John McSame? McCain War Cabinet is SOS!

Head over to Think Progress for their The Wonk Room to read a seriously disturbing examination of St. John's "War Cabinet". Looks like more of the "same old shit" to this country boy. Huggy Bear is using the PNAC and ... wisdom and approach just like Bu$hCo. John Gunn

Welfare for Wall Street? That's BS isn't it?

Dr. Dean Baker's The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer is yet another book I've missed. I've been reading him from time to time over at TPMCafe and American Prospect's Beat the Press and ... I really like what I'm getting. His Center for Economic and Policy Research is one place I need to spend some serious time visiting. Dr. Baker's recent A Stock Transfer Tax: The Right Medicine for Wall Street makes tons of sense in that idea alone plus it also provides a sweet alternative to a bailout for Bear Stearns that would work for most Americans even if not so well for the Wall Street fatcats.

Of course, Bu$hCo and The Fed have already jumped in to save the Wall Street bankers. They might have been late on Katrina and ... but be sure they will look after the Big Mules.

Also at TPMCafe, Dr. Jared Bernstein's Total BS on Wall St. is serving up some good stuff. Describing the Bear Stearns mess as a classic run on the bank, he wrote today:

... And lest we forget, none of this had to happen. Market capitalism, once again, totally overshot, taking a fine idea—providing credit so that folks who aren’t rich can own homes—and slicing and dicing it until no one understood the financial Frankenstein they’d created. The government and the Fed turned a blind eye, which was fine with the “innovators.” Now that the monster has turned on them, they’re running back to the gov’t to bail them out. ...

Amen! Paul Krugman thinks a bailout, a big one no less, is inevitable yet he's blunt in making sure we bail out the system not the people that got us in this mess. He writes:

As I said, the important thing is to bail out the system, not the people who got us into this mess. That means cleaning out the shareholders in failed institutions, making bondholders take a haircut, and canceling the stock options of executives who got rich playing heads I win, tails you lose.

Amen! Why "we privatize the profits and socialize the risks" is a question worth asking to some of these unreconstructed free marketeers that seem to so often run things in our country. I've used "knock the rough edges off the markets" for some time now as my bottom line. I suppose the idea of a bail out can at least give Progressives an opportunity to advance their ideas and to wallop some of the GOP's old reliables like whining about welfare, regulation, free enterprise, ...

The dollar is in a downward spiral. Oil is out of sight and heading higher I fear. The housing market is battered. A "credit crunch" may very loom to boot. Here's hoping for a FDR for our times. John Gunn

Let's not forget the lawyers on PCS inquiry on high collect charges from jail/prison phones

I applaud The B'ham News praising the Alabama Public Service Commission for making inquiries into the dreadfully high collect call rates for calls from Alabama jails and prisons. The income realized from the calls is significant. That families wind up paying them is true yet the B'ham News failed to mention that criminal defense lawyers, whether retained or doing indigent work, also get their share of these calls. Back in the day, I surely helped the Sheriff's offices out! Also, that the B'ham News admits "Alabama's Public Service Commission is seldom accused of being overly consumer-oriented" is another positive. John Gunn

Preacher Wars ~ Specks vs Planks in the eye

Even if a recovering Southern Baptist I can still recall a little. And truly some of what I learned isn't always a negative. Let's look at Matthew 7:3-5 and see how it might relate to the Reverend Wright scandal.

I noted just yesterday how St. John's connections to John Hagee and Rod Parsley weren't comparable to Senator Obama and his own pastor for the undeniable fact that both, certainly Hagee, are found out in the heartland, in the corporate media, etc. Glenn Greenwald has plenty more and better to offer than I on this same subject with his Some hateful, radical ministers -- white evangelicals -- are acceptable.

Yet what about Tim LaHaye, who I show pictured here with Jerry Jenkins? Their Left Behind series is a staple for many Evangelicals and even those that just favor some end of the world entertainment. This dynamic duo has been covered by 60 Minutes as "The Greatest Story Ever Sold". Millions of books sold seems to certainly put them in the mainstream. They've even got a Kids Series for Christ's sake. I've often seen their products on the shelves of the Wal-Mart and library back "home" in rural Alabama. I noted via Captain Jimi that Tim LaHaye is married to Professional Concerned Woman Beverly LaHaye. I've often seen Concerned Women for America welcomed onto several mainstream media outlets.

