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by D. Cupples | We ordinary Americans expect sleight of hand from magicians on a stage. We expect dishonest manipulation of our perception (even lies) from corporations advertising products for sale during our favorite TV shows. As taxpayers, we should never accept corporate-style public-relations campaigns from public servants whom we pay to run our government and protect our nation.
A few years ago, we learned that high-level Bush Administration officials had misled our nation into invading Iraq (e.g., false claims about WMDs and an Iraq-9/11 connection). A few weeks ago, we learned that FEMA staged a fake press conference with staff posing as journalists. Today, Think Progress reports that Condoleezza Rice did something similar after becoming Secretary of State:
by D. Cupples | Update from MSNBC: "Shortly after releasing the last hostages, Leeland Eisenberg walked out
of the storefront office, held out his hands and lay on the ground."
A man who wanted to speak with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) walked into her campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire -- claiming to have a bomb duct taped to himself -- and took two (maybe three) of Clinton's campaign volunteers as hostages (MSNBC). Surely, there are better ways to secure alone-time with a presidential candidate.
Witnesses said the man was 40-ish and had "salt and pepper" hair. Wonkette reported:
Posted by Damozel | Via The Horse's Mouth, consider this article in The New York Times challenging, in the words of THM, "the chronic mendacity" or, in the words of BN-Politics, the frequently questionable accuracy of Rudy Giuliani: "In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani
cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about
his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views....And while, to be sure, all candidates use misleading statistics
from time to time, Mr. Giuliani has made statistics a central part of
his candidacy as he campaigns on his record. "(NYT)
The New York Times piece then proceeds to identify statistics cited by Giuliani which "are incomplete, exaggerated or just plain wrong."(NYT)
Posted by D. Cupples | The CNN/YouTube debate sparked ire among Republican bloggers, some of whom have called for the firing of CNN executives, because the bloggers didn't like CNN's choice of questions or the fact that some obvious Democrats were allowed to ask questions. According to the Caucus Blog, "Some bloggers slammed CNN for seeming to reduce Republicans to guns,
gays, the Bible...."
While it's nice to see Republican bloggers recognizing that guns, gays and the Bible are not substantive political issues, haven't Republican politicians spent years bellowing about guns, gays and the bible? Prominent Republican blogger Ed Morrisey wrote this about the debate:
Posted by D. Cupples | While privacy groups sue telecom companies for having (perhaps illegally) given customer data to the federal government without warrants, Congress is considering giving telecoms immunity from such lawsuits (a.k.a., telecom amnesty).
The Associated Press reported that a judge ordered the federal government to turn over lobbying data to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group that is suing AT&T. Context is important, because the Bush Administration's domestic surveillance programs are about far more than whether bored bureaucrats listen while we gossip with our friends.
By D. Cupples | The hullabaloo continues over Time Magazine's refusal to straightforwardly admit that columnist Joe Klein blindly transcribed false information from a partisan source that slammed House Democrats for passing the RESTORE Act. (BN-Politics) Klein's column claimed that the bill offers terrorists protection by requiring warrants when officials tap non-U.S. people's phone calls.
The claim is false, in that the bill has no such provision (see bill text). The source that misled Klein is Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MN). Glenn Greenwald reported that while Time refuses to clearly admit the error, the Chicago Tribune has taken responsible action:
By D. Cupples | Claiming executive privilege, the White House ordered current and former employees in July to not comply with subpoenas related to Congress's investigation into the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys.
Today, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) ruled that the White House's executive-privilege claim is legally invalid, partly because President Bush doesn't seem to have been involved in the U.S. Attorney firings. In an inadeqautely titled article, the Associated Press reported yesterday that Leahy ordered four current/former White House staffers -- including Karl Rove -- to comply with those months-old subpoenas.
By D. Cupples | Mississippi media was abuzz yesterday. Apparently, powerhouse attorney Richard
"Dickie" Scruggs has been indicted, along with a few other lawyers, for bribing a Mississippi state judge. (See indictment) Scruggs is a brother-in-law of U.S. Senator Trent Lott (D-MS), who recently announced that he would be resign from the Senate before the end of the year. Lott has not been implicated in the Scruggs case. Mississippi TV Station WLBT reported:
Post by Damozel | On the foreign policy front, would Hillary end our long national rightmare?
