PEEK

Buzz, perspectives, insight and news from AlterNet

Olympia Snowe's Strange Definition of 'Mainstream'
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 5, 2009 at 5:01 PM.

Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-Maine) opinions on health care policy have taken on quite a bit of significance in recent months. That's a shame.

Today, for example, she was asked for her opinion on the House reform bill, which may get a vote in just 48 hours. "I do not know what world they live in," Snowe said, apparently in reference to House Democrats. "But all I know is it is totally detached from the average person, the average business owner who is struggling to keep their doors open and to have that level of taxation is breathtaking in its dimensions. I just think it is so out of proportion with reality and with mainstream America that it is hard to believe, frankly."

Perhaps Snowe went into more substantive detail -- explaining, for example, what she considers "mainstream" -- but I haven't seen additional reporting. She just seems to think the House bill is some kind of outrageous disaster.

It's possible Snowe just doesn't know what's in the House bill, because her assessment is wrong.

The health-care reform bills emerging from the House and Senate, when melded and enacted, will constitute an epochal achievement: the near-universal provision of medical care to the American people. But the House version is clearly the more epochal, as the health coverage it provides is more universal, chiefly because it's more affordable.

For families who buy their insurance on the exchanges that both bills establish, for instance, the House bill includes more generous subsidies -- on average, $1,000 more, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The House bill also offers a lot more assistance to Medicare recipients by reducing the cost of their prescriptions. While the bill that emerged from the Senate Finance Committee renews the Bush administration's mega-bucks gift to the drug companies by continuing to prohibit Medicare from negotiating drug prices with them, the House bill authorizes those negotiations. The Senate bill reduces by half the payments that Medicare recipients must make for prescription drugs that fall into the "doughnut hole" (annual drug expenses are covered up to $2,700, and coverage kicks in again at $6,100, but for all purchases in between, Medicarians are on their own). The House bill would cover all prescription purchases by 2019.

 

 

 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Grist on the NYT's "Baseless Hit Job on Al Gore"
Posted by Dr. Joseph Romm, Climate Progress on November 5, 2009 at 3:30 PM.

Al Gore is in the spotlight again with his must-read solutions book — "Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis." And that means the daggers are out.  But who would have imagined that one of the first pieces would be by the NYT's John Broder, who repeats the false claims by "Critics, mostly on the political right and among global warming skeptics," that "Mr. Gore is poised to become the world's first ‘carbon billionaire,' profiteering from government policies he supports that would direct billions of dollars to the business ventures he has invested in."  I'm going to repost a piece by Media Matters from May that looks at one of the despicable origins of this smear, "O'Reilly Factor guest host Laura Ingraham presented clips of Al Gore's recent congressional testimony that had been edited to remove his statements that he donates the money he makes from his climate-related work to a non-profit organization."

But first I'm going to repost a response to the NYT piece by Grist's Dave Roberts:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Astroturf In Action: Right-Wing Billionaire David Koch Pays For 40 Buses To Haul In Protesters
Posted by Lee Fang, Think Progress on November 5, 2009 at 2:31 PM.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the corporate front group founded in the 1980s by Koch Industries billionaire David Koch, worked closely with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) to orchestrate the anti-health reform rally today. As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, AFP has been encouraging right-wing activists to board their buses — free of charge — to attend the rally. While AFP does not disclose all of its corporate donors, foundations controlled by David and Charles Koch provide millions in yearly funding, and David continues to chair the AFP foundation and preside over AFP’s annual convention.

ThinkProgress found at least a dozen AFP staffers standing at their designated bus drop off point near the Capitol, handing out signs, directions, talking points, petitions, and donuts to protesters. Many of the people who work at AFP are longtime Republican operatives, like Ben Marchi, the AFP Virginia director who previously worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee and for Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX). Victor Zapanta produced this video report of AFP staffers talking about their exploits at the rally today:

AFP STAFFERS: We have 25 buses just from Pennsylvania, New Jersey we probably have 5 or 6 from Maryland.

AFP STAFFERS: We have about 40 buses coming.

Watch it:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Grassroots Effort to Oust Lou Dobbs Now 100,000 Strong
Posted by Staff, Basta Dobbs on November 5, 2009 at 1:00 PM.

From a Basta Dobbs Press Release:

NEW YORK – BastaDobbs.com, a national, Latino-led coalition of organizations calling on CNN to fire Lou Dobbs for spreading misinformation and fear about immigrants and Latinos, announced today that 100,000 people have joined them in demanding that Dobbs be dismissed from the network. 

The milestone comes less than two months after the bilingual multi-media campaign launched in mid-September, including a viral YouTube video and radio PSAs that drove text-message sign-ups. It also follows a series of events in 18 cities, organized in conjunction with the Oct. 21-22 premiere of the CNN special Latino in America.  The events and the campaign have garnered significant press coverage in both Spanish-language and mainstream media. 

“Our campaign continues to gain momentum and our message to John Klein and CNN is clear: We aren’t going away until Lou Dobbs is gone from the network,” said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, a national online advocacy organization coordinating the BastaDobbs.com campaign in conjunction with more than 40 local and regional Latino organizations from across the country. “Our community is committed to making sure CNN knows that they can’t court Latino viewers while still allowing Dobbs to use its network to vilify us.” 

The BastaDobbs.com petition to CNN President Jon Klein can be viewed here: 

http://bastadobbs.com/action/ 

Who's Been Held Accountable for the Crimes of Bush's "War on Terror"? Four Italians ... Sort of
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet on November 5, 2009 at 11:53 AM.

I may be wrong, but setting aside a handful of low-level prison guards convicted for brutalizing or killing detainees, I think that despite many well documented violations of both international and various countries’ domestic laws committed in the “war on terror”, the total number of people who have been prosecuted -- not counting those tried in absentia -- is now 4 (correct me in the comments if I’m overlooking something!).  

All were Italians. Two were convicted yesterday in an Italian court and sentenced to three-year terms for kidnapping a man named Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr off the streets of a liberal democracy, depriving him of any semblance of due process despite its fully functional judiciary and sending him to a country that would torture him for information they believed he was holding. 

 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Holocaust Imagery at Protest Organized by Michele Bachmann
Posted by Jed Lewison, Daily Kos on November 5, 2009 at 11:40 AM.

