon (or so)
WHERE: Three Dollar Bill Cafe, in the LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, Phone 415.503.1532 And here's the Google Map.
More info on the cafe:
http://www.threedollarbill.com/about/index.php Read the rest of this post...
MediaMatters study shows Hardball's conservative bias
Hardball? Try "Nerfball."
A Media Matters study of guests on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews shows that Republican and conservative guests have dominated Hardball during the first two months of 2006.Read the rest of this post...
Santorum can't say "no" to lobbyists despite promises
Someone needs to get this guy on a 5-step program to stop his lobbyist addiction.
Santorum, whose ties to Washington lobbyists have been criticized by his Democratic challenger, suspended his biweekly encounters on Jan. 30. His decision came as Democrats named him as their top target in November's Senate races, and after the guilty plea of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to charges of conspiring to corrupt public officials.Talk about a culture of corruption... Read the rest of this post...
But in the month since his announcement, Santorum has held two meetings attended by the same core group of lobbyists, and has used the sessions to appeal for campaign aid, according to participants.
Senate Republicans, eager to help Santorum, put him in charge of the party's efforts on lobbying changes, although he was soon overshadowed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and the actions of two Senate committees. Democrats note that Santorum's campaign has received more money from lobbyists than any other congressional candidacy thus far in the 2006 election cycle.
KATRINA: Faith-based Disaster Recovery
George Bush's incompetence at protecting us from danger and disaster continues. Despite a wholesale failure of government in Katrina, Bush's answer for future disasters is two-fold:
Moreover, is this REALLY how we want to do disaster planning and recovery in this country? As Katrina showed, when no one is really in charge, it just doesn't happen. Is it any wonder why they are STILL finding bodies in attics?
Faith didn't have enough boats and choppers to get people out of their homes before they died. Faith didn't fill the breaches in the levies in time to save lives. Faith didn't evacuate people out of the Superdome. Faith didn't have enough food or doctors in the Superdome so people didn't die. Faith didn't even know people were in the Convention Center.
Faith is George Bush's plan for the future. Faith isn't a plan - it's a guarantee of no plan at all. Read the rest of this post...
- Continued decrease in the government role
- Increase in the role of faith-based organizations - including a HUGE cash-grab
A day before returning to the ravaged Gulf Coast region, President Bush created an office for faith-based initiatives within the Department of Homeland Security to improve disaster recovery efforts.I don't want to sound cheap, but why are we reimbursing these religious organizations? Didn't their donors get tax deductions when they gave to them in the first place? Didn't they raise the money from their supporters to do the work they are doing? Why are federal tax dollars going to these organizations? This looks an awful lot like a Religious Right cash grab to me...
But the new office also will have some old business -- reimbursing groups that spent millions on recovery efforts.
While the new Homeland Security office will give private religious organizations the opportunity to compete for federal dollars and contracts, proponents also say they hope it will streamline efforts to pay back private organizations that already have assisted in Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
Moreover, is this REALLY how we want to do disaster planning and recovery in this country? As Katrina showed, when no one is really in charge, it just doesn't happen. Is it any wonder why they are STILL finding bodies in attics?
Faith didn't have enough boats and choppers to get people out of their homes before they died. Faith didn't fill the breaches in the levies in time to save lives. Faith didn't evacuate people out of the Superdome. Faith didn't have enough food or doctors in the Superdome so people didn't die. Faith didn't even know people were in the Convention Center.
Faith is George Bush's plan for the future. Faith isn't a plan - it's a guarantee of no plan at all. Read the rest of this post...
Open Thread
The Senate is scheduled to start debating an amendment on port security at 2 PM. AP is reporting in a breaking news alert that according to Senator John Warner, :
a Dubai-owned company has decided to give up its management stake in some U.S. ports.So, the plot thickens. Read the rest of this post...
General Odom, former head of the NSA, compares Iraq and Vietnam
And let's just say what he finds is not promising.
Read the rest of this post...
Are the NYT and Adam Nagourney running a hit piece on liberal blogs?
Sounds like it from what we're hearing.
You'll recall that Adam has run a slew of pieces pointing out how the Democratic party is a mess, and our sources tell us that he's now working on a similar piece about the blogs, and his intent is to paint us as crazy, lefty, wingnuts.
Now, first off, Nagourney has a bit of a conflict I hope he plans to disclose in any such article. He's been the target of a parody blog for over a year now - it's called Ad Nags and can be found here. One wonders whether the constant funny, but pointed, barbs from that joke site have in any way biased Nagourney. We would hope not.
If the NYT is going to do a look at blogs, then it needs to go beyond the obvious. The obvious is that there is a perception out there that bloggers are all young inexperienced angry children who work in their pajamas, and they're dangerous dangerous DANGEROUS people to be around. You could write about that perception, but then you'd be writing about a preconception that's incorrect and about something we already know.
In fact, the more interesting story, is that many of the most well-known bloggers on the left and right are lawyers (not that that's a good thing, but you know, does put you a step above some crazy kid) and have other advanced degrees and experience. Markos is a lawyer and former military. Atrios has a PhD in Economics. As for my blog, I've got a law degree and a masters in foreign service from Georgetown, worked in the Senate, the Children's Defense Fund, and the World Bank. Joe in DC has a law degree and was the political director at Handgun Control. Chris in Paris is an international high tech consultant in Europe. We're people with real world experience that kind of kicks ass. And suffice it to say, all of us have far left our 20s behind us.
And as for working in our pajamas, that's an outright lie.
I work in boxer-briefs.
But seriously, the interplay of the blogs and politics is becoming more fascinating by the day. To simply write these articles about how dangerous the blogs are and how everyone is so afraid of them, well, that's sloppy and its sensational and it's something FOX News would do (and has done). We'd expect, and hope, that the paper of record could do a more serious and deeper look at just how successful liberal bloggers and blogs have been, and how the future is pretty amazing if the bloggers and the established politicians can finally get together at full strength.
That's a real article. Read the rest of this post...
You'll recall that Adam has run a slew of pieces pointing out how the Democratic party is a mess, and our sources tell us that he's now working on a similar piece about the blogs, and his intent is to paint us as crazy, lefty, wingnuts.
Now, first off, Nagourney has a bit of a conflict I hope he plans to disclose in any such article. He's been the target of a parody blog for over a year now - it's called Ad Nags and can be found here. One wonders whether the constant funny, but pointed, barbs from that joke site have in any way biased Nagourney. We would hope not.
If the NYT is going to do a look at blogs, then it needs to go beyond the obvious. The obvious is that there is a perception out there that bloggers are all young inexperienced angry children who work in their pajamas, and they're dangerous dangerous DANGEROUS people to be around. You could write about that perception, but then you'd be writing about a preconception that's incorrect and about something we already know.
In fact, the more interesting story, is that many of the most well-known bloggers on the left and right are lawyers (not that that's a good thing, but you know, does put you a step above some crazy kid) and have other advanced degrees and experience. Markos is a lawyer and former military. Atrios has a PhD in Economics. As for my blog, I've got a law degree and a masters in foreign service from Georgetown, worked in the Senate, the Children's Defense Fund, and the World Bank. Joe in DC has a law degree and was the political director at Handgun Control. Chris in Paris is an international high tech consultant in Europe. We're people with real world experience that kind of kicks ass. And suffice it to say, all of us have far left our 20s behind us.
And as for working in our pajamas, that's an outright lie.
I work in boxer-briefs.
But seriously, the interplay of the blogs and politics is becoming more fascinating by the day. To simply write these articles about how dangerous the blogs are and how everyone is so afraid of them, well, that's sloppy and its sensational and it's something FOX News would do (and has done). We'd expect, and hope, that the paper of record could do a more serious and deeper look at just how successful liberal bloggers and blogs have been, and how the future is pretty amazing if the bloggers and the established politicians can finally get together at full strength.
That's a real article. Read the rest of this post...
