Giggling, vapid, petty, pompous, shallow ...

Glenn Greenwald simply destroys Tweety and his four "journalists" from this past Sunday. The YouTube clip is offered with a warning. Noron has long been notorious yet Richard Stengel of Time, Gloria Borger of CBS/US News, and Patrick Healy of the NY Times are now noted. Glenn, in part, writes

Here are several of our media elites from our nation's most influential journalistic outlets -- including from Time, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, and NBC News -- all sitting around on the Chris Matthews Show giggling for three and a half minutes straight about the silly U.S. attorneys scandal. The whole thing is just a fun game for them, and it's absurd to them that anyone could take things like this seriously.

There are updates and a link to a new post that are also worth visiting. This is a huge post yet worth the work. Over at Kos and building off Glenn's work, Hunter gives these four (and pretty much the whole pundit set) unmitigated hell with Seeking A Grand Unified Theory of Wankery; The Rise of the Booboisie.

These are grand postings and a reminder of why good bloggers are often far superior than the DC pundits that claim superiority over the smelly bloggers. Peace ... or War!

Testing Burdens and Blunders

Megan Reichgott's reporting for the Associated Press is appearing in many places but I'll send you to The Boston Globe. Not much sympathy for Harcourt, Pearson, or any of these profiteers yet the fact these testing providers are slow in reporting, commit errors far too often, misplace results ... is illustrative of the folly of our current data-obsessed education policy. NCLB and today's high stakes testing emphasis will be our ruin unless there are some radical changes in the very near future. Peace ... or War!

Are we seeing an evolving of America?

What Digby says is enough for me. Makes me almost feel sorry for the GOP "intellegensia" as one reads them twisting around the evolution issues. Indeed, our nation's swing voters might have finally had enough of conservatism's hogwash and mouthpieces? Now if we can just get the centrist DLC and other DINOs to fully embrace Progressivism we might actually be able to get things headed in the right direction. Peace ... or War!

Run Ron Run!

Swing State Project is talking up Alabama Agriculture and Industry Commissioner Ron Sparks against Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III in 2008. Also, if Senator Shelby steps down in 2010, Mr. Sparks would perhaps be better situated than others from having run in 2008. I agree that Bob Riley will likely wind up running for Shelby's seat eventually. Kos picked up on the story as well.

Wonder if Ron would continue Jeffy's tradition of wanting hotties on his staff? I've posted on Sessions so many time that the effort to link to various atrocities would take forever yet the bottom line is that he's a Bu$hCo apologist with the personality and talent of a bucket of spit. How he continues to be elected is a mystery to me.

Ron Sparks can serve up some genuine populism that would give him a serious shot in Alabama. If the damned consultants don't Dino him to death I really expect he could take old Jeffy out. Run Ron Run! Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Monica Goodling

Ron Hutchenson's McLatchy reporting reveals Monica Goodling's undergraduate is from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania and her JD is from Pat Robertson's Regent University so obviously she's perfectly qualified for the Bu$hCo team.. However, I'm not so sure she's able to take the 5th under these circumstances. Christy Hardin Smith's post at FireDogLake sums up the situation yet the best portion of her always outstanding work is the reasoning out of what all is going on here.

This DOJ White House liaison having such a solid evangelical foundation reminded me of an email from a niece all the way back at the start of the Bu$h administration. This was probably in 2001 yet I think it was before 9-11. Something about how blessed our nation was to have such a Godly man in the White House. After the Clenis I know many "decent people" were relying on Bu$h to restore dignity to the Presidency. Although I was only at the strong dislike stage of Dubyah way back then I recall nearly firing off a missive as a reply. Although it's a rare occurrence, discretion won out. Since I could now say "I told you so!" I rather wish I'd sent that reply. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ GSA's Lurita Doan

The WaPo's Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr. report today "GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics : Doan Denies 'Improper' Use of Agency for GOP". A White House political staffer Scott Jennings is also referenced in the article. Scott Jennings is of course wrapped up in the latest DOJ scandal. I've long wondered about the use of RNC or simply personal email accounts to get around records and the like. Welcome to oversight Bu$hCo. Peace ... or War!

