Politics

Well, that’s strange.

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I saw this first via Drudge and figured, well, you know, it’s Drudge – but apparently Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) really will not be a featured speaker at this year’s Democratic National Convention. I wonder why. No, I really am wondering. I mean, she spoke at the 2000 convention, and before I read this … Read more

And so it begins.

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The first RedState post of mine is up, where I reveal myself to be secretly the disembodied brain of Herbert Hoover… well, OK, not really. I have no idea how often I’ll be posting stuff over there; it’ll depend on the eventual tone of the place. I’m not an entirely serious sort of person, except … Read more

Red State Has Launched!

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Congratulations to Tacitus et al. for the very handsome looking new answer to Daily Kos: Red State The line up of excellent contributors, including our own esteemed Moe Lane and Sebastian Holsclaw, promises to make it a must-read for bloggers of all stripes and colors. And just because it’s dedicated to re-electing as many Republicans … Read more

Mom is Right, Again

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I had an interesting talk with my mom last night. As usual she narrow things down much better than I do. She mentioned that the infuriating thing about Moore’s films is not that it that they are such blatant propaganda. It is that they are propaganda films that are deceptively called ‘documentaries’. Documentaries can have … Read more

Pssst.

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Hey, Edwards. Ya wanna shake that “trial lawyer” label? Support the Class Action Fairness Act, which may come up for a vote today. Broadly put, it grants Federal Courts original jurisdiction to hear large (read, more than $5 million) class action claims brought on behalf of citizens of more than one state. (I’m oversimplifying; Overlawyered … Read more

Lies

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At a pool party a friend was talking about how Michael Moore’s new movie taught him so much. I sighed, asked what he learned, and cringed as he told me about pipelines through Afghanistan, Saudis leaving while everyone else was grounded, and congressmen who wouldn’t talk about sons and daughters dying in Iraq. He also … Read more

Dewey Wins!!!

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You’ve got to hate the NY(com)Post the way NYC liberals do to really enjoy this total f%$*-up. Since they’ve already taken it down from their site, you’ll have to trust Drudge on this one.

Get Smart.

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Kerry picked Edwards as his running mate. Quite* smart, I think. Being a bit pressed for time, though, I’ll leave it at that. von *In the U.S. sense, not the U.K. sense.

Any minute now?

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I don’t know what rumors Tac’s hearing, but right now the Kerry campaign is keeping mum about the Veep pick. It’s almost certainly going to be announced soon; I still think that it’s going to be Rep. Gephardt.

It’ll get leaked way beforehand. Guarantee it.

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Senator Kerry’s going to announce his choice for the Veep spot… via an email message to everybody who subscribes to his campaign web site. It’ll be some time in the next three weeks, obviously, and the secret will supposedly be kept until then: “The folks who are going to learn first about my choice are … Read more

Bringing in the Sheep

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At what point did Karl Rove calculate that George W. Bush must win the religious right in order to get re-elected? Against common sense and good presidential precedent (think FMA), Team Bush has been promising them heaven and earth.

Of course, no mere mortal gives and gives without asking in return eventually:

The Bush-Cheney reelection campaign has sent a detailed plan of action to religious volunteers across the country asking them to turn over church directories to the campaign, distribute issue guides in their churches and persuade their pastors to hold voter registration drives.
Campaign officials said the instructions are part of an accelerating effort to mobilize President Bush’s base of religious supporters. They said the suggested activities are intended to help churchgoers rally support for Bush without violating tax rules that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activity.

“We strongly believe that our religious outreach program is well within the framework of the law,” said Terry Holt, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign.

But tax experts said the campaign is walking a fine line between permissible activity by individual congregants and impermissible activity by congregations. Supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, charged that the Bush-Cheney campaign is luring churches into risking their tax status.

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Because God loves Democrats, too.

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Yes, He does. How else to explain Ralph Nader? Ralph Nader Calls Israel a “Puppeteer” 12:30 Jun 30, ’04 / 11 Tammuz 5764 (IsraelNN.com) On Tuesday, as broadcast on the American cable network C-Span, independent presidential candidate and environmental crusader Ralph Nader said the following: “What has been happening over the years is a predictable … Read more

On civility.

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Constant Reader hilzoy made a post in comments which I liked so much that I’m putting it up here as a post of its very own. I’ve gussied up the layout a bit, but made no other changes. Moe About civility: I think C. S. Lewis gets it right. The real test is this. Suppose … Read more

Short debate, really.

