Back on Monday

Taking the weekend off to make pots, go to kid's soccer & football games, and watch the Red Sox play themselves into the playoffs. One Big Papi is worth many Slappy McBluelips.

Check out the photo gallery of the new panda cub at the National Zoo:

Panda Cub Growing Stronger

Karen Hughes' Simple Mind

Sidney Blumenthal: 'Bin Laden's little helper'

Hughes appeared as one of the pilgrims satirised by Mark Twain in his 1869 book Innocents Abroad, on his trip on the Grand Holy Land Pleasure Excursion. "None of us had ever been anywhere before; we all hailed from the interior; travel was a wild novelty... We always took care to make it understood that we were Americans - Americans!"

Hughes's simple, sincere and unadorned language reveals the administration's inner mind. Her ideas on terrorism and its solution are straightforward. "Terrorists," she said, "their policies force young people, other people's daughters and sons, to strap on bombs and blow themselves up." That is: somehow, magically, these evil-doers coerce the young to commit suicide. If only they would understand us, the tensions would dissolve.

"Many people around the world do not understand the important role that faith plays in Americans' lives," she said. When an Egyptian opposition leader inquired why Mr Bush mentions God in his speeches, Hughes asked him whether he was aware that "previous American presidents have also cited God, and that our constitution cites 'one nation under God'."

The Pledge of Allegiance since 1954 has contained "under God", and that is the source of "one nation under God".

The Constitution does not contain the word God.

But when you're a fundie idealogue, why let the facts get in the way of a good story? Pledge of Allegiance recited by school children, Constitution that has governed this country for its entire existence, uh, what's the difference?

And then there's that stupid book Hughes is holding during her Turkish photo op. On the cover, 4 American Presidents: Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, and .... George W. Photo Op. Pathetic.


In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken

Maybe This Is Why Judith, Patron Saint of Corporate Journalists, Wanted to Limit Her Testimony

Phone Call With Source and Deal Led Reporter to Testify

Mr. Abrams said that she provided the grand jury with an edited version of her notes.

"The notes were redacted to omit everything but the notes taken concerning discussions with Libby about Plame," Mr. Abrams said.

Maybe Judy went to jail to protect something else from discovery. Like whatever else she discussed with Scooter that day. Iraq? Chalabi? Their mutual good friend John Bolton? I'd love to see those notes....

Apocalyptic Announcement

Check out this LA Times front page!

Ask Me How I Missed This

From firedoglake, from The Talent Show

I Wish These Pictures Were Out BEFORE He Got Confirmed

Did John Roberts help prevent the counting of legitimate votes in Florida in 2000? Danny Schector (The News Dissector, I remember listening to him when he was on WBCN radio here in Boston decades ago) has pictures from the Florida recount debacle which appear to be Roberts.

What Did Roberts Do in Florida?

Definitely the same hairdo, but the guy in the pictures looks a little thinner. Come to think of it, I look a little thinner in 5 year old pictures, too.

At least my senators voted no. And Jack Reed of Rhode Island, too, a smart guy and a lawyer, he voted no.

Another payback appointment. Cronys-R-Us.

More Friday Fun

A friend emailed me this joke, which was making the rounds at her daughter's work:

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the president exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff, stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watch as the
president sits, head in hands.

Finally, the president looks up and asks, "Just how many is a
brazillion?"

Party of Lincoln?

HUD chief foresees a 'whiter' Big Easy

A Bush Cabinet officer predicted this week that New Orleans likely will never again be a majority black city, and several black officials are outraged.

Alphonso R. Jackson, secretary of housing and urban development, during a visit with hurricane victims in Houston, said New Orleans would not reach its pre-Katrina population of "500,000 people for a long time," and "it's not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again."

Bill Bennett: "[Y]ou could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down"

This story contains the audio clip.

Informed Speculation About Judy Miller

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake: It's Miller Time!

