Eric Margolis jacked up my sidebar

It was worth it I suppose yet adding a Highlander Columnist piece to my sidebar has created angst for this smelly blogger. My margins/spacing will never be the same. Ian Welsh is due a tip of the tam for reminding me of this talented man. Eric Margolis' most recent PLAIN FACTS ABOUT IRAN’S MILITARY is a gem. Let's not fall for the distractions of Bu$hCo, the neo-cons, right wing fear merchants, some media, etc. Iran's missiles just don't measure up do they? John Gunn

Jib Jab's "Time for some campaigning"

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I think This Land remains a classic. These Jib Jabbers are clever indeed. John Gunn

Thomas Frank's The Wrecking Crew

Dengre on Daily Kos serves up Understanding how Conservatives Govern... where the new book by Thomas Frank is thoroughly covered. WOW! The diary is a must read. I've been a huge fan of his last book and The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule looks like a real gem. Indeed, Black Jack Ambramoff wasn't an aberration but rather the default setting for this bunch. Dengre writes, "Thomas Frank exposes how the modern Republican Party and the Wing-nuts who control it have created a massive industry based on capturing Government and then using the levers of power to enrich themselves, their patrons and destroy their enemies—especially the Government that they have captured." John Gunn

Reckon Iraq, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia or Sudan might take Jeff Sessions?

I've long lamented that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is one of my Senators. I've posted on him frequently (here's just one) and might in fact miss him as a reliable target (sorta like Prince Troy King?) if and when he exits stage right. I think I know who he's really working for up in DC yet the way he goes about his "service" does much harm to Alabama and our world even beyond his looking out for the Big Mules.

Mary Orndorff of the B'ham News reports Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions opposes expansion of global AIDS program. Among "a handful of conservative Republicans are still holding out" against a "proposal to expand the global fight against AIDS has broad bipartisan support in Congress and the blessing of the White House", Jeffy B. is showing a combination of fiscal conservatism and anti-immigration that might serve him well among certain constituents. His support of banning immigrants with AIDS coming in would likely be popular in those nations referenced in the post title as they are among thirteen countries with a similar ban. Sudan might be looking for a new President in fact Senator.

Although I appreciate the concerns over the health care costs of lifting the ban, which are estimated at $83 million from 2010 to 2018, I noted "the cost would be covered by an increase in the visa fee." The legislation also deals with tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world. One could imagine that it might be money well spent as merely a fiscal matter. Ass in some morality and I think it rather a simple decision.

Senator Sessions office actually declined comment on the amendment he proposed. C'mon Jeffy, let's hear your logic. John Gunn

How Charlie Rangel funds his "Monument to Me"

I'd posted on NYC/Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel just a couple of days ago. His sweet rent controlled real estate might be none of our business yet surely his partially taxpayer funded Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service is. That he's soliciting donations on Congressional stationary is bad enough. To direct fundraising pitches to those appearing before his House Ways and Means Committee makes it all the worse. The Gray Lady's Christopher Lee provides the reporting. That the Rangel Center is at the City College of New York softens the blow somewhat but not enough. I'm admittedly rather partisan here. I am, however, I hope equally frustrated by how those allegedly looking out for our interests so often seem to be looking out for either their own concerns or that of those which already have wealth and/or power. John Gunn

Creating the right's "counterintelligentsia"

Thanks to Phoenix Woman at FireDogLake I now know the significance of that fella over to the left. Her How Did We Get The Media We Have? enlightened me on Dick Nixon's former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon. Appointed well into the Watergate mess, I'll confess his was a new name. An impressive man in many respects yet there is no denying this rascal did some serious work in getting the right wing think tank system going. Even now his legacy lives on well past hs death in 2000. And William Simon is just one of many that helped put our nation in this not so fine mess.

