Born at the Crest of the Empire

Somebody's targetiing Rahm Emanuel

2010-06-21T16:44:00.002-05:00

Two days ago there was an ubstantiantiated story in the British Telegraph (friendly to Republicans) which was then promoted through Drudge claiming that Rahm Emanuel was on his way out pretty soon.

The White House quickly and utterly repudiated that.

Today, someone "leaked" emails to the AP saying Emanuel "traded favors" with currently on trial Blagojevich. (The charge is pretty thin, but the headline is damning.)

The ONLY conclusion is that someone is trying to chase Emanuel from office.

Idiots

2010-06-19T06:05:00.002-05:00

Drudge is headlining the fever dream of a "one world currency," and people on the right are still believing this is a possibility.

However, how exactly is that supposed to work when even the smaller, and more selective Euro appears possibly prepared to fall apart?

You're telling me that, at this point, the US and the Euros and Japanese and Chinese are going to sign up to let Ghana and Uzbekistan destabilize their economies?

Really? You believe that?

Issa threatens Obama investigators

2010-06-19T06:04:00.003-05:00

Well known wank and California Republican rep Darrell Issa is promising to hire tons of investigators and to flood the White House with subpoenas if the Republicans retake Congress.

Steppin' out....

2010-06-12T05:49:00.000-05:00

I'm doing some stuff over this weekend so blogging will probably be near non-existent. I expect to be back to regular service by Monday or Tuesday,

....so, a thought exercise while I'm gone.

How different would it all be if Hillary Clinton had won the Presidency? Would the environment be more toxic or less? (Figure more partisan and less racist.)

Would we have a healthcare bill? What would have been the tone on the bailouts? What would e the agenda now?

And, for bonus points, Imagine a McCain/Palin presidency...

Iran a year on

2010-06-12T05:14:00.001-05:00

The Iranian government raises security as the one year anniversary of Ahmadinejad's dubious reelection rolls around.

Today

2010-06-11T07:08:00.000-05:00

The World Cup starts today.

Because many can't watch the games live, I will not post anything about results until about 8:30 or 9:00 PM local.

A National Shame

2010-06-11T06:23:00.002-05:00

(WaPo, USAToday) The Army has found hundreds of cases of mishandling, misplacing, or improperly buried remains at Arlington National Cemetery.

Oil now, oil forever.....

2010-06-11T05:50:00.002-05:00

Government experts now say the BP oil spill is probably double their earlier estimates, although that only puts their estimate at 25,000-40,000 barrels a day, which, if that number has been consistent, is 5 to 6 times the size of the Valdez spill so far.

Probably more newsworthy is that BP is now saying they won't be able to plug the leak until at least August.

Too little. Very Late

2010-06-11T05:04:00.000-05:00

The Pope finally begs forgiveness for priest abuse and promises the church will no longer tolerate it (after how many decades that they (and he) did?)

Iran

2010-06-10T06:58:00.002-05:00

The US gets a new set of sanctions against Iran. The sanctions freeze the international assets of many semi-governmental institutions like some of the Revolutionary Guard's external businesses.

Also, these sanctions are in place prohibiting "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."

That would seem to be a significant expansion.

Also, Brazil and Turkey voted no on the Security Council resolution, presumably in preference to their own proposed nuclear solution in conjunction with Iran.

N. Korea

2010-06-10T06:53:00.000-05:00

The NYTimes takes an interesting look at N. Korea from interviews with defectors.

Thought for the Day

2010-06-09T16:17:00.001-05:00

The media is buying this "Republican year of the woman" crap.

Did they ever cover the 170 years of the fat, white, old males?

Dead Meme

2010-06-09T05:35:00.003-05:00

Remember three or four months ago when there was all that media about all the black candidates the Republicans had running for office?

Well, most of them lost in primaries.

So, now the media has decided that this is the year of the Republican woman, instead.

(And no one in the media seems to be talking about the rather abrupt Republican move towards the right....)

California passes "open" primaries

2010-06-09T05:15:00.000-05:00

Without too much press, California passed a new law that would change their primary system. Every potential candidate from every party will now run in a single primary with the top two vote getters moving on to something like an election day run off.

This will really change the pre-primary process and will force the parties into strongarming potential candidates out of races so that they can guarantee one candidate makes the November ballot..

N. Korea's crisis

2010-06-08T06:44:00.004-05:00

While I was unable to post yesterday (thanks, blogger!,) there was one event that I should probably note. North Korea underwent a rather unusual turnover in a few key government positions yesterday, installing hardcore loyalists to the Kim regime in key posts.

Kim Jong Il himself attended the meetings to insure that his presence was strongly felt (...rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.)

