I love eating animals. This is vile.

I'm not even going to post the video. You can go watch it for yourself. This apparently took place in a Japanese restaurant. The poor squid had half its head chopped off, then it was served fresh, so that when you pour soy sauce on it it squirms. I'm sorry, but this is vile. I'm glad that a number of people were equally appalled. So do we chock this up to ethnic/cultural differences, or are some things beyond the pale? Read the rest of this post...

Dem Sen. Harkin suggests the Tea Party is a cult

Via Huff Post Hill:

From Sen. Tom Harkin: "On the Republican side you've got scores of Republicans who say, fine, let the country default. Need I remind you Michele Bachmann [was] running around my state saying she wouldn't vote to raise the debt limit no matter what? No matter what. Got that? No matter what. This is one of their leading contenders for the presidency. So the debate and fight is not between Democrats and Republicans; it's between some Republicans and their sort of cult fringe, as I refer to them, out there."

Read the rest of this post...

Fox has found the true criminal in the News Corp hacking scandal... you

Via Erick Wemple at the Post, we learn that Fox recently invited a sympathetic guest on to lament how the real media is just "piling on" about the biggest scandal in Rupert Murdoch's life:

Why are so many people piling on at this point? We know it’s a hacking scandal. Shouldn’t we get beyond it and really deal with the issue of hacking? Citicorp has been hacked into. Bank of America has been hacked into. American Express has been hacked into. Insurance companies have been hacked into. . . . So we have to figure out a way to deal with this hacking problem. That’s what we have to do.

So, what News Corp allegedly did is the same thing criminals did to Citicorp, Bank of America, American Express, and insurance companies. So News Corp is a criminal entity?

With sympathetic guests like this.... Read the rest of this post...

Roger Ebert: The Republicans "are moving out of history"

You think of Roger Ebert as a film critic, and one of the best and most readable. But he's also a serious watcher of the scene outside the reality window, the movie that we call our lives.

As witness, there's this from his blog at the Sun Times — "The Republicans exit history". The death of political parties isn't common, but it does happen — witness the Whig Party in the U.S., which lived from 1833 to 1856 and elected two presidents. (They even had Lincoln as a member for a while.)

Ebert seems to suggest that a similar process may be at work here. As usual with Ebert, the piece is a model of clear prose (a click won't lead you to the swamp that most of us produce). And there's far more to it than this quote suggests (my emphasis):

What I read [in the news, on the net] is that the Republican Party is abandoning its hopes of speaking for a majority of Americans. It will still win elections. It controls the House. Perhaps it will elect the next President. But steadily and fatally it is moving out of history.

There are trigger issues in which the GOP no longer reflects the thinking of mainstream Americans of either party. In Tuesday's charade as the House put the Tea Party debt legislation to a vote, what we saw was an example of the kind of coalition voting common in Europe, where separate parties arrive at an agreement to govern. There are now essentially three parties in Congress: Democrats, Republicans, and the Tea Party. Reasonable Republicans with a sense of the possible do not subscribe to the Tea Party's implacable ideology, but they feel they must deal with it to placate its zealots. They are essentially in a coalition with a third party.

The article continues by identifying eight issues in which this GOP coalition no longer reflects the thinking of mainstream Americans, issues like debt & taxes, health care, church & state, gay rights, even nutrition.

But the implication in the part I quoted is that we may be seeing a moment in history, the death of a political party.

About those Whigs, here's how they pulled it off (my paragraphing):

The party was ultimately destroyed by the question of whether to allow the expansion of slavery to the territories. With deep fissures in the party on this question, the anti-slavery faction successfully prevented the renomination of its own incumbent President Fillmore in the 1852 presidential election; instead, the party nominated General Winfield Scott.