This NYT's op-ed (a rather gloating piece I found) from conservative John J. Miller shared the following about William E. Simon:

After becoming its (The Olin Foundation) president in 1977, Mr. Simon called for the creation of a"counterintelligentsia" to balance what he saw as the liberal dominance of the universities, the news media, nonprofit organizations and government bureaucracies. The Olin Foundation and other right-leaning philanthropies - particularly the Bradley, Scaife and Smith Richardson Foundations - provided a pool of venture capital that helped build a network of research institutions, academic fellowships and highbrow journals for the conservative movement.

Phoenix Woman also shared a piece by Robert Parry that I'd previously missed which offers at least some of the "credit" belongs to Richard Nixon. One of the many pleasures I derive from blogging is making connections and learning. I'm optimistic that many professionals at papers read (and television news programs watched) by the majority of Alabama's citizens are similarly excited.

Yet I wonder if they have the time and freedom to really dig into this mess. I continue to read right wing hacks like API's Gary Palmer and yet I've yet to find anything that challenges him or API. My own effort to do so in The Randolph Leader in the context of a LTE was cut when I tried to connect some of these dots. It surely seems like a story is all I'm suggesting.

Phoenix Woman started her post lamenting the likely fact that good Progressive leaning reporters often can't get in the door at many papers yet marginally talented partisan hacks seem to be handed position after position.

Perhaps at the local and regional levels Progressive can best push back against the right's "counterintelligentsia"? Yet the care and feeding of young Progressives is a tough piece. I've posted on Wingnut 101 almost two years ago. I'd forgotten what I still think was a clever idea of using an Ann Coulter poster as a Scare Ho in my garden. Seriously, the right is willing to invest money in bring along a new generation of true believers. And theyd likely even do it without getting a tax write off on many of their efforts.

Papers and the like are hardly a place to make a great living from what I understand. I expect those with the traits that would make them a top drawer reporter could likely cash in on those gifts in other fields. I often think about what I'd do with my money if I ever hit a big lick yet right there on top on my list would be to fund some type of foundation to identify and then develop some sharp young prospects. John Gunn

House slams Bu$hCo on Pat Tillman investigation

It's not every day I link to ESPN. Mike Fish reports House calls out government in Tillman friendly fire death where he cites language in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of a "near universal lack of recall" on how Bu$hCo can't remember squat. The Defense Department doesn't escape the same label unfortunately. A delay of five weeks between all the publicity of his death and revealing that he's been killed by fratricide has long been known to have been indefensible. I noted in other reports that the same applies as to Jessica Lynch's situation.

In Mr. Fish's reporting we find the following:

The House report depicts committee investigators as stymied at nearly every turn in their efforts to get answers from key White House and administration officials concerning who knew what about the fratricide. ...

The White House made an immediate statement, despite a Department of Defense policy intended to provide a 24-hour period for private grieving before publicly discussing a casualty.

But in contrast to the earlier flurry of e-mail, not a single discussion of the fratricide was found by investigators in approximately 1,500 pages of e-mails between senior White House officials, as well as in other documents turned over by the White House.

"[T]he complete absence of any communications about his fratricide is hard to understand," the report noted. "Not a single written communication about the personal reactions or the substantive, political, and public relations implications of the new information was provided to the Committee."

Hard to understand? Could it be they've scrubbed the record or just didn't share the relevant e-mails with the Committee? Omerta applies in this administration rather than collective amnesia I'd argue. They have no shame. John Gunn

The Alabama Policy Institute is connected with James Dobson and Regnery Publishing and ...

The above is an interview of the Alabama Policy Institute's Gary Palmer by Dobsonite Stuart Shepard of Focus on the Family/Citizen Link. Among the gems are Gary's fretting over "the right to life" yet also "the encroachment of government into everybody's life." Tort reform is a family issue per Gary. There's a lament over the bad science behind global warming but the interview is rather vanilla. Gary and Shepard are playing their role as weary warriors possibly with more than is required

I'm not sure what "Fully Associated" means as to API and Focus on the Family yet I presume Dr. Dobson and his minions approve of the work of Gary and API in their "Family Policy Council".

I also wasn't aware of their environmental book for children. Here's what API claims ...

