Outlander of the DECADE ~ George Bu$h

Four years in today. Attacking Iraq was a mistake but the post-invasion execution was even more flawed. Thousands of ours and hundreds of thousands of theirs, most include innocents I'd argue, are dead and exponentially more are wounded, physically and/or emotionally-mentally. Half a trillion so far, most via incurring debt, yet most figure the final tab will be at least a trillion. Dubyah and his merry band of neo-cons wasted the good will of the world toward the United States after 9-11. Their Iraq blunder has allowed extremists to rise up again in Afghanistan and distracted our nation and allies from the true global threat that faces our world. More to say I expect as the day drags on. Peace ... or War!

Discomfort and Discourse via Jesus Camp?

I watched Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's Jesus Camp last night. I'll need to view again to decide exactly how I feel yet can surely recommend. Chiefly examing folks that I'd describe as Charismatic or Pentecostal, the film seems to me to apply to my personal experiences of Evangelicalism more than not. The site also has a response to Ted Haggard's criticisms that is notable. If not familiar with this Christianist, and only should you seek a seriously spicy slice of schadenfreude, America's Best Christian Betty Bowers can bring you up to speed on Pastor Ted. Peace ... or War!

Media Matters Takes on Sunday Talk Shows

Media Matters serves up a nice report (plus gives one a chance to complain!) regarding the continued practice of stacking more conservatives for Sunday morning. The GOP is the minority party in Congress now and even many true believers know Bu$hCo is the lamest of lame ducks. However, it seems the shows must go on as they've done for many, many years in favoring the Conservatives/Republicans. I've long been frustrated with the so called Liberals and Democrats in Name Only that seem to routinely make the lineups yet even with that concern tabled the networks (and I'll give Faux News a pass) are not providing even the semblance of balance. Peace ... or War!

Sunday's Outlander of the Day ~ Tom DeLay

Tom Delay, who thankfully is not going to be a paid CNN commentator, and Richard Perle, an unreconstructed neo-con, faced off against Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania's 7th and Win Without War director and former Maine Congressman (perhaps future Maine Senator?) Tom Andrews on this week's Meet the Press. On Think Progress Nico uses "dominates" to describe the "debate". There's a good video link provided to boot.

While The Admiral and Mr. Andrews could have been brutal with these two armchair warriors given their past statements and actions, they were simply reasoned and firm. Timmeh did let them go at it rather than step in and save the two neo-cons. I'd have preferred that he play a little gotcha with the two conservatives on their past statements yet just going over the many time Perle has been wrong would have taken up several shows. Watching MTP made me proud of Joe Sestak and I was surely impressed by Tom Andrews as well. I wonder what Senator Susan Collins thought?

Tom DeLay has a new book (titled "No Retreat. No Surrender.") coming out and the Carl Hulse of the NYT gives a nice overview of the same in the San Francisco Chronicle. The HuffPo reference above claims the book has positive blurbs from Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity so that ought to tell you plenty about the Hammer's literary talents. It seems infighting in the GOP continues with this book. I also find it odd that DeLay retreated and surrendered when his Congressional seat was on the line.

I appreciate the above image with The Hammer in front of The Gipper. I recall reading something about Reagan being labeled an "amiable dunce". My Old Daddy labeled him some other ways I'll confess. DeLay's mean streak is undeniable and he's hardly the sharpest as well. Who would have thunk I'd have missed Reagan and even considered him somewhat of a gem one day. At least Bu$hCo and the modern GOP have won one for The Gipper. Peace ... or War!

Saturday's Outlander of the Day ~ Karl Rove

Cuff him and stuff him! While I'd gone after Karl Rove plenty in the past, for instance reminding my meager audience via Captain Bama that Bu$h's Brain was here in Alabama in 1994 for the judicial cycle, Cliff Schecter's recent post, which I located on Saturday at HuffPo, is a gem for reminding us just how dreadful the Boy Genius truly is. From PlameGate to the recent dismissal scandal to ... he's long, long overdue. Peace ... or War!

