Bill Would Allow Arrests For No Reason In Public Place

A bill on Gov. Bob Taft's desk right now is drawing a lot of criticism, NewsChannel5 reported.

One state representative said it resembles Gestapo-style tactics of government, and there could be changes coming on the streets of Ohio's small towns and big cities.

The Ohio Patriot Act has made it to the Taft's desk, and with the stroke of a pen, it would most likely become the toughest terrorism bill in the country. The lengthy piece of legislation would let police arrest people in public places who will not give their names, address and birth dates, even if they are not doing anything wrong.

WEWS reported it would also pave the way for everyone entering critical transportation sites such as, train stations, airports and bus stations to show ID.For more click Post title

Gah! Wha?

I live in Ohio. Where did this bill come from?

Update: If you live in Ohio click here to find your represenative and write him or her and voice your opinion.

Senate Rejects Extension of Patriot Act

Yes, yes, and yes!

Forbes.com: "In a stinging defeat for President Bush, Senate Democrats blocked passage Friday of a new Patriot Act to combat terrorism at home, depicting the measure as a threat to the constitutional liberties of innocent Americans.

Republicans spurned calls for a short-term measure to prevent the year-end expiration of law enforcement powers first enacted in the anxious days after Sept. 11, 2001. 'The president will not sign such an extension,' said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and lawmakers on each side of the issue blamed the other for congressional gridlock on the issue.

The Senate voted 52-47 to advance a House-passed bill to a final vote, eight short of the 60 needed to overcome the filibuster backed by nearly all Senate Democrats and a handful of the 45 Republicans.

The Patriot Act was only supposed to be temporary to begin with.

As the Stones would say, let it bleed.

Scandal Emerges Over US Wire Taps

Wha?

One News - President George W. Bush refused to discuss a report that he secretly authorized a US agency to eavesdrop on people in America but said everything he does to protect the public against terrorism is within the law.

The New York Times said Bush signed a secret presidential order after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to allow the National Security Agency to track the international telephone calls and emails of hundreds of people without the court approval normally required for domestic spying.

Uh, didn't "Tricky Dick" get himself into a bunch of hotwater for illegal wire taps?

Is history repeating itself?

Now Wait A Minute

If it is not appropriate to comment on one investigation, it is not appropriate to comment on a jury trial either.

White House Defends Bush Comments on DeLay By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 15, 8:40 PM ET WASHINGTON - The White House on Thursday defended President Bush's decision to insert himself into Tom DeLay's legal case, saying Bush was employing "presidential prerogative" when he declared the former House majority leader was innocent of criminal charges in Texas.

On Wednesday, Bush was asked during an interview on Fox News Channel whether he believed DeLay was innocent. "Yes, I do," Bush replied.

DeLay, R-Texas, was forced to step down as the No. 2 House leader in late November after he was indicted on a state charge of conspiracy to violate election laws. A second grand jury indicted him on charges of conspiracy to launder money and money laundering. The initial charge has been dismissed, but a judge has let stand the later charges.

"We don't typically tend to get into discussing legal matters of that nature. But in this instance, the president chose to respond to it," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "Call it presidential prerogative."

Bush and his aides have refused to answer almost any question related to a CIA leak case, saying it would be inappropriate.Full Text

Am I saying the President is trying to influence the case. No. But the perception is there. Also, shouldn't he just say nothing for the sake of consistency?

White House to Accept Torture Ban

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - After months of resistance, the White House has agreed to accept Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record)'s call for a law specifically banning cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror, several congressional officials said Thursday.

Under the emerging deal, the CIA and other civilian interrogators would be given the same legal rights as currently guaranteed members of the military who are accused of breaking interrogation guidelines, these officials added. Those rules say the accused can defend themselves by arguing it was reasonable for them to believe they were obeying a legal order.

Full Text

As usual one of the guys we like, Senator John McCain, sticks to his guns.  This time he came out a winner. 

Cunningham Submits Resignation; Watchdog Complains About Pension

Yes, I know this is old news by now, but man, the Republicans really aren't looking all that good right now, are they?

SFGate.com - Cunningham's congressional pension would be around $40,000 per year, according to an Office of Personnel Management formula. Only a conviction for a crime against the United States would cause him to lose it, the office said.

And yeah, I think he should lose his Congressional pension as well.

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer 48 minutes ago

Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.

"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science." more

 

Score one for the smart people.  And down with Pat Roberston:  Dear Pat Robertson: I am Catholic not a dumbass

'Go-getter,' 18, ousts mayor in Michigan

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

Michael Sessions is too young to drink champagne legally, but the 18-year-old high school senior has reason to celebrate: He unofficially won a race for mayor Tuesday by defeating the baby boomer incumbent.

Sessions, who turned 18 on Sept. 22, ran as a write-in candidate because he was too young to get on the ballot in the spring. The young politician used $700 from a summer job to fund his door-to-door campaign in Hillsdale, Mich., a town of about 9,000.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051110/pl_usatoday/gogetter18oustsmayorinmichigan

 

Good on yah, Mayor Sessions! 

 

This blog thinks, even without knowing his politics, that this gentleman embodies the spirit of what we hope to accomplish here.  Get involved.

 

I Don't Listen to Rush Limbaugh...

...but I can if I want to. However, if you are listening to tax payer funded Armed Forces Radio Rush is the only voice you can hear.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) tried to changed that with his Amendment to the DOD Authorization Bill that would have required AFR to follow its charter and have balanced programming. Notice I said, "would have." The amendment was defeated, 44-54.

If that number sounds familiar, it should. The vote went straight down party lines.

So, there will be no Ed Schultz Show on Armed Forces Radio. Even though there should be. For the same reason that I can listen to Rush Limbaugh if I choose to - freedom.

Just A Quick Thought

Something I heard on the radio today made me think: though it might not necessarily be in the best interests of U.S. (oil) interests, wouldn't it make more sense politically to divide Iraq into three countries: a Kurdish state, a Shia state, and a Sunni state?

Of course, there's the oil reserves issue because I think most of them are in the South (I'm writing nearly stream of conciousness here, so forgive me if I am wrong) so there would be some quibbling there (I know, that's an understatement), but isn't it at least something to consider?

Just a thought I had as I stayed up late writing for one website when I should be writing for another while stressing out about being unemployed, so take it for what it's worth.

A Cause Worth Supporting?

I was thinking what Sean had to say about the focus of this block, about the fact that it was not intended to be a scandal sheet. There are far too many scuzzy politicians, we know this, and it just so happens that many of them happen to be Republican right now. Though I am the bleeding heart liberal of the group I fully recognize and admit that the Dems are not immune to the "absolute power corrupts absolutely" thing. Heck, just look at the early 90's after Clinton was elected. Because of the shady dealings of the Dems the Republicans were able to sweet into victory; Adam has noted that the honestly and integrity that he saw (yes, that HE saw) have a lot to do with his joining the the GOP.

Anyhow, as I was saying, Sean's words made me think about what I could spotlight that was positive. Then, on MTV of all places, I saw a brief news clip about John Edwards and what he's been doing with his "time off":

Capital Times - "The country is hungry for a big issue - a cause, a calling - it can get involved in, Edwards told about 500 people Wednesday afternoon at the Wisconsin Union Theater. "If you don't believe me, look at the reaction to Hurricane Katrina," he said.

The government reacted slowly, while the people themselves took action, volunteering and donating money to help victims, Edwards said.

"Americans are looking for something moral and just. Something other than this mess in Iraq we are engaged in," he said to overwhelming applause.

"They need a champion. That champion is you," Edwards said, noting that college students have spurred major change in the past, from civil rights to the Vietnam anti-war movement to helping topple the apartheid system in South Africa.

Could this still be politics? Of course, but I think he's making a good point that the youth of America has had a lot to do with bringing about real change, so why not turn the focus onto something that seems to have slipped between the cracks as of late: poverty in America. Empowering people to effect change like this sounds like a good thing to me.