In 1996 we helped change environmental education in America with our commercially successful publication, Facts Not Fear: Teaching our Children about the Environment. The book, which has been translated into two other languages, was born out of the need for a user-friendly resource to help parents give their kids a common-sense approach to understanding and appreciating our environment. The work has been praised as a valuable and important tool that helps put media hype and hysteria into a more honest and responsible perspective.

That Regnery Publishing put out Facts, Not Fear: Teaching Children About the Environment surprises me not. PR Watch notes both authors "are committed, paid activists in the conservative anti-environmental movement."

That one author Michael Sanera is a policy hack that has worked in both conservative administrations and think tanks was no shocker. His Ph. D. in political science and background as an Army Intelligence Officer I suppose qualifies him on both education and science. I'd briefly looked into the John Locke Foundation in covering Mary Katherine Ham and the Goldwater Institute while covering the efforts of Jeb Bu$h in "school reform". I've noted Gary Palmer's connection to Regnery before as well.

The book's other author Jane Shaw has also made a living at least partially on wingnut welfare. Her B.S. in English Literature from Wellesley College is impressive but hardly would make her a scientist or educator either.

The entanglements between these right wing policy shops, message machines, family councils, and the like is admittedly impressive on some levels. That they often provide a tax deduction for the fat cats while then turning around and influencing policies that benefit these same wealthy and powerful people does frustrate me. That they do their work under the cover of looking out for regular folks is however intolerable. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ I was also unaware that Whacky Tacky Tom Parker was the founding Executive Director of the Alabama Family Alliance (now the Alabama Policy Institute). And I thought he was just an unreconstructed rebel.

Katrina vanden Heuvel calls for electoral reform

Just Democracy from Katrina vanden Heuvel in The Nation shares a grand vision for reforming our electoral systems. This is a long piece and I simply can't pull portions as all stand as exceptional. Her Dictionary of Republicanisms: The Indispensable Guide to What They Really Mean When They Say What They Think You Want to Hear has long been on my wish list. She's sharp in her writing plus her appearances in the media. Progressives will need these and other reforms to accomplish long overdue change. John Gunn

Maj. Gen. Taguba (Ret.) ~ Bu$hCo's war crimes

Warren P. Strobel of McClatchy Newspapers files General who probed Abu Ghraib says Bush officials committed war crimes where he reports, "After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes," Taguba wrote. "The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account." CNN provides additional background on the Physicians for Human Rights report. John Gunn

NYT's Bob Herbert ~ Feeling No Pain

Let's first step back to September 2001 for a Slate piece on Phil Gramm by David Plotz. Hopefully everyone knows what Dr. Phil said recently about our economic woes.

The NYT's Bob Herbert serves up a gem where he writes, "The biggest failing of both parties in this presidential campaign has been the unwillingness to be forthright with the public about the true extent of the crises facing the country." Certainly the McCain camp is most guilty yet Mr. Herbert is dead on right when he writes the following:

The Democrats, timid as always, should be pounding the populist pavement from one coast to another, explaining how the reckless and deliberately inequitable policies of the past several years have gotten the U.S. into this terrible fix.

We should be getting chapter and verse about how badly the war in Iraq is hurting us here at home. We should be seeing charts and graphs explaining how ordinary Americans, now the hardest-working people on the planet, have been cheated out of their share of the extraordinary productivity improvements they’ve racked up over the years.

There should be a sense of urgency coming from the Democrats in this campaign, a clarion call compelling enough to rally the legions who have been treated unfairly and badly hurt in the nation’s other undeclared war: the class war.

Amen! Why the powers that be, from the pols to the high priced consultants, don't do this is a mystery to me. I know we have plenty of centrist weenies and also that Democrats inherently resist organization. I know the prospects look good this year for some serious gains in Congress and yet we need the White House as well. "Timid" is too kind to describe today's Democratic Party as we've let the right wing frame, intimidate, organize, message, ... us into downright weakness all too often. Leaders like Russ Feingold that reliably show some backbone are often left out in the cold.