Friday's Outlander of the Day ~ Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Good coming from the delay in that there is lots of additional coverage now, I'll name Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville Kentucky, as Friday's Outlander of the Day. He's hardly dreadful as most yet he'll do, with his being tapped perhaps flowing primarily from the frustration yours truly has with the Southern Baptist church. A "recovering Southern Baptist" I am and yet nearly every day I'm feeling further along in the recovery process.

Lynne Duke gives a good summary of the stir in today's WaPo. On Friday, via his blog, Dr. Mohler posted "Was it Something I Said? Continuing to Think About Homosexuality", a response to stirrings related to a post from two weeks earlier titled "Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?". They are both long posts and I for one applaud him for putting this out there for folks to ponder. Admittedly there's something about thinking "outloud" and posting for the world to read that I find attractive. Still, there's some serious inconsistencies in what he's writing and certainly much that conflicts with the doctrine that his denomination relies on to do their (and the GOP's?) work.

J.C. Christian (George Brett's manly bulge research and resulting comments were especially clever) pointed me toward Dr. Mohler's prior concerns over "the rebellion against parenthood". Dr. Mohler wrote

... Modern Americans are determined not only to liberate sex from marriage, and not only to separate sex from the realities of male and female, but to liberate sex from procreation.

This rebellion against parenthood is nothing less than an absolute revolt against God’s design. The Scripture points to barrenness as a great curse and children as a divine gift. The Psalmist declares: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3–5).

“Make love, not babies” expresses a worldview the Scripture rejects. Marriage, sex, and children are part of one package. To deny any part of this wholeness is to reject God’s intention in creation—and his mandate revealed in the Bible. You can’t make love (though you can have sex) if you refuse to make babies.

The Scripture does not even envision married couples who choose not to have children. The shocking reality is that some Christians have bought into this lifestyle and claim that childlessness is a legitimate “lifestyle option” for Christians. The rise of modern contraceptives and sterilization surgery has made this possible for the first time in human history. But though willed childlessness may have been made possible by the contraceptive revolution almost every American thinks a perfect blessing, it remains a form of rebellion against God’s design and order.

Scripture does not give couples the option of choosing childlessness. To the contrary, in the biblical revelation God commands us to receive children with joy as his gifts, and to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. ...

The church should insist that the biblical formula is: Adulthood means marriage, and marriage means children. This reminds us of our responsibility to raise boys to be husbands and fathers and girls to be wives and mothers. God’s glory is seen in this, for the family is a critical arena where the glory of God is either displayed or denied. It is just as simple as that.

The church must help this society regain its sanity on the gift of children. Willful barrenness and chosen childlessness must be named as moral rebellion. To demand that marriage means sex but not children is to defraud the creator of his joy and pleasure in seeing the saints raising his children. That is just the way it is.

That's some serious fundamentalism I'd suggest. And on second thought he fully deserves Outlander of the Day status. He's an intellectual giant of evangelicals? He's helping prepare the next generation of Southern Baptist leaders? Of course it might be worse at Southwestern and Liberty with the Caner brothers yet I'll argue a good chunk of today's Southern Baptist doctrine is fully radicalized.

My infamous post on Amendment One (Alabama's version of legislation to preserve the sanctity of marriage) earned me the wrath of my family yet if they'll follow this willful barrenness position I suppose we'll need legislation requiring couples to punch a baby Baptist out rather quickly after the wedding. Should we give them three years or five? And if there's some biology out there what consequence does that have as to the whole issue of sexuality? C'mon family fundamentalists, here's your chance to straighten out the Black Sheep. Peace ... or War!

