Yeesh. The days when the US was "running that surplus without robbing tens of thousands of poor families of their health coverage" are long gone; it is to weep.
A Request
So…the surge needs 7,000 more troops than the administration originally said, the Army is ordering injured troops to Iraq, the switch to a private maintenance company (which is just coincidentally a subsidiary of Halliburton) might be responsible for some of the troubles at Walter Reed, the Army has now forced Walter Reed's 2002-04 commander, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, to retire, after forcing current Walter Reed commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, and Army Secretary Francis Harvey to resign, and GOP presidential candidate John McCain has announced he's in favor of retaining the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy (under which hundreds of servicemen and servicewomen have been discharged including many much-needed Arabic translators), in spite of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili's and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen's support of repealing the policy.
I know the GOP's got the rep for Supporting the Troops, but maybe we could all start rethinking that. Whaddaya say, America?
Wannabes
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) announced his candidacy for president today on C-SPAN. He describes himself as a lifelong Libertarian who runs as a Republican, and talks a good game about individual liberty and dignity, and some of his votes (like voting against making the Patriot Act permanent) make him look like he actually gives a crap about keeping the government out of our bidness, but when it comes down to brass tacks, he's still happy to vote against reproductive freedom and LGBT rights (though, in fairness, he did at least vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment). Shocking, eh?
More dangerous yet is the even more reasonable looking Chuck Hagel (R-NE) who continues to say he's "open" to a possible presidential bid. He's started to fill the "Republican liked by Democrats" slot left vacant by John McCain, once word that he's just another rightwing shill really got out, though Hagel is no more deserving of liberals' admiration than McCain is. Hagel, too, talks a good game, an independent-sounding game, especially when he's criticizing the Bush administration, but he's as partyline rightwing as they come:
On Reproductive Rights: Voted against a $100 million package to reduce teen pregnancy (and, hence, abortions) by education and contraception, and voted for maintaining the ban on military base abortions, and the partial birth abortion ban with no exceptions. Etc.
On Taxation: Voted for prioritizing tax cuts ahead of national debt reduction, and voted against repealing tax subsidy for corporations that move US jobs offshore. Etc.
On Diversity: Voted against adding sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes, and voted for ending special funding for minority and women-owned businesses. Etc.
On Civil Rights: Voted for recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration, and loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. Etc.
He's rated 0% by NARAL, and 100% by the Christian Coalition. He's moderate in reputation only—and if he runs, we'll need to do the same job undermining his maverick credentials that we did on McCain.
Out of the Godless Closet
Last week, I mentioned that the Secular Coalition for America would be announcing the first open 'non-theist' member of Congress in history today. And so they have: Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) is first Congressmember in history to acknowledge his nontheism.
Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), a member of Congress since 1973, acknowledged his nontheism in response to an inquiry by the Secular Coalition for America. Rep. Stark is a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and is Chair of the Health Subcommittee.Only three other elected officeholders in the nation besides Stark responded to SCA's challenge to nontheists to come out of the closet: Terry S. Doran, president of the School Board in Berkeley, Calif.; Nancy Glista on the School Committee in Franklin, Maine; and Michael Cerone, a Town Meeting Member from Arlington, Mass.
Although the Constitution prohibits religious tests for public office, the Coalition's research reveals that Rep. Stark is the first open nontheist in the history of the Congress.
Recent polls show that Americans without a god-belief are, as a group, more distrusted than any other minority in America. Surveys show that the majority of Americans would not vote for an atheist for president even if he or she were the most qualified for the office.Thanks for representing, Congressman Stark!
…Surveys vary in the percentage of atheists, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheists in the U.S, with about 10% (30 million people) a fair middle point. "If the number of nontheists in Congress reflected the percentage of nontheists in the population," Lori Lipman Brown, director of the Secular Coalition, observes, "there would be 53-54 nontheistic Congress members instead of one."
If your blog was a tree, what kind of tree would it be?
There was a time when I kept clear of the kinds of meta-Jesus ruminations so popular at some big-time community blogs, thinking that running a weblog was quite enough self-indulgence, thanks. Of course, there was a time when I pointedly refused to use the word "blogosphere," vote in elections, or drink flavored coffee, and that all certainly went by the boards. So too has it been with thinking about blogging, and recent thoughts have coalesced about a question: What kind of blogger am I, anyway?
Most would recognize that there are indeed different kinds of blogs, though people seem to differ on the exact number and the distinctions between them. Some suggest there are only two kinds of blogs, while others go as high as ten. I'm drawn to the simplicity of an ontology that breaks all blogs everywhere in the world into four categories - political, gossip, mom and music - but suspect that we're somehow missing a category or two. Or twelve.