Phil and St. John keep serving up fat ones over the plate. If ever there were a chance to wallop one out of the park this latest gift from Gramm was it. We'll have more however as the Conservatives can't speak to their own base without handing out opportunities for true Progressives. Then again, merely having Phil Gramm so involved with Huggy Bear's campaign has long seemed enough for me. John Gunn

New York's Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel asks “Why should I help you embarrass me?”

David Kocieniewski reports in The Gray Lady For Rangel, Four Rent-Stabilized Apartments and I'm hardly shocked to read this sordid tale. Rep. Rangel has a safe district and is therefore untouchable. Once again, those in power don't walk their own talk. I'm becoming more and more convinced that many of those allegedly on the side of Progressivism aren't truly committed. If he's milking rent control with a sweet deal like this while allegedly serving those in a poor area like Harlem then he's embarrassed himself. John Gunn

UPDATE - Congressman Rangel responds. He says it is none of the New York Time's business about “how much space I think I need for my family and my friends.” Actually, they are looking out for his constituents and the public in general. The press should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Clearly he is getting a sweetheart deal. The Gray Lady is due a tip of the tam.

Alabama ranks #42 "for Business" per CNBC

Here's the link. I thought we had to blame the lack of "tort reform". The Mobile Press-Register said so. As did Lawrence McQuillan in the same paper. And we can't leave off AVALA's Lewis Fuller! Education, quality of life, transportation, ... are holding Alabama back it seems. And for the record I'm not so sure that being business friendly is that grand a goal. John Gunn

API's Gary Palmer demonstrates the blame game

The Alabama Policy Institute's Gary Palmer gets ink in the Montgomery Advertiser with ALABAMA VOICES: Self-inflicted pain where he goes after the "socialistic environmental agenda" of politicians who have "sold out to radical environmentalists and liberal social engineers" as he laments the plight of America, "especially lower-income families." Actually Gary I didn't think that side paid as well as Big Oil and other fat cat corporations. He closes with:

"Americans can cuss Congress while they pump their paychecks into their gas tanks, but as long as they keep sending these same liberal politicians back to Congress, they should direct some of the tirade toward themselves."

Where to begin? I was pleased to see pretty much every person dropping comments on the Advertiser's site call BS on Gary yet I expect he still gets paid handsomely and he obviously still gets ink. He's been a frequent target on this blog. There's here, here, here, here, here, here, and ... Clearly, Wingnut Welfare is alive and well in Alabama.

I'll first suggest true liberals are a very, very rare breed in Congress. Way too many Democratic politicians are DLC centrist weenie sorts that are pretty much on corporate retainers. Like many on the right Gary relishes the role of victim and frequently builds his efforts around opposition strategies.

Blaming the left for the current woes we face in energy is apparently a main strategy for the GOP this cycle (Alabama's own Mike Rogers used these talking points just recently) and I fear some DINOs will cave (yup, their timing is priceless) for the demands of their corporate benefactors as they tack toward the extreme right rather than standing courageously for what they might actually believe.

The right gets it when campaigning. They are often on offense. They'll take a weakness and try to turn into a positive. They can't govern worth a damn yet they sure can figure out how to get elected.

I might as well begin with Thomas Geoghegan yet I'll let David Sirota, after all I found these disturbing numbers via his book The Uprising, explain.

"Using Census figures, Geoghegan discovers that the 11 percent of Americans living in the least populated states have enough Senate votes — 41 — to sustain a filibuster. Yes, 89 percent of the population may support a policy, but 11 percent of the population has the senators to block that policy's enactment. When you go further than Geoghegan and consider the election-focused mindset of politicians, you see the situation is even more absurd."

Reckon Gary might agree that these small states, Alabama among them, often tend to elect Conservatives to not only the Senate but also the House? Would he also accept that Gerrymandering often makes House elections often lacking in competition? Would he also accept that small states often have conservative legislatures and governors that could draw some rather creative Congressional districts?

Let's wander through some of Gary's screeds.

"Since the 1970s, liberal politicians in Congress have passed laws that have locked up most of our oil reserves, stopped the construction of refineries and virtually banned the building of nuclear power plants."