...via Matthew Yglesias, this image of Holocaust victims was on display at today's "House Call" protest organized by Michele Bachmann and the Republican House Leadership:

Take a closer look:

 

Keep in mind that this wasn't some Glenn Beck-organized 9/12 stunt. This was an event staged by the House Republican leadership -- actual elected officials, members of the U.S. government.

Other Republican members of Congress were on stage, too: Minority Leader John Boehner (OH), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (VA), Roy Blunt (MO), Jeb Hensarling (TX), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Michele Bachmann (MN) -- who was a key organizer of the event -- Virginia Foxx (NC), Ginny Brown-Waite (FL), Jean Schmidt (OH), Sue Myrick (NC), and many more.

If Republicans wonder why most Americans view them as part of the fringe extreme, they need not look beyond this event. While Democrats were touting the endorsement of AARP, Michele Bachmann and the House leadership were rallying amidst signs like this, shoulder to shoulder with 2,000 teabaggers.

Update: The AMA also endorsed the House bill today.

 

Conservative Blogger Slams Far Right
Posted by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America on November 5, 2009 at 11:00 AM.

Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House, unloads on what he sees as the increasingly deranged push by right-wing bloggers and others in the far-right media to turn the GOP into a permanent minority status party by purging all but the true believers from its ranks.

Moran's post from earlier this week--a must read--opens with a bang:

What is it that possesses certain conservatives to fool themselves so spectacularly into believing that they can create a majority out of a minority?...In the case of far right conservatives who think that they can turn their meager numbers into a ruling majority all by themselves, the disconnect from reality would normally call for an intervention - except they reject anything from anybody who doesn't agree with them 100%.

 

Moran's description of anti-reason conservatives is priceless, as well:

Those who reject reality in favor of persecution complexes, wildly exaggerated hyperbole, and a frightening need for vengeance against their imagined "enemies."

 

Psst, Michele, I think he's talking about you.

 

Michele Bachmann Chooses Guy Fawkes Day to Rile Up Followers
Posted by Digby, Hullabaloo on November 5, 2009 at 10:01 AM.

The gasbags are all atwitter about Michele Bachmann's tea party protest in the congress today, clucking about the anger on the right and how they are emboldened. None of them, not the gasbags, the tea partiers or Michele Bachmann herself apparently have a clue about the significance of the date they chose. Steve Benen reminds us:

Bachmann has already referred to anti-reform activists as "insurgents" and "freedom fighters." Last night,she went a little further, encouraging conservatives to try to "scare" federal lawmakers.

In a conference call Wednesday night with bloggers and activists for the advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called on protesters to "scare" members of Congress into killing the proposed health care reform bill.

If the protesters succeed in scaring lawmakers, Bachmann said that it could cripple efforts to restructure health care for a decade.

"Nothing scares members of Congress more than freedom-loving Americans," Bachmann said.

Referring to herself in third person, Bachmann added, "It is not Michele Bachmann's fault" if the activists are angry tomorrow -- "it is Speaker Pelosi's."

And when has Bachmann scheduled her Capitol Hill soiree? This afternoon -- November 5 -- a date widely known as Guy Fawkes Night. (You know, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November.") In other words, Bachmann wants to rally right-wing activists, label them an "insurgency," and encourage them to roam the halls of Congress deliberately "scaring" members of Congress, on the infamous date that marks an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

I know that Americans are historically illiterate, but you'd think somebody in Washington would have said something to Michelle about this in our time of terrorism and heightened security.

Like Steve, I can't think of anything the Republicans need more than a bunch of "revolutionaries" running around the halls of congress on Guy Fawkes day at the behest of Michelle Bachman to usher in the resurgence of the Party. Very cunning strategy.

By the way, I heard they teabagged Lieberman's office.


Update: Here's the agenda for the speakers, in case you were wondering:

11:50 AM – Members congregate off the Crypt in the basement of the U.S. Capitol

11:58 AM – Members descend the West Steps of the U.S. Capitol to Stage Area

12:00 PM – RSC Chairman Price (GA) – Welcoming Remarks, Introduces Pastor Paul Clark

12:03 PM – Pastor Paul Clark – Delivers Prayer

12:05 PM – Rep. Aiken (MO) – Remarks, Leads the Pledge of Allegiance

12:08 PM – National Anthem

12:11 PM – Rep. Bachmann (MN) – Remarks, Introduces John Voight (Actor)

12:14 PM – John Voight (Actor) & John Ratzenberger (Actor)

12:19 PM – Conference Chairman Pence (IN)

12:21 PM – Rep. Garrett (NJ)

12:23 PM – Rep. Bachmann (MN) – Introduces Mark Levin (Radio Commentator)

12:24 PM – Mark Levin (Radio Commentator)

12:29 PM – Rep. Blackburn (TN)

12:31 PM – Rep. King (IA)

12:33 PM – Republican Leader Boehner (OH)

12:35 PM – Rep. Shaddegg (AZ)

12:37 PM – Republican Whip Cantor (VA)

12:39 PM – Tony Perkins (Family Research Council)

12:41 PM – Rep. Hoekstra (MI)

12:43 PM – Rep. Burgess (TX)

12:45 PM – Dr. Betsy McCoy (Commentator)

12:47 PM – Rep. Foxx (NC)

12:49 PM – Rep. Gohmert (TX)

12:51 PM – Rep. Scalise (LA)

12:53 PM – Rep. Broun (GA)

12:55 PM – Tim Phillips (Americans for Prosperity)

12:57 PM – Matt Kibbe (FreedomWorks)

12:59 PM – God Bless America

1:02 PM – Open to Members (:30 – 1:00 intervals)

 

 

 

Conservatives Still Think You're Over-Insured
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 5, 2009 at 9:01 AM.

This comes up from time to time, but it's good to see former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), a new ringleader for right-wing activists, state it plainly.

"The largest empirical problem we have in health care today is too many people are too overinsured," he said.

There it is, the right's philosophy on American health care in 17 words. Most of us think the problem with the existing system is that we pay too much, get too little, and leave too many behind. Dick Armey sees the existing system and thinks we'd all be better off with less coverage. Lest anyone think this is unique to Armey, the opposite is true. A few years ago, during Bush's pitch in support of health saving accounts, the LA Times' Peter Gosselin explained, "Most conservatives -- including those in the [Bush] administration -- believe that the root cause of most problems with the nation's healthcare system is that most Americans are over-insured."