Arianna Huffington: Miller Walks: The Plot Thickens

emptywheel at The Next Hurrah: I may not know why a caged bird sings--but I've got my guesses

A Little Friday Fun

A bit o' amination:

Bush in Freefall

I saw this on In the Dark

The Incompetence, the Corruption, the Cronyism: Sept. 30, 2005 edition

The Incompetence:

Those little blue tarps being tacked down over roofs all over the Gulf Coast? The government is paying OVER $2,000 per roof, even though THE GOVERNMENT SUPPLIES THE BLUE TARP. That's right, $2,000 for a few hours of nail gunning. And they talk about lawyer's fees!

U.S. paying a premium to cover storm-damaged roofs

Knight Ridder has found that a lack of oversight, generous contracting deals and poor planning mean that government agencies are shelling out as much as 10 times what the temporary fix would normally cost.

The government is paying contractors an average of $2,480 for less than two hours of work to cover each damaged roof - even though it's also giving them endless supplies of blue sheeting for free.

[]

Jim Pogue, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said the agency strictly followed government contracting requirements and did all it could to get the best deal possible for the roofing work, given the magnitude of the task and the need to protect vulnerable homes as quickly as possible.

Pogue also said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which by statute is in charge of the program, asked the Corps to manage the program because FEMA's resources were spread thin....

All courtesy of FEMA, the agency destroyed by George W. Bush.

yahoo news: FEMA's Brown Was Warned Early of Shortages

WASHINGTON - Former FEMA director Michael Brown was warned weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit that his agency's backlogged computer systems could delay supplies and put personnel at risk during an emergency, according to an audit released Wednesday.

An internal review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's information-sharing system shows it was overwhelmed during the 2004 hurricane season. The audit was released a day after Brown vehemently defended FEMA for the government's dismal response to Katrina, instead blaming state and local officials for poor planning and chaos during the Aug. 29 storm and subsequent flooding.

The review by Homeland Security Department acting Inspector General Richard L. Skinner examined FEMA's response to four major hurricanes and a tropical storm that hit Florida and the Gulf Coast in August and September 2004. It noted FEMA's mission during disasters as rapid response and coordinating efforts among federal, state and local authorities.

"However, FEMA's systems do not support effective or efficient coordination of deployment operations because there is no sharing of information," the audit found. "Consequently, this created operational inefficiencies and hindered the delivery of essential disaster response and recovery services," it said.

The Corruption:

Roy Blunt is the shiny new version of Tom Delay, without the whiff of bug spray. It's cigarette smoke that wreaths Blunt:

David Sirota: Blunt's Record Shows He's As Corrupt As DeLay

BLUNT DOES FAVORS FOR SON-TURNED-TOBACCO-LOBBYIST: "Only hours after Rep. Roy Blunt was named to the House's third-highest leadership job" he tried "to quietly insert a provision benefiting Philip Morris USA into the 475-page bill creating a Department of Homeland Security...The new majority whip, who has close personal and political ties to the company... Blunt has received large campaign donations from Philip Morris, his son works for the company in Missouri and the House member has a close personal relationship with a Washington lobbyist for the firm." Blunt later married Philip Morris's lobbyist. – Washington Post, 6/11/03

BLUNT DOES FAVORS FOR SON-TURNED-LOBBYIST, PART II: "In April, for instance, Blunt managed to have a provision inserted into a Senate bill, without debate, on behalf of United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. The two companies were seeking to block the expansion of a foreign rival's U.S. operations. Blunt's son Andrew also represents UPS in Missouri, as the Wall Street Journal first reported, and the two companies have contributed a total of $120,000 to Blunt since 2001, according to Federal Election Commission data." – Washington Post, 6/11/03

BLUNT SECURES ETHICS WAIVER AFTER MARRYING TOBACCO LOBBYIST: "Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) had a happier year, marrying a prominent lobbyist and obtaining the House ethics committee's permission not to report their wedding gifts." – Washington Post, 6/17/04....