Alot of this N. Korean erraticism seems to be coming in advance of a changeover of power as Kim Jong Il prepares to install his younger son as the new leader for life. It may get still uglier when the new son tries to delineate his control.

Horrible

2010-06-08T06:20:00.002-05:00

Marines are trying to kill themselves at a record pace this year despite a 2009 program aimed at stemming the problem, according to Marine Corps data.

Despite all the rhetoric when war was "in," how much care are these guys getting? How many are suffering long term PTSD or other reintegration issues? How many are self treating with alcohol and drugs? How many are non-functional or homeless?

Blogger was down all day

2010-06-07T17:17:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the dearth of posts, but Blogger has been down until the last hour.

Maybe later. Definitely tomorrow.

Mike
.

Thought for the Day

2010-06-06T08:12:00.000-05:00

How much more aggressive would the coverage of the oil spill be if it had occurred under the Bush administration?

(Admittedly, it was their regulatory changes that helped it happen, but, still....)

Bobby Jindal vs. Science, again....

2010-06-06T06:11:00.003-05:00

A lot has been made that, just a short time ago, La. Gov. and former Presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal made that speech decrying government spending (volcano monitoring!,) and that now he is asking for huge government spending to try and protect his state from the oil spill, but....

However, I don't think enough has been made on just how bad his position has been on the science of his spending positions. After Iceland, doesn't volcano monitoring make a little more sense?

And, this crazy billion dollar berm system he's been using as his political flail, in fact, is not generally perceived to be that good of an idea.

You got to wonder about a guy who thinks in such simple terms.

Arizona cracker, yet again

2010-06-05T14:41:00.002-05:00

Admittedly, they're under the microscope (for good reason!,) but yet another example of Arizona's racism peaks through as an artist is ordered to "lighten" the faces on an outdoor mural at a school after a local radio host starts a controversy.

(PS. Dear White Republicans, anytime you feel the need to begin a statement, "I am not a racist, but..." or are tempted to use the phrase, "I have lots of black/Hispanic/Jewish/gay/whatever friends," you are very likely being discriminatory and should probably stop talking immediately.

No one ever got off the racist hook by citing the number of oppressed group friends they have. No one. Never.

...but then again, maybe the argument isn't for us. It's for the bigot himself.)

Carnage

2010-06-05T05:56:00.004-05:00

I hesitated to post based on the initial Turkish reports fearing inaccuracy from bias (which there was,) but some of the wounds in the Israeli boat boarding indicate a pretty brutal series of events.

Some of the activists indeed took three or four bullets with at least a couple delivered from short range to the head. Single shots to the head might indicate simple attempts to kill, but shooting someone to the head at less than two feet, after they've already been shot several times, indicates a massacre.

Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine....

The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine.

This is still based on Turkish reports, but it seems a bit more believable with a little distance, and someone putting their name and reputation behind it.

Related: The Israelis board and seize the next ship headed for Gaza without incident.

A "secret plan?" Really?

2010-06-04T12:10:00.001-05:00

I'm always very skeptical when someone claims to have a "secret plan" to turn around a bad situation, but that's what the Democrats are claiming regarding the 2010 election.

Acting globally

2010-06-04T06:15:00.003-05:00

The WaPo has a catchall article on the Obama administration's increased use of special ops and clandestine forces around the world to fight terrorism.

Quote,

Special Operations commanders have also become a far more regular presence at the White House than they were under George W. Bush's administration....

"We have a lot more access," a second military official said. "They are talking publicly much less but they are acting more. They are willing to get aggressive much more quickly."

Bad news, sportsfans....

2010-06-04T06:07:00.004-05:00

The US World Cup team's only likely scoring forward, Jozy Altidore, went to a hospital for a scan on his ankle after an injury in practice yesterday.

Right now, he's listed as day to day, but the scan is not a good sign. (Maybe they're just being overcautious?)

Related: I may be posting about the US World Cup journey, but I promise to hold any indication of results until 8:30 or 9 at night to give folks who work regular hours a chance to watch recordings of the game without spoilers.

Counter Narrative

2010-06-03T07:53:00.001-05:00

It's the U.S.-Mexico border, and even as politicians say more federal troops are needed to fight rising violence, government data obtained by The Associated Press show it actually isn't so dangerous after all.

The top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states: San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin, according to a new FBI report.

Breaking protocol

2010-06-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

George Bush admitted yesterday that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was waterboarded by the US, and said he would do it again "to save lives".

"Yeah, we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," the former president told a business audience in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "I'd do it again to save lives."

Not that long ago....

2010-06-03T07:33:00.002-05:00

Republican figure Fred Malek has his past (rightfully) come back to haunt him, as a new set of memos emerges detailing his role in Nixon's campaign against Jews in government.