Just two months ago, Reps. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) had an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal making the same case. "When was the last time you asked your doctor how much it would cost for a necessary test or procedure?" they asked, making the case that consumers need more "control ... over their care."

 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

In the Conservative Movement, the Personal Is Apparently Political
Posted by Roy Edroso, Alicublog on November 5, 2009 at 7:52 AM.

The following, removed from context, reads like excerpts of what a normal reporter might bring back from Election Night victory/defeat parties. So forget for a moment this is by Stephanie Guttman, one of the new skree-bots at The Corner:

In making his concession speech, Democratic governor Jon Corzine was consoling his followers when he said, “My mother is probably the only one that’s happy tonight. She’s a Republican. She’s 93 years old so, we’re not going to worry too much about that.”

 

The line got a big laugh.

When victorious Republican Chris Christie made his victory speech, he told the story of an elderly constituent he met on the campaign trail. “He said to me, ‘I’m 90 years old, and I’m going to vote for you. But you better do what you promise. Because if you don’t, I’m going to vote against you in another four years.’”

And now Guttman twists the lens filter to give you that scary polarized effect:

The line also got a big laugh, but it sounded more joyous, less sneering, and less subtly derisive.

Whu-huh...

Just a straw in the wind, but the Corzine remark mirrors a callousness, a coarse attitude about the “dispensability” of the aged, that one sees in the debate over health-care reform.

Not only do Democrats (even rich ones like Corzine who can afford to keep them in nice homes far away) want to kill their mothers -- they also tell mean, health-care-debate-like jokes about it.

 

It's what we call in the biz "working blue state."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

CBO: Repubs' "Alternative" Health-Care Plan Would Leave 52 Million Uninsured in 2019
Posted by Ben Armbruster, Think Progress on November 5, 2009 at 7:22 AM.

Last night, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the House Republican alternative health care bill. While the CBO determined the GOP bill’s 10 year price tag to be $61 billion — far less that the Democrats’ proposal — the score also found that the their bill would have little effect on nearly 46 million uninsured Americans:

By 2019, CBO and JCT estimate, the number of nonelderly people without health insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the current share. CBO and JCT estimate that enacting the amendment’s insurance coverage provisions would increase deficits by $8 billion over the 2010–2019 period.

The CBO found that the Democrats’ bill, however, would cover 36 million more Americans and “reduce the number of nonelderly Americans without coverage to around 18 million over the next decade.” Yet, just before the CBO scored the GOP bill, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) falsely claimed their alternative “will cover millions more Americans” than the Democrats’ bill.

Last night on Fox News Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) dodged a question about how many uninsured the GOP plan would cover and instead railed at the Democrats for “trying to get at this business of universal coverage”:

PENCE: We believe you get at the coverage issue by lowering the cost of health insurance. … So Republicans by focusing on the cost of health insurance believe that we are going to take our country in a direction where we also deal with the tens of millions of people and employers that struggle with providing insurance.

Anti-Rape Activist Gabrielle Union Speaks Out About Her Own Rape and the Richmond, CA Gang Rape
Posted by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville on November 5, 2009 at 4:00 AM.

Actress and anti-rape activist Gabrielle Union, blogging about her reaction to commentary about the Richmond rape case and about her own rape (ellipses original):

I'm sad more than anything. After googling the gang rape story in Richmond and reading comments on blogs, it just leaves me sickened and really sad. The fact that race and socio-economics have been used to explain away a brutal gang rape...just sad...maybe I just have seen every kind of rapist and survivor...every race, color, religion, socio-economic status group...it's all the same...a lack of regard for violence against women. Tolerated, and in this case encouraged by the mob surrounding the perps...laughing, joking and taking pics.

When I was 19 years old, I was raped. I was working at a shoe store in California, and the store was robbed. The person robbing the store ended up putting a gun to my head and raping me. As he was raping me, I felt as though I was floating over myself, thinking, 'This isn't happening.' I blanked out and had an out-of-body experience, like I was hovering above seeing this ­horrible thing happen to someone else...not me. I was fortunate enough to go the UCLA rape crisis center after this horrific ordeal. It gave me my life back. My dignity and self-esteem were gone and they helped me find them again.

That's why I now lobby for state legislatures across the country and the federal government to help raise funds and awareness for rape crisis centers, and I speak to all different kinds of people across the country about what happened to me. My goal is to never hear the words 'me too' from someone after I say 'I was raped.'

Blub.

Christians to Get Their Own Exclusive Prison? Loopholes for Religious People Keep Growing
Posted by PZ Myers, Pharyngula on November 5, 2009 at 1:00 AM.

At first glance, I thought this story was good news: Oklahoma is going to build a Christian prison! About time, I thought, I can think of a few Christians who deserve a few years for faith-abuse. But no…it's a prison to be administered by Christians to give Christian criminals special privileges. Not quite as appropriate, but more in line with what we've gotten used to from our dominant faith tradition.

We're getting more of the same from Congress, too. Religion is being given permission to intrude on science once again, with the sanctimonious Orrin Hatch (abetted by a pair of Democrats, Kerry and Kennedy) sponsoring a provision in the mangled health care football to allow prayer to count as medicine. It's specifically a sop to Christian Science, that nonsensical superstition that believes that medicine is a betrayal of faith and that wants to charge sick people money to pray over them…and also get reimbursement from the government. Let the Christian Scientists get a foot in the door and official recognition of mumbling to Jesus as a billable service, and you know the Scientologists and Jehovah's Witnesses and Amish and Mormons and, of course, the Catholics will be surging through to take advantage of the opportunities.

I may just have to convert to Catholicism under this bill so I can charge the US and my insurance provider to cover my near-sightedness treatments at Lourdes. And the French Riviera.

You laugh. But look at the absurdity of existing loopholes.

 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Unmarried Women Helped Obama Win
Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet on November 5, 2008 at 4:37 PM.

Last night, unmarried women helped put Barack Obama in the White House and a Democratic majority in Congress.

