Culture of Corruption News

While it's no crime, Mike Ferguson, Representative in the NJ-7th, can't be considered entirely ethical when he condemns stem cell research in the strongest terms and then accepts campaign contributions from companies that engage in stem cell research. This is like an anti-choice politician accepted money from NARAL. It would be an interesting exercise to see how many politicians who condemn stem cell research, as Mike Ferguson does, actually take money from companies that perform stem cell research.

Bloggin', got my chips cashed in

Hidy-ho! This is not Tami again. Yup. Frogsdong. That's me. I may or may not have heard from The One True Tami on double super secret background. I'm not sure. I got this tiny umbrella like you get in those tropical drinks and the words, "the lunatic is on the grass" were scrawled on it, but I don't know what it means.

I am also not sure what this means. Forecasters at Rutgers predict that "Job growth in New Jersey will weaken over the next five years, and many of the new jobs will come in the lower-paying restaurant, leisure and social services sectors."

The five year outlook for New Jersey, at least according to the article, is not as dire as it may at first appear. New Jersey's job growth and economy in general have been outperforming the nation's in th epast. In addition, the Rutgers forecast is based on current circumstances and trends, but cannot possibly take unforeseen circumstances into account. For example, if Senator Corzine is elected and is able to bring his plans to fruition, things could improve even more in this state, even as we have been outperforming the country as a whole for some time and with little help from the federal government. If the Democrats were to strengthen their position in House and Senate in 2006 (can we all say a collective "Dump Mike", referring to Mike Ferguson in the NJ-7th?), New Jersey could reap significant benefits in improved federal funding. Last year, the state received only $0.57 back for every $1.00 we sent to D.C. That's a number that could be improved considerably with a friendlier Congress.

I recommend you read the entire article in NJ.com for the ups and downs (it's very short) and, if you have the time and inclination, read the actual forecast, which has a rosier tone in general.

Anybody want to take a stab at explaining what it all means? Or even just that "lunatic is on the grass" bit?

All the news that's printed to give you fits

With all of the attention being paid to the new SCOTUS nominee, Rove and Plame, and the war, so many truly important stories are simply falling by the wayside. Fear not! Followers of The One True Tami shall not go uninformed!

Apparently, in Shapleigh, Maine, you can't sell hot dogs from an illegally parked vendor stand. Well, unless, of course, you're a woman in a bikini.

The bikini-clad hot dog vendor near Mousam Lake in Shapleigh who ran afoul of a parking ordinance has cut a deal with state and local officials.

Under terms of the compromise, Schultze will be able to remain in her spot this season. But she'll have to move next year when she opens for business with a modified cart that she can wheel across the street.

So the bikini babe can still hand out weiners. No word yet as to whether or not "Speedo Sam" will be able to resume selling donuts.

Moving right along... what will senior citizens do after Bush finishes gutting the Social Security system? Well, industrious golden girls will stop whining and find themselves a new gig.

Woman, 76, arrested for selling drugs from second story window

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 76-year-old woman was arrested for selling crack cocaine by putting the drugs in her purse and lowering them by rope from her second-floor window.

Minnie Perlotte Collins was arrested on Friday on charges of possession and sale of a controlled substance, but she paid the $10,003 bail and was freed.

Damn. And up until then her plan had seemed foolproof.

There's been a major break in the stolen garden gnome case. And here I thought all of the little bastards had just run off and gotten jobs with Travelocity.

Some people seem like they're probably never going to make the breakthrough and move up to a major city newspaper. For example, when you publish a 16 point headline like this.

HOMO UP FOR NEW CHALLENGE


Memorial boys track and field coach taking over girls cross country team

We'll be back later with your "cows being run over by trains in Scotland" update.

Enjoy your hump day. And don't even get me started on that.

In science the smart money is always on surprise.

While most readers seem to focus on the political, my co-conspirator at Running Scared, Ron Beasely and I also like to wander off to the world of science and technology blogging. Today I've run across a story that involves both! The Paper of Record has a wonderful, long science piece on the search for other life in the galaxy which incorporates more sinister moves by our dear friends in the "intelligent design" community. (If you're not familiar with them, they're pretty much like the Reality Based Community, except that they're ... errr... not.)

