Commander Ogg

Funny thing happened after New Hampshire

2012-01-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

It is the 2nd week of January and the beginning of an election year, maybe the last one that involves representative Democracy.

Even if the Supremo's still allow for free and fair elections by striking down the voter suppression laws (doubtful), it is still possible that the Corporations and the Corporate Governments can just buy the politicians of their choice (h/t Digby). The Presidential Elections of 2016 will be very interesting.

But that is the future. A combination of the above along with multiple Dog whistle attacks and a poor economy may allow Willard Mitt to defeat the O man, (Assuming my Republican opponents can hold their nose long enough to vote for the Mormon from Taxachusetts who had championed his own version of the Affordable Health Care Act). He has already won Iowa and New Hampshire, so if he clinches South Carolina, he should be home free. As noted by Dick Polman of the Philly Inquirer, Republicans do not fall in love, they fall in line.

Unfortunately for Willard the Rat however, the neologism, the crooked adulterer, the Theocratic racist , the idiot executioner and the Ambassador have not gotten in line:

Mr. Paul...congratulated Mr. Romney on his triumph and pledged to press forward with his campaign, declaring, "We have had a victory for the cause of liberty tonight."

Mr. Huntsman...vowed to stay in the race. His advisers conceded that his bank account was dry and his path to victory was unclear, but he vowed to continue to South Carolina.

Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich delivered speeches at the same time on Tuesday evening, not conceding defeat, but arguing that the race was only beginning. They thanked the voters of New Hampshire before dashing off to South Carolina...

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who abandoned his effort in New Hampshire to try to salvage his candidacy in South Carolina...

Ah, Republicans eating their own. Delicious. And if Willard does clinch the nomination, maybe a third party challenge?

Davis, Dead Letters, and the Death Penalty

2011-10-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Commander supported the death penalty most of his adult Life, on the assumption that some criminals:

deserve the final sleep when there is no doubt about their guilt (In my home state I would have volunteered to pull the lever on this individual.)

Recent results by the Innocence Project have soured my feelings on Capital Punishment, ex specially when the only evidence is eyewitness identification:

•

The Supremo's are in the process of the deciding the fate of Cory R. Maples and even Johnny the Robber baron, by no means a Friend of the Defendant; is troubled by this capital case.

Alabama does not provide taxpayer-funded legal assistance to death-row inmates seeking to appeal their sentence (South Carolina felt the same way in 1944, even for a 14 year old), so Mr. Maples found a couple of layers from New York, however:

..18 months nothing happened with his appeal, during which period his young lawyers left their firm without notifying Maples or the court. They did tell the mailroom. So when the Alabama court sent a ruling to his two lawyers indicating that his appeal had been denied, the mailroom stamped it “Return to Sender” and sent it back to Alabama. The county clerk stuck it in a file and Maples—who knew nothing of any of this—missed the 42-day deadline for filing another appeal. Maples’ local counsel, John Butler Jr., also received a copy of the ruling, but because he believed he was Maples’ lawyer in name only, he did nothing with it.

Sorry dude, you missed the appeal because of a postage stamp. See you at the Gurney (Yellow Mama was retired).

Voter Suppression, Voter ID, Vote not free

2011-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Voter Suppression rearing it's ugly head in Wisconsin. Ever since Johnny the Robber Baron and his conservative posse nullified the 24th Amendment by allowing voter ID laws, my Republican opponents have been doing their level best to make sure only the White, excuse me right people vote.

Brad Friedman has a video that shows how easy it is to get a 'Free' ID in the cheese head state so you can exercise the sovereign franchise (NOT!):

This ties in with a post I did 3 years ago when. I've reprinted it below. As Ms. Digby says in the end, Republicans, like all aristocrats, know that if enough average people vote, they will lose. Period.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Supreme Court handed Johnny Mac a major victory today by upholding the voter suppression laws in Indiana (excuse me, voter ID laws):

As noted by the blogger dday:

This is, as we know, a solution in search of a problem. Voter fraud is a made-up conservative issue, backed by no evidence. While Stevens suggested that there are no "excessively burdensome requirements" imposed on voters who must show ID at the polls, he's answering an unknowable question. We simply have no idea how photo ID centers (if there will be any outside the DMV) in Indiana or anywhere else would be managed, whether the same groups that truck elderly and poor voters to the polls on Election Day will be able to do the same to get people their IDs, and so on. If they require the same documentation that the DMV does, many poor and elderly people simply don't have them. If it requires an application fee, how is that not a poll tax?The Republican sheet heads who passed this modern version of Jim Crow had to add a provision that IDs would be issued free of charge to people without driver's licenses (can't have any appearance of a poll tax because of that pesky 24th Amendment). However, these are the combination primary and secondary documents needed for a "free ID":
This list the definition of what is an acceptable primary document:

I won't even bother listing the acceptable secondary documents. Bottom line is you need a birth certificate unless your military. Is a birth certificate free and easy to obtain in Indiana? You have got to be kidding:

Birth records in the ISDH Vital Records office begin with October 1907. Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred. Fees are established by law (IC 16-37-1-11 and IC 16-37-1-11.5 ). Each search for a record costs $10.00. The fee is non-refundable. Included in one search is a five-year period; the reported year of birth and, if the record is not found in that year, the two years before and after. One certified copy of the record, if found, is included in the search fee. Additional copies of the same record purchased at the same time are $4.00 each. Amendments made to the record are an additional $8.00.Oh yeah, did I mention that you will need to show some ID to purchase a birth certificate:

But what the heck, it is not like any of this is a real burden to those that wish to vote. And if you believe that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you.

The Master blogger Digby sums it up:

Republicans, like all aristocrats, know that if enough average people vote, they will lose. Period

Special Elections, Suprise Openings and Stupid Reporters

2011-07-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Headline from AP reporter Michael Blood on 12 July 2011:

Tight finish possible in Calif. US House race

MICHAEL R. BLOOD, AP Political Writer

Headline from AP reporter Michael Blood on 13 July 2011:

Democrat Janice Hahn wins Calif. US House race

MICHAEL R. BLOOD, AP Political Writer

Yeah, she crushes him by 10 points, a real tight finish. The new AP editor Liz Sidoti has a history of kissing ass to Republican Candidates:

Liz Sidoti and "Sprinkles" McCain
so it is not surprising that her reporters would continue the narrative; insisting that since Hahn only beat Huey by 10 points instead of 18, it was far from impressive.

Far more interesting is the collective amnesia over the racist, sexist ad run by a group called Turn Right USA (Crooks and Liars has the details). The Huey campaign was shocked, shocked and weakly disavowed it, but as C&L stated, all the usual suspects from the right wing noise machine are connected.

Expect the failure of the press to cover Super PACS with super money as the 2012 races approach. It does not fit The Village narrative of the serious people.

Glen at the Mall, My Father and Manipulating the Masses

2010-08-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Our SCLM:

Dueling D.C. rallies mark King speech anniversary

...Ricky Thomas, 43, a SWAT team police officer from Chesapeake Beach, Md., brought his 10-year old son Chase to the Beck rally. "I wanted my son to see democracy in action," Thomas said.

He said he wants government to stay out of people's lives. He acknowledged that he works for government, but said it's "a part of government that helps people when they are in trouble."

Beck has given voice to those angry and frustrated with President Barack Obama and other Democrats this election year, especially members of the tea party movement.The Angry voices at the mall remind me of the failures of my father in the last ten years of his life and his inability to accept reality.

Dad was a white collar man and a graduate of Rutgers University who spent his life as a stock broker/insurance salesmen, and he was very good at it. But like most of the TEA Party followers (White, Old, Angry), he was also good at spending more then he earned, and eventually it caught up with him.

Sometime in the '98 do to the financial shenanigans of his second wife and his own stupidity, he found himself divorced and bankrupt at the age of 65 (sound familiar). Unable to accept that it was his own fault, he desperately sought a scapegoat and got involved with the John Birch Society (yeah, I know. A hellava coincidence) and the whole anti-government movement and thus susceptible to crap like this. In other words, my Father went a little bit mad, but he believed his own insanity. Nothing I said or did could convince him that he was crazy, so I stopped trying. He passed away 3 years ago, less then a year after his third wife left him.

So an ex alcoholic Rodeo Clown (his words) with a Messiah Complex (Good article. Read it if you get a chance) captivates a group of ideological, ultra-conservative Republicans who will never admit they are ideological, ultra-conservative Republicans. They consider Beck an "educator" who teaches people history (more like his story).

Like my father, these people refuse to accept that the money men funding AstroTurf groups like the TEA party were responsible for destroying their comfortable middle class lifestyle:

Yet inexorably the Koch agenda is morphing into the G.O.P. agenda, as articulated by current Republican members of Congress, including...John Boehner, and Tea Party Senate candidates like Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, and ...Joe Miller. Their program opposes a federal deficit, but has no objection to running up trillions in red ink in tax cuts to corporations and the super rich...

The Koch brothers must be laughing all the way to the bank knowing that working Americans are aiding and abetting their selfish interests. And surely Murdoch is snickering at those protesting the “ground zero mosque.”The manipulation of the country's economy is a complex subject that does not lend itself to soundbites (case in point). It is easier to blame scary brown people:

or big guvment:

Unable to deal with the truth, they choose to rage against the other.

And the "Liberal Media" will continue to give Glenn Beck a free pass and refuse to call him on his BS.

Possibilities, the Poor and Right Wing Populism

2010-07-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

On this glorious 4th of July weekend, I am reminded of one of my top ten Favorite Movies (h/t M. Winship at Huffington Post) 1776 the Musical. In the restored, directors cut version of the film is the song Cool Cool Considerate Men:

From this song we get dialogue spoken by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania (actor Donald Madden) that best sums up the success of the Tea Party:

"...don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich, than face the reality of being poor."It is the reason that right Wing Populist consistently support politicians who vote against their (the Tea Party's) economic interest. It is also the reason that real wages for working people have gone down:

even as the incomes of the top 10% have risen dramatically:

Unfortunately for the these United States of America in CE 2010, I fear that the line from John Hancock (actor David Ford) may no longer apply:

Fortunately Mr. Dickerson,there are not enough men of property to dictate policy.Or maybe not? We shall see if Mr. Sloan's article from the Huffington Post trumps the conventional wisdom about the November 2010 elections.

A Reporter Who Does Not Do Stenography

2010-06-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings:

OMG, a reporter who actually reports instead of simply doing stenography. No donuts from you Mr. Hastings:

And do not expect to be invited to any Beach party's:

From the Right or from the Left, sucking up to The Powers That Be is equal opportunity B*LL SH*T.

Update - 25 June 2010

As always, the master Political Satirist John Stewart nails the Beltway Presstitutes to the wall:

Mr. Stewart, the American News Media started to "kind a suck" 15 years ago at the start of the Hunting of the President, on to the War on Gore and fininally mutating into the Lapdog press. The problem is NOBODY but you and Colbert had the guts to call them out.

Family Values and the Fantasy of the Village

2010-04-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Parker’s Fantasy World of the village:

In Canteyville, USA, a warning for Washington lawmakers

By Kathleen Parker
Sunday, April 4, 2010; A13

Meanwhile, back in the Reality Based Community:

Steele, strip clubs and the GOP's family values

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

media report

The chairman was never at the location in question, he had no knowledge of the expenditure, nor does he find the use of committee funds at such a location at all acceptable.

Don't do anything that makes us look hypocritical when we talk about good old American values.

The Community’s #1 Spokeswoman (Spot on as ever Ms. D):

Ersatz America

by digby

Go Figure Indeed.

Governor Gay Basher and Grandpa Munster

2010-03-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

One of the celebrity's I most admire in the liberal progressive wing was an actor named Al Lewis, who's most famous part was that of Grandpa Munster. He was an uncompromising leftist from the old school, and in an interview with the underground NY Newspaper Shadow on October 21, 1997, he gave the following quote:

"We used to have a saying: "If you don't get the asses of the masses out in the street, forget it." And you get enough of them out there, the ruling class gets scared. That's the only thing they're afraid of, is numbers. Numbers!"Flash forward some 12 years later to the Virginia Governor's Office, and an executive order issued by Gov Bobby Mac that Rolls Back Non-Discrimination Protections for gay state workers. Not to be out done, the Gov's equally homophobic Attorney General Kenny "Cooch" Cuccinelli sent out a memo advising the state's public colleges that they don't have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The response these right wing A-holes received validated the quote from Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis:

March to Capitol follows anti-Cuccinelli protest at VCU

By Karin Kapsidelis

Published: March 11, 2010
Updated: March 11, 2010

THE ASSES

OF THE MASSES

OUT IN THE STREET

But does the Ruling Class get scared. Hell yeah:

Va Governor Robert McDonnell: Gay Discrimination Fireable Offense

By Susan Marie Kovalinsky

March 11, 2010

As Virginia's college campuses experience an uproar over gay rights, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has now issued a directive to all 102,000 state employees Wednesday that prohibits discrimination in the state workforce, including on the basis of sexual orientation. In his directive, the Governor warns he will fire anyone who engages in such discrimination."

Because of the outrage among students, college presidents and others, the Governor seemed forced to address discrimination in his formal statement.

Gov Bobby Mac has the joy of being squeezed by two opposing forces, the small minority of ~~Christian Creeps~~ social conservatives from the Family Foundation who want to turn Virginia into a Theocracy and the Majority of Virginians who do not like their state to become a segment on The Daily Show, ex specially if they are trying to lure high tech Company's like Northrup Grumman. In the words of the Blog Bacon's Rebellion:

The agenda was to legally equate homosexuality with drug abuse and pornography as evils that "the government must restrain, punish, and deter." The incompetence was believing that his election in 2009 gave him a mandate to actually implement this policy.

The Asses of the Masses proved him wrong.

Susan, Scott and Stealth

2010-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

About 13 Months ago, an ex News anchor and board member of the Seattle based Discovery Institute lost an election For King County Executive, home of the Liberal city of Seattle.
About 13 days ago, a onetime Nude model and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army National Guard took a seat in the US Senate that was held by the Liberal Lion Ted Kennedy for over 40 years.
As noted by Ms. Tarico at Huffington Post, Susan Hutchison and Scott Brown were part of the not so new Republican strategy called the stealth campaign:

Scott Brown and his counterpart in Virginia Bob McDonnell succeeded. Susan Hutchison and TEA Bagger extraordinaire Doug Hoffman went down in Flames. And the Main Stream Media (with the exception of McClatchy Newspapers) stuck to its script (AKA Republican Talking Points):

Transparency? Yeah right. Ms. Hutchison and Mr. Hoffman received a lot of transparency, but it sure as hell was not from Gods Own Party (the blog, yes. The GOP, not so much) or the media lapdogs. Again from Ms. Tarico:

But can those of us who dream of a more progressive society cut the rotting tissue away? With Less then 11 months to go before the midterm elections of 2010, I will not give up hope, but I will equally not succumb to self-delusion: the Corporate Bastard's funding the GOP/TEA Party/Anti Health care ads have won big bidness a number of victory's.

The Supremos have handed the Corporates the ability to buy any Candidate of their choice (Chief Justice Johnny the Robber is a lying corporate hypocrite shill. Strip search Sammy is the same; and with his behavior at the SOTU he is now a political (rather than judicial) hero to Republicans and a political enemy of Democrats [hammer on the nail Mr. Greenwald]).

And finally we have the greatest asset toward a GOP sweep in November, a 24 hour News Channel that has dropped all attempts at impartiality and is now a fundraising Political Action Committee of the Republican Party.

The D's are running scared, the R's are crowing, and it's 1994 all over again (at least according to my local paper). Meanwhile, those of us in the reality based community are pissed off that my Democratic Party has the power, but is afraid to use it. Stinks.

A conversation about Race relations

2009-09-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Spoke to my sister yesterday, and we had an interesting conversation about Race relations in America. As I recall, the whole thing started when I mentioned that her oldest son was going to be 18 in a few years, and if he was considering his future after High school. She said that while R**** had considered going into the military, he would not do so while President Obama was in office. I pressed her on this, did she feel it was political, or was it because of the "O" man's skin color? She said she did not know, but if it was about politics then she was surprised, her son never seemed to have any political thoughts.

This eventually led to our discussion on race. Like my 2 brothers, my sister is born again and hard right, so conversations with her can be similar to those I had with my father before he passed away. We talked about Rodney King, and the New Haven Firefighters, and how my Sister believed that the Firefighters were "victims of reverse discrimination because the were white". She was disturbed because I disagreed, and that I sounded like a ?Racist? or someone who was ashamed of being white because I supported Affirmative Action. She quoted Martin Luther King, and judging people by the "Content of their Character". And when I tried to explain about segregation de facto rather then de jure, she did not get it.

Anyone who has read any of my previous post's on women's rights, civil rights and voting rights knows where I stand on these issues. The New Haven decision became a rallying cry for the followers of the Southern Strategy, but an article in Slate.com shows that when Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the New Haven firefighters' claim she was following established precedent:

These rules magnified the disparate racial impact of the exam—no black candidate and only one Hispanic candidate was eligible for promotion, even though several of them passed the test. More reason for the city to worry about a lawsuit by the African-Americans who were to be passed over.