Although single women tend to be far more progressive than their married counterparts, they are far less likely to vote. Yesterday that changed: single women voted in unprecedented numbers and they overwhelmingly chose Obama.

According to a CNN poll, unmarried women backed Obama by a 70 to 29 percent margin -- a 44 percent difference between single and married women. As the research firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner notes, "if not for the overwhelming support of unmarried women, John McCain would have won the women's vote and with it, the White House."

Unmarried women also helped Democrats take Congress, voting for Democratic candidates by a 64 to 29 percent margin.

The GOP Civil War Begins
Posted by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post on November 5, 2008 at 4:12 PM.

The morning after the election has brought an opening salvo in what could become a contentious battle of recriminations for the GOP, as various factions lay blame and beg for immunity in what has been, since 2004, a slow disintegration of their power in Washington. Just after noon, House Republicans feathers began to ruffle, as it was reported that Majority Leader John Boehner released a letter to his colleagues, officially asking to retain his job:

I'm deeply disappointed by the outcome of Tuesday's election. But I'm equally committed to building a lasting majority on the reform principles that define us and inspire our citizens. For this reason, I'm writing today to announce my candidacy for Republican Leader in the 111th Congress, and to request the honor of your vote.

As your Leader, I've worked tirelessly for our team, and tried to lead by example. I'll always be straight with you, and I'll always be open to your ideas. You deserve nothing less. I can't ask for the best from you unless I'm willing to give it myself.

Winning the majority and rebuilding our party will require the best from all of us. But this is not unfamiliar territory. We've faced and overcome these challenges before, and working together as a bold, unified, and energetic team, we'll do it again.

I'm ready to get started today. I'm confident you are too. I look forward to speaking with you in person and outlining our plans for the future. It's time for the losing to stop. And my commitment to you is that it will.

I humbly ask for your support and the privilege of serving as House Republican Leader in the next Congress.

It's probably no coincidence that around the same time, word got out that Virginia Representative Eric Cantor was gunning to replace Roy Blunt as House Whip. Honestly, it's hard to see how any of the GOP leadership in the House survives -- these were the people who went schizo on the bailout bill, pinning their lack of support to the 5,437th instance of Nancy Pelosi criticizing George Bush, after all. And, who can forget their brilliant plan to center their re-election hopes around a slogan stolen from an anti-depressant?

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Voters Reject Water Privatization
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on November 5, 2008 at 3:57 PM.

One piece of legislation (Issue 8) you may not have heard about in all the election hoopla yesterday was a key win in the fight against water privatization. As we've covered before, Akron, Ohio had a measure up for vote that would have leased the city's sewer system, including its maintenance and operation, to a private, for-profit company.

The people of Akron voted overwhelmingly to keep public control of their water system, voting 62 to 38 against Issue 8.

Jack Sombati, of AFSCME Ohio Council 8 summed it up:

Last night the citizens of Akron won a tremendous victory. They overwhelmingly said 'No' to Issue 8, which would have leased the city's wastewater utility to a private, for-profit corporation. This would have meant rate increases, poor service, and bad maintenance. The Mayor disguised this proposal in the scheme of a scholarship program, but he did not tell the folks of Akron all the facts. We got the facts about this proposal to the citizens and they overwhelmingly voted down Issue 8.

Akron residents also voted "yes" on Issue 9, a citizen's initiative to ensure that all utility privatizations in Akron are subject to public referendum -- it passed by a 2-1 margin.

"The decisive defeat of Issue 8 was a victory for keeping Akron's public utilities public," said Greg Colleridge, director of the Economic Justice and Empowerment Program. "The overwhelming support for Issue 9 was a clear statement by Akron voters that they want to have a direct voice in the future of their public water, sewer and other utility systems. Citizens in Akron now join the growing trend of people nationally and globally who feel public utilities are valuable community assets that should be publicly preserved rather than sold or leased to for-profit business corporations who care principally about their shareholders and owners."

Food and Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter weighed in as well:

Issue 8 would have leased Akron's sewer system to a private company for 99 years, a plan that has never been carried out in the U.S. and would have amounted to making the residents of Akron guinea pigs of a risky privatization experiment ...

Privatization is not the cure to repairing ailing infrastructure systems. The evidence from the 86 percent of U.S. water systems under public control clearly shows higher efficiency with lower costs for ratepayers. In contrast, corporations' costs are higher and any efficiency premiums are often passed on to their shareholders. Indeed, the 14 percent of U.S. water utilities that are privately owned charge ratepayers anywhere from 13 percent to 50 percent more than their public counterparts.

Would George C. Wallace Have Voted for Obama?
Posted by Staff, AlterNet on November 5, 2008 at 3:12 PM.

Interesting commentary by Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of George C. Wallace over at CNN:

After a few moments, the woman leaned into me and spoke almost in a conspiratorial whisper. "I never thought I would live to see the day when a black would be running for president. I know your daddy must be rolling over in his grave."

Not having the heart or the energy to respond, I gave her bony arm a slight squeeze, turned and walked away. As I put the remnants of the graveyard spray in the trunk of my car, I assumed that she had not bothered to notice the Barack Obama sticker on my bumper.

When I was a young voter and had little interest in politics, my father would mark my ballot for me. As I thought about the woman in the cemetery, I mused that if he were alive and I had made the same request for this election, there would be a substantial chance, though not a certainty, that he would put an "X" by Obama's name.

Read the full piece here.

Same-sex Marriage Bans Pass in CA, AZ, FL
Posted by Joe Shaulis, Jurist Legal News and Research on November 5, 2008 at 2:46 PM.

A constitutional amendment effectively banning same-sex marriage appeared to pass in California with most of the vote counted Wednesday, while voters in Arizona and Florida Tuesday approved similar measures. In California, Proposition 8, which was placed on the ballot by citizen initiative, amends the state constitution to provide that "[o]nly marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." As of 11:30 AM PST Wednesday, the unofficial results for Proposition 8 (with 24,584 of 25,423 polls reporting) were:

Yes - 5,235,486 - 52.2%
No - 4,800,656 - 47.8%

Under the California Constitution the amendment takes effect the day after the vote approving it. It will effectively overturn May's decision by the California Supreme Court striking down a ban on same-sex marriage as violating the equal protection provisions of the California Constitution. The measure has generated more than $60 million in contributions to committees representing both sides of the issue -- a figure believed to be a U.S. record. The San Francisco Chronicle has more.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Immigration: the 'Sleeping Giant' Sleeps no More
Posted by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet on November 5, 2008 at 12:51 PM.