So I thought I'd look for a connection with St. John. And darned if I don't find it, even if a bit strained, via "one of the finest minds of the 13th Century." Yes, Rick Santorum is still earning his keep with "the family". Steve Benen also reported on St. John's effort to reach out to the secretive Council for National Policy. Clinking through the list of folks that have spoken at CNP is revealing. For some background on this group, Marc J. Ambinder of ABC provides Inside the Council for National Policy: Meet the Most Powerful Conservative Group You've Never Heard Of. On page three of the internet version you'll find the following:

CNP was conceived in 1981 by at least five fathers, including the Rev. Tim LaHaye, an evangelical preacher who was then the head of the Moral Majority. (LaHaye is the co-author of the popular Left Behind series that predicts and subsequently depicts the Apocalypse). Nelson Baker Hunt, billionaire son of billionaire oilman H.L. Hunt (connected to both the John Birch Society and to Ronald Reagan's political network), businessman and one-time murder suspect T. Cullen Davis, and wealthy John Bircher William Cies provided the seed money.

Amen. Also noted is that "Christian activist Paul Weyrich took responsibility for bringing together the best minds of conservatism, and his imprint on the group's mission is unmistakable." The American Conservative Union is also a cooperative force in CNP according to Mr. Ambinder.

Returning to Tim LaHaye though is where I want to go. And once again the connection with John McCain is weak, at least at this point. I'd however like some enterprising reporter to try to pin down St. John on his views on Dr. Tim LaHaye or at least his type. Does St. John believe "that Christ will literally rapture His church prior to the 70th week of Daniel" and perhaps most importantly is is ready to help bring about that rapture via "bomb, bomb Iran"? Asking if Reverend Doomsday and his crowd are going to be riding shotgun with St. John seems reasonable enough given some of the questions Obama got as to Harry Belafonte. While once The Huckster had the LaHaye's endorsement, I'd like to know now if St. John will seek out and then get their support. Before he does Senator McCain should note that Tim LaHaye made it into The Atlantic and claimed the following:

Who can deny that their basic doctrines of “scientific humanism” or “atheistic humanism” currently dominate public education in America? This, more than any other factor, has relentlessly changed our “Christian consensus” into a “secular consensus,” producing the moral meltdown that is rapidly destroying our people and our nation’s freedoms, integrity, happiness, and even safety.

Reverend Wright posed questions about the 9-11 attacks being perhaps due to "America's chickens ... coming home to roost", giving NRO's K-Lo a case of the vapors as she described his remarks as "chiling". Is "humanism" not "a chicken coming home to roost" in LaHaye's world? Bill Moyers, in his 9/11 and God's Sport talk noted that Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "went on television to proclaim that the terrorist attacks were God's punishment of a corrupted America" so I doubt it is a stretch to think Dr. LaHaye is following that theme. Again, Reverend Wright gets pounded while the right wing evangelicals get invited to appear on the tee-vee and sell millions of books. Huh?

Finally, does St. John support the work of the Institute for Creation Research that LaHaye and his Christian Heritage College, now known as San Diego Christian College, helped start in the early 1970s? This CBN piece plus this Think Progress report, not to mention his responses in certain debates, seems like he's trying to hedge on the issue.

Returning to Matthew 7:3-5, I'm just saying those in a lather about Reverend Wright while ignoring the radicalism of the acceptable and incredibly popular( and profitable!) right wing Evangelicals like John Hagee, Rod Parsley, Tim LaHaye, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, the late Jerry Falwell ... might ought to "first take the plank out of your own eye". John Gunn

UPDATE ~ Afternoon of March 16, 2008 - I put essentially this same post up on Daily Kos as that poll feature is really addictive. I noted this top drawer post from Devilstower on how Reverend Wright's words might be viewed. Devilstower is not defending everything he's uttered, nor am I.