Like his previous ruling against the Seattle school District, Johnny the Robber is determine to dismantle 40 years worth of Civil Rights protection under the guise of "reverse discrimination". Reading her descenting opinion from the bench, Justice Ruth Ginsberg stated the obvious:

The white firefighters who scored high on New Haven’s promotional exams...attract this Court’s sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them. New Haven maintains that it refused to certify the test results because it believed...it would be vulnerable to a Title VII disparate-impact suit if it relied on those results.

By order of this Court, New Haven, a city in which African-Americans and Hispanics account for nearly 60 percent of the population, must today be served—as it was in the days of undisguised discrimination—by a fire department in which members of racial and ethnic minorities are rarely seen in command positions.A 60% minority population, and yet they have only one African American captain and no battalion chiefs.

But he is a Conservative Activist Judge, so it is okay...

2009-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

The O man nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice "Silent" Souter on the Supremo's. As predicted, the RWNM is in full rant mode (Great Stuff Joe), with the lead attack centering around that most favorite phrase of Movement Conservatives: Judicial Activism (oh the horror).

As typical, the lazy members of the news media cheerfully spread this manure without: "explain(ing) what that means, give any examples, or explain why it would be a bad thing".

An excellent article by Jeff Toobin in the New Yorker on The Chief Justice of the Supremo's Johnny the Robber Roberts shows that being a Judicial Activist is acceptable; as long as your a Conservative Activist:

Roberts has served the interests, and reflected the values, of the contemporary Republican Party

The majority on the Court who are affiliated with The Modern Republican Party not only believe in Judicial activism, they consistently practice it.

It is the activism that allows a Corporation to pay a women less money as long as she does not find out about it within 180 days of the offense (never mind what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has previously ruled).

It is the activism that will ensure that non white students will continue to remain in the substandard schools as a matter of fact if not law (Brown Vs. Board of Education was so 1950's).

It is the Ultimate in Judicial Activism that allows the Majority Conservative members of the Court rather then the Majority of Voters to decide who will be the next President of the United States; in an unsigned one page opinion that must never be used as precedent.

With Spector flipping to the D's, the Republic Party is left with on 40 seats in the Senate and 178 in the House. Any attempt to block the nomination of Judge Sotomayor as only two outcomes (slim and none), so the R's are not even going to make the attempt.

What they will do is continue to ram home the talking points and make sure that they are constantly regurgitated by a media that does not do analysis, only Stenography. They are thinking long term (Elections of 2010, 2012 and 2016) and believe this may rally the base.

Unfortunately it may also rally the growing Hispanic Community in the United States.

Let Them Eat Bonuses

2009-03-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

So the pheasants seem to be in revolt. Who could have predicted?

Bonus Outrage: AIG Employees Are Living In Fear

JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN March 20, 2009 05:22 PM EST

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Pillars of the community are now pariahs fearing for their safety in a ritzy area of Connecticut home to many executives at American International Group Inc., hit with a backlash over bonuses it paid to top brass even as it accepted federal bailout money.

AIG Employees Worried That They'll Be Killed

Henry BlodgetMar. 19, 2009, 12:08 PM

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Remaining employees in AIG's financial products group are worried that the angry America mob will tear them limb from limb.

Inside AIG-FP, Feeling the Public's Wrath

By Brady Dennis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 19, 2009; Page C01

They watched quietly as members of Congress referred to them as greedy and incompetent. They heard more than one demand that their names be released to the seething American public. They heard the chairman of American International Group, Edward M. Liddy, tell lawmakers that people, in e-mails sent to AIG-FP, suggested that the firm's leaders "should be executed with piano wire around their necks."

Your old Sarge has a day job working security at a local military post. Most of my coworkers are right of center, and exist on a steady diet of right wing talk radio. The vast majority buy into the talking points that have permeated American Society for the last 29 years, starting with Saint Ronnie.

It has been this constant flow of propaganda, coupled with a News media that has been bought and paid for by the corparates that has always insulated the 1/100th from any negative consequences of their actions. No act of theft, no matter how brazen or outrageous could get people to stop paying attention to the next American idol.

Thus it comes as somewhat of a shock to the New American Royalty that ordinary Americans might start to reject “bidness as usual”:

And the idea that the system might possibly be rigged so that those on top got their money not by being the most productive, but simply because they were the most successful at gaming the system.

While not quiet as long as the first one 100 years ago, the 2nd gilded age enjoyed a remarkable run in the face of one scandal or another that resulted in the Screwing of the Average Man (Read the book if you can find a copy).

Its time, however, may be past.

Good News in Iraq. Who knew?

2009-02-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

Read the most recent article by Chucky:

Iraq: Good News Is No News

Charles Krauthammer

Friday, February 13, 2009; Page A17

Krauthammer is right about one thing, there was no election day violence. Instead, we just have the ordinary every day violence:

Suicide bomber kills 23 in Iraq

By Jim Heintz, Associated Press Writer

Suicide car bomber kills five policemen in Iraq

car

Suicide bomber kills 4 U.S. soldiers in Iraq

By Tina Susman February 10, 2009

car

Iraq suicide bomber kills 8 near Karbala shrine

Associated Press
February 13, 2009

Iraqi police: Female suicide bomber kills 40

By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer
Fri Feb 13, 10:18 am ET

My God Krauthammer is such an idiot.

A Community Organizer

2008-11-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

It's been over 24 hour's since the "O" man crushed Johnny the Mac, surprising your humble Commander by the scope of his decisive 53%-46% victory.

Reviewing the campaign of 2008, I have concluded that the #1 reason for his success was his ability to get out the vote:

This of course brings to mind what probably was the stupidest thing ever said by any candidate during the campaign (how stupid no one realized at the time):

Are you and the Malkin still mocking Obamas efforts as a "Community Organizer"? Still think it's a joke? Not so funny when you perfect tactics to organize a neighborhood and use them to successfully organize a National Campaign.

Alice, tell me again about this Rabbit Hole?

2008-09-01T11:14:00.001-07:00

Yeah, after 2 months away from this thing, I know what the Wonderland Lady feels like. In less then three months, our lily white male lock on the Highest office in America will be ended. Jefferson Davis and Honest Abe should only have lived long enough to see this.

Erik Frank Russel(or the Chinese) certainly got it right, these times are way interesting. I will spare the political analysis of the Obama and McCain campaigns, Ms. Digby does a far better job and I am not in her league. Instead I want to speak of what happens if, the Universe forbid:

The whore media convince enough people that Saint Johnny Mac is the second reincarnation of Regan and he wins the election.
He dies shortly after being sworn in and a 1st term Governor with little or no experience is our new Madame President.

I go even on step further. Anybody who has not drunk the Koolaid knows that Governor Palin was chosen, in the words of dday "as a wet kiss to the religious right". The power behind the GOP, the ultra secret Council for National Policy, would never throw its support for Johnny without this choice for VP. A VP with all of George Bushes messianic zeal but not as stupid.

So President Palin now has the power to run the joint, and she tells the white male power brokers like Cheney, Rove and Dobson to go and &!%$@# themselves. She does not turn into a secret liberal like Justice Souter, but neither is she a mindless conserva-clone like Justice Thomas. Instead she chooses the third way like Justice O'Connor?

If this scenario, which may be far fetch, actually happens, then it will be a testament to another alleged Chinese curse.

Update - My apologies for thinking that Governor Palin was not as stupid as Commander Codpiece. Like Saint Johnny's minions, I failed to vet the Candidate before writing about her. Seems like "Hack n' Sack Sarah" (Good one Mr. Schmeltzer) is just as much an inept leader as the Flight Suit in Chief.

Inherently Contemptible

2008-07-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Karl Rove, aka Bush's Brain, aka Turd Blossom, aka the The Architect, gave House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) the middle finger by refusing a Congressional subpoena to testify.

Rove Refuses To Appear Before House Judiciary Panel

By John Bresnahan
July 3, 2008

(The Politico)

74 years ago in 1934 the last known use of Inherent Contempt procedures were used against a Gentlemen named MacCracken. In the words of the Washington post:

...Democrats have shown no appetite for the process, which has not been used since 1935. As the CRS report noted, "It became too cumbersome and time consuming to try contemptuous behavior on the floor."Of course the WaPo has pretty much become a Mouthpiece for the Administration/RNC, so we take what they say with major scepticism. What is amazing is Commander Codpiece may be responsible for breaking an agreement with the Justice Department that has lasted for almost 8 decades.

The Administration of GWB has not only broken the law on at least 3 or 4 separate occasions (links here, here, here, and here); it has done something that Dick Nixon could only dream of in his wildest fantasy's. It routinely violates establish precedent, even if there is no actual law broken. No laws are broken because the acts are so outrageous, contemptible and beyond the pale that Congress never imagined a law would be needed to prevent them from happening.

Just Some Random Thoughts...

2008-06-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well yeah, it has been a while. And I would update this thing more often if I could type faster.

Enough of this Bravo Sierra, let us cut to the chase. With the Primary Season over and the New York Senator officially suspending her campaign (voluntarily or not), the future of this schizophrenic land of the free depends on whether, to use his own quote 4 years ago:

...the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope! Or whether Senator Obama can survive the firepower of the Republican Political Attack Machine, code name 527:

As if this is a source of pride (well maybe it is. See John Deans excellent book "Conservatives Without Conscience").

Nor can the Senator from Illinois expect even a smidgen of help from the Media Whores, who long ago ate at the Barbecue of "Sprinkles" McCain:

Yeah, it is enough to make you think, here we go again. Just like the War on Gore in 2000 and the Swift Boating of Kerry in 2004.

Except that maybe this time, the Democratic Candidate "gets it". May be the "O" man (thanks Field) realizes the Corporate Press are not his friends. Maybe his decision today to opt out of public financing is the beginning of strategy that has at it's core a central truth: You can not win an election if you play by the rules established by 12 years of Republican dominance. Rules that are so rigged to favor the GOP and their lobbyist masters that you must change strategies for you to have a chance of winning.

I hope the "O" man succeeds, and am cautiously optimistic about his chances (remember Tom Bradley in 1982). But there are forces in the USA that are terrified should he win the Presidency, an not just the Usual Suspects.

The Corparatocracy that has flourished under Bush/Cheney has operated with impunity, and they very much wish for it to stay that way. A Obama win would put a lot of these crooks out of business, and they like doing business. You can bet the last thing they want is the head of the FDA to be an acedemic with a badge.

Supreme Voter Suppression

2008-04-29T00:32:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court handed Johnny Mac a major victory today by upholding the voter suppression laws in Indiana (excuse me, voter ID laws):

As noted by the blogger dday:

This is, as we know, a solution in search of a problem. Voter fraud is a made-up conservative issue, backed by no evidence. While Stevens suggested that there are no "excessively burdensome requirements" imposed on voters who must show ID at the polls, he's answering an unknowable question. We simply have no idea how photo ID centers (if there will be any outside the DMV) in Indiana or anywhere else would be managed, whether the same groups that truck elderly and poor voters to the polls on Election Day will be able to do the same to get people their IDs, and so on. If they require the same documentation that the DMV does, many poor and elderly people simply don't have them. If it requires an application fee, how is that not a poll tax?The Republican sheet heads who passed this modern version of Jim Crow had to add a provision that IDs would be issued free of charge to people without driver's licenses (can't have any appearance of a poll tax because of that pesky 24th Amendment). However, these are the combination primary and secondary documents needed for a "free ID":

This list the definition of what is an acceptable primary document:

But what the heck, it is not like any of this is a real burden to those that wish to vote. And if you believe that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you.

The Master blogger Digby sums it up:

Republicans, like all aristocrats, know that if enough average people vote, they will lose. Period

The Patraeus Testimony: A Snapshot of Bush World

2008-04-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

When the spoiled brat from Texas was ~~elected~~ appointed 7 years ago, anybody with half a brain who followed Politics as a hobby knew what was going to happen by the time his term ended in 2008. The United States would be transformed into the Military Industrial Complex, a 2nd Gilded age.

Corporations would be free to bribe their way to success, and if caught a newly transformed Department of Justice would happily accept a bribe themselves so the Plutocrats could avoid prison:

In Justice Shift, Corporate Deals Replace Trials

By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Published: April 9, 2008

While independent reporting and gonzo documentary films still exist, the average citizen who relies on Major Media (print and electronic) for information would find his knowledge carefully filtered. The so called 4th Estate would function as a house organ for the Government, ensuring that mindless drivel (h/t Glen. You and Digby are the best) would replace any serious examination of Government Policy:

The U.S. establishment media in a nutshell

Glen Greenwald

Saturday April 5, 2008 08:11 EDT

And as for President Washington's pleading against "the mischiefs of foreign intrigue...the impostures of pretended patriotism", forget it. War would be a source of profit disguised under the false flag of protecting America from "The Enemy".

But for all of this I was naive enough to believe that no Professional Soldier would ever allow himself to be used as a political tool. With the promotion of David Patraeus as Commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq, I was an idiot:

Petraeus' Testimony: Everything His President Wants to Hear

I retired from the Army 5 years ago shortly after the start of the Iraq quagmire. In June of 2003 I was Channel surfing when I came across a Military Retirement Ceremony broadcast on CSPAN. The retiree was Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki; which blew me away because NOTHING had come down the chain of command about the date and time of this event. I soon found out why:

Soldiering On
By: Jennifer Reingold

As the title of this post says, a snapshot of Bush World.

Johnny Mac, Johnny's Mouthpiece, and Market Madness

2008-04-04T01:03:00.000-07:00

While browsing James Wolcott's Blog, I came across the following dust up that started when Elizabeth Edwards commented on Johnny Macs Health Care Program (he does not have one).

Once again attempting to fool the rubes, Johnny Macs Mouthpiece was quoted as saying:

Edwards’ comments were disappointing and that they revealed she did not understand the comprehensive nature of the senator’s proposal.Big mistake (h/t to The Field). Health Care is one subject Ms. Edwards knows too well (she has terminal cancer). In a blog post at Think Progress, she proceeds to educate McCain Spokesmen Douglas Holtz-Eakin (Mouthpiece) on what happens to stupid people who confuse politics with policy (to quote Mr. Wolcott, they get a return volley upside the head).

Under your plan, Senator McCain, would any health insurer be required to sell you or me (or those like us with pre-existing conditions) a health insurance policy?
You say your plan is going to increase competition to the point that it actually lowers costs. Isn’t there competition today among insurance companies? Haven’t costs continued to go up despite that competition?

Unfortunately these questions were answered 35 years ago in a book by David Hapgood called The Screwing of the Average Man (No. Yes. Yes. Hell Yes). People get sick, and they die.

If you have seen Mike Moore's excellent documentary Sicko, you're already aware that Insurance Company's maximize payment by denying customers treatment with a variety of scams (yes they are scams). The high cost of health care reflects the administrative overhead of denying legitimate claims.

One more reason, if you need any, to make sure Johnny does not get appointed President. And while health care does not affect me (I'm Retired Military), a hell of a lot of people will get sick and die if his Market Madness becomes law.

The Press, The Hand Grenade, and Murphys law of Combat

2008-04-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

I read two recent post by the Master Blogger Digby about the Kewl Kidz (thank you Ornicus) openly displaying contempt for the Democratic Nominee. She states in absolute terms the liberal/progressive movement's relationship with the Press:

...liberal bloggers declared war on the press many years ago. I'm not sure that this is even controversial. Pushing back on biased, anti-Democrat and pro-Republican lies and editorial judgment is supposed to be one of our primary raison d'etres.The press is a hand grenade with the pin pulled. To quote from Murphy's law of Combat: "When the pin is pulled, Mr. Hand Grenade IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!

But I ordered A Diet Coke!

2008-03-27T12:18:00.001-07:00

The title of this commentary derives from an observation my wife made when she worked at a local burger joint years ago. An obviously overweight customer would order a double grease burger with a extra large order of fries and then virtuously order a (usually large) diet soft drink.

This pretty much sums up the discussion this morning by one of our local righty talkers named Dori Monson who can not stop obsessing over the fact that in 2002 before the start of the Iraq War, Congressmen Jim McDermott took a humanitarian trip allegedly financed by Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency. This makes the Congressman McDermott a "spokesperson for the Iraqi government in the run-up to war", which is Righty shorthand for an anti American, terrorist supporter who is so popular with the "progressives".

Yeah Mr. Monson, 4000 dead, substandard contracting that killed 12 Soldiers/Marines, over 9 billion TAXPAYER dollars missing, and 5 years latter, no progress toward resolving this mess and bringing at least some of our men and and home, but what the hey, that's not important. Exposing the secret schemes of the Librul Democrats who Voted against the War resolution of Our Leader is priority #1. Johan In Burien pretty much summed it up in the comments section:

The war was a mistake. A tragic mistake. Jim McDermott and others did their best to stop the worst foreign policy blunder in our nations history. For some reason you are still vilifying those who sought to oppose the war...There was a time, Dori, when you prided yourself on not being a ideologue: it's time to embrace that spirit again and stop seeing the Iraq war as anything other than a disaster. Time to take off the rose colored glasses, my friend.Sorry Johan, those glasses are necessary for any war apologist like Mr. Monson who was suckered into supporting this Iraq Clusterf*ck (yes, the Surge DID NOT WORK. It really is a Clusterf*ck). Unable to understand that Love of Country also requires you to admit that your Country occasionally screws up, Mr.Monson will make a thousand excuses, shift blame or change the subject, or even make jokes about actual combat vets who risked their lives but had enough integrity and honor to know when to say this is wrong. It is the only way to resolve the cognitive dissonance that afflicts Bush true believers.