“I won’t even wait until I’m inaugurated, but as soon as I’m elected
I’m going to be asking distinguished Americans of both parties — people
like Colin Powell, for example, and others — who can represent our
country well, including someone I know very well....Because I want to send a message
heard across the world. The era of cowboy diplomacy is over.”(WaPo via Memeorandum)
Her
tendency to tack centerwards is one of the reasons I've leaned towards
her in the intervals when my crush on John Edwards' powerful
progressive platform appears an exercise in wishful thinking. Still:
Colin Powell?
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By D. Cupples| Yesterday's New York Times reported:
"Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates
called Monday for the United States government to commit more money and
effort to 'soft power' tools, including diplomacy, economic assistance
and communications, because the military alone cannot defend America’s
interests around the world."
The declaration calls for the current United Nations mandate to be
extended one year and then replaced at the end of 2008 by a bilateral
pact governing the economic, political and security aspects of the
relationship.
"The basic message here should be clear: Iraq is
increasingly able to stand on its own," said Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute,
Bush's top Iraq adviser. "That's very good news. But it won't have to
stand alone."(WaPo).
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all they have to do is call and we'll be there. What else, after all, are friends for?
By D. Cupples| On top of a criminal investigation, government contractor Blackwater now faces a civil suit over its guards having questionably shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians. The shootings are only part of an impressive list of allegations against the company, including illegal weapons smuggling and grand theft airplane (as in, Blackwater contractors were accused of taking an Iraqi military jet despite being asked not to).
Is there any end to the negative news about Blackwater, whose phenomenal growth we taxpayers have funded? The Associated Press reports:
By D. Cupples| There's a helluva hullabaloo brewing over last week's column by TimeMagazine's Joe Klein -- and his editor's response to people who pointed out Klein's blatant errors and asked for blatant corrections, so that millions of Time readers would not be misled about an important political issue.
Klein's column discussed the RESTORE Act, a bill that the House passed about two weeks ago, which would tweak requirements relating to the Bush Administration's domestic-surveillance programs. In part, Klein's column states:
Posted by Cockney Robin | A 54 year old teacher from Liverpool faces 40 lashes and a six month stint in prison for allowing the youngsters in her Khartoum kindergarten class to name a teddy bear "Mohammed", according to The Telegraph(via Memeorandum). Jesus wept (and I don't mean by this to insult Jesus or anyone who believes in him.) When I see this sort of thing in the news, I feel on the verge of turning into Christopher Hitchens.
By D. Cupples | Oddly enough, when wounded soldiers come home, they do not necessarily get the high-quality healthcare they deserve. Now, the Pentagon is asking wounded soldiers to give back portions of their enlistment bonuses because their wounds prevented them from finishing their entire tour.
According to the Associated Press, the policy of seeking refunds from wounded soldiers is still in place, despite a July 2006 presidential-commission report stating that wounded veterans were being unfairly penalized. Sen. Charles Shumer (D-NY) commented:
By D. Cupples | Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill), former House Speaker, mentioned weeks ago that he planned to resign. Yesterday, he announced that his resignation would be effective at 11:59 pm. This comes on the same day that Rep. Trent Lott (R-MS) announced his plan to resign before the year ends. A Washington Post blog commented:
Posted by Damozel | Ah, the sweet, sweet consolation of derisive laughter. Here are some links to blogs that have consoled me:
Why all these Republican resignations? The Gun Toting Liberalhas a theory. Regarding Trent Lott specifically, Wonkettehas several. Oliver Willis doesn't care: "One less pro-segregation racist right-wing Republican to deal with in the senate." He mocks Fox News for reporting that Lott made some remarks that "were seen as" racist. Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns, and Money will fill you in on Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrat Platform (which Lott praised in his 2002 speech.) Racist? You decide!
By D. Cupples | The rumor is that Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), minority whip, will step down before the end of the year. Initially, his office staffers denied the rumor, but later they simply refused to comment. No one is certain why Lott is considering stepping down, but speculations are flying. MSNBC reported:
By D. Cupples | We've been talking about skyrocketing healthcare costs for years, as though the costs have a mind of their own and simply keep growing like cancer cells. Oddly, U.S. healthcare costs are higher than those of any other developed nation in the world. Yesterday, a New York Times editorial stated:
by D. Cupples | We ordinary Americans expect sleight of hand from magicians on a stage. We expect dishonest manipulation of our perception (even lies) from corporations advertising products for sale during our favorite TV shows. As taxpayers, we should never accept corporate-style public-relations campaigns from public servants whom we pay to run our government and protect our nation. 
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