UPDATE ~ Early evening of March 16, 2008 - M.J. Rosenberg's The Irrelevance of Obama's Minister looks at Billy Graham's close relationship with several Presidents, Honest Joe Lieberman's rabbi, ... to make his point. Well done!

UPDATE ~ Afternoon of March 23, 2008 - Roland S. Martin of CNN shares The full story behind Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s 9/11 sermon and it's a winner. Context is such an amazing concept. I wish others in his profession could so clearly state, and most importantly then demonstrate, "The point that I have always made as a journalist is that our job is to seek the truth, and not the partial truth."

Colorado labor shows how to handle GOP tactics

There's Dick Wadhams to the left. The best name ever for a Republican I'd offer! After managing George "Macaca" Allen to ruin, Dick headed back home to lead the Colorado GOP. His buddy Karl Rove helped pave the way. He's helping out the Bob Schaffer for Senate effort. Dick believes in campaigning on offense. His approach to the media has been called "slash and burn" even. That's perhaps due to Rove's influence? So how do you handle a Dick?

You fight back! David Sirota reports how Colorado's Labor community is handling the effort of some right wingers to use a “right to work” ballot initiative to bolster the GOP's numbers come November. David writes

... Adding to conservatives’ troubles is Colorado’s emboldened labor movement. Rather than crouching in a defensive posture, unions are preparing two initiatives that could drive up turnout for Democrats and serve as a model for other states across the nation. ...

Labor is dealing with Dick via an "initiative would make a corporate executive personally liable under the law if he or she 'engages in, authorizes, solicits, requests, commands or knowingly tolerates the business’s criminal conduct.' Also, they are pushing an "initiative which would require employers to have a 'just cause' when laying off an employee."

When Progressives show backbone we often win. And regardless of a loss in the immediate election, the long view must always be part of our strategy. I've written previously of jujitsu (the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it) politics. While I'd much prefer advocating for Progressive beliefs, the reality is that we lefty types are often dealing with the Roves and Wadhams and ... of the modern GOP. Being ready and able to respond to their stunts is necessary. Karl Rove was often able to get away with his bag of tricks as our team didn't have people willing and/or able to flip his aggressive methods to our benefit. Let's hope people can learn from examples such as the above. A tip of the tam to "Colorado’s emboldened labor movement." John Gunn

Exceptions to accepted "Cold War Triumphalism"

I've stumbled upon Cold War Triumphalism: The Misuse of History After the Fall of Communism yet I've but read the introduction. I'm pleased so far. The work is a collection of essays edited by Professor Ellen Schrecker of Yeshiva University. As of late, I keep comparing substantive books such as these to Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. Ms. Klein's latest book changed pretty much my whole way of looking at the world and I'm wondering if this one might do the same. That image of The Gipper says much doesn't it? John Gunn

Anniston Star examines on-air-broadcasting mess

Professor Eric Klinenberg's Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media is pictured to the left. It's on my Amazon Wish List now yet before reading the following John Fleming series in The Anniston Star I wasn't aware of the work. Mr. Fleming has, starting in early March, covered Compressed Air: Straining to hear democracy through the static. He then shared Compressed Air: What's on TV? Next came Compressed Air: Local radio news a dying art and I couldn't help but think of Eagle 102.3 WELR that I grew up with. The conservatism of the Vice family now owning that outlet and her sister stations surely gets airing. Mr. Fleming's finale was Compressed Air: When local media isn't there for the public.

I surely hope readers realize the consequences of policy decisions such as the FEC and Clinton administration made back in 1996. That Northeast Alabama has had it better than much of the nation is hardly comforting. Consolidation has been a boon for the Big Mules but as usual the consequences flow down to the little people. The public owns the airways and the media outlets at best rent them. By the way, the Bu$hCo FCC with General Powell's boy Michael Powell and now Kevin Marks in charge has been an even bigger disaster yet I'm not here to make excuses for the Clinton years.

Mr. Fleming wrote:

... The Telecommunications Act of 1996 rewrote the media ownership rules, triggering industry consolidation just as cable TV and the Internet were shaking up the old rules.

Free-marketers won a major battle in their decades-long conflict, persuading Washington to dismantle regulations created to watch out for the public good and tamp down consolidation of broadcasting outlets lest the marketplace of ideas shrink down to a few outlets.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 poses a threat to media's essential role in democracy, according to critics. ...