Thursday's Outlander of the Day ~ Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan

Travelling at the end of the week has me just today naming Thursday's Outlander of the Day. Above we see The Maestro with his lovely wife Andrea Mitchell, Monday's Outlander. Digby serves up a skewering of the former Chairman for his remarks at a Treasury Department conference. Greenspan is quoted as suggesting one way of narrowing the income gap is to loosen immigration rules so as to bring in cheaper talent. Good Grief Mr. G! Bringing down the middle class is hardly rewarding folks that have played by the rules and gotten their education. Of course you and the bride are hardly worried about payng the bills I'm sure. "Out of touch" is I fear too kind. Mr. Greenspan also bounces around looming concerns from the sub-prime mortgage industry, something that I've posted on previously. Digby sends us to Kevin Drum and upon clicking through and pondering his work I'm even more terrified. Peace ... or War!

Called to the state of Original Sin

Mercy if we only knew then what we know now! Thanks Jeb for these two. You could have been a contender but now surely your future prospects are slim to none. I'll be out of pocket until at least Saturday morning as I'm heading down to Orlando for some business. I can't help but think poorly of Florida after 2000 yet this trip might be a super nice one if all works out. Wish me luck! Peace ... or War!

Bu$hCo's DOE Makes NCLB Even Worse

The image above relates to "Reading First" which I'll tackle later in the post. I've been stewing on No Child Left Behind, one component being Reading First. This perhaps is from coverage (MSNBC and USA Today), back in September when I was campaign mode. I'm less hostile to Reading First than much of the NCLB legislation yet even if less flawed in inception Bu$hCo's execution dooms the effort.

Yesterday's find of Diana Jean Schemo via The Gray Lady reporting "Oversight Is Set for Beleaguered U.S. Reading Program" has me even more stirred up perhaps? Dr. Robert Slavin pointing out the absurdity of Secretary Spellings' assurances to now be on top of things via the analogy of a team using corked bats and running up a 23-0 score in the 8th and then playing fair is priceless!

A Letter to the Editor might be coming soon, even if various family members might weep and gnash teeth, plus I'll try to at least send a note to Senator Shelby and Representative Rogers. I might even send one to Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, although I'll likely tweak the letter to use really simple sentences.

Jonathan Weisman and Amit R. Paley of the WaPo show up last night at MSNBC with Dozens in GOP turn against ‘No Child’ act : States could opt out of testing mandates under proposed changes. While I'm encouraged to see anyone in DC prepared to resist this foundationally flawed legislation, I still fear much damage has been done. I'm nervous as well since "experts with agendas" like Chester E. Finn Jr. & Michael J. Petrilli, the latter being a Bu$hCo insider that was a big part of the mess that became Reading First, are ready to call for more of the Right Wing's goals as this is an opportunity they'll not want to miss. And it is not simply NCLB as this "accountability" movement has been with us since at least the early eighties. Certainly NCLB made things scary for our kids/teachers/future but to have Bu$hCo involved made it exponentially so.

To get us started ... Echidne posts at Duncan Black's Atrios/Eschaton, sharing some of what Kevin Drum and Matthew Yglesias have recently served up, and rightly calls the whole program "political mouthwash".

What may have stirred me up most was reporting just yesterday by my local paper of the "good news" reported to the City Board. Penny Pool writing "brimming over with good news" immediately caught my attention. The man running the system Baby Plaid attends reported high rankings of the elementary school under Alabama's Reading First Initiative.

Superintendent Chuck Marcum's recent report to the Roanoke Board of Education was brimming over with good news.

Knight-Enloe Elementary School is the number 5 school out of 75 schools statewide in reading comprehension, according to information given by Dr. Carol Belcher, a reading specialist with the Alabama Reading First Initiative at the state Department of Education.

The most important aspect of reading is remembering what you read, and the data shows students are learning to read at KES, Marcum said.

"Once again I am glad that the staff at KES is getting recognized at the state level for its hard work," he said. Parents and staff are helping with something that will stay with these students the rest of their lives - the ability to read, he said.

Careful here ... What reading consists of is much more than remembering! And while throwing the obligatory "data" into any conversation is seemingly required of anyone that advances to a position of leadership, I wanted to reach for some mouthwash reading the above. How reading is learned and taught is certainly complex and since I've always taught 7th through 12th graders I can't claim a solid understanding of the early years. I do understand content reading concerns however and know enough to point out that reading, even at these K-3 levels, involves much more than recalling something that can then be easily tested!

