Deny, Deny, Deny

Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change
Some Experts on Global Warming Foresee 'Tipping Point' When It Is Too Late to Act

in today's WaPo, starts out:

Now that most scientists agree human activity is causing Earth to warm...

And from today's NYTimes, how hard Bushco fights to deny the truth of science:

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Send a Fax - Save the Court

Apparently we have filled up most Senators' voice mail boxes. If you go to this link,

Save the Court

click on the box that says FAX Key Senators. This will take you to a form that allows you to send a form to 12 key senators with the push of a button (just a little longer, if you modify the message to make it personal).

Stop A-Lie-To

More phone numbers and addresses for contacting Senators to stop Strip Search Sammy; from dailykos. Hit the dailykos link as there may be updates and additional information:

A-LIE-TO FILIBUSTER CALL-ATHON: It Continues This Weekend!
by patrioticliberal
Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:13:28 AM PDT

(Note: Updates are being made as you post, in some cases, to update numbers, e-mails, links, etc. Thanks! Please recommend!!)

Yesterday, I posted a diary asking people to call their Senators to make sure that they support John Kerry and Ted Kennedy's call for a filibuster of, as Sam Seder of The Majority Report has called him, Sloppy Seconds Strip-Search A-lie-to.

It may be the weekend, but you can still fight for this cause. Yesterday afternoon, this diary was only about Ken Salazar taking tallies on how many people wished for him to support the filibuster. Later, we learned that other Senators were also taking tallies of people who call in - even people who have indicated that they may even vote for A-lie-to.

* patrioticliberal's diary :: ::
*

Below are numbers for the various offices. However, many of the voicemails are full, so use other numbers, fax, and e-mail. Please do this no matter where you live in the U.S. (And no, you don't need to lie about where you live. If they ask, be honest. If they don't, fine.) Also included in the list: people on the fence or people that we need to work on, indicated by various offices. Robert Byrd already said he would vote in support of Alito. Some offices have given out these names. We need them. If they don't want to vote "No" on cloture, ask them to "Abstain". Don't vote at all - stay home.

Here we go:

Senators You Can Contact:


* (Reports are Mary may vote for cloture!!!): Mary Landrieu (D-LA) - PHONE: (202) 224-5824 . FAX: (202) 224-9735 OR New Orleans FAX: (504) 589-4023 . OFFICES: http://landrieu.senate.gov/services/offices.cfm . WEB FORM: http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm .
* Kent Conrad (D-ND) - PHONE: (202) 224-2043 . He has indicated he may even vote YES on Alito! NO! At the very least, do not vote at all, Conrad! OTHER OFFICES: http://www.senate.gov/~conrad/contact.html . WEB FORM: http://www.senate.gov/~conrad/webform.html

* Tom Harkin (D-IA) - PHONE: (202) 224-3254, FAX: (202) 224-9369, http://harkin.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
District Offices: Des Moines - (515) 284-4574, Cedar Rapids - (319) 365-4504, Davenport - (563) 322-1338, Dubuque - (563) 582-2130, Sioux City - (712) 252-1550 .

* Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) - PHONE: (410) 962-4510 and FAX: (410) 962-4760 for the Baltimore office, PHONE LINES: 410-263-1805, 410-269-1650 and FAX: 410-263-5949 for the Annapolis office. PHONE: 202-224-4654 and FAX: 202-224-8858 for the D.C. office.

* Ken Salazar (D-CO) PHONE: 1-888-355-3588 press 2, or (202) 224-5852 . FAX: (202) 228-5036 OR FAX: Denver, CO (303) 455-8851 .

* Maria Cantwell (D-WA) - PHONE: (202) 224-3441 . OFFICE LOCATIONS AND NUMBERS: http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/office_locations.cfm . WEB FORM: http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

* Mark Pryor (D-AR) - PHONE: (202) 224-2353

* Mark Dayton (D-MN) - PHONE: (888) 224-9043 . (He will vote no. But he's unsure about a filibuster.)

* Evan Bayh (D-IN) - PHONE: (202) 224-5623

* Ben Nelson (D-NE) - PHONE: (202) 224-6551 or FAX: (202) 228-0012. Ben Nelson originally stated that he would vote Yes for Alito. His office even stands by it. But they are taking a tally of people supporting the filibuster. So call.
OTHER NUMBERS: Omaha - PHONE: (402) 391-3411, FAX: (402) 391-4725. Lincoln - PHONE: (402) 441-4600, FAX: (402) 476-8753. Chadron - PHONE: (308) 430-0587. Scottsbluff: (308) 631-7614 . WEB FORM: http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

* Bill Nelson (D-FL) - PHONE: (202) 224-5274 . Bill Nelson says that he is not getting enough calls from his constituency. Even if you don't live there, call. The Republicans are calling him continously to ask him to oppose a filibuster. OTHER OFFICE NUMBERS AND FAX NUMBERS: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/offices.cfm
WEB FORM: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

* Robert Byrd (D-WV) - PHONE: (202) 224-3954 or (304) 343-7144 or (304) 342-5855, OR FAX: (202) 228-0002 OR FAX CHARLESTON, WV OFFICE: (304) 343-7144. http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html

* Daniel Akaka (D-HI) - RECONSIDER PLEASE! 1-888-355-3588 ask for Akaka. OTHER OFFICES: http://akaka.senate.gov/offices-b.html . E-MAIL ADDRESS: senator@akaka.senate.gov .