It's really pretty despicable that someone involved in this would be invited to the Republican table at all, and yet Malek was pretty involved in the McCain and Palin operations just 18 months ago.

(PS. Dear Washington Post, conducting a campaign against Jews because of their religion should not be called "a single problematic episode in government service.")

Launch

2010-06-03T06:57:00.002-05:00

Obama talks about continuing and expanding his domestic agenda in what appears to be an effort to refocus away from the problems and launch the 2010 midterm campaign.

Skip it

2010-06-02T07:35:00.000-05:00

Read news for an hour and found nothing interesting enough to pass on.

Maybe later.....

The "interconnectivity" weakness

2010-06-01T07:39:00.002-05:00

There was a pretty minor glitch caused by an upgrade to the ground control software of the Global Positioning System which impacted a relatively small number of military devices.

In and of itself, not too big a deal, but I've often wondered about the US's reliance on interconnected systems if we ever get in another war with an "a list" country.

Certainly China or Russia (or, more likely, a country they sponsor,) even if it ceded air control, could successfully mess up electronic communications, at least for while before the ground source was nullified. During that period, our electronic advantage would disappear, and I would think the sudden disability would create chaos.

Israel's story strains

2010-06-01T05:58:00.007-05:00

Israel released a small bit of rather violent video from early in the boarding to try to justify the deaths, but until they release the whole thing, it will look like they're hiding a massacre.

It doesn't help that the Israelis are holding hundreds from the ships in custody, and not allowing any of them any contact with the outside world. (Another hundred or so were being forcibly deported, but were blocked from the press. When they hit the ground in their respective countries, we should hear a first version of their side of the story.)

A Security Council measure passed calling for an investigation into the incident.

Netanyahu cut short a trip to Canada and canceled a meeting with Obama.

The group that sent the ships was preparing to send more.

This whole thing is about who can control the press and sentiment, and right now the Israelis are losing.

(NYTimes, AP, USAToday, WaPo)

And, a rather interesting piece on Stratfor about the incident, especially the Geopolitical at the bottom.

Killing Al Qaeda's "number three"

2010-06-01T05:37:00.002-05:00

After all those years of jokes about the Bush folks claiming every detainee was Al Qaeda's "number three," I gotta admit, I greeted this AP story with some skepticism.

However, the announcement of his death comes from the Al Qaeda side, and the AP's treatment is that he's very credibly the real number three. So, we'll have to wait and see, but it could be important.

(By the way, I'm guessing he was killed as part of the Obama administration's response to the Times Square bombing attempt. If you'll remember, they hit every target they had in the days after that attempted attack.)

On the Israeli raid....

2010-05-31T06:42:00.003-05:00

The Israelis stormed a "flotilla" of ships ferrying aid to the Gaza strip. Somehow, in the largely symbolic and diplomatic seizure, shots were fired, and 10 of the folks on the aid ships were killed.

That's tragic enough, but let's look at the wider context.

The Turks had "sponsored" the Gaza aid ships, but it was also the Turks who had offered to host/hold the Iranian nuclear material in the recent Iran/Turkey/Brazil proposal to ease pressure on Iran's nuclear program. The Israelis were very unhappy with the Turkey/Iran nuclear offer which was constructed outside the current pressure and negotiations and would have allowed Iran to continue to enrich and protection from much of the proposed verification measures.

I do not believe that the two things are unconnected.

The Israelis were trying to make a hard line point to the Turks in the ship seizure, and things appear to have spun out of control on the ships.

It's this sort of miscalculation that can start wars.

Later: Turkey has symbolically recalled its Ambassador from Israel. (Although you know the US is acting as go between anyhow.)

Sort of Related: The Hamas leader says the US has been making "informal" (ie, not officially recognized) contact with Hamas.

Sending a message

2010-05-29T06:35:00.001-05:00

The US "leaks" to the front page of the WaPo that there are contingency plans to strike in Pakistan if there's another Times Square type attack.

They want Pakistan to hear that so they will crack down on the militants themselves.

Liable

2010-05-29T05:45:00.002-05:00

If you run a program where you're authorizing "inexperienced" drone crews 8,000 miles away to make decisions on whether to drop bombs on a target, you can't completely blame them when they screw up and accidentally kill civilians.

If you create that sort of situation where mistakes like that are reasonably possible, the program (and those who authorized and operated it) is partially liable as well.

I recognize it's more politically expedient to blame "a few bad apples," but, unless they're acting maliciously, it's pretty wrong to pin all the blame on the guys on the ground.

Approaching 9 years in Afghanistan

2010-05-28T05:59:00.001-05:00

Measuring Vietnam from the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, Afghanistan has now become America's longest hot war.