The article starts off with the results to date of the search for extrasolar planets. (We've found more than 150 to date, believe it or not.) It then goes on to talk about the fact that we've yet to come up with any that are remotely like Earth, in terms of a potential biosphere and conditions suitable for supporting human life, or at least of growing their own form of intelligent life. Fortunately, the author points out that most of the early planetary discoveries were made using the "wobble theory" where the presence of an unseen planet is inferred by the "wobble" it gravitationally induces in its star.

In retrospect, it seems only natural that the first planetary systems these astronomers discovered were psychotic beasts unlike anything previously imagined. The more massive a planet is and the more tightly it circles its star, the bigger the wobble and thus the easier it is to detect. As a result, the first planets were so-called "hot Jupiters," orbiting their suns in a matter of days instead of years, lethally searing and dense.

To be realistic, however, we also can't allow ourselves to fall into a trap of thinking that you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a star harboring an earthlike planet. There are some minimum requirements you need to meet.

The list of astronomical requirements for life gets longer and more exacting every year: the home star has to be far enough from the galactic center to be away from lethal black hole pyrotechnics, for example, but not so far into the galactic sticks that stellar evolution has not yet produced enough of the heavier elements like oxygen and iron needed for planets and life.

Among other things, its planet has to have liquid water, a magnetic field to keep away cosmic rays, plate tectonics to keep things stirred, a giant outer planet to keep away comets and asteroids and perhaps a big moon to stabilize its rotation axis.

Of the 200 billion or so stars in the galaxy, what fraction have the lucky combo to win this cosmic lottery? Faced with the same paltry data, different astronomers get vastly different conclusions, ranging from hundreds of thousands to one, namely our own.

If there's a chance that habitable planets are rare, you could probably have predicted that the Hypnochrists™ would seize on that as support for intelligent design and a new chance to dis Darwin. So did it happen? Oh, you betcha, Sparky.

This would merely be an interesting academic argument except for a film that is going around, and which I recently viewed, called "The Privileged Planet," which suggests that the Earth's nice qualities are no accident.

The film, produced by Illustra Media in California, is based on a book of the same name by Guillermo Gonzalez, an astronomer at Iowa State, and Jay W. Richards, a philosopher and vice president of the Discovery Institute in Seattle.

The "Discovery Institute", eh? Sounds scientific enough. I wonder who they are?

It argues that Earth is so special and unlikely that it must be the work of an intelligent designer. "What if it's not a cosmic lottery?" Dr. Richards asks in the film.

The Discovery Institute advocates "intelligent design," a notion that posits the intervention by a designer, whether divine or not, in the origin and history of life, as an alternative to standard evolutionary biology. Illustra Media has produced a series of videos in support of this idea.

The showing of the film at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History last month exacerbated the worries of many astronomers that the Big Bang would be next on the hit list of creationists.

There's the next thing to put on your watch list, progressives. Once the Evangelicals are done ripping Darwin a new rectum they're coming after the Big Bang. This article, however, closes on a comfortingly rationale note, leading to the title of this blog entry. All is not lost. I'll leave you with the closing bits, but recommend you follow the link and read the original. It's a very good piece.

But the argument from design, many scientists say, is circular. Charles Stevenson, a planetary scientist at Caltech, said that it was no surprise that the Earth appears suited to our needs. "That's what Darwinian evolution tells us should happen. We are adapted to our world," Dr. Stevenson said.

Who knows what powers atoms in their collective and complex majesty have to respond to their environments over time?

Lacking anything approaching a final theory of physics, or of how planetary systems form, and of more than one example of life - the biosphere on Earth - scientists have no way of actually knowing how unlikely various properties of life and the universe are. In science the smart money is always on surprise.

Everybody agrees that intelligent technological life is a much greater leap, but it might be instructive to consider who is laying down bets on at least looking for it. Among the financial angels of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, have been people like Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft; the late Barney Oliver, William Hewlett and David Packard, leaders of Hewlett-Packard; Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel; and the novelist Arthur C. Clarke, who invented the idea of the communications satellite.

The smart money isn't always right, but this is certainly smart money.

CNN Will Keep Novak

Shakes here, with a question: What's wrong with CNN?