We are the world's richest and most powerful country, yet why do we have so many homeless. Yes, there are some people that have done this to themselves and may even deserve what happens to them, but with so many studies suggesting that a disproportionate number of homeless are mentally ill and/or drug dependent it makes me think about what could be done to help.

I don't know if I am really offering any answers here, but rather opening up the floor for discussion.

More information here. Please, feel free to leave comments.

This wasn't supposed to be a scandal sheet

I swear I am trying to find some good politicians and people worth admiring. Right now I think some of us are hoping they just stop trying to screw us.

Maybe it is the beginning of the end. Maybe it has to get worse before it gets better. I guess we won't really know until November 2006 if people are fed up or think everything is just fine.

In the meantime many local elections are taking place next week, Tuesday, November 8. Please, remember to inform yourself and go vote.

From the Your Tax $$$ Still Pay Him File

'Can I quit now?' FEMA chief wrote as Katrina raged via CNN.com

Rep. Charlie Melancon, whose district south of New Orleans was devastated by the hurricane, posted a sampling of e-mails written by Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown on his Web site on Wednesday.

The Democratic lawmaker cited several e-mails that he said show Brown's failures. In one, as employees looked for direction and support on the ravaged Gulf Coast, Brown offered to "tweak" the federal response...

The e-mails Melancon posted, a sampling of more than 1,000 provided to the House committee now assessing responses to Katrina by all levels of government, also show Brown making flippant remarks about his responsibilities.

"Can I quit now? Can I come home?" Brown wrote to Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, the morning of the hurricane.

A few days later, Brown wrote to an acquaintance, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me."

"In the midst of the overwhelming damage caused by the hurricane and enormous problems faced by FEMA, Mr. Brown found time to exchange e-mails about superfluous topics," including "problems finding a dog-sitter," Melancon said.(emphasis mine)
Full Text

In case, you didn't know he is still on salary as a consultant to FEMA at a salary of $143,000/yr. He should be arrested for negiligence but we are paying him to help figure out what went wrong. Ummm.

CIA runs secret terrorism prisons abroad: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA has been holding and interrogating al Qaeda captives at a secret facility in Eastern Europe, part of a covert prison system established after the September 11, 2001, attacks, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The Soviet-era compound is part of a network that has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand and Afghanistan, the newspaper reported, citing U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

Thailand denied it was host to such a facility.

"There is no fact in the unfounded claims," government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said.

The newspaper said the existence and locations of the facilities were known only to a handful of officials in the United States and, usually, only to the president and a few top intelligence officers in each host country. (more by clicking post title)

Alrighty then! If this is true, isn't there supposed to be Congressional oversight of the CIA? The CIA does not report to the President. Yes, he can give orders but the CIA reports to Congress. I am sure all potential detainees are being treated humanely in these "black prisons" and all parts of the Geneva Convention are being observed. Oh wait...

A Rare Show of Spine From the Democrats

Democrats Force Secret Senate Session
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Unable to win their way with votes, outnumbered Democrats used a rarely invoked Senate rule to force a secret session as a way to dramatize their assertions that the Bush administration misused intelligence in the run-up to war in Iraq.

"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why," Democratic leader Harry Reid said Tuesday in demanding that the Senate chamber be emptied of everyone but members and a few staffers.

Republicans angrily derided the use of Rule 21 — which dates back to 1795 — as a political stunt but agreed two hours later to have a bipartisan group check on how the Senate Intelligence Committee is coming along in its investigation of prewar intelligence.full text

Was this a political move? Absolutely. Do I applaud them for actually deciding to do their job? Yes. It is all of our elected representatives duty to shine the light in the dark places. It is clear now to people who don't just read the talking points that the Bush administration either falsified intelligence or relied heavily on bad intelligence to create support for and begin the invasion of Iraq. We as citizens and the soldiers who are "Fighting for our freedom" deserve answers.

If it takes invoking a Senate rule from the 18th century to do so then so be it.

Breaking News...Libby Indicted

By JOHN SOLOMON and PETE YOST, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON - Vice presidential adviser I. Lewis "Scooter' Libby Jr. was indicted Friday on charges of obstruction of justice, making a false statement and perjury in the CIA leak case.

Karl Rove, President Bush's closest adviser, escaped indictment Friday but remained under investigation, his legal status a looming political problem for the White House.

The indictments stem from a two-year investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald into whether Rove, Libby or any other administration officials knowingly revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame or lied about their involvement to investigators.more

This looks to be the first salvo. Any trial, if it ever gets to that may or may not shake out more details as the inner workings of the CIA leak.

Stay tuned.

Rove NOT To Be Charged On Friday?

That's what it sounds like, but that doesn't mean that he's safe yet...:

New York Times - Lawyers in the C.I.A. leak case said Thursday that they expected I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, to be indicted on Friday, charged with making false statements to the grand jury.

Karl Rove, President Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, will not be charged on Friday, but will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday.

Via Drudge.

Exxon Mobil Posts New Record for Profit

By STEVE QUINN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 25 minutes ago

IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp. had a quarter for the record books. The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday high oil and natural-gas prices helped its third-quarter profit surge almost 75 percent to $9.92 billion, the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company ever, and it was the first to ring up more than $100 billion in quarterly sales.more

$9.92 to billion in one quarter! Tell me again why gas, natural gas, diesel and fuel oil are so expensive. I keep hearing complaints about not enough refineries and too strict regulations that make gas etc. expensive to refine. It doesn't seem to be hurting Exxon or BP all that much.

The reason I post this hear is because the oil industry keeps asking for tax breaks for exploration and new refineries. I think we need to make sure our politicians know that we have already given enough money at the pump to fund this and don't need to put our country further in debt with tax cuts.

Miers Withdraws Under Mounting Criticism

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush ended his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court Thursday and promised a quick replacement. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party."

The White House said Miers had withdrawn her name because of a bipartisan effort in Congress to gain access to internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But politics played a larger role: Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity, and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the embattled GOP president.

This will be the story dejour until the indictments get handed out for the CIA leak probe which is likely today or tommorrow. In the meantime, wow.

Any bets, he nominates Alberto Gonzalez now?

Senator Gregg Wins $853,492 in Powerball Lottery

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican who's already a millionaire, won $853,492 playing the lottery this week. (Click post title for full story)

What?

I hope he is going to donate that money to the Red Cross or better yet - give it to the federal pension fund buy out. You know the one where when companies like Delphi declare bankruptcy so they don't have to honor contracts they signed with unions for pensions they can ask the federal government to bail them out for pennies on the dollar to the pension recipients?

What go around come around!

My apologies to Cypress Hill but this is exactly what is going on right now.

Grounded by hubris, greed Story on Yahoo/USA Today
...But long before DeLay, hubris has been a bird-flu-like epidemic toppling congressional powerhouses sucked into ethics scandals. The House Hall of Shame is turning into a crowded docket.

You could start with Jim Wright, D-Texas, the first House speaker to lose that job over ethics charges. When Wright resigned in 1989, in part for taking $145,000 in illegal gifts from a Texas developer, his downfall was engineered in a hubristic coup by then-Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. Nearly eight years later, Speaker Gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethical misdeeds, and was essentially chased out because his image as hotshot Republican visionary turned sour...

I find it interesting that this word, "hubris," was pounding through my brain the other day. It was in relation to the "other" Washington scandal involving some White House insider(s) and CIA Agent Valerie Plame. I was wondering when does one get so drunk with power and pride that one thinks you can out a CIA agent and get away with it?

Perhaps, we need to ask Misters DeLay, Gingrich, Wright and Rostenkowski.

Arrest Warrant Issued For DeLay

Somehow I don't think they're going to make him do a "perp. walk."

SFGate.com - A Texas court issued a warrant Wednesday for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to avoid.

Bail was initially set at $10,000 as a routine step before his first court appearance on conspiracy and money laundering charges. Travis County court officials said DeLay was ordered to appear at the Fort Bend County jail for booking.

The warrant was "a matter of routine and bond will be posted," DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said.

Insert one Nelson "ha-ha" here.