Zbigniew Brzezinski Writes in Today's WaPo

Today's WaPo has Zbigniew Brzezinski giving us "Terrorized by 'War on Terror" : How a Three-Word Mantra Has Undermined America" that is an absolute must read. This man is amazing! Leaders like this will ideally have a place in the next White House rather than what we have now with the Mayberry Machiavellis.

Not expecting Bu$hCo to go outside his own party, I also can't figure out why truly brilliant men and women have had essentially no place in the Bu$hCo administration. Colin Powell was the closest and yet that's still a stretch. While I was very much against Dubyah and for Al Gore in 2000, I never dreamed that the GOP would allow such a dreadful result as has occurred. Loyalty over competence has been the foundation hasn't it? Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Representative Ken Guin

I've previously noted the "Covenant for the Future" that Representative Ken Guin (D-Carbon Hill) helped create in his role as co-chair of the Alabama Legislative Democratic Leadership Council with a post I titled "Bama Democratic Leaders - Not Deep But Cheap". To learn now that Ken Guin, the House Majority Leader, is raking in the bucks through his two contracts with two Alabama JuCos has me even more chapped. That these serious fees are for apparently the same work makes it all the more outrageous. He gets tenure even!

The Brett Blackledge reporting in the B'ham News offers

Guin, a state House of Representatives member from Carbon Hill, receives $49,677 a year from Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa and $48,721 from Bevill State Community College in Sumiton.

As for the Covenant being so dreadfully published out on the Internets, it seems like Representative Guin could have just written the check! It appears the Covenant site has been moved about a touch yet it's still mighty limited. They've got a couple of images now yet I'm still shocked that this was the best these "leaders" could come up with. I've previously noted my problems with the Republican Lite portions of the effort. It now makes a little more sense in that the Mr. Guin is part of the DLC. While I'm generally a fan of the Progressive Policy Institute, the "Centrist weenies" of the DLC have hardly helped the Democratic Party in this state and beyond. This appearance of impropriety from the Democrats House Majority Leader hardly helps as well.

The Alabama JuCo mess continues to demonstrate much of what is wrong with this state. Ken Guin demonstrates that money follows power. Peace ... or War!

72% of Alabama Citizens Trust Faux News

I've been thinking about Mark Mellman's take on Fox News that recently appeared in The Hill yet to see via David White's reporting in the Bham News offering that Alabama citizens have the Fox Noise Channel ranked as relatively "trustworthy" confirms much I fear about the average citizen here in the heart of Dixie. Baaahhhhhh? At least confidence in the Christian Coalition is falling. I found it ironic that national corporations have been backing up in these measures as well. So why do we keep electing corporatists? Could it be that we are distracted by the militarism? No surprise here as Alabama clearly remains a very martial state. Could it be all the Scots that settled here? Senator Jim Webb's Born to Fight makes a persuasive argument that we Scots lean toward being scrappers. Surely one large reason that Alabama keeps electing corporatist and so many ding dongs is the GOP garbage that is unashamedly shilled by Faux News (and other sources here in Alabama) and yet I suppose that we sheep can only blame ourselves. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Stephen Griles

Stephen Griles seemingly likes his blondes. To the left he's hanging out out with Dolly Parton. At one point in the past he was sparking around with Italia Federici of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy. Astroturfing I'm expecting applies to CREA. Italia was labeled as a "scandal blonde" of the year yet compared to Dolly she's barely a blonde.

Stephen Griles entered a plea yesterday for lying to Congress. He's the highest ranking Bu$hCo official convicted ... YET. Why would we imagine they'd lie? In that Stephen Griles was essentially an inside man from Big Energy, why Black Jack had to pay was simply that Stephen wasn't on the payroll of those clients the lobbyist was trying to help.

Here's hoping that DOJ isn't packing things in on Black Jack. I've been reading that his sentence might be reduced but I hope it is because he's served up the goods rather than agreed to keep his mouth shut. Surely politics couldn't influence the Bu$hCo controlled DOJ could it?

Finally, Carl Pope of The Sierra Club gives us something else to ponder about Bu$hCo's Interior gutting their inspectors segment. Worst administration ever! Peace ... or War!