Buying California

2010-05-28T05:55:00.002-05:00

Looking at the latest Fiorina/Campbell/DeVore polling for California's Repub Senate primary, you have to marvel at the effect of advertising and money in a large state with so many media markets. Fiorina has had the money, and she's been the only one on the air, and you can see the effect in the polling, a twenty point swing in about 2 1/2 months.

It's different when you're in a small, one media market state where one newspaper and TV media market drives the narrative, but in California and Texas, it's all about money, and who can run the ads from Sacramento to San Diego.

Just an example of the obvious, I guess.

Immigration

2010-05-28T05:47:00.000-05:00

In the other big California Primary for Governor (where both candidates are spending their own fortunes,) immigration seems to be a lever.

Immigration does seem to be an issue in the Republican primaries, (Look at McCain suddenly being all "tough on immigration) but how big a role will it play in the various general elections? We know Republican base voters are "nativist," but how does it play outside the base?

Related: FirstRead had an interesting post on immigration polling during my hiatus, showing that Republicans are rapidly losing Hispanic voters (semi-permanently?) and the gaps are even larger among young Hispanics.

Take a look at this on Latino party identification,

-- In 2004, Dems held a 22-point edge in party identification among Latinos (49%-27%)
-- In 2005, it was 24 points (48%-24%)
-- In 2006, it was 26 points (50%-22%)
-- In 2007, it was 30 points (52%-22%)
-- In 2008, it was 35 points (57%-22%)
-- In 2009, it was 31 points (50%-19%)
-- And so far in 2010, it has been 36 points (58%-22%).

Republicans are looking to win this election on immigration, but what's it going to cost them down the line among the largest growing demographic?

Could they possibly win and hold enough anti-immigration votes to hold out against this over the next decade?

I'm back

2010-05-28T05:44:00.001-05:00

Well, everything has readjusted and resettled, and I'm finally back to blogging.

Let's see what's going on today....

Getting a life

2010-05-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

Finally, after all these years, I'm getting a life.

Unfortunately, that tends to cut into blogging time.

Tons of stuff to do around here over the next few days, so, I'll be back to blogging Thursday, maybe Friday.

I want to apologize to those of you who are regulars, but when you have an opportunity at a happy life, maintaining the blog for a few days kinda slips down the priority list.

Mike.

I'm curious

2010-05-22T06:28:00.002-05:00

In the new Texas curriculum,

The new standards say that the McCarthyism of the 1950s was later vindicated -- something most historians deny -- draw an equivalency between Jefferson Davis's and Abraham Lincoln's inaugural addresses, say that international institutions such as the United Nations imperil American sovereignty, and include a long list of Confederate officials about whom students must learn.

So, elevating the Confederacy is one of the goals?

It is the new Republican Party.

Can Rand Paul take a neutral interview?

2010-05-22T05:33:00.000-05:00

After his blowout on the Civil Rights Act, and dodging a thrice repeated question on the minimum wage, I wonder if Rand Paul can even take neutral interview anymore as every journalist worth his salt will try to load up a question sure to make headlines.

Heck, Paul has already done the unspeakable and bailed out of Meet the Press this week.

(Somehow, after touching the Civil Rights third rail, I don't think he's going to be allowed the Palin tactic of claiming the press are out to get him.)

Quote of the Day

2010-05-21T09:46:00.001-05:00

Rand Paul on Good Morning America,

"When does my honeymoon period start? I had a big victory...."

Thought for the Day

2010-05-21T06:59:00.004-05:00

In the wake of Rand Paul speaking for Republicans and tea partiers saying that the Civil Rights Act doesn't fall within their philosophy....

In the wake of Arizona passing that abhorrent, discriminatory, racial profiling immigration law....

In the wake of the GOP pillorying their top (and only visible) black figure for months and months and months....

How's that GOP outreach to minority voters going?

Taking Responsibility?

2010-05-21T06:26:00.003-05:00

DNI Dennis Blair resigns over intelligence failures that that allowed the Christmas Day bomber to board a plane bound for the US.

It's kinda weird to see after the Bush administration where anybody could fail in any way and no one ever resigned in responsibility.

(The only one who ever resigned was Michael Brown, and that was primarily from incredible outside pressure after the Arabian Horse qualification was revealed. But no one ever resigned over 9/11, Iraq, Abu Ghraib, or anything else.)

When more isn't better

2010-05-21T06:11:00.000-05:00

(USAToday) BP concedes oil spill is bigger than estimates.

And, (AP) The blowout that is fueling the spill has now been spewing for a month. (A month!)

Talk about a momentum killer....

2010-05-20T11:14:00.004-05:00

You gotta credit the campaign of Rand Paul's opponent for derailing him just one day after he won his primary and gained national acclaim for his election night speech.