This is from America's Voice ...

Washington, DC - The power of the Latino vote is one of the key storylines to emerge from the 2008 elections. Latino and immigrant voters played a decisive role yesterday by delivering four key battleground states to Senator Barack Obama, lifting many members of the House and Senate to victory, and defeating anti-immigrant legislators.

While Latinos care about many of the major issues facing our country today, the issue of immigration both drove them to the polls and helped push this voting bloc to support Democratic candidates The relatively low level of support for John McCain among Latinos, closer to Bob Dole in 1996 than George W. Bush in 2004, is largely attributable to the fact that the Republican brand image is tarnished among Latinos - even for a past leader on immigration issues such as Senator McCain.

Below are some key data-points about the Latino vote in the 2008 election:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Rahm Emanuel Accepts Job as Obama's Chief of Staff
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on November 5, 2008 at 12:13 PM.

According to MSNBC, a senior adviser to Barack Obama has confirmed that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) has accepted the chief of staff position for Obama’s new administration.

Update: According to TPM Election Central, an Emanuel spokesperson is disputing the MSNBC report: "No decision has been made, the spokesperson says."

Palin Spent More on Clothes than Reported, Didn't Talk with McCain Much
Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM.

In a new 50,000 word article on the presidential campaigns that will come out tomorrow, Newsweek reports that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) spent far more on clothing than the $150,000 reported last month. According to a preview by Politico's Mike Allen, "McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy":

One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family -- clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent 'tens of thousands' more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

The Obama Camp Makes the Right Calls: How Much Faith Did You Have?
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 5, 2008 at 9:23 AM.

Chances are you've seen the pic showing Barack Obama delivering a speech, with a mock caption that reads, "Everyone chill the f*ck out. I got this."



At times, it was hard to accept this, wasn't it? For those who focused more on trees than forests, and were sensitive to the slightest shifts in the daily political winds, there were plenty of times when even optimistic Democrats looked at the campaign and wondered whether Obama really did have this.



Are you sure it's a good idea to hold a rally in Germany?



Are you sure you want to campaign in non-traditional states, instead of investing everything in the major battleground states?



Are you sure it's wise to avoid the kind of sleazy attacks the Republicans are using?

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Next: What's in Store for President Obama
Posted by Thomas B. Edsall, Huffington Post on November 5, 2008 at 7:59 AM.

Barack Obama will take office facing economic collapse and wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan - a situation which could present him with an opportunity to build a revived Democratic coalition or foil his attempts to restore a durable center-left majority.



Obama appears to be acutely aware of what is in store for him. The challenges are "the greatest of a lifetime," he told thousands of supporters gathered in Chicago's Grant Park Tuesday night, "two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."



Working to Obama's advantage is that his victory is part of an ongoing Democratic surge that began in 2006 and moved powerfully forward on Tuesday. "This was a broad-based victory that pulled in a slew of new Democratic Senators, and Democratic House members. Millions of new voters--especially the young and minorities--were brought into the system. These are the prerequisite conditions for the possibility of a sustained Democratic majority," University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato pointed out to the Huffington Post.



The potential for Democratic revival was demonstrated by extraordinary fundraising success - much of it fueled by online contributions: this year's election marked the first time in recent memory that the Democratic president candidate and the Democratic National Committee raised and spent substantially more money than their GOP counterparts. In 2004, total spending by Kerry and Bush and their respective party committees was roughly equal. This year, Obama and the DNC spent a total of almost $750 million, while McCain and the RNC spent about $450 million.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

McCain Camp Shows Regret on Palin, Her Request to Speak at Concession 'Vetoed'
Posted by Ryan Powers, Think Progress on November 5, 2008 at 7:41 AM.

In his recent New York Times Magazine piece on the McCain campaign, Robert Draper reveled that Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) pick of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) "may have been even more impulsive than initially thought."

Draper explained that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was strongly urging McCain to pick Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). At the "last minute," however, McCain strategist Steve Schmidt and campaign manager Rick Davis convinced McCain to pick Palin:

The evening of Aug. 24, Schmidt and Davis, after leaving the Ritz-Carlton meeting, showed up at McCain's condominium in Phoenix. They informed McCain that in their view, Palin would be the best pick. "You never know where his head is," Davis told me three weeks later. "He doesn't betray a lot. He's a great poker player. But he picked up the phone." Reached at the Alaska State Fair, Palin listened as McCain for the first time discussed the possibility of selecting her as his running mate.

Schmidt's enthusiasm for Palin seems to have waned significantly in the last days of the election. Yesterday, reporters on the McCain campaign plane asked Schmidt if the campaign was "happy" with the Palin pick. Schmidt couldn't bring himself to say "yes":

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Now What?
Posted by Keith Kreeger, Kreeger Pottery Blog on November 5, 2008 at 7:11 AM.

I don't really know what to say.  I used up just about all of my emotions yesterday. Especially since I was working really hard to keep them in check so I wouldn't be disappointed. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo said that he emailed his wife at 9:12pm last night with concern about the race.  I'm glad he didn't share that on his blog or I would have started to really worry.

Personally, yesterday and today is much more than President-Elect Obama's victory.  I am hoping that this is a repudiation of the politics of tactics, of rumor, of fear and of division. Watching yesterday it was nice to know that this is still a participatory democracy.  This wasn't about populism...the amazing thing about Obama's campaign is that he allowed supporters to hope and to feel that working for him epitomized their own ideals.  

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

For the First Time in My Adult Life, I am Really, Really (Really) Proud of My Country
Posted by Jill C., Brilliant at Breakfast on November 5, 2008 at 3:52 AM.

They call me "Mister President"

Terrorist this, bitchez.