* Joe Lieberman (D-CT) - PHONE: (800) 225-5605 OR FAX (860) 549-8478 . WEB FORM: http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/

* Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) - PHONE: (202) 224-2921 . WEB FORM: http://chafee.senate.gov/webform.htm

* Joe Biden (D-DE) - PHONE: (202) 224-5042 . E-MAIL FORM: http://biden.senate.gov/contact/emailjoe.cfm

* Frank Lautenburg (D-NJ) - PHONE: (202) 224-3224 ,
http://lautenberg.senate.gov/webform.html

* Robert Menendez (D-NJ) - PHONE: (202) 224-4744



* Tim Johnson (D-SD) - PHONE: (202) 224-5842

* Barack Obama (D-IL) - PHONE: (202) 224-2854 . FAX: (202) 228-4260 . PHONE (SPRINGFIELD, IL): (217) 492-5089, FAX (SPRINGFIELD, IL): (217) 492-5099 . EMAIL FORM: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm?cat=legal

* Olympia Snowe (R-ME) - PHONE: (202) 224-5344 · Toll Free in Maine: (800) 432-1599 · Fax: (202) 224-1946 OR FAX BANGOR, MAINE OFFICE: (207) 941-9525 .

* Susan Collins (R-ME) - PHONE: (202) 224-2693 OR FAX (202) 224-2693 . FAX: (202) 224-2693 or FAX BANGOR, MAINE OFFICE: (207) 990-4604 .

* Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) - PHONE: 202-224-2551

* Republican Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - Not likely, but he's a moderate. Try? PHONE: (202) 224-4944

More will be added - no doubt. Unsure about your Senator? Call. Fax. Email. If you can visit their local office on Monday in person, even better.

As a commenter stated below, it's possible the fax machines could run out of paper, or the mailboxes could be full. But here are some other resources for you:

1. congress.org directory listing
2. Senate's member listing
3. visi.com search tool
4. ACLU's search page
5. Congressional leadership listing

So what else can you do? Host a house party. Call local TV and radio outlets. Make some noise.

Call in and watch the Young Turks filibuster-athon. They're going to be live on the air until 4:30 PM on Monday. Thom Hartmann is coming in this weekend to host, as well.
And as someone else said, actually Cedwyn - isn't it filibuster freeway blogging weekend? ;) . And a LTE weekend?


And did you know, you can fax your Senators via the Internets? http://www.tpc.int/

Ridiculous Story of the Week

A 17-year-old boy has filed a complaint with the US Dept. of Education's Office for Civil Rights claiming Milton (Mass.) High School are discriminating against boys and favoring girls.

"The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. "From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this."

This kid definitely flunked history, because "the system" was definitely designed long before girls were permitted to go to school. I mean really. So ridiculous. I can't even begin to deconstruct this one. Lucky for me some able bloggers have already taken on this steaming pile of entitlement:

Amanda at Pandagon: Daring white boy rebels strike for stupidity

Pinko Feminist Hellcat: Would you like a pony, too?

Call Senators, Save the Constitution

My brother and I went to Florida in 2004, monitored a polling place. That didn't work out. Spending a few hours calling a few senators is child's play in comparison.

Please call your own senators, if you don't have time to call the rest. I've read on other blogs that senators are taking and counting calls from outside their states in support of filibuster. Strip Search Sammy is a Borklette. Even the right knows this. They love him. We can stop him.

From Democrats.com: WE CAN STOP ALITO THIS WEEKEND

The last two days have been amazing.

Early Thursday afternoon, we broke the news that Senator John Kerry would lead a filibuster against Judge Sam Alito if he could get 41 Senators to sustain the filibuster. Three hours later, CNN confirmed our story.

Naturally, the White House freaked out and told Senator Bill Frist to schedule a cloture vote as quickly as possible - Monday at 4:30 p.m. - to prevent Democrats from uniting behind Kerry.

[]

At the start of the day, only Dick Durbin and Debbie Stabenow supported Kerry and Kennedy. Just before noon, Hillary Clinton's office called to say she supported us. Then Harry Reid came on board, along with Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold, Ron Wyden, Chris Dodd, and (I think) Chuck Schumer.

Most importantly, we even picked up Dianne Feinstein, who just yesterday said she opposed a filibuster.

That's 12 votes for a filibuster - and exactly 12 more votes than we had two days ago!

I believe we really can stop Alito by Monday at 4:30 p.m. - but here's what we must do.

[]

2. Keep calling the Senators who are undecided or opposed to a filibuster. You can call their DC office all weekend and leave polite but firm voicemails urging the Senators to support Kerry's filibuster. When offices open on Monday 9 a.m. ET, make another round of calls. Let's shut down the Capitol switchboard on Monday!

http://democrats.com/alito-48

3. Call the DNC (202-863-8000) and the DSCC (202-224-2447) and tell them your 2006 contributions will depend on the success of the Alito filibuster. Tell them they need to get every Democratic Senator on board.

Here are the "Filibuster 48" with their direct phone numbers. You can also use these toll-free numbers (and ask for the Senators by name): 888-355-3588 or 888-818-6641.

Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D- AR), 202-224-4843
Joseph I. Lieberman (D- CT), 202-224-4041
Thomas R. Carper (D- DE), 202-224-2441
Daniel K. Inouye (D- HI), 202-224-3934
Tom Harkin (D- IA), 202-224-3254
Barack Obama (D- IL), 202-224-2854
Evan Bayh (D- IN), 202-224-5623
Barbara A. Mikulski (D- MD), 202-224-4654
Paul S. Sarbanes (D- MD), 202-224-4524
Carl Levin (D- MI), 202-224-6221
Mark Dayton (D- MN), 202-224-3244
Max Baucus (D- MT), 202-224-2651
Frank Lautenberg (D- NJ), 202-224-3224
Robert Menendez (D- NJ), 202-224-4744
Jeff Bingaman (D- NM), 202-224-5521
Jack Reed (D- RI), 202-224-4642
Lincoln D. Chafee (R- RI), 202-224-2921
Patrick J. Leahy (D- VT), 202-224-4242
Maria Cantwell (D- WA), 202-224-3441
Patty Murray (D- WA), 202-224-2621
Herb Kohl (D- WI), 202-224-5653
John D. Rockefeller, IV (D- WV), 202-224-6472
James M. Jeffords (I- VT), 202-224-5141

Mark Pryor (D- AR), 202-224-2353
Ken Salazar (D- CO) , 202-224-5852
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D- DE) , 202-224-5042
Bill Nelson (D- FL), 202-224-5274
Daniel K. Akaka (D- HI) (1,), 202-224-6361
Mary Landrieu (D- LA) (1,), 202-224-5824
Byron L. Dorgan (D- ND) (1,), 202-224-2551
Kent Conrad (D- ND) (1,), 202-224-2043
Olympia Snowe (R- ME) (1,), 202-224-5344

Ben Nelson (D-NE) 202-224-6551
Tim Johnson (D- SD) , 202-224-5842
Robert C. Byrd (D- WV) , 202-224-3954
Ted Stevens (R- AK) , 202-224-3004

This is Hilarious

State of the Union Preview (quicktime animation)

Return of the Prodigal Son

The No. 3 all-time scorer in the history of the English Premier League, Robbie Fowler, has rejoined Liverpool.

Liverpool make shock Fowler swoop
Manchester City striker Robbie Fowler has made a surprise return to his former club Liverpool.

Fowler makes dramatic Liverpool return

Fowler rejoins Liverpool

The second coming:"God" is back

Coach Mom is ecstatic!

I imagine this may have precipitated Liverpool's decision:

Star Cisse admits assaulting wife
Liverpool footballer Djibril Cisse has been cautioned by police after assaulting his pregnant wife.

What a hideous joke, a striker who never strikes on the field, yet takes it out on his pregnant wife. Let's hope the Reds dump him pronto, and for the assault, not for his poor play.

Blog Round-Up January 27, 2006

Humor today, in alphabetical order:

Art Pottery, Politics and Food: Walk Like A Pundit

Thankfully the Russerts only breeded once so we can rest assured no other talentless progeny can be sprung on the unsuspecting American public.

Driftglass: The Anti-Sinatra

Frank: Grew up poor, liked to dress up rich and hang out with his crew.

Dubya: Grew up rich, likes to dress like a cowboy and hang out with lickspittles and yes-men.

King of Zembla: Axis of Lesser of Two Evils

Ah wisht ah could quit you, mullahs . . . .

Molly Ivins Won't Keep Quiet, Thankfully

Molly Ivins facing third round of cancer
Nigh hairless, not hopeless, Austin writer won't let disease keep her quiet.

The California native, who grew up in the tony River Oaks section of Houston, fielded her latest (and third) cancer diagnosis around Thanksgiving. Surely she could be excused for feeling sorry for herself or slowing down.

"Actually," she said, "I feel pretty good." Renewed chemotherapy appears to be helping.

Ivins has all but forbidden gifts of food and other items. She was overwhelmed with well-intended advice and goodies after she wrote of her initial diagnosis of breast cancer in 1999. The outpouring kept her from telling readers of the recurrences in 2003 and two months ago, her assistant, Betsy Moon, said.

Lately, Ivins has urged friends and fans to give instead to The Texas Observer, a liberal biweekly of politics and literature run on a shoestring for 51 years. Ivins, co-editor with Kaye Northcott from 1970 to 1976, even let the magazine put her face on a $10 gourmet chocolate bar available online and at the magazine's ramshackle Austin office.

If you want to give to The Texas Observer, here's their donation page.

Attack of the Vegans

ACLU Releases Government Photos

For example, more than two dozen government surveillance photographs show 22-year-old Caitlin Childs of Atlanta, a strict vegetarian, and other vegans picketing against meat eating, in December 2003. They staged their protest outside a HoneyBaked Ham store on Buford Highway in DeKalb County.

An undercover DeKalb County Homeland Security detective was assigned to conduct surveillance of the protest and the protestors, and take the photographs. The detective arrested Childs and another protester after he saw Childs approach him and write down, on a piece of paper, the license plate number of his unmarked government car.

Homeland Security. Protecting Honey-Baked Ham stores around the country, since 2002.

Sheesh.