The Cronyism:

Our vaunted new U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs? Karen Hughes had never been to the Middle East before she was appointed. Of course, she is the ultimate President Photo Op crony, having held his hand and wiped his butt for decades.

mahablog: idiots abroad

...[N]o one seems to have noticed how spectacularly unqualified Hughes is for this mission. She has no background in diplomacy and no expertise in the Middle East. In fact, she had never been to the Middle East before this week.

yahoo: Sales pitch falls flat

10 Really Cool Science Pictures

From the Beeb:

Visions of Science

Principles, Shminciples, She Wants to Go Home

Judith Miller Out of Jail

According to the Times, Libby "had made clear that he genuinely wanted her to testify." But the Times account, published tonight, revealed that Libby and his lawyers asserted that they had given his waiver a year ago--and then again ten days--but Miller did not accept it, saying she feared it was coerced.

Joseph Tate, an attorney for Libby, said to the Washington Post today, "We told her lawyers it was not coerced. We are surprised to learn we had anything to do with her incarceration."

So let me get this straight. They gave her the A-OK to testify a year ago, and she's been in jail bleating about journalistic principles? Diva.

And it was Scooter Libby, not Traitor Karl.

Can't wait to hear her grand jury testimony.

Let's hope Traitor Karl is the ham sandwich Prosecutor Fitzgerald is gunning for.

Judy Miller's unwavering devotion to journalistic principles? What a joke. She'll be singing like a bird tomorrow. Journalism is dead. All hail the corporate media.

Fishback in the Brig

The 82nd Airborne Captain who wrote the letter to John McCain about torture, published yesterday in the Washington Post? He's been sequestered at Fort Bragg under orders restricting his contacts. Don't ask, and certainly, don't tell the truth.

Andrew Sullivan has the whole story.

Haters Buying Signatures on Anti-Gay Marriage Petition

How low can they go?

Government BUY the People

On Sunday the 25th, I went to the Wild Oats Supermarket in Saugus, MA, where I was greeted by a petition circulator. I was presented with an Initiative Petition to allow alcohol to be sold in supermarkets. The young man, Mr. Tiontee Johnson, explained how I needed to make my signature legible and added when I am done signing that he has another Petition about Traditional Marriage that he would like me to sign too. "You know", he said, "if you believe in 'Adam and Eve.'" He then added, "this signing on either of these just means you want it on the ballot, it doesn't really mean anything today."

Well, I signed the Petition to allow alcohol to be sold and asked Mr. Johnson if my name would be made public and was told emphatically, "No, these signatures go directly to the Secretary of State." Interesting... I was then asked if I wanted to sign "the traditional marriage petition." When I said no, He told me that he was being paid $1 a signature and that it would really help him if I could sign!

I asked Mr. Johnson for a card (see photo [on original post, click link above]) and he gave me his employer's business card. In further questioning, I found out that Mr. Johnson is not even a Massachusetts resident but one of many that were bussed in from California and put up in hotels all over the Baystate and paid to collect signatures. By the way, the area code on the business card is from Michigan.

There are TWO very disturbing things going on here.

(1) The "people's petition" process in Massachusetts is being undermined by "buck a signature" out-of-state petition circulators all the while petition spokespersons like Kris Mineau continue to spout rhetoric about the process being an expression of "the people's" voice. So cut the bull Kris and tell the good people of Massachusetts who is really behind this Ballot Initiative. I wonder, is this where all the "faith based initiative" money is going?

(2) Signature gatherers clearly feel entitled to say whatever they want to get people to sign even if it is incorrect. So we not only have to worry about The Catholic Church telling people that same-sex marriage is ending civilization but we now have to worry about a "puppy-dog eyed" signature gatherer claiming that the signer is "helping him out financially" and that signing "doesn't really mean anything."

There is too much at stake for this to be allowed to happen. Citizens have a responsibility not to be duped into signing and to hold the petition sponsors accountable for any fraud or deception that might be committed on their behalf by these out-of-state petition pushers.