The influences of and outcomes (there's some edu-speak word for ya!) of "reading" include comprehension, spelling, writing, listening, vocabulary, discussion, fluency, meaning making, dreaming, connecting, emotions, attitude, behaviors, ... All of this is important (for just regular kids so imagine those that are immigrants or suffering from learning disabilities or ...) so to carve out a "most important" aspect concerns me. This worry comes with a caveat of course in that I might very well find Mr. Marcum to think much more broadly than how he relayed things to the Board and public. Good news is always easy to deliver and getting complex will at times cause the average citizen, and this certainly includes the average Board member ... especially around my neck of the woods, to get that glazed over look in their eyes.

My understanding is that Reading First has a decent following here in Alabama but I'd like input from others. Asking around locally can be attempted yet many that have remained here have long ago learned keeping your head down and not making waves seems to be best in a small town. I have the impression that legitimate experts might come down on both (or probably more like various) sides of the issue (or should it be "issues'?) in play here. Let's step back ten years to look at the great divide of Direct Instruction vs. Whole Language for the sake of simplicity. There's a continuum of course with lots of variety and in fact a blended approach seems to be a given. However, Reading First seems to lean toward "Direct".

Critics of Reading First suggest those that crafted the program (the National Reading Panel) assumed teaching "discrete skills" was the one, or at least primary, way of providing reading instruction. That they ignored or avoided integrated, comprehensive approaches makes sense to me in that single measure assessments drive education in today's world. Canned curriculums and measurement packages follow this of course and "there's gold in them thar hills" applies. Creativity suffers but never fear as there are "professional development" providers ready to step in an help our poor educators! Consulting, serving on textbook groups, authoring, grant writing, .... Lots of gold! Billions

Given typical Bu$hCo and GOP approaches to government, one is tempted to follow the money. Lisa Schiff did and I highly suggest her writing as a great place to begin. The big boys like McGraw-Hill and Pearson are there and you've also got entrepreneurs, especially the well-connected, ready to get their share. Even Neil Bu$h, at one point thought to be the weakest of the Bu$h boys before Dubyah showed his limitations, got a cut!

At this point I don't have time to connect the dots like I'd like but I'll go ahead share some of the dots that I've been able to run down rather quickly. Consider Reading Horizons. Need some research and academics to bolster your standing? Try The University of Oregon as they've surely benefited from Reading First. DIBELS is a school housed entity that is getting lots of attention. DMG is as well yet they are apparently a commercial enterprise. Dr. Reid Lyon, affiliated with a portion of the National Institutes of Health and one of the chief architects of the Reading First program is getting some coverage. My local Anniston Star opined "Something Rotten in Reading First" and appropriately mentioned Chris Doherty by name. The Carpetbagger Report affirms why his name was reduced to print and is highly recommended among these links.

Secretary of Education Rod Paige (of Texas Miracle infamy) has bolted for consulting contracts yet Margaret Spellings, another Bu$hCo loyalist from Texas, is up to her ears in alligators these days over mismanaging college loan providers, the DOE nailed for gaming Reading First funding, etc. This DOE has long danced with the ones what brung them. I doubt that "accountability" works for those at the top of the food chain however!

What a mess we have in this nation! With the undeniable reality of how education "leaders" have handled their responsibilities is it any wonder that good teachers, and I'll include myself in that mix, are fleeing the classroom. At least those remaining in the trenches can experience the joy of flowcharts such as what appeared at the top of this post. Peace .. or War!

Big Zig Writes for the Grown Ups

My Old Daddy surely thought highly of Zbigniew Brzezinski although he punted on his name referring to him as "Big Zig". Big brain for certain. His recent Second Chance : Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower gives Bu$h the Elder a B, the Clenis a C, and poor old Dubyah a F. Sounds about right!

