Shites, Kurds reject Sunnis (and Bush)

So the Constitutional process is falling apart. Good thing Bush personally intervened and put the prestige of his office on the line to save it:

The decision to move forward was a heavy blow for the Bush administration, which had expended enormous energy and political capital to forge a constitution that included the Sunnis. On Thursday, in a last-ditch effort to get a deal, President Bush telephoned Abdul Aziz Hakim, a cleric and the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to press him to offer a more palatable compromise to the Sunnis.

Read the rest of this post...

Ok, who took my Sci-Fi Friday away?

I am not a happy Atlantian this evening. I'm in Chicago and, just like several of you had emailed me about, the Sci-Fi channel now appears to be a DIGITAL cable channel in Chicago (and so is HBO now). So both are now gone from the boob tube I always watch when in this fair city I'm from.

Not a happy camper indeed. Read the rest of this post...

Desire V Duty On Supreme Court

Linda Greenhouse of the NYT (who gets to cover the Supreme Court; I'm jealous) has a very good piece on Justice John Paul Stevens, who is unusually candid when he gives lectures. Stevens puts to the lie the far right claims that justices love to impose their will on rulings.

One ruling that many people objected to from the last session was on the right of local govt's to "take" private property. His personal preference was to see "free market forces" do their job, but Stevens saw no way to ignore the law. Many states and the federal government are passing laws to supersede that right and they should prevail in the long run.

The other ruling was on deciding the Federal govt's right to enforce drug laws trumped California's medical marijuana laws. Whiel Stevens absolutely
agreed with the desire of California to let ill people use marijuana to ease their pain, he knew the right of Congress to regulate commerce was too important to let personal feelings hold sway.

So two rulings, one that angered many (especially on the right) and one that angered many on the left. Stevens was sympathetic and even in agreement with the protestors on both issues, but placed the law ahead of his own desires. What better illustration of a good judge doing his duty could one ask for? Judicial activism my ass. Read the rest of this post...

What would Pat Robertson say?

Just another primate, indeed! Read the rest of this post...

Iraqi Constitution: Bush Better Beware

Here's a link to a very general outline of the proposed Iraqi Constitution. One section caught my eye and should give Bush pause:

Chapter Two -- Article 35 -- c. All kinds of physical and psychological torture and inhumane treatment are prohibited, and any confession is considered void if it was taken by force, threats and torture. The person who was harmed has the right to ask for compensation for the financial and moral damage he/she suffered.

Apparently, these Iraqis don't have the stomach for fighting terror, the wimps. So as soon as this Constitution is in effect, Bush better get the Iraqis to give US soldiers immunity from the law. You can't expect Bush to defend democracy without using torture, can you? Read the rest of this post...

A little Friday dog blogging

Enough of the cats. Now it's time for a real pet.

This is my sister's new dog, Carmela (I keep calling her Camilla, shivers...). My sis had to put her other dog to sleep earlier this week, the dog had a heart condition and was really suffering. I was surprised, but glad, that she got another dog. And this little gal is just adorable. I just met her an hour ago, she's 2 months old, half Yorkshire Terrier (I think) and half poodle - they call it a Yorkie-poo, believe it or not. The dog is adorable, small, affectionate, calm, but also can be excitable and have fun too. So far the perfect dog. And cute too :-)

As always, these are my cell phone pics.



This is me tickling Carmela



This is Carmela attacking my dad's gym shoe.



And this is her lord-of-the-jungle pose. Read the rest of this post...

How Low Can he go?

Gallup Poll has Bush's approval dropping to 40%. Atrios has the details. Read the rest of this post...

Press as Patsies, Redux

Dan Froomkin writes in his column today about the super special invitation received by the White House Press Corps to have a super secret off-the-record bbq with Bush last night. Froomkin got the inside scoop:

Nevertheless, I'm told that several reporters expressed squeamishness about last night's event, particularly as the press-pool vans drove by antiwar protester Cindy Sheehan's "Camp Casey" site. And later, a small handful watched askance as the rest fawned over Bush, following him around in packs every time he moved.

How disgusting can they can be? Fawning over Bush instead of reporting on him. And, it's worse:

Incidentally, Bush isn't the only one holding off-the-record dinners with reporters this summer. I'm told senior adviser Karl Rove has held several in the last month himself.