Support for Anucha Browne Sanders

Hard to find on the sports pages, but here's a little:

Jon Heyman in Newsday:

Thomas speaks, says nothing

The Knicks' spin machine is suggesting she wasn't a great employee now, after previously telling us she was a "rising star" (Garden honcho Steve Mills' words, Advertising Age, 2002). The real word back at the Garden is that she's both "professional and not approachable," a characterization that could easily fit what a Northwestern basketball teammate told Newsday. (A disclaimer: I attended Northwestern at the same time as Browne Sanders but did not know her.)

[]

Thomas and his Garden people are trying to paint Browne Sanders as a gold digger. I am unmoved. What they offered [reportedly, $250,000, one year's salary] was not a good trade for her if she's telling the truth. Last week she was a respected executive, the NBA's third-highest ranking female, behind the Lakers' Jeannie Buss and the Wizards' Susan O'Malley. Today, she is unemployed and fighting a famous, powerful, (usually) persuasive man and his PR machine.

Andrew Peyser in the New York Post:

UGLY TACTICS LOSING HIM POINTS FOR CREDIBILITY

Thomas said he ignored advice to keep his mouth shut. He wanted to speak publicly so he might "look all of you in the eye" and deny the charges, said his lawyer, Peter Parcher.

But Thomas looked at the table. Out the window - anywhere except in my eye as he refuted charges he told a woman executive that he loved her, wanted to have sex with her, and finally, fired her.

[]

Spiel done, Thomas sped out of the room. Earlier, Thomas' accuser, Anucha Browne Sanders, also spoke to the media.

I have no idea if she's telling the truth. But when I met her afterward, she looked me in the eye - though she's a 6-foot-1 giantess, and I'm a 5-foot-3 shrimp.

"It's outrageous," she told me, as lawyers tensed.

"Outrageous." Then she let out a bitter laugh.

"I complained, and they fired me. It's a crazy time," she said, explaining the laugh.

Are we being used in an extortion plot?

It goes with the script that Thomas' camp reached instantly for an ulterior motive, rather than deal with the charges. They changed the subject.

I can't imagine why one of the highest-ranking women in all of professional sports would toss away her career, make herself a target, in the hope of winning a few bucks.

But that's me.

This has just begun.

Selena Roberts at the New York Times also writes in support of Browne Sanders, but her article is behind the subscription wall. A quote* from her article: "What transpired between Browne Sanders and Thomas isn't known as fact. But many elements of her complaint square with the Garden's history of hubris and male privilege."

Previous post: Color Me Not Surprised


*FAIR USE NOTICE

This article contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This material is made available to advance understanding of democracy, economic, environmental, human rights, political, scientific, and social justice issues, among others. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this article is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes.

Another Republican Talking Point Poll

This one's on MSNBC. You say "up-or-down vote", I say "Harriet Miers."

Go give 'em a piece of your mind.

Live Vote
Should the Senate give Alito an up-or-down vote?

Yes, he has been thoroughly examined and the outcome is certain anyway. Get on with it.

No, he would be a dangerous addition to the court. Any means possible, including a filibuster, is justified to stop his nomination.

Vote to see results

Why Bother With Security When Guns Are Allowed?

I can't imagine having to go through security to get into the Virginia state capitol, now that I know that concealed handguns are allowed in.

And how do I know that? Because a Virginia Delegate (R, natch) shot a coat rack in his own office with his gun. Accidentally. Luckily, the coat rack was wearing a bulletproof vest.*

Gun-Toting Delegate Misfires at Va. Capitol

*OK, I stole the coat rack line from Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D).

Bush-Abramoff Picture Scrubber Well Paid

From rawstory:

Studio that scrubbed Abramoff/Bush photo earned $140,000 from 2004 campaign

Previous post:

Can You Say, Spoliation of Evidence?

Summing Up Bush, in a Sentence

Writing about Hamas winning the Palestinian election, Digby gives us this pithy summary of the Bush presidency:

You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.

Freedom is on the march!

Hell Will Freeze Over Before CNN Runs a Poll Like This About George W. Bush

QUICKVOTE

Why do you think John Kerry wants to filibuster Samuel Alito?

Conviction

Politics

Please go vote.

Personally, I think Kerry is doing it because people like me called his office and said "Oppose Alito. In favor of filibuster. Save the constitution." That's called representing your constituents.

1417

The latest Katrina death toll, sure to rise:

Katrina deathtoll rockets to 1417

Over 3200 people are still missing after the storm.

Post of the Day

9/11 means never having to say you're sorry

The story of the 6 Muslims detained for months after 9/11 who are now suing the US government.

Go Vote

MSNBC question of the day:

Is unauthorized spying okay in times of war?

("Times of War" must be like "An Enemy". Grammar is for the rest of us.)

Can You Say, Spoliation of Evidence?

Talking Points Memo says Reflection Photography, a studio that does photo shoots for the Republican Party in Washington, has destroyed a previously publicly-available photograph of George W. Bush with Jack Abramoff.

Convenient, no? Illegal? Probably.

Spoliation has been defined as the willful destruction of evidence or the failure to preserve potential evidence for another's use in pending or future litigation.

Or maybe they can apply this law:

The federal crime of obstruction of justice is defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1503 to include conduct that, among other things, corruptly endeavors to obstruct or impede the due administration of justice. To sustain its burden of proof, the government must prove that there was pending judicial proceeding, that the defendant knew this proceeding was pending, and that the defendant then corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice.