Cheney To Blame For Plame? Pt. II

Things just keep getting messier and messier for the Republicans; this, of course, builds on what I posted earlier on this:

Bloomberg.com - A special counsel is focusing on whether Vice President Dick Cheney played a role in leaking a covert CIA agent's name, according to people familiar with the probe that already threatens top White House aides Karl Rove and Lewis Libby.

The special counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald, has questioned current and former officials of President George W. Bush's administration about whether Cheney was involved in an effort to discredit the agent's husband, Iraq war critic and former U.S. diplomat Joseph Wilson, according to the people.

Fitzgerald has questioned Cheney's communications adviser Catherine Martin and former spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise and ex-White House aide Jim Wilkinson about the vice president's knowledge of the anti-Wilson campaign and his dealings on it with Libby, his chief of staff, the people said. The information came from multiple sources, who requested anonymity because of the secrecy and political sensitivity of the investigation.

Is Christmas coming early for Michael?

SEC Issues Subpoena To Frist, Sources Say

Another Republican in trouble? (emphasis in quoted text is mine)

Washington Post (Bug Me Not) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has been subpoenaed to turn over personal records and documents as federal authorities step up a probe of his July sales of HCA Inc. stock, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the subpoena within the past two weeks, after initial reports that Frist, the Senate's top Republican official, was under scrutiny by the agency and the Justice Department for possible violations of insider trading laws...

The formal request for documents usually presages an acceleration of a federal probe. In Frist's case, regulators had to proceed with caution due to his status in Congress and their mutual desire to avoid triggering constitutional objections to the release of documents. The disclosure of the subpoena comes as Democrats blasted Frist anew for his financial and personal ties to Hospital Corporation of America, a Nashville chain founded in 1968 by his father and his brother, Thomas Frist Jr. Critics yesterday seized on a report that Frist held a substantial amount of his family's hospital stock outside of blind trusts between 1998 and 2002 -- a time when he asserted he did not know how much of the stock he owned.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Frist earned tens of thousands of dollars from HCA stock in a partnership controlled by his brother, outside of the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest.

Keep in mind, also, that one of Frist's jobs in the Senate is the shaping of health care policy, so yeah, we're talking about a definite conflict of interest here.

Now, just because a few Republicans have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar as of late I don't want anything to think that we've lost our focus here. The point of this blog is to be the Political Middle. We're here to find the truth; such is our motto after all. Part of that has to do with highlighting politicians with integrity (like McCain), but the flipside means that we also slam those that are more ethically challenged, Republicans AND Democrats.

It just so happens that there's been a real spat of Republicans doing wrong and possibly getting caught it seems.

I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I think that our resident Republican acolyte, Adam, will be one of the first to admonish Frist if this leads to a conviction.

Via Sploid.

Cheney To Blame For Plame?

From The Huffington Post:

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are working on stories that point to Vice President Dick Cheney as the target of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name.

This story is listed as still developing, but holy shit what a fiasco if this turns out to be true.

Wow.

I'll say "Argh!" for Adam right now. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Allow me to fantasize about how if this does turn out to be true about how the Dem's could capitalize on this in 2008...but in reality they'd probably just fuck it all up.

---

Updated

And here it is, which really is more smoke without fire yet:

Wall Street Journal Online - The New York Times reporter who went to jail to avoid testifying in the CIA leak case was quizzed by the special prosecutor again yesterday and has agreed to return to the grand jury today.

Judith Miller's additional testimony comes as the endgame is intensifying in the legal chess match that threatens to damage the Bush administration.

There are signs that prosecutors now are looking into contacts between administration officials and journalists that took place much earlier than previously thought. Earlier conversations are potentially significant, because that suggests the special prosecutor leading the investigation is exploring whether there was an effort within the administration at an early stage to develop and disseminate confidential information to the press that could undercut former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, Central Intelligence Agency official Valerie Plame.

I'm not usually one of those "where there's smoke there's fire"-type people, and that stands in this case. Would I like it if this administration were brought down? Honestly, the liberal lefty in me would love it, but I'm not going to start saying that they're guilty yet. This is still just an investigation and I'm content with waiting for more evidence yet.

Still, this is POTENTIALLY destructive, isn't it?

Texas Congressman Kevin Brady Arrested

Gotta love those Texas Republicans!

Reflector - U.S. Rep Kevin Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence while in South Dakota, according to a published report.

The Texas Republican was pulled over by a state trooper Friday night for a problem with the tail lights of his vehicle, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Authorities were waiting for results of a blood test to determine Brady's blood-alcohol level at the time of the arrest. The legal limit in South Dakota is 0.08.

OK, I admit that Dems are equally guilty of similar idiocy (Ted Kennedy, anyone?), but with all of the shit the Texas Republican party is getting right now (we're looking at you DeLay) you'd think that they'd be on their BESTEST behavior right about now.

This won't do them any favors as far as image goes.

Via Sploid.

Delay Spread The Wealth With His Illegal Fundraising

The Michigan Daily - Tom DeLay deliberately raised more money than he needed to throw parties at the 2000 presidential convention, then diverted some of the excess to longtime ally Roy Blunt through a series of donations that benefited both men’s causes.

When the financial carousel stopped, DeLay’s private charity, the consulting firm that employed DeLay’s wife and the Missouri campaign of Blunt’s son all ended up with money, according to campaign documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

He's so giving with illicit funds. What a nice man.

90 - 9

Senate Approves Detainee Treatment Rules

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 23 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Senate faces a confrontation with the House over a $440 billion military spending bill that, despite White House opposition, would impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism suspects.

Delivering a rare wartime slap at Pentagon authority and President Bush, the GOP-controlled Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to back an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government custody, regardless of where they are held.

Sponsored by Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., the proposal also would require all service members to follow procedures in the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.More

Two things: Wow! 90 - 9. These guys could rarely agree about which way is up by that margin. Secondly, who abstained? I don't see that there is riding the fence on this one.

So now it goes to the House and the fun starts all over again. Though that is quite a mandate from the Senate.

Al Gore Speaks out on the decline of public discourse

The piece is rather long and what I am about to post really is self-serving to our interests here but it really does cut to the heart of his speech.

Gore on the Threat to American Democracy

...On the eve of the nation's decision to invade Iraq, our longest serving senator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor asked: "Why is this chamber empty? Why are these halls silent?"

The decision that was then being considered by the Senate with virtually no meaningful debate turned out to be a fateful one. A few days ago, the former head of the National Security Agency, Retired Lt. General William Odom, said, "The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history."

But whether you agree with his assessment or not, Senator Byrd's question is like the others that I have just posed here: he was saying, in effect, this is strange, isn't it? Aren't we supposed to have full and vigorous debates about questions as important as the choice between war and peace?... Full Text of his remarks

He also talks about our national obessesion with things like OJ while we ignore what is important to this country. I am not one to think you should eat, sleep and breathe this stuff but it should occupy as much of our time as putrid TV like "Survior", "American Idol" and "Whatever Paris Hilton is doing."

Based on the text of his speech I can definitely tell that Al Gore has read Dr. Cornel West's Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism" An extremely powerful book that takes a critical look at the place of debate, hope, religion, race and youth in our quest for democracy. Let's just hope he doesn't claim to have written it.

Hit Me Baby, One More Time

Yahoo! News - A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader.

Both indictments accuse DeLay and two political associates of conspiring to get around a state ban on corporate campaign contributions by funneling the money through a political action committee to the Republican National Committee in Washington.

I'm sure he'll be back in time to reclaim his position of power in Washington, no problem.

OK, maybe not.

Newsweek: "Troubled Waters"

This is what happens where the ruling party controls two thirds of the government. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that:

Newsweek/MSNBC.com - ...The Republicans' power outage is real—and the historical irony is as vast as Texas. Beginning in the 1950s, the Democratic Party of Texans Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn built a congressional machine of unrivaled power. But starting in the '80s, led by a firebrand named Newt Gingrich, Republicans led a revolt from below in the name of smaller government and an ethically cleansed Congress. In 1989 Newt & Co. forced out Democratic Speaker Jim Wright—a Texan, too, who resigned over charges that he profited improperly from book sales—and five years later the GOP took control of the House after a Biblical 40 years in the wilderness. But it took the Republicans only 10 years to become yet another ruling party beset by charges of profligate spending, bloated government and corruption—a party led by two Texans, Bush and DeLay, who don't particularly care whether they are beloved outside their inner circle. To paraphrase David Mamet, the Republicans became what they beheld.