Amen as to the critics! Let's Stop Big Media! It is long past time that broadcasters and other media using our airways acted at least with some concern for the public interest. Something like the Fairness Doctrine ought to be made the law of the land perhaps as at least a partial solution yet the laws and regulations that allow for crazy levels of consolidation must be rolled back. If we want to restore a thriving "marketplace of ideas" then I think Progressives better get to work immediately. John Gunn

Cheryl Sabel vs. Bobby Bright in Bama's Wiregrass

I'm pleased to see Cheryl Sabel announce that she'll challenge Bobby Bright for the Democratic nod in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District. Mrs. Sabel has been involved with civil rights from early as she once did clerical work for The Southern Poverty Law Center. Recently she has been serving as the President of Alabama's National Organization of Women. So why would I be so pleased to see another face in the race? I'm glad you asked ...

Well ... it seems like Mrs. Sabel is my kind of Democrat. I'm all for having a "big tent" party, especially given the reality that the GOP has gone so far to the right. Still, candidates like Cheryl represent hope while those like Bobby bright represent at best a holding pattern. While I regularly enjoy Chris Cillizza's The Fix I was a touch frustrated with some of his thinking as he considered Bright's chances as relates to possible coattails of Barack Obama in Congressional Districts with rather large populations of African-American voters yet generally gerrymandered so as to be reliably Republican. Chris wrote

... A good candidate -- well financed and well known -- is the building block for any competitive race. When it comes to some of the districts mentioned above, finding a conservative Democrat is essential to the party having any chance of putting these seats in play. Bright fits that bill in Alabama, but it's not yet clear that the Democrats running in these other opportunity seats do. ...

Being well known and financed is important of course but organization (especially a good ground game!) can't be left out of the equation. Neither can policy. I disagree, however, that "finding a conservative Democrat is essential", at least as to the long view. I can't abide the strategy of using "Republican Lite" as that's often a guaranteed way to lose while also hindering movement toward a Progressive future. Progressives with backbone and employing an assertive advocacy for their positions are the only candidates I want to see in any race.

Bobby Bright's likely not the kind of politician I want to see in DC and representing Alabama's 2nd (the wiregrass) if he actually toyed with the idea of running as a Republican. If he and his in fact calculated it might be advantageous to run as a Democrat that is even more bothersome. His position on a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices is hardly ideal although I understand some Democrats can lean that way personally. I worry that he'll be yet another Blue Dog, DLC "centrist weenie" type from the South. I want unabashed Progressives. I'm not sure if Cheryl Sabel is this person yet I like what she is starting her campaign with. She said Thursday that she stands for the following:

* Ending the War in Iraq. "When Congress stops funding this war, we can begin to heal our nation and our economy," she said.
* Increasing the minimum wage. She did not say how much it needed to be raised but she said the increase needed to be substantial.
* Illegal immigration reform. She said reform is needed but that changes need to be done humanely.
* Preserving reproductive rights. She said she advocates keeping abortion safe and legal. Sabel said she believes a woman should have the right to make her own personal decision about whether or when to bear a child -- without government interference.
* Universal health care for Americans.

I'm not sure if Bobby Bright comes anywhere near this good start on policy. If he can and does then I'll be happy to share his ideas with my readers, all four of them. I can't yet locate a website for either campaign. If and when I locate either then I'll try to drop a link up here as well. John Gunn

St. John's preachers get pass while Obama's pays

Reports are coming out that Reverend Jeremiah Wright is leaving the Obama campaign. For a look back at Reverend Wright (who announced his retirement a month or so back) before all the controversy broke, stoked in part by St. John's team, I'll send you to an Emily Udell piece in In These Times. Ms. Udell wrote, "Obama counts the Reverend among his spiritual advisers." Note the "among" even back then.

I also wonder if St. John will continue on his "free ride"? Zachary Roth in the Columbia Journalism Review provides Rod Parsley’s Free Pass": Jeremiah Wright gets torched, while McCain’s “spiritual adviser” offends with impunity so at least some folks are wondering about the same or similar question.