If you have an experience like mine, report it immediately to Peter Sacks of the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-2200.

Tom Lang, Director

I have to be in Boston tomorrow, so I'm going to go to a few grocery stores tomorrow & see if I can get solicited, so I can call the AG & report 'em. Sleazy bastards.

Books That Shiver Conservative Timbers

Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries

I've read The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, and that very dangerous book, The Feminine Mystique.

Personally, I think the most dangerous book in the world is the Bible. Think of all the murders and atrocities committed in its name.

How was this list created? Have a look see at just one of the judges:

The Judges
These 15 scholars and public policy leaders served as judges in selecting the Ten Most Harmful Books....

Phyllis Schlafly
President
Eagle Forum

I'm a collector, and love collecting weird books. I actually own one of Schlafly's 1960s masterpieces:

Strike from Space, 1965. The major exposé of America's loss of strategic superiority under the regime of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. Hardback and paperback, both out of print.

Strike from Space is somewhere in a box in my basement, where it should be.

Too Cute

Incredibly cute panda pic at majikthise.

RIP Constance Baker Motley, American Hero

Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 84

Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights lawyer who fought nearly every important civil rights case for two decades and then became the first black woman to serve as a federal judge, died yesterday at NYU Downtown Hospital in Manhattan. She was 84.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said Isolde Motley, her daughter-in-law.

Judge Motley was the first black woman to serve in the New York State Senate, as well as the first woman to be Manhattan borough president, a position that guaranteed her a voice in running the entire city under an earlier system of local government called the Board of Estimate.

Judge Motley was at the center of the firestorm that raged through the South in the two decades after World War II, as blacks and their white allies pressed to end the segregation that had gripped the region since Reconstruction. She visited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in jail, sang freedom songs in churches that had been bombed, and spent a night under armed guard with Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who was later murdered.

But her métier was in the quieter, painstaking preparation and presentation of lawsuits that paved the way to fuller societal participation by blacks. She dressed elegantly, spoke in a low, lilting voice and, in case after case, earned a reputation as the chief courtroom tactician of the civil rights movement.

Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama and other staunch segregationists yielded, kicking and screaming, to the verdicts of courts ruling against racial segregation. These huge victories were led by the N.A.A.C.P.'s Legal Defense and Education Fund, led by Thurgood Marshall, for which Judge Motley, Jack Greenberg, Robert Carter and a handful of other underpaid, overworked lawyers labored.

In particular, she directed the legal campaign that resulted in the admission of James H. Meredith to the University of Mississippi in 1962. She argued 10 cases before the United States Supreme Court and won nine of them.

Now this was a woman who should have been on the Supreme Court. She never worked for the powers that be. She worked for justice. No one ever wondered if she had a heart. She would not have denied the positions she took for her clients were her own. She believed in everything she ever did or said. The contrasts to the reptilian John Roberts loom large for me tonight.

When I was in law school, a friend clerked for Senator Ted Kennedy (Uncle Ted, as my friend called him). We had many discussions as to who the Democrats should nominate if Thurgood Marshall or William Brennan resigned or died. (We were sure we'd win the 1988 election -- wrong.) I mentioned Constance Baker Motley, and when my friend looked her up he was blown away by the breadth of her accomplishments -- and that somehow, he'd never heard of her. But by then (20 years ago) she was almost too old to be nominated -- Presidents love to appoint 50 year olds who can dominate the court for decades.

We've lost another of the great ones.

Federal Judge Constance Baker Motley Dies

(Yes, I keep bumping this post to the top. She deserves the attention far more than moral cretin Tom Delay.)

The Incompetence, The Corruption, The Cronyism: Sept. 29, 2005 edition

Delay, Delay, Delay! Today we present the All-Tom-Delay Incompetence, Corruption and Cronyism post.

The Incompetence:

Now, the Republicans have known this indictment was coming forever. Yet, they couldn't even manage to pick Delay's successor without "outing" divisions within the party.