Miller Agrees to Testify in CIA Leak Probe

WASHINGTON - After nearly three months behind bars, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was released Thursday after agreeing to testify about the Bush administration's disclosure of a covert CIA officer's identity.


Miller left the federal detention center in Alexandria, Va., after reaching an agreement with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. She will appear Friday morning before a grand jury investigating the case.

"My source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations," Miller said in a statement.

Her source was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, reported the Times, which supported her contention that her source should be protected.

"As we have throughout this ordeal, we continue to support Judy Miller in the decision she has made," said Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. "We are very pleased that she has finally received a direct and uncoerced waiver, both by phone and in writing, releasing her from any claim of confidentiality and enabling her to testify."Full Text

Looks like someone got tired of a 4'x8' room. Now perhaps we might find out who it is that felt the need to burn a CIA operative because her husband wrote an oped piece. We will also see if Mr. Bush will follow up on his initial statement about firing anyone involved or his amended version that he will fire anyone who is convicted of a crime. Doesn't conviction of a crime above a misdemeanor pretty much preclude you from working in the White House? Especially if you are in jail?

Brown Serving as Consultant to FEMA

CNN - A congressional panel on Tuesday is expected to scrutinize the decision to keep ousted Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown on the federal payroll.

Brown told congressional investigators Monday that he is being paid as a consultant to help FEMA assess what went wrong in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a senior official familiar with the meeting.

Wait.

Did I read that right?

Brown resigned as FEMA for doing a shitty job, so now FEMA has hired him as a consultant to tell them why such a shitty job was done?

If I get fired at my work I can assure they won't be paying me to come back and tell them why they fired me.

What's up with this?

Via .

House OKs Faith As Head Start Hiring Issue

By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer Thu Sep 22, 6:09 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to let Head Start centers consider religion when hiring workers, overshadowing its moves to strengthen the preschool program's academics and finances.

The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.

Democrats blasted that idea as discriminatory.

Launched in the 1960s, the nearly $7 billion Head Start program provides comprehensive education to more than 900,000 poor children. Though credited for getting kids ready for school, Head Start has drawn scrutiny as cases of financial waste and questions about academic quality have surfaced nationwide.

Overall, the House bill would insert more competition into Head Start grants, require greater disclosure of how money is spent, and try to improve collaboration among educators in different grades. Yet on Thursday, the dispute over religion eroded the bipartisan support for Head Start's renewal.

I have no problem with Head Start. Sure it might need some tweeking and it looks like that was done here. But they just couldn't help themselves. The bill and funding were trying to push this program to be more than just breakfast before school for poor kids but actually make sure there was a decent educational aspect to this. However, now we get to have religious based descriminatory hiring practices with Federal Funds. This isn't about Democrats being "anti-Christian", for me, this is about someone skipping a few lines of the Constitution when they took their oath for public service.

EPA Wants to Ease Toxic Spill Reporting

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - The government wants to quit forcing companies to report small releases of toxic pollutants and allow them to submit reports on their pollution less frequently.

Saying it wants to ease its regulatory burden on companies, the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed adopting a 'short form' that would excuse companies from disclosing spills and other releases of toxic substances...

Sean says:

Tell me this has nothing to do with two guys running the White House who are oil men. Just try and tell me that.

To which Adam replies:

Damnit! I want to, but I can't! This is bad, bad, bad. Bad GOP, BAD!

Sorry, Sean, I can't lie to you either. This is the administration attempting a reach-around to their friends in Big Business (esp. Big Oil, IMHO).

City Official Hordes Relief Supplies In His Home

Nola.com - Police found cases of food, clothes and tools intended for hurricane victims in the backyard, shed and rooms throughout the home of a chief administrative officer of a New Orleans suburb, officials said Wednesday.

Police in Kenner searched Cedric Floyd's home Tuesday because of complaints that city workers were helping themselves to donations for hurricane victims. Floyd, who runs the day-to-day operations in Kenner, was in charge of distributing the donations.

Fire him.

Seriously, he's got to go.

Just a little housekeeping

The spammers have found us. Rather than break out the tinfoil hats, I have turned on the word verification for posting comments. Sorry for any inconvenience.

FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine

KSDK NewsChannel 5 - - City officials say they have no idea why the trucks are here, only that the city has been asked to help out with traffic problems. But the truck drivers NEWSCENTER spoke to said they went all the way down to the gulf coast with the ice -- stayed for a few days -- and then were told by FEMA they needed to drive to Maine to store it.

The truck drivers, who are from all over the country, tell us they were subcontracted by FEMA. They started arriving over the weekend, and city spokesperson Peter Dewitt says as many as 200 trucks could come to the city by the end of the week.

What the fuck?

They don't have places to store ice anywhere near New Orleans? I mean, not even in someplace like Atlanta.

Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't this sound colossally stupid?

Via .

I'll bet you had forgotten about this

House Republicans block bid for CIA leak data

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. congressional committees on Wednesday rejected Democrat-backed resolutions that would have compelled the Bush administration to turn over records relating to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee and International Relations Committee, who opposed the resolution, said Congress should await the outcome of a federal investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.Full Story


A Federal trial into BALCO illegally distributing steroids didn't stop Congress from having hearings. One might think this is a tad more important. Also, doesn't the Legislative branch have a duty to "check" the Executive branch? Or did I not get an "A" in "Happy Jack" Miller's U.S. Government class at RHS?

NWA Bankruptcy Is on the Table

Star Tribune - Plagued by record fuel prices, high labor costs and enormous debt, the Northwest Airlines board of directors will meet today to decide whether to file for bankruptcy for the first time in the company's 79-year history.

Northwest said Tuesday that no decision on whether to file for bankruptcy had been made, and analysts, while agreeing that a bankruptcy filing might be inevitable, said today's meeting could be one last effort to pressure workers to accept steep pay and job cuts.

'They have a very realistic possibility of being forced to file for bankruptcy, but not necessarily [today],' said Michael E. Levine, a former executive at Northwest and other airlines who is a research scholar at New York University School of Law.

Northwest, like most big airlines, has wrestled with high fuel and labor costs and growing pressure from low-fare airlines such as JetBlue, Southwest and AirTran. Two of Northwest Airlines' rivals -- United Airlines and US Airways -- have entered bankruptcy in recent years. And Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is widely expected to do so this week.

Though this is not entirely political in scope, I think that there is some bearing here.

The big airlines are all having problems and they're asking for government bailouts (not all, but lots).

Tough.

Perhaps what we're seeing is that the market cannot support massive carriers. This is where I become a free market proponent: smaller carriers seems to be doing fine (look at Southwest, the smaller airline that locked in gas at GREAT prices). Maybe the big carriers need to fail. Does this mean that you couldn't fly from the East Coast to the West? No. A carrier will still provide that, maybe someone smaller, and if it is profitable others will do so as well. Competition is funny like that.

Here's the downside, though, and for this, I don't have an answer: pensions. If the big carriers go under their pensions may have to be paid for by the federally insured pension insurance company (I don't recall their official name offhand). That means that you and me and every other taxpayer would be footing the bill for the pensions of these former airline employees.

I'm not economist and I don't know the intricacies of tax law and such, but it would be nice if there was a way to break up the big carriers into smaller carriers that still paid the original pensions.

Any thoughts?

Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home

ABC News - Military sources tells ABC News that (Rep. William Jefferson, D-La), an eight-term Democratic congressman, asked the National Guard that night to take him on a tour of the flooded portions of his congressional district. A 5-ton military truck and a half dozen military police were dispatched.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard tells ABC News that during the tour, Jefferson asked that the truck take him to his home on Marengo Street, in the affluent uptown neighborhood in his congressional district. According to Schneider, this was not part of Jefferson's initial request.