Here's NPR sharing ten turning points from 1992 to 2006:
TEN MAJOR TURNING POINTS, 1990–2006

Key developments reshaping the world system.

1. The Soviet Union is forced out of Eastern Europe and disintegrates. The United States is on top of the world.
2. The U.S. military victory in the first Gulf War is politically wasted. Middle Eastern peace is not pursued. Islamic hostility toward the United States begins to rise.
3. NATO and the European Union expand into Eastern Europe. The Atlantic community emerges as the predominant influence on the world scene.
4. Globalization is institutionalized with the creation of the World Trade Organization, the new role of the International Monetary Fund with its bailout fund, and the increased anticorruption agenda of the World Bank. "Singapore issues" become the foundation for the Doha Round of WTO negotiations.
5. The Asian financial crisis sets the foundation for a nascent East Asian regional community, to be characterized either by Chinese dominance or by Sino-Japanese competition. China's admission to the WTO encourages its ascent as a major global economic player and a center of regional trade agreements with politically more assertive and impatient poorer countries.
6. Two Chechen wars, the NATO conflict in Kosovo, and Vladimir Putin's election as president of Russia contribute to a rise in Russian authoritarianism and nationalism. Russia exploits its gas and oil resources to become an assertive energy superpower.
7. Facing a permissive attitude from the United States and others, India and Pakistan defy world public opinion to become nuclear powers. North Korea and Iran intensify their covert efforts to acquire nuclear capabilities in the face of inconsistent and inconsequential U.S. efforts to induce their self-restraint.
8. September 11, 2001, shocks the United States into a state of fear and the pursuit of unilateral policies. The United States declares war on terror.
9. The Atlantic community splits over the U.S. war in Iraq. The European Union fails to develop its own political identity or clout.
10. The post–1991 worldwide impression of U.S. global military omnipotence and Washington's illusions about the extent of America's power have been shattered by U.S. failures in postvictory Iraq. The United States acknowledges the need for cooperation with the European Union, China, Japan, and Russia regarding major issues of global security. The Middle East becomes the make-or-break test case of U.S. leadership.

My Old Daddy was hardly a reading man yet I bet he'd find time to sit still for his Big Zig. I'd surely be able to contribute the idea that at this point I think this initial understanding surely makes sense. I'd like to know what he thinks about the next term(s) yet figure he might go with my preferred candidate John Edwards. With all his flaws, if Americans took their politics as serious as the Old Man we'd surely have a better nation. Peace ... or War!

Bu$hCo Human Resource/Loyalty Department

All the coverage of Abu Gonzalez and his DOJ showing some U.S. Attorneys the door reminds one of how this administration tends to handle personnel. Ignore Michael "Heck of Job" Brownie and Bernie Kerik (allegedly facing jail time these days) and Harriet Myers and ... Let's turn our eyes to where historians will often first look when examining this disaster of an administration by looking at Iraq.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City : Life Inside the Green Zone by Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran appears to the left and may be purchased or at least pondered at Amazon. Both Mr. Chandrasekaran's own reporting in The WaPo and Tom Regan's in the CS Monitor can help you get a handle on the mess that was Bu$hCo's Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

James O'Beirne, perhaps known by many as the spouse of frequently booked GOP apologist Kate O'Beirne (Old Sixty Grit herself, likely still earning most of her pay at The National Review I'd venture), did the hiring and it should be clear that loyalty and ideology was the foundation of the staffing effort. Peace ... or War!

Maybe Bu$hCo Isn't Always Incompetent?

Antonio Juhasz dropped an Op-Ed in the Gray Lady yesterday (that I'll also link to via the International Herald Tribune so that perhaps when the Select feature of the NYT seals off you can still locate) that asks, "Whose Oil Is It, Anyway?" that I certainly recommend. Her book pictured to the left, available via Amazon, is surely one I'd love to read if time allows.

Here Op-Ed begins with,

TODAY more than three-quarters of the world’s oil is owned and controlled by governments. It wasn’t always this way.