5 Bloody Years Later

2008-03-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Commander Codpiece said 5 years ago that Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.

So I guess 4000 brave men and women died in minor combat operations?

What is really sad is that neither The Flight Suit in Chief, Shooter, the Wolf or the Little Rummer Boy will ever end up on the Dock in the Hague for war crimes.

War crimes are defined in the statute that established the International Criminal Court, which includes:

Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, such as:

Willful killing, or causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health

Torture or inhumane treatment

Unlawful wanton destruction or appropriation of property

Forcing a prisoner of war to serve in the forces of a hostile power

Depriving a prisoner of war of a fair trial

Unlawful deportation, confinement or transfer

Taking hostages

Spitzer, Clinton, and the Media's figleaf of cover

2008-03-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation last week, the Main Stream Media Whores have once again been provided with the fig leaf of cover that allows them to hide their failure to investigate the numerous crimes of the Bush Administration.

As the master blogger Glen Greenwald writes in Salon:

In one of the ultimate paradoxes, for American journalists -- whose role in theory is to expose the secrets of the powerful -- secrecy is actually their central religious tenet, especially when it comes to dealing with the most powerful. Protecting, rather than exposing, the secrets of the powerful is the fuel of American journalism. That's how they maintain their access to and good relations with those in power.And protecting the Bush and his fellow Republican croneys has been a strain. Any rational, critically thinking, non partisan individual examining this Administrations record would find so many criminal acts, Money Laundering, Illegal wiretapping, Extortion, perjury/obstruction of justice, etc., you would need a score card to keep track of it all (if you have time to spare, TPM Muckraker has such a card).

The real damage that the Spitzer affair has done is not killing the career of a basically decent Democrat Pol or even the effect it may have on the November elections. Instead, it is the rag of cover that our corporate media can hold up to justify its failure to investigate the above name scandals. It is the same thing that happen in the hot 90's, but to a different effect against Bad Bill Clinton, not a failure to investigate, but the justification for a witch hunt camouflaged as a serious investigation.

Think what would have happen if Big Dog had realized how badly the Rethugs wanted to get him and chose not to have an affair with Ms. Lewinsky. Kenneth "Porno" Starr would have had nothing to show after burning thru 70 million tax payer dollars. Delay, Gingrich, Hyde and all the other criminals would have no justification for impeachment, hell if they tried it they all would have been out on their ass in the 2000 election. And the media whores who dumped journalist ethics would have had a hell of a lot of explaining to do about why they spent ten years pursuing a story they should have known was Bullsh-t.

David Brooks Bogus BS

2008-01-30T23:05:00.000-08:00

When I read an opinion piece in our local paper that was written by a conservative columnist my reaction is usually the following: Do they really believe this Bull Sh-t or are they just printing it because it’s their job to shill for big bidness?

Take for example the following by David Brooks concerning the subprime mortgage disaster:

Mortgage crisis analysis unpopular, true

DAVID BROOKS; THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: January 27th, 2008 01:00 AM

There is roughly a 100 percent chance that we’re going to spend much of this year talking about the subprime mortgage crisis… The only question is which narrative is going to prevail, the Greed Narrative or the Ecology Narrative.

The morality of the Greed Narrative is straightforward. A small number of predators destabilize the economy and reap big bonuses… Government should step in and control the malefactors of great wealth
When a new instrument enters the market, it takes a while before people understand and institutionalize it. Whether the product is high-yield bonds or mortgage-backed securities….

In the first stage of this adolescence, investors look around and see everybody else making money off some new instrument… Individual bankers have a special incentive to get in on the ride because their yearly bonus is determined by how they do in the short term.

Then there’s a moment when people realize how stupid they have been. They’ve bought a pile of subprime mortgages without really knowing what they’ve purchased… The cycle of overconfidence becomes a cycle of underconfidence because nobody knows who is holding worthless paper.

Then, finally, maturity sets in. Those who have lost great gobs of money get fired. People still find the new product useful, but within parameters and with greater safeguards.

Now this is from a gentleman who supposedly is not a hardcore conservative (he allegedly supports same sex marriage). And yet he obviously does not read the blog Crooks and Liars.

From the UK Guardian:

FBI investigates sub-prime crisis

Graeme Wearden

guardian.co.uk

, Wednesday January 30 2008

Fourteen companies, including some of the world's largest banks, are being investigated over possible accounting fraud, improperly securing loans and insider trading during the sub-prime mortgage scandal.

The FBI said yesterday that it had opened criminal investigations into improper lending in the American housing market. Neil Power, head of the FBI's economic crimes unit, told journalists that the investigation includes the companies that securitised the loans and investment banks that bought those products, as well as the developers and sub-prime lenders.

"We're looking at the accounting fraud that goes through the securitisation of these loans," said Power.

Yeah, just a case of the stupid unedjimicated citizens buying things they did not understand. But fraud? No. I am shocked. Shocked!

No, not really that shocked. Collective amnesia is a hall mark of Movement Conservatism, whether it is the S&L debacle of the 80's or the Ear Mark Excess of the last 7 years.

Water carriers like Brooks the buffoon figure that if they print this fertilizer often enough, Mr. John Q Public will forget about how he has been royally screwed by this Administration. They need John Q to pay no attention to complex matters like economics (Johnnie Mack does not understand it) and concentrate on the real issues: Gay Marriage Illegal Immigrant Secular Humanistic Terrorist.

The Presidential Election of 2008 and Why Should We Care?

2008-01-18T00:29:00.000-08:00

The Commander's politics may be hard to codify from reading this blog, I am left of Center on most issues, but I am still a capitalist and I believe in personal responsibility (which is why I fell for the Regan Revolution of the 1980's. I believed his bullsh-t about the evils of "Big Government").

I am a science groupie (I lack the smarts to be a real scientist) yet still follow the practices of my religion (Judaism) while not really believing in (G-D). I worship life and stubbornly insist it has meaning (because it can not be replaced), but I will not interfere if someone wants to engage in assisted suicide or abortion; because I am against any form of control that is done "for your own good".

Above all I am a free thinker. I will not waste my time on something that violates the laws of motion, gravity, thermodynamics, etc. (refusal to accept nonsense such as ESP, Magic or creationism is not being closed minded. It is an acceptance of natural law).

All right to the point, why is this particular election so damned important. For me, it has to do with the 50 or so years of existence I have and whether they will be peaceful or harsh. The ultimate authority of this Schizophrenic Land of the Free is the Supreme Court, and if any of my progressive friends are taking notice, we are one Court Seat Away from being royally screwed.

With the retirement of Swing Vote Sandy, the recent appointments of Strip Search Sam and Johnny the Robber, and the most certain retirements of the remaining Liberals on the Court, our next President will decide who has the Majority for the next 20 or 30 years.

And it does not matter what laws or even Amendments to the Constitution are passed in the next 50 years. The Supremos of Old and New have shown that they are quite capable of ignoring this document, precedent and logic be damned.

The Iraq idiocy, recession, medical care, they are important in the short term. But those of us who grew up in the last 50 years under the Warren Court have seen the erosion of those rights we once thought were a given. The Commander does not want to spend his remaining years worried if what he reads, says or even thinks can get him arrested.

Hillary Clinton and the Main Streaming of Misogyny

2008-01-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Apparently opinion polls about the "Bitch" losing to the New Kid on the block in the New Hampshire Primary were a bit exaggerated.

Much has been made about Senator Clinton's emotional moment during a Q&A in the “The Granite State”. I think the truth can be found about one month earlier.

The Commander came across the following commentary on the Newhouse News Service website in December.

Hillary Hatred Finds Its Misogynistic Voice

By JONATHAN TILOVE
c.2007 Newhouse News Service

Calling the crap that Senator Clinton has been subjected to "open misogynistic expression" is like saying that Barry Bonds is being investigated because he took some aspirin. The hatred of Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton is like a living thing, a festering wound in the soul of America that opened up over 30 years ago with the start of the modern feminist movement.

Susan Faludi's excellent book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women details the ongoing effort by the right to destroy the economic and social gains made by women such as Senator Clinton with the same techniques they used to destroy the civil rights of African Americans. It was first published 15 years ago, and it is a text book example of the reason Hillary Bashing is alive an well in 2008.

In The Huffington Post Erica Jong's excellent posting Seeing Sexism shows the difficulty men and even women have in understanding what Ms. Faludi meant by the term backlash:

Seeing Sexism

By Erica Jong
Posted January 10, 2008 12:55 PM (EST)

We could ask why the USA, out of all the so-called "civilized" countries, is so damned afraid of a woman leader

Yeah we could ask, but could we deal with the answer? Could we as a nation finally have the courage to admit that we are afraid to hand over the power of the State to the 50% of the population we treat like frail children? Can we admit the truth, get over the fear. Can we grow up and start acting like adults?

A Phoney Accusation and a Putz named Pat

2007-11-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

Once again the racist American Nazi shoots off his pie hole to the suck ups at Fox Noise.

Old Pat better hope he never meets Brigadier Gen. Keith Kerr in person. The 41 year Veteran (He wears the Special Forces Tab and the Parachutist Badge) would kick the Draft Dodging bastard all over the street (Link to Think Progress).

Rotten Rudy, Bully Bush and the New Authoritarianism

2007-11-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

The Master Blogger Digby has a post with some compelling video:

"You Gotta Ask Me Nicely"

by digby

When a man questions why a policeman has pulled him over and refuses to sign the ticket, the policeman electrocutes him to make him comply:

The Deseret Morning News has the full story:

Trooper's Taser use pops up on YouTube

By Geoff Liesik
for the Deseret Morning News

Published: Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007

As an armed security guard at a military installation, my job is similar to a police officer (but not as stressful). It gives me the authority under the color of law to engage in activity's that under normal circumstances would be considered a felony (If I pull someone to the side and detain them against their will because of questions about their ID, I better have a damn good reason. If I did that as a Civilian, I could be charged with kidnapping!)

As for the use of pepper spray or ASP, forget it. Macho cowboys or cowgirls who think that they have to prove they are in charge would be kicked off the line. They are bully's and fools, not professionals.

The power we as a society invest in our law enforcement apparatus is astounding, and yet we fear very little in the way of a Pakistan or Iranian style secret police arresting us without cause, at least until the Boy King took charge 7 years ago. That the arrest of citizens without charge when sanctioned by the President should occur in the dawn of the 21st Century sounds like a plot from a bad SciFi Movie.

The creeping authoritarianism of the Bush administration. So far it is only those other people who have been brutalized, so maybe Mr. John Q. Citizen does not care what happens to Juan Q. Citizen. This is a major mistake.

In the excellent article in Salon.com by Cintra Wilson, we get a glimpse of the future if that jackboot Fascist Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, the darling of the RNC, should get elected.

killing of man.

To paraphrase (badly) Mr. Miyagi: "This is no SciFi Movie Danial-san. This for real"

And a Little Child shall lead them

2007-11-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

A historic moment, little notice by the media whores (they would much rather push phony stories about a certain Senator) may occur tomorrow, The Flighsuit in Chiefs first veto to be overridden by Congress:

November 5, 2007, 8:38 am

Congress Set to Override Water Bill Veto

Carl Hulse

What is most significant about this is that we are dealing with a President with the emotional maturity of a 5 year old.

I have a brother-in-law who behaves very similar to President Bush. Twenty five years ago before I joined the Army I spent some 6 months at my in laws place. One day I got fed up with my wife's brother constantly demanding that everyone know toe to him. I refused his demand to turn the channel on the TV (I was much bigger and stronger then him). He walked away in shock (first time someone had told him NO), went outside the apartment to the fuse box, and proceeded to turn off the electrical breakers. Damn.

I can only imagine what new insanity the boy king might do next.

Segregation De Facto instead of Dejure

2007-09-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

An excellent post by Carpetbagger and the Master Economist Paul Krugman spells out an ugly truth that dare not be spoken among my Republican friends, the Southern Strategy.

When the modern GOP was formed almost 50 years ago from the remnants of the old Dixiecrat party, it was perfectly cool to support segregation by law.

The modern GOP has not abandoned this idea, but society moved on, and naked racism is simply not acceptable. The solution for the GOP was a stealth campaign to disguise the party’s actual intent.

Instead of a poll tax to keep African Americans from voting, you now have a voter ID law. Since you can no longer lock up large segments of the minority population for the crime of looking at white women, you switch to racist drug laws (even though the majority of illegal drugs are used by whites).

And while it would be great if you could simply prevent minorities from getting an education, DE Facto segregation works just as good as De Jure (see recent Supreme Court decision : Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1) .

The Rubberstamp Morphs into a Road Block

2007-09-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

Your old Commander is back after a month of training for his new job. Maybe I can keep this blog up on a regular basis (I may also win the Mega Millions Jackpot).

The Carpetbagger links to an excellent article by the Washington Monthly reporter Kevin Drum on the morphing of the Rethugs from Rubber Stamp:

to the Roadblock:

As pointed out by Margaret Talev at the McClatchy Newspapers:

If this pace of blocking legislation continues, this 110th Congress will be on track to roughly triple the previous record number of cloture votes — 58 each in the two Congresses from 1999-2002, according to the Senate Historical Office

Government by obstruction, or poisoning the well. It is an elegant political ploy to attempt to hold up the D's as a do nothing Congress. And thanks to the enabling by our pundit class / mediawhores / presstitutes, it may succeed:

September 20, 2007

Congress Approval Rises Slightly to 24%

Gain almost entirely due to improved ratings from Republicans

by Lydia Saad

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's 2007 polling from January through August chronicled a nearly relentless decline in public approval of the job Congress is doing. However, after sinking to a record-tying low of 18% last month, Congress approval has rebounded to 24% -- the largest one-month increase in support for Congress seen since the Democrats took majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

Yellow bellied Racist in our Schizophrenic Home of the Brave

2007-08-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Read the following headline from the AP today:

Troops Worry Relatives Could Be Deported

It was not until I got to the following paragraphs that I was ready to break civilized behavior and do something I rarely do, raw profanity:

Supporters of tighter immigration controls say giving the relatives of service members a free pass would only create an incentive for immigrants to enlist to legalize undocumented family members. They also oppose narrow solutions addressed at individual cases like that of Yaderlin Jimenez.As a retired soldier who was fortunate enough to avoid two wars and five "police actions", I have only one thing to say to the "Supporters of tighter immigration controls ":

You Yellow bellied Racist Rat Bastards can go Fuck Yourselves.
Crawl back into the gutter with Mr. 5 deferments Cheney and "there was no room for patriotic folks like myself" Delay.
You pieces of excrement are not fit to exist on the same planet with these brave patriots.

Journalism, Stenography and the Good Guys

2007-08-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

The only true journalist with a major nightly show is Countdown with Keith Olbermann (Bill Moyers Journal is weekly. Jon and Stephen do comedy ).

As Rolling Stones Magazine points out in an article last February, "he's the most honest man in news". Why is he an actual Journalist? Arianna nails it to a T:

ignore the traditional journalistic view of the anchor as referee and stop pretending there are two sides to every issue. That's not how it is. Sometimes the truth is on one side

Back in the day we called it investigative reporting. And not only does Keith Olbermann refuse to engage in stenography, he maintains an ethical standard and will not deviate from it, even if it means criticizing someone who he previously stood up for. Case in point with tonight's episode of Countdown's worst person award:

Our runner up with great regret, the blogger Mike Stark; who went to the home of Bill O'Reilly and posted signs reading Bill O'Reily, pervert... Mike Stark was the person that Bill O'Reilly...threaten to sick Fox Security on...No! Not acceptable, what ever you think of him...there is a line and the Good Guys are not suppose to cross it...leave him (O'Reilly) alone in private.An ethical journalist who is not afraid to speak truth to power, chips fall where they may. And it also highlights the difference between movement conservatives and those of us who defend Liberal Values and refuse to engage in such quaint administration customs as torture, extraordinary rendition, or denial of habeas corpus. No matter what smear job the R's and their enablers use to feminize the D's as girly men, we will not accept the Flight Suit in Chiefs™ simplistic Good vs. Evil worldview (an excellent book Mr. Greenwald. Buy it today).

And this does not make us weak, this upholding of real American Traditional Values and the refusal to sink to the level of the threat force. In the words of Captain Amanda Garret in James Cobbs excellent book Sea Fighter:

Quillain snorted. "You don't think those guys are actually fishing, do you?"

"Of course not. When they tack about, you can see the lens glinting on their field glasses. They've got somebody out there pretty much all the time now. We know they're Union recon, but under the rules of engagement, we have to accept them at face value."

"Why is that?" Quillain grumbled, popping the clip out of his M-9 and jacking the live round out of the chamber. "I mean, every damn little tin-pot terrorist and dictator out there can do anything he likes to the United States¬ blow up our embassies, torture our POW'S, kill our kids in the streets-and nobody says boo. But when it comes to hitting back, man, we sure have to play by the Marquis of Queensbury; else the whole damn world screams bloody murder. Just why is that?"