Most Whig party leaders thereupon quit politics (as Lincoln did temporarily) or changed parties. The northern voter base mostly joined the new Republican Party. By the 1856 presidential election, the party was virtually defunct. In the South, the party vanished, but as Thomas Alexander has shown, Whiggery as a policy orientation persisted for decades and played a major role in shaping the modernizing policies of the state governments during Reconstruction after 1865

I would argue that there are four political parties in the U.S. — the Progressive Party, the NeoLiberal Party (mainly but not exclusively Dems), Traditional Republicans (including NeoLibs and traditional Movement Conservatives), and the Tea Party ("new-right" Movement Conservatives). The boundaries between the middle two parties isn't clear, since they often vote alike.

If I'm right, the two strongest parties at the moment are the NeoLiberal Party, which has pulled off a coup of the Democratic Party control structure, and the Tea Party, which is attempting a coup on the Republican side.

If the middle two parties start to merge (NeoLiberals and Traditional Republicans), we could see a battle for control of the country between NeoLib–financing billionaires (NY hedge funders, for example) and Tea Party–financing billionaires (Coors-crazy and Koch-addled types). I'm serious.

Progressives? If they ever grow a spine (or move to a state-based strategy), we'll see where they stand. They certainly have potential, if they choose to accept it, and could marshal the actual voting humans.

But right now Progressives are the Table Scraps Wing of the NeoLiberal Party, and a little conflicted about staying there. Or, as Sam Seder noted on his Majority Report program today (paraphrasing): It's odd how the Obama administration starts showing up on one of the progressive social issues, just when it's screwing them on an economic one.

Funny how that works. Mes centimes, of course.

GP Read the rest of this post...

GOP congressman raising money off rude email to DNC chair

Remember the guy we wrote about earlier, Republican House member Allen West who called new DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz "not a lady," well now he's fundraising off of his bizarre email to her.

Classy. Read the rest of this post...

PPP poll: "Obama in perilous shape" for re-elect

As our own Joe Sudbay always says, PPP is eerily accurate come election time, that's their reputation. Here is their own summary:

Obama's numbers are worse than they appear to be on the surface. The vast majority of the undecideds in all of these match ups disapprove of the job Obama's doing but aren't committing to a candidate yet while they wait to see how the Republican field shakes out. Here's an idea of where these various match ups might stand once all voters have made up their minds:

-In the Obama/Romney head to head 21% of undecideds approve of Obama and 61% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, Romney would lead 52-48.

-In the Obama/Bachmann head to head 10% of undecideds approve of Obama and 67% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, Obama would lead only 51-49.

-In the Obama/Pawlenty head to head 9% of undecideds approve of Obama and 75% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, the race would be tied at 50%.

-In the Obama/Cain head to head 8% of undecideds approve of Obama and 76% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, Obama would lead only 51-49.

-In the Obama/Palin head to head 5% of undecideds approve of Obama and 84% disapprove. If you allocate them based on their approval/disapprove of Obama, Obama would lead only 54-46.

So if you dig deeper into the numbers Obama's position is a lot worse than meets the eye. There's a very good chance Obama would lose if he had to stand for reelection today.

More on PPP's accuracy. Read the rest of this post...

Jeremy Scahill on CIA black sites in Somalia—and the pushback to disappear the story

One of the most under-reported stories of the past week is Jeremy Scahill's CIA piece in The Nation. In essence, Scahill documented the ongoing presence of a CIA "black site" despite all the Obama-administration reassurances that the practice was ended.

And that's just the start. The best way to get caught up is to listen to this great, tight interview with Scahill himself. (The questioner is Sam Seder of the new Majority Report, and he does nice, well-organized work here.)



For those who like having stuff to read, here are some links and quotes.

As noted, the original Scahill story is available online at TheNation.com. Please do click through; it's a great piece of reporting, and deserves the buzz it got.

The push-back was three-fold:

■ Officials like Leon Panetta denied the story:

The US has stopped running its global network of secret prisons, CIA director Leon Panetta has announced. 'CIA no longer operates detention facilities or black sites,' Mr Panetta said in a letter to staff[.]