As for Reverend Wright's remarks, I'd certainly have alternatives to pretty much everything he has supposedly said. Maybe he was trying to be provocative? Perhaps his style was influenced by the strong tones that were such a part of the 1960s? Or, it could just be that he's a nut? How much of one, if he is at all, is something that I'm not sure of.

Yet, is Pastor Williams nearly as nutty as John Hagee and Rod Parsley? That St. John is getting a pass isn't perhaps as much of a story as the way that his go to guys have been and are being handled. Hagee and Parsley are rather well thought of on the right and I've certainly seen them portrayed as regular religious figures. Reverend Williams might be known in some circles (he's got Oprah in his congregation after all) yet he's hardly found on the shelves of the Wal-Mart or appearing on the tee-vee or ... Both of St. John's buddies have found a way to get their respective foolishness into the heartland. Both Hagee and Parsley, although the Ohio mega-church pastor is known to a much lesser extent, get "play" in the mainstream media. Parsley's role in getting Ohio into the Bu$hCo column in 2004 ought to have had his combination of politics and extremism well-known but alas that doesn't get much play does it.

I, like Andrew Sullivan, think Senator Obama has handled this mess rather well. And it gives him an opportunity as well to speak on the issue of race and looking forward. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ March 15, 2008 - Scout Finch on Daily Kos rightly asks why folks didn't chase down the Huckster's actual sermons.

A tip of the tam to Rick Perlstein for his "dust up"

I've had my eye on Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus by Rick Perlstein for some time yet I'm finally adding it to my Amazon Wish List. His new book Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America is going there as well. Rick Perlstein is a regular blogger for The Campaign for America's Future. Additionally, this Chicago Reader piece by Harold Henderson supplies another view of Rick's work.

I'd missed his part in a LA Times Dust-Up where he and Jasmyne Cannick examined various themes relating to today's Democratic Party. There are several days of opinion pieces here and they are worth exploring. Still, what I really liked was how Rick handled the "Shades of Blue" questions with Is The Times kidding? The LA Times had asked

Is the American left now a movement of economic issues and nationalism, of identity politics and social justice, or something else? How do the New Democrats fit into the contemporary left?

Rick's response was brutally honest. WTF? He closed with

Is there anyone to the left side of center for whom this question even makes sense? If so, let me know in the comments. I'm honestly baffled. The thought that no one responsible for this feature was able to stop short and notice the question makes no sense is a little disconcerting -- and suggests perhaps that The Times has no one to the left of center on its opinion staff, which is more disconcerting still.

Amen! However, despite the dreadful question, Ms. Cannick's response was hardly weak. She opened with

I think that most, if not all, Democrats would agree that priority No. 1 is ridding the county of this catastrophic administration and ensuring that we don't endure another four years of conservative policymaking under right-wing power.

With that said, the modern American left, in my opinion, often serves as the conscience of the Democratic Party. Today's left is very much a movement of economic and social justice.

I'll agree with some reservations, as I do believe the Democratic Party often ignores its "conscience"in favor of the consultants seeking to reach "the center". I'm not sure what or who the New Democrats" might be yet if they are the DLC "centrist weenies" then I'll pass. (Alabama's Artur Davis and perhaps even Hillary are excused from the labels, as I'm sure I would with others. I do, however, wish they'd be more assertive in calling BS when the GOP gets to cranking out their foolishness.)

You simply can't meet in the middle with "movement conservatives" that hold so much of the power in the modern GOP. And just refusing to play ball with the media, whether they be merely LA Times writers having an incoherent moment or reactionary talk radio host with evil in the hearts, when they get all stupid is another foundational strategy that will help advance the Progressive agenda. It's like what Rick wrote today, "Give progressives a fair fight on an even playing field, and this progressive movement will last a very long time indeed." Thanks for showing us how it's done Sir! John Gunn

Obama Mama ~ Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro

Janny Scott of the New York Times appears on MSNBC with Free-spirited wanderer set Obama’s path. This examination of "the unconventional life" of Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro is a worthy read for inspiration alone. The political need to clear up some false claims about Senator Obama's background is also certain. Ms. Soetoro's death from ovarian cancer in 1995 at the way too early age on 53 reminds me of my losing my mother who was but 49 when she died from multiple myeloma. While very different women it surely seems they both loved and built up their boys. John Gunn

What's up on Dr. Fitch's/ACHE's push for PK-20?

