Enemy Combatant
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
On The Gulf Coast, Freedom Is On The Marsh
Well, we've figured out what to do with all those refugees -- after their stint in the Astrodome, they're going to become temporary Texans:AUSTIN, TX (AP): Texas public schools will enroll children of Hurricane Katrina refugees sheltered within each district.
The Texas Education Agency has been directed to provide all needed support for districts having to absorb children from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. TEA has said the refugee children can qualify as "homeless" and may enroll without proof of residence.
Also, normal immunization requirements for attending school or child-care facilities in Texas will be temporarily waived for children displaced by the hurricane. Schools are allowed to waive the 22-to-one teacher-student requirement.
Districts with an influx of 50 or more students can get an immediate funding increase, rather than waiting until the end of the school year.
Austin schools are working to ensure the students get backpacks, school supplies and clothes.
Now here's a project for enterprising Democratic elections attorneys: Let's figure out a way to insure that these displaced folks get to vote, somewhere -- either in Texas, or in their respective home states. I've got a feeling they won't be voting Republican come 2006.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Newsflash: Bush Didn't Make It To Ararat
I watched a few minutes of CNN tonight, and thought to myself: He's been so careful to avoid Cindy, he didn't even see Katrina coming.
The American media may take the opportunity to show us, up close, over the next few days and weeks, what they haven't been permitted to show us in Iraq and Afghanistan: The Bush administration's appalling incompetence, in delivering even the rudiments of government services. This time, though, we'll get to see Americans die, in real time.
What Bush must do, of course, in the face of widespread evacuations, perhaps hundreds dead, and maybe a million newly homeless, is to mobilize a massive effort to first rescue the living, then find and bury the dead, then house and clothe hundreds of thousands of survivors, at least temporarily. There should be emergency laws passed to prevent profiteering, too.
Sheeyeah; right!
You know, the kind of things they've been doing so well in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But if oil spikes up near $100 a barrel, and let's say the widespread southeastern flooding causes the housing bubble to burst --
-- I'd say all bets are off. And at that point, Bush may want to "armor up" all the White House vehicles . . .
Sunday, August 28, 2005
As Long As The Wingnuts Pretend These Are Our Only Choices
and we fail to speak up to correct them -- they will be.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Last Surviving Liberal Media Mogul Tells All
Because I work in California's East Bay, I often pass by the Grand Lake Theater in downtown Oakland. The owner, Allen Michaan, has used his theater marquee to denounce Bush policies (most particularly Diebold election machines and the Iraq war) for years now. In fact, what radicalized him (like me) was the stolen election in 2000.
After the coming "special election" that Schwarzenegger, unfortunately, has foisted on us, paperless voting will be illegal in California. We've got to make that a federal priority, if we're ever going to take our country back.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Read Between The Lies
Thursday, August 25, 2005
When They Say He's A "Solid" Conservative, They're Talking About His Head
This is hilarious. Ricky Senatorum tries to distance himself from the war, but manages to distance himself only from reality:Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's office acknowledged yesterday that it cannot locate public statements of the senator questioning the Iraq war, despite the senator's claim last week that he has publicly expressed his concerns.This is the story they're going with? That the media neglected to make any record when Sen. Man-On-Dog actually said something about Iraq not in complete subjugated suck-assedness to the Crawford Cretin?
"Robert L. Traynham, Santorum's spokesman, said a search of Nexis, a news database, and the office's press clippings had not turned up any account of those comments." Traynham and Santorum both say, however, that Santorum may have made comments about Iraq that just haven't shown up in any record. "I do a lot of interviews on TV, on radio, with print reporters who don't happen to write everything I say," Santorum told the Inquirer. "The fact that it hasn't turned up in print doesn't mean I haven't said it."
I didn't think it was humanly possible, but it appears that Ricky Senatorum has managed to hire a spokesman even stupider than he is.
Monday, August 22, 2005
He'll Soon Be Sharing The Surface-Of-Mercury Suite At The Hades Hilton, For Eternity, With Father Coughlin
The "Reverend" Pat Robinson, bastard twin of Howdy Doody, said on his television show The 700 Club the other day that we need to off the democratically-elected President of Venezuela. The reason, he said, is because it was the United States' duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a "launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."
Do these lying Christofascists even listen to themselves anymore? Who the hell is he talking about? Osama Bin-Guevara? Fidel Hussein?
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Come Back To Us, Henry Louis Mencken Bunkum Exposeur
God, I wish H.L. Mencken were around writing columns today:Mencken's CreedAnd if he were to write about George W. Bush? They'd have to define a new crime -- assassination by pen.
I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind - that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.
I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.
I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty . . .
I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.
I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech . . .
I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.
I believe in the reality of progress.
I - But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.
"Le Mot Juste," As The Germans Say
John Aravosis over at AMERICAblog gives us the new definition of Schadenfreude:When Republicans get the government of their dreams, and fuck everything up.