Eight years ago, the man who lost this election last night lost his party's nomination in South Carolina because the man he wanted so desperately to succeed this year ran a campaign in a southern state that accused his adopted Bangladeshi daughter of being the product of a liaison with a black prostitute. Twelve years ago, Harvey Gantt lost a Senate race in North Carolina because his opponent, Jesse Helms ran a last-minute ad showing white hands crumpling a piece of paper and a voiceover saying "You really needed that job, but you didn't get it because they had to hire a minority." Twenty years ago Michael Dukakis, the last nominee with a funny name, was knocked out of the race by a man named Willie Horton, exploited by the father of the current president. This year, John McCain's media people ran ads with subtexts like "How dare this black man be so disrespectful of a white woman" and with the word "black" subliminally highlighted.

This is a country where Sikhs are still being attacked and harassed in parts of the country that ought to know better because their turbans and dark skin make idiots think they are somehow aligned with Osama bin Laden.

This is a country that for eight years has been governed by the double-headed hydra of Fear and Loathing. We have tolerated the worst kind of atrocities by our leadership in our enslavement to that fear and loathing. And last night we elected a man who is the son of a black Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas, and who is named Barack Hussein Obama, to lead us out of the mess left us by a white son of privilege from Kennebunkport and Yale. We chose a man who understands struggle. We chose a man who rose above the kind of background that would have turned a lesser man into just another street kid with a chip on his shoulder. We chose a man who appealed to our better natures. We chose a man who is so relentlessly calm in the face of crisis that he makes us believe that he can go down to the engine room of this Titanic of a country and fix the breaches in all five watertight compartments using nothing but a butter knife and a pack of Bazooka bubblegum. All by himself. Wearing a tuxedo.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Right Wing Extremists Target Porn On Military Bases
Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report on November 5, 2007 at 4:00 PM.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

It's been a while since we've last heard from the American Family Association's the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon. Every once in a while, Wildmon and the AFA will draw headlines for attacking a group or company for being insufficiently "pro-family," though most of their complaints come across as bizarre rants from extremists.

The targets from recent years include, but are by no means limited to, Wal-Mart (for selling Brokeback Mountain DVDs), Target (for not having Salvation Army bell-ringers during the Christmas season), Ford Motor Company (for purchasing ads in gay-oriented publications), and the movie "Shark Tale" (which the AFA believed was intended to "brainwash children" into accepting gay rights).

Now, Wildmon and the AFA have a new concern: U.S. troops' a access to adult materials.

Ten years after Congress banned sales of sexually explicit material on military bases, the Pentagon is under fire for continuing to sell adult fare, such as Penthouse and Playmates In Bed, that it doesn't consider explicit enough to pull from its stores.

Dozens of religious and anti-pornography groups have complained to Congress and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that a Pentagon board set up to review magazines and films is allowing sales of material that Congress intended to ban.

"They're saying 'we're not selling stuff that's sexually explicit' ... and we say it's pornography," says Donald Wildmon, head of the American Family Association, a Christian anti-pornography group. A letter-writing campaign launched Friday by opponents of the policy aims to convince Congress to "get the Pentagon to obey the law," he adds.

Let me get this straight. U.S. troops are fighting two wars, neither of which are going well, and the American Family Association's biggest concern is what kind of magazines the troops can purchase on base? Here's a radical idea: maybe those who wear the uniform and put their lives on the line for their country should be able to read whatever they want.

I find it rather amazing this is even a controversy.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Gore Rips Media: "Don’t Give Equal Time To Someone Who Believes The Earth Is Flat"
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on November 5, 2007 at 3:00 PM.

This post, written by Amanda Terkel, originally appeared on Think Progress

This morning, former vice president Al Gore appeared on NBC's Today Show to talk about global warming. Host Meredith Vieira brought up a Nov. 1 Wall Street Journal op-ed by climate skeptic John Christy, a former member of the IPCC. In the op-ed, Christy wrote, "I see neither the developing catastrophe nor the smoking gun proving that human activity is to blame for most of the activity we see."

When Vieira asked about the op-ed, Gore noted that Christy "no longer belongs to the IPCC" and is "way outside the scientific consensus." He also sharply criticized the media for giving so much air time to such climate skeptics:

But, Meredith, part of the challenge the news media has had in covering this story is the old habit of taking the on the one hand, on the other hand approach. There are still people who believe that the Earth is flat, but when you're reporting on a story like the one you're covering today, where you have people all around the world, you don't take -- you don't search out for someone who still believes the Earth is flat and give them equal time.

The IPCC is an international body made up of thousands of scientists from 113 countries who have been studying global warming since 1988. Its February consensus assessment said that global warming is "unequivocal" and "very likely" the result of human activity.

As Gore noted, scientists such as Christy are outliers, yet the media continue to give them an overblown amount of airtime. Last month, for example, Colorado State University professor Dr. William Gray sharply criticized Gore, saying that he is "brainwashing our children" on global warming. His comments were covered by multiple major cable networks and newspapers (with no mention that he also once compared Gore to Hilter).

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

What's At Stake In The Writer's Guild Strike
Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise on November 5, 2007 at 2:00 PM.

This post, written by Lindsay Beyerstein, originally appeared on Majikthise

The film and tv writers of the Writers' Guild of America are going on strike today, for the first time since 1988.

The writers' contract expired on Wednesday. Negotiations broke down Sunday night between the guild and the Alliance of Television & Motion Picture Producers, despite the intervention of a federal mediator.

It's well-established that writers in these industries get residuals if their work gets reused. Residual rates depend on the medium (broadcast vs. cable, etc.) and the revenue model (advertising vs. subscription).

The writers wants a contract that addresses the ways in which their work is used today.

"The studios are reluctant to make a binding deal on digital distribution issues because they say it's too soon to determine what format will end up being the most successful," according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal.

A bulletin from the WGA sums of the issue as follows:

The Internet is a new distribution channel, and we believe the existing provisions of the MBA require residual compensation for our work when it is re-used on the Internet. Management, however, has refused to accept this interpretation, and has even threatened to do away with residuals altogether in this new medium, or to impose the outdated and unfair home video formula. Given that residual income can amount to between 20 to 50 percent of a writer's income, we clearly can't allow management unilaterally to dictate this most essential contract term.

The bulletin goes on to say:

Now, to jurisdiction: First, we must establish once and for all that writing for new media is covered by our MBA. With increased viewers and ad dollars on the Internet, we must secure our future. The Internet, cellular phones and other new distribution technology are simply channels for viewing the content we create. Again, our position is simple and fair: when we create valuable content for the Companies, we deserve to be paid.