Give me a break. Nothing with Rove should be off-the-record. No wonder Rove thinks the media are a bunch of patsies. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

What do you know? Read the rest of this post...

Robert Novak's Latest Idiocy

John is off to the airport, again, for a family reunion this weekend. He'll be checking back in a few hours when he lands - in the meantime, I thought I'd put a bit more content up to hold you all over. Enjoy.

Novak keeps churning out his column long after he squandered all his credibility serving as a bag man for Rove and Bush. His latest confused rant says that the Dems are playing possum on the John Roberts nomination (if only!)and that they plan to Bork the guy as soon as the hearings begin. Proof positive? Kennedy's "tough guy" sidekick James Flug has returned to his side. Flug was a Kenndy aide in the 60s, worked on his presidential run and worked with Kennedy to focus on and block extreme Republican court nominees from Nixon's days to today. So what do I know? Maybe Flug coming back is a sign Kennedy and the Dems are taking the fight about Roberts very seriously.

Then I read the small print and realized that Flug rejoined Kennedy on Capitol Hill MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO! Yep, his return to Kennedy's staff some two years ago -- long before anyone had heard of Roberts -- clearly indicates they're gunning for him. What a scoop. And what an embarrassment Novak is. Read the rest of this post...

About Pat Robertson...

A lot of things have annoyed me about the coverage of Pat Robertson's latest unChristian, unAmerican and unbelievable broadside -- this one calling for the assassination of Venezuela's leader. First, as Jon Stewart so nimbly demonstrated, Robertson is an esteemed, beloved figure on the Republican side. They use him to raise money and get votes and generally treat him like a major figure. He is NOT the wacky uncle that everyone ignores. And when Robertson tosses off one of these vicious and wacky comments, Bush and most far right "Christian" groups can't even bring themselves to denounce cold-blooded murder.

But the part that annoyed me the most? Almost none of the coverage made clear that Chavez is the democratically elected leader of his country. Bush encouraged a military coup -- which overthrew Chavez's government -- and then gave the thumbs up to the junta that wanted to replace him. Only a stirring demonstration of people power forced the military to back down (much to Bush's chagrin) and Chavez was put back in place. He's since won reelection under a vote that was less contested than Bush's two paths to glory in 2000 and 2004. How can anyone call Chavez a critic of Bush and then fail to point out that Bush encouraged his overthrow? Especially since this proves Bush is lying when he claims to be spreading democracy. You can't support democracy just when it suits you -- as Bush has done his entire presidency.

And yet even middle of the road USA Today referred to Chavez as a "populist strongman." He is NOT a strongman (whatever you think of his pronouncements or policies). Chavez is the democratically elected leader of Venezuela and sits on one of the world's largest supplies of oil -- and Bush wanted him overthrown. He has every reason to distrust and dislike Bush, as does any Venezuelan who believes in democracy and the sovereign rights of nations to be left alone. Read the rest of this post...

Conservative court upholds $500,000 penalty against USA Next (Bush's social security surrogates)

You remember USA Next? Bush's surrogates who were/are supporting his social security privatization scheme. They're also the folks now fighting a $25m lawsuit from a gay couple whose photo they stole and used without permission in a nationwide ad campaign comparing gay marriage to hating our troops.

Well, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - one of the most conservative courts in this country - just upheld a $500,000 penalty against USA Next on a different matter in which USA Next sent a misleading mailing to seniors that made it look like the mailing was from Social Security. It seems USA Next has a habit of presenting misleading, illegal advertising and yet another Court has called them on it -- this time, a conservative appeals Court.

With friends like these, Mr. Bush...

You can read the court opinion here. Read the rest of this post...

Morning open thread

Sci-Fi Friday and Orchid blogging. Mmmmmm..... Read the rest of this post...

Bush personally intervening in Iraq Constitution

Damn, he is getting desperate. Having Bush directly working on the Iraqi constitution is really going to give that document cred:

Talks over the Iraqi constitution reached a breaking point on Thursday, with a parliamentary session to present the document being canceled and President Bush personally calling one of the country's most powerful Shiite leaders in an effort to broker a last-minute deal.

Mr. Bush intervened when some senior Shiite leaders said they had decided to bypass their Sunni counterparts, as well as Iraqi lawmakers, and send the document directly to Iraqi voters for their approval.

Probably just wants to make sure they ban same sex marriage. Read the rest of this post...