"It's for the best reason in the world," Amanda replied, picking up the carbine and adjusting its sling. "One that I wouldn't change for anything I can imagine."

Quillain's brows knit together. "What reason's that?"

She smiled back at the big Marine. "It's because we're the good guys, Stone"The Decider does not read books. And neither do his flunkies.

Gunny Highway, Colonel Shaw and Private Peter Pan

2007-07-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

The Master Blogger Digby has an excellent post on the 101st Fighting Keyboarders attempt to demonize an Iraqi Veteran who did not conform to their version of reality

I hear so much from the right about how they love the troops. But they don't seem to love the actual human beings who wear the uniform, they love those little GI Joe dolls they played with as children which they could dress up in little costumes and contort into pretzels for their fun and amusement. If they loved the actual troops they wouldn't require them to be like two dimensional John Wayne's, withholding their real experiences and feelings for fear that a virtual armchair lynch mob would come after them.This was a major point of a minor B movie in the career of Clint Eastwood titled Heartbreak Ridge (although Roger E seemed to like it). Beyond the profanity, minor nudity and major fight scenes, a single theme dominated the picture: WAR IS NOT A GAME! IT IS SERIOUS BUSINESS AND IT IS HELL!

Highway: You're dead marine, you just got your legs blown off and we'll hafta send out a search party for your testicles. Where's your cover?

[They indicate Profile who waves to them]

Highway: What the hell are ya doin' back there? Without any cover fire I'll get my ass shot off! While the rest of you are pumpin' the neighbors dog we'll get every swinging dick in this platoon killed!This would be emphasized in a different way in the 1990 A picture Glory. Like Gunny Highway , Colonel Shaw learned that war was Serious Business:

Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Sgt. Mulcahy!

Sgt. Mulcahy: Sir!

Colonel Robert G. Shaw: I have no doubt you a fair man, Mulcahy. I wonder if you are treating the men a little hard.

[Sgt. Mulcahy pauses]

Colonel Robert G. Shaw: You may speak freely.

Sgt. Mulcahy: The boy is a friend of yours, is he?

Colonel Robert G. Shaw: Yes, we grew up together

Sgt. Mulcahy: Let him grow up some more.Highway, Mulcahy and Shaw had this funny idea that they did not want their men to die. And they also knew that war was a thing to be avoided, not some stupid way to prove your manhood:

Colonel Meyers: How are your men doing Major?

This can not be overstated. 20 years in the Army (where I was lucky to avoid 2 wars and 5 police actions) and I saw a bunch of these Rambo wannabes that seem to think war was some form of romantic adventure (they obviously missed the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan).

Media Cheerleaders and the Clueless Cheaters

2007-07-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

What I find most amazing about my Republican brothers and sisters is that they constantly break Heinlein's 11th Commandment. I mean politics aside, shouldn't you take extra precautions if you know what you are doing is illegal, immoral, or embarrassing? No one is that stupid, are they? What's the deal?

After the Corporate Media's™ complicity in the witch hunt against our last elected President was exposed, progressives (and perhaps a large percentage of the American Public) have long since accepted that these stenographers are no longer independent. With the exception of Keith, Bill, Jon, Stephen and occasionally Jack, any broadcast news will not be an investigation to determine the truth but a recitation of Republican/Conservative/Bidness talking points.

Furthermore, the message put out by this infotainment industry is carefully crafted so that even when a disastrous policy has been documented by the World media and even if it is clear President George W Bush and his 2nd VP Richard Cheney were responsible for the clusterf-ck, the media-whores will blame every one else except those who are responsible (Democrats are a favorite target).

Okay Commander, we already know this. What is your point?

The recent revelations of chicanery at the Office of Drug Control Policy:

White House Had Drug Officials Appear with GOP Candidates
By

Michael A. Fletcher

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 18, 2007; Page A08

White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help as many as 18 vulnerable Republican congressmen by making appearances and sometimes announcing new federal grants in the lawmakers' districts in the months leading up to the November 2006 elections, a Democratic lawmaker said yesterday.

The office of the Surgeon General:

The Doctor Who Didn't Know When to Quit
By

Richard Cohen

Tuesday, July 17, 2007; Page A19

…He simply departed from the administration when his four-year term was up and said nothing about how he had been maneuvered and micromanaged -- until last week, when he told (almost) all to a congressional committee. Only then did we learn that it was suggested that whenever Carmona gave an official speech, he should mention the president at least three times a page. He declined. He was also ordered not to talk about controversial matters -- stem cell research, sexual abstinence, contraception, etc. He complied. A report on global health was withheld for political reasons.

And the General Services Administration:

GSA Chief Violated Hatch Act, Special Counsel's Report Alleges
By

Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham

Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 24, 2007; 1:26 PM

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan violated the federal Hatch Act when she allegedly asked GSA political appointees during a January briefing how they could "help our candidates" win the next election, according to a report by the office.

present an almost unimpeachable case that the Republican Party in the early 21st Century knew the following:

Even in the so called “Red States” the RNC could not get a majority elected with out breaking the law (cheating).

The RNC was absolutely certain that the above named Corporate Media™ would not investigate these violations (they still won’t).

Because of the first two points, the RNC saw no reason to hide the evidence

The R’s were actually shocked that the D’s flipped the House and even more amazed that they took the Senate. Even in the last few weeks before the November elections the R’s were convinced that the various illegal and immoral activities from caging to voter fraud scams to out and out bribery would suppress enough votes to allow the R’s to maintain control (truth be told, even your old Sarge was surprised at the outcome).

It is the only reason why the Bush Administration finds itself unprepared for the multiple investigations currently underway in Congress; they truly believed that in the last two years they would still be dealing with rubber stamp Republicans (of course the clueless Beltway Pundits say that this is a bad idea).

Life is so unfair.

This President is not like Any of his Predecessors

2007-07-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

House Panel Rejects Bush Privilege Claim

Jul 12, 5:33 PM (ET)

By LAURIE KELLMAN

...Legal scholars said the issue of Miers' immunity is far from clear-cut. No president has gone as far as mounting a court fight to keep his aides from testifying on Capitol Hill.

Thus was the headlines from the AP this evening. The Flight Suit in Chief believes that he does not have to suffer these fools from Congress. Oversight is for wimps. He has a mandate from The L-rd to follow his destiny. He believes he is right (reality has no place in Bush World)

The experts on Constitutional law, brilliant as they may be; do not understand Jerusalem syndrome that infects the mind of our leader.

I will bet a months pay that Commander Codpiece will once again break precedent and push this all the way to the Supremo's, assuming the D's have the cohones to push this all the way and not back down.

Did David Shuster Pull a Fox Noise Attack on his Guest?

2007-07-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

Since the Commander values journalism instead of stenography I normally do not tune into MSNBC's Hardball. But while channel surfing I noticed that David Shuster was substituting for Tweety, so I paused to listen. His guest was Fouad Ajami

Short version: Shuster ripped the neocon apologist a 2nd asshole. He refused to allow the Professor to get away with half-truths (sample statement FA: Richard Armatiage was the leaker in the CIA Case. DS: It came out at trial that 7 different people talked with Scooter Libby about Plames identity) and whole lies (sample statement FA: The attacks of 9/11 and the terrorist trail preceded the Iraq war. DS: I am not going to let you end this with the idea that Iraq was part of 9/11) while attempting to justify his statement that Libby the perjurer was the equivalent of a fallen US soldier in Iraq because he is an "authority".

However, one thought did bother me after reading the comments section of Crooks and Liars for this post:

throwthembows Says:

That was kinda hard to watch. I don’t think it was a very honest debate. I don’t agree with anything this jerk-off has to say, but the interview was Fox News-ish in its execution.

Because I am committed to excellence in Journalism (see Murrow, Edward R) regardless of Party affiliation, this question deserves thoughtful analysis. And my conclusion is no, it is not Fox News-ish. Mr. Shuster is not reading a script or repeating Republican or even Democratic talking points. He is simply

Holding Proffessor Ajami accountable for statements he has made, statements that are patently false.

Refusing to allow Proffessor Ajami accountable to change the subject in order to avoid answering these outlandish statements (Clinton did it defense).

Refusing to allow Proffessor Ajami to get all self righteous just because his authority was called in question.

In short, David Shuster was being a Journalist, not a stenographer. He was investigating and if necessary instantly correcting the Professors mendacity's. He refused to play the Fox News game of two sides to every issue.

There are not two sides if one side is lyng. And it is not liberal bias when a journalist calls them on a lie. It is reporting the facts.

The Godfather named Cheney

2007-07-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

As I recently stated in my last post, there is a reluctance (or maybe a desire) for the MSM to refuse to believe that the Cheney Administration acts like the Terminator to protect it's existence. The announcement yesterday that the Acting President Bush has commuted the sentence of "Scooter" Libby comes as a surprise to no one familiar with this administration.

The "why" Libby was pardon is easily answered, most eloquently by Ambassador Joe Wilson on NPR:

Okay, those of us in the reality based community know that this is the only reason Commander Codpiece commuted Libby's sentence, he new where the body's were buried. Up until the last minute, bush/CHENEY were hoping that their pet Judge David Sentelle (a protegee of North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms) on the DC Circuit would keep their boy out of jail until Bush could pardon him in his last month of office (see Bush Senior Iran Contra pardons). Not gonna happen:

Suddenly the Conservative Lapdog Judge gets a streak of righteousness. Did I just see pigs in the air with wings on them. Damn.

Okay, what to do. Despite Godfather Cheney's proficiency (or lack thereof) with a shotgun, another hunting accident involving Scooter would probably be too much for even the media whores to swallow. Nor could they risk pulling a Jimmy Hoffa special, as tempting as that may have been. The only possible answer was to keep the conviction but render it toothless. A $250,000 fine is chump change to these fools. Loss of a law license? Only until December 2008 when Bush pardons the perjuring bastard. Bottom line, Libby stays out of jail and does not spill the beans to Patrick Fitzgerald, a man so f-cking honest he would report his own mother if she did something illegal.

In the next few months the right wing noise machine will push three talking points, and the lapdog press will greedily slurp it up:

The sentence was excessive.

Libby was not convicted of any underlying crime.

President Clinton did the same thing before he left office.

Those of us who still believe what goes around comes around can only hope this is not the end.

Cheney as the Terminator

2007-06-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Some 4 Months after the Master online newshound Josh Marshall first broke the story that VP Cheney considers his office distinct from the executive branch , the Main Stream Media finally considers it newsworthy to write about just how much power the OVP asserts in the Bush Administration (aided and abetted by Torquemada Gonzales™). As always, blog mistress Digby gets to the heart of our clueless lapdog media:

I am in no way the equal of Digby's skill with words, but as a devotee of SciFi films, I am reminded of the Governator 's first picture that established him in as an actor. When the Cyborg time tripped back to the past, he embarked on a series of actions so insane that no one could have predicted the pattern.

He starts by killing some punk rockers and stealing their clothes. He robs a gun store and kills the owner only because the owner is clueless that anyone would be so brazen as to attack him (Terminator's knowledge of weapons and unemotional mannerisms made him seem like a customer instead of a killer). He then grabs a page from the phone book and proceeds to methodically execute all the Conner, S. entry's without a care that he may be caught.

Even the worst of the serial killers made pains to cover their tracks. Terminator acted more like the spree killer, except the action took place over a week, the Cyborg had a definite target in mind, and he absolutely DID NOT CARE where the murders took place ("I'll be back" , recognized by the Guinness Book as one of the five top movie quotes; shows that even a police station full of cops could not stop the Terminator from fulfilling his mission). Until this moment, who would ever believe that one man, no matter how crazy, would attempt such an assault (this was before the North Hollywood shootout).

What must be foremost in the minds of those who attempt to analyze the actions of VP Cheney is that they must never assume that law, precedent or even hypocrisy will prevent Cheney from doing what he feels is necessary to accomplish his life's ambitions. In this he is similar to the Terminator, and it explains in part the reason that a main stream press crippled by a refusal to deviate from the script can not get a handle on the OVP.

When those evil members of the net roots point this out (in their "vitriolic, unhinged tone"), the MSM goes berserk. They are handicapped by the constant idea flowing in the backs of their minds that this is just paranoid librul conspiracy™ talk. That no President even in war (Lincoln) or economic crisis (Roosevelt) had attempted to assume unlimited power with no oversight. Those lefty blogger's just have a political ax to grind with the Decider in Chief because they disagree with his policy's.

Maybe some time in the future this will change as the true extent of Darth Cheney's™ machinations are revealed. Yeah, and maybe the Commander will win the lottery.

Lapdog Press

2007-06-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

The master blogger Glenn Greenwald rips Richard Cohen's Washington Post column as the ultimate example of the beltway lapdog media whore:

The Libby prosecution clearly was the dirty work of the leftist anti-war movement in this country, just as Cohen describes. After all, the reason Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed to investigate this matter was because a left-wing government agency (known as the "Central Intelligence Agency") filed a criminal referral with the Justice Department, as the MoveOn-sympathizer CIA officials were apparently unhappy about the public unmasking of one of their covert agents.

In response, Bush's left-wing anti-war Attorney General, John Ashcroft, judged the matter serious enough to recuse himself, leading Bush's left-wing anti-war Deputy Attorney General, James Comey, to conclude that a Special Prosecutor was needed. In turn, Comey appointed Fitzgerald, the left-wing anti-war Republican Prosecutor and Bush appointee, who secured a conviction of Libby, in response to which left-wing anti-war Bush appointee Judge Reggie Walton imposed Libby's sentence.

...Indeed, it is so terribly unfair to investigate powerful government officials because, as "white-collar types," they have a "morbid fear of jail" -- in contrast, of course, to blue-collar types, and darker ones still, who really do not mind prison at all...

...The real injustice is that prison is simply not the place for the most powerful and entrenched members of the Beltway royal court, no matter how many crimes they commit. There is a grave indignity to watching our brave Republican elite be dragged before such lowly venues as a criminal court and be threatened with prison, as though they are common criminals or something...

Oh the humanity! Not!

(Hat Tip to Bartcop)

The Commander Guy vs. Congress

2007-06-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

The whore media have been flooding us with Hilton mania and the hassle of the Hoff in hopes that the firestorm about the firing of the US Attorney's (aka Gonzo-Gate) will quietly fade away (it won't). From Dan FroomKin of the WaPo:

Why Were They Fired?
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, June 14, 2007; 1:20 PM

White House spokesman Tony Snow yesterday dismissed the issuance of congressional subpoenas to two former White House aides as an attempt to "create some media drama."

..."One constitutional-law expert said yesterday that the White House is in a difficult legal position, with little ability to refuse the subpoenas. 'They're in the unsustainable position of refusing to explain the increasing evidence of a cover up,' said Charles Tiefer of the University of Baltimore Law School.

"...White House does not have standing to try to quash the subpoenas preemptively. That leaves White House ...with the choice of a negotiated settlement or a showdown in federal court.

"If the White House refuses the subpoenas, Leahy and Conyers could move to hold the White House in contempt, then forward those citations to the full House and Senate for approval. The contempt citations would then be sent to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeffrey A. Taylor, who is required to impanel a grand jury to consider indictments. Taylor may have to recluse himself because of his involvement in events as a U.S. attorney."

Richard B. Schmitt writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Except in cases involving national security or military secrets, the executive branch enjoys no absolute privilege to withhold documents from Congress. In most disputes, courts balance the interests of the administration to keep the documents private, against the public or congressional interests in learning about the material

I find the prospect of a Court showdown with the DIC and his administration unlikely. It would be the first step in road not taken since Iran Contra in the 1980's, and even then the D's did not push Ray guns for a full accountability of his involvement in efforts to circumvent the law. A compromise may be reached.

But this President has demonstrated the personality of a petulant 4 year old, one who figuratively held his breath and stamped his feet because he did not get his own way during the recent War Funding bill. And unlike Reagan who at least showed a willingness to compromise, the Cheney Administration has held Congress as the equivalent of dog excrement that must be wiped off his shoe.