Maybe "The Greatest Generation" Wasn't
I heard this on the radio this week, and was astonished at yet another tidbit of history we seem to have whitewashed from our collective memory:Sunday was the 60th anniversary of a glorious day in world history - - the announcement that Japan would surrender, bringing the end of World War II.Now,there's nothing like eight years of parochial school to hone a nonbeliever, but I retain enough vestigial Catholicism to recognize that -- given the "right" (i.e., manifestly wrong) circumstances -- otherwise decent and law-abiding human beings are capable of acts of unimaginable cruelty and violence. That's why we need to check that temptation, which naturally comes to everybody.
[August 15, 2005 was] the 60th anniversary of a terrible day in San Francisco's history -- a victory riot that left 11 dead, 1,000 injured and the city's reputation besmirched.
"It was the deadliest riot in the city's history,'' said Kevin Mullen, a retired deputy chief of police who has written extensively about crime in San Francisco.
The riot, which followed the Japanese surrender announcement by a day, was mostly confined to downtown San Francisco and involved thousands of drunken soldiers and sailors, most of them teenagers, who smashed store windows, attacked women, halted all traffic, wrecked Muni streetcars -- 30 of them were disabled, and one Muni worker was killed. The rioters took over Market Street and refused to leave until military and civilian police drove them away long after nightfall following hours of chaos.
It's now clear beyond question that that "checking" process wasn't done at immigrant detention centers immediately after 9-11. It wasn't done at Guantanamo Bay; it wasn't done at Abu Ghraib prison. It wasn't done at Bagram Air Force Base, or with the "ghost detainees" that we're holding only-Rumsfeld-knows-where.
In the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001, Bush was quoted (or at least paraphrased) as saying that "the gloves are coming off." If we are ever to connect the dots on American torture, we are going to need to ask Bush, in one forum or another (I prefer an impeachment trial), "Mr. President, specifically with regard to detention and interrogation after 9-11, what was your definition of the word 'gloves?'"
Friday, August 19, 2005
Fox News: We Distort. You Deride.
Question: Why is Greta Van Susteren still in Aruba? Isn't the bigger story about the missing Coward in the Crawford Compound?
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Operation Enduring Chutzpah
Not only are they out to keep the rest of the Abu Ghraib torture photos secret, they're even trying to keep their legal arguments for doing so secret, as well. So far, New York District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein isn't buying into their "double-super-secret background argument" argument. But on the underlying issue of deep-sixing the torture photos forever, they think they've found (in the Freedom Of Information Act, yet!) a likely loophole:The FOIA statute being used by the DOD to seal the abuse documents as well as the reasons for the sealing has never before been used by a government agency as a means by which to classify government misdoings. The statute of the FOIA, section 552(b) of Title 5 USC, subparagraph (f), has only ever been used by law enforcement and only in special circumstances and is defined as follows:The classic definition of chutzpah is the guy who murders both his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court, on the grounds that he's an orphan. Up until now, the federal government has argued: (a) that it is exempt from the Geneva Conventions; (b) that Gitmo is outside the jurisdiction of the federal courts; (c) that we were permitted to declare preemptive war on Iraq, without UN approval, in order to "enforce" UN resolutions; (d) that "enemy combatants" may be held forever without trial at the diktat of the President alone; and (e) that Americans (both military and civilian) are not subject to prosecution in the International Court of Justice for anything they may do during "wartime."
"records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes are exempt from production-but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information - could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individuals."
The DOD argues that the release of photographs and other evidence of torture and abuse falls under subparagraph (f).
And now -- they say -- they get to keep all their lawless little atrocities at their lawless little compounds during their lawless little war secret, because they were doing it "for law enforcement purposes."
I just hope, when they make that argument before Judge Hellerstein, that he rips them a new asshole. And I hope the cameras are rolling when he does it.
One More From The "Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations" AdministrationWASHINGTON - Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the U.S. because their names are the same as or similar to those of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list."Because, of course, the one fixed, unalterable characteristic a terrorist could never change about himself is his name . . .
It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights while scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed.
Ingrid Sanden's 1-year-old daughter was stopped in Phoenix before boarding a flight home to Washington at Thanksgiving.
The government's lists of people who are either barred from flying or require extra scrutiny before being allowed to board airplanes grew markedly since the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union say the government doesn't provide enough information about the people on the lists, so innocent passengers can be caught up in the security sweep if they happen to have the same name as someone on the lists.
Washington Post Pulls Its Head From Its Ass, Discovers Huge Country Lying Due West Of Beltway Not So Keen On Iraq WarThe Washington Post announced tonight that it cease its co-sponsorship of the Pentagon-organized Freedom Walk next month. The paper's involvement had drawn heat from within and outside the paper, with a guild committee today calling for the link to end."Could become" politicized? Gee, d'ya think?
The newspaper told the Department of Defense that it was pulling back on its offer of free ads for the event--a march up the mall ending with a concert by pro-war country singer Clint Black.