I know. Lots of things. The thing in particular I have in mind at the moment is the announcement of their decision to stand by Robert Novak—also known as Boob Novakula: Traitorous Sh*theel, so-named by Maru the Crankpot (scroll up)—in spite of his willingness to aid and abet the commission of a crime by reporting the name of a covert CIA operative.

For a moment, let’s forget that he may well be part of a criminal conspiracy that reaches all the way to the upper echelons of the White House (and believe me, CNN is all too willing to forget, or at least deny, invoking the same bullhooey “wait and see, ongoing investigation, blahbiddy blah blah” statement as McClellan offers on a loop), and instead focus on the fact that Novak is a tool of the administration. Whether he was feeding info to Rove, or Rove was feeding info to him, or whether they were both feeding each other marshmallows roasted on sticks in the fireplace of a romantic getaway in the Appalachians to the sound of Dueling Banjos, doesn’t really matter a whit. Novak is a pawn and an administration mouthpiece—that much is evident without necessitating any formal investigation. So why does CNN want people like that working for them?

Credibility schmedibility. Who needs it when you’re racing Fox to the bottom of the scum-covered barrel?

Others on Boob Novakula: Traitorous Sh*theel…

Pam notes Novakula Gets to Keep His Coffin and features a lovely picture of the undead commentator care of Radical Russ.

Billmon goes completely haywire on Novakula, to hugely entertaining results:

One industry insider speculated that CNN would use advanced refrigeration technology to try to keep Novak's corpse from completely falling apart while it waits for Larry King to pass over into the undead state.

Read the rest here.

(Crossposted at Shakespeare's Sister, except with all the bad language intact, where the tenor of discourse is already so objectionable it just doesn't matter.)

Ahoy, True Tami Devotees!

Shakespeare's Sister here, joining my esteemed colleages Jazz and Frogsdong. Even I don't know who else might show up; what fun--I love mysteries!

I'll start with a question as my inaugural post: Is there a bigger idiot than Tom Tancredo? I think perhaps not. I'll leave you to discuss while I tune in to Rushbo and wait with bated breath to see if this GOP Congressman is treated to the same savaging that Dick Durbin was.

Ha ha, just kidding. Everyone knows that suggesting we bomb Mecca doesn't endanger the troops. Not when Tom Tancredo says it, anyway. I hear he's got a bumper magnet that says he supports the troops, so you know it's true.

I Believe

Everyone needs something to believe in.

I BELIEVE...

• that big business and the Federal government have been in bed together since before I was born. But in "the old days" they at least tried to hide it. Now they're doing it right out in the open like two big dogs shagging in the park.
• that future generations of presidential historians will be shocked and appalled at the corruption and mendacity of the current administration, but we won't find out about it until the culprits are long since dead and buried.
• that the current two party system has replaced government in the best interest of the governed with the high tech "sport" of politics, where winning is all that matters. And there's not a damned thing we can do about it because we'll just keep on electing career politicians who are more loyal to their "team" than to the people they represent.
• that robots are stealing my luggage. (Ok... I stole that one from Steve Martin.)
• that the giants strides of progressive social reform which were achieved from the sixties through the eighties are slowly eroding. Without major changes in who we elect to power we won't see them again any time soon.
• that the oil is going to effectively run out by the end of this century and our grandchildren will live to see the beginning of the next, permanent stone age because we're not doing a fraction of the work we need to accomplish to get away from non-renewable energy sources.
• that there is a showdown looming between the United States and one or more of the other nations who we continue to anger in our arrogance. My money is on China.
• that we'll be lucky if most of us are left to blog about all of these events as they unfold.
  

Yes... everyone needs something to believe in. Right now I believe I'll have a drink.

To walk with Death and Morning on the silver horns

The title is from a poem by Tennyson titled "Come down, O Maid." Follow the link if you feel inspired to read the entire piece, but here's the portion of interest today.