So let us assume that the D's actually show some spine and really push it and it ends up in Court. The DC Circuit is Chock full of Federalist Society members that specializing in twisting, ignoring or reinterpreting the law to conform to their ideology . Under any other Court that actually followed the law and precedent the President would be screwed, but I will bet a months pay that alchemist of the DC Circus will turn lead into gold (Claims of executive privilege denied to Clinton will change to Claims of executive privilege approved for Bush. )

Scooter, Big Dog and the Hypocrisy Gene

2007-06-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

Having read the most excellent coverage of the sentencing of Lewis "Scooter" Libby at FDL, I referenced an additional comment by Rick Perlstein titled Washington X-Ray. He gives an analysis of the many letters submitted by "The Conservative Thought Machine", summing them up with this final observation:

What's missing from every single one - every one: a single forthright statement about the magnitude of the offense for which he'd already been convicted.As Jane Hamsher further elaborates:

Which brings us to, oddly, what for me was the most telling moment of the Libby trial today. It is customary for those found guilty to express contrition during the sentencing phase...Libby expressed none. Zero, zip, bupkis...Libby that he thought himself a great man to whom a terrible wrong has been done. Today Scooter's career as a man on trial ended and his life as professional right wing victim began.It is one of the most difficult ideas to grasp for those of us who read Al Gores book Assault on Reason, this persistent double standard when the Right condemns President Clinton for allegedly lying under oath on a weak civil litigation (latter dismissed) and yet will defend Scooter Libby lying under oath to obstruct justice (prevent a prosecutor investigating a Federal Crime). In the words of the Master Attorney Alan Dershowitz:

On the basis of my research and experiences, I am convinced that if President Clinton were an ordinary citizen, he would not be prosecuted for his allegedly false statements, which were made in a civil deposition about a collateral sexual matter later found inadmissible in a case eventually dismissed and then settled. If President Clinton were ever to be prosecuted or impeached for perjury on the basis of the currently available evidence, it would indeed represent an improper double standard: a selectively harsher one for the president (and perhaps a handful of other victims of selective prosecution) and the usual laxer one for everyone else.Every one else except Henry (youthful indiscretions) Hyde. His opening statement during the Impeachment of the Big Dog:

Contrasted this with another member of the Conservative smart set, my Jewish Sister Mona Charon:

Jewish World Review

Libby's crime, according to Fitzgerald, is perjury and obstruction of justice. The grounds? People's memories of who said what to whom more than three years ago differ. Good Lord, may I never be subject to a grand jury inquest, as I forget appointments, names, faces, passwords, jokes, what I told my husband yesterday and whether or not I paid the phone bill last month.Your old Sarge is a Political Science Major not a geneticist, but I really believe the hypocrisy gene is hardwired into Republican DNA.

This is not about paying phone bills Mona, it's about payback for your enemy, real or imagined. When Joe Wilson wrote that oped in the NYT about his trip to Niger, shooter Cheney decided he was an enemy that had to be destroyed. The present Administration is filled with such men and women, big ego's with small minds who view the slightest insult as an excuse to attack.

A Teletubby Named Tinky, A Jew who is the AntiChrist, and a Reverend Named Falwell

2007-05-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe what they all have in common. But to the Reverend Doctor (honorary) Jerry Falwell, they were all signs of the moral decline of the United States. The Reverend past away today at the age of 73. If you are unfamiliar with the man, you can read his biography on the Liberty University website, or the lest flattering but more accurate version at Wikipedia.

Jerry Falwell was the founder of one of the first of the newly formed Christian Political Organizations that sprung up after the Supremos ruled in favor of legalized abortion. He called it the Moral Majority and it exercised some minor influence during the 80's (Ronnie Ray Guns was much more interested in saving us from the Communist) before dissolving in 1989 (He revived the group as the Moral Majority Coalition in 2004).

The sex and drug scandals that brought down the two other members of the God squad (Swaggert and Bakker) had a serious effect on the cash flow of all the other televangelist, and the good Reverend was reduced to pedaling conspiracy videos about President Clinton to finance his ministry.

This was not enough however, and Falwells Liberty University accumulated some $80 million debt before his bailout by a couple of businessmen (who received their money from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. This stuff is true, even if freaky) in 1995.

Update-31 May 2007

I'll end this here. I never did finish it because I had to abandon this blog for the last 3 weeks do to personnel issues. Sufficient to say that the Rev Falwell's influenced had diminished to the point of no longer being welcome to speak at the Republican Convention of 2004:

When you accuse a cartoon character of being gay and insist that the Antichrist is a member of a particular religious group, you may alienate somebody.

Iowa, Intolerance and Intent

2007-05-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Intolerance by the Dominionist or Reconstructionist of those who do not adhere to their beliefs can be a source of major confusion if you believe in freedom of conscience. Intolerance

In a most recent example; U.S. Navy veteran David Miller writing the Daily Kos as the Iowa City Akiva details his struggles as an Orthodox Jew receiving treatment at a Veterans Hospital that was a hotbed of Dominionism.

When a veteran moves to the area or in any way begins to access services at the Iowa City VA they are required to attend an orientation class – this class is held in the Christian Chapel, decorated with the Stations of the Cross ...I am a disabled veteran who served...in the US Navy. I am also an Orthodox Jew.
When I moved back to Iowa and notified the Iowa City VA that I would be accessing their services, they directed me to attend the orientation class. When I refused to enter the chapel...the staff attempted to pressure me; however, I held my ground and in the end the staff told me that I would just miss out on the information provided in the class (and threw the hand-outs at me.) At that point I dutifully lodged a formal complaint with the patient advocate. This has been about two years ago now, but orientation classes are still only held in the Christian Chapel. Could it be that the Iowa City VA is really trying to establish their underlying Christian intent with every orientation class?

Yes my Jewish brother, that is their intent:

Regarding proselytizing, Assembly of God Chaplain David Brown expressed that he couldn’t imagine why I would have a problem with his visits. He asserted that he had regularly visited many Jewish patients at the Iowa City VA over the years without a complaint; although he did admit that he continued to visit one patient after he had specifically requested a Rabbi visit him instead – according to Chaplain Brown, the patient didn’t seem to mind too much, at least he hadn’t protested strenuously like me. Chaplain Brown made it clear that he was absolutely confounded by my objections since he found no basis for them. Clearly this guy just doesn’t get it!

It took the threat of a lawsuit to get the Iowa VA to back off. Why can't Dominionist accept the right of others to live as they choose as long as they don't break the law? Until I read the following article by Mr. Doug Muder even I did not understand:

Who's afraid of freedom and tolerance?

By Doug Muder

Fall 2005 8.15.05

Like most religious liberals, we Unitarian Universalists imagine ourselves to be nice people. It is those in the Christian Right, we believe, who want to force their moral code on everyone else and use public resources to proselytize for their faith. We, on the other hand, believe in tolerance, free choice, and letting people be what they have to be. What’s so scary about that? If the rank-and-file of organizations like Focus on the Family or the Christian Coalition feel threatened by us, we think, it can only be because they have been duped by their unscrupulous leaders.

Not necessarily.

True, preachers of the Christian Right have said a lot of unfair things about liberals, both religious and political. But conservative Christian fears have not been created ex nihilo. As overstated as those fears may at times become, they have a basis, and we would do well to understand it.

Your Commander was skeptical at this point; I mean what legitimate reason could these Religious Fascist have to justify their attempts to run my life. But as I kept reading, Mr Muder was making sense:

Fundamentalists themselves would claim that the Bible is the center of their worldview, but scriptural support for their more controversial positions is often scant ...

[James]Ault

notes that members of the pseudonymous Shawmut River Baptist Church “generally held such views before they were ‘saved’ and became born-again Christians. Their pro-family conservatism could not be explained, then, by doctrines or practices found in any particular religion.” Instead, Ault attributes Shawmut River’s conservatism to a “village like” web of multi-generational family ties very different from what he observed among his academic acquaintances.

And thus was the idea of congenital obligations, in a society in which “relationships were seen and acted on as given rather than chosen” to use Mr. Muders own words. We Libs on the "Left Coast" inhabit a world where we can choose our own destiny. Again quoting Muder:

By contrast, the liberal worldview puts a much greater emphasis on commitments undertaken by choice, rather than obligations imposed from birth. Naturally, this is a difference of degree rather than kind. Unitarian Universalists have obligations and Baptists make choices, but choice plays a far greater role in the liberal worldview than in the conservative. Choice is entirely a good thing in the liberal worldview, whereas it is ambiguous to the Christian Right.

Shawmut River’s members value their ability to choose how to fulfill their obligations (without, say, interference from the government), but they condemn people who choose to slough off their obligations entirely. If “freedom” means the ability to take the easy way out without suffering the consequences (as they might describe the freedom to choose an abortion), then they’re against it.

Okay Commander, what is your point. We get to choose our lives. Why does it matter?

It matters because our life free of congenital obligations works, and it works well. And this threatens the very existence of those who see family obligations as not subject to choice:

In popular mythology, the Christian Right comes from the morally upright heartland of America and liberalism from its corrupt and decaying cities. Strangely, both sides have reasons to promote these stereotypes. Fundamentalist communities like to see themselves as embattled citadels, islands of eternal values in the storm-tossed sea of Anything Goes.

Both sides of this argument fall apart when we recognize that the Christian Right is experiencing its own moral breakdown. In Ronald J. Sider’s recent book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience a wide variety of polls, studies, and conservative Christian experts support the following points:

Conservative Protestants are more likely to divorce than the national average.

Conservative Christian men are as likely as non-Christians to view pornography.

Evangelical teens are “only a little less” sexually promiscuous than non-evangelicals.

Those who make abstinence pledges are, on average, as likely as non-pledgers to contract sexually transmitted diseases.

Wives in traditional marriages “where the husband was dominant” are three times more likely to be beaten than wives in egalitarian marriages.

In addition to these rather grim statistics, it is also true that the "dens of iniquity" on the East and West coast have the greatest concentrations of wealth, the highest standard of living, and the lowest welfare roles then in comparison to the South (bible belt):

It is this damnable fact, that those who choose to live by a set of obligations freely chosen rather then by requirement seem to have a much richer, more satisfying lifestyle. Mr. Muder sums it up thus:

Choice is the serpent in this Garden of Obligation. As soon as choice exists, I have to look at all the people in my life and wonder what they’re going to do—and they have to wonder about me as well. If other people have choices, then maybe fulfilling my timeless obligations just makes me a sucker. Maybe everyone who does his or her duty is a sucker.

One of the best-kept secrets in American society, however, is that religious liberal families are holding together at least as well as any other kind of family. Unitarian Universalists not only raise children, we do a pretty good job of it. I am consistently impressed by the quality of the young people I meet in my church and in the other churches I visit. Somebody is doing something right.

If there is one basic thing conservatives do not understand about religious liberals, it is this sense of commitment. They see us champion choice over obligation, but misunderstand our reasons. They understand us to be advocating a superficial and nihilistic way of life. They think we want to choose our own moral codes so that we can pick easy ones that rationalize our every whim. They believe that we want the freedom to define our relationships so that we can walk away from anything that looks difficult.

This is not the case. We liberals have a moral code, but we do not insist that our norms and standards are universal, ex specially in the era of Earth as a Global Village.

Most people do not want to believe they are suckers. They fight against the free thinker because they can not deal, can not accept that their system of obligation is going to fall, and to use a familiar saying among the fans of Star Trek: Resistance is futile.

Mr. Muder ends the article with the plea that those of us who believe that the liberal or progressive lifestyle must not "roll back history":

It is tempting, human, and (to an extent) inevitable for religious liberals to respond with our own feelings of persecution, helplessness, and anger. But in doing so, we fall into the vicious cycle of polarization: Our anger feeds their sense of persecution just as theirs feeds ours.

We have a way out of this cycle: a message of hope that the Right cannot match. Our way of life works in this new world and does not demand that we roll history back. We need to broadcast this Liberal Good News loud and clear.

The Commander agrees, anger is not the answer, education is. The net, the blog, the entire realm of cyberspace is the new frontier, and it can not be blocked. If we believe that we are the future (I do) we must avoid a tit for tat cycle of revenge.

Daddies, Dummies and a Columnist Named David

2007-05-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

I’m interrupting my series on the Dominionist after I read the following editorial in my morning paper. Ann Coulter wannabee Kathleen Parker of the JWR (unlike Ms. Coulter she is occasionally level headed, even thoughtful) defends David Broder’s insipid column two weeks ago that compared Senator Harry Reid to AG Alberto Gonzales:

Veteran political columnist David Broder set off a firestorm recently when he called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid an ``embarrassment'' for declaring the Iraq War ``lost.''

From the assault subsequently directed at Broder -- from other journalists, political operatives, left-wing bloggers and even the entire 50-member Senate Democratic Caucus -- you'd have thought Broder had had an intimate encounter with an intern.

Broder committed no such dastardly deed, but merely did what he has done for the past 35 years. He called it as he saw it -- just as Reid claims to have done, and that his defenders seem to find so refreshing.

Nevertheless, the 50 Democratic senators felt compelled to respond. Doesn't the U.S. Senate have more important matters to attend to than David Broder?

It is easy to tell when she is not levelheaded and goes off on an ideological tear. In writing about the Broder column she distorts or ignores two central issues:

The distortion, that Mr. Broder is “just a columnist”. No, he is a senior columnist for the Washington Post, not the Podunk times. His opinions, even when stupid, are read by thousands, if not tens of thousands on a National level.
Ignore what he wrote. The title of the column was not “My thoughtful analysis of Senator Reids Performance”. It was titled “The Democrats Gonzales”.

And thus is the issue that gets Ms. Parker’s knickers all twisted, that Democrats dared to challenge the words of High Lord Broder:

The Democrats' Gonzales
By

David S. Broder

Thursday, April 26, 2007; Page A29

Here's a Washington political riddle where you fill in the blanks: As Alberto Gonzales is to the Republicans, Blank Blank is to the Democrats -- a continuing embarrassment thanks to his amateurish performance.

If you answered " Harry Reid," give yourself an A. And join the long list of senators of both parties who are ready for these two springtime exhibitions of ineptitude to end.

Mr. Broder, IN THE FIRST LINE OF HIS COLUMN, stated that Senator Reid was an embarrassment to his fellow Senators. In a signed letter, all 50 of the Democratic Senators told Mr. Broder in language that his boy “Straight Talk” McCain would understand: You are a Godd*mn liar. We believe no such thing.

The Kathy Parkers and David Broders of the world are shocked, shocked. Democrats fighting back? You’re not supposed to fight back. You’re supposed to go along. Wahhh! It isn’t far. You cheated. I want my Daddy (the R’s are the Daddy party after all. High Lady Dowd said so).

The Parker’s and Broder’s and Krauthammer’s of the world still believe it’s pre-November 2006, and that the Colbert Rule of the press still applies:

Over the last five years you people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

Well with apologies, no screw it no apologies to the gang of 500, welcome to Politics 2007. Your boy Commander Codpiece (no relation to the writer of this blog) and his Republican Rubber Stamp toadies got a free pass these last 6 to 12 years, BUT IT IS OVER. Yeah, it’s true we can not get more then a single progressive voice in the MSM, but thanks to those “Internets”, we do not have to. The power of the net roots combined with the new progressive AM talk radio means that we can call bullSh*t when it is bullsh*t.

If Broder or Parker does not like it, f*ck’em. If Malkin or some other War Blogger continues to push a lie, we will push back (good job Eric and Glen). If the cowardly Journalists continue to dismiss allegations that the Bush Administration broke the law, we will beat them over the head with the story until they say okay, I get it (Josh, what can I say? Is mere thanks enough for the extra ordinary job you do. I think not).

I will leave Ms. Parker with the following, in case she still does not get it:

Headstones and Head Games

2007-04-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

As previously stated, my Dominionist friends do not have the votes to force their will on an informed electorate, at least not for the moment. To accomplish their goal of overthrowing our Democratic Government, they need to chip away at it bit by bit. Freedom is not something that disappears in an instant, the gradual removal of civil liberties must be done slowly, so people can get use to them without realizing they are gone (frog in a pot method).

This brings us to an article last week in the WaPo, but one that did not get a lot of National Airtime:

Administration Yields on Wiccan Symbol

By Alan Cooperman

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 24, 2007; Page A12

some documents suggested the VA had political motives for rejecting the pentacle

For almost ten f*cking years the VA played games with the Wiccan Veterans, because a strong Dominionist Policy exists in the Republican Congress and the Presidency, low keyed, but always targeting minority/poor/marginal groups who often do not have majority support. So ingrained was this naked bigotry that the lawsuit against the National Cemetery Administration went all the way up to oral arguments before they caved in. The NCA knew that it did not have a legal leg to stand on and it still insisted on delaying the inevitable (at the cost of $225,000 of your taxpayer dollars for legal cost). Meshungina!

The war against Wicca was an attempt to slip into the mainstream ideas that the average Joe/Josephine would reject if they substituted Cross for Pentagram (religious tolerance in America is mixed but improving). The “faith-based” inmate ministry is another example of this.

When Judge Robert Pratt ruled against the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, American Enterprise Institute Professor Joseph Knippenberg agreed with him. Some major points:

There is no comparable secular or religious program elsewhere in the Iowa prison system. Inmates who want a long-term comprehensive rehabilitation program have no other choices.

The living conditions and privileges afforded InnerChange participants are sufficiently superior to those afforded the general prison population as to be incentives to join the program. In effect, inmates are rewarded for their participation in a religious program.

Did the Mark Earley, President of Interchange deny this. Hell no, he was proud of it! And while acknowledging that IFI's program is "faith-based" Earley attempts to down play this idea, insisting that that Muslims, Wiccans, and Druids have all graduated from the program, which does not require inmates to convert to Christianity.

Why does the idea of freedom of conscience so offend the Dominionist. That is for my next entry. The answer may not be what you think.

Am I Psychic or Just Lucky

2007-04-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm just lucky. As an associate member of CSICOP and a confirmed skeptic, I happen to know that all of that paranormal stuff is a load of fertilizer (Magical Thinking).

Somethings however are not funny, even if they do not make the Six O'clock news:

They’re at it again: A week since the SCOTUS began dismembering Roe anti-choice lunatics are terrorizing women’s clinics, as reported by the Associated Press in a very brief piece headlined, “Explosive found at Austin women’s clinic.”