They held back the attack on Rand Paul's position against the Civil Rights Act until they really needed to drop it to kill his momentum, and now, just a day after he shot up, he's stopped dead in his tracks defending a pretty ugly position.

That's good campaign management.

Later: Look at the Republican party figures run from Rand Paul. Wow.

Awesome!

2010-05-20T06:44:00.004-05:00

The WaPo has a soft piece on Chuck Schumer which predicts he may replace Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader after the midterms.

Man! I couldn't be more excited. I've been hoping for this switch since the 2008 Majority Leader election. Schumer is a Democrat who fights.

(Related: Dana Milbank notes that Repub Minority Leader McConnell is swinging wildly to the right after Rand Paul defeated McConnell's hand picked prototype in that Senate primary.)

Floyd Landis cracks

2010-05-20T06:18:00.003-05:00

After fighting vigorously for four years, dethroned Tour de France champ Floyd Landis admits his own drug use and tells authorities all, including naming other riders who doped.

There's only one name everyone is wondering about. and according to this story he does accuse Lance Armstrong of blood doping (extracting, storing, and reinserting red blood cells.)

North Korea did it.

2010-05-20T06:08:00.000-05:00

An international report says a North Korean torpedo (very probably from a submarine) sank that South Korean naval vessel in March that killed 46.

This is going to be very tricky.

Picture of the Day

2010-05-19T05:58:00.002-05:00

(Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), exits the polling booth after casting his ballot during his U.S. Senate Democratic primary re-election run in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 18, 2010.… (REUTERS/Bradley Bower))

Arlen

2010-05-19T05:53:00.002-05:00

Let's remember that Arlen Specter switched parties because he was likely to lose the Republican primary as well.

My opinions must matter!

2010-05-18T22:34:00.013-05:00

We should all go to great effort to figure out what a few local races might mean for the entire 2010 midterms.....

...because our ignorance about the local candidates, our ignorance about the relative quality of the campaigns, and our ignorance about the local media environment means those things don't really matter in local, lowish turnout elections, right?

It must be some kind of national message, not that Kentucky Republicans are a bit reactionary, or that Specter switched parties, or that Sestak apparently ran a great campaign, or had union support in a low turnout election....

It must be that my pre-conceived narrative made the difference, right?

(PS. It's funny how little relative coverage has been given to the Pa Congressional special election where the Dem won on a "level playing field." Certainly, it was a local, low turnout election like the others, but it's being largely ignored because it contradicts the preferred narrative.)

Thought for the Day

2010-05-18T06:43:00.001-05:00

It's a primary day, so every result will be discussed as bad news for Democrats.

Preventative imprisonment?

2010-05-18T06:12:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, the Supreme Court supported a provision of a law which allows "indefinite imprisonment" of sex offenders past any sentencing.

This seems like a hugely dangerous precedent, and in the article they note that North Carolina is already holding 77 inmates indefinitely under this provision.

Now, let me clearly say that I'm not pro-child molester, but I could easily see a law like this being expanded into other classes of crimes.

If you want life sentences for child molesting or any other crime, fine, pass a law putting life sentences on the crime. But this seems a very dangerous legal way to retroactively go about it.

Blogging housekeeping

2010-05-18T05:27:00.000-05:00

I've got a busy 10 days or so ahead, so I'll probably be blogging light through next Wednesday. Looks like I'll still have most of the mornings, but the afternoons may be getting a little crowded.

It should be back to normal soon.

An Iranian nuclear deal?

2010-05-17T06:13:00.005-05:00

In a rather surprising move, Iran agrees to a nuclear deal that ships and stores its enriched uranium in Turkey. The whole thing feels very curious and may just be a negotiating tactic or attempt to dodge pressure, however. the early published details would appear to meet many of the US demands.

The deal was reportedly brokered by Brazil, although the "tick-tock" hasn't really been written yet, so we don't know if Brazil really set it all up or whether Iran just gave them the credit to keep such a deal away from association with the US. (Any way this breaks is a huge "world stage" coup for up and coming Brazil.)

So far, it appears to be set up without consultation with the IAEA and, at least officially, without the US, so I really think we'll have to wait to see the details before a full judgment. Here's two early versions: AP and the NYTimes.

Aaahh, here it is. The BBC notes that, thus far, such a deal doesn't seem to inhibit Iran's enrichment processes and research.

Thought

2010-05-17T05:44:00.000-05:00

As a blogger, I'm ready for the mid term elections to begin in earnest.

As a blogger, elections are a whole lot of fun.

As rare as an eclipse

2010-05-16T06:37:00.001-05:00

Neither John McCain, Lindsey Graham, nor Joe Lieberman are scheduled on any of the Sunday shows.