For Love is of the valley, come thou down
And find him; by the happy threshold, he,
Or hand in hand with Plenty in the maize,
Or red with spirited purple of the vats,
Or foxlike in the vine; nor cares to walk
With Death and Morning on the silver horns,
Nor wilt thou snare him in the white ravine,
Nor find him dropt upon the firths of ice,
That huddling slant in furrow-cloven falls
To roll the torrent out of dusky doors

Where do you look when in search of love, friendship, meaning or spirit? One school of thought would tell you that every search must begin within one's self, and there is certainly something to be said for that. Critical self examination and appreciate are very likely prerequisite to the ability to appreciate others. Tennyson, however, goes beyond that stage. He insists that we must leave our own haunts and travel new roads if we are in search of such an elusive goal. Also, that we should avoid those who embrace the negative, which they will only reflect back on us if we allow it.

nor cares to walk with Death and Morning on the silver horns

This guy was born nearly 200 years ago. (1809 -1890) It's funny how people back then could look through a simpler, cleaner lens than we seem to be able to muster today. The visions they found there were somehow more beautiful as well.

What am I on about today, you ask? I have no idea. Just something simple and lovely for a Saturday morning which I thought you might like to ruminate upon.

Redundant Announcement

Well, Jazz has let the cat out of the bag already, but I'm gonna say it anyway: I'll be on vacation starting Sunday. I'm cruising to Bermuda, for those of you who would ask. I assume that those of you who would ask are a different subset than the really-big-eyes crowd.

Anyway, I have, indeed, asked a few bloggers from around blogtopia (skippy reference!) who I think are particularly ginchy if they'd pinch hit for me. OK, I asked 2, Jazz asked the rest. Will they write? I hope so. Who will it be? Well, that's for you to find out if and when they post, right? I will say this about the guests - they're all swell lookers, and none of them is Chinese.

Ta!
Tami

Fibbus Interruptus

Hi there! For those of you who don't recognize me and were expecting to see another post from The One True Tami, I'm not her. That doesn't mean I haven't often wished to be her... but I'm not and I've come to terms with that and am at peace. No... my name is Jazz. I'm the proprietor of the blog Running Scared, and Tami has asked me, along with a few other authors, to help her out by filling in with some guest blogging while she is on vacation over the next week or so. (No, no... I'm sorry. No autograhs just now. We can try to get to that after the Q & A session following the presentation. Thank you.)

First of all, I can't even describe how overwhelmingly grateful I am for Tami's invitation. This priceless opportunity will give me the chance to have yet another place where I have to think up something to write for the edification and amusement of a group of anonymous internet strangers, as I sit in my stuffy office with broken air conditioning, while Tami ..... relaxes ....

... in the tropics.

Ok. It's possible that "overwhelmingly grateful" may have been a stretch. But let's press on, shall we? I come before you today armed with a brief diatribe, not on the social dangers of neoconservative dogma, as is my usual choice, but the social dangers posed by the Interrupting Fibber. Some of you may already be familiar with this creature, either having one currently plaguing your life, or having had a previous encounter from which you escaped. But for the benefit of those most at risk - the dangerously uninformed- I offer this cautionary tale as a warning from which you may someday benefit.

The Interrupting Fibber (I.F.) is a person who will suddenly disrupt any conversation among other people, blurting out some incredible, outrageous tale designed to top whatever incident is being discussed. This is likely an attempt to make their own shallow, dull pointless life suddenly look appealing or even enviable to their peers. What the I.F. fails to realize is that absolutely nobody is believing this incredible, steaming pile of horse dung and, rather than being fascinated and engaged in the story, are actually silently wondering what sort of traumatic, psychologically damaging incident during their childhood could have led to this sociopathic behavior.

Sadly, I have an I.F. in my life at this time. You see, along with three of my good friends - Cliff, John and Kirby - I am part of a dart team that participates in a local league held at various pubs in the area. This has led to many fine times, a lot of enjoyment, and the opportunity for all of us to meet new friends in each other's social circles. Sadly, this has also led to my recent acquisition of a new "friend".... Brett - the Interrupting Fibber.

Let's say that our team is having a practice session down at the pub, having a few cocktails, tossing some darts, and just chatting. Then Brett shows up. Inevitably the conversation will devolve into something like this:

Jazz: "Say, Cliff. Where were you last Friday night? We didn't see you all evening."

Cliff: "Last Friday? Oh, didn't I tell you? I finally got a date with Melissa, that girl who tends bar down at TGIFridays."

John: "Wow. Really? How'd that go?"