...The national press? Aside from 97 words from the AP and a brief mention from CNN —nothing (according to a Nexis search at 5:15 pm today).

Manifestations of the devils agents, and therefore worthy of death. While this is truly an amazing coincidence, it does illustrate a major point in my previous blog entry (thank you for the education Mr. Clarkson) about how the Dominionist think and why. Even in 2007 under the reign of King George II , they have not gone away.

(Hat tip to Femniste. Mr. Clarkson has a post on Talk to Action about Lake of fire, a film that explores the taboo subject of Domestic Terrorism against Providers and Clinics).

Update I: They caught the Son of a B*tch. Score one for the good guys. Still not much about this in the national press.

A Prison, a Perception and a Prayer

2007-04-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

This past February most of the Lapdog Press fixated on Speaker Pelosi's Plane while the following article went unnoticed in the Washington Post:

Ban on Prison Religious Program Challenged

By Peter Slevin

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 25, 2007; Page A13

This is just one of many stealth attempts by what has been misleadingly called the Christian Right to use the power of the State to push a biblical government on a secular society.

Now we have to define two things up front: Who am I talking about and what do they believe? I am referring to a political movement, NOT A RELIGION. It is not as organized as the DNC or GOP, but it does have it's own party website. And while this sounds like the ravings of a lunatic, the Constitution Party really does want to replace our Democratic form of Government with a Theocracy based on their interpretation of the Old Testament.

Mission Statement
Constitution Party Mission Statement

The mission of the Constitution Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations.

Not all believers in Reconstructionist theory belong to the CP. The Republican Party has been infiltrated by these religious fascists over the past 25 years. But how do Dominionist or "Constitutionalist" differ from standard conservatives (even religious ones) when it comes to dealing with the opposition party.

Okay, while it seems incredible it is none the less true: Dominionist elements of the Christian Right believe that those who oppose them are not political opponents with a different governing philosophy. They see them as demons or agents of Satan, literally the Devils minions on Earth. And because they believe that fighting against liberals/gays/ clinic workers is a form of religious warfare, then anything goes, including voter disenfranchisement (Florida), arrest with out trial (Gitmo), arson (abortion clinics) and murder ( abortion doctors).

At this point, some will think the Commander is smoking the good stuff. No I am not:

Utah County GOP delegate links illegal immigration to Satan

By Deborah Bulkeley

Deseret Morning News
Thursday, April 26, 2007

Until you understand the World View of these "spiritual warriors" you can not devise an opposition strategy. Attempting a political dialogue is useless; these people can not be reasoned with or persuaded with conventional political debate. Writer Joe Bageant wrote the following article in May 2004:

The Covert Kingdom
Thy Will be Done, On Earth as It is in Texas

By JOE BAGEANT

Given how fundamentalists see the modern world, they may as well be living in Iraq or Syria, with whom they share approximately the same Bronze Age religious tenets. They believe in God, Rumsfeld's Holy War and their absolute duty as God's chosen nation to kick Muslim ass up one side and down the other. In other words, just because millions of Christians appear to be dangerously nuts does not mean they are marginal.So yeah, they are dangerously nuts. But is Bageant right about their influence (40% of the electorate?) During the election of Nov 2006, CNN exit polls show no change in so called evangelical supporters.

70% of White Evangelicals, those that are mostly likely to follow Christian Reconstructionist or Dominionist beliefs still voted for Bush despite Iraq/Katrina/Jobs disappearing, so the first part seems to be true. But Bageants claim not withstanding, the fact that the D's regained control of Congress demonstrated that it was not enough. The followers of Dominion beliefs and their lackeys do not yet have the numbers to get themselves elected unless the majority of their fellow citizens remain politically silent.

The movement is very patient and tends to take the long view. But they are not omnipotent, and sometimes individual Dominionist forget that they only hold elected office by not calling attention to themselves or openly defying the law. The folly of Roy and his Rock or the Schiavo affair shows what happens when a Dominionist abandons the Stealth Strategy that bought them to power.

Courts, Control and Domionist Christians

2007-04-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Lost among the Virginia Tech Shooting this week was a decision by the nine black robes (aka the Supremes) to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban of 2003. The term PBA is a is a non-medical term coined by abortion opponents with no scientific rational (but a nice sounding name if you want to push a particular agenda). The scientific procedure is most likely Intact dilation and extraction (IDX or Intact D&X), but again doctors who perform abortions can not be sure if they violated the law:

Did I Violate the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban?

A doctor ponders a new era of prosecution

By Warren M. Hern

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003, at 7:17 PM ET

Welcome to the rabbit hole Alice, where the controllers attempt to run your lives. As Rachel Maddow of Air America pointed out in "King" Kennedy's tortured written opinion, the paternalistic crap that he spews toward our female citizens is sickening:

Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child... Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful moral decision...While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained... Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow...

In a decision so fraught with emotional consequence some doctors may prefer not to disclose precise details of the means that will be used, confining themselves to the required statement of risks the procedure entails. From one standpoint this ought not to be surprising. Any number of patients facing imminent surgical procedures would prefer not to hear all details, lest the usual anxiety preceding invasive medical procedures become the more intense. This is likely the case with the abortion procedures here in issue.

Oh puhleese doctor Kennedy, spare me such a choice, I am getting the vapors. I'll just head back home and bake you some cookies like a good little wifey.

As Justice Ruth the convert says in her minority opinion, sexist crap:

Revealing in this regard, the Court invokes an antiabortion shibboleth for which it concededly has no reliable evidence: Women who have abortions come to regret their choices, and consequently suffer from "[s]evere depression and loss of esteem." Ante, at 29.7 Because of women's fragile emotional state and because of the "bond of love the mother has for her child," the Court worries, doctors may withhold information about the nature of the intact D&E procedure...The solution the Court approves, then, is not to require doctors to inform women, accurately and adequately, of the different procedures and their attendant risks...Instead, the Court deprives women of the right to make an autonomous choice, even at the expense of their safety.

This way of thinking reflects ancient notions about women's place in the family and under the Constitution--ideas that have long since been discredited. Compare Bradwell v. State(1872) ("Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender. The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life. ... The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfil[l] the noble and benign offices of wife and mother."), with United States v. Virginia(1996) (State may not rely on "overbroad generalizations" about the "talents, capacities, or preferences" of women; "[s]uch judgments have ... impeded ... women's progress toward full citizenship stature throughout our Nation's history")

For those who believe this decision only effects women of loose morals who get an abortion for convenience, your stoned. This is the result of a battle that has been waged since 1800 (Yeah, that long. Go to page 6. Or better still buy the book) between two competing political ideology's that want to run the United States, Theocracy vs. Democracy. The PBA is the most successful and least understood victory for the modern version of Theocratic Politics: Dominionism or Christian Reconstructionism. The War against Women is only the mearest fraction of the Dominionist agenda.

In future posts I will expand on how the stealth campaign waged by the Dominionist has succeeded in infiltrating ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT; and how this may lead to an overthrow of our Democracy. For those who think they have handle on it, you may not have a clue how bad it really is.

Gods, Guns and Gays

2007-04-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

A shooting has just occurred at Virginia Tech yesterday morning, with a final body count of 33, including the gun man, plus an equal number wounded. It had all the symptoms of a spree killer, the the type of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) with no discernible pattern for a random act of violence that usually ends in suicide.

After the usual period of morning at this senseless tragedy, the focus will eventually turn to one of the three elements of the trifecta that has allowed the former Republican majority to dominate politics from 1994 to 2006, while engaging in a form of class warfare that has screwed the middle class.

My Republican friends are absolutely ruthless when exploiting the fear of Gay marriage terrorist threatening American Values, but this is nothing compared to using gun ownership as a wedge issue. Aided by the NRA, and its legal arm the ILA, this once proud hunting and firearms organization has been so radicalized in the last two decades that President Bush Senior resigned his life time membership (in a 1995 fundraising letter NRA President LaPierre referred to the Secret Service agents who protected President Bush as 'jack booted thugs').

The alliance of the Movement Conservatives and the NRA has been so successful that in 2007, any firearms legislation no matter how reasonable is deemed a threat to liberty; and no politician, D, I or R will bring it up. The Bush administration and the Republican Congress have allowed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) that defined and banned "large capacity ammunition feeding devices" (magazines with capacities of greater than ten rounds) to lapse.

...Because he killed and injured so many victims in a short span of time, some people speculated that Cho used high-capacity magazines containing as many as 33 rounds in each clip.

Under the federal assault-weapons ban enacted in 1994, magazines were limited to 10 rounds. But that ban was allowed to expire in 2004..."The key thing that we have seen in all of these school shootings is easy access to high firepower weapons," said Daniel Vice, an attorney with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "These killings can't be done with baseball bats and knives."

And what of polls and the people? Who do the majority favor, the Brady center or the NRA. According to Harris and Gallup 2004, the majority have said that while they reject the idea of gun ownership being illegal, they would have liked the AWB renewed and stricter laws on the sale of Firearms. (It would not be the first time that a small but well funded group of individuals could affect policy for the rest of us, even if they do so opposite what people actually believe. The lapdog beltway pundits excel at this sort of thing).

If you read this far, you may ask where am I going with this. Well, just one final thought no matter where you stand on guns ownership. According to DOJ, since 1976 Bureau of Justice Statistics show gun homicides have varied between 11,000 to 15,000 per year. Locking up people in large numbers does not affect gun murders:

Between 1974 and 2001, the prevalence of imprisonment increased by nearly 3.8 million. This included a 1.1 million increase in the number of adults in prison (up from 216,000) and a nearly 2.7 million increase in the number of living former prisoners (up from 1,603,000).

My question for those who believe that gun ownership laws should be less restrictive is; can you live with this murder rate? Because under our present rules, it the hidden price you have to pay for your guns.

Logic, Cthia, Reality-Truth

2007-04-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Commander loves science based fiction, whether print, audio or visual. In addition to old masters Heinlein, Asimov, Vonnegut (we miss you Kurt, RIP), Turtledove, etc.; one of my favorite authors is Diane Duane.

Spocks World was a novel she wrote in 1988, which among other things gave rise to the Vulcan word Cthia, poorly translated as logic, but more correctly meaning reality-truth.

Amanda: It's the modern Vulcan word that we translate as 'logic'. But what it more correctly means is 'reality-truth.' The truth about the universe, the way things really are, rather then the way we would like them to be...The concept says that if we do not tell the universe the truth about itself, if we do not treat it and the people in it as what they are-real and precious-it will turn against us, and none of our affairs will prosper.

After reading this particular gem, I realized that it codified what has always been my life's philosophy, the Universe is what it is, not what we wish it to be.

It is something we Libs only half jokingly refer to as being a 'proud member of the reality based community.' Ron Suskind wrote in the Oct 2004 issue of New York Times Magazine what would become the Gold Standard for how decisions are made in Bush 43 administration. The story is a little strange and extremely frightening:

...I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. ..and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.''...''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''

Not exactly Cthia. And after all that has happened 2 1/2 years latter; e.g. Katrina, Iraq, Walter Reed, etc., you would think that those on the other side have finally gotten it? Well you would be wrong. The latest insight from Charles Krauthammer:

The Surge: First Fruits

By Charles Krauthammer

Friday, April 13, 2007; Page A17

By the day, the debate at home about Iraq becomes increasingly disconnected from the realities of the war on the ground. The Democrats in Congress are so consumed with negotiating among their factions the most clever linguistic device to legislatively ensure the failure of the administration's current military strategy -- while not appearing to do so -- that they speak almost not at all about the first visible results of that strategy.

The news from Anbar is the most promising. Only last fall, the Marines' leading intelligence officer there concluded that the United States had essentially lost the fight to al-Qaeda. Yet just this week, the Marine commandant, Gen. James Conway, returned from a four-day visit to the province and reported that we "have turned the corner."

Evidently somebody forgot to tell the International Herald Tribune that the El Anbar Provence was secured:

(15 April 2007)The U.S. military also announced three U.S. troop deaths, The Associated Press reported. A soldier was killed Sunday while trying to reach an Iraqi police unit under attack in southern Baghdad. Another soldier died Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded while the unit was on a foot patrol south of Baghdad. And marine died the same day in combat in Anbar province.

Why are there no Vulcan's around when you need them. If someone wanted to give me an early Hanukkah present, they would send the President, the Pundits an the Press back to school and give them a crammed course in reality-truth.

Looking for a Head, Losing your Head, and Giving Head

2007-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Commander is back from a short vacation after visiting his mother in Lost Wages, NV. Because she had a dial-up connection, accessing the net was difficult, so no new posts last week.

The morning addition of the WaPo had the following article by Baker and Ricks:

3 Generals Spurn the Position of War 'Czar'

Bush Seeks Overseer For Iraq, Afghanistan

By Peter Baker and Thomas E. Ricks

Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 11, 2007; Page A01

Suppose you look for someone to head your government agency, and no one volunteers? Speaks volumes about The Bush Administration and Iraq, ya think?

Which leads into the idea most eloquently expressed by The Nations Ms. Katrina vanden Heuvel on Monday Nights Colbert Report:

The Nation Magazine opposed this war from the beginning because we understood what a disaster it would be.

We never lost our head; while too much of the Media gave head.

That about sums it up.

When three former Generals, one of whom was in charge of NATO conclude that Iraq War II is such a total Cluster F*ck as to be beyond salvaging, who do I blame?

The Son of a Bush. A little bit, but there is plenty of evidence he is just a figurehead.
"Tricky" Dick Cheney and his Neo-Con Posse. A little bit more, but it's not like they didn't announce to the World their intentions.
The American People for being foolish enough to reelect these fools. Once again only a little. In 2007 the forces of media consolidation have actually nullified the advantages of the information age.

The Main Stream Media. Hell yeah.

Six choices my friends. Six choices that are the news source for majority of Americans. And if the Media Whores are still giving head, what does that say about the chances that the Iraqi bloodbath will end any time soon?

Power, Politics and People

2007-04-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

One of my frequent nicknames for President George Bush is "The Flightsuit in Chief". It is not original, I got it from Treadeau's book Talk to the Hand.

But it does convey the sheer arrogance of the man, the Swaggering, Juvenile Chief Executive whose attitude varies from a petulant 4 year old to a college frat boy. He is intellectually incurious, and is unable to string two coherent sentences together on the rare occasions he inclines to discuss policy instead of photo ops (some in the media considered this to be a sign that Bush was increasingly comfortable with the responsibilities of the office after he was appointed in 2001).

Which brings us to the pass week, some 6 years and multiple disasters later (Katrina, Iraq, CIA leak, etc.). The showdown is between the will of Congress to exercise the will of the majority of US Citizens and try and get us out of the Iraq quagmire by 2008. The FSIC says he will veto any spending bill that sets deadlines for withdrawal:

Bush denies isolation from party, public (By Peter Baker)

He strode alone into the Rose Garden and complained that “it has now been 57 days’’ since he asked Congress for more money for the Iraq war and still has not gotten it. For US President George W Bush, the fight over war-spending legislation has become the only talking point – an opportunity, his strategists hope, to demonstrate strength and turn the tables on a Democratic Congress that may be overreaching.

But as he answered questions on Tuesday before heading off for an Easter break, Bush was confronted with another narrative, this one about friends and voters losing faith in his leadership. He is not, he said in response to a question, more “isolated from his own party in Congress’’ than any president of the past half-century, as one conservative columnist wrote. He has not, he said, lost his “gut-level bond with the American public,’’ as the chief strategist of his 2004 campaign wrote.

Instead, Bush presented himself as an unwavering leader trying to avoid the “cauldron of chaos’’ he believes Iraq would become if Democrats succeed in forcing him to withdraw US troops from Iraq. He sees the broader threat that others overlook and will do what needs to be done to defend against it, the president said, even though he knows his path is tormenting the country.

What is it About Democrats that keep normal rules from applying?

2007-04-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

A series of recent articles by such concerned trolls like Johnny the Pod Person (hat tip to Crooks and Liars):

ATTORNEYS' FEE

By John Podhoretz

March 30, 2007

and occasional honest reporters (who knew?) like Goldstein and Eggen:

Prosecutor Posts Go To Bush Insiders

By Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen

Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, April 1, 2007; Page A01

About one-third of the nearly four dozen U.S. attorney's jobs that have changed hands since President Bush began his second term have been filled by the White House and the Justice Department with trusted administration insiders.tie hand in hand with the following from Olbermanns Show Countdown (video only, transcript not yet available). Speaking to Constitutional law Professor Jonathan Turley; Mr. O cuts through the noise and gets to that which must not be named by the Lapdog press:

Olbermann: Does it seem as if most of these scandals surrounding this Administration...have the underling theme of Karl Rove attempting to use the resources of the Federal Government To insure his dream of a permanent Republican Majority?

Turley: Well there is no question that that was what he was planning to do, and had at least one meeting a week for the last seven years to do that. That's the thread that...ties this Justice Department Scandal together...It was a concerted effort to put their people in and SCREW THE DEMOCRATS (emphasis mine).

They broke all precedent and started to bring voter fraud indictments just before the election to make it seem like the Democrats were the corrupt party...almost always in swing states. The prosecutors fired, with only one exception, all came from swing states.