Lots of food for thought in this image. After reading the thoughts of Dr. Gregory Fitch of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education I recently asked Are we meeting the needs of citizens or capital? I raised some concerns that Dr. Fitch might be focusing too much on getting our children ready to produce rather than ponder. His writing in today's Huntsville Times titled PK-20: education for the future likewise worries me. In part, Dr. Fitch, with me providing some emphasis, wrote:

... The time is now, not later, to bring all educational parties and industry leaders together to decide a course of action that will benefit all Alabamians. Employment opportunities are knocking; we must answer with an educated work force.

What is a PK-20 system? It is a system that consolidates established and proven educational activities with industries' current resources and future needs. The creation of a comprehensive PK-20 system will not only better prepare Alabama students for the jobs of the 21st century, but will also enhance our state's economic competitiveness. Similar initiatives in other states already are successfully delivering well-prepared work forces. ...

All roads should lead to cooperation among educational levels and industry in order to equip and prepare students to enter the job market. That involves curriculum choices and program development to meet industry needs. ...

Yet, education and industry must engage early in a student's career to align course work with advanced instructional preparation focusing on future employment. This strategy should start before kindergarten, with specific criteria to be met throughout a student's education. There must be a balance between work force development and research that can be created within a PK-20 environment. ...

I've long liked the idea of trying something like a "High Schools That Work" approach for some high schools, especially those that serve a more disadvantaged population. Yet and still, this emphasis (the "all roads" portion for instance) on getting a workforce ready seems a bit backwards looking. Again, I like some of what Dr. Fitch shares. Certainly kids today will need jobs tomorrow. I'd love for many to be able to work here in Alabama. I concur on " The U.S. economy has moved from a base of agriculture and manufacturing to one of information and technology in every field. When knowledge becomes the commodity that drives an economy, education is the common denominator."

Yet I think the most critical skill, perhaps more accurately trait, a child can develop is "how to think". Creativity, capacity, cleverness ... counts for much. And I'm not sure the average job in Alabama, especially compared to the balance of the world, even looking down the road another generation, will ever reward those skill sets. I certainly don't think bring industry into the mix and so brazenly confirming that making sure they have abundant labor for the future is the right message or solution. Furthermore, the idea that we start aligning a kindergartner's learning with future employment seems perfectly radical. I am almost, but not completely certain, Dr. Fitch isn't meaning to go this far. Is he?

Finally, I'm betting a "PK-20 system" involves purchasing (plus then learning and finally maintaining) a packaged technological product. Washington State's K-20 effort mentions architecture and networks and ... Blackboard and ESP Solutions for instance look ready to profit. As a techie type educator I'm admittedly intrigued by some of the possibilities yet I do know great technology will never replace good teaching. Placing so much of our emphasis on data collection and analysis is bothersome as well.

The main worry is that Alabama will wind up with a model of learning that seems to be more about developing employees rather than preparing engaged, effective citizens. How Dr. Fitch reasons that "industry leaders" merit a special place at the table is a mystery to me. Right now it looks like I've got more to keep me out of the classroom than just that damned NCLB. John Gunn

A chance to replace Bud "Bush Dog" Cramer

Bud Cramer is not seeking re-election in Alabama's 5th Congressional District. Given his support of Bu$hCo on matters like tax cuts for the fatcats and a fair number of other positions, I'm rather glad he's riding off into the sunset. Alabama's 5th might very well be a tough one to hold but I'd almost rather have a Republican up there than a "Bu$h Dog" like Bud. He might have started as a Democrat yet he's surely faded over the years.

I'll settle for a DINO at times but if Alabama will ever shift from the dark side it might begin up in North Alabama. What I'll hope for in a candidate is a common sense scrapper that will stand up for Progressive values and respond to GOP foolishness with no holds barred. I remain convinced that smart, savvy, and spirited Progressives can win in almost every locale.