Cliff: "It was pretty good actually. She seems really nice. We went to see an early movie, and after that...."

Brett: (Interrupting rudely.) "Melissa? Ha! Are you kidding me? Didn't I tell you what happened to me last weekend? Man, you wouldn't believe it."

[ed: We already don't]

Brett: " I had a date with TWINS! Yep... twin sisters. And they were both models for Penthouse a couple years ago. Man, were they wild. Check it out... so I've got them back in my apartment, and they're in the bedroom, naked, and rubbing bacon all over each other. I come walking out of the bathroom carrying a saddle and a set of jumper cables...."

Sadly, that really isn't much of an exaggeration for the kind of stuff this guy says. And he does it all the time. What is possibly even more sad is the fact that none of us ever challenge him or question his stories. In fact, most times we don't say a damned thing. Personally, I feel unable to. It's kind of like watching a car wreck in slow motion... you just can't look away.

It gets to the point where we just stare at him blankly. Rather than the obviously hoped for response of shock or admiration, Brett watches us go completely silent and turn back to our drinks and tossing darts. Frankly, I'm afraid to even order another beverage at that point because I absolutely know that he will immediately go into a tale about how he's getting ready to take over Seagrams Corp. International in a leverage buyout next week. (An amazingly dexterous financial feat for somebody who rents a very cheap, one bedroom walkup flat.)

So have a care, gentle readers. Should you run into an I.F. in the future, now you know the warning signs. At that point, as most evolutionary anthropologists would recommend, you should drop into "fight or flight" mode. If you are not suited for confrontation, run away quickly and avoid this beast. Or, if you are more aggressive in nature, stand up to the I.F. immediately and call his/her bluff. Don't make the mistake I did and allow them to get away with it, because soon you'll be trapped in a social hell of your own making.

Later this week I'll be back with another installment of my occasional series, "What's that smell like." I know you'll want to stop by for that.

Cheers.

Is It Too Soon To Hope?

When Mahmoud Abbas was elected as the new Palestinian leader, I put forth the opinion that he would only be able to do his people any good if he was willing to actually police those Palestinians who were using terror and acts of extreme (military?) violence to make their points. Firing rockets during cease-fires, sending teenagers with explosives strapped to their bodies, I'm of the opinion that these activities don't foster peace.

Today, over on BBC News, there's a piece that depicts Abbas as doing exactly what I was looking for:

Our correspondent says he has always been very reluctant to use force, but pressure to take decisive action grew after the Israeli woman was killed by a missile fired from Gaza.

His administration has now said that it is determined to take firm measures to impose order.

...

Soon after the rocket attacks, Palestinian police, reportedly acting on orders to stop further rocket fire, clashed with Hamas members in northern Gaza.

It is my dearest wish that the Palestinian people will come to realize that killing each other is not their goal, and that this will bring them to a place where killing anyone seems like less of an option.

Whether or not it's too soon, I'm going to allow myself to hope, today.

Comment Corner

Every once in a while you get a really good discussion going in the comments section of your blog. I think that happened here, yesterday, on my "Right and Wrong" post. It's a reasonable (shocking, I know!) debate about government, choice and Iraq. It's here, and of course at the comment link from the post, and I think it's really worth a read. People voicing thoughts and opinions, and no one calling anyone else a monkey.

Right and Wrong

It has come to my attention that some people might not understand what drives my opinions - why I think that some things are right, and some things are wrong. "How do you determine which is which?", you seem to ask me with you large, round, imploring eyes. At least, that's how I picture you in my head. Very kid-on-black-velvet-painting-that-I-bought-at-a-gas-station, if you know what I mean. Anyway, like I said - you're confused.

(If you're not confused, I don't mean you. Get over it.)

What makes something right:
It allows people to live in the manner that they choose, including the condition that they do not choose to infringe on *other* people's rights. You think the only way to live is on a farm where you get up at 4:30 to milk animals? Go ahead. You think the only way to live is helping messed-up rich people with their problems until you become a messed-up rich person yourself? Go ahead. No sex without marriage? Fine. No marriage? Fine. No sex? Well, you'll die out unless you get a lot of recruits, but that's OK with me, too. Love computers? Hate zippers? All of that is all right with me. Laws that let people choose these things? Yes.