Okay, anyone who does not drink the Koolaid or work for the 500 knows that this is true. Digby and Wolcott have covered it. Hell, the operatives of the Movement Conservatives thought they had achieved it after the D's lost in Nov 2004:

Many wonder what it will take to restore social civility to Washington...Republican Grover Norquist..proffered a solution, telling us that Democrats must accept the finality of their powerlessness.

"...Once the minority of House and Senate are comfortable in their minority status, they will have no problem socializing with the Republicans. Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant, but when they've been fixed, then they are happy and sedate..."

What drives your old Sarge nuts is Republican and Mainstream anger when the Democrats insist on exercising the power they received from winning the election of '06. From Commander Codpiece down to the Con Mouthpieces and their enablers, these crazy bastards think that ANY attempt to restore the rule of law and document an accurate history of the last 6 years is bad. For the good of the Country the Democrats should just ignore all the laws that were broken, the politicizing of ALL areas of government and most significant; the machinations of Rove and his attempts to F*ck them over. Just be content with majority status and let bygones be bygones.

Has the entire planet gone crazy? Maybe IOKIYAR is a physical law rather then an amusing acronym. I mean, no D, I or R actually believes the D's will just let it go. No one is that stupid.

UPDATE I:
Okay I was wrong. The NYT almost makes me believe that:

...Whatever the immediate objective, Mr. Rove seems focused on one overarching goal: creating a permanent Republican majority, even if that means politicizing every aspect of the White House and subverting the governmental functions of the executive branch.UPDATE II:

Once again WaPO's Johnny the Wise (remember him) repeats the canard that all this investigation is "politically risky":

Democrats To Widen Conflict With Bush

By Jonathan Weisman

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 2, 2007; Page A01

Leon E. Panetta, who was a top White House aide when President Bill Clinton pulled himself off the mat through repeated confrontations with Congress, sees the same risk...Panetta said. "If they go into total confrontation mode on these other things, where they just pass bills and the president vetoes them, that's a recipe for losing seats in the next election."Committee to Reclaim Americas Principles (CRAP). When the opposition and their lapdogs give you friendly advice to "help you" with the next election, hang on to your wallets. Digby sums up this patronizing Bullsh*t.

Smart about Politics but Clueless about Technology

2007-03-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sid Blumenthal has an excellent post in Salon (if you are not registered, you need to watch a short advertisement to get a day pass) about the efforts of the Bush Administration apparatchiks to cover their tracks by avoiding the use of the official White House Email System.

...Last week the National Journal disclosed that Karl Rove does "about 95 percent" of his e-mails outside the White House system, instead using a Republican National Committee account. What's more, Rove doesn't tap most of his messages on a White House computer, but rather on a Blackberry provided by the RNC.

...The offshoring of White House records via RNC e-mails became apparent when an RNC domain, gwb43.com (referring to George W. Bush, 43rd president), turned up in a batch of e-mails the White House gave to House and Senate committees earlier this month. Rove's deputy, Scott Jennings, former Bush legal counsel Harriet Miers and her deputies strangely had used gwb43.com as an e-mail domain.

Now your old Sarge is only a beginner in this IT bidness (I have an AS in Computer Information Technology), but I am almost certain the White house is clueless about technology:

Because e-mail connects through many routers and mail servers on its way to the recipient, it is inherently vulnerable to both physical and virtual eavesdropping. Current industry standards do not place emphasis on security; information is transferred in plain text, and mail servers regularly conduct unprotected backups of e-mail that passes through. In effect, every e-mail leaves a digital papertrail in its wake that can be easily inspected months or years later.

Bottom line, emails do not disappear from the Web after you send them.You can wipe data on your PC's hard drive, but if you send data to someone using the network, forget it (If anybody reading this believes that I'm in error, let me know).

If the D's have the political will to take this investigation all the way to the end, they will find out what was sent on domain gwb43.com. The only thing that can stop them is Johnny the Robber and a majority of the Supremes.

Honor, Loyalty and Duty

2007-03-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Congress passed a bill yesterday to continue financing operations in Iraq. Acceding to the wishes of the MAJORITY (60%) of Americans (Newsweek poll 3/23-25/07, scroll down to the bottom), it requires a troop withdrawal by 2008. Predictably the 101st Fighting Keyboardist denounced this bill as the “cut and run act”.

As a 20 year veteran of the US Army, I can ignore the Chicken hawk choir. But for those veterans on the other side who disagree and actually walked the walk, I say this.

I never gave much thought that I was risking death to protect my country, and by the grace of Hashem and/or the Universe I was lucky to avoid 2 wars and 5 police actions while on active duty (see Commander Oggs Rule #5 at the bottom of this blog). I'm a cynic by nature, and while honor, loyalty and duty are the words I may live by, I'll deny in a Court of law that I actually believe in them (One of the reasons I joined the Military was a belief in a steady paycheck and health insurance).

But if I may be serious for a minute (I can do serious), loyalty and duty are a two way street. I never questioned the orders of those appointed above me, but I was lucky enough to serve for most of my career with good officers and civilians who would not throw my life away like sausage in a meat grinder. If I was ever required to storm the beach or take the hill, live or die; I knew that there was a strategy that would lead to victory.

The newly elected Democratic MAJORITY in Congress has sent this Administration a message: After four years of war without a valid operational, tactical or strategic plan, enough is enough! Accountability is the new watch word. No more sound bites, patriotic slogans or pimping 9/11. No more sausage. And if the clueless Gang of 500 is too stupid to see that, f*ck'em.

If ordered back to duty I would go tomorrow. But I will no longer support a war that the in my opinion the President has ordered us to loose (or at least delay). Given recent polling data From the Pew Research Center, odds look good for a Democratic to take the Presidency in 2008. It would be in Bush's best interest to try and dump this mess in the lap of the new administration to protect his legacy as the Commander in Chief.

The Problem That Will Not Go Away

2007-03-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

An excellent series of posts by Salons Glenn Greenwald highlights just how serious this Attorney General scandal is for the Flight suit in Chief (hat tip to Kos) and exactly why it will not go away:

In one sense, this clip is completely typical of how our national media thinks and talks about political matters. .

Just as was true for their virtually unanimous insistence that there was no wrongdoing worth investigating in the Plame case -- including the serial lying and obstruction of justice from the Vice President's top aide, one of the most powerful people in the White House -- they also see nothing wrong whatsoever with serial lying and corruption by the Attorney General in this case.

Think about this: there are only two instances in the last six years where real investigations occurred in any of the Bush scandals -- this U.S. attorneys scandal (because Democrats now have subpoena power) and the Plame case (due to the fluke of two Republican DOJ officials with integrity, James Comey and Patrick Fitzgerald). And in both cases, it was revealed conclusively that top Bush officials...repeatedly and deliberately lied about what they did...Imagine what would be revealed had there been real investigations...of all the other scandals that ended up dying an inconsequential death due to neglect and suppression.

And thus we have the reason that President Bush has avoided responsibility for bending or breaking the law: All other scandals that ended up dying an inconsequential death due to neglect and suppression.

If I may quote Bele of Charon (despite the MSM's effort to marginalize the scandal or flip the Narrative); the D's are sending a message to the R's and the 500: "not this time you evil mound of filth, not this time".

Again Glen Greenwald:

There is one thing and one thing only distinguishing this U.S. attorneys scandal from all of the others over the past six years: namely, because Democrats now have subpoena power and seem willing to use it, the administration is forced to disclose actual evidence and documents...and that evidence demonstrates that their claims are false. In the past, this is how every scandal transpired:
1. Questions about administration conduct are raised.

2. Administration denies wrongdoing.

3. Administration officials selectively and voluntarily disclose exculpatory documents, appear before Congress, assure everyone that safeguards are in place, deny wrongdoing, and claim the conduct in question is used only for proper purposes (e.g., protecting country again terrorism).

4. Administration followers -- led by those controlling Congress -- insist that no investigation is needed because Official X made clear that there are safeguards in place protecting us and everything is being done for proper purposes.

5. Congressional Republicans block Congressional investigations, compel no disclosure of evidence, do nothing to investigate administration claims.

6. Scandal ends, unresolved.

That pattern has repeated itself over and over and over for six years now...In the U.S. attorneys case, everything proceeded according to script...Alberto Gonzales did what he and other Bush officials always do: namely, issue false statements about what they did in order to conceal their wrongdoing and mislead everyone about what our Government is doing.

So now that oversight is restored and the pattern stopped dead, what happens next? Good question. Short term, "Torquemada" Gonzales resigns soon. His top aide Goodling will try and stonewall the Senate by refusing to testify before the SCJ.

Gandelman of the Moderate Voice explains why this "can only be seen as a public relations debacle for the Bush administration", and your old Sarge agrees. Before Monica M. Goodling (another Monica. Is this name cursed?!?) decided not to testify, Movement Conservatives and their MSM enablers could hang on to the thin veneer of cover that this story was pure politics.

But a claim of refusal because of a fear of self incrimination automatically implies to the lay person that:

A crime was committed.

Those who plead the 5th may have been involved.

It sucks, but that's the way it is. And the excuse that you fear a perjury charge (e.g.Libby) only adds to the question: What are you hiding that makes you so afraid?

She asked the wrong question

2007-03-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

The latest blog entry from Ms. Joan Walsh (Refuting Karl Rove's talking points) starts out with the following teaser:

Only five of almost 500 attorneys have been fired midterm in the last 25 years. Can we stop saying what Bush did is just what every president does?

I do not mean to disagree with Ms. Walsh, but she is asking the wrong question. The actual question should be:

Can the lapdog, media whoring, gang of 500 pre$$titutes stop saying what Bush did is just what every president does?

With the exception of Mr. Keith Olbermann, I can say with complete certainty that the answer is NO. No matter how many times websites like Media Matters for America or the Daily Howler point out the stenography instead of the reporting, the MSM does not do fact checking. It is against company policy.

To attempt to get the gang of 500 to stop doing he said/she said reporting is like trying to teach a pig to sing. It waste your time and annoys the pig.

UPDATE: Welcome to the Commanders Place SPOCKO. Until your comments I was not sure anyone actually read this blog.

Larry Meeks, Obama, and the Myth of White Racisim

2007-03-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Mr. Meeks,

I read the following in your column Ethnically Speaking on 21 Mar 2007. The reader was asking why most of black America supports Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama for president. You replied:

...Since his (Martin Luther Kings) death, a number of self-appointed black leaders have risen. They have made a fortune playing the race card with civil unrest and extorting white Americans...
If a black man like Barack Obama is elected president, it will be a severe blow to the black myth and the self-appointed black leadership. It will be very difficult for black leaders to make demands to a black who does not participate in their rhetoric...

Yes, I guess people like Mr. Allen:

Mr. Lott:

And The Mysterious Blond lady during the campaign of Harold Ford:

Are living proof that only those evil, self appointed black leaders play the race card to advance their politics.

Some of us might believe that a preference for Hillary over Barack might be that African Americans think she would be better able to address issues that concern their community.

Or maybe it just proves that Mr. Larry Meeks is a naive fool.

Leonard Pitts, Master Wordsmith

2007-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Frequently on these posts you will see the Commander using the term the Master Blogger or the Master Comedian. But what exactly is the criteria for Master.

When I say someone is a Master, we are talking about the best of the best of the best, to use the old cliche'. Take the Master Wordsmith Leonard Pitts, as an example:

Blind loyalty led Bush's team into big sinkhole

By LEONARD PITTS Jr.

Mon, Mar. 19, 2007

It is this notion -- that being a ''loyal Bushie'' is a qualification for getting or keeping a job -- that rankles. And if any of this sounds like déjà vu all over again, that's only because you've been paying attention. Indeed, the revelations spilling out of Gonzales' office are distressingly familiar.

Take Brownie -- please. You remember Michael Brown. Guy had zero experience in disaster management. So naturally, he wound up as head of FEMA, the federal disaster management agency. He was, after all, a ''loyal Bushie'' -- a friend of a Bush friend. Not that that helped him when a hurricane named Katrina came knocking.

The flow of Mr. Pitts words are breathtaking. Even if you disagree with what he says, and I have on occasion, his ability to put ideas on paper with a clean elegant form of expression is remarkable. It is a style that is uniquely his own, as though the medium of communication, the written word, does not exist and you can imagine him talking to you personally.

Read some of his previous columns. No weasel words, no lying, even a grudging realization that some may disagree with his opinion concerning a recent "death" in the Comic Book Universe:

In the real world, meantime, American troops continue to die in a conflict predicated on bad readings of worse intelligence. And the National Security Agency eavesdrops on American phone calls and e-mails. And the Transportation Security Administration might put your name on its ''no-fly'' list and you can neither find out why nor appeal. And prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are in their fifth year of indefinite detention, no charges filed.

And if all that's just fine with some of us -- ''We're at war!'' they like to shout -- others of us watch with trepidation. We marvel -- no pun intended -- at how blithely the nation has mortgaged its moral authority, international prestige and sense of national mission. We wonder where America went. We wonder if we will ever get her back.

The flow of ideas. Would that we could all communicate like Mr. Pitts. I would give a months pay to have even half of his ability.

Investigation or Legislation?

2007-03-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

The main political topic this week were emails that suggested the firing of 8 Federal Prosecutors in the Bush DOJ was motivated by politics instead of performance (yeah, I know, shocking).

Washington Insider and professional lapdog David Broder wrote the following in his latest column:

Congress's Oversight Offensive

By David S. Broder

Sunday, March 18, 2007; Page B07

Ten weeks into the new Congress, it is clear that revelation, not legislation, is going to be its real product.

While President Bush threatens to use his veto pen to stop some bills and Senate Republicans block other measures from even reaching his desk, no force in Washington can halt the Democrats' investigative juggernaut from uncovering the secrets inside this administration.

As always with all members of the gang of 500, Broder manages to state that this is a bad thing for the Democrats:

You have to feel a twinge of sympathy now for the Bush appointees who suddenly find unsympathetic Democratic chairmen such as Henry Waxman, John Conyers, Patrick Leahy and Carl Levin investigating their cases...

...Accountability is certainly important, but Democrats must know that people were really voting for action on Iraq, health care, immigration, energy and a few other problems. Investigations are useful, but only legislation on big issues changes lives.

Mind you, a month ago on Feb 16th I had posted a comment about Broder writing that Bush was alleged "poised for a comeback":

Bush Regains His Footing

One month latter the President, far from "regaining his footing" has slipped and fell down so badly even Spidermans super power could not help him. So Clueless Lapdogs like Broder must shift to a new script, all these investigations will somehow hurt the Democrats.

I would be beating a dead horse if I repeated the number of times that the main stream media had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table and be forced to report the news. But pre$$titution aside, we may wish to consider Broders question about whether these investigations hurt the D's. Should the focus be on legislation?

I can say without qualification, not only no but Hell No. The master blogger Digby writes:

Brownstein is a good reporter...but today he betrayed a little bit of that beltway reflexive dismissiveness of anything "the left" finds important. He said that Waxman needed to pick his battles better because playing to the liberal blogosphere with hearings like this will create the same problems for Democrats that Republicans found themselves in when they went after Clinton. Setting aside the fact that the Republicans' "problems" resulted in them holding all three branches of government for six years, this sounds to me like one of those tired GOP talking points that reporters love to parrot because it distances them from the hippies.

Six years Mr. Broder. And this was from investigations that were 100% Bullsh*t. How many years will the R's be out of power when the D's start to investigate and uncover actual crimes? 10? 20?

Of course if you are a partisan who "drinks the kool aid", maybe you truly believe the Bush Administration committed no crimes. In that case however, I am not the one you need to convince.

Professionals, Politicial hacks and Patrick Fitzgerald

2007-03-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

The verdict came in this Tuesday afternoon in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, guilty on 4 out of 5 counts. If you've been living in a cave these last three years and don't know the particulars of the case, go to the following link from the UK Guardian.

The fine folks at Firedoglake did a first rate job blogging the trial, so I will not step on their toes (but I do urge anyone reading this to show them some love with a paypal donation).

Among the most under reported but significant events (IMHO) is the news conference given by the lead investigator Patrick Fitzgerald immediately after the jury's verdict:

Reporter

Fitzgerald

That is different from what ordinary prosecutors do, we file charges and then we are obliged to prove them, or we don’t file charges. And there has been criticism about whether the independent councils should be filing reports because sometimes you say things about people that you are not prepared to prove in court and I think that was an appropriate criticism of it.

I am bound by the laws of grand jury secrecy. I am bound by the laws that we don’t talk abut people who have not been charged, so we are not going to be opening up our file draws, handing them over to you guys to write newspaper articles or magazine articles or books or whatever you want to do, that’s not the system

And part of that I think we ought to appreciate as citizens is fair, if you want people to come and tell the truth, and you tell them that if you talk to us there is grand jury secrecy. There are protections for you; we have to live by our word. And we gave our word to have people talk to us, and unless we file charges or it becomes public as it does at a trial, that’s it.A Pro from Dover, as said by Gould in the original movie version of M*A*S*H. And because the last major use of the independent or special prosecutor was Kenneth Starr, a comparison of the two is not without merit.

What are the differences between Starr and Fitzgerald? Simply put, Fitzgerald was a professional investigator attempting to see if a crime had been committed. Starr was a partisan hack who at the bequest of the Republican Congress attempted to find a crime in order to bring down a popularly elected Chief Executive that the R's could not defeat in an election.