Perhaps the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill should be recalled? This and other events motivated Nixon and others in the GOP to embrace, or at least tolerate, environmentalism. Daddy Bush signed an Executive Order in 1990 that placed a moratorium on offshore drilling. If Junior really wanted to press the matter I presume he could issue his own EO yet again I think he and his are more about creating some type of wedge issue, after all gay bashing can only do so much, in hopes to exploit the same this fall.

As to the claim that "liberal politicians ... stopped the construction of refineries and virtually banned the building of nuclear power plants", I'd think he might be familiar with NIMBY (Not in my backyard!") as a powerful barrier to either. Certainly environmentalists, organized or not, would also be concerned about refineries that might not be up to snuff. And nuclear reactors? Don't you watch The Simpsons Gary? And where will the spent fuel waste go? Regulations to attempt to protect the world in which we and our children live hardly seems like something to be ashamed of or attacked by the like of Gary Palmer.

Then again, perhaps those in the oil industry made a business decision on not building new refineries. Free markets work don't they Gary? The Christian Science Monitor's Mark Clayton reported back in 2005 the following:

"The current refinery squeeze has been building for years. For the past two decades, deregulation and low profits have combined to push the industry into consolidation. Partly because of environmental regulations, it was cheaper to expand existing refineries than to build new ones."

I'll mostly skip exploring Senator Schumer's suggestion that pressure be brought against Saudi Arabia to increase their oil production, such as by stopping selling weapons to the kingdom. Gary writes,

"Instead of sending hundreds of billions of dollars to other countries, most of whom hate America, why not put those hundreds of billions of dollars back into our own economy?"

I could ask why if Gary thinks "most hate America" would we be selling them arms. I could also wonder how he'd explain Halliburton relocating to Dubai. The Bu$h family connection with the House of Saud is also worthy of noting yet I'm not sure that fits into Gary's gravy train. Nor do I expect Gary would be wanting to pump those billions of dollars into job training, health care, ... for working families. Gary also I'm thinking wouldn't worry too much about subsidies those liberals in Congress have given to Big Oil.

Neither would Gary likely want to revisit some claims that the neo-conservatives were making at the start of the mis-adventure into Iraq. What a tangled web we weave ... And Gary is all too eager to continue the effort to deceive. That's what he's paid to do by those who have him on the dole.

Gary writes,

"Liberals in Congress have repeatedly rejected legislation that would allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where there is an estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil. In 1995, the Republican-led Congress approved legislation to allow drilling in ANWR, but President Bill Clinton vetoed it."

Let's take a look at the history of this issue via NPR. It would appears that ANWR is off the table with perhaps another look at offshore oils for some states yet it might be too soon for certainty.

Gary claims,

"Liberals in Congress have also cut off access to 85 percent of the vast oil and natural gas reserves of the Outer Continental Shelf, which contains an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil."

Perhaps "liberals" have seized control of the Energy Information Administration? Their 2007 Impacts of Increased Access to Oil and Natural Gas Resources in the Lower 48 Federal Outer Continental Shelf reveals "[m]ean estimates ... indicate that technically recoverable resources currently off limits in the lower 48 OCS total 18 billion barrels of crude oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas" and that we'd see no effect until 2030, with that even having an insignificant consequence to wellhead prices.

Gary also wrote,

In addition, the Bureau of Land Management estimates that there are 53 billion barrels of oil on federal lands. But 60 percent of this land cannot be leased at all and another 23 percent can be leased, but oil and gas exploration and development is prohibited or limited in some cases to only a certain time of the year.

I wonder if Bu$hCo's BLM might be willing to manipulate figures? Yup! And its not like they Bu$h administration has been slow in granting drilling permits, with gas permits outstripping available rigs as per this WaPo reporting from 2005. From 2004, MSNBC reports most permits weren't even being used. Does putting the fox in charge of the henhouse come to mind to anyone else? Seriously, even if poor Shrub couldn't do much more than break insider trading laws and lose money with his first mis-adventure in oil, both he and Dead Eye Dick, plus others ranking high in their cabal, are oilmen.