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Come on, with a title like this – Nader, Dean to Debate if Ralph Should Run – the answer’s bloody obvious, isn’t it? Nader says yes, Dean says no, Nader says yes and sneers, Dean says no and gets a little flushed, Nader screams Yes, Dean shouts No, Nader starts shoving metal spikes through a … Read more

More Veep speculation

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Dan Drezner is commenting on various reactions to the possibility that Senator Kerry will pick Representative Gephardt as his running mate. My advice is of course highly suspect – I’m a Republican, after all, and we’re tricksey and sly, yes, yes, my preciouss – I think that my opinion’s still relevant, and my opinion is … Read more

Too Sensitive for Serious Debate?

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Everyone from David Brooks to Nicholas Kristof is calling for more civility in the national discourse. Depending on your side of the fence, what you consider the source of the widespread incivility may vary:

Brooks:

To a large degree, polarization in America is a cultural consequence of the information age.

Kristof:

Mr. Bush got us into a mess by overdosing on moral clarity and self-righteousness, and embracing conspiracy theories of like-minded zealots.

But seemingly everyone agrees that we could do with a bit more civility. Everyone, some have suggested, except The Nation, who published this image on the back of the July 5, 2004 issue:

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Frickin’ French Idjit

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Via Sullivan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK, so I’m stopping short of endorsing Freedom Fries, but Chirac (like many other world leaders I can think of) could use a good swift kick in the pants (you choose from which side). And, get me a chair, I actually agree with Bush: In remarks prepared for delivery at a Istanbul … Read more

Don’t ask, don’t tell.

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By popular (if Canadian) demand, here’s an open thread to discuss last night’s Canadian elections. Or perhaps Canalections. Or maybe Electians. Who really knows? It’s really cold up there, and some of ’em speak French. Like all good citizens of the United States, I make it my practice to know absolutely nothing about Canadian politics … Read more

Godwin’s law in Action.

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What to say about the Bush campaign’s latest ad, “Kerry’s Coalition of the Wild-eyed“? Silly? Sure. Least-effective campaign ad ever? Probably. So bad that it’s destined to be screened at midnight on college campuses around the world? Very likely. The first shot in the ad is a statement that Kerry disagrees with every statement that … Read more

Martial Law: Good for Iraq! Good for the US? …and a few thoughts on SCOTUS

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Will the newly re-“sovereign”-ized Iraq need to impose martial law? Mere hours after the surprisingly early handover, whispers are already circulating that a severe Iraq-implemented clampdown (which would certainly have caused outrage had the US tried it) is Plan A to deal with the insurgency. Who’s going to be watching to ensure any clampdown stays this side of Husseinesque is a good question, but I can see the wisdom of letting the Iraqi’s themselves call this shot.

Having said that, there is this bit of confusion to clear up (from a few days ago):

The US-led occupation authority in Baghdad has warned Iraq’s interim government not to carry out its threat of declaring martial law, insisting that only the US-led coalition has the right to adopt emergency powers after the June 30 handover of sovereignty. [emphasis mine: Sounds like a funny kind of full sovereignty to me, but….]

Senior American officials say Iraq’s authorities are bound by human rights clauses in the interim constitution, known as the Transitional Administrative Law, prohibiting administrative detention.

But they say the recent United Nations Security Council resolution 1546 sanctions the use by foreign forces in Iraq of “all necessary measures” to provide security.

A senior coalition official in Baghdad said: “Under the UN resolution, the multinational force will have the power to take all actions traditionally associated with martial law.” He said they had raised their legal objections with Iyad Allawi, Iraq’s prime minister.

Mr Allawi on Tuesday appeared to back away from remarks made on Sunday that the government would assume emergency powers after the handover.

“No, I didn’t specifically say martial law meaning martial law,” he said, adding that the government was developing a “public safety law” which would allow it to implement curfews, searches, and “apprehend the enemies of Iraq”.

Well, so long as he didn’t mean “martial law meaning martial law.” Besides, he really should leave that kind of legally nebulous acrobatic nonsense to the professionals; like George Bush’s 9 closest friends.

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Short List.

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Somewhere out there in the blogosphere is a post indicating that Gov. Schwartzenegger, Sen McCain and former Mayor Guiliani are slated to speak at the Republican National Convention. All three are fairly obvious choices and on my own short list of people who should be given screen time*; I’m curious about who’s on everybody else’s … Read more

Tsk, tsk.

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I have to agree with Steven Taylor: this Alliance of Digital Brownshirts thing is kinda creepy. Yes, I understand that former VP Gore’s* gone off into Barking Moonbat territory again with this ‘digital brownshirts’ thing; Hell’s bells, if you look at it the right way the man was accusing people like me (although it’s entirely possible that Jonah Goldberg’s assumption that Gore was talking about “a bunch of GOP flacks who email rebuttals to journalists” is correct).