"As it appears that this event could become politicized, The Post has decided to honor the Washington area victims of 9/11 by making a contribution directly to the Pentagon Memorial Fund," said Eric Grant, a Post spokesman. "It is The Post's practice to avoid activities that might lead readers to question the objectivity of The Post's news coverage."
No, if I may borrow a phrase from the anti-choice crowd, this event was politicized "from the moment of conception."
Sunday, August 14, 2005
News Bulletin: Bush Won't Waste His Beautiful Mind On Cindy SheehanCRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, noting that lots of people want to talk to the president and "it's also important for me to go on with my life," on Saturday defended his decision not to meet with the grieving mom of a soldier killed in Iraq.
Bush said he is aware of the anti-war sentiments of Cindy Sheehan and others who have joined her protest near the Bush ranch.
"But," he added, "I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life."
* * * * *I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from the tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the Loved and Lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Letter to a Gold Star Mother
Why We Have To End This War -- "The Left" Won't Do It For Us
from digby, at Hullabaloo:. . . I'm pretty sure that Cindy Sheehan hasn't been guided or exploited by anyone in her quest. "The left," if you're talking about organizations, can't get it up to do anything that effective. Believe me, the Democrats would have peed their pants at the idea of sending a woman to Crawford to demand to see the president. It's so awfully unseemly you know. Someone might get upset. Besides it isn't manly and we want ever so much to be super-duper manly.
In fact, last year at this time, if you'll recall, Max Cleland went down to Crawford and wheeled his chair right up to the gate. The Democrats got all nervous that it was too ... undignified. Max was getting a little bit shrill, you see, and looked like he might be getting ready to force the secret service to push him off the property in his wheelchair. How indelicate.
No, this was a grassroots move started by one individual who felt strongly enough to put herself on the line. No leftwing group could have ever orchestrated anything this successful.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Goat People Push for Goat Theory To Be Taught In Nation’s Schools[Reuters] Goat-worshippers won a major battle today in a local Kansas school district. After an intensive lobbying effort and media campaign, Kansas school board members agreed to allow Goat Theory to be taught in the district’s biology classes along with evolution and Intelligent Design.
Goat Theory holds that the universe and all life within it are connected to invisible puppet-like strings controlled by divine goats. Goat Institute scientist and former National Review editor Goaty McGoatface explained, "Evolution simply can’t account for everything. Yes, it’s true that it has mountains of empirical evidence supporting it. But it’s also true that not every single debate about every single topic has been agreed upon by all scientists. Therefore, it’s just a theory. And so is Goat Theory. It even says so in the name, unlike 'natural selection'."
Relax! It's Legal Fiction!
When Does The "Freedom Walk" Become A "Chicken Run?"
In their further despicable efforts to conflate their utter failure to defend us on 9-11 with their unprovoked attack on Iraq, the strugglemongers' enablers at the Pentagon have ginned up -- I shit you not -- a "Freedom Walk," followed by a country-and-western concert (featuring Clint Black), for this coming September 11th. (The District is, what? 78% African-American? Obviously a big C&W crowd; great marketing, guys!)
I believe this travesty needs to be ridiculed into oblivion, even before it gets off the ground -- perhaps with a catchy, "alternative" name. My proposal: The "Live Bait" Concert.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
War Mom Flushes Embattled Leader From Desert Spider Hole
His "Crawferd proppity" under siege by a grieving war mother and his poll numbers plummeting ever abyssward, the Chickenshitkicker-in-Chief paraded out his economic team before reporters today, for an impromptu "press conference." Unfortunately, a nervous, confused and crosseyed Bush was able to hit most of his "safe" buzzphrases, but slurred his words and forgot some points midsentence.
Somebody needs to tell the White House's Dr. Nick to throttle back on Junior's thorazine.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Under Pressure
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out . . .
Hot Town! Summer In The City
With Chief Justice Rehnquist heading back into the hospital with another fever, a terrible thought just occurred to me: What if Rehnquist suddenly steps down or takes a turn for the worse, and Bush takes the opportunity to make another recess appointment -- this time, of Chief Justice Alberto Gonzales?
It could happen! Eisenhower made three recess Supreme Court appointments -- including Chief Justice Earl Warren.
If Bush did that, he could withstand the inevitable criticism from the left and the right on a Gonzales appointment, because of what the suckass press would undoubtedly characterize as his "boldness."
And although the recess appointment would end in January of 2007, Gonzales would go into Senate confirmation hearings as "the incumbent."
If I'm just thinking of this, you can rest assured that Karl Rove thought of it months ago.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The Shape Of Things To Come
Ohio's 2nd Congressional District just had a special election today -- and in a district that went Republican in 2004 by a 44% margin, a Democrat lost today by 4%.
Not just any Democrat -- Paul Hackett, an Iraqi War veteran and lawyer who called Bush and Cheney "chickenhawks" every chance he got, and talked about how the Iraq War was a terrible mistake from the start, and how we need to talk about an exit strategy -- now. He didn't apologize, and he didn't back down.
Be afraid of plainspoken Truman-Dean-Hackett Democrats, ye NeoCon traitorous filth.
Be very afraid.
