Cornerstone of the Day ~ Work

Charles Baudelaire, pretty much THE French poet of the 19th century, provides our words of wisdom for the day. From what I've learned, and there's plenty more to grasp I'm sure, he was both a talented and troubled soul. He offers:

As a remedy against all ills - poverty, sickness, and melancholy, only one thing is absolutely necessary: a liking for work.

I'm not so sure about this always working however. It seems to have perhaps not always been so for Mr. Baudelaire as well. Maybe it did usually apply in simpler times? I like (love?) to work and often think I can do the work of two men. Finding somebody to pay me a reasonable wage for my work seems to be what is necessary right now. At least I've got my health. For now. Peace ... or War!

Bu$hCo's GOP - Another Lost Cause for the South?

The Anniston Star's editorial from yesterday asks "Will the South rise again?" recalling the rather recent days when Southerners controlled the government. Considering Newt Gingrich, Haley Barbour, Dick Armey, Tom DeLay and Trent Lott, certainly the Republican Party had plenty of Southern orientation. Our last two Presidents have been Southerners yet the focus here is on Congressional leaders.

A portion of the editorial reads:

... By the mid-1990s Gingrich, Armey, DeLay, Lott and a host of lesser lights from south of the Mason-Dixon line seemed to be running the show.

Then it happened. They pushed too far. Bent the rules. Said things they shouldn't have said. Did things they shouldn't have done. Got the nation into things folks concluded the nation should not have gotten into. One by one they — and those like them — fell from grace.

With the Democrats now in control of Congress and the Republican president's approval ratings sinking, it's not likely that the GOP will soon exercise the power it once had.

Even if the Republicans rise, which could happen, it is not likely that the South will rise with them. The follies and foibles of Southern Republican leaders left a bad taste in the mouths of many party members outside the region. They might be willing to make Trent Lott the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, but they want someone less controversial to lead the party.

This offers a good, object lesson for Southern Republicans. As the GOP swings back to its more moderate roots, Southern Republicans need to swing with it. ...

This makes plenty of sense to me based on the numbers and trends I'm seeing. Reminds me of the Molly Ivins cure for a chicken killing dog post from a few days ago. The GOP brand is truly tarnished, and rightly so, yet Progressivism is still far from being the default position. Peace ... or War!

A call for help for Boadicea (Vicki Cosgrove)

Pictured to the left is an image of Boadicea which perhaps might make some sense later on. I know this blog gets limited traffic yet if anyone visiting can help my favorite redheaded Progressive activist out, I'd surely appreciate the favor. Vicki Cosgrove, the face of the McNerney for Congress effort from 2004 through 2006, has a tough personal and financial situation. Her husband John is facing a likely diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. John is facing some rather serious surgery and treatment to follow. Vicki has her own health troubles as well.

Either this Kos post or this MyDD post will give you more information about what the Cosgrove family is facing. Please recommend either or better yet both to increase their ranking. Vicki's personal blog on John's condition is here. The Progressive Connection has a method by which PayPal donations may be made.

Thanks for considering my request. Since Vicki is a true Peacemonger I probably should just close with Peace! Still, Vicki once told me a person she met called her "Boadicae" and explained this name was that of a tall, red haired warrior from a part of today's England that had fought against the Romans. I've always figured that fellow was a perceptive soul. Vicki is a scrapper. She's tough and brave and bold and ... Even so, a warrior like Vicki need a little help under circumstances such as these. Peace ... or War!

Cornerstone of the Day ~ Failure

Gustave Flaubert, of Madam Bovary fame, was a serious cynic. He opines, and today I completely concur, the following:

Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.

Actually I am not of the opinion some of those that seem to be succeeding are idiots, well perhaps in a few cases, yet darned if I'm not beginning to wonder how some of these particular folks caught their breaks. Hardly the life I ordered and I'm trying to stay positive and bold but efforts to get back on my best path are proving so very frustrating. Peace ... or War!

