Politics

Contractors behaving badly

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By Lindsay Beyerstein In the wake of the guard scandal at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, a security contractor explains in strikingly frank terms why these large private security contracts in war zones are so predictably mismanaged: The main reason why managing these contracts is so difficult is that it is impossible to stay ahead … Read more

The Speech

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by publius Tonight's speech was one of Obama's very best — and he's delivered some good ones.  I don't have any one overarching theme, but here are my thoughts: First, I'm glad there was such a big focus on benefits to the insured.  The threats to insured people — rising premiums, lack of security — … Read more

Salon Should Demand Better

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by publius This Camille Paglia column is one of the most rambling incoherent pieces I’ve ever read (for a professional writer). It’s hard to even know where to start. The most obvious problem – the rambling hordes of lost adverbs in mile-long sentences – isn’t even what most bothers me. What most bothers me is … Read more

Tea bagger bus company sued over blaze that killed 23 seniors

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By Lindsay Beyerstein

One of the featured corporate sponsors of the Tea Party Express had to pay millions of dollars to settle lawsuits for its role in a bus fire that killed 23 elderly nursing home residents fleeing Hurricane Rita in 2005.

The BusBank, a Chicago-based charter company, a "Tour Partner" of the Tea Party Express, a rolling protest sponsored by the Our Country Deserves Better PAC under the supervision of former Republican state legislator Howard Kaloogian, now a PR exec for the GOP-linked firm Russo, Marsh & Rogers.

BusBank is also arranging to ferry Tea Baggers to their 9/12 march on Washington to voice their demands for unfettered capitalism. (Update: A Majikthise commenter asked if there's a Dick Armey connection here. There is. Dick Armey's FreedomWorks Foundation is the premiere sponsor of the 9/12 march; and Kaloogian's OCDB PAC is a "Gold Co-Sponsor.")

In 2005, a bus carrying seniors fleeing Hurricane Rita burst into flame outside of Dallas, immolating 23 nursing home residents. Investigators later found that the bus was: driven by an undocumented migrant without a valid U.S. driver's license, lacking adequate fire extinguishers, and not licensed to operate in Texas. When the bus had mechanical problems before the crash, the driver took it to an unqualified mechanic who failed to notice the critical fault–an unlubricated axle that eventually melted and burst into flame.

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My One and Only Van Jones Post

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by publius The Blogger Licensing Board informs me that I have to say something about Van Jones.  Scattered thoughts below: First, my take is that he's a guy with some amazing accomplishments who simply never should have signed on in light of his 9/11 comments.  There's just no way you can ask an administration with … Read more

The Fruit of Nelsonism

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by publius As you'll recall, we passed a stimulus bill earlier this year.  The original proposal was already too small.  But then a group of centrist Senators led by Ben Nelson and Susan Collins demanded additional significant cuts to aid for states.  They ultimately cut about $25 billion from the original proposal, most of which … Read more

Bold Leadership

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by publius Jake Tapper, "WH, Dept. of Education Revise Language": In an acknowledgment that the Department of Education provided lesson plans written somewhat inartfully, surrounding the President Obama’s speech to students next Tuesday, the White House today announced that it had rewritten one of the sections in question. NYT, "Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and … Read more

Government Worked

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by publius Deborah Solomon reports in the WSJ that the federal stimulus bill that zero House Republicans voted for, and that 2.5 Republican Senators voted for, is working: Economists say the money out the door — combined with the expectation of additional funds flowing soon — is fueling growth above where it would have been … Read more

That Explains It

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by publius It's actually in the Constitution: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No Sunday morning shall pass without John McCain being interviewed, … Read more

Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Torture edition

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By Lindsay Beyerstein Washington Post reporters Peter Finn, Joby Warrick, and Julie Tate lend credence Dick Cheney's fallacious argument that because Khalid Sheik Mohammed began cooperating with U.S. authorities after he was tortured, torture made him cooperate. The story is based the reminiscences of unnamed intelligence officers who observed Mohammed in 2005 and 2006. They … Read more