Finally, the idea that "nationalizing our oil refineries" is on the table is a stretch, as I can find only a Faux News effort that openly admits N.Y. Representative Maurice Hinchey has "stepped off the idea". Gary writes while claiming the nationalization plan that "the failed economic philosophies of communism have not been totally discredited" but I expect he'll not include China in that equation since plenty of the fat cats he's looking out for are likely also cashing in via Red China's cheap/docile labor and lax environmental standards. In fact, if Gary's paymasters had their druthers ...

Gary can't help himself I suppose when he writes,

"We haven't built a new refinery in the United States since the global cooling hysteria days of the 1970s, specifically 1976."

The chance to engage in some global warming pushback is I guess too tempting for Gary. Maybe he's paid to shill by the theme? C'mon Gary, you must surely know that dog won't hunt. This wingnut claim of a global cooling scare in the 1970s is yet one more example of a right wing lie that doesn't stand up. As your own Reagan said, "Facts are stubborn things." I know y'all's message machine is powerful so maybe you don't even know the truth. Try the Google every so often Gary.

Gary is carrying on the foolishness like the likes of Richard Viguerie that I mentioned a few days ago. The Vig has made millions off the blame game. Gary's merely getting wingnut welfare. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ Evening of July 29, 2008 - Jenny Dorgan, program coordinator of the Alabama Environmental Council, provides a sensible response to Gary Palmer's Blame Game.

Will Bama boy made good help Greenspan Obama?

Birmingham born and Jax State educated, David Walker seems like one we ought to be proud of. I noted a recent Mobile P-R piece titled Nation's future threatened, Alabama native says. Even back at the first of the year your sister paper the B'ham News was covering what then GAO Comptroller General Walker was telling us. This YouTube of a 60 Minutes interview gives us even further coverage of this Alabama native. M P-R, is this really "breaking news"?

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, with Mr. Walker serving as its first President and CEO, might indeed be a solid effort yet like Ian Welsh at FDL I wonder why this effort being rolled out now. Ian's A Billion Dollars to Stop Democrats From Running Deficits Like Republicans Did is dead on, as is his point about the perils of dumping Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the same pile for analysis. The math looks a whole lot sexier but it isn't necessary to show a problem is looming.

I mentioned back in February that I was reading Robert Reich's Locked in the Cabinet and yet I'd not gotten to the point in the story where Slick Willy was pressed by Uncle Alan Greenspan to put deficit reductions ahead of his promises to invest in America's future. After twelve years of Voodoo Economics, B, as Reich labels him in the book, had Wall Street and others press him to pay off the debt run up by the GOP. He triangulated his way through Newt's Contract on America. Still, President Clinton got our fiscal house rather in order.

Assuming Senator Obama is elected, and once again I've long figured him as a Centrist that could talk Progressivism, then I expect history will once again be repeated. The disasters that Dubyah and his Rubber Stamp Congress has brought us will create many hurdles for the next occupant of the White House, likely not just one or two I fear, yet fiscal challenges will rank at the top of the list. Programs that can make a difference for Americans now and into the future may well be sacrificed as they were in the Clinton years.

I remain very supportive of universal health care, a blend of what Germany and France has making lots of sense to me, and would like to think some solutions lay here. I also want to see a Progressive tax code return where the rich get soaked ... or at least a little wet. Good government is required and the GOP reliably beats up on gov't, winning elections it seems often on conditions they've helped create. Centrist weenie Democrats like the DLC types are often in the corporations' pockets to boot. The remedies are complex and fraught with peril for a politician or party to tackle. Yet we must have leadership. I do hope David Walker is part of the solution rather than having his work used by pandering politicians. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ October 19, 2008 - Yup! Walker: Now that the Rich Have Their Bailout Time To Stop Spending So Much from Ian Welsh answers the question.