■ Media voices made the denial the story, or ignored the story altogether. Glenn Greenwald:

Scahill's discovery of this secret prison in Mogadishu -- this black site -- calls into serious doubt the Obama administration's claims to have ended such practices and establishes a serious human rights violation on its own. As Harper's Scott Horton put it, the Nation article underscores how the CIA is "maintaining a series of 'special relationships' under which cooperating governments maintain[] proxy prisons for the CIA," and "raises important questions" about "whether the CIA is using a proxy regime there to skirt Obama's executive order" banning black sites and torture.

Despite the significance of this revelation -- or, more accurately, because of it -- the U.S. establishment media has almost entirely ignored this story. Scahill thus far has given a grand total of two television interviews: on Democracy Now and Al Jazeera. No major television news network -- including MSNBC -- has even mentioned his story. Generally speaking, Republicans don't care that the worst abuses of the Bush era are continuing, and Democrats (who widely celebrated Dana Priest's 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning story about Bush's CIA black cites) don't want to hear that it's true.

■ The CIA-administration nexus has organized "friendly" (compliant? operative-like?) voices in the media to sow confusion (a standard psyop practice). Glenn Greenwald again:

Meanwhile, the CIA has been insisting that discussion of this Mogadishu site could jeopardize its operations in Somalia, and while that typical, manipulative tactic didn't stop Scahill from informing the citizenry about this illicit behavior, it has (as usual) led government-subservient American media stars to refrain from discussing it. Indeed, Scahill said that this site is such common knowledge in Mogadishu (where even ordinary residents call it "that CIA building") that he'd be "very surprised" if international reporters who cover Somalia were unaware of it; he has confirmed with certainty that at least one correspondent covering East Africa for one of the world's leading media outlets was aware of, but never reported, the CIA's role at this secret prison.

While the establishment media has been largely ignoring Scahill's revelations, a few particularly government-pleasing journalists have been dutifully following the CIA's script in order to undermine the credibility of Scahill's story. CNN's long-time Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr -- one of the most reliable DoD stenographers in the nation (she actually announced that the real Abu Ghraib scandal was the unauthorized [emphasis by author] release of the photographs, not the abuse they depicted) -- has been predictably tapped by the CIA to take the lead in this effort.

It's the old old story — You can hope, but nothing will change. (Thanks to Team When You Gonna Learn? for the phrase.)

Writers like Scahill are genuine heroes though, and not at no risk. Hope he doesn't have skeletons in his closet (or Wieners in his Tweets); he's probably under surveillance even in the bathroom.

GP Read the rest of this post...

Watch Al Franken destroy testimony of Focus on the Family witness at DOMA repeal hearing

As we've mentioned, the Senate held the first ever hearing on DOMA repeal today. There were many great moments with much compelling testimony. But, this interaction between Senator Al Franken and the witness from the right wing group, Focus on the Family, had to be one of the best. It's classic.
Via Think Progress:
Read the rest of this post...

Crazy GOP congressman tells DNC chair "you are not a Lady"

Years ago I'd have written something like, "She may not be a lady, but he sure is a big girl," but I won't.  Here's the nutters' email he sent to Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

From: Z112 West, Allen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 04:48 PM
To: Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Cc: McCarthy, Kevin; Blyth, Jonathan; Pelosi, Nancy; Cantor, Eric
Subject: Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)

Read the rest of this post...

Bloomberg: Romney as Job Creator Clashes with Bain Record of Job Cuts

Ouch.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign misses few opportunities to promote his record creating jobs, including his role in taking Staples Inc. (SPLS) from a start-up to the world’s largest office-supply retailer.
“You’d have a president who has spent his life in business -- small business, big business -- and who knows something about how jobs are created and how we compete around the world,” he said at a campaign stop last month at Buddy Brew Coffee in Tampa, Florida.
What Romney skips is his experience in eliminating jobs.

Read the rest of this post...

New poll pans GOP performance on debt talks, mostly

One interesting point: No matter what the President offers the GOP, and no matter how much it infuriates us, the public always thinks he's not doing enough to reach across the aisle. I'm not sure why. Clearly it's not the substance - the President has already offered too much. But we've seen this before. Polling doesn't match reality. That's usually because the GOP does a good job of distorting reality. Of course, in this poll, the GOP fares even worse than Obama on pretty much every indicator. but more generally it does suggest that reaching across the aisle isn't enough - somehow the President needs to PROVE his case, not just always rely on substance.