If Bud didn't tip off somebody on my team that he was walking then a pox on both his houses. John Gunn

UPDATE ~ It looks like Artur Davis didn't know Bud was taking it to the house. Also, if Mike Hubbard has praise for Bud that says much about why losing him doesn't exactly devastate me. "Working across the aisle" means you voted the GOP's way it often seems in these Bu$hCo years.

Fifty Suggestions for John McCain's Veep Pick

Will Durst uses HuffPo's 23/6 to share 50 Suggestions for John McCain's VP Shortlist. My favorites were "#5 RONALD REAGAN. Quit pussyfooting around. It's what the base wants. Who cares if he's dead? How much less animated is that from his second term?" and "#30 CHUCK NORRIS. Locks down Huckabee contingent and firms up "Total Kick Ass" presidential ticket" and "#36 BRETT FAVRE. Terrific name recognition. Needs a job. Sews up Wisconsin and Mississippi." Clever fellow this Will Durst. John Gunn

Rob Riley's financial gain is latest Siegelman twist

Obviously there is another Rob Riley on a "quest for justice" out there, or at least on The Google, yet let us focus on this one. I'll give Rob Riley this ... he has a serious academic pedigree. Even Hugo Black, and they hardly claim him in Clay County (it's not because of his KKK connection I regret) for the most part, didn't have that level of education. Via AlterNet I located Sam Stein's HuffPo piece titled New Evidence In Siegelman Case Points To Republican Cabal. I surely don't know if there's fire here yet there's some smoke. Sam writes:

In the early days of 2005, HealthSouth and Scrushy were in the midst of a long-waged battle over whether the company had "perpetrated an elaborate scheme to deceive HealthSouth's investors." The case alleged that the company, and its financial supporters, had "committed deceptive acts whose primary purpose and effect was to create a false appearance" of good financial results and future prospects. There were no connections to Siegelman.

On January 13, Rob Riley, a lawyer for the firm Riley & Jackson P.C. and the son of the state's governor, was abruptly added as local counsel to the New Mexico State Investment Council, a relatively new plaintiff in the case against HealthSouth. It was an interesting move. Riley, who specialized in medical malpractice law, had little history in complex securities litigation. Co-plaintiffs complained, as they often do, that his presence would simply drive up the cost of the case and cut into the pot of any settlement. But their appeal was denied.

Why did Riley come on board? According to him, it was a product of local stature and a bit of luck.

"A guy in New Mexico said, 'Hey, we are trying to get involved in this case,'" Riley recalled. "At that point, it was pretty well out in the papers that there had been fraud at HealthSouth. So I felt like it was probably a good case. I didn't know what chance we had at being lead counsel."

That settlement was a "big lick" indeed. Again, I'm not convinced this was more about Don Siegleman and lawyering up with the perfectly connected practitioner. If I'm thinking I need local counsel why not turn to the Governor's son? Even if not a securities law guru that is hardly a killer. That being offered, I do think coverage of the connections ought to make it into the Alabama papers.

Don Siegelman's case has been something I've posted on often and I remain convinced he ought to be released pending the running of his appeal. John Gunn

Alabama gets both fear and greed from NAM

You'll see John Engle, former Michigan Governor and now President & CEO of the the National Association of Manufacturers, to the left. This guy was edged out for the Bu$hCo Veep slot by Dick Cheney. Dead Eye Dick headed the search effort so poor John may have been doomed. David Sirota thinks Big John is still working for the GOP rather than their NMA members but I digress.

I noted a piece in today's Birmingham Business Journal from Jimmy DeButts titled Manufacturers: Climate change legislation could cost Alabama 60,000 jobs. John Engler and his NAM are predicting Armageddon should the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act go forward. I think we got to see both fear and greed from NAM illustrated with this article.

The Environmental Defense Fund thinks the legislation is grand. I'm not so sure. The EDF tends to rely on market solutions to environmental concerns and that's OK. However, I don't necessarily think giving away the permits and then letting the very polluters then make money when they start trading the caps seems fair. If the public spaces are ours then why should we just give these things away. Where's our cut? I also suggest we could do plenty with those revenue sources that relate to other solutions in energy. It seems like greed to me to want more.