Outlanders of the Day ~ Bu$hCo and the RNC

Tom Hamburger of the LA Times provides the most what appears to be the most recent coverage of the use of Republican National Committee email addresses by Bu$hCo employees. Karl Rove's activities are a focus of course, with reference to his (and Abramoff's?) former assistant Susan Ralston noted as well.

Clearly the fact that much of the recent DOJ scandal revolves around communications that occurred via these systems has broadened the inquiry. At least something is growing in America beyond casualties in Iraq and the deficit and ...

Also, please note that "some" emails are automatically purged every thirty days. Wonder which ones? I'll link to the US Code on The Presidential Records Act of 1978 yet I have not taken time to study. From everything I'm reading, it seems somebody has some 'splainin to do. Peace ... or War!

Cornerstone of the Day ~ Reading

Tip of the tam to the artist creating the work that I've used for our art. Jorge Luis Borges was an unknown yet this quote might be enough for me to investigate further:

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. ~ Jorge Luis Borges

I'm personally hoping for a library with a garden plus a ... ? Peace ... or War!

Outlanders of the Day ~ Corporate Editorial Boards

Larisa Alexandrovna's HuffPo Why are they trying so hard to distract us? post from today says it better than I could ever hope to. I'm lucky to have the ability and desire to study up and seek so as to not just take what I'm told as the complete story. I also know that many Americans are either too busy, thick, lazy ... to go that extra distance. With that type of audience, perhaps the corporate media figures they can get away with their foolishness. I'll first give you Larisa's intro and then her close.

The national media continues to self destruct under the weight of its politically purchased editorial pages. Not content to simply slink away quietly after leading the nation into a disastrous war of choice through negligent and even highly corrupt reporting practices, the editorial boards of all of the major newspapers - still apparently strapped collectively into a mission accomplished payola flight suit - continue to play political attack dog for their paymasters.

After all, what is a little feigned concern for national security, a little faux patriotism between friends and corporate shills? ...

... Why are they trying so hard to distract us? Because they have already lied. Lies require more lies and more lies require myths and trumped up scandals. Would honest people ever spend this much time on distractions?

I think that with the exception of a few real journalists and honest columnists in the MSM, the American media-industrial-political complex is a discredited, decadent, ugly thing to behold and, sadly for us, a real danger to democracy. They are a collective Faust, selling their very souls for access, power, money and anything that relates to those three commodities so important to the morally vacuous. They sell their souls, we pay the price, and they make a profit.

I'm sure some clever soul deserves credit for the image. I think I first saw it on FireDogLake yet where I located this evening no attribution was present. Hardly the corporate media, perhaps my use will be forgiven. Certainly, using it in the good fight makes me feel a little less crummy by posting. Peace ... or War!

So can George W. Bush still stand himself?

I'm figuring he remains perfectly comfortable, yet expect it is more about innate arrogance and being surrounded by enablers. Maybe if there's really any "faith" then the idea of being persecuted appeals to Dubyah? I can't wait for the histories to be written yet want 2009 to get here with the least amount of damage possible. Let he and his limp along and we'll figure out just how flawed this administration was later on when he's back in Crawford.

The reason I ask is from my visiting this old Molly Ivins piece where she describes a Texas solution for curing a chicken killing dog. She suggested just wire a dead chicken to the dog and let it rot to the point where "the dog won't be able to stand himself." The late great Molly was talking to Progressives in mourning (I'm still there!) over the 2004 election telling us ...

The Bush administration is going to be wired around the neck of the American people for four more years, long enough for the stench to sicken everybody. It should cure the country of electing Republicans.

Molly's soothing rant was worked off of by Bob Davis in my local Anniston Star (even if he went with the more family rated wire the dead chicken to the cage version) where he rolled off an impressive list of Bu$hCo/GOP rotting chickens in his "The smell of scandals". There's however a caveat to thinking that future voters can really smell the rotting chickens in his close where he writes:

And let's not forget a virtual war on the press corps and the public's right to know, as more and more of what was once done in the open has been pulled behind a curtain and truth-tellers are demonized and hounded by prosecutors.