John McCain's false balanced budget promises

Josh describes St. John's promises on how he'll balance the budget in his first term as We'll Get Back to You on That. Josh reminds us, "As I said, this is the reductio ad absurdum of the mad pass John McCain gets on everything. He's pledging to balance the budget in four years and when asked for details he says, 'We'll get back to you on that.'" Ian gives us Whistling Past the Graveyard: McCain’s Stupid Economy yet words like "incoherent" don't do Huggy's plan justice. I fear the so called liberal media will let him slide on yet one more load of bull. John Gunn

Angst then celebration on Alabama's Daily News

I was fretting this morning when I learned that Doc's Political Parlor would not longer have G’s Daily News Digest that I, and likely plenty of others, rely on to start our effort to be reasonably informed. I worried about the time I'd need to devote to covering a broad swath of papers and sources. I am thrilled to learn that Ron over at Alabama Arise will be continuing his efforts via Arise Daily News. Alabama Arise has been on my sidebar for some time yet this news summary merits its own link. Thanks Ron for the effort here and in other areas. There's no substitute for digging about on our own yet having someone do a solid summary surely helps. John Gunn

Ben Lieberman is also earning his wingnut welfare

Ben Lieberman, Esq., Senior Policy Analyst at The Heritage Foundation's Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, got ink in today's Anniston Star with his Drilling in the U.S.? Yes, it's time to drill. He also placed the same piece here and here. Back in early May I'd posted on Heritage's Dan Lips earning his Wingnut Welfare on "education reform." Dashing Dan had a background in Politics and Public Relations. Big Ben is an attorney and CPA so he's equally qualified to opine on energy as Dan is in education.

This "specialist in energy and environmental issues" who "opposes unnecessary energy regulation and government mandates while supporting increased access to domestic energy supplies" was formerly "associate counsel and director of air quality policy at The Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington." That The Heritage Institute expects Ben and his ilk to shill their stuff surprises me not yet I do wish Progressives had as equally well-funded and connected effort to match their work.

Citing " weak excuses" for the failure to drill our way to energy nirvana, Ben does a decent job at tackling various concerns among the Godless, Tree Hugger, Lefty ... set. Ben responds to ideas that "the extra energy would be a drop in the bucket" by claiming "the energy potential is substantial." Actually not Ben yet "new exploration could at least help offset that decline in supply from existing wells." Worries that "environmental risks are too great" are dismissed with "new production would be subject to the strictest environmental and safety standards, something that can't be said of oil imports." Ben's record on environmental standards and the like isn't such that I'd think he'd think that much about strict standards. Those that suggest "big oil is deliberately sitting on potential gushers to boost prices" are told "oil exploration and development is under way" yet it's slow "because of the ... permitting process and other regulatory requirements". Ben sees another chance to go after regulation and he's unable to resist. He claims "some market analysts believe that if America signaled its seriousness about expanding domestic supplies by opening new areas, prices would start dropping before the extra oil hit the market". The "send a message" theme appears to be a straight GOP talking point as Michigan Representative Fred Upton and Tennessee's Jimmy Duncan (damn those elitists in Congress) are using pretty much the same language.

I'd be willing to at least listen to and then engage Big Ben if he weren't on the take from the fat cats and earning his wingnut welfare. The worries he faces off against are likely not motivated by money. So they aren't worth a damn are they Ben? John Gunn

Glenn Greenwald takes down Nancy Soderberg

I have no doubt Nancy Soderberg is a smart lady with plenty of good left to do. She's likely trying to remain in the game and perhaps that motivated her to drop an Op-Ed in the L.A. Times titled A good-enough spy law: The FISA bill isn't perfect, but it's a compromise that the Senate should accept. She's wrong however on much. Glenn Greenwald places her in the "political establishment" and possibly she is. I'm expecting Ms. Soderberg does want to get back in the mix after The Reign of Error ends. Whatever the reason for her shilling the centrist talking points, Glenn is dead on when he writes, "... the political establishment is not only about to pass a patently corrupt bill, but worse, are spouting -- on a very bipartisan basis -- completely deceitful claims to obscure what they're really doing." Amen! John Gunn

Alabama takes the Bronze in fattest state race

CalorieLab lets Alabama "Thank God for Mississippi!" yet again. West Virginia edges us for second place. John Gunn