Even in the subset of political blogs, for example, you can find several forms or types, each reflecting the purposes of the writer. Even though purposes may blur together or overlap even within the bounds of a single politiblog, we generally can distinguish between reporters and advocates, generalists and specialists, analysts and philosophers and wonks. Horses for courses, as they say.
Anyway, I did ask this question of myself, and upon reflection the rather sobering but honest answer seems to be that I write a celebrity blog that is painfully short on actual celebrity.
Well, okay. It's a niche.
So what kind of blogger are you?
The Virtual Bar Is Open
TFIF, Shakers. What's your poison?
Don't forget to tune in here to listen to our own Phil "Waveflux" Barron talking about Pfc. LaVena Johnson tonight at 6:10pm CST!
The Nevada Fox News Debate is Dead
The Nevada State Democratic Party is pulling out of a controversial presidential debate scheduled for Aug. 14 in Reno and co-hosted by Fox News, according to Democratic insiders.Good. It's way past time we stopped rewarding Fox for bad behavior.
The debate was being hosted by Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio, the Nevada State Democratic Party and the Western Majority Project.
Democratic activists have protested that Fox is not a suitable partner for the event. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards announced Wednesday that he would not participate in the debate, citing Fox's conservative ties as a factor. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has said publicly that he would attend the debate; no other Democratic candidate has formally responded to an invitation.
Naughtywords
Yup, I use 'em—and when I do, it's not because I'm so moronic as to lift an image from a Google Search without even paying attention to what it says.
In case you can't make out the text, here's a still image in which they're clearer:
That's right. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts: So good you'll suck dick.
Whose dick, I've no idea. And it is a bit of a mystery as to whether the doughnuts are so good that you'll suck dick to get them, or whether they're so good that you'll suck dick in celebration. Maybe it depends on whether you're a cocksucking straight girl/gay boy or a non-cocksucking gay girl/straight boy. Anyway, it's probably best not to overthink this kind of genius.
Especially when there are heaping helpings of mockery to be served up for the editors at Augusta, GA's NBC affiliate, WAGT. Seriously, good move. I would be especially pleased if I were the anchorwoman tasked with reporting on Krispy Kreme's new whole wheat doughnut, only to have "So good you'll suck dick" emblazoned in a graphic right next to my head.
Wow.
[H/T Recon, natch.]
Quote of the Day
"Jonah Goldberg is just a vomit machine for all the right wing junk food being pumped up his ass." — The Rude One
I 
The Onion
Man Who Plays Devil's Advocate Really Just Wants To Be Asshole:
COLUMBUS, MO—Though area graphic designer Derek Sills says he plays devil's advocate to help his friends better understand opinions different from their own, sources close to Sills claim he takes on the dissenting role merely to be an asshole.Awesome. H/T Christopher.
"Now, I don't actually believe this or anything but, for the sake of argument, let's say your girlfriend is just dating you for your money," Sills said at a party last Saturday, after asking a group of friends to consider that the telephone may have been a "stupid invention." "Just playing devil's advocate here, guys, but perhaps slavery is the reason African Americans are so successful in sports these days."
According to sources, Sills "crossed the line" when he asked if their friend Jamie's mother might have deserved to die.
Prince's "penis" peeves people
The Smoking Gun has copies of complaints to the FCC about the Superbowl commercials. The Snickers ad and Prince brought on the most complaints. As usual, it shows that some people are just batshit crazy:
During Prince's rendition of Purple Rain, which I think is a really great song, there seemed to be a shadow puppet of his (penis). The sheet? that was the backdrop seemed to be (stained?) with something (semen?). My children were watching and now I have to explain to them what a wet spot on a cum coverd sheet. Thanks CBS.(link)
It was obscene to show Prince, a HOMOSEXUAL person through a sheet, as to show his siluette while his guitar showed a very phalic symbol coming from his below-midriff section. I am very offended and I would preffer not to have showed it to my 4 children who love football. One of them has hoped to be a quarterback and now he will turn out gay. I am actually considering to check him for HIV. Thanks CBS for turning my son GAY.(link)
I find it highly unacceptable to have a family watching a sporting event only to find Prince stroking, manipulating and fondleing his guitar behind the curtain. This image only made him look extremely large which made the rest of us feel small, and unable to perform this evening.(link)
The snickers bar commerical promoting homosexual behavior was disgraceful, also the giant shadow "phallus" from prince's guitar was equally disgraceful, this behavior has no place in a prime time major family event. It was easier explaining to the kids about jacksons boob being exposed, than explaining the pro homosexual theme of this years event. We will never watch again, only on tivo, with the half time filth cut out. It's pathetic when you can't keep porn out of the superbowl, just because 6% of the population is gay(link)
There are twelve pages of complaints.