I have been ready for some oversight and still hope for some of the "journalist" cocktail set to grow a set or at least get the hell out of the way to allow some of the serious reporters to do their jobs. Great column and a reminder of how lucky I feel to have this paper as "my" local paper. I was not aware that Bob Davis worked with Molly Ivins. What a honor. Peace ... or War!

It's Sunday so 60 Grit & ... Get Spin Card Punched

Tip of the Tam to Maria at 2 Political Junkies for the image. I've noted previously that Kate's hubby James is part of the Loyalty Department but Kate is surely often punched for her work at the Spin Club. Of course, if it's Sunday morning it's conservative. Peace ... or War!

Kerik Homeland Security Appointment Botched

I noted Rudy G's reliance on his "gut" yesterday but darned if Bernard Kerik's nomination doesn't seem to confirm that Dubyah and Rudy both suffer from that affliction. With a little help from his friends, like Abu Gonzales and BFF Harriet Miers for instance, "the Decider" just keep churning out those hits.

John Solomon and Peter Baker, via WaPo/MSNBC , serve up "White House looked past alarms on Kerik : Giuliani, Gonzales pushed Department of Homeland Security bid forward". A portion follows:

... He joined Giuliani's 1993 campaign as his driver and was later given top appointments, including corrections commissioner and eventually police commissioner. After office, Giuliani and Kerik became partners in a security consulting firm.

So when Giuliani telephoned Bush to recommend that he make Kerik his second-term homeland security secretary, the president jumped at the idea. The sheen of a 9/11 hero seemed to be just what was needed to take on a troubled new department struggling to integrate 22 agencies and 180,000 employees to protect the nation's ports, borders and airports; enforce immigration and customs laws; and respond to major disasters. Only a few aides, including then-Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and senior adviser Karl Rove, were clued in to the president's decision.

As with every nominee, Kerik was given detailed financial disclosure and personal history questionnaires to fill out, all intended to unearth anything that might prove embarrassing in a confirmation hearing. Giuliani's firm assisted in filling out the forms, according to a source familiar with the situation, and the papers are now an issue in the federal criminal investigation. Kerik, his attorney and Giuliani Partners spokeswoman Sunny Mindel declined to comment.

Presidential nominees typically go through a full-fledged FBI background investigation before their appointments are announced. But because it is hard to keep Cabinet selections secret for so long, they are vetted only by the White House counsel's office before being made public. The FBI then conducts its full probe before Senate confirmation hearings begin.

The long nightmare of Bu$hCo is still far from over yet to think we'd have another version of Dubyah, even if he's surely sharper, in The White House makes it all the worse. With St. John stumbling perhaps some Bu$h backers will be shifting toward Rudy. Here's hoping the American public and media will take a strong look at Rudy. Peace ... or War!

Monica's "Goodling Friday" isn't end of DOJ story

Tip of the tam to John Holbo at Crooked Timber for examining "Goodling Friday" and creating the above image. Monica Goodling leaving DOJ will I hope not prevent further efforts to haul her before Congress. Giving her immunity might be one option yet I'd wait until they get Abu and some of the others on the record before even considering. Peace ... or War!

Will US voters switch from Dubyah to Rudy?

Listening to the GOP "moderates" like Rudy Giuliani rolled out by the RNC at the 2004 convention was frustrating and yet "America's Mayor" is seemingly getting some payback. I'm still doubting he'll make the cut, mostly since many social conservatives might just stay home if he gets the nomination, yet if he does it will be due to the belief that he's tough, experienced, smart, etc. However, this Greg Sargent post shares a recent example of why that's hardly accurate. I know faith in the American public is dangerous yet surely they'll not elect a rather grumpy man lacking pretty much any foreign policy experience that frequently operates from his gut feelings. Will they? Peace ... or War!