Jefferson defended the expedition, saying he set out to see how residents were coping at the Superdome and in his neighborhood. He also insisted that he did not ask the National Guard to transport him.

'I did not seek the use of military assets to help me get around my city,' Jefferson told ABC News. 'There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. They thought I should be escorted by some military guards, both to the convention center, the Superdome and uptown.'

The water reached to the third step of Jefferson's house, a military source familiar with the incident told ABC News, and the vehicle pulled up onto Jefferson's front lawn so he wouldn't have to walk in the water. Jefferson went into the house alone, the source says, while the soldiers waited on the porch for about an hour.

I'm OK with the tour, he is a senior Congressman from Louisiana after all, and I'd probably be OK with him taking a drive by his house, though that might be pushing it, especially if his house was out of the way, but running in and going through his things for an hour? I'm not so good with that.

We May Have a New Hero

Many reasons have been given for why we fight and our youth must die in Iraq. The reasons now given for why we must continue this war bear no resemblance to the reasons given to gain the support of the American people and the United States Congress prior to our invasion in March of 2003. Before the war, we were told we faced an imminent threat to our national security from Saddam Hussein. This rationale, now proven grossly mistaken, has been changed. Now we’re told we must honor the fallen by “completing the mission.” To do otherwise would demean the sacrifice of those who have died or been wounded. Any lack of support for “completing the mission” is said, by the promoters of the war, to be unpatriotic, un-American, and detrimental to the troops. They insist the only way one can support the troops is to never waver on the policy of nation building, no matter how ill-founded that policy may be. The obvious flaw in this argument is that the mission, of which they so reverently speak, has changed constantly from the very beginning.Full Text-Long

Before anyone thinks I am straying from our mission to blow up partisan politics let me say that these are the opening remarks from a House special order speech I watched on CSPAN this evening. The reason I watched the whole speech is because these words came from the mouth of Representative Ron Paul Republican, Texas.

You owe it to yourself to read the whole text. Mr. Paul uses history to show why current foreign policy regarding the Middle East is flawed and further endangers us. He questions motives for the war and mentions oil several times as the real motives. He also calls to task the illogical assertion that we must honor the fallen in this "war" by continuing to fight and likely getting more killed. Honestly, by that logic the war will never end. No one is spared. The President, his fellow members of Congress and the media.

His remarks are well conceived, well reasoned in addition to being based on history and well timed. Again he is a Republican from Texas.

Internal Memos Show Oil Companies Intentionally Limited Refining Capacity to Drive Up Gasoline Prices

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) today exposed internal oil company memos that show how the industry intentionally reduced domestic refining capacity to drive up profits. The exposure comes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as the oil industry blames environmental regulation for limiting number of U.S. refineries.

The three internal memos from Mobil, Chevron, and Texaco (available at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/fs/) show different ways the oil giants closed down refining capacity and drove independent refiners out of business. The confidential memos demonstrate a nationwide effort by American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying and research arm of the oil industry, to encourage the major refiners to close their refineries in the mid-1990s in order to raise the price at the pump.

"Large oil companies have for a decade artificially shorted the gasoline market to drive up prices," said FTCR president Jamie Court, who successfully fought to keep Shell Oil from needlessly closing its Bakersfield, California refinery this year. "Oil companies know they can make more money by making less gasoline. Katrina should be a wakeup call to America that the refiners profit widely when they keep the system running on empty."

Not sure if this has been confirmed yet, but if legitimate let me be the first person to call bullshit.

Via Sploid.

Bush Says Nothing

David Frum's Diary on National Review Online - By now it should be clear that President Bush's words on the subject of Iraq have ceased connecting with the American public. His speech yesterday to the Veterans of Foreign Wars is the latest - and one of the most serious to date - manifestations of the problem. The polls tell us that the American public is losing heart. A substantial majority (56%) now say that the war is going either 'very badly' or 'moderately badly.' More than 50% now regard the war as a mistake. One-third want an immediate and total withdrawal. Maybe most fatefully: a plurality now say that they believe that the president deliberately misled the country into war.

Supporters of the war can argue that the public is mistaken, overly influenced by biased news reporting. Yes, yes. But mistaken public opinion is just as powerful as sound public opinion.

Again, supporters of the war can do our bit to try to change minds. But the biggest megaphone in the country belongs to President Bush - and much depends on whether he uses it well or badly.

He is using it very badly indeed.

Let me mention just one single but maybe decisive problem. Again and again during the Bush presidency - and yesterday most recently - the president will agree to give what is advertised in advance as a major speech. An important venue will be chosen. A crowd of thousands will be gathered. The networks will all be invited. And after these elaborate preparations, the president says ... nothing that he has not said a hundred times before.

If a president continues to do that, he is himself teaching the public and the media to ignore him - especially when the words seem (as his speech yesterday to the VFW seemed) utterly to ignore the past three months of real-world events."

You should really read the entire thing becase David Frum makes some excellent points. Keep in mind, these criticisms are coming from a NeoCon website, not some crazed out Democratic moonbats.

Definitely thoughts worth pondering.

NRA Calling for Boycott of ConocoPhillips

IDABEL, Oklahoma (AP) -- The National Rifle Association in the U.S. has begun a boycott of ConocoPhillips over the energy giant's attempt to block a state law preventing employers from firing workers who keep guns in their cars on company lots.Story

I am down for the second amendment.  I believe that people should be able to own guns.  I don't own a gun and might not ever.  I also believe that their are certain types of guns that people shouldn't be able to buy because they have nothing to do with hunting-well not game hunting anyway.  However, this is an entirely different issue.

Most of us have had THAT co-worker who you were worried would do something if he ever got fired.  I know I have.  There was one guy I had an escape route planned for.  For reasons just like that, I think ConocoPhillips is in the right. To me it is just good sense that you don't want employees bringing firearms on to company property unless you are the police department.

The contrarian in me wants to buy all of its gas from Phillips 66 stations from now on. 

This Divided State

From the looks of things this is the type of movie that fits in with exactly what we're talking about here at "The Political Middle."

Remember, Sean's the centrist with leftist leanings. I'm the bleeding heart liberal that owns all of Michael Moore's books and is upset that one of them isn't signed by Moore. Adam is the Republican that truly believes that the party should be about personal responsibility.

Sean doesn't always agree with me and I don't always agree with him. Sometimes I think Adam is full of shit and he thinks the same of me (but he's wrong *wink*), but we all agree on the fact that there must be a public dialogue. We might not agree with each other, but we all believe in the basic human right to be heard. I'm not going to force them to live my way and they're not going to force me to live theirs. That's what America is SUPPOSED to be about.

Anyway, I think come September 27th I'll be picking this DVD up. Please be sure to check out the site and watch the trailer. It's some powerful stuff.

'All Four' 21 July Suspects Held

BBC NEWS - All four failed London bomb suspects are thought to be in custody following armed raids in the UK capital and Rome.

Two London arrests are believed to be men wanted for one of the 21 July Tube attacks and the bid to bomb a bus. A third suspect was already being held.

Police said a fourth suspect arrested in Rome and named as Somali-born UK citizen Hussain Osman, was "of interest" to the inquiry.

Excellent news.

Gonzales Urged to Rescind FOIA Rules

"Where agencies were once encouraged to disclose unless disclosure would do harm, they are currently encouraged to withhold if there are legal grounds for doing so," Tom Curley, AP president and chief executive officer, said in a letter to Gonzales. "We think this change was a terrible mistake." Via Yahoo! News

I would definitely say this is a big deal. As I said earlier the Press needs to shine light in dark places. However, it is a little hard to do that if they have no access to hard information. Now granted, they shouldn't have access to everything lest they out say an undercover CIA agent but they should be able to look at Justice Department files etc.

Tom DeLay...Again

Today we get to put Tom DeLay, pork and circumventing the democratic process in one sentence.