Mike Enzi, Good Faith Negotiator

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by publius Baucus's self-appointed Gang of Six is really making some nice progress.  Here's good faith negotiator, bipartisan mediator Mike Enzi: A key member of the Senate Republican Conference on Saturday blasted Democrats for offering a healthcare solution distinctly at odds with his party's goals. Democratic healthcare reform will drive up the deficit, discriminate against … Read more

Salon columnist nonplussed by torture report

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By Lindsay Beyerstein Alex Koppelman reacts to the CIA Inspector General's report like it's a disappointing summer blockbuster: The report itself, though, didn't really live up to the hype. That's not to say it didn't contain disturbing details, like mock executions and an interrogator's threat to rape the mother of one detainee, or some bits … Read more

Did Bushies seek to disregard terror alert guidelines on eve of election?

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By Lindsay Beyerstein

(Hello, Obsidian Wings readers. I'm the newest member of ObWi and I'm truly honored to be here. Thanks to Publius and the team for inviting me. A bit about me: I'm a freelance journalist based in New York City. I also write for the Media Consortium, UN Dispatch, In These Times, and for my personal blog, Majikthise.)

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge claims in his forthcoming memoir that Sec Def Don Rumsfeld and AG John Ashcroft unsuccessfully pressured him to raise the terror alert on the eve of the 2004 election.

Four days before the vote, someone dropped a previously unseen video message from Osama Bin Laden on al Jazeera's doorstep. Bin Laden told the citizens of the United States that neither John Kerry nor George Bush could protect them, but he didn't issue any specific threats.

Ridge claims Bush officials pressured him to raise the threat level, even though the tape contained no specific threat. Officially, an orange alert indicates a "high probability" of terrorist attacks. According to DHS guidelines adopted in 2003, orange alerts are reserved cases where there is specific, credible, detailed evidence of an imminent attack on American soil.

"We certainly didn't believe the tape alone warranted action, and we
weren't seeing any additional intelligence that justified it. In fact,
we were incredulous," Ridge wrote "… I wondered, 'Is this about security or politics?'" (Keep in mind that the panel that advised Ridge on threat levels included not only Rumsfeld and Ashcroft but also notorious intel politicizer George Tenet, who was responsible for fixing the facts around the Bush administration's policy of invading Iraq.)

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Filibuster Rules

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by publius In my reconciliation post, I had assumed that it requires 60 votes to get rid of the filibuster.  Turns out, I was wrong about that.  It requires two-thirds.  And that, in turn, presents some very difficult problems.  Anyway, Mark Kleiman has all the details on this, and offers some suggestions — go check … Read more

The Invisible Hand

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by publius Paul Krugman speaketh wisdom: So it seems that we aren’t going to have a second Great Depression after all. What saved us? The answer, basically, is Big Government.  . . .   All in all, then, the government has played a crucial stabilizing role in this economic crisis. Ronald Reagan was wrong: sometimes the … Read more

Help Me Not Go Insane

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by publius Am I really supposed to take seriously this "snitch list"/"Big Brother" business from the same people who cheered on basically every single executive action during the Bush years?  I mean, massive secret interception of private communications is ok, but asking people to email misinformation is a "dissident database"? Help me understand — I'm … Read more

The “Costs” of Inaction

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by publius Ross Douthat's column praising the budget policies of my adopted state of Texas has been pretty thoroughly critiqued.  But I thought Ezra Klein's chart captured the essence of the problem with it.  The upshot is that Texas's budget is in relatively better shape because there's not as much spending on social services.  It's … Read more

The Fool’s Errand of Political Cover

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by publius The current GOP line of attack is that the stimulus is a “failure.”  Even if you think the stimulus is bad policy, this argument is ridiculous.  Maybe the stimulus will ultimately fail, but it’s too early to say anything either way (though it has helped states).  In short, the "failure" argument is aimed … Read more

A Unified Theory of Blue Doggism

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by publius The Blue Dogs have been confusing me lately.  Their various positions don't exactly seem logically consistent.  They oppose the costs of the health care bill, but they also oppose the primary measures to keep those costs down.  They're anti-deficit, but also anti-revenues.  It just doesn't make much sense. But then I had an … Read more