Bu$hCo Defends with "It's Political not Criminal"

"It Wasn’t Just a Bad Idea. It May Have Been Against the Law." from Adam Cohen in the NYT is a recent find. He suggests that if this DOJ scandal were presented as a scenario for law students to spot potential crimes then anybody that couldn't locate several would likely get a big fat "F". I was seldom working with the U.S. Code but what he offers up makes plenty of sense. Seems like some good questions are here to at least ask The Snowman.

In a related thought, I mostly agree with the many that are figuring the reason Bu$hCo is fighting this is that the DOJ firing is only the tip of the iceberg. If Rove and his minions are involved then politics is. The Mayberry Machiavellis likely hope that if they can stall then perhaps they can run out the clock. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Tony Snow

Harry Smith of CBS tied up with Tony "The Snowman" Snow just yesterday. It was refreshing to see somebody getting grilled like seemed to happen rather often way back in the day. Crooks and Liars serves up the clip and a summary plus gives us some links to others that are equally solid. After Tony worked for Faux News, before he officially got on the Bu$hCo payroll as Press Secretary, that he'd accuse Harry of being "partisan" is especially rich. E.J. Dionne writes on the irony of these flip floppers howling "executive privilege" now, plus reminds us of the requirement that this White House and DOJ do some 'splaining about the many legitimate concerns that we just know about now, with his I Was Against Presidential Privilege Before I Was For It work that I located at TruthDig. Peace ... or War!

Profiling at DOJ? I'm shocked, shocked!

Having witnessed some racial profiling from The Man here at the local level, I can only imagine Karl Rove trying to manipulate the Department of Justice so that they might disproportionately go after Democrats. Bob Geiger's "Study: White House Guilty Of "Political Profiling" has me even more imaginative. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ James Inhofe

To have Alabama's Jefferson Beauregard Sesssions III compare favorably with this rascal says much. I knew a little about James Mountain Inhofe before yet his behavior with Al Gore provided a reason to study up on the Senator.

The labeling of Inhofe as "petulant adolescent" for his recent performance is accurate. A proud heterosexual patriarch, this fundamentalist needed reminding by Barbara Boxer that he's no longer the Chair of this Senate Committee. Elections do have consequences! He's been a torture apologist yet no fan of the Red Cross and other "humanitarian do-gooders".

In Big Energy's pocket for years, his routine with Gore was perhaps a way to show the Fat Cats they were getting their money's worth. He surely gave them a good turn on his last day holding the gavel. Inhofe has described global warming as the second largest hoax, with the separation of church and state being number one, played on the American public. Since his insurance company failed, under some questionable circumstances according to some things I've read, he apparently no longer reads insurance industry warnings about the threats faced by global warming. The Prospect's Chris Mooney gives us a good look at Inhofe's standard routine of advocating for "sound science".

This guy has parallels with Jeff Sessions in that Oklahoma and Alabama ought to be able to find some better talent than either. Unfortunately, both states have a decent sized population of citizens that might very want this type of Senator in DC. It's a darned shame as both of these high poverty states need all the help they can get. Peace ... or War!

Bu$hCo's Executive Privilege Hogwash

Tip of the tam to Jeff Stahler of the Cincy Post for this image from 1998 but mostly to Glenn Greenwald for showing how this "Executive Privilege" dog likely won't hunt. The Congressional rather than criminal angle might matter as offered in Update III yet Update II trumps this as Congress simply must not cave if any semblance of oversight can finally return to DC. Let's also hope somebody will put Snowjob in a position to contrast his Clinton position while on the payroll of Faux News with how the issue applies now that Tony's officially employed by Bu$hCo. Also, what gives with the missing 18 days from the last email dump? Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ "Pastor" Ted Haggard

I posted on Jesus Camp just the other evening yet watched one more time last night. Wow! I paid more attention to the cameo by Ted Haggard. A YouTube clip of this appears appears here. This former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of a Colorado Springs megachurch (that has had to lay off 44 workers since the scandal broke) is likely known by many that are nearly as concerned about Christianist extremists as those from the fringes of Islamic radicalism. Here's some updated news from the Seattle Times of both Ted and Kids on Fire leader Becky Fischer. E-Bay is not allowing the table allegedly used to "massage" Ted to be sold via their site.