I was reading Think Progress when I came across this letter from Representative Henry Waxman of California addressed to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Apparently after the House's Energy Bill left committee a 30 page provision was added to the bill which includes $1.5 billion dollars in money for oil and natural gas research in Sugarland, Texas. Guess whose district that is in? 75% of the fund is to be administered by a private consortium. Normally, that much money is administered by the government. Essentially, Tom DeLay is having $1.125 billion go into a black hole fund that will be administered by oil men in his district.

Rep. Waxman is urging Mr. Hastert to have the provision deleted before the bill goes to the full House for a vote.

You have to give to Tom DeLay he is definitely trying to take care of his district.

Usurping Power?

I was getting a cup of coffee at work this morning when I saw a commercial on CNN. The ad was paid for by a PAC called "Progress For America". The ad asked people to contact their Senators and tell them that Supreme Court nominee Judge John Roberts should get an up or down vote. I am all for people being involved in the process but it is just that a process. Part of the process is getting out of committee. I have nothing against Judge Roberts. Frankly, I haven't read enough about him. However the tone of the ad irked me. It was in my opinion thinly veiled attempt by the White House to have their guy rubber stamped through.

When I saw this ad I started thinking and noticing other news stories of late. A question came to me: Is the Bush Administration trying to expand the powers of the Executive Branch? The founding fathers wanted checks and balances to keep everyone honest. Though if you passed Junior High School U.S. History you knew that. Admittedly, every President wants all of his nominees approved and all his proposed legislation passed but there is a different tone in some of this. I offer some additonal examples.

We, of course, have the pre-emptive ad mentioned above and this week it was reported that President Bush may use a recess appointment for United Nations Ambassador nominee John Bolton. We have been reading about Mr. Bolton for several months now and it doesn't appear as though he will ever get out of committee. The Senate panel seems to come away with more questions than answers. Several Democrats and Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) have asked Mr. Bush to nominate someone else but he has refused.

More recently, "The Bush administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, is working to kill the amendments that GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina want to tack onto a bill setting Defense Department policy for next year."(more) The crux of this is that the administration is claiming these Senators attempt to put wording in the bill to dictate the standards for treatment of terror detainees and their interrogations would hamper the Presidents ability to fight the war on terror. Huh? Senator McClain-whom we like around here- has said that the wording is designed to hold the military to its rule book. So, what is the White House saying?

Finally, some Senate Democrats are asking for Congress to hold hearings into the CIA leak. Congress has had time in the past for the likes of Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to testify about things that had nothing to do with national security maybe we could make some time for this thing. However:

"There is no oversight of the White House in this Congress. None — it's a free pass. And that is dangerous for the country." - Senator Frank Laughtenburg D-New Jersey


Where does all of this lead? Nominees who the Bush administration wants approved and if they aren't no others will be put forward. President Bush is asked by members of his own party to sign a bill that will contain language ensuring the letter of the law will be followed. Yet, following the law will somehow hamper the President's ability to wage the war on terror. And finally, some members of Congress don't feel they are being allowed to do one of their jobs: oversee the executive branch. Is this a power grab? Put it in terms of your job and your boss doing things like this in spite of his boss and get back to me.
*************************
This is an update on the above regarding the Defense spending bill that John McCain et al are adding wording too. Gun Manufacturer Liablility Gains Top Priority After Defense Bill Shelved

The Akaka Bill

There's been some more talk recently about the Akaka Bill, and I have to say that on the surface I think that the bill makes sense. We've given back certain rights to Native Americans because, well, we dicked them over pretty hard in the past. In Hawaii America helped to orchestrate a violent coup so that we could step in and take over. Before we we came in they were a sovereign kingdom, much like Native Americans were self-governing. To me it makes sense to give Native Hawaiians similar rights to what we've given Native Americans.

Some Hawaiians agree, but others disagree.

Any thoughts?

Reticent Moderates Aren't Limited To Islam

The following was too good to just post an excerpt. It is because of people that ask questions like these that I believe we here can be successful in terms of being a helpful part of the whole.:

Reticent moderates aren’t limited to Islam
Saturday, July 23, 2005 The Columbus Dispatch
ANDREW BARNES

With each horror perpetrated against civilians in the name of Islam — from New York to Madrid to Beslan, Russia, to London — one question for many Americans is why there hasn’t been a stronger reaction from within the Muslim community condemning the attacks. Why don’t moderate Muslims call on religious leaders to condemn Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and their ilk and reclaim the mantle of Islam?

Before concluding that Islam is truly a violent religion and there really aren’t any moderate Muslims, American Christians should look at how those who speak for their religion in the political realm have changed in the past 30 years. In the Southern Baptist household and churches where I grew up, I learned that the world was a sinful place and often not a good model to follow, but I also learned that the solution was personal salvation through Jesus Christ. I was taught to live a godly life in an ungodly world, to be "in the world, but not of it," always recognizing that I would frequently fail but receive forgiveness and try again. Organized religion, then, was about providing social support for a lifestyle that was ridiculed (or tolerated as quaint) by the mainstream.

To the extent that Christianity was outward looking, it was about showing others in your daily life or convincing them through conversation that the path you had chosen — made possible by turning your life over to Christ — was a good one. It was decidedly not about using the power of government to remake society and change others’ behavior so that it would be easier to live an overtly Christian life.

Yet the loudest voices of Christianity in America today are the ones that advocate using the state to further God’s will. Organized conservative Christian groups openly endorse candidates they believe will "return morality" to public life. They support policies and judges who will make it easier to use public money for religious education and charity, reintroduce prayer in school, regulate personal relationships and teach a theory of creation and evolution derived from the Bible. The Texas Republican platform "affirms that the United States of America is a Christian nation."

Furthermore, they seek to foster a particularly narrow view of God’s will. They want the Ten Commandments in public places, but not the beatitudes or Jesus’ own first and second commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart," and, "Love your neighbor as yourself" with the understanding that neighbor includes even those who seem least lovable and least like you. They oppose abortion and euthanasia in the name of protecting life, but they support the death penalty and resist public support for people who are alive.

While the methods of conservative American Christians and radical Islamists are dramatically different, their goals are quite similar. They are not arguing that religion should inform their support of particular policies that could then be negotiated with others who do not share the same view. Indeed, such compromise is dangerous, dilutes the true teachings of God, and undermines the moral fabric of the country. Both groups argue that there is one correct set of policies and that, for the good of all citizens, the state should implement them.

Where, then, are the Christians who emphasize the loving, peaceful aspects of their religion and who think it is first and foremost a guide to personal behavior, rather than government policy? Are they invisible because there are no moderate Christians or because Christianity cannot coexist with other worldviews?

No. Many American Christians are nervous about the direction their country and the public face of their religion are heading, but there are several reasons their voices are not louder at the moment. Especially important, they are not well-organized, they fear being branded as traitors or as un-Christian, and they see some truth in the conservative Christians’ arguments. Maybe a healthy dose of biblical teaching in public life wouldn’t be so bad; it certainly couldn’t make things worse for moderate Christians.

I don’t know how many Muslims in the United States or abroad are dismayed at the actions taken by those claiming most loudly to speak for their religion. But the fact is that obstacles to political organization, fear of reprisals from peers and ambivalence about whether religion and politics should be separated are all likely to be more pronounced for moderate Muslims than for American Christians. Where are the moderate Christians in American politics? If we can answer that question, then maybe we’ll be closer to understanding why moderate Muslim voices usually are quiet, too.

Andrew Barnes is an assistant professor of political science at Kent State University.

Dead Man Not A Bomber

Reuters.co.uk - A man shot dead by police at a London Underground station on Friday was not one of the four bombers who tried to attack the city's transport system on Thursday, Sky Television reported citing security sources.

That doesn't mean that this man may not be culpable to some degree.

However, if he isn't linked to the bombings, well, that's a big "OOPS."

Travel Note: Don't run from London cops this week; just lie down if someone yells at you to freeze.

CCTV Images of Latest UK Bombing Suspects

Smile! You're on Candid Camera!