NYTimes Calls For a Filibuster

Senators in Need of a Spine

A filibuster is a radical tool. It's easy to see why Democrats are frightened of it. But from our perspective, there are some things far more frightening. One of them is Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.

Count Me Skeptical

From alternet:

Kerry will filibuster

He said so.

Two quotes:

"As a Justice Department lawyer in the Reagan administration, Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. helped devise a legal strategy to persuade the high court to restrict and eventually overturn Roe v. Wade , the historic decision legalizing abortion."
-- Page A01, Washington Post, 12/1/05

"I am prepared to filibuster, if necessary, any Supreme Court nominee who would turn back the clock on a woman's right to choose..."
-- Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), AP, 6/20/03

(Kerry quote via Buzzflash)


Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.

The King of Zembla writes Kerry a "Dear John" letter.

Dear Senator Kerry,

[]

The one and only way to keep Alito from sitting on the Supreme Court for the rest of our natural lives is to filibuster his wack ass, and that means pulling your own party into line. Could you do us that little favor? Are you up to it?

Not News To Me

Academia may preach diversity, but it has a woeful record:

Study: White Men Dominate NCAA Leadership

ORLANDO, Fla. -- White males make up an overwhelming majority of leaders at NCAA Division I-A programs, from presidents and athletic directors to football coaches and coordinators, according to a university study released Wednesday.

Though small improvements have been made in certain areas, whites hold 330 of the 357 campus leadership positions at the 119 schools, according to the report from the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

Eighty-one percent (97) of college presidents are white men, even with a 0.8 percent increase from last year in minority presidents. Black men headed four schools (Bowling Green, Indiana, Middle Tennessee State and Ohio), while Latinos led three (Akron, Florida International and New Mexico).

None of the schools had an Asian or American Indian president. Fifteen women, all white, were listed as university presidents.

"I am rarely surprised on issues of race and gender that the movement is so slow to get more people of color and women in those top positions," study author Richard Lapchick said.

In Memoriam: Fayard Nicholas

Dancer Fayard Nicholas Dies at 91

One of the greatest athletes ever to grace a stage. I remember watching "Stormy Weather" as a child, on our black & white Zenith. We couldn't believe Lena Horne had ever been so young (and this was 35+ years ago) and those amazing Nicholas brothers. How could those moves be real?

I'm Boycotting Friendly's - Join Me

No more Friendly's for me. The 500-restaurant chain has essentially eliminated health care for most of its employees.

The new plan provides a maximum annual benefit of $2,000 for outpatient care, and covers only a small portion of the costs associated with major illnesses. Under the plan, employees could be liable for thousands of dollars in bills after a short hospital stay, leading some to seek free care from the state. Until last fall, the company offered them comprehensive healthcare insurance.

And of course,

Employees at the assistant-manager level and higher can still choose comprehensive coverage, employees said.

Friendly's slashes health benefits for 454 workers

Rich board member claims surprise. I don't believe him:

Perry D. Odak, a member of Friendly's board of directors, said he was unaware of the change in healthcare benefits and would look into the matter if it comes before the board.

''For me, whether you're a cashier or you're the CEO of the company, you ought to have the same benefits," said Odak, the former chief executive of Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. and now chief executive of natural foods grocers Wild Oats Markets Inc. of Boulder, Colo. ''As one member of the [Friendly's] board, I'd take the position that treating employees well is the right thing to do."

Makes Me Proud to be a Lawyer

Saying 'no' to torture and Gonzalez

Georgetown University law students protest speech by Attorney General Abu Gonzales.

"When you're a law student, they tell you if say that if you can't argue the law, argue the facts. They also tell you if you can't argue the facts, argue the law. If you can't argue either, apparently, the solution is to go on a public relations offensive and make it a political issue... to say over and over again 'it's lawful,' and to think that the American people will somehow come to believe this if we say it often enough."

"In light of this, I'm proud of the very civil civil disobedience that was shown here today."

- David Cole, Georgetown University Law Professor

Global Warming

2005 was warmest year on record: NASA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, and it was unusually hot in the Arctic, U.S. space agency
NASA said on Tuesday.

All five of the hottest years since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s occurred within the last decade, according to analysis by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

In descending order, the years with the highest global average annual temperatures were 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004, NASA said in a statement.

I had CNN This Morning on this morning and heard the brain-dead anchors, the O'Brien twins, laughing about global warming after yet another 'weird weather' weather report. Will they ever learn?

Color Me Not Surprised

Sexual Harassment Suit Filed Against Thomas and Garden

A former high-level Knicks executive filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing Isiah Thomas, the team's president, of sexual harassment and discrimination, saying he had made unwanted advances, cursed her and barred players from working with her on community events.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, the executive, Anucha Browne Sanders, said that Thomas refused to stop his actions despite her protests and discomfort, and that her immediate supervisor, Steve Mills, the president of Madison Square Garden Sports, did nothing to intercede on her behalf.

Why the defendants *should* settle:

1. Sanders has got a great lawyer, one of the top employment discrimination lawyers in New York: Judith Vladeck. I can hear her cigarette-scarred voice now. She wouldn't have taken this case without thoroughly evaluating it first. They've got something here.