The writers' position is unassailable. The rule is that writers get compensation for re-use, based on the medium and the revenue model. If that's how it works for a TV re-run, that's how it's got to work for an iTunes video download.

Management can't arbitrarily stipulate that some media are off limits for negotiations. The AMPTP's position is illogical, greedy, and unfair.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Marijuana Replaces Opium As the Top Crop in Afghanistan
Posted by Paddy , Brave New Films on November 5, 2007 at 1:00 PM.

This post, written by Paddy, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

(click for larger version)

KHWAJA GHOLAK, Afghanistan - Amid the multiplying frustrations of the fight against narcotics in Afghanistan, the northern province of Balkh has been hailed as a rare and glowing success.

"As a consequence," the United Nations report warned, "farmers who do not cultivate opium poppy may turn to cannabis cultivation."

(snip)

Last year Mr. Ayud's parcel was mostly opium poppies. But his crop was wiped out by government officials during a campaign led by the provincial governor, Atta Mohammad Noor, who jailed dozens of growers for disobeying him and personally waded into several poppy fields swinging a stick at the flower stems.

(snip)

This year he planted cannabis instead, with some cotton as a fallback in case the government followed through on its promises to eradicate the illicit crop. It was a return to a family tradition, he said. His father and grandfather grew cannabis here.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: George H.W. Bush Warns More Bushes to Run for Office
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on November 5, 2007 at 12:00 PM.

This post, written by Matt Corley, originally appeared on Think Progress

Fox News Sunday launched a new series this week called "American Leaders" that seeks to engage "prominent business, cultural and social figures in candid discussion." The first "leader" featured by Fox was former President George H.W. Bush, who gave the network an exclusive interview at his Presidential Library.

In his interview this morning, the former president returned the praise, saying that when he watches TV news, he watches Fox News:

I used to pick up that paper, and turn on the Fox and listen to the news, and say "listen to this, look at this so-and-so, why's he saying that?" I don't do that anymore.

Bush also said that he would like to see another generation of Bushes in public office. "I've got a grandson that would make a wonderfully able public servant if he ran, George P.," said Bush. "And Pierce, Neil's son. They have an interest in politics."

Bush's love of Fox News echoes that of Vice President Dick Cheney, who requires that all televisions in his hotel room be tuned to Fox News whenever he travels. In 2004, Cheney also told "a conference call" of "tens of thousands of Republicans" that he ends up "spending a lot of time watching Fox News."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Nuclear Power Pakistan: Musharraf Suspends Constitution; Violence Erupts
Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend on November 5, 2007 at 7:05 AM.

This post, written by Pam Spaulding, originally appeared on Pam's House Blend

Hmmmm...Iran, no nukes, Pakistan, nukes and chaos. What do you think Bush will do about this "situation," as the White House's "partner" in the Global War on Terror, led by President General Pervez Musharraf, turns into a violent police state. (The Pakistani Newspaper):

The police on Monday baton-charged and arrested more than 150 protesting lawyers in Rawalpindi and Karachi witnesses said. They were protesting the state of emergency imposed by President General Pervez Musharraf.

Police and paramilitary soldiers sealed off the high court in Karachi and barred journalists and lawyers from entering, before charging at lawyers outside the building, lawyers and witnesses said. "It has never happened in Pakistan's history that such huge number of lawyers have been arrested," former Sindh High Court judge Rashid Razvi, told reporters. "More than 100 lawyers were arrested in Karachi after police foiled their attempt to hold a bar association meeting," he said.

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the target of an assassination attempt when she returned to the country a couple of weeks ago, calls for Musharraf to "revive the constitution by lifting martial law."

Condi's statement:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at a news conference in the West Bank during Middle East peace talks, urged Musharraf to sever his links with the military and reinstate civilian rule, The Associated Press said Monday.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Giuliani Brags About Using "Intensive" Interrogation Techniques As a Prosecutor
Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise on November 5, 2007 at 7:01 AM.

This post, written by Lindsay Beyerstein, originally appeared on Majkthise

An interviewer asked presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani whether he knew more about torture than his opponent John McCain. Giuliani replied:

MR. GIULIANI: I can't say that I do but I do know a lot about intensive questioning and intensive questioning techniques. After all, I have had a different experience than John. John has never been - he has never run city, never run a state, never run a government. He has never been responsible as a mayor for the safety and security of millions of people, and he has never run a law enforcement agency, which I have done.

Now, intensive questioning works. If I didn't use intensive questioning, there would be a lot of mafia guys running around New York right now and crime would be a lot higher in New York than it is. Intensive question has to be used. Torture should not be used. The line between the two is a difficult one. [Bloomberg]

Does he mean that he abused prisoners a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York? I wonder if Giuliani's loose talk could result in investigations of some of his old work as AUSA between 1983 and 1989.

Speaking of the mafia... Maybe Giuliani should have asked a few more questions of his buddy Bernie Kerik. Giuliani testified in 2000 that his aide told him about Kerik's ties to an allegedly mafia-linked company. In 2006, Kerik pleaded guilty to allowing the company to do $165,000 worth of free work on his Bronx apartment.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Why Do GOP Closet Cases Suck?
Posted by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! on November 5, 2007 at 5:34 AM.

This post, written by Howie Klein, originally appeared on Down With Tyranny!

You may have noticed that there haven't been any moderate Republicans dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet lately and that all the Republican closet queens who have been outed are far right extremists. Everyone has a clear homophobic, bigoted voting record. Not one was sympathetic or even politically empathetic towards other gay people. Today's Seattle Times looks into what makes these men tick. The topic is a hot one in Washington because of the statewide, and even national, lurid headlines involving a local right-wing representative, Richard Curtis (R), a cross-dresser who reneged on a deal to pay a male prostitute $1,000 for unprotected anal sex.