I can't wait until they catch these fuckers.

Bush Pic Cause of Firing?

New York Post Online Edition (BugMeNot.com for login) - "A Long Island elementary-school teacher who is active in Republican politics claims she was canned for hanging a portrait of President Bush in a classroom display featuring him with several former U.S. leaders.

Jillian Caruso, 26, a teacher at Birch Lane Elementary School in Massapequa, said that Principal Joyce Becker-Seddio demanded her resignation after discovering Caruso's political activity last fall, according to papers filed in Brooklyn federal court.

Becker-Seddio is the wife of Brooklyn Assemblyman Frank Seddio, a Democrat."

This is just stupid, especially considering that the image was posted next to former Presidents, though that shouldn't matter.

Bush is out President after all, like it or not, and if a teacher wants a picture of our President in her classroom s/he should be allowed to have it.

London Police Shoot, Kill Potential Suicide Bomber

Another one?

Reuters.co.uk - "Police shot dead a man at a South London underground station on Friday as they hunted for bombers who struck London's transport network on Thursday.

'We can confirm that just after 10 a.m. armed officers entered Stockwell Tube station. A man was challenged by officers and subsequently shot. London Ambulance Service attended the scene. He was pronounced dead at the scene,' police said.

Media reports said the man was a suspected suicide bomber. Transport Police said they had suspended services on the city's Northern and Victoria lines which run through Stockwell station"

Well Look Who Just Caught Up?

The Sudanese government said they would accept whatever numbers the AU could provide. I am counting on that because, now that there is a new government in Sudan, they have to realize that the united government of Sudan has a responsibility for this.

And the international community is going to hold them to it. - Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice after her visit to Sudan

No, I am not just going after Ms. Rice. I am going after the press here too. In the interview Andrea Koppel expresses misgivings for the "new" tougher stance Condeleezza is speaking about following her visits with the Sudanese government and at one of the refugee camps. The press can choose to make anything an issue and have it not go away. I'll bet a few of you know who Kenny Rogers, the baseball player, is now and didn't a few weeks ago. The reports about rape and genocide type activities have been coming from the Sudan for almost 2 years and it rarely rates more than 30 seconds on the news.

Part of the job of the free and unaffected press to make the Sun shine on things trying to hide in the dark. The Bush administration has been fighting two wars, so it is understandable that the press has been a tad busy. But 300,000 people have been killed and we get B-roll on TV. These people need our help, the world's help. The press is in the position not to make the White House and Congress demand action or even the UN for that matter. But they can try to inform the citizenry so that Senators and Congressmen get letters and phone calls.(See link on the left.)

Why are we just talking to them about this? Why no peace keeping mission? Is it because Sudan is not a major trade partner with the United States? Or is it because other countries trade too much? There is another question I want to ask here but it is purely inflammatory. (Someone else said it though.)

Economic sanctions aren't likely to work here if you are the U.S. and you as of 2001 purchased 0.1% of all Sudanese exports. Frankly, that is like me calling McDonald's and telling them I won't eat there anymore. Big deal.

I am not one to come to the conclusion of using the armed forces likely, however, I figure if an estimated 300,000 people have died, countless thousands of women have been raped and close to 2 million people either live in refugee camps or have otherwise been displaced from their homes perhaps someone should go stand between them and the people hurting them.

Many people seem to be dragging their heels on this one. We need to give them a push.

Three London Underground Stations Evacuated

Yahoo! News - Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday Thursday following reports of incidents, British Transport Police said. The Fire Brigade was investigating a report of smoke at one station.

Please, not again.

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Update

Yes, unfortunately again:

CNN - Three small devices have exploded at three separate Underground subway stations in London, two weeks after the July 7 terror attacks, police said.

The explosions do not appear to be as bad this time, but still, it's fucked up.

Does this mean that the U.S. should bomb Mecca now?

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Update 2

BBC News - The minor explosions - just two weeks after blasts killed 56 - involved detonators only, a BBC reporter said.

In addition, a blast was reported on the top deck of a Number 26 bus in Hackney Road in Bethnal Green.

There were no injuries and the bus suffered no structural damage.

Eyewitnesses heard bangs and saw abandoned rucksacks at the sites of the incidents at Warren Street, Shepherd's Bush Hammersmith and City line and Oval tube stations as well as the number 26 bus.

I am glad that it is relatively minor. I have to admit, one of my first thoughts when I heard about the explosions this morning was "copycat." Looks like I'm not alone:

Reuters - "The worst-case scenario with the non-explosions or minor explosions would be that these are devices that haven't triggered properly. Beyond that, it looks like it may be people messing around, copycat-type stuff," said analyst Shane Brighton of the Royal United Services Institute, a London think-tank.

Whether it was a failed terrorist plot or a copycat(s) it's still a tragedy, but somehow more sick IMHO that someone would want to copy the bombs from two weeks ago to get attention.

Hey! Look over there!

Technically this isn't playing politics because any Supreme Court nomination had to come soon in order to give everyone proper time to prepare before the hearings which are projected to be in September. However the timing couldn't be better for Karl Rove and the White House.

I have no opinion about The Honorable John G. Roberts Jr. I am sure he is conservative enough to please Bush's base. I base this on quote from people like Orin Hatch who are nearly peeing themselves with glee.

Until I learn more, I will try to remain above the fray. I am certain that some groups on either side of major issues are already mounting attacks or defense on this man. I have enough faith in people like Arlen Specter that if he doesn't belong on the bench; he won't get through the hearings.

In the meantime, the White House gets a break and the dull roar of a Supreme Court nomination process begins.

Open Mouth Insert Both Feet

Talk show host Pat Campbell asked the Littleton Republican how the country should respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons.

"Well, what if you said something like -- if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Representative Tom Tancredo answered.

"You're talking about bombing Mecca," Campbell said.

"Yeah," Tancredo responded.more

I wonder how long after he said that it took his top aides to go hide.

When I close my eyes, I see Muslims and other Americans of Middle Eastern descent holding press conferences and Representaive Tancredo offering some bumbling apology/explanation.

I hadn't heard of Congressman Tancredo before today. I will bet a lot of people hadn't. Welcome to the national scene and enjoy the heat.

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Update

Michael here; I just wanted to note that the the spin has begun:

Denver Post - [Press secretary] Adams tried to equivocate: There's a "widespread misconception about what he said. Congressman Tancredo is not advocating bombing Mecca or Medina or anybody's holy site."

Next up: a discussion of what the meaning of "yeah" is.

I can see how that "yeah" could be misconstrued.

And we have some more here...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen the story that will not go away. President Bush is now saying that anyone who works for the White House convicted of a crime in the Plame affair(?) will be fired. Perhaps, the paraphrase in article is wrong because it should really say indicted. People convicted of a felony, particularly treason can't work in the White House. Stop me if I am wrong.

Basically, the President is now parsing his words from two years ago when he said that anyone who leaked this would be fired. In doing so he is using the same kind legalease that made most Republicans become enraged while the country was discussing Bill, Monica and the definition of sex.

Btw, oral counts. Just in case we have some "virgins" out there.

Second Source of Plame Leak May Have Come From Cheney's Chief of Staff

The vice president's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, was a source along with the president's chief political adviser for a Time story that identified a
CIA officer, the magazine reporter said Sunday, further countering White House claims that neither aide was involved in the leak.
more

What is going on in D.C? Are these people lying to their bosses and people like Scott McClellan thinking they will get away with it? Or do their bosses know, there are so many bad things if that is true, and are advising them to cover it up?

I really hope it is just people like Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby lying because the firestorm that would be created if Cheney and Bush are advising a cover up is worse than anything Bill and Monica ever did. It creates the huge notion of "If they lied about this then what else are they lying about?" Eesh.

*****
This article was first brought to our attention via The Huffington Post.

'Duke" Not Running Amid Contractor Scandal

SFGate.com - Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, a Vietnam War fighter pilot whose house was raided by the FBI this month in an investigation of his ties to a defense contractor, announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election.