Until about 35 years ago, the world’s oil was largely in the hands of seven corporations based in the United States and Europe. Those seven have since merged into four: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP. They are among the world’s largest and most powerful financial empires. But ever since they lost their exclusive control of the oil to the governments, the companies have been trying to get it back.

She adds,

In March 2001, the National Energy Policy Development Group (better known as Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force), which included executives of America’s largest energy companies, recommended that the United States government support initiatives by Middle Eastern countries “to open up areas of their energy sectors to foreign investment.” One invasion and a great deal of political engineering by the Bush administration later, this is exactly what the proposed Iraq oil law would achieve. It does so to the benefit of the companies, but to the great detriment of Iraq’s economy, democracy and sovereignty.

My gracious if this might explain why the Prince of Darkness has resisted efforts to get access to records of his energy task force.

While I like cheap gas as much as the next fellow, I also know that I'd rather pay much more to have these thousands of Americans and Iraqis alive or whole. Plus, do you really think the Fueltasktic Four will pass the savings on to Joe and Jill Sixpack? Also, wasn't this Iraq adventure supposed to pay for itself? Maybe Chevron and ExxonMobil will be writing that check?

Finally, if we are really fighting "them" over there to keep from fighting "them" over here one must wonder if "they" might not want their oil back and decide to try to take it back. Stay tuned for another post on the CPA we sent into Iraq that really screwed things up after the "cakewalk" yet maybe that was part of the play? Peace ... or War!

The Leader - Two Truths But There's More

Heading to The Randolph Leader for the most recent version of the Cirque de Spec, with full credit going to Miss Frances for the contruct and knowing she's hardly a fan of the "ringmaster", I find The Leader lamenting a voice vote on a pay raise for Alabama legislators, which I do agree should have ideally been done "on the record". However, I certainly think LTE contributor Barbara Evans is correct in the fact that a pay raise might allow folks that are less financially blessed to serve up on Goat Hill.

I'd add that some type of public financing of campaigns would further help hem up the Big Mules. PAC to PAC changes plus other ethics/lobbying reforms would be another step. Trashing that dreadful 1901 Constitution is yet another crucial reform.

Certainly the mess that the City of Roanoke and ALCOTE have wrought is demonstrative of the need to have good folks in office. I'm not sure what Roanoke is paying their "leaders" but one wonders even if a trifle if her citizens are getting much bang for the buck. At least we've got a new jail/spaceport and lots of drug busts to celebrate. Peace ... or War!

Elections Truly Do Have Consequences!

I will likely always think of the above as the "Captain America" image yet it was a great display of what I love about Jerry McNerney. Strong, solid, smart, optimistic, forward looking, etc. Jerry is truly an amazing man that we are fortunate to have in DC! Please visit the McNerney campaign site and then show him some love . That's one certain way we can help make sure he'll be returned in 2008 and ... The contrast between Jerry and Richard Pombo as candidates this past fall is surely the largest in any election that this country boy can recall. Kudos for his being named to the new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming in the House. I can't imagine a better member and trust he'll deliver some serious leadership in this group. Peace ... or War!

Is History (& Hubris!) Hiding from Heidi?

I just heard Heidi Collins ask CNN military analyst General David Grange (Ret.) if any military members have been let go under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Good grief! Just this one CS Monitor piece by Gordon Lubold cites 11,000! AP/MSNBC plus tons of coverage have referenced the translators and other skilled talent dismissed from Dubyah's GWOT. You'd have thought this would be known to a "journalist"! Smelly bloggers are of course held to a higher standard than these "professionals". Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Sonny Perdue

An early award, after all we've got a long day ahead, but might as well send Sonny some shame. Cynthia Tucker (an Auburn grad to boot so here's the obligatory "War Eagle!") of the AJC nails the man and most of today's GOP with, "Like Perdue, many Southern conservatives struggle to accommodate their love of a stern God and their abhorrence of government." Amen!