2. Sanders has been with the Knicks since 2000, so she has three years worth of good performance evaluations on her side.

3. She's been in the workplace for over 20 years and her previous employer was IBM. This was an executive position with the Knicks, and knowing the NBA and its teams, there weren't too many women this high in an organization. She's no figurehead.

4. Isiah is socially personable, but not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Remember him saying that Larry Bird would be just another player if he were black?

Another take: Isiah Thomas Handles Women As Well As He Handles ... Well, Everything Else

Actually, she’s not just an “employee;” she’s Anucha Browne Sanders, the former vice president of marketing whose bio is still up on the Knicks’ Web site. She’s hardly some opportunistic floozy; she’s a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year at Northwestern, she made Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list in 2003 and before coming to the Knicks, she did IBM marketing efforts for 11 years, including spearheading their Atlanta 1996 campaign. She also is married and has three children.

Sanders bio from nba.com:

Anucha Browne Sanders

Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Operations
New York Knickerbockers

Knicks Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Operations Anucha Browne Sanders was elevated to her current position in the spring of 2002 after joining the organization as Vice President of Marketing on Nov. 20, 2000.

The Brooklyn, New York native is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business side of the Knicks front office and serves as the team’s chief marketing officer. She oversees all of the club’s business activities and revenue streams, including partnerships, ticketing, fan development, field marketing, event presentation, community relations, special events and new media. She also works closely with MSG’s other sports properties - the New York Rangers and New York Liberty - in finding new and innovative ways to integrate the three very distinct and highly successful brands and is the primary liaison between the team and the NBA. Her professional success has not gone unnoticed, as she was named to the Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” list in 2003, honoring the top 40 professionals in the sports field under 40 years old. She was also honored for her work (along with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton), by Greater New York Links, Inc. an organization comprised of 11,000 African-American women nationwide, and has been a featured speaker at numerous sports marketing conferences and seminars ranging from the Harvard Business School to the Active 2002 Sport and Recreation Industry Conference in western Australia. Most recently, Anucha was honored with the 2004 Miracle Award by The Miracle Makers, a not-for-profit family and children’s services group in New York.

Prior to joining the Knicks, Anucha spent 11 years with IBM Corporation, serving in a number of roles, most recently as a Program Manager in IBM’s Worldwide Sports Office. In that capacity, she was responsible for a number of IBM’s marketing efforts during the Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996, Nagano 1998 and Sydney 2000), including corporate sponsorship efforts that allowed IBM to leverage their investment as a Worldwide Olympic sponsor.

The Northwestern University graduate was no stranger to success on the hardwood. She was a three-time All Big Ten selection and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year for the Wildcats, finishing her career as the all-time leading scorer in Big Ten women’s basketball history, as well as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,307) and rebounds (951). The two-time Wade Trophy nominee and 1985 Kodak All-American also led the nation in scoring with a school record 31.5 ppg in 1984-85. She was also selected to play on the U.S. National Team that toured Europe and Asia following her graduation. Her long list of athletic honors includes being selected Northwestern’s Athlete of the Decade for the ‘80’s and being inducted to the Wildcats Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. She was also honored by the Empire State Games as one of it’s top athlete’s of the first 25 years the competition has been in existence, in the summer of 2002.

Among her numerous philanthropic activities, Anucha serves on the board of Children’s Village, a private, New York State, not-for-profit corporation that provides aid, comfort and hope to over 80,000 children. She also traveled to Southern Asia this past summer to assist the victims of the tsunami with their recovery and rebuilding efforts as part of a trip organized by Phillips Exeter Academy. Anucha holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications from Northwestern, and a Masters degree in Marketing Communications from Florida State University. She resides with her husband Roy and their three children in New Jersey.

Stonewalled

Funny how the White House is bothering to cover up its role in a "bipartisan" scandal. Guess the ombudsperson doesn't write the WaPo editorials:

Mr. Abramoff's Meetings

It's undisputed that Mr. Abramoff tried to use his influence, and his restaurant and his skyboxes and his chartered jets, to sway lawmakers and their staffs. Information uncovered by Mr. Bush's own Justice Department shows that Mr. Abramoff tried to do the same inside the executive branch.

Under these circumstances, asking about Mr. Abramoff's White House meetings is no mere exercise in reportorial curiosity but a legitimate inquiry about what an admitted felon might have been seeking at the highest levels of government. Whatever White House officials did or didn't do, there is every reason to believe that Mr. Abramoff was up to no good and therefore every reason the public ought to know with whom he was meeting.

'Bush the Incompetent'

Harold Meyerson in today's Washington Post:

Bush the Incompetent

Incompetence is not one of the seven deadly sins, and it's hardly the worst attribute that can be ascribed to George W. Bush. But it is this president's defining attribute. Historians, looking back at the hash that his administration has made of his war in Iraq, his response to Hurricane Katrina and his Medicare drug plan, will have to grapple with how one president could so cosmically botch so many big things -- particularly when most of them were the president's own initiatives.

[]

How could a president get these things so wrong? Incompetence may describe this presidency, but it doesn't explain it. For that, historians may need to turn to the seven deadly sins: to greed, in understanding why Bush entrusted his new drug entitlement to a financial mainstay of modern Republicanism. To sloth, in understanding why Incurious George has repeatedly ignored the work of experts whose advice runs counter to his desires.