Maybe Scratch the Town Halls, Mike

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by publius Poor Mike Castle (R-DE).  He was trying to have a town hall meeting, like any good Representative.  But then he lost control to a woman demanding (to loud applause) that he pay more attention to Obama's birth certificate.  The funniest part, though, comes at about 1:45, where she convinces the crowd (and Castle) … Read more

Democrats Drop Card Check from Union Bill

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-by Sebastian Democrats have dropped card check from the pending changes to union organization laws. This allows the bill to focus on much less controversial methods of addressing union concerns about unfairness in union organization drives: including shorter election times, much stricter punishments for violating the law regarding organization, and faster arbitration. Given any reasonable … Read more

The Anti-Tax Ideology

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by publius I’ve made a lot of snarky references lately about how various Republican policies are really about helping rich people. As I plan to continue this line of snark, I should probably back it up with some substance. And the surtax debate gives me a good opportunity to do that. Before I do, I … Read more

Not So Shocking

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by publius In the original version of this post, I misread Megan McArdle — I thought she was claiming that wealthy Italians pay a higher income tax rate than Americans.  On closer read, I don't think she was — she was saying that Americans actually pay (i.e., comply with law) at a higher rate.  So … Read more

Picking Your Poison

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by publius Blog-sitting for Sullivan, Conor Friedersdorf raises a couple of interesting criticisms against "comprehensive" reforms.  The upshot is that uber-complex legislation is (1) impossible for citizens (and politicians) to read and understand; and (2) more prone to special interest capture.  His proposal: I call[] for a Congress that reads all the bills it passes. … Read more

Cancel The F-22

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by hilzoy Yesterday, Barack Obama repeated his threat to veto the defense authorization bill if it contains money to buy more F-22 fighter jets. He's absolutely right. I hope he prevails over the various Senators who are trying to put the money back in. For one thing, it's not clear that our biggest need right … Read more

The Fall

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by publius Tomorrow's NYT takes a look at the fall of Sarah Palin over the past few months.  The theme that emerges is that Palin simply wasn't ready for the glare of the spotlight.  In particular, the NYT describes Palin as overly obsessed with — and distracted by — criticisms.  She apparently felt the need … Read more

Tomorrow’s Much Too Long

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by publius This week's narrative is that the weak economy is dragging Obama down at bit.  The bad economic news has also re-energized Republican attacks against the stimulus.  And while those attacks are absurdly premature, I can't say I blame Republicans.  Pounding a weak economy is what opposition parties do.  In Wire-speak, that's part of … Read more

Stop It

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by hilzoy From McClatchy: "Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who's at the center of Sotomayor's most controversial ruling. On the eve of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the "troubled and litigious work history" of firefighter Frank Ricci." … Read more

Corner, Backed Into

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by publius The Obama campaign has a problem — it needs more revenue for health care coverage reform.  But increasing revenue is politically problematic. One potential source of funding is to tax employees' group health benefits by imposing a modest cap on the amount that can be excluded.  It raises revenue, and it's actually good … Read more

Cloture Votes

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by hilzoy Yesterday, Sen. Durbin said this about Senate Democrats and the filibuster: "If they will stick with us on the procedural votes, we at least know that we can move forward," he said of his Democratic colleagues. "They may vote against final passage on a bill, they may vote with Republicans on an amendment. That's … Read more

The “Crucifixion” of Sarah Palin

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by publius Steve Benen notes that Palin's abrupt resignation has actually increased her standing a bit among Republicans according to a recent Gallup poll.  Steve writes: Inexplicably quitting, for less-than-clear reasons, has managed to endear Palin to her party more. I think these numbers vindicate the Ed Kilgore theory of Sarah Palin.  The upshot of … Read more

Like A Grizzly With Cubs, If By “Grizzly” You Mean “Quitter”, And By “Cubs” You Mean “Kids You Can’t Be Bothered With”

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by hilzoy Sarah Palin, January 22, 2009: "When I took my oath of office to serve as your Governor, remember, I swore to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state like a grizzly with cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own. Alaska, as a statewide family, we’ve got to fight for … Read more

Barracuda

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by hilzoy I just watched Sarah Palin's announcement that she will step down as governor, which was surreal even by her standards. It's hard to pick just one favorite moment, though this has to be on anyone's list: "Life is too short to compromise time and resources… it may be tempting and more comfortable to … Read more