Curtis was high on drugs all night, having sex with multiple partners in a sleazy porno establishment, and then capping it off with a liaison in his hotel with young Cody Castagna. He didn't have the full thousand to pay Castagna and was too out of it from all the drugs he had consumed to go to an ATM so he gave him a few hundred and said he could hold his wallet as collateral 'til the following day. Then, still too doped up to understand the consequences of his actions, he called a GOP political crony involved with law enforcement and told him he didn't want to press charges but wanted him to get the wallet back without involving the Spokane cops. The GOP crony wasn't on drugs and within hours Curtis' life was forever changed. The Times wants to understand how this could happen, how could politicians take such risks?

When Larry Craig (R) was arrested in a public toilet in Minneapolis-- and then pled guilty-- for soliciting sex from another male he was painfully aware he was under investigation for... having sex with a male in a public toilet in Washington's Union Station. Did he think that changing his hunting ground from railroad station restrooms to airport restrooms he was being cautious?

When Republican Congressman Mark Foley's life came tumbling down around his ears last year, he had led a half in/half out of the closet existence that was fraught with more and more risk every year as he felt surer and surer of his ability to transcend social (and right wing) mores. He was often seen being escorted around South Florida and DC in the company of handsome young men. He had been warned several times to stop paying so much attention to the underage male congressional pages. And then, drunk, he was caught trying to break into their dorm after midnight. But nothing happened. The risky behavior apparently had no risk. He was protected by other powerful closeted Republicans (Speaker Denny Hastert) and by powermad GOP leaders who didn't care if he raped a page a day as long as they could keep the seat red. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), John Shimkus (R-IL) and John Boehner (R-OH) were the culprits in that category.

Other Republicans are flirting with the same kinds of risks, especially David Dreier (CA), Patrick McHenry (NC) and Lindsey Graham (SC). "Why would any politician take such risks?" ask the Times

For the answer to that, start with the notion that people who go into politics are more likely than others to be risk-takers, say experts in the field. To a large extent, they're people who are comfortable inviting scrutiny because that's what politicians do to get elected.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Is Mukasey Worse Than Gonzales?
Posted by GottaLaff , Brave New Films on November 5, 2007 at 4:44 AM.

This post, written by GottaLaff, originally appeared on Cliff Schecter's Brave New Films Blog

Via The Nation, John Nichols explains why Michael Mukasey is much worse than Alberto Gonzales ever was:

For instance, he has defended the administration's attempts to dramatically expand the definition of executive privilege, telling the Judiciary Committee that it would be inappropriate for a U.S. attorney to press for contempt charges against a White House official who claimed to be protected by a grant of executive privilege. Under this reading of the law, U.S. attorneys would cease to be independent defenders of the rule of law and become mere extensions of the White House.

Guess he's not as "independent" as he says he is. I'm getting angrier by the second with Dianne Lieberman.

As such, Mukasey accepts a politicization of U.S. Attorneys far more extreme than that attempted by Gonzales and former White House political czar Karl Rove when they sought to remove U.S. Attorneys who failed to fully embrace the administration's electoral and ideological goals.

On to unwarranted wiretaps:

But Mukasey does not stop there.

Under questioning from Feingold, Mukasey endorsed the administration's argument that congressional attempts to define appropriate surveillance strategies and techniques could infringe inappropriately on presidential authority.

When pressed by Feingold, Mukasey refused to say whether he thought the president could order a violation of federal wiretapping rules. Feingold's response was measured. "I find your equivocation here somewhat troubling," said the senator.

And because he's smarter, more articulate, and more adept at answering, he's that much more dangerous:

In fact, everything about Mukasey's testimony suggested that he would as Attorney General be more of a threat to Constitutional governance than the inept and frequently inarticulate Gonzales. Mukasey gives every indication that he is as enthusiastic as was Gonzales about helping the president to bend and break they law. The scary thing is that Mukasey appears to be a good deal abler when it comes to cloaking lawlessness in a veneer of legal uncertainty.

Read: Better at legal doubletalk, better at fooling a willingly-fooled Congress, better at getting what Bush wants.

Consider the nominee's suggestion that the president can ignore any law, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, if he and his lawyers determine that the law impinges on his authority as commander in chief during wartime.

"The president is not putting somebody above the law; the president is putting somebody within the law," Mukasey explained, with a response that employed legalese at levels not heard in Washington since Richard Nixon boarded that last plane for San Clemente. "The president doesn't stand above the law. But the law emphatically includes the Constitution."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

The MoveOn political machine exceeds all expectations
Posted by Don Hazen on November 5, 2006 at 6:04 PM.

According to its DC political maestro Tom Mattzie, MoveOn is involved in 57 races -- up from 30 a few weeks ago; it has 101,453 volunteers plugged into phone banks, house parties and their "Call From Home" phone system. They will have 161 staff on Election Day with 39 field offices in 25 states. Now that is a political operation.

MoveOn's goal for voter contacts through the end of Election Day was to actually talk to 450,000 people several times. They will pass that goal today, Sunday. According to lead honcho Eli Pariser, MoveOn has made 4.43 million calls to voters -- 805,000 on Saturday alone. People are holding over 3,000 parties across the country. That's 50% more parties than MoveOn has ever done in one round. at this point they are adding something like 4,000 new volunteers a day.

MoveOn leaders joke that their nickname is "Liquid Phone" because they just keep adding volunteers. They say the closer the races are, the more excited their volunteers get. The more excited the people get, the more GOTV work they can do and the more races we can compete in. Quite a nice situation to be in.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Sure, But Where's Osama? [VIDEO]
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 5, 2006 at 5:37 PM.

Iraqi blogger Riverbend on the dog and pony show of the Saddam verdict:

When All Else Fails… Execute the dictator. It’s that simple. When American troops are being killed by the dozen, when the country you are occupying is threatening to break up into smaller countries, when you have militias and death squads roaming the streets and you’ve put a group of Mullahs in power -- execute the dictator.

Or, try Cliff "Shrinker of Republican Talking Heads" Schecter in the clip to the right, tackling the Saddam snoozer and the election.

Schecter's opponent, Brad "Ken Doll" Blakeman, has an illustrious past as an organizer of one of the well-to-do Republican mobs that descended upon the Jewish (read: old Democratic) sections of Florida to pretend that "the people" didn't want a recount. Shortly after Bush took office, Blakeman was named "White House Director of Scheduling." Listen, as he sounds perfectly content letting Osama get away...

Dang, I hope he lands a good post for the schlock he slings here...