The Best Offense

TUCSON, ARIZONA (Dissociated Press) - A representative of the Bush/Cheney campaign began an investigation into how more racially offensive acts could be committed in the course of protecting the safety of the Vice President at a local rally.

The representative, speaking on condition that his race not be identified, said, "If we're not pursuing full family racial histories of all members of the local press corps covering President, ah, I mean, Vice President Cheney, at least all of 'em who are not white Republican Americans, we aren't doing our job of protecting the Bush/Cheney victory in November, uh, I mean, the lives of the President and Vice President."

The representative was then heard to mutter, "National security. Terra. 9/11. Terra. Iraq. Mushroom cloud. 9/11. National security. [Racial epithet redacted.] With us or with the terr'ists. Enemy combatants. Terra."

     ...

Well, OK, not really. We don't know that it has come to that... yet. But when the Bush campaign inquires as to the race of an experienced local news photographer assigned to cover Dick Cheney, it's getting pretty damned close. Here are some real excerpts from the article about the incident:

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer
By C.J. Karamargin
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Star refused to provide the information.

Cheney is scheduled to appear at a rally this afternoon at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

A rally organizer for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign asked Teri Hayt, the Star's managing editor, to disclose the journalist's race on Friday. After Hayt refused, the organizer called back and said the journalist probably would be allowed to photograph the vice president.

"It was such an outrageous request, I was personally insulted," Hayt said later.

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president's re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.

"All the information requested of staff, volunteers and participants for the event has been done so to ensure the safety of all those involved, including the vice president of the United States," he said.

     ...

"I reckon all them colored folks warn't gonna vote for Our Leader nohow," Diaz did not say, but may as well have. Can it really get any more racist than this? Why does the photographer's race matter to the campaign?

This incident is, as I see it, representative of the very core of the Bush/Cheney campaign's attitude toward America and Americans. I don't know if Bush or Cheney either one is personally a racist, but it really doesn't matter, does it, if they allow racism to pervade their campaign?

(Link via Magpie.)

Steve
   PermaLink     

Kerry The Day, Again

Wow. Any more questions about Kerry's credentials to be president? I didn't think so.

I admit that all the war talk and the military hoopla made this old peacenik uncomfortable. I'm typically more inclined to emphasize the things that didn't change... or shouldn't have... on 9/11/2001, e.g., America's commitment to civil liberties. But certainly the public perception has changed, and if Kerry can address people's fears... reasonable or unreasonable fears... by talking about his service record, who am I to suggest he shouldn't do so. The record is real enough. No microfilms were destroyed and/or mysteriously resurrected in the making of this genuine American war hero. And his later advocacy against the Vietnam war cinches the matter: only a Vietnam vet, a vet with real medals for real heroism, could do what he did.

But I was more impressed with who Kerry is, at the core. Some things you just can't fake. This man gives a damn... about his comrades in Vietnam, about our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, about his family, about what's true and what's a lie in the political arena, and (yes, I'm convinced of it) about America and the American people and the American ideal. Could there be a more stark contrast than between Kerry and Bush?

I was, if not an original Deaniac, nonetheless a strong supporter of the good Governor, and I still acknowledge what he has done for my party. But I have now officially gone from being a lukewarm Kerry supporter to being a genuine enthusiast. This man should be president. Please help me make it happen!

Steve
   PermaLink     

As Crude As It Gets

Awwww, gimme a break. Remember this, from John Judis, Spencer Ackerman and Massoud Ansari?

     ...

This spring, the administration significantly increased its pressure on Pakistan to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman Al Zawahiri, or the Taliban's Mullah Mohammed Omar, all of whom are believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan. ...

This public pressure would be appropriate, even laudable, had it not been accompanied by an unseemly private insistence that the Pakistanis deliver these high-value targets (HVTs) before Americans go to the polls in November...

     ...

... But according to this [Pakistani] ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty- eight July"--the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

     ...

Well, they captured someone...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan has arrested a Tanzanian al-Qaida suspect wanted by the United States in the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the interior minister said Friday. He said the suspect was cooperating and had given authorities “very valuable” information.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani — who is on the FBI’s list of 22 most wanted terrorists, with a reward of up to $25 million on his head — was arrested Sunday in the eastern city of Gujrat along with at least 15 other people, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat told The Associated Press.

     ...

Please note the timing. They captured him Sunday. They announced it today.

You know, it doesn't get any more heavy-handed than that. They haven't even the subtlety to announce it yesterday or the day before, when a generous person might have perceived the timing of the announcement in a less political way. Or they might have done the decent thing, and announced it as soon as the capture was confirmed. But no, they delayed the announcement until today. That's how these people are. That's who these people are. There is no national security risk they would not take, if it gained them even the smallest political advantage.

But I have a question for them...

Where's Osama? Osama bin Forgotten? Osama bin Missing for how long? Are you saving him up for the day of Bush's acceptance speech?

---

UPDATE: Laura Rozen has more... and it's all pretty cheneying suspicious, if you ask me.

Steve
   PermaLink     

ROTFL!

Best laugh of the day is surely from Billmon. Go. Read. Laugh. Now!

Steve
   PermaLink     

The Two-Americas Speech

Stella was born in North Carolina, and she takes her politics seriously. She and I watched Edwards's convention speech last night, and afterwards, she was furious. She was so excited that I thought for a while she might actually blog about it. Alas, no such luck.

Paraphrasing her complaint, "Where was I addressed? I am neither wealthy, nor am I scraping by from paycheck to paycheck. And this us-vs.-them mentality does not help the Democratic cause." (Those are my words, and I'm sure she'll let me know if I've in any way misrepresented her position. I'm pretty sure I've got it right.)

I replied that most societies in the world do not have a middle class, that the whole notion of a middle class is historically only a few hundred years old, that its existence is more fragile than we care to think, that our American middle class has slid down the slippery slope recently, especially during the Bush years, that we are gradually heading toward a bimodal wealth distribution like that of many third world countries, etc., etc. I also reminded her that a populist message has been a component of a number of successful Democratic campaigns over the past century or so. And I said Edwards delivered a pretty good speech, though perhaps not as dynamic as the one we heard him give at the Texas Democratic convention.

Stella wasn't buying it. Neither is Billmon, though his reasons and conclusions are a bit different from hers:

     ...

But even if the "Two Americas" theme has been reduced to the same level of contrived phoniness as a convention balloon drop, I think it would still be a good idea to drop in a few references to the entrenched interests defending the social status quo - if only for credibility's sake.

A dash of Al Gore's old "people versus the powerful" rhetoric would not only give the Dems' pseudo- populist message some much-needed bite, it would also help Kerry begin to manage voter expectations of what he'd actually be able to accomplish in office.

     ...

Readers, what do you think? Is Edwards offending people who might otherwise support us? Is he promising more in his speech than a Kerry/Edwards presidency can possibly deliver?

Perhaps we'll know more after tonight, once we've heard from the top of the ticket, just what a Kerry/Edwards administration will attempt to deliver.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Who Is John Kerry?

That's a difficult question, and he's clearly a complex man of many facets. But you may learn something significant about him here.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Obama

Awesome. And I'm not even sure that's an adequate word for Barack Obama. In my nearly 56 years on this earth, I'm not sure I've heard a better political speech from a young man. Not even the Big Dog was that good at that age. My hopes for the Democratic Party as a powerful constructive force in America's future just rose considerably. Michael has details.

Not so incidentally, the next First Lady was pretty inspiring herself. Now please understand: I have nothing against Laura Bush. She married badly, and she has unruly daughters, but there's not much known about her for me to have negative feelings about, or if there is, she keeps it well hidden. But that's not the Democrats' way. As the old bumper sticker says, we believe a woman's place is in the House... and Senate. Our last First Lady is capably serving as Senator Clinton, and however much I may disagree with her at times, there is no doubt about the commitment, intellect and political skills she brings to her office. Perhaps it is not too much to suggest that Teresa Heinz Kerry may someday enter the political sphere as candidate rather than candidate's wife. Whether she does or not, that was one helluva speech she delivered.

It's a great evening to be a Democrat.

Oh, and did you notice that both of these fine people spoke not just to the party faithful, but to Americans across the political spectrum? And none too soon: the politics of division we endure at present could soon enough bring us all down.

(OK, OK, it's my first PhotoShop effort ever.)

The Monday convention video highlights are now up on the same page the transcripts were. I hope tonight's speeches are available tomorrow.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Syllogism

Via Laura Rozen of War and Piece, we have this analysis of Bill Clinton's speech, as deconstructed (Rozen's word, not mine) by David Kusnet of TNR (paid subscription required; I'm quoting part of Rozen's quote instead):

Intriguingly, Clinton used several rhetorical techniques that were put to good effect by the last president before him to move large numbers of voters from one party to the other--the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan. ...

Kusnet expands on the theme. Clinton has learned how to use devices that Reagan used... optimistic speech, praise of opponents, self-deprecation and insertion of biblical phrases that non-Christian types like me wouldn't recognize... effectively, in service of a very different message.

So let me make sure I have the GOP talking points straight...

• It's all Bill Clinton's fault.
• Bill Clinton merely imitates the late, great Ronald Reagan.
• Therefore it's ...

Nah. Too easy.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Democratic Party Obsolete?

Do I have your attention now? Please read this long article, Wiring the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, and prepare to ponder the future of the Democratic Party and liberal politics in America. Xan and Lambert at corrente offer some analysis, but I need more time to think about this alternative to the current, arguably ineffective way the Democratic Party does things. Please do read the article: it is at the least informative about what wealthy liberals are attempting, and at the most very thought-provoking.

---

UPDATE: Kos offers us some serious thought on the matter.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Forget Politics

... for a few seconds at least, and contemplate

this fellow. Inspiring, eh?

Steve
   PermaLink     

Turkee... Now Or Never

If you're going to donate to the Kerry/Edwards campaign, you have very little time to do it. Once they accept the Democratic Party's nomination, individual contributions are not permitted. There's a link button at the top of the right column. Right now it points to NTodd's Kerry/Edwards contribution page. In a very quickly vanishing few days it will point to the Kerry/Edwards campaign site. Please use it now. Now is the time for all good women and men to come to the aid of their country!

Steve
   PermaLink     

Micro Flim-Flam

Thanks to an amazing rediscovery of the proper index numbers for the files, Bush's microfilmed military payroll records for 1972 in Alabama have magically reappeared from oblivion. (Stephen Hawking is obviously right in his new understanding: information does, after all, sometimes re-emerge from a black hole.)

But hold on a minute. According to this AP article, the records don't really contribute to solving the mystery of Bush's actions... at all. That's right; there's no new info at all in those records:

     ...

Like records released earlier by the White House, these computerized payroll records show no indication Bush drilled with the Alabama unit during July, August and September of 1972. Pay records covering all of 1972, released previously, also indicated no guard service for Bush during those three months.

The records do not give any new information about Bush's National Guard training during 1972, when he transferred to the Alabama National Guard unit so he could work on the U.S. Senate campaign of a family friend. The payroll records do not say definitively whether Bush attended training that summer because they are maintained separately from attendance records.

     ...

(Link via Josh Marshall.)

Now we have not one but two mysteries. One is the same as ever... did Bush really fulfill his obligation to the Guard in Alabama? The other is even more puzzling... what in the world did the Bushies have to gain by releasing the newly "rediscovered" records, if they provide no more information on Bush's service than was already available?

I believe Rove and company are counting on people's inattention to detail. "Bush's military records found after all!" the headlines (and the talking heads) will scream, and a lot of people will not notice, or care, that the records still do not confirm his service.

As I have discussed before on this blog, I am of Bush's generation. I did not serve in the military, let alone in Vietnam. But I have never, not once, pretended that I served, because that would be highly disrespectful to those who did serve. And I believe Bush is lying about his record, and that in doing so (as in so many of his actions), he shows contempt and disrespect for those who served then and those who serve now. At what point in this matter of Bush's service are we allowed to stop considering the frequent assertion, usually made with respect to WMD in Iraq, that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"? The hell it's not! Past a certain point, absence of evidence for an event, absence despite repeated inquiries, is an adequate basis for believing that event never happened.

In other words, if War Preznit Bush wants us to believe he served out his obligation in the Guard, he's going to have to prove it. The balance of circumstantial evidence does not support his assertion, and by now the burden of proof is very much on him.

Less politely put... just how cheneying credulous does Bush think we are?

Steve
   PermaLink     

Kucinich To Endorse Kerry

I told you this would happen:

Kucinich to endorse Kerry for president
July 21, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who has remained in the presidential race despite John Kerry's obvious lock on the party's nomination, will formally throw his support to the Massachusetts Democrat on Thursday.

     ...

Doug Gordon, a spokesman for Kucinich, said the congressman looked forward to the endorsement.

"The congressman looks forward to appearing with John Kerry tomorrow and unifying the Democratic Party in support of Sen. Kerry's winning bid for the White House," Gordon said Wednesday night.

     ...

From the moment I heard Kucinich speak at the Texas Democratic Convention, I knew he would be with us when it really counts. He understands the stakes. Love him or loathe him, praise him or mock him... and in a just world, our party would love him and praise him... he's on our side now. Welcome, Rep. Kucinich. Now get to work persuading your supporters to join with us.

(Via TalkLeft.)

Steve
   PermaLink     

Tongue In Cheek

There's no question whose tongue. Or whose cheek, for that matter. And I'm pretty sure the pic is not PhotoShopped. So is this the younger Bush generation's equivalent of The Smirk?

The question arose on one comment thread as to whether our mocking Jenna for her gesture was equivalent to the SCLM's ceaseless, rude commentary on Chelsea Clinton. Decide for yourself, but I'll give you one hint: Jenna and Barbara publicly announced they will participate actively in their daddy's campaign, something Chelsea never did. If Jenna is seeking young people's votes for Dubya, perhaps she should learn to, uh, curb her tongue.

Steve
   PermaLink     

The Old Deal

Billmon explains, in considerable detail, how the "two Americas" economy happened, how an attempt to undo the primary effects and policies of the New Deal is underway, and why your status and mine (I assume I don't have any truly wealthy readers) may not improve soon even if Kerry and Edwards are elected (and take office, of course, not a given these days).

Billmon:

     ...

Certainly, there's no indication that inequality and the disinflationary squeeze are about to generate a major partisan realignment - which may be a credit to the Republican skill at tribal manipulation, a lingering after-effect of 9/11, or just a sign the Democrats haven't given anyone much of an incentive to switch sides (other than Nader, I mean).

But I do think there's a slowly rising undercurrent of economic stress and popular resentment - certainly among Democrats and increasingly among independent voters. New Deal economics may be dead, but New Deal attitudes still linger. Even the Republicans seem to be picking up on it, although their main response so far has been to try to whip the tribal faithful into an even greater frenzy to compensate for Bush's economic vulnerabilities.

The populist backlash may not be as strong this year as the angry tide that washed out Daddy Bush (tribal loyalities have hardened tremendously since then, and the Democrats have become even less credible as the party of the little guy.) But it might be strong enough to push Bush Jr. out of the White House - particularly if the economic deceleration that began last month continues into the fall.

That, of course, would leave Kerry and the Democrats with the enormously difficult task of managing expectations for change - expectations which they may not be able to satisfy without challenging the return to Old Deal economics. On the other hand, such a challenge could lead, in effect, to a capital strike, another recession, or worse.

     ...

Whew. They don't call it "the dismal science" for nothing!

From my perspective, Billmon's analysis and conclusions (please read his entire post) point to a need in the Democratic Party to effect changes in both its politics and the nation's policies. Our party has a history of conceiving and then implementing far-reaching changes in the nation's economic framework to accomplish a fairer distribution of wealth in difficult times. But that is no guarantee that it can or, more to the point, will do so again. (After all, the Republican Party has a history of freeing people from slavery... and look at the GOP now, disenfranchising the descendants of slaves in Florida. History isn't everything.) There are no easy roads from this point forward. Al Gore was fond of repeating that we are the party of the people, not the powerful, and it looks increasingly as if that is the choice we must make... and soon.

I believe we can win this presidential election, presuming it takes place and is conducted even reasonably fairly. Can we repair the economy once we've won it? I don't know. I have great confidence in our good intentions to do so. But first we must deal with all the sharks that have been jumped and the pooches that have been screwed (calm down, Rick Santorum!) since the real New Deal, especially during the Reagan/Bush terms and most especially in Junior Bush's term. Just in case, can someone please summon the ghost of FDR?

Steve
   PermaLink     

No Dumping

Bush will not dump Cheney from the ticket. So says Mad... in rhyme, as usual!

Steve
   PermaLink     

Cold Comfort

I've caught the Bloggers' Cold. It came on just as I was finishing up my work late this afternoon. I'm still amazed how human viruses can transmit themselves via the net. Can't Symantec/Norton do something about that?

In any case, unlike the ever diligent Elayne, I am not always a, uh, dogged blogger during the beginning stages of such things. If blogging is a bit light for the next few days, please forgive me. And remember, for the sake of your health... burn this post immediately!

Steve
   PermaLink     

Turkee In A Hurree

Sens. Kerry and Edwards will accept the Democratic Party's nomination in ten days or less, depending on when you're reading this. After that, they will be unable to accept additional individual financial contributions to their campaign. Now is your last chance to contribute money. After that, there is still plenty you can do; call your local Kerry/Edwards organization to find out what kind of help they need. But if you have considered contributing money at all, please do it now.

I understand the limitations we all live with. My little one-man business has not quite gone to hell during the Dubya administration, but my income has declined a lot since the Clinton glory days, and contributing to a campaign is a bit more of a strain for me now than it was then. So I'm not going to preach to you to give 'til it hurts. Rather, give 'til it feels right. There's a button at the top of the right column of this blog that will take you to the Kerry/Edwards donation page of N. Todd Pritsky of the estimable blog Dohiyi Mir. NTodd founded The Liberal Coalition, and is himself a political independent, not a registered Democrat. I donate to the Kerry/Edwards campaign through NTodd's page in part as a statement: we need all people of good will, not just partisan Democrats like me, to elect Kerry and Edwards. And if there's anything more significant you can do for your country at the moment, I can't think of it.

Kerry/Edwards. Giv turkee. Now. Because we need a President, not a preznit.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Brief Blogaround

There's not time for a full one, but here are a few things that caught my interest:

• Can DeLay strip the Supreme Court of the right to hear cases about gay marriage, abortion, etc.? Partisan Hack of Scrutiny Hooligans thinks not, and explains his constitutional reasoning.
• StoutDemBlog points us to an article in the American Prospect
on why Texas leads every other state in executions.
• Empire Notes examines Seymour Hersh's recent announcement of still worse evils... child torture... at Abu Ghraib.
• Josh Marshall directs us to Joseph Wilson's letter (scroll down) to the Senate intelligence committee.
• Corinne Brown may have had her words on the Florida 2000 selection stripped from the record, but as Kevin Hayden of The American Street informs us, she will not be silenced on the issue of voting rights.