He omits 9/11, Bush's other great incompetent feat, when he ignored the advice of experts who advised: Bin Laden determined to strike in US

Blog Round-Up Wednesday January 25 2006

Glenn Greenwald: The Administration's new FISA defense is factually false in which he details how Congress considered & declined to change the standard for spying from probable cause to reasonableness. (which wouldn't have passed constitutional muster anyway, by the way -- Congress can't change the constitution by legislation, it needs an Amendment)

Two from Suburban Guerrilla: Republican Environmental Policy, in which we learn that 20% of the catfish in Maryland's South River have liver cancer.

and Throwaway Lives about Bush's incompetent OSHA letting a murderous construction company murder again.

Americablog: A tale of two sentences Real bloodletting v. symbolic. Which one gets the greater sentence?

Update: One more, from People Get Ready: The worst disaster in American history Oh yeah, you know his name.

Right Wing Blogs Exhibit Myopia Over Medicare Part D(isaster)

From Michael Hiltzik's Golden State Blog:

More on Medicare: A Thunderous Silence on the Right

At some point over the last few days, while researching my latest columns on the Bush Medicare fiasco, I became aware of a curious void in the harmonic fabric of commentary on the issue—as if the entire brass section had gone out for a smoke during a performance of Gotterdammerung.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what had happened. While the absolute chaos associated with the Medicare drug program’s rollout has made the front pages of newspapers across the country, inspiring governors of more than two dozen states to undertake emergency action, the right-wing blogosphere has scarcely printed one word about the program. Thousands, possibly millions of American citizens have been hurt, many of them in life-threatening ways. Patients, doctors, and pharmacists are outraged. State governments are committing tens of millions of dollars to bail out the feds.

Yet, from the right: Silence.

Myopia:

[] "being myopian" designates a subsequent stubbornness to look ahead as well as a resulting narrow-mindedness and pessimistic attitude towards the society as the frame for life's conduct.

St. Patrick's Four Sentenced

If spilling blood were truly a crime, the entire Bush Administration would be in jail. Instead, some good people will be wasting time on the federal dime:


Burns gets 6 months
First of St. Pat's 4 sentenced in Binghamton

War protestor De Mott sentenced

Burns' wife plans plenty of visits; atmosphere subdued outside courthouse

Previous posts:

Good Article on St. Patrick's Four

This Just In: St. Patrick's Four Convicted of Lesser Charges, Acquitted of Conspiracy

Jury Out on St. Patrick's Four

The St. Patrick's Four

We're No. 28! We're No. 28!

Not really something to celebrate:

UK ranked fifth best in world green list

Gus Speth, dean of the Yale school of Forestry and Environmental studies, warned that America's performance, ranked 28th, was of global concern. "The lagging performance of the US on environmental issues, particularly on energy and climate change, signals trouble not only for the American people, but for the whole world."

The US had the best water quality in the world, but was ranked low on energy. On individual issues, the UK scored highly on environmental health but did not score highly on greenhouse gas emissions, or air quality.

League tables The good, the bad and the underperforming

Overall top 10 by EPI Score

1 New Zealand 88.0
2 Sweden 87.8
3 Finland 87.0
4 Czech Republic 86.0
5 United Kingdom 85.6
6 Austria 85.2
7 Denmark 84.2
8 Canada 84.0
9 Malaysia 83.3
10 Ireland 83.3
--------------------------------------------------
28 United States 78.5

Overall bottom 10

133 Niger 25.7
132 Chad 30.5
131 Mauritania 32.0
130 Mali 33.9
129 Ethiopia 36.7
128 Angola 39.3
127 Pakistan 41.1
126 Burkina Faso 43.2
125 Bangladesh 43.5
124 Sudan 44.0

Top 5 Environmental health

1 Sweden 99.4
2 France 99.2
3 Australia 99.0
4 United Kingdom 98.9
5 Finland 98.8
--------------------------------------------------
13 United States 98.3

Top 5 Productive natural resources

1 Paraguay 100
2 Armenia 100
3 Kazakhstan 100
4 Bolivia 100
5 Zimbabwe 100
--------------------------------------------------
84 United Kingdom 71.6
124 United States 38.9

Top 5 Biodiversity and habitat

1 Benin 88.0
2 Venezuela 88.0
3 Jamaica 86.1
4 Panama 83.1
5 Cambodia 82.6
--------------------------------------------------
33 United States 66.8
52 United Kingdom 58.8

Top 5 Air quality

1 Uganda 98.0
2 Gabon 96.1
3 Rwanda 91.1
4 Burundi 90.9
5 Ghana 87.3
--------------------------------------------------
42 United Kingdom 61.6
97 United States 44.7

Top 5 Sustainable energy

1 Uganda 92.4
2 Mali 92.1
3 Democratic Rep of Congo 90.1
4 Laos 89.8
5 Cambodia 89.1
--------------------------------------------------
55 United Kingdom 77.8
80 United States 69.7

· Scores determined by researchers at Columbia and Yale Universities, who ranked 133 countries according to how they tackled domestic and world problems and met targets

Blog Round-Up January 24, 2006

From Steve Gilliard, BushCo proposing its own federal police: This is how dictatorships start

From Art Pottery, Politics & Food, two good ones: Egghead = Gen. Michael V. Hayden (head of illegal wiretapping program)

Mystery Meet (Tim Russert's asking Barack Obama to comment on Harry Belafonte)

Brilliant at Breakfast on Florida exposing Diebold's easily-hacked voting machines: More on the Florida Diebold hack test

Digby can't take it anymore: Killing Me Softly (I love the use of the phrase "American sheeple")

Update: One more, from a new blog I've been loving, Glenn Greenwald on how Republicans can say anything, but Democrats are out of line: Rules for Political Discourse

Carmageddon

Ford to Cut 14 Plants And Up to 30,000 Jobs
N. American Auto Division Lost $1.6 Billion in 2005

30,000 jobs -- poof.