As a bonus, I was reminded of two of Mike Papantonio's books (on Atticus Finch and Clarence Darrow) on my bookshelves. They were acquired way back in the days when I was playing lawyer. I've followed his work somewhat but intend to once again crack these books. His Ring of Fire radio program is an effort I'll want to seek out as well. Counselor, here's a tip of the tam!

Good doc this Jesus Camp. Kudos for the effort. To reveal so clearly the hypocrisy of Ted Haggard is just gravy. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Bobby Lowder

Although today's news of Houston's Jay Gogue perhaps being named as President of Auburn University seems grand one wonders if additional talent might have been available but for the dreadful micro-management from all too many of the AU Trustees. Colonial BancGroup Chief Executive Bobby Lowder earned total compensation of $2.62 million last year so surely he's doing just fine yet his record at AU is hardly stellar. Dr. Gogue is a horticulturalist so he's got to know a thing or two about weeds so perhaps he'll be fine.

Perhaps the only time I've linked to ESPN, this Mike Fish work from early 2006 is a great place to start understanding Bobby Lowder's power. This Selena Roberts article from early 2005 is likewise revealing, perhaps even more so in that it shows that politics and power are indeed often local. Things are surely better down on The Plains yet the loveliest village would I think be lovelier if Mr. Lowder were to just write the checks and build the buildings rather than serve on the Board.

War Eagle! Peace .. or War!

Alliance for Peace and Justice in Auburn, Alabama

Auburn's Peace Eagle is a new find. On April 4th Dr. C.T. Vivian will be in Auburn as a guest of the Alliance for Peace and Justice. Might be a fine reason to travel down to The Plains. Can I still close as usual? It's my blog so I say "Yes!" Peace ... or War!

Monkey Business?

Might not post much in next few days as back to the grind of Monster and Career Builder and ... Might I vent on a personal matter? It's my blog so I guess I can do what I wish. Scots up a touch yet mostly just sad and confused. A few days of work will make it better I'm sure but I dread having to get back on these job sites and start all that back again.

Trip to Orlando last week was for naught. I interviewed for an Outside Sales opportunity on Friday and was told they'd decide between two candidates (I was even told I was favored) yesterday. However, I got an email on Monday telling me that the position was not being filled. Since I offered to drive down (Southwest plane was broken on Wednesday and other flights were fully booked until middle of this week) to be told of the consolidation of territories after the fact has me rather bothered. Maybe there is more to the story yet seems like rather poor form based on what I know.

This morning I got another email from an HR Department telling me that a position had been withdrawn. That's happened several times (What gives here?) yet at least I didn't drive 1000 miles before learning that the offer was off the table.

So far my efforts to nail down meaningful work after the campaign has been very frustrating yet I know there are opportunities out there. If I were a ReThuglican there might be some Wing Nut Welfare gigs in the "think tanks" and "policy shops" and ... that would pay enough to live on. Lefty Progressive outfits generally don't shell out the dollars and even so those jobs are super competitive.

Some manual labor about the Ponderosa will perhaps clear my mind. Peace ... or War!

Anniston Star ~ It 'Aint Over Yet Big Mules!

Amen! The Anniston Star delivers once again with today's "Let the people vote — again" which will hopefully get some traction. Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform will I'm sure keep up the pressure yet this one will require much from the grassroots (and responsible media!) to just get a vote and then to accomplish reform.

The Star reminds us how the Big Mules handled last time with

Back in 2004, when the question was put to a popular vote, supporters of the status quo pulled out all stops (and spent a bundle of money) to convince voters that constitutional reform was nothing but a backdoor effort to raise taxes by a bunch of Godless infidels who would take references to the Lord out of the new document.

With nothing to support their insinuations but half-truths, rumors and even outright lies, the anti-reform forces created enough uncertainty in the electorate to get the convention voted down.

The sighs of relief could be heard in Big Mule board rooms, the offices of neo-conservative think tanks and parsonages of right-wing religious leaders throughout the state.

Sooner or later ... Alabama will get some relief. Peace ... or War!