Republicans dump gay leader, pick House Whip Blunt

After earlier reporting that Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) was expected to succeed House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) as majority leader, the decision has been reversed. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) will instead take up DeLay's post.

Sources tell RAW STORY that Dreier -- who was a shoo-in for the position -- was nixed for various reasons, in part because his sexuality would raise ire within the party ranks.

The Corruption:

The short version: Delay's political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, illegally laundered corporate money through the Republican National Committee back to candidates in Texas -- who aren't supposed to take corporate money.

Delay Indictment (HTML file)

DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

Delay Is Indicted in Texas Case and Forfeits G.O.P. House Post

How a Tested Campaign Tool Led to Conspiracy Charges

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 - The indictment of Representative Tom DeLay on Wednesday put the Republican National Committee in an uncomfortable spotlight, saying a top political aide to President Bush was the funnel through which $190,000 in improper donations passed in 2002.

According to the indictment, Terry Nelson, the political director in the 2004 Bush re-election campaign, was the individual who received the $190,000 check, which was made out to a division of the R.N.C. That check is alleged to have included money illegally accepted from corporations.

Mr. Nelson, the indictment says, simultaneously received a list of Republican candidates for the Texas State Legislature for whom the money was intended. Under Texas law, it is illegal for state candidates to use corporate contributions.

The Cronyism:

Delay's successor as Majority Leader, Roy Blunt of Missouri, has his own corrupt issues. (Ok, brief digression, don't you just love that he got his start in politics as John Ashcroft's chauffeur?) Blunt was just named one of the thirteen most corrupt members of Congress. He's also pimped for Big Tobacco, where his family dines at the corrupt corporate trough:

Kansas City Star (registration required; use bugmenot.com)
Acting Majority Leader Blunt has learned much from DeLay

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Roy Blunt jump-started his political career at age 22 when John Ashcroft made him his chauffeur for his unsuccessful 1972 campaign for Congress.

Blunt has been on the move ever since.

The Missouri Republican was elected the state's youngest secretary of state in 1984. In 1999, then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas made Blunt chief deputy whip, after just a single term in the House. When DeLay rose to leader in 2002, Blunt became majority whip....

Like DeLay, Blunt has been dogged by ethics issues.

Blunt was criticized in 2003 for slipping into Homeland Security legislation a provision that would have cracked down on illegal and Internet-based cigarette sales. He later defended the move as cutting off a source of terrorist funding.

It also would have been a huge boon to Altria, parent of cigarette maker Philip Morris and a company with close ties to Blunt.

Blunt's current wife was a lobbyist for Altria on tobacco issues at the time. One of his sons was a lobbyist for the company in Missouri. And various Blunt campaign committees had received about $150,000 from Philip Morris and affiliated companies in the two years preceding the legislation.

Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said at the time that it was "unusually brazen. ... It shows really poor judgment to put yourself in a position where you are seen as wielding that power for a friend."

Just Say No to Torture

A letter by Capt. Ian Fishback of the 82nd Airborne, to Sen. John McCain, published in yesterday's WaPo:

A Matter of Honor

While I served in the Global War on Terror, the actions and statements of my leadership led me to believe that United States policy did not require application of the Geneva Conventions in Afghanistan or Iraq....

....Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security? Terrorism inspires fear and suppresses ideals like freedom and individual rights. Overcoming the fear posed by terrorist threats is a tremendous test of our courage. Will we confront danger and adversity in order to preserve our ideals, or will our courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of sacrifice? My response is simple. If we abandon our ideals in the face of adversity and aggression, then those ideals were never really in our possession. I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is "America."

Once again, I strongly urge you to do justice to your men and women in uniform. Give them clear standards of conduct that reflect the ideals they risk their lives for.

Another Forgotten Story

While reading the coverage of the death of civil rights lawyer Constance Baker Motley, I came upon this dailykos diary about James Benton Parsons, the first black federal judge:

I clerked for a trailblazer

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana