Posts by Richard Blair

Richard Blair is the blogmaster of All Spin Zone.

Proposed Ban on "Porn" Angers Soldiers
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on May 7, 2008 at 3:13 PM.

Should congress ban the sale of Playboy and Penthouse at U.S. military installations? Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga) thinks this is a big enough problem that he needed to introduce legislation to promote a ban on such men’s magazines as “porn”. Soldiers aren’t too happy about it…

Commentary By: Richard Blair

I heard some chatter about this issue not too long ago, but didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. Looks like it’s become a big issue within the military, though:

GRAFENWOHR, Germany — Legislation that would restrict the sale of certain men’s magazines on U.S. military bases around the world would be bad for morale, according to soldiers at Grafenwöhr.

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., has introduced legislation that would close a loophole in the current law that allows the sale of some sexually explicit material on military bases by lowering the threshold required to deem material “sexually explicit.”

A Department of Defense committee that reviews materials sold on bases ruled last year that magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse are not pornographic. But Broun’s Military Honor and Decency Act includes language that could make those magazines eligible for the ban…

…Broun, a Marine veteran, told Newsweek recently that the magazines sold in military exchanges are partly responsible for a rise in sexual assaults in the military and other problems…

Being a veteran myself, I’m not quite sure where to start on this - but how about - STFU, Rep. Broun. You are part of a congressional coalition that is responsible for supporting the continuing quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, and taking the men (and women) away from their families for extended chunks of time. Maybe that has just a little something to do with sexual improprieties among the military? Or perhaps because the Army and Marines have had to lower recruiting standards so low that someone with a felony on their record can now serve?

At the same time, is Broun planning on banning Playgirl and Cosmo? Just asking. Personally don’t consider either Playboy or Penthouse “porn”, and I think it’s a very short trip from banning those two magazines to Maxim and similar mags. Here’s an interesting quote from a soldier:

Pfc. Greg Smith, 21, of Northboro, Mass., a regular Playboy reader, said soldiers should be allowed to buy nudie magazines at the exchange.

“Playboy is good entertainment while you are on the can. They have jokes and good stories,” he said…

“Entertainment”. Hmm, never heard it quite put that way, but no, Pfc. Smith, if you were reading torture porn on the can (which is what the senior leadership in Washington uses), you’d be A-OK with Rep. Broun.

ASZ readers can take it from here.

GOP Rep: 9/11 Was 'Simply' a Plane Crash
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on April 3, 2008 at 1:03 PM.

As a frequent guest on Bill Maher’s show, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Ca) is no stranger to putting his foot in his mouth. Generally, that’s quite alright for Issa, because his targets are mostly liberals, progressives, and pro-immigration conservatives. The other day, though, he created a bit of a firestorm when, during a committee hearing that was considering creating new funding for treatment of 9/11 workers, Issa said:

“I have to ask, why damages from a fire that had no dirty bomb in it, it had no chemical munitions in it, it simply was an aircraft, residue of two aircraft, and residue from the materials used to build this building, why the firefighters who went there and everybody in the City of New York needs to come to the federal government for the dollars versus this being primarily a state consideration.” …

Needless to say, Issa’s words haven’t exactly gone over well in the New York press. The NY Daily News editorialized yesterday:

Darrell Issa failed to apologize for expressing in the House of Representatives sentiments that nearly fit the yahoo brigade of 9/11 revisionists, minimizers and deniers.

What Issa said Tuesday was callous in the extreme…

The fallout from Issa’s remarks continues today, with Rep. Peter King (R-AsBadAsIssa) remarking:

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Dem Senator's Hubby Caught in Hooker Bust
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on April 2, 2008 at 12:03 PM.

If today was April 1st, I’d view the following story a bit skeptically. However. It’s April 2nd.

The co-founder and former CEO of the liberal-progressive Democracy Radio and husband of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow was caught in February by a Troy police sting aimed at catching prostitutes, according to a police report.

Thomas L. Athans was stopped Feb. 26 by undercover officers investigating a possible prostitution ring in a room at the Residence Inn near Big Beaver and Interstate 75. Athans paid a 20-year-old prostitute $150 for sex in a Troy hotel but was not arrested, according to police reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Detroit News…

Hooker. Big Beaver Road. Exit 69. I’m not making this up.

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11-Year-Old Girl Dies When Parents Choose Prayer Instead of Medical Care
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 28, 2008 at 1:37 PM.

It's not a long trip down the road to drive me absolutely insane, but these kind of reports are simply too prevalent in 21st century America:

The mother of an 11-year-old rural Weston girl who died of untreated diabetes says she didn't know her daughter was terminally ill as she prayed for her to get better instead of taking her to the doctor.

Madeline Neumann died Sunday from an undiagnosed and treatable form of diabetes.

Her mother, Leilani Neumann, tells The Associated Press her daughter's condition worsened suddenly, and the parents stayed in prayer, believing she would recover...

I have no problem with the parents of this young lady being religious, or even bringing up their child as such. That's a personal decision that people make when they're raising their kids. In fact, it's quite possible that Madeline was cognizant of her own illness, and due to her faith, thought that her parents were doing the right thing.

However, when a child's medical condition worsens, it is incumbent on the parents to seek appropriate care for the child. Failure to do so is nothing short of child abuse, and in this particular case, the authorities should be investigating such an angle.

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Three Years Ago This Week: Terri Schiavo
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 21, 2008 at 5:10 PM.

(Ed. Note: It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since the first significant battle of the 21st century culture wars was fought. Most Americans watched on in either rapt amazement or abject horror as a brain dead woman in Florida became a symbol of all that was wrong with the marriage of convenience between the Republican Party and the fundamentalist Christian conservative base. As a reminder of what took place in March, 2005, ASZ is republishing a post, below, that should take the reader back, and once again remind all progressives of what’s at stake in 2008, in both the presidential and congressional elections.)

March 20th, 2005:

The three ring media circus over a corpse that remains technically functional, yet who’s human spirit departed her earthly bonds so long ago, continues in earnest today. As I type this blog entry, both houses of congress are poised to bastardize the limits of legislative (and perhaps moral) authority as it attempts to deal with the Schiavo case.

This whole situation has gone well beyond extraordinary. The country is going to hell in a handbasket. The planet is going to hell in a handbasket. Hundreds of thousands of functional people will die around the world today from war, state sponsored genocide, starvation, AIDS, spousal abuse, execution, gang violence, narco terrorism, and many other social causes, yet the U.S. congress would never, in a million legislative days (the measurement of time in Washington, DC), consider meeting in emergency session to deal with those issues. Never. Yet they meet today to deal with the moral question of a brain dead woman being allowed to depart this mortal coil with some modicum of decency.

The Schiavo case has gone well beyond the realm of the sublime and absurd, and entered the venue of the ghoulish. But you know what? America is getting what the majority voted for, just like ANWR. Bitch, whine, and moan all you want, but there’s not a goddamn thing you or I can do about it. Progressives do not have the media reach. We do not have the high profile pitchmen (and women) who are willing to put everything on the line and pull out all the stops to wake up a nearly completely comatose America. DOCTOR Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, makes a bullshit eighth-hand medical diagnosis for the media, and the TASS-US stenos dutifully lap it up. DOCTOR Howard Dean, newly elected chairman of the DNC, says nothing publicly.

The hypocrisy is, indeed, stunning. Liz at Blondesense comments this morning:

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Was John McCain's Al-Qaeda Gaffe a Slip of the Tongue or a Deliberate Deception?
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 20, 2008 at 10:36 AM.

On the heels of John McCain's recent middle east political sojourn, he made a couple of statements linking al-Qaeda to the Ahmadinejad regime in Iran. If one of the two remaining Democratic Party presidential candidates had attempted to make such a linkage, the media would have blanketed the airwaves with GOP accusations of such statements being evidence of that the Dems are light on foreign policy experience. Perhaps Fox News would even go as far as to accuse the Dems of being "deceptive".

But St. John McCain? He gets a free pass - not just for the initial malaprop in Jordan - but for two subsequent statements claiming almost the same thing.

This morning, Glenn Greenwald put together a spot-on analysis of the media's treatment of McCain on not only the Iran / al-Qaeda issue, but in general:

...The tepidness of the TV "liberal" pundits when it comes to GOP political leaders is always a major factor in the imbalance of media coverage. As this last week yet again demonstrated, conservative commentators do not display any similar reluctance when it comes to eviscerating the character and fitness of Democratic candidates.

But there's an even more distortive aspect to all of this. The reality is that John McCain's understanding of foreign policy and his approach to national security has proven to be simplistic, destructive and idiotic. Nobody spewed more pre-invasion falsehoods and confused and misleading claims about Iraq than John McCain did. And he's been the Prime Cheerleader for one of the most destructive wars in U.S. history. The notion that he has expertise in foreign policy or sound judgment is a total myth, yet it's one that his press fans accept and enforce as orthodoxy...

A few weeks ago, John McCain held a private, "no news" get-together in Arizona for the media corps that follows him around the country (and apparently overseas, as well). The affair was pure schmooze, booze, bbq'd ribs, and free beer. As the McCain campaign termed it, a "thank you" to the media for following him around and providing coverage of the candidate stenography services.

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A Novel Idea for Gun Control? Vasectomies for a Permit
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 19, 2008 at 6:26 AM.

The Supreme Court has taken up the issue of a restrictive gun control ordinance in Washington, D.C., and is hearing the case today. It goes without saying that uncontrolled handgun proliferation, particularly in urban areas, has become anathema to law enforcement agencies across the country, but don’t look for SCOTUS to uphold the D.C. ordinance.

Perhaps there are other ways, more voluntary in nature, to control the permitting, licensing, and distribution of handguns? Hmmmmmm….

A bandit-infested region of India is trying to persuade men to undergo sterilization by offering to fast-track their gun licence applications, an official said on Tuesday.

Officials in central Madhya Pradesh state’s Shivpuri district decided to adopt the policy — already tried out by some neighboring states — to increase the low vascectomy rate.

“I came to know that it had to do with their perceived notion of manliness,” said Manish Shrivastav, administrative chief of Shivpuri district, part of the Indian Chambal region, which is famed for its lawlessness and bandits.

“I then decided to match it with a bigger symbol of manliness — a gun licence,” he said. “And the ploy worked.” …

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Is It a Recession? Or a Depression? Shocking New Gallup Poll…
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 18, 2008 at 6:41 AM.

Negatively loaded economic terms such as "recession" and "depression" rarely make a lot of news, simply because neither is used that frequently in polite company. A Gallup poll released today, however, may actually allow these words to creep into a national discussion:

More than three in four Americans think the United States is in a recession according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll released on Tuesday...

...Seventy-six percent of to those polled said the economy is in recession, compared to 22 percent who said it is not, USA Today said.

Asked if the United States could slip into a depression lasting several years, 59 percent said it was likely and 79 percent said they were worried about it, the newspaper reported...

The poll was taken even before the Bear Stearns bailout had been thoroughly digested by a disgusted American public. One wonders, as the media has bandied about another pejorative phrase - "bank run", to describe the initiating event of the Bear Stearns collapse last week - how much worse the same poll would look if taken today.

There's not a lot that one can add to this gloomy poll, other than it's rather surprising that it's taken so long for the depth of U.S. economic woes to fully sink into the American psyche.

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Taxpayers Bail Out Bear Stearns; JP Morgan Buys for $2/Share Discount
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 17, 2008 at 5:19 AM.

A couple of months back, I wrote the following:

The unprecedented wealth transfer from poor and middle income families to the uber rich is nearly complete. The folks at the bottom of the GOP-led financial pyramid scheme are nearly bled dry, and the pyramid is about to collapse. To sustain itself a little longer, the folks at the top of the pyramid will have to start an Amway-style ritual of financial cannibalism amongst themselves. I think that (to an extent) this is exactly what we're seeing in the stock markets and big financial houses as the true meltdown begins...

On Friday, it was announced that JP Morgan Chase Bank was acting as an intermediary to bail out the financial investment bank Bear Stearns, and essentially funneled billions of dollars from the U.S. Federal Reserve (read: you and me) to those who had entrusted their investment fortunes to Bear Sterns.

I don't even know where to start on this one. How about here?

So the only possible justification for such Fed action is to engineer an orderly rather than a disorderly shutdown of this institution. But unfortunately the Fed is behaving as if Bear Stearns is illiquid but solvent. That is delusional and the official sector support of an otherwise insolvent institution will end up - like many other recent Fed actions - being paid for by the US tax-payer...

On Friday, Bear Stearns stock closed at $30 / share, down nearly 50% from the prior day.

Today, J.P. Morgan Chase agreed to buy Bear Stearns for $2 / share. You read that right.

$2 / share.

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What Do Nataline Sarkisyan and Britney Spears Have in Common?
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 15, 2008 at 7:51 AM.

They were both treated (or not, as the case may be) at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Just to refresh everyone’s memory, Nataline Sarkisyan was the young woman who, just before Christmas last year, was denied a liver transplant by her insurance company until it was too late. She died at UCLA Medical Center on the day that the transplant was approved.

And Britney Spears? Just to refresh everyone’s memory…oh…never mind. But she’s also been treated at UCLA Medical Center on various occasions. Britney gave birth there, and has also had a few encounters with staff in the psychiatric wing of the hospital.

The reason I bring up Nataline is that right after she died, I asked a simple question: why in the hell didn’t the hospital just do the transplant, and figure out the financials at a later time? I don’t believe that anyone at UCLA Medical Center was ever held to account for this lack of decision making that led, directly or indirectly, to the young woman’s death.

However, apparently some staff members at UCLA Medical Center were caught peeping in Britney Spears’ medical files - and have been fired for the offense:

UCLA Medical Center is taking steps to fire at least 13 employees and has suspended at least six others for snooping in the confidential medical records of pop star Britney Spears during her recent hospitalization in its psychiatric unit, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

In addition, six physicians face discipline for peeking at her computerized records, the person said…

Listen, I’m the last person in the world who would make excuses for any medical personnel violating the privacy of any patient, celebrity or not, by snooping in patient records for prurient information. Anyone at UCLA Medical Center who wasn’t directly involved in treating Britney had no business prying into her personal records, and should have been fired when the discovery was made. That was the correct call. (Interestingly enough, it appears as if staff were fired, but not doctors. Go figure.)

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A Democratic Do-Over in Florida Is Unlikely
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 13, 2008 at 12:34 PM.

It's looking increasingly like the proposed do-over of the Democratic Party presidential primary is DOA. There have been several proposals batted around, the latest of which is a mail in ballot type of affair. The Dem chairperson in Florida appears to be concerned about the sheer logistics of conducting such a vote:

The head of Florida's Democratic Party said Thursday the proposed vote-by-mail presidential primary is unlikely to go forward because of strong opposition and concerns about conducting the vote...

...[Karen] Thurman will review comments from Democratic leaders and make a decision by Monday on whether to proceed with the re-vote. But she acknowledged that Obama has had concerns and the Democratic National Committee won't support a proposal unless both candidates also back it. She said there's a serious question over whether the state could legally verify the signatures of a privately run election.

"If this becomes something that we can't do, then we can't do it," Thurman said...

When I first heard of the proposal, my thoughts were: ripe for fraud and ballot box stuffing. After all, it would be exceedingly difficult to verify and validate every single one of more than a million-plus ballots.

On the other hand, even if it took days (or weeks) to validate and count, this type of a primary might just be the ultimate in voter enfranchisement. Florida Dems would be able to take some time in casting their votes, and it's probable that doing it this way would result in a huge turnout.

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Mr. 19% Bestows Kiss of Death on McCain
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM.

The passions are running white hot in the Democratic Party nomination race. Most of the larger progressive sites have turned into cesspools of bickering, innuendo, and flat out nonsense.

When good Dems, whatever their age or values, claim that they'll vote for McCain (or not vote) rather than vote for one of the two remaining Dem candidates, I cringe. When good Dems nuke bridges between themselves and the "friendly opposition", it makes one wonder what any of we progressives have learned in the past 8 years.

As much as I snark about Presidential Idol, that's what some of the more rabid supporters are turning this thing into, and it gets tiring. Both of the remaining Dem candidates have their weak and strong points, but the fact remains that either one would be a quantum improvement over the petulant brat that currently occupies the White House. And speaking of the petulant brat, guess who's visiting him today, and seeking his blessing for the GOP nomination (which is now wrapped up)?

George Bush is set to have another huggy moment with John McCain:

Once McCain's bitter primary rival himself, the president is rolling out the red carpet. There'll be a formal welcome at the North Portico, followed by lunch in Bush's private dining room and a formal endorsement in the Rose Garden.

Bush will be giving his stamp of approval to a GOP maverick who's crossed swords with him on things like campaign finance, tax cuts and waterboarding. But the White House insists that Bush's endorsement will be heartfelt...

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Will There Be a Florida Democratic Primary Do-Over?
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 3, 2008 at 2:13 PM.

As those who follow this kind of stuff are well aware, the DNC stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates to the Democratic Party convention as a penalty for moving up the state primaries. Hillary Clinton won both primaries decisively, in what was essentially a "straw vote", since neither state can seat its delegates (as things stand now).

Interesting enough, with the nomination hanging in the balance, and the talking heads chattering that if Clinton can't win both Ohio and Texas tomorrow she should quit the race, Florida governor Charlie Crist has thrown a bit of a monkey wrench into the works. He says he's willing to give the Dems a do-over vote in the Sunshine State:

Florida Governor Charlie Crist said he'd support a repeat of the Democratic presidential primary so the state's delegates can be counted at the party's national convention.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said he's open to the possibility. Primary elections are paid for by a state's taxpayers, so the offer from Crist, a Republican, is "very helpful" because money is an issue, Dean said.

"We're very willing to listen to the people of Florida," Dean said on CNN's "Late Edition" ...

It's curious that DNC Chairman Dean would make such a comment, and not dismiss the offer outright.

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Motivational Coaching Company Accused of Waterboarding an Employee
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on March 1, 2008 at 10:58 AM.

A motivational coaching company in Utah is being sued by a former employee for using waterboarding as a performance improvement technique. No word yet on whether snarling dogs, loud music, or pictures of Dick Cheney were also being used to properly inspire the employees.

So, you think you have a crappy job?

This is what happens when torture becomes acceptable in the mainstream. It's also quite a stark commentary on the state of corporate employee / employer relationships:

A supervisor at a motivational coaching business in Provo is accused of waterboarding an employee in front of his sales team to demonstrate that they should work as hard on sales as the employee had worked to breathe. In a lawsuit filed last month, former Prosper, Inc. salesman Chad Hudgens alleges his managers also allowed the supervisor to draw mustaches on employees' faces, take away their chairs and beat on their desks with a wooden paddle "because it resulted in increased revenues for the company." ...

I've heard of some extreme motivational techniques in the workplace, but this just seems a bit over the top to me. No word yet whether or not the company endorses electrodes clamped to employee's genitalia as an additional incentive not to slack off on the job.

Is this how Prosper, Inc. won the E&Y Utah Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005?

There's a Dick Cheney joke in here someplace, but I'm too tired from traveling today to develop it right now.

Pelosi Insists Justice Dept Should (Gasp!) Enforce the Law
Posted by Richard Blair, The All Spin Zone on February 29, 2008 at 4:42 AM.

I am quite floored by this. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi demanded that the Justice Department (gasp!) enforce the law:

Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, informing him of the referral letter sent to U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeffrey Taylor on contempt citations of former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. Taylor is required by law to bring the matter before a grand jury. However, Mukasey has indicated that the Justice Department intends to prevent Taylor from complying with the law...

In essence, Miers and Bolten refused to comply with congressional subpoenas to appear.

Let me ask a stupid question. Supposing that I was subpoenaed to appear in a local or county court for either a criminal or civil matter, however minor. And, let's suppose that I refused to appear. What would happen?

A local magistrate could (and would) issue a bench warrant for my arrest. My name would be entered into a police database such that if I were driving down the road, with a bench warrant on my head, if I were driving a car registered in my name an pulled over by the local Hooterville constabulary, I'd be cuffed and taken to the local lockup until I made an appearance before the judge.

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