'I learned in Vietnam that no one person is more important than the mission, and I do not intend to forget that lesson now,' the eight-term House member said in San Marcos (San Diego County).

The announcement made Cunningham, R-Del Mar, the first casualty of a growing controversy over the ethical conduct of a number of senior House members, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. Democrats have vowed to try to use the issue before next year's midterm elections to make a broad case against Republican abuse of power, but Republicans say Democrats are equally vulnerable."

Good, get the crooks out.

Also, be mindful of that last sentence. Shady Democrats need to get the boot as well.

How much longer before DeLay gets the boot on account of his ethics, or lack thereof?

In case you don't read The Huffington Post

You may have missed this post by Cenk Uygur. My only comment is that I wanted to applaud.

Put Your Country Above Your Party

Many of the responses I have received to my posts lately have started with the premise that I am a partisan. The supposition is that I want to bring down the Bush administration because I am a liberal Democrat.

Well, here’s the funny thing – I’ve been a life-long Republican. I just happen to care more about my country than I do about my party.

I’m not a Zell Miller like pretender, a Democrat posing as a Republican. I supported Ronald Reagan (though I understand that he had many faults). I voted for and whole-heartedly supported – and to this day continue to support – George H.W. Bush. I’m against affirmative action, I’m a fiscal hawk and I held pro-war rallies during the first Persian Gulf War.more

Election Reform Daydreaming

I'm daydreaming right now but I had a couple of thoughts about election reform:

• Shorten the campaign season: Mid-term elections aren't for 16 months, yet already I'm hearing all kinds of ass-smooching and mudslinging as people start to gear up for the next election. Here in Michigan there have already been polls as to whom people would vote for Governor (with the inherent mudslinging as well). There are already groups paying for ads based on who MIGHT be selected for the Supreme Court. Now, I realize the last one I mentioned doesn’t really fall into the normal campaign season type stuff, but how soon before we see our first campaign ad? Not long. Tell you what: let’s save some money and cut down on the bullshit by shortening the entire campaign season down to six weeks. At the end of September the candidates are off to the races and if they can’t manage to get their message across in six weeks that’sjust fine, especially if people can…


• Vote for “none of the above”: I think it is ironic to take cues from Russia, but they have a nifty idea when it comes to elections. Parties put their candidates on the ballets but voters have the option for voting for “none of the above.” If “none of the above” gets more votes than any of the candidates the election is scrapped and in six weeks there’s a new election with different candidates.

Now, right away I know some people might say “well what happens if after the first election no one is elected, and the same with the second, we have to have a President come January!!!!”

Dude, chill. If it has to be done, we can move elections back six weeks. I realize that the Constitution says that we have to have elections at such and such a time. We can either change the Constitution, or easier yet, we can delay the start of the next Presidential term. The latter really isn’t such a big deal.

If I remember correctly the Presidential term used to start in March (or something) but was moved to its current date.

Besides, a President can be President for up to 10 years, so unless there was an extensive delay there wouldn’t be a problem. Even if there was an extensive delay, there’s always the Vice President, so again no problem.

Any thoughts?

A letter to Congresswoman Deborah Pryce

Congresswoman Pryce,

I believe that the issue with Mr. Rove and the special prosecutor
involves two things. Did Mr. Rove commit a treasonous act and if he did
anything of the like is President Bush a man of his word. If Mr. Rove
is not guilty the truth will set him free. If he is guilty of treason
or at the very least the source of the leak with outed a CIA agent, he
should be fired as Mr. Bush promised 2 years ago.

However, in the meantime, it seems to me that the RNC and people like
yourself going on camera and making statements about partisan politics
are the people responsible for making this a partisan issue. Please,
stop trying to drive a wedge between the citizens of this country when
what we should all be concerned about is the truth. Also, crying
partisan politics is unbecoming. It has always seemed to me that
anytime someone on either side of the aisle does so it is akin to a
small child crying, "They're not playing nice!"

Yours has long proclaimed itself to be the party of personal
responsibility perhaps it could also be one of restraint.

Sincerely,
Sean Harmon
______________________________________________

I love democracy. I get to nicely chastise my elected representative.
Maybe someday I will get a response but probably not.

The GOP's Karl Rove Spin

GOP.com - "It's disappointing that once again, so many Democrat leaders are taking their political cues from the far-left, Moveon wing of the party. The bottom line is Karl Rove was discouraging a reporter from writing a false story based on a false premise and the Democrats are engaging in blatant partisan political attacks."

Why is the GOP trying to turn this into a partisan issue? Also, what's with this spin that Karl was trying to help a reporter? Somehow I doubt that his motives were altruistic, but that's hardly the point. Was what he did illegal? That has yet to be decided, but certainly his actions (if he is in fact the leak) were dishonorable and unethical. Leaking this information potentially exposed Plame's contacts, possibly risking lives. All of this because of the White House's vendetta against Plame's husband? That seems rather childish and reckless to me.

Bush himself said that if someone in his administration was the source of the leak that we would fire them. Let's see if he does so.

Also, I'd like to note that I am eager to see what Adam has to say on this subject.

A side thought: You'd think that being the party of "personal responsibility" that if confirmed that Rove is in fact the leak the GOP would call for his head and also demand that he be fired. Obviously, they're not. It's also pretty obvious to political observers that Rove has had a lot to do with the rise in power of the GOP, specifically with this current administration. Could it be that GOP is drunk with the power that they now have and are unwilling to risk losing any of that? Obviously they wouldn't lose power now, but like I said, Rove was one of the architects of the Republican takeover and could be indispensable in the future. Is the GOP afraid to lose him at the cost of their moral center?

Can Anyone Govern California?

Issues that challenge the entire nation often hit California more intensely. Take political polarization. A liberal from Oakland next to a conservative from the Central Valley seem like foreigners, not neighbors...

It was not always this way. California was once dominated by centrists and its legislature reflected a culture of cross-aisle cooperation.

This article largely deals with Gov. Schwarzenegger's recent popularity drop and how he is finding it increasingly difficult to govern the state but the center portion of the article deals with how California is quickly becoming a microcosm of the partisan, polarized politics that plague our country.

Bush aid Rove was Time reporter's source - Newsweek

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House advisor Karl Rove was one of the secret sources that spoke to reporters about a covert CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the media, Newsweek magazine reported in its latest edition.

The magazine said Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, confirmed that Rove talked to Time magazine about former ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, CIA agent Valerie Plame.
(more)

Whether or not Mr. Rove is quilty of a crime is up to prosecutors, judge and jury but at the very least he should not be working at the White House or for any branch of the government.

---

Great minds think alike. I posted on this as well, then noticed that Sean had just done the same. So, I've removed my post and have now added it to his.

Enjoy:

The Huffington Post - This new evidence could place Rove in serious political, if not legal, jeopardy (or, at least it should). If what I am told is true, this is proof that the Bush White House was using any information it could gather on Joseph Wilson -- even classified information related to national security -- to pursue a vendetta against Wilson, a White House critic. Even if it turns out Rove did not break the law regarding the naming of intelligence officials, this new disclosure could prove Rove guilty of leaking a national security secret to a reporter for political ends. What would George W. Bush do about that?

So, being that Rove orchestrates much of everything that this Presidency does, how much did the White House know?

This could get sticky.

The Media Will Be Held Accountable As Well...

"My first thought when I heard - just on a personal basis, when I heard there had been this attack and I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought, 'Hmmm, time to buy.'"- Fox News's Brit Hume From Media Matters

Now this may have been his reaction much later after the markets had opened and he saw the futures prices. His first reaction may have been one of simple human emotion. But the way this quote reads, even in its entirity, could make one think less of Mr. Hume.

People profit from tragedy all of the time. Don't think so? Do you think houses rebuilt after fires, hurricanes or tornadoes are done so at the expense of contractors? Didn't think so. However, it is something completely different to advertise the fact that you plan to make money from it. Particularly, when you are someone with a pulpit potential as large as Mr. Hume's.

This quote was first made known to this blog by David Sirota's post on The Huffington Post.