The Bush Economy.

The Standard Is Probable Cause

When the CEO President delegates his responsibility to defend and uphold the Constitution, shouldn't he pass along a copy of said document to his minions? apparently, the general in charge of the illegal domestic spying program doesn't know his Constitution. I have a few copies to spare. Maybe I'll mail him one. Why don't we all?

From Editor & Publisher (highlighting the invaluable reporting of Knight-Ridder):

Defending Spy Program, General Reveals Shaky Grip on 4th Amendment

NEW YORK The former national director of the National Security Agency, in an appearance today before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., today, appeared to be unfamiliar with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution when pressed by a reporter with Knight Ridder's Washington office -- despite his claims that he was actually something of an expert on it.

General Michael Hayden, principal deputy director of National Intelligence with the Office of National Intelligence, talked with reporters about the current controversy surrounding the National Security Agency's warrantless monitoring of communications of suspected al Qaeda terrorists. Hayden has been in this position since last April, but was NSA director when the NSA monitoring program began in 2001.

As the last journalist to get in a question, Jonathan Landay, a well-regarded investigative reporter for Knight Ridder, noted that Gen. Hayden repeatedly referred to the Fourth Amendment's search standard of "reasonableness" without mentioning that it also demands "probable cause." Hayden seemed to deny that the amendment included any such thing, or was simply ignoring it.

Here's the Fourth Amendment: "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."

New Blog

Apropos The Maryland Moment, a new blog has been created to log comments on the reportage of the Washington Post.

Comments here won't ever be shut down.

Open Letter to the Washington Post

A Crack in the Gitmo Wall

Judge Orders Release of Gitmo Detainee IDs

EW YORK -- A federal judge ruled Monday that the Defense Department must release the identities of hundreds of Guantanamo Bay detainees to The Associated Press.

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff told the government to provide the information in the form of unredacted copies of transcripts and documents related to 558 military hearings in which detainees were permitted to challenge their incarcerations.

Most of the hundreds of prisoners at the U.S. prison in Cuba have been held since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks without being charged or publicly identified, which has troubled human rights groups.

American concentration camp. Take down that wall, Mr. Bush.

Bye Bye Free Internet

The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet

Washington Post Political Reporter Jim VandeHei is Married to a Former Aide to Tom Delay

Wouldn't you have wanted to know that when you read this a month ago:

President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering

By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 15, 2005; Page A07

President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations or by rumors of fading clout inside the White House.

VandeHei's wife is described as "a social/family policy advisor" in the office of Tom Delay on Steve Clemons website, The Washington Note.

Why is he allowed to report on the Delay or Abramoff scandals? Why isn't this at a very minimum disclosed to the readers?

Presstitute. Notorious House of Presstitution.

Save the Constitution Day

The Senate votes on Samuel Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States tomorrow.

Have you called your senator and registered your opposition?

Senate Contact Information

Game of the Day

Liverpool-Manchester United. Rafa's resurgent Reds v. Sir Alex's slumping Mancs. England's two best players, Stevie Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. The biggest game of the EPL season to date.

Wish I got Setanta Sports so I could buy this one on pay-per-view.

Match preview from Kopblog: Rafa's Reds to put Man Utd Has-Beens in their place

United Rant: Overview

My prediction: Liverpool 3-1, Liverpool goals by Stevie G., Crouch, Kewell, and Van Nistelrooy for MU. Bonus predictions: yellow cards to Rooney, Ronaldo, and Sussoko.

Update: Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool Unfortunately, the only predictions I made that came true were yellow cards to Rooney and Sussoko. A big wasted opportunity by Liverpool.

She Still Doesn't Get It

Deborah Howell's latest shot at getting the Abramoff story right is half right, and still half wrong:

The Firestorm Over My Column

Right:

I wrote that he gave campaign money to both parties and their members of Congress. He didn't.

Wrong:

I should have said he directed his client Indian tribes to make campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties.

Still clinging to her "directed to" language, while ignoring the import of the actual facts. Abramoff's tribes (only 6 of the 500 recognized tribes in the US, by the way) actually gave far less to Democrats after he began representing them as their lobbyist.

Well, at least she's figured this much out:

It's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal, and that's why the Republicans are scurrying around trying to enact lobbying reforms.

More on Howell's poor journalism from firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, and dailykos.

New Acronym - Wino

As in, Women In Name Only.

Phyllis Schlafly, Wino Emeritus
Ann Coulter, Wino
Laura Ingraham, Wino
Kate O'Beirne, Wino

Actually, it works for other groups too.

Joe Lieberman, Dino, Democrat in Name Only