I worked with some serious Sonny fans and have a few family members that clearly remain so. In fact, I recently joked with one that married into the family (that I still call "The Republican" although he's hardly the only one!) that I'd give up my ACLU bumper sticker to cover up his Sonny sticker.

While I'm hardly sympathetic to the "heritage" crowd, I'd have had to throw a punch on Sonny "Secret Chamber Man" Perdue's crawfishing on his flag vote promises. You guys got played, sort of like how God's Own Party does regular folks so very often.

I guess if another candidate comes along during the day we can name another Outlander of the Day. Feel free to nominate. Peace ... or War!

The More Things Change The More ...

The image above is from Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly in early 1871. Tip of the tam to Peterr of FireDogLake for his recent post reminding me of the power of political cartoons prompting me to root around for some Nast. The Southern Poverty Law Center released just yesterday an amazing report titled "Close to Slavery: Guestworker Programs in the United States" that I found dead on. My approach toward immigration begins with a belief in consistent exploitation of the "have nots" by the "haves". Peace ... or War!

Outlander of the Day ~ Alberto Gonzales

Picking Old Abu was real easy for today, especially after that weak press conference. Karl Rove and Kyle Sampson should make Honorary Outlanders however. And not just because they look like they were in fact separated at birth! While Andrew Cohen nails the AG for his total lack of qualifications and lingering questions of loyalty to "Justice" rather than Bu$hCo, at least Abu has John Gibson and other shills (mercy if they don't have impressive discipline as the talking points really did flow almost seamlessly up and down The Mighty Wurlitzer that made it on the TeeVee these last few days) still there for this disaster of an administration. Peace ... or War!
UPDATE - March, 14, 2007 - McClatchy seems to confirms what I thought was the common practice of new adminstrations cleaning house plus the idea that a second term doesn't yield a a dumping at this part of DOJ. That the Clenis bounced the whole lot of U.S. Attorneys after three GOP terms and that then Judiciary Chairman Specter admits his staffer Brett Tolman (Well done Dahlia Lithwick!) slipped in (with Specter's counsel Michael O'Neill blessing!) the end run provision surely isn't the best you've got John Gibson. It can't be all, can it? Then again your Fox Noise Channel fans (and especially the masters that feed you this trash!) don't really demand much do they? Cheer up John, at least Easter is coming. Defending the holidays from the Godless Liberals will be something you can handle.

Republican Principles ... Lying to Congress

Glenn Greenwald, moving over to Salon during my lengthy absence from the blogosphere, reminds us "Lying to Congress has become a Republican principle, literally". Since a good portion of the work was built off the Reagan administration this really resonated with me in that I've been thinking how the GOP is looking for a Reaganesque candidate for 2008. Even locally I often hear some unreconstructed Reaganites, bolstered some by his recent death I'll suppose.

While I can't imagine it ever being worse than Bu$hCo, I also think about how my Old Daddy would have likely said the same thing about Nixon and perhaps even Reagan. From my study of history we've been backing up pretty much since the Reagan years, perhaps even earlier, so to have all this nostalgia worries this country boy.

In a related find, I'll send you to Terry J. Allen, writing for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting in the fall of 2001 (presumably before September 11th, an event this merry band of neo-cons and other scoundrels have milked for all they could!) "Scandal? What Scandal? Bush's Iran-Contra appointees are barely a story" of how the media was ignoring the formation of this radical administration. As a bonus, there is a grand summary of some of the dirty dealings and tricks of this bunch of outlaws from way back in the day.

Progressives should, as Josh Marshall suggests, craft our messages around respect for the "Rule of Law" and guarding against "creeping authoritarianism" as we try to bring our nation back from the edge. Peace ... or War!

Satan Dumps Newt ... Plus Returns Soul

Andy Borowitz claims that it's over. He writes, Satan’s announcement was particularly hurtful to the potential GOP presidential candidate because ... "Newt and Satan have worked so closely together in the past." He closes with, Elsewhere, President Bush kept expectations low for his tour of Latin America, telling reporters, “I never got good grades in Latin.” Peace ... or War!