There are many more interesting posts, and I hope to get to them soon, but unfortunately I'm out of time, largely because of an obstacle...

This is the first blogaround I've prepared using a Bloglines clip blog. It may be my last. Being able to clip a blog post in a "blog this" fashion is great, except that Bloglines has bloggered the links it collects, in its determination to make sure they all go through Bloglines first. From their post popup, one has to click through to... no, not the original post, but Bloglines, either a preview (which in one case previewed the wrong post... I'm not sure if I caused that) or a feed window for that blog. Then one must navigate to the desired original post, if one can find it. I do not recommend this approach. It's not worth the trouble, and I will probably return to one or more of my old-fashioned ways of clipping.

UPDATE: In all fairness, I seem to have chosen the wrong Bloglines tool for the job. As Elayne Riggs reminds me, the Bloglines Clippings folder works very well for accumulating blog and news clippings. Perhaps someday they will clean up the Clip Blog; until then, the Clippings folder will do nicely. I am still a great fan of Bloglines-the-feed-reader, and recommend it highly to anyone.

Steve
   PermaLink     

China? China???

Somebody... preferably somebody with a military background... please tell me that this version of a possible October surprise, outlined by Soccerdad of The Left Coaster, based on an article by Chalmers Johnson in the L.A. Times, is not really going to happen. From Soccerdad:

That Bush is down in the polls has caused a number of people to speculate on an “October Surprise” in an effort to boost his run for a second term. Lets also remember that Bush’s strong suit is supposed to be that he is decisive and more likely to keep us safe. In that vein lets put on our tin hats and look at an editorial by Chalmers Johnson in today’s LA Times entitled, Sailing Toward a Storm in China:

Quietly and with minimal coverage in the U.S. press, the Navy announced that from mid-July through August it would hold exercises dubbed Operation Summer Pulse '04 in waters off the China coast near Taiwan.

This will be the first time in U.S. naval history that seven of our 12 carrier strike groups deploy in one place at the same time. It will look like the peacetime equivalent of the Normandy landings and may well end in a disaster.

The neocons have been pushing hard for Bush to take a strong stand against China. I am going to try an put something together on that aspect of the story later.

(LA Times link supplied by me, because the link on The Left Coaster is broken. Very invasive registration required at LAT... you wouldn't believe how I'm registered. Expect no fewer than two popups on any trip to the LAT. You can probably get by with what's quoted in The Left Coaster.)

Here is a bit more, directly from the LA Times article:

     ...

Operation Summer Pulse '04 was almost surely dreamed up at the Pearl Harbor headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Command and its commander, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, and endorsed by neocons in the Pentagon. It is doubtful that Congress was consulted. This only goes to show that our foreign policy is increasingly made by the Pentagon.

According to Chinese reports, Taiwanese ships will join the seven carriers being assembled in this modern rerun of 19th century gunboat diplomacy. The ostensible reason given by the Navy for this exercise is to demonstrate the ability to concentrate massive forces in an emergency, but the focus on China in a U.S. election year sounds like a last hurrah of the neocons.

     ...

Jeebus cheney. People of my generation have feared a face-on confrontation with China since our childhood. China and the U.S., for all their noisy posturing and their direct military conflict through client states, have never really gotten into it in modern times. If this is real, it is proof positive that the neocon's are not only crazy, but suicidal, for themselves and for the rest of the world.

Steve
   PermaLink     

Selected Links To Recent Posts

 
Click any permalink below to go to the original article on a previous page. Click a comment link below to add a comment to the original article. Your comment will be noticed, by the YDD at least: HaloScan has a page allowing me to view recent comments, no matter which post they refer to.

Hawking Encyclopedias

Steve
   PermaLink     

Recusal Or Refusal?

Steve
   PermaLink     

DeLay - A Real Caricature

Steve
   PermaLink     

Already Conquered, Part 2

Steve
   PermaLink     

Already Conquered And Ruined?

Steve
   PermaLink