Is there a secret cabal meeting somewhere?

"It's not La Paz...."

2010-05-16T06:30:00.002-05:00

The NYTimes has a piece on World Cup teams preparing for the mile high altitudes in South Africa.

Getting still worse.

2010-05-15T21:22:00.002-05:00

The oil spill is worse than we thought it was a couple of days ago (back when we found out it was worse than a couple days before that.)

Also, Right now, the oil spill appears to be keeping out to sea, heading off to the southwest. However, with the Gulf of Mexico geography, it's bound to eventually land somewhere sometime.

(With the Gulf Stream, we may eventually see remnants landing on the East Coast, Canada, or even Britain.)

Wow.

2010-05-14T10:33:00.001-05:00

Not really apples to apples, but still.... Wow.

If the economy produces jobs over the next eight months at the same pace as it did over the past four months, the nation will have created more jobs in 2010 alone than it did over the entire eight years of George W. Bush's presidency.

The quietest terror plot ever

2010-05-14T05:54:00.003-05:00

So, it seems we now have pretty solid evidence that the Pakistani Taleban were very involved in the Times Square car bomb fizzle.

I'm just amazed at how quietly this connection is passing by. We were attacked on our own soil, and yet, because of the politics (both in relation to Pakistani cooperation and the ugliness of the war's blowback,) nobody really wants to highlight the issue.

I just can't get over the difference from the Bush administration.

Republicans who like Kagan

2010-05-13T21:20:00.003-05:00

Sen. Collins of Maine and Brown of Mass pretty much torpedo a GOP filibuster of Supreme Court Nominee Kagan before it even gets out of the blocks leaving the GOP strategy adrift.

Made me laugh

2010-05-13T06:33:00.001-05:00

A little bit of a slow build, but it lances Glenn Beck for all his crazy Nazi invocations.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

English as official language

2010-05-13T06:15:00.004-05:00

With immigration on the front burner, expect English as the national language to once again come to the fore.

A Gallup poll says immigration is up as an issue, but still only at 10% of people majorly concerned about it. (And it will serve to rally the Republican base.)

However, you figure the Obama folks are more organized than the diffuse Republican opposition, so they're going on a more coordinated polling response, whereas Republicans are working more on a gut level collective response, so, I guess watching how the Obama folks play will probably offer a better read.

I'm just not sure how it's all going to spin out. My early gut says Dems win if immigration becomes the issue, but I'm not totally sure. What do you think?

(PS. It would be interesting to see if immigration becomes the issue as Republicans spent the last year and a half setting up the anti-healthcare, anti-bailout, "Obama as spender" campaign, however maybe immigration could play into that in a not so direct way.

Imagine the indirect message "Obama takes care of everyone else but me, even those non-white, non citizens."

That would play into the "other" meme and increase Republican white identification, potentially among soft racist independents.

That's a little inexact in description, but I think you get my point.)

Big money

2010-05-13T06:04:00.003-05:00

Today's fun fact from the BBC:

He said the amount of opium produced by one hectare (2.47 acres) had almost doubled to 56kg (123lb) in the five years to 2009.

Think about that. How much does 123 pounds of heroin sell for on the street? ...and how little do the farmers get paid?

Maybe we should start a free trade heroin.....?

Afghanistan could rapidly become a much wealthier country.....

Who is winning the politics of the oil spill?

2010-05-13T05:45:00.003-05:00

Democrats would seem to be winning the initial spin phase of the oil spill, with a top AP headline this morning like this: Emerging oil rig evidence shows lack of regulation. (which I would argue cuts strongly against no regulations Republicans.)

And the polling seems to say it's a net neutral at worst, splitting along partisan lines.

However, I wonder how it's going to spin out when we start to see weeks of front page pictures as the spill comes to land. Even if people don't directly blame Obama, a general dismay will tend to land on the party in charge through a borad right track/wrong track dissatisfaction.

Later: Will "punishing" BP and other oil companies with a new cleanup tax spin well for the Dems?

Dear Arizona Republicans, your sheet is showing

2010-05-12T06:13:00.004-05:00

There can really be no question of racism anymore, can there?

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a bill targeting a school district's ethnic studies program, hours after a report by United Nations human rights experts condemned the measure.

PS. Dear AP, the election seeking race baiter gets his defense starting in the second paragraph? If it was a bill preventing blacks at lunch counters, would the second paragraph be Strom Thurmond explaining his position unchallenged?

PPS. Only white history counts, right?

Dear NYTimes....

2010-05-12T06:01:00.000-05:00

You're going to headline with a story claiming that the US is on a path to reach Greek debt levels, a premise that assumes that the same debt spending we just went through to salve "the worst economic crisis" is going to continue unabated for the next 20 years?