Outlanders of the Day ~ Michael Gordon, WaPo ...

The motives and messages do seem to all too often vary according to the reporter or paper. I expect no better from the obviously bent yet the Gray Lady and WaPo should be a cut above shouldn't they? Am I in "tin foil hat" territory here? Duncan's post has me in that place again today. When I heard of the recent discovery of a Explosive Formed Projectiles cache, actually a factory if I understand things correctly, in IRAQ, I immediately thought back to Michael Gordon, or more accurately the NYT piece he wrote back in February, where he conveyed the Bu$hCo line that the only source of EFPs could be IRAN. The screen capture shows the initial WaPo reporting with the EFP factory reference and yet that's gone now. Reckon why? Background on Michael Gordon follows via the link. More to come perhaps yet I'm thinking somebody has some 'splainin to do. Peace ... or War!

Cornerstone of the Day ~ Patriotism

Trying something new, at least for a while, I'll share a daily quote. They'll often be from two Progressive Farmer Cornerstones collections that date back to the early 90s. Looks like there are two more since I first obtained. Even when not I'll label as "Cornerstone" in that it relates to building, even if mostly symbolic. I find building rock walls, almost always just dry stacked, is one of my most rewarding activities. The craft, not to mention the physics, of making a good foundation that will hold might apply. Words of wisdom do that for our lives I suppose.

Progressive Farmer provides this one, from George Santayana, that follows

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.

I suppose I'll ponder on this one, plus several other constructs, as I debate tackling some disturbing posts I stumbled across. These posts are on a blog that is apparently based in Madison, Alabama. I'd read the term before yet to see "dhimmicrat" thrown around so much forced me to use The Google. Some very harsh views and yet I'm not sure if I'd want to question the thinking of anyone that posts as "Sniper One" on "7.62mm Justice". Peace ... or War

Outlanders of the Day ~ The Alabama Senate

Bob Lowery of the Huntsville Times gives us a solid examination of the Alabama Senate's partisan feuding" yet WSFA's Helen Hammons' "As the Alabama Senate Stops" Show Continues or 'Groundhog Day' Returns" is especially entertaining. Read it and weep.

The "playful banter" needs to stop and the work needs to begin. Quit pouting and do the job!

Also, not everybody in the Senate ought to be labeled an Outlander. Some are ready and willing to work. I expect if some new blood was in charge there would be some progress. Finally, there aren't that many "Democrats" down in Montgomery and I'm thinking those few aren't the problem. Those Alabama Democrats that are part of holding things up seem to be those that most often practice Republican Lite.

Both factions have some blame here yet this foolishness is only hurting our state. Peace ... or War!

NPR's The Forgotten War on Drugs

The above image is certainly applicable around my neck of the woods yet perhaps is partly true all over the nation. In my "dry" county the law will often cuff you and stuff you for a VPL (Violation of Prohibition Law) so you can imagine what they do to folks with drugs. Chasing folks cooking meth takes time and yet investigating the crimes they commit in servicing their habits take time as well. We've got the good, bad, and ugly here in our legal and judicial system yet our system as a whole seems poor to fair at best. I'll likely always believe we waste many resources, financial and human, in the failed "War of Drugs". I've seen draconian punishments that were outrageous.

NPR has a new series that I've yet to wade through yet I'll put up since it looks very solid. I am also linking to an older Salon effort and expressly to this portion referencing the Contra Costa Courthouse near where I worked this past fall. California's Proposition 36, where first time offenders are sent to rehab and supervision, is examined. Hardly perfect yet better than more harsh approaches. Even in that system profiteering is present.

I'm in favor of fully legalizing marijuana and think liberalization of our drug policy makes sense as well. Not going to get off into a policy rant here yet hope people find the series useful. Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Dr. Francis Fukuyama

Part of the Project for a New American Century and other neo-conservative outfits for some years, Professor Fukuyama is, as we we might say down here in Alabama, crawfishing . Marcy long ago noted this effort plus I ran across a recent writing by Dr. Fukuyama in the Guardian that seems to confirm. I don't blame you for trying but it is simply too late. Used perhaps but when you lied (is the grammar correct or appropriate either way?) down with the dogs ...