Still. Not really funny, this. Adopting the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy tagline was one thing; it was a nicely vague descriptor, we could be all in your face about it and it’s kind of interestingly ironic these days, given the current policy positions of the junior Senator from New York. But I don’t like the vibe of this one. Too much specific anger, hate and fear towards my side of the spectrum came along with it, and I can go for entire years without feeling the need of having people trying to lay negative karma on me, thanks.

Just saying, that’s all.

Moe

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Green Party Nominates David Cobb for President

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No, that’s not my home-remedy headline for you late-night blogging insomniacs. But, admittedly, even the mainstream media only reported this news within the context of the Green Party’s rejection of Nader. Greens reject Nader endorsement, back Cobb Unlike 99.9% of Americans, I’ve not only heard of David Cobb, I’ve met him and stood two feet … Read more

Fair notice

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I have decided to support Joe Kernan (D) in Indiana’s gubernatorial race, primarily based upon (1) his reputation as a moderate and (2) Mitch Daniel’s (the Republican candidate) role in drafting a federal budget that included a near-unprecedented mix of spending increases and tax cuts. If this, coupled to my prior declaration that I cannot … Read more

Uhh, Francis, Any Updates in the Works?

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As a firm believer that the best analyses of history come well after the fact and that any attempts to describe “history” within the context of the future is best left to Coney Island fortunetellers, I was always slightly annoyed by the arrogance of Francis Fukuyama’s celebrated prognostications in his 1992 auto-back-slapping rant “The End of History and the Last Man.” The fact that Western leaders rushed to praise Francis (essentially for praising them) and then took his book as license to carry on carrying on without concern for how the subtlties can come back to bite one in the ass was also annoying. Nothing’s ever that simple.

Oh, he left himself some wiggle room with predictions of minor fluctuations, but here, 12 years later, he might do well to revise a chapter or two given that:

A widely noted United Nations survey of 19,000 Latin Americans in 18 countries in April produced a startling result: a majority would choose a dictator over an elected leader if that provided economic benefits.

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The United Nations report, also drawn from interviews with current and former presidents, political analysts and cultural and economic figures, showed that 56 percent of those asked said economic progress was more important than democracy.

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An open letter to the financial backers of Air America.

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I have noted with some interest the details of the ongoing money sink that is Air America. I suppose that I could lie and say that this gives me no enjoyment, but that would be quite dishonest of me: I am enjoying the sight immensely, mostly because I was skeptical about the notion from the start. Admittedly, none of you bothered to listen to me, given that I’m some guy on the Internet with a blog, but you do have to admit that I’ve turned out to have frittered away a lot less of your hard-earned money than you have, so possibly you should have taken the time to look me up.

But, strange as it may sound, I’m not suggesting that we spend our time together in bitter recriminations: I’m here to help you out. No, really. We can turn this thing around for you.

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It was you. It was always you!

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Tacitus writes: Forget economic indicators, battleground states, overall approval ratings, etc.: this is the real reelect number [a poll showing Kerry and Bush drawing even on the war on terrror]. If the President is perceived as being unable to handle in a clearly superior fashion the self-proclaimed central mission of his presidency, then he will … Read more

In another world…

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…a world where the Ninja is cruising towards a easy nomination at the Democratic National Convention, the upcoming resignation of Connecticut Governor John G Rowland is white-hot news. There are all sorts of questions being asked about whether he’d stay in office long enough to appoint a new Senator to take Lieberman’s place, the Lt. … Read more

Lane Demographic Update.

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The all important Lane Family Demographic Update has taken place, again, and just like every other damn poll out there it’s all over the map. Pop Lane is now planning to vote for Senator Kerry*, while Mom Lane has switched support away from the presumptive Democratic nominee and is now officially undecided, albeit wistful about Senator McCain. None of the Sister Lanes were available for polling, thus skewing the results of the poll further. As a result, the Presidential election has been officially redesignated as being Too Close To Call. Further polling will probably take place in September.

In other news, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is still polling abysmally among Lane Family members, with the highest negative numbers going towards the bishops and cardinals and the lowest towards the Pope, although the theory that he’s been dead for a decade was floated; there was a sharp split on the legacy of former President Reagan; the economy is being rated as generally improved, although the general strength of the dollar vis a vis the Euro is generally viewed negatively; Europe’s (particularly France’s) positive numbers remain essentially unchanged from their generally high levels; and my interest in attending the Republican National Convention was greeted with the usual weeps and wails and protestations of where my long-suffering parents went wrong, although it was cut short this time by the sudden appearance of the Miracle DVD.

OK, so it’s anecdotal data. At least you know I’m not making sh*t up.