What makes something wrong:
It infringes on someone else's right to live in the manner that they choose. Any law that affects what consenting adults do (non-lethal) to each other behind closed doors? No. Taking money away from the poor to fund things that will "make our economy stronger"? No. Love illegal dumping? No. Hate biracial marriage? No. Want to impose your country's system of government on the entire world? No.

Really, no. I love the US, and I love democracy. I don't love that it's brought me to this particular point today, but not everything is bad. Sometimes you have to try new ideas out to find out if they work or not, especially when you know that problems exist that aren't being solved. True, new things often don't work, but that doesn't mean that trying them is wrong. I think our system is a great system that is growing, and evolving with the world around it, but that assuming that everyone wants to live this way is arrogant. Some people like church and state all wrapped up together. Some people find too much freedom chaotic, and need to live somewhere more ordered. Let them - as long as they, too, don't try to impose their ideals on the entire world.

What does not make something wrong: If you don't agree with someting that doesn't affect you, it is not automatically "wrong". That's why I feel the way I do about other countries choosing their own form of government. It's like people choosing to paint their den chartreuse and orange. I don't want to be in that room, but I don't have to be, now, do I.

What does not make something right: If other people have done wrong things before, and no one complained. It doesn't make those wrong things all right, and it doesn't make the new wrong things all right. Someone (possibly even me) may be a hypocrite, but that doesn't make what they're saying any less true, if it's true.

Maybe there are extenuating circumstances, and maybe I don't understand exactly how everything needs to play out. The world exists in shades of grey, I get that. But it still doesn't mean that the answer to "person 2 did something wrong" is "person one did something else wrong and you defended person 1". Whether or not I was wrong then doesn't mean I'm not right, now.

I get the feeling I may have said all this before.

So, are you less confused now? Yes? Would you mind making the big-eyed face a little longer, anyway? It's just so darned cute...

Dismissable

It's like the other people in the country don't count to the current administration. And when I say "other people", I mean the Senate and the House, too.

Jazz, posting at Middle Earth Journal, says it very well, in his post "Bolton back in the news".

I don't believe that anyone ever anticipated a sitting president acting in such a glaringly abusive fashion. This situation points out a hole in our federal legal system. Whether it's done through a constitutional amendment, or via federal legislation, checks need to be put on the Executive Branch's power of the recess appointment.

Feel free to read the whole thing, he makes good points, Jazz does.

Nothing on Earth is Funnier

...than a monkey with a cigarette. I don't know why. I don't even smoke anymore and I still think it's funny.

(Hat tip Mu at Running Scared)

'Human-brained' Monkeys

Sure, the story is frightening, and sounds like something out of a comic book, but man, the picture is funny.

Downing Street, Rove, Other People's Words

First of all, thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes. That was pretty awesome, really.

Next, I realize that I haven't said anything at all about Karl Rove, nor have I posted about the Downing Street Memo in days and days.

Third, I'm very lazy so I figured that once again I'd just steal completely from Shakespeare's sister, and today's dispatch for the BBA:

Well,
the big story today continues to be Karl Rove and his role in the Plame affair. Some people have expressed concern that this story has the potential to eclipse the Downing Street Memos, but I don'’t think we ought to be viewing them as separate issues. Instead, we need to view this as an opportunity to create a narrative that ties the two together.

My post on that issue is here: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2005/07/connect-dots.html,
and says, in part:

"[R]ather than viewing the Plame issue, and particularly Rove's role in it, as separate from the issues raised by the Downing Street Memos, it's important to see them all as part and parcel of one larger issue. Practically and factually, that issue is information manipulation and message control, and allowing ideologically-driven and designed propaganda to trump fact-based intelligence. Philosophically, that issue is a severe and appalling breech of ethics, most notably the betrayal of the trust of the American people."

One thing that's working in our favor is the media's heightened interest in the Rove part of this narrative (check out the lede on this AP report: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/11/politics/main708165.shtml). We need to work our tails off to connect these two stories, so that each time a story is filed about Rove's involvement in the Plame affair, there's a mention of its most important aspect: that the Bush administration feels politics is more important than national security- —as has already been amply demonstrated by the Downing Street Memos (among other things). It is our job to hammer away at this, never letting one be spoken without the other, to demonstrate that each is part and parcel of a pattern of behavior for which the Bush administration must be held accountable.