We'll see how Zalmay Khalilzad manages to explain his PNAC fleas soon I suppose. Of course he's got lots of explaining to do I'd think. Peace ... or War!

The Care and Feeding of Smelly Bloggers!

Beccah Golubock Watson of The Nation examines the reality that for most Progressive bloggers their work, which is at times genuine service, is a labor of love. On the right, wingnut welfare often seems rather abundant. Peace ... or War!

Dr. Bob Terry Laments Lack of Faith in France

Dr. Bob Terry appears in today's Alabama Baptist with "Thoughts: A Religious Heritage Is Not Enough" where he offers up an opinion that the cheese eating surrender monkeys in France, for the record neither his description or mine beyond an effort to be clever, need to get them some Old Time Religion. Thanks to my time in the Bohannon Death March through Early Modern Europe I immediately thought of reasons why Pierre might be a little nervous about faith.

The above image is an effort to describe the St. Bartholomew's Massacre on August 24, 1572. I'll not bother with links as a person can use the Google if they are interested. The Wars of Religion, Thirty Years War, ... were mostly about various groups using the faithful to get or maintain power (damned if that doesn't resonate!) so maybe the French simply wised up. I'm thinking they don't need a fundamentalist from Alabama scolding them. Many Europeans, and apparently a good number of Republicans, simply think you true believers are nuts.

As an aside, Baby Plaid is being baptized this Easter weekend. I'll not attend, as at that church as I'd find not just one but two ex-wives, yet I'll be thinking of him, mostly as relates to the symbolism of the ritual. I've talked to him some about his faith and yet one day I figure we'll be able to share our respective thoughts more completely. I'll hope to not make the mistakes of claiming the truth, or even worse not engaging his ideas, as I'd argue most of my family has often done. I also hope he and I can visit France and the balance of Europe one day. Ought to make for some good conversations.

Vivre et laisser vivre. Paix ... ou Guerre!

Alabama's High End Beer Bill Is Still Alive!

Since my family members nearly stroke out when I scold Bu$hCo and other right wing "thinking" in the form of Letters to the Editor (or merely explaining to my "home church" why I'll no longer attend) I expect I'll need to pass on dropping anything in my local paper about the devil's drink. Posting, where folks have to come looking and there is some measure of anonymity, is another matter. Thanks to a little more digging, I now realize HB 195, the Gourmet Beer Bill, is still alive. Over in the Senate, SB 128 is also pending. Here's hoping we can get merely a reasonable examination of the legislation. After Richard Laird and DuWayne Bridges behaved so stupidly, we've got a good shot at shall we say the more sophisticated set.

My Representative Richard Laird has shown his ignorance so I'll not waste a call. I'll be calling or mailing Senator Benefield however. If you are here in Alabama, all five of you that visit, if you can take time to call your folks on Goat Hill, I'd surely appreciate. However, if you've only got one call in you then please burn it on Constitutional Reform. "Save the Ales!" gets trumped by saving the state. I'll argue protecting our kids requires a new constitution Representative Laird. You and I both know you're more about protecting the Big Mules. Banks, ALFA, Alabama Power ... have you nailed down where it counts so they'll let you get all Christianist on matters like this trivia. Talk about morality when you support immediate and total reform of the 1901 Constitution Sir!

When Alabama's own ABC stores sells everything from grain alcohol to Mad Dog 20/20, plus even has an Official State Spirit (the wonderful Conecuh Ridge brand that I personally can vouch for), there's simply no reason for not voting for this legislation. The only reason would be perhaps fearing the Bible thumpers but there's hope there even. Even a hardshell Baptist will agree high end beer ought to be available for legal purchase by adults once they learn the facts.

Free the Hops Alabama. Peace ... or War!