Friday Cat Blogging
"Where's Matilda?"
"Mmm...water." Always tastes best
off a fingertip! So sayeth Olivia, anyway.
Matilda: Longer than a bookcase.
Return of the National Security Letters
Back in January, I wrote a post about National Security Letters (NSLs)—which I described as "the intelligence-gathering equivalent of the presidential signing statement—a stroke of the pen to magically turn dubiously ethical and formerly prohibited actions into perfectly legal maneuvers, with no legislation, no oversight, and no knowledge of the American people required"—detailing their increased use and all the instances in which NSLs appeared alonside words and phrases like "database" and "secret" in scenarios of questionable legality or outright illegality, always explained as "accidents," in the past two years.
And now they're back again in another strikingly similar scenario (emphasis mine):
A Justice Department investigation has found pervasive errors in the FBI's use of its power to secretly demand telephone, e-mail and financial records in national security cases, officials with access to the report said yesterday.Once again, we owe a big, fat thank-you to the Patriot Act for conferring upon the federal government the right to seize personal information without even the pretense of judicial scrutiny or Congressional oversight. Under the Bush administration, the FBI, the NSA, the Justice Department, and the Pentagon (at minimum) have used NSLs as "administrative subpoenas" to conduct investigations of American citizens without any impartial party exacting a single check or balance on any of it.
The inspector general's audit found 22 possible breaches of internal FBI and Justice Department regulations—some of which were potential violations of law—in a sampling of 293 "national security letters." The letters were used by the FBI to obtain the personal records of U.S. residents or visitors between 2003 and 2005. The FBI identified 26 potential violations in other cases.
Officials said they could not be sure of the scope of the violations but suggested they could be more widespread, though not deliberate. In nearly a quarter of the case files Inspector General Glenn A. Fine reviewed, he found previously unreported potential violations.
Members of Congress are promising to hold hearings, following this latest revelation. What a difference a majority makes, eh?
H-Meter Pegged!
(Todd and I had a psychic mind meld, so to add to what he said...)
Gingrich had affair during Clinton probe:
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.He's a hero, you see. He went after Clinton even at the risk of deep personal embarrassment to himself, people!
"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."
Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.
"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."
Never mind that Clinton never would have been put in the position to perjure himself if Gingrich hadn't led the charge in pursuit of Clinton's infidelity in the first place. I'm not excusing Clinton lying under oath—I'm still pissed about that—but for Gingrich to pretend that he's not a hypocrite because it was about Clinton lying under oath, when he would never have been under oath talking about an affair if it weren't for Gingrich and his hypocritical moralizing, is just insane! I mean—Oh. Mah. Gawd.
Go read Steve and Pam, who have more than just maniacal shrieking to offer in response to this story, which is obviously more than I can say.
20 Years
Fuck I'm old.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for…
If it gets him off Law & Order...
There's a push to get fantasy district attorney, ex-fantasy rear admiral, and former senator Fred Dalton Thompson into the GOP run for the White House. It's not as funny as it sounds, not for Republicans already in the race.
A glance at Thompson reveals some interesting complications. The politician-turned actor has pleased the Tennessee Conservative Union with his votes for military spending and against education funding and the earned-income tax credit, though his immigration stance may be a touch too pragmatic for some on the right. The tobacco industry loves him. The NRA loves him. He's been married more than once, which apparently matters to certain conservatives. He has a folksy, down-to-earth appeal that supporters liken to the last genuine conservative icon, another ex-thespian named Ronald Reagan, but is also a former DC lobbyist (for 18 years) who seemed quite adept at insider politics. Interestingly, Thompson has supported lobbying reform.
Thompson himself is playing coy about a presidential run and is letting such backers as once-Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and Tennessee GOP chair Bob Davis carry the water for him.
With the concerns that disparate conservative groups of conservatives have over the ideological bonafides of the major would-be standard bearers - the McCains, Romneys and Giulianis of the world - the notion of Thompson riding in on a white charger to unify the party must seem awfully appealing to some.
One caveat: Thompson is good friends with McCain and is characterized as reluctant to enter in a race against the Arizona senator. The relationship between friendship and politics is ever a tenuous one, however.
(HT to Jonathan Singer at MyDD. Cross-posted.)