The media has taken interest in the Rove story (see here http://rawstory.com/news/2005/TRANSCRIPT_WHITE_HOUSE_GRILLED_0711.html
for a transcript of today'’s press briefing and here http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/11.html#a3868 for video- it'’s truly unbelievable the change in tone over this story), and that's half the battle. Now we must just connect the dots for them as to how this is indicative of an overarching problem.

We should be pushing this narrative as much as we did the Downing Street Memos and keep calling for accountability.

I have to say I agree 100% with this assessment. When a President lies, it hurts the country. I understand that you can't tell everyone everything, that's a security nightmare, but you can't pull this crap, either. Why are we living in a country where the administration hides its true intentions from the citizens of that country? Is it because if the true plans were revealed that no one would want to go along with them? Instead of plain dealing, we get lies and denials. The spin machine has spun too far. When will our administration level with us? When will people doing illegal or immoral (no, immoral does not always imply sex) things be fired for their activities, or even punished? When?

Sorry I've Been Gone

Sorry I've been MIA. I was under the weather on Friday, and if I'm going to be honest about it, I'm not that great today, either. I'm finding it hard to concentrate enough to read, so I don't think I'm going to try and give out my informed or uninformed opinions today. Hopefully, tomorrow.

You're Hired!

Tony Blair on terrorism today:

Mr. Blair says the attacks that rocked London's transport system are particularly barbaric since they came when world leaders are trying to focus on combating poverty in Africa and the effects of climate change.

The prime minister said he will rush back to London to assess the situation, but the summit meeting will continue.

And he vows that terrorism will be defeated.

"It is important that those engaged in terrorism realize that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world," he said.

I heard him say these words on the radio this morning, and it was a very moving statement. No childish slogans about good vs. evil, no misspoken words, no "down home charm". Just an honest expression of the will to maintain reason.

I would like to hire his speechwriter away from him, with the hopes that he could make listening to my own leader a less painful experience.

Why Now Is Different Than Then

I read an article on Raw Story pointed out to those of us in the BBA by Shakespeare's Sister today. It's about how Clinton bombed Iraq more than Bush did in the days before the war.

At first glance, this would seem to be a story that tells people that those of us decrying Bush's foreign policies are just over reacting. If Clinton bombed Iraq even *more* than Bush, doesn't that indicate that it's just business as usual? Of course now that I've said that, you know my answer is "no".

Clinton's orders were to bomb Iraq in response to planes flying over the no-fly zone. There were rules established, and Hussein was violating them knowingly. Personally, I suspect him of purposefully antagonizing the US and Great Britain, though I have no actual proof of that. There *is* proof, though, of those planes flying in airspace that was expressly forbidden to them, with the knowledge that it would bring retaliation. Well, retaliate we did.

The Bush bombings? Were they reported to us as a response to a no-fly violation? Were the bombings being executed to retaliate against Iraqis committing acts that were specifically "flying in the face" of U.N. sanctions? No. These bombings were done to clear the way for a ground war - a war based on the concept that we were going in to get the WMD that Hussein was so obviously hiding. Except, of course, that he wasn't.

I remember hearing about the bombings in the news. I remember wondering why in the world the Iraqis continued to send planes into the no-fly zone, and why they were inviting people to attack them in response. Never did I get this same sinking feeling that I have now, the feeling that the military actions of the US are keeping the country torn apart and in a state of extensive chaos. To me, that's the big difference.

Good night, Day (O'Connor)

Sandra Day O'Connor leaving Supreme Court

Well, Hell. I'd heard the rumor, and it's actually true.

Who will be the new appointee?

Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio Garza and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, but Bush's pick could be a surprise choice not well known in legal circles.

Another prospective candidate is Edith Hollan Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was also considered for a Supreme Court vacancy by President Bush's father.

My favorite like is the one about the "surprise choice" option. Oy.

I don't think it will be Gonzales. I do actually think it will be a woman. If I know bush - a minority woman. A minority woman willing to sell out every other person of her kind in order to grab that power, baby. That sounds about right for what we'll get. You know, based on what I've already seen these past 4 years.