Majorities of Americans see both President Obama and congressional Republicans as not willing enough to compromise in their budget negotiations, but the public views the GOP leaders as particularly intransigent, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

There is also growing dissatisfaction among Republicans with the hard-line stance of their congressional representatives: Fifty-eight percent say their leaders are not doing enough to strike a deal, up from 42 percent in March.

While Republicans in Congress have remained united in their opposition to any tax increases, the poll finds GOP majorities favoring some of the specific changes advocated by the president, including higher income tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.

There is also broad dissatisfaction with Obama’s unwillingness to reach across the aisle: Nearly six in 10 of those polled say the president has not been open enough to compromise. Among independents, 79 percent say Republicans aren’t willing enough to make a deal, while 62 percent say the same of Obama.

Read the rest of this post...

Brit Prime Minister tied to Murdoch scandal? Report shows Murdoch’s staff "deliberately" tried to stop criminal probe

Two great stories in these three paragraphs from The Guardian. There Prime Minister is becoming the focus of attention -- and the Murdoch's employees tried to prevent a criminal investigation:

David Cameron is braced for tough questions from MPs about his party's links to a phone-hacking suspect, as he prepares to make an emergency statement on the scandal to the House of Commons.

The summer parliamentary recess was delayed by a day as the prime minister scheduled a statement in which he is expected to announce the names of the panel that will look at press regulation and the final terms of reference for the judge-led inquiry into claims about phone hacking and illegal payments to police.

The Commons debate – following a battery of revelations around phone hacking that have surfaced in the last week – comes as a report by the all-party home affairs select committee concludes that Rupert Murdoch's News International "deliberately" tried to block a Scotland Yard criminal investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World.

This story still gets better by the day. I suspect many people are scrutinizing the testimony of Rupert and James to see if what they said actually rings true. Read the rest of this post...

Dems wins recall challenge in WI

A big win in Wisconsin last night. Big defeat for Scott Walker:

Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay was the first of nine state senators to face a final recall election, and he easily survived Tuesday.

Hansen won a lopsided victory over his Republican challenger, wind farm developer David VanderLeest of Green Bay, against whom Democrats and their allies have been hammering away on his personal and legal problems.

The victory keeps Democrats in control of a seat that Hansen, 63, has held since 2000.

One down. Eight more (two Democrats, six Republicans) to go, next month. Read the rest of this post...

Report: Gulf crabs showing sickness

Having grown up around the Chesapeake Bay and crabbing for years, I never saw anything like this. There are of course other problems with crabs from the Bay but not this. The thought of eating any seafood from the Gulf of Mexico still sounds scary and sadly, it's hard to have much faith in any report by the federal government following their one-sided handling of the crisis. We need to hear a lot more about the crabs and other sea life in the Gulf from independent sources to see if this is related to the oil spill or something else.

Click through to see the photos of the sick crabs and more on the crabber report. The burns go through the shells so even a peeler crab has them once it loses its shell.

The crabber’s claim that catches are down more than 70 percent and that crabs are showing up with open sores and petroleum-based burns is supported by many other locals. From a WWL-TV report, out of St. Bernard, Louisiana:

Bruce Guerra has been a crab fisherman in Yscloskey for 25 years. And since the BP oil spill, he began seeing alarming differences in his catch.

“I guess where he was, he probably was in oil,” said Guerra, as he showed Eyewitness News a crab he’d recently caught. “See how this is all black?”

Guerra said crabs have been coming up dead, discolored, or riddled with holes since last year’s spill.

Read the rest of this post...

FDR warns about today’s Republicans

Thanks to Matt Stoller for this one:



Snarky. Andrea Mitchell would be all Miss-Manners over this. After all, can't do "big things" if you can't keep a civil tongue.

GP Read the rest of this post...