Really?

Quicker to write than read?

2010-05-12T05:41:00.000-05:00

Sarah Palin's second book is due out in November.

(With the degree of ghostwriting, can we really call it her book?)

The end of the Godfather

2010-05-11T07:05:00.000-05:00

I'm guessing the US got tangible and specific information that the Times Square attempted bomber was tied to a particular terror group out of N Waziristan as they conducted 18 different drone strikes in the region yesterday.

It seems pretty apparent that he's talking.

(My guess is that they're trying to send the message that attacks in the US are unacceptable. We'll see how effective the strikes are, and if they get that message.)

Phoenix pays for immigration law

2010-05-11T06:23:00.003-05:00

The USAToday runs a story looking at the potential losses to Phoenix convention business because of the immigration law (estimated at $90 million.)

Several groups have already pulled out.

Your sheet is showing

2010-05-11T05:44:00.000-05:00

The head of the Young Republicans (who has a history of borderline racist comments) steps down suddenly and without apparent cause.

C'mon. Give me some unbelievable scandal.

Obama to name Kagan

2010-05-10T06:07:00.002-05:00

I'll let others dig into the qualifications and confirmation of the new Supreme Court nominee.

My question is, how does an election summer Supreme Court nomination process play out?

Is it harder or easier to get the votes with Republicans looking away from their base and back towards the center? There will certainly be a huge amount of individual grandstanding, but I'm guessing the Republican leadership will probably ask for a softer tone to reach towards independents, women, and the geography outside the south.

This is going to be particularly high stakes, so it will be interesting to watch the multiple pulls.

Europe steps up

2010-05-10T06:02:00.003-05:00

Markets react very positively overnight after Europe agrees to a significant debt rescue package.

Here's hoping it holds.

Eating their own

2010-05-08T18:04:00.003-05:00

Unbelievably, Utah Republicans refuse to renominate sitting Republican Senator Bob Bennett to run for reelection.

The scary thing is that all the other Republican Senators see this, and know that they can't vary even an inch from the most stringent dogmatic voting, so the atmosphere is going to get even harder.

Side bits: Bennett was actually third in the voting, and even Mitt Romney's in person speech in support in the Mormon state of Utah couldn't save him.

Wow.

Dangerously ignorant

2010-05-08T07:29:00.002-05:00

It still has to be classed as unlikely, but there is a chance that Sarah Palin could be our (last) President.

“I think we should keep this clean, keep it simple, go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant,” she said. “They’re quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the 10 commandments, it’s pretty simple.”

Three points make a line?

2010-05-07T05:43:00.004-05:00

The bad loan/financial crisis, the West Virginia Mine Disaster, and the BP oil spill all share the commonality that they occurred, in part, because the Bush administration "relaxed" regulations on industry either through rule changes or by gutting regulatory agencies and cutting budgets.

These incidents all took place in an intentional environment, and, I'm sure if we really dug, we could find many more smaller instances and near misses.

How much economic growth have we really enjoyed from "getting the bureaucrats out of business?" How much has it cost us so far? And what on earth do we have to look forward to in the future?

And where's the voice in the media saying that?

Thought

2010-05-07T05:16:00.002-05:00

As you read this, there may be some kid being taught that evolution is wrong....

Stock Market Drop

2010-05-06T21:43:00.004-05:00

So, we live in a world where some guy's typo can end up costing the rest of us a trillion dollars in an hour?

In Memoriam

2010-05-06T11:07:00.003-05:00

Eric Cantor closes the National Council for a New America.

If you'll remember, that was that failing effort a year ago by Cantor, Jeb Bush, and Haley Barbour to seize leadership of the Republican Party and "rebrand" it as moderate. Remember, they held that one "townhall" in a pizzeria in Arlington that got breathless media coverage as the revival of the serious GOP?

Guess who didn't win the Republican civil war?

(And notice that Haley Barbour defected to the Palin/Tea Party side.)

Jockeying for credit

2010-05-06T07:46:00.004-05:00

Politico has a piece "examining" several of the key Republican strategists' efforts to help the Republicans "retake" Congress.

But, really, it reads like a Karl Rove effort to claim credit for the electoral gains the Republicans seem set for anyway.

He's starting to try to rebuild his image (and business.) His self-serving book was his relaunch. (and, of course, Politico is eating his "insider" spin up, and reporting it as literal.)

Using drones to cover asses?

2010-05-06T07:17:00.004-05:00

The LATimes has an article talking about the increased drone activity/strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but what really intrigues me is the sourcing. Why are "current and former officials" talking about this now?

As it now appears there's a connection between the Times Square car bomber got his training from the Pakistani Taleban, are they trying to assure us that they're "doing everything they can" against the Pakistani Taleban?