Moe

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The Old Gray Lady Takes the Gloves Off

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The battle raging between the Editors of The New York Times and the Bush White House has just exploded into a no-holds-barred brawl. In Thursday’s lead editorial about the 9/11 commission’s conclusion that Iraq was in no way connected to the 9/11 attacks, the Times concluded that there was never any evidence of a link … Read more

Father’s Day Weekend…

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…best wishes for all that qualify*; I’ll be in transit for most of it, thus doing my part to lighten the mood around here. In the meantime, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball is going up under reference (along with a few others: thanks, Jon) as soon as I have the time. If you haven’t checked it … Read more

Congress

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Yes, it’s another bang-head-on-keyboard post on prisoner abuse. I don’t like being this repetitive, but I feel like we’re at a key moment right now: We stop this, or as Anne Applebaum says, “the subject will change” and this will become permanent.

But like Jim Henley, I think the time has come not to kvetch, or even to hold forth eloquently, but to organize.

So: Congress. Yesterday Senators Patrick Leahy and Dianne Feinstein made a request to subpoena Justice Department documents on the Bush administration’s policies towards prisoners. The Judiciary Committee voted it down, 10-9, on purely partisan lines. From the NY Times:

The proposal, which was rejected in a 10-9 vote, identified 23 memos, letters or reports from Sept. 25, 2001, through March of this year on topics that included the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and rules for interrogation.

According to the proposal, the documents include a memo from Mr. Rumsfeld to Gen. James T. Hill, the senior officer of the Southern Command, dated April 2003 and titled, “Coercive interrogation techniques that can be used with approval of the Defense Secretary.” Another memo dated Jan. 4, 2004, written by the top legal adviser to Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the senior American commander in Iraq, and sent to military intelligence and police personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison, is titled, “New plan to restrict Red Cross access to Abu Ghraib.”

So, please, please please: if your Senator is on the Judiciary committee and s/he voted against the subpoena, write or call him and ask him to reconsider. Here’s the list, with contact information:
Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia. Phone: (202) 224-3521. E-mail/contact form.
John Cornyn, R-Texas. Phone: (202) 224-2934. E-mail/contact form.
Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Phone: (202) 224-2752. E-mail/contact form.
Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. Phone: (202) 224-2315. E-mail/contact form.
Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. Phone: (202) 224-5972. E-mail/contact form.
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Phone: (202) 224-3744. E-mail/contact form.
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman. Phone: (202) 224-5251. E-mail/contact form.
John Kyl, R-Arizona. Phone: (202) 224-4521. Email/contact form.
Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama. Phone: (202) 224-4124. Email/contact form.
Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania. Phone: (202) 224-5225. E-mail/contact form.

Specter is in a competitive election, and it might be worth asking his opponent to raise this issue.

If your Senator voted for the subpoena, please thank him or her and ask him to keep up the pressure for a real investigation. (If your Senator is Patrick Leahy, thank him a whole lot–I’m pretty sure he’s done more good than anyone else in Congress on this stuff. If your Senator is Chuck Schumer, thank him but maybe explain to him why the “ticking bomb” hypo is not such a good reason to legalize torture, and why you wish he would stop implying to the press that it is.)
Joseph Biden, D-Delaware. Phone: (202) 224-5042. Email/contact form.
Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois. Phone: (202) 224-2152 . Email/contact form.
John Edwards, D-North Carolina. Phone: (202) 224-3154. Email/contact form.
Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin. Phone: (202) 224-5323. Email/contact form.
Dianne Feinstein, D-California. Phone: (202) 224-3841. Email/contact form.
Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts. Phone: (202) 224-4543. Email/contact form.
Herbert Kohl, D-Wisconsin. Phone: (202) 224-5653. Email/contact form.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, ranking minority member. Phone: (202) 224-4242. Email/contact form.
Charles Schumer, D-New York. Phone: (202) 224-6542. Email/contact form.

If your Senator is not on Judiciary, write to him anyway. He may be on Armed Services, or Intelligence, or some other committee that could have jurisdiction over this. Or maybe he’ll make a floor speech–it’s better than nothing. Write to your House member too.

Or write to the President–what the hell. Or call John Kerry, and ask him to show some leadership on this issue.* Or email the Applebaum article and your Congressmen’s addresses to your friends (especially if they’re constituents of Judiciary Committee members.) Or post this on a weblog that actually gets traffic. Or any combination of the above.

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Twenty quatloos that this becomes an issue.

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It’s got all the hallmarks, really. It’s important enough to be adequately symbolic and obscure enough to be safely abandoned by either side, if necessary: the parties that choose to get involved will have plenty of opportunities to safely exhibit their real feelings about Reagan/their opponents; and, of course, either way the Unitarians probably end … Read more