Proof, you may ask? Disregarding the various books on the subject, from Conasons "The Hunting of the President" to Blumenthals "The Clinton Wars", the unprofessional conduct of Mr. Starr is a matter of the Public Record:

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

Contrast the above order with the statement by Mr. Fitzgerald I am bound by the laws of grand jury secrecy.

Bound by the laws. Mr. Fitzgerald was a professional all during the Libby trial. If my Republican friends were not blinded by the right, Fitzgerald would be embraced as the model of moral and ethical behavior, a tough on crime manly man who takes no sh*t from the liberal, criminal coddling, card carrying members of the ACLU (full disclosure, I am one of them).

And because he was a professional, the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby ended with guilty on 4 of 5 counts, the exact opposite of Starr's pathetic attempt to convict Susan McDougal and Julie Steele on similar charges.

But in the land of the RWNM, enablers of the Net, the Print, the Radio and the Television believe in politics first and law second. Thomas Sowell's mantra of No one is above the law is replaced by complicated laws regulating too many things. And when you attempt to confront Sowell with such naked hypocrisy, it is like trying to explain sight to a blind man.

War Casualties, War neglect, War Profit

2007-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Last Sundays Investigation in the Washington Post (free registration required) by Dana Priest and Anne Hull about the substandard conditions at Walter Reed Hospital:

...Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

should be no surprise to those of us who are familiar with the Crony Capitalist (thank you Joe) who have been running the joint since '94. It is part of a pattern that has come full circle since evil Clinton was no longer around to interfere 6 years ago. For those who still do not understand, this post is an introduction to Republican Government and Philosophy 100.

The modern Republican Bidness man (ah Molly, you will be missed) views Government tax money as another source of revenue. This is the Core principle that defines all other policies, that Government exist only to make a profit for Major (and occasionally minor) Corporate interest by transferring as much money from the pockets of the majority into the bank accounts of the minority.

Now it is at this point that the Lords of Loud™ will come along and scream "class warfare", as if this somehow screaming loud enough nullifies reality. But the reality of Tax money as profit can be painfully demonstrated in numerous situations, most recently in an embarrassing audit of Iraqi funds that disappeared.

So how does this relate to disbursal of tax money? When President Bush and his Republican syncopates fund certain projects and ignore others, a pattern develops; does the money add to profit to the Corporate balance sheet? Examples of good and bad projects:

Good use of tax money

Weapons Systems for high profit. Star Wars, Antimissile defence, and other such systems insure a healthy bottom line
No Bid contracts for Iraq (foreign) or Katrina (domestic). No oversight, abuse of the H-2B guest workers program, and substandard work or services when provided.
Bridge to Nowhere (yes, I do link to conservative sites if they speak the truth) or the road projects initiated after the land is bought on speculation by some Republican Congress critter.
Medicare drug plans that do not allow negotiation for lower prices and provide a coverage gap (the "donut hole") that insures maximum profit with minimum outlay.
Tax cuts and tax subsidies to increase profit.

Bad use of tax money

Head start, Aid to Family's with Dependent Children, medicare, etc. No chance for profit, as money is given directly to needy citizens.
Social Security that is not privatized. Without privatization, investors can not make a profit.
Student loans, school lunch programs, cash assistance for the elderly and disabled. Again no chance for profit.
Tax cuts that help the poor, such as Earned Income Child Credit (unless it is used to attack minimum wage)
Critical care for soldiers. Unlike weapons systems, soldiers divert needed funds without returning a profit. Veterans services also do the same, especially long term care.

The last bullet point (thanks Stephen) pretty much sums it up, even if some of my Conservative friends think that I am exaggerating the problem. The only reason there is a major investigation at Walter Reed is that the Bush administration broke the 11th commandment (1st definition).

The majority of these chickenhawk bastards don't give a damn about anything except profit. Privatise is their mantra. the free market is their religion.

But the hypocrisy of the so called true believer is out there, naked for all to see. If these crooks had to depend on market forces instead of tax cuts and tax dollars, War profiteers such as Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR would be out of business in a week.

The Commander is a capitalist, not a Ferengi (look it up). This is not the way we did business back in the day. And now that Waxman is in charge of oversight and has the power to issue subpoenas, the next two years should be very interesting.

Worst President Ever?

2007-02-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

While riding with Ms. Commander Ogg, we were listening to the Ron Reagan Show from Seattle. Mr. Reagan was talking about Presidential rankings from a political/historical view, and whether or not Bush deserved the title of worse President ever.

Opinion surveys are useless in this regard, as they usually result in nothing more then a popularity contest. (To quote one anonymous wag, opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and they all stink).

Various Scholarly Surveys from 1948 to 2005 produced a ranking of 22 out of 42 for George W Bush. By contrast, Bill Clinton was ranked 21 and George H W Bush was ranked 25.

In polls for Quinnipiac University (2006) and Washington College (2005), GWB ranked 7-8, Bill Clinton 4-5. (Reagan rated a 2).

Okay, so what about George Bush. Are the Bush Bashers™ so blinded by hatred for the President that they refuse to see how great he is? In the words of the Conservative Blog Powerline, is he:

...A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

After reviewing Bushes job performance for the last 6 years, I would most definitely say that Mr. Hinderaker is a smoker, but he does not use tobacco. Consider the following:

Like Harding, Bush is intellectually unqualified to be President, with an inability to string two coherent sentences together coupled with the manners and mannerisms of an immature teenager.

Like Hoover, Bush has a mule headed stubborn attitude that prevents him from admitting he made a mistake, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. With Hoover it was his policy's for dealing with the depression. With Bush it's his policy toward Iraq. And Bush has no superior management or business skills that Hoover used in devising a plan for the recovery of post WWII Europe.

Like Lyndon Johnson, Bush made a series of insane foreign policy decisions that have landed the US right in the middle of a sectarian civil war (even a few Republicans have been courageous enough to use the V word when talking about Iraq). And unlike Johnson, Bush has no impressive record of Civil Rights legislation to balance his failure of foreign policy.

Like Nixon, Bush has most likely bent or broken the law, specifically the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and War Crimes Act of 1996 (I say most likely because for the last 6 years the Republican Congress has done a Three Wise Monkeys act). The on going trial of Lewis Libby shows a mania for secrecy and an obsession with destroying critics of the Administration that makes Nixon's Enemies List look like a letter to the editor of the hometown paper. And once again Bush has no great Foreign Policy achievements to balance these criminal acts (Nixon going to China).

The above mentioned comparisons present a strong case for poor performance as a President when it comes to what is best for the majority of American Citizens. You can dance an spin all you want, but to deny that the Presidents policy's have lowered the standard of living for the average Joe or Josephine and endangered the future for their children is idiotic.

But if you base Presidential rankings in terms of increasing and expanding the authority of the Executive branch, Bush ranks right up with FDR. The fear that spread after 9/11 attacks allowed the President to stage an unprecedented power grab, using the "signing statement"to claim the authority disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office; asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Crap of course, but so far no one has yet to challenge this "interpretation of the Constitution" BS, least of all the Republican do nothing Congress (Bush fears the Dem's may try).

Worse President ever? Hell yes.

President Bush may be poised for a political comeback

2007-02-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

Or so writes David Broder in his February 16Th Column at the WaPo:

Bush Regains His Footing

By David S. Broder

Friday, February 16, 2007; Page A23

It may seem perverse to suggest that, at the very moment the House of Representatives is repudiating his policy in Iraq, President Bush is poised for a political comeback. But don't be astonished if that is the case.

Now mind you if you read the comments section of this article (24 pages worth as of Feb 16, 2007 7:35:51 PM), 90% or more of the readers responses vary from the bad:

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Did you see the Press Conference? Were you there?

lettuce1001

The Ugly:

What an irrelevant twit

wrolston

To the almost unprintable:

Dear Broder: How much did Karl have to pay you for this blow job of a story?

hartzem

Still in all, even if I agree with the majority of the above comments (I do), is it possible that Broder could be right? To use an old cliche', does Bush stand a "snowballs chance in hell" of staging a political comeback.

With all that we know of today, reports on the scene outside the Green Zone of Iraq, from the various government agency's and from those retired Generals that no longer work for the White House, the answer is no, not as long as Bush's legacy is tied to the success in Iraq. Because We Can Not Win.

As a soldier stationed at APG Maryland during the first few months of the Iraq War (I retired July 2003), I am honest enough to admit that I believed we would be successful. This lasted about 1 month until the first reports of the Resistance started to show up, what would later be called the "Iraqi Insurgency", a term resisted by the little Rummer Boy.

All that was foreseen by General Eric "Ric" Shinseki has come to past. The only way that the situation in Iraq can be stabilized or even reversed is with a massive troop build up of half a million personnel. Such a large enough force would provide enough security that an effective civilian infrastructure can be reestablished while at the same time combating those elements, foreign and domestic, that are hell bent on destabilizing the region.

Thanks to the sheer incompetence of the present administration, we do not have the troops or the money to accomplish this.

Mr. David broder is indeed a twit. Or a lapdog.

Space Women Nowak, Starlet Anna Nichole, Speaker Pelosi

2007-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

The title of this post could also be: 24 Hour News, 24 Hour Nonsense.

If ever you needed a crystal clear example of Eric Boehlert's term Lapdogs to describe the Main Stream News Media of America 2007, this was the "WEEK" (emphasis mine). We started the week off with several potential story's, all worthy of a Cronkite moment:

firing Seven US Attorneys

testimony

report

I could go on, but the point is that we have three separate 24 News outlets CNN, MSNBC and Fox (the last is questionable). They have lots of air time that could be filled presenting information about government policy to the Citizens of this country, critical information that could help Mr/Mrs/Ms average Joe/Josephine make informed decisions when exercising that most precious of rights, the sovereign franchise (vote to the lay person).

More powerful then any weapon in any revolution, the greatness of America is the vote; and no politician or party can avoid its deadly effect. But the key is an informed citizenry.

So what information did We the People get from our so called Watchdogs of Democracy. 100% high quality drek.

On Monday and Tuesday was the Astronaut Lady or as the master satirist Jon Stewart said:

And just as you were about to vomit from seeing this non stop for 48 hrs, the tragic death of a national icon wipes the crazy lady off the screen. Who is this VIP whose death may well paralyze the very foundations of our Democracy? The President. The Vice President. A former President. A high Government official. Wrong. Model and Actress Anna Nicole Smith:
A tragic death for sure, she was much to young to die (39). But not worthy of 48 hours of non stop coverage. Not important enough to be referenced 500 to 700% more then Iraq on the 24 News Shows (Thank you Think Progress).

But we are still not done people. The lapdogs must make sure that the critical thinking skills of the masses are so thoroughly saturated with mindless drivel that they would not dare question the Administration about Iraq, or Libby, or abuse of power. So make way for the False story about Madam Speaker Pelosi, an airplane, and the Right Wing Noise Machine™ (thank you TPM).

As I said, pablum for the Masses. An it will stay this way until we heed the words of that actor and radio host Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis:

Senator Clinton, Perfumed Pundents and Scripts

2007-02-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

For those of you who can stomach it, Goldberg of the National Review comes out with the Standard Script for Senator Clinton. It is 100% choice fertilizer, but it does not stop others in the so called MSM from attempting to give it legitimacy.

This is what Bob Somerby, aka “The Daily Howler”, refers to as perfumed pundits following the script. Not only do these stenographers insist on following the script, they get angry, testy and down right defensive when their subjects refuse to follow the script.

Remember Howard Dean, and his refusal to follow the Republican script as dutifully put out by the pre$$titutes Blitzer and Couric about "Casino" Jack Abramoff alledgedly giving money to both political partys.

Damn, but the reaction of these two “journalist” when the Doctor refuse to play the game was priceless. Wolfie looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Katydid reacted with self righteous indignation.

Howard Dean showed all Dem Politicians how to deal with lying media lapdogs, Do Not Play Their Game. If you refuse to follow the script, you can put them on the defensive and force them to deal with reality. You tell them NO, you may be a lapdog/pre$$titute/media whore, but I am not a customer. Start practicing journalism instead of stenography.

Who is Commander Ogg?

2007-01-31T14:45:00.000-08:00

Good question. His origin is in Marvel Two In One #5, but this does not say much.

We don't even know the name of the "ambitious Badoon" what got himself killed.

What we can guess is that if they were from the 21st Century instead of the 30th, they could easily have been a member of Dick Cheney Office of Special Plans.

Ted Kennedy, Labor and the Minimum Wage

2007-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

Heard Senator Ted "King" Kennedy on the Senate floor discussing Republicans attempts to kill the vote on the minimum wage (hat tip to Crooks and Liars, your source for all progressive video)

The Liberal War Horse as a passion for the poor and less fortunate that has not dimmed in the last 40 years. Living proof that being wealthy and still favoring the less fortunate are not incompatible.

One of the most persistent talking points by conservatives is that a higher minimum wage destroys small business by forcing them to cut employees because they have to pay out a higher payroll or otherwise be forced to raise prices, and this would lead to an inability to compete with businesses who could pay a lower wage. But is it true? Evidence shows that it is not.

I live in Washington, a progressive state who citizens made the choice 10 years ago to tie minimum age with inflation. As indicated by this chart from Department of Labor, minimum wage was :

Sep 3, 1964 -------$1.15
Sep 3, 1965 -------$1.25

However, the Inflation Calculator at the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that you would need to earn $8.00 per hour in 2006 to have the same buying power 40 years ago:

Because of this, Washington pays a minimum wage of $7.93.

Now we come across the following article by Egan of the NY Times (free registration required):

For $7.93 an Hour, It’s Worth a Trip Across a State Line

Across the boarder at Idaho, minimum wage is at the Federal level, $5.15 an hour. 10 years ago the business leaders predicted that small towns on the Washington side of the state line would suffer. But according to Egan:

...instead of shriveling up, small-business owners in Washington say they have prospered far beyond their expectations. In fact, as a significant increase in the national minimum wage heads toward law, businesses here at the dividing line between two economies — a real-life laboratory for the debate — have found that raising prices to compensate for higher wages does not necessarily lead to losses in jobs and profits...

...the state’s major business lobby, the Association of Washington Business, is no longer fighting the minimum-wage law, which is adjusted every year in line with the consumer price index.

...During a recession five years ago, the same group had argued that Washington’s high minimum wage law would send businesses fleeing to Idaho. The group sent out a news release with a criticism of the law from John Fazzari, who owns a family-run pizza business in Clarkston, Wash., just minutes from the Idaho town of Lewiston.
But now Mr. Fazzari says business has never been better, and he has no desire to move to Idaho.
“To tell you the truth, my business is fantastic,” he said in an interview. “I’ve never done as much business in my life.”

So, why are the Republicans so intent on amending to death a bill that actual evidence shows will help rather then hurt the both business and labor?

I suspect it is an irrational hatred of all things related to Roosevelt's New Deal coupled with an almost religious belief that even when presented with evidence, they will still worship at the alter of the market place. And the market place hates regulation.

The alternative is that the Philosophy of the Republican Party circa 2007 is an absolute hatred for the plight of the worker, an a desire to keep the average Joe poor and downtrodden. But that would be cynical of me, wouldn't it.

Lapdogs and Mediawhores at the Post

2007-01-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

For my main area of interest, politics, the biggest and most insidious spreaders of manure in the name of balance is the Main Stream Media.

Whether you call them lapdogs, Pre$$titutes, or mediawhores, the Gang of 500 excell at stenogrphy and are absolutly clueless when it comes to jounalism. In the words of the master comedian Steven Colbert:

Over the last five years you people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.
But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

Which brings me to an article by Johnny the Wise in yesterdays Washington Post concerning Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the trouble with her "aggressive management style". Reading the article twice, you would be hard press to figure what the hell Weismen is talking about.

What should immediately set off your BS detector is phrases like "Powerful committee chairmen" and "many Democrats complain". Who are these Democrats who are complaining? We don't know. Johnny the Wise only mentioned one name, Rep Marcy Kaptur, who praised the Speaker for guiding through so many popular legislative items so quickly.

Seems like Weisman has a history of shilling for the Bush administration. Surprising.

Welcome to the Commanders Place

2007-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know how long I intend to continue with this project, but I should at least give it a try.

Those of you who have read my comments in Horsesass.org or Salon may know where I am coming from. While the majority of my Political Beliefs have more in common with the Left then the Right, I am first off a Scientist, Skeptic and Freethinker.

A Freethinker, or one who believes that critical thinking is the only way to deal with life and its many challenges can find America 2006 quite an experience.

On the Right you have all sorts of magical thinking, from Abstinence Education (they don't) to the Project For the New American Century and the Office of Special Plans (when it came to invading Iraq, they did not have one).

But my Progressive brothers and sisters, with their silly stuff like unpasteurized organic food (it will kill you) and obsession with Israel (a double standard?) show that they are not immune to the passion overriding facts.

Everything in Society that effects real people with real problems that require real solutions must be based on evidence that those solutions work.

For those of you who choose to read my random thoughts, please note that while I believe in maximum freedom consistent with maximum responsibility, I live in an evidence based world. I intend to offend the hell out of a lot of people who may not be able to deal with their sacred cows being torn down.