Bush blames Congress for continued Katrina failures
It's always someone else's fault. And, don't the Republicans control both the White House and Congress. So, Bush is basically condemning the GOPers on the Hill for failing to respond:
President Bush, on a Gulf Coast inspection tour that included his first visit to this city's storm-shattered Lower Ninth Ward, bluntly accused Congress on Wednesday of underfunding the repairs and called for speedy action to make good on federal commitments.So, we all know Bush really screwed up the initial response to Katrina. Now, according to Bush, the GOP leadership on the Hill are screwing up the long-term response. Read the rest of this post...
The president said Congress has been slow to provide funding to rebuild housing destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and, while pledging to make New Orleans's levees "equal or better than they were before" the storm, attacked a congressional decision last year to redirect $1.5 billion from his request to repair the region's flood-protection system to projects in other storm-affected states.
More sectarian violence in Iraq
50 Sunni security workers taken hostage today in Iraq but remember that the Pentagon says things are going very, very well. So just ignore this incident and forget about the execution victims discovered yesterday because that too probably never happened. It's just the media making up more stories.
Read the rest of this post...
GOP delivers House victory for special interests
Who owns you GOP? The special interests across the land, that's who. Big Food lobbyists win, consumers get shafted. Votes for sale. Votes for sale. Get your anti-consumer votes right here.
Read the rest of this post...
San Francisco Coffee Meet-up on Friday - the latest
Okay, Jesus, like 160 of you commented with suggestions!
The best I'm hearing are
- Three Dollar Bill Cafe @ the LGBT center.
- At the base of the Hyatt Regency is a Bodin's Bakery. They have a back room that would seat 50, either at 10 or 2:30 (They close at 5:00) No beer or wine but yes coffee
and pastry. That might be the surest bet cause you can reserve it.
As for the Hyatt itself, I'm still worried that the cafe is closed until 4 or so, and that it's not clear they can handle 30 or 40 people, if it comes to that. The 3$ Bill cafe can, as can Bodin's if we reserve.
So, I'm thinking either Bodin's or the $3 Bill Cafe - kind of leaning towards Bodin's, though I'd need to call them in the morning to reserve the room. I'm also thinking 10AM on Friday.
So this is your last chance for feedback, remember it's gonna rain on friday and we could have as many as 30 or 40 people, potentially. So we need places that can absolutely guarantee that amount, but also places with coffee and pastries would be nice too (we did have some generous offers for other spaces, but no coffee involved, and I'm bad without my coffee in the morning).
Will read your latest feedback in the AM, going to bed now. Will post my final decision in the morning, thanks guys, this should be fun, or a zoo, or both :-) JOHN Read the rest of this post...
The best I'm hearing are
- Three Dollar Bill Cafe @ the LGBT center.
- At the base of the Hyatt Regency is a Bodin's Bakery. They have a back room that would seat 50, either at 10 or 2:30 (They close at 5:00) No beer or wine but yes coffee
and pastry. That might be the surest bet cause you can reserve it.
As for the Hyatt itself, I'm still worried that the cafe is closed until 4 or so, and that it's not clear they can handle 30 or 40 people, if it comes to that. The 3$ Bill cafe can, as can Bodin's if we reserve.
So, I'm thinking either Bodin's or the $3 Bill Cafe - kind of leaning towards Bodin's, though I'd need to call them in the morning to reserve the room. I'm also thinking 10AM on Friday.
So this is your last chance for feedback, remember it's gonna rain on friday and we could have as many as 30 or 40 people, potentially. So we need places that can absolutely guarantee that amount, but also places with coffee and pastries would be nice too (we did have some generous offers for other spaces, but no coffee involved, and I'm bad without my coffee in the morning).
Will read your latest feedback in the AM, going to bed now. Will post my final decision in the morning, thanks guys, this should be fun, or a zoo, or both :-) JOHN Read the rest of this post...
Late night open thread
Got to my hotel in SF a bit ago. Just going through email. Aside from the screaming teenage girls across the hall ("Oh my GOD!"), things are fine.
Going to read the comments below regarding the coffee on Friday. Will check back shortly.
Oh yeah, definitely getting ready to yell at the sorority chicks... Read the rest of this post...
Going to read the comments below regarding the coffee on Friday. Will check back shortly.
Oh yeah, definitely getting ready to yell at the sorority chicks... Read the rest of this post...
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