With the two year backdating of the inception of the program, is this the CIA trying to say it's not their fault?

Later: As both EPM and Anonymous pointed out, there could be a linkage between the Times Square car bomb and the drones (which could be politically tricky for the Obama administration,) so the key characterization in this article may be the oft repeated emphasis that the drone campaign was designed and begun by the Bush administration.

BP's political spending

2010-05-06T07:13:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure it's directly related, but the WaPo outlines BP's major lobbying and political spending over the past few years.

At the very least, it's going to tar anyone who appears too far up the list. (Looking at you, Sen. Landrieu.)

FoxNews ethics?

2010-05-05T11:37:00.004-05:00

An AP writer points out that three potential Presidential candidates (Gingrich, Huckabee, and Palin) are actually on the FoxNews payroll.

Pawlenty's competence

2010-05-05T11:12:00.000-05:00

The Supreme Court rules against Pawlenty's cuts to a food program for the elderly and disabled, dealing a blow to his budget efforts (and claims of competent governance.)

Busy today

2010-05-05T06:19:00.000-05:00

Maybe something around lunch.

Thought

2010-05-04T21:24:00.001-05:00

BP was allowed to operate an offshore oil rig without any preparation or plans to cap it if something went wrong?

Too close

2010-05-04T13:01:00.002-05:00

Someone has posted the air traffic control conversation that brought the Times Square bomber back to the gate.

Thought

2010-05-04T07:13:00.002-05:00

Someone should tell Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal that his calls for smaller government are being heeded, and his state is on its own for spill cleanup.

Who passed this?

2010-05-03T21:38:00.003-05:00

I'd like to think Republicans are responsible for this law, but either a Democratic Congress or Clinton would likely have had to sign off on it.

The prospect of an extended leak has intensified concerns over what compensation BP is willing to pay, since a law passed after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill requires companies to pay for cleanup costs but no more than $75 million for other damage.

Go, cops, go!

2010-05-03T21:10:00.002-05:00

Police and the FBI have identified a likely suspect in the Times Square fizzle, a naturalized citizen born in Pakistan.

Later: They've got a guy in custody.

CNN says they actually stopped a plane on the tarmac that was headed to Dubai, brought it back to the gate and pulled the guy off.

Good to know BP is focused on the right thing.....

2010-05-03T11:58:00.003-05:00

BP is trolling the gulf coast trying to get residents to sign a waiver of all future liability claims for the spill. This report is out of Alabama. Somewhere, I read that they were doing this in Louisiana too.

Quotes

2010-05-02T06:23:00.003-05:00

President Obama at the Correspondents' Dinner.

“The only person whose ratings fell more than mine last year is here tonight. Great to see you, Jay,” he said to Mr. Leno.

Or maybe Leno on Sarah Palin,

If she ever wins the presidency, he said, “it would be the first time a beauty queen could actually bring about world peace.”

Politico's got more quotes and some of them are pretty funny.

"Crude" car bomb in Times Square

2010-05-02T06:12:00.005-05:00

From the description and the materials in the "crude" car bomb that fizzled in New York's Times Square, you have to guess it was an attempt by first timers.

The question is, who was it? From the description of the bomb, it doesn't sound like anyone mainline, Muslim terror groups, white supremacists, etc which to my mind would likely have built a better bomb, so that would likely leave one of those groups of bozos that are "sympathetic" to Al Qaeda, or what is now euphemistically being called an "anti-government" person (political right winger.)

I don't know. I'll be curious.

Go FBI! Get your man!

Later: Police are looking for a 40ish white guy after a suspicious man was seen on video changing clothes in a near by alley, and the bomb was supposedly placed very near a military recruiting station, so add left wing crazy to the mix.

Thought for the Day

2010-05-02T06:07:00.001-05:00

To equate an oil leak, no matter how bad, to Katrina is very disingenuous.
.

Dehli attack warning

2010-05-01T06:39:00.001-05:00

The US Embassy in India has warned of possible "imminent attacks" by militants in the capital, Delhi, and advised US citizens to be vigilant.

Too fat to fight

2010-05-01T06:33:00.002-05:00

A WaPo editorial by two former chairmen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and Hugh Shelton, says that childhood obesity is a national security threat as a quarter of all kids are too fat to fight. They call on Congress to introduce laws to give children better nutrition.

(I can't find the original, so here's the BBC cover.)

Pssst.... Hey, buddy...

2010-04-30T21:28:00.003-05:00

Wanna buy a money losing, completely discredited right wing newspaper?

The Unification Church (Moonies) are looking to sell the Washington Times. They've been "subsidizing" it to the tune of $35 million a year.