There's fear here more than even greed. Mr. DeButts reports,

"The NAM study said the bill would result in a the loss of as many as 4 million jobs nationally by 2030 and cause gasoline prices to jump 145 percent by 2030. In Alabama, NAM claims the bill would result in household income falling by $6,257 by 2030."

I'll bet those numbers will get Joe and Jill Sixpack's attention. In today's economy the Big Mules can frighten the proletariat with gloom and doom. I'd bet repackaging of this theme has appeared in various other states so that NAM will get massive exposure to their claims.

Note also that NAM commissioned the study that is now predicting doom and gloom. Do you think they might have been able to find some "scientists" or "economists" or ... willing to tell them what they wanted to be told?

That the reduction targets of Lieberman-Warner might be way to low is another concern but I'll pass on trying to cover that technical facet of the issue. John Gunn

"Home" ~ Surely sorrows will find their end and ...

Perhaps a bit odd that I've planned this yet I'll share that I'd like to share Mary Fahl, actually her "Going Home", if and when I have a funeral or wake or ... Another to possibly share is Vann Morrison's "Into the Mystic" but Mary gets the nod if only one can be heard. I first heard her/the song in Gods and Generals and her video ties in with that somewhat flawed film. A portion of the lyrics follow:

Love waits for me 'round the bend
Leads me endlessly on
Surely sorrows shall find their end
and all our troubles will be gone
And I'll know what I've lost
and all that I've won
when the road finally takes me home

Perhaps I'm saddened by how I'm seemingly viewed back "home" as a recent post apparently ruffled some feathers. I accept that I'll likely march to a different drummer than many do and yet I rather value that trait. I'll likely just have to wrestle with my "black sheep" standing as best as I'm able and work through what I can. Looking toward today's Randolph Leader I wondered how it might have been for family reading the paper. Here's what I (and it's my blog - that people can visit or avoid - so I get to expouse what I'd like) thought ...

I was so pleased to finally see James Harris respond to Bob Fincher's mischaracterizations of the Democratic Party. Although James appropriately identified himself as a County Executive Committee for the Democratic Party, Bob didn't in his February 13, 2008 Letter to the Editor. Plus Bob Fincher just flat out got much wrong. I'd so wanted to fire off a missive in reply but didn't. Partly I didn't respond to avoid the certain displeasure of family back home and also because I hoped somebody else would step up to the plate. (I'd also recently dropped a LTE on the movement conservatives efforts to roll back public education that I posted on here. Maybe I was still smarting from being edited?) And Mr. Harris did a pretty good job of explaining the answers our team offers. This was outstanding:

... As far as taking a village to raise a child, Southerners have long looked out for children in the community, informing parents when they are concerned about a child in their Sunday school class acting out of character, verbally correcting a child bullying other children, being part of a network that is there when the parents are at work. Churches, schools and parents are not always there. ...

I of course think Bob Fincher knows better than what he wrote. Proud partisan that he is I suppose he'll get in licks where he can. And surely the "family values" card has been a reliable one for the GOP. As to my position on homosexuality (and how the right wing games voters on the Defense of Marriage BS) try this post. Sheesh, that post got me in trouble too.

On a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices try here yet also note that I scolded Alabama's very own Democratic Party Chairman for accepting framing like Bob's. (I do indeed hope that Joe Turnham has been working hard to learn how to be effective. If he can't ... well then he needs to be canned! Clear enough?) Bob seemingly thinks women chose "to deal with inconvenient pregnancies" in a way that I bet most any woman, or man for that matter, facing that decision seldom approaches the choice. His lack of empathy and understanding is revealing and offensive.

Bob's comments on "increased government restrictions ... on gun ownership" don't work either. Bob knows that is a false attack. Do some Democrats want to close certain loopholes on background checks? Guilty as charged for a good number. Might better systems and procedures keep guns out of the hands of mentally disturbed souls such as the young man that terrorized Virginia Tech and ... ? Those of my party likely think so. Bob knows the "Democrats want to take your guns" works given the NRA and other operators from the right. So he uses it. It will not fly and soon I'll try to get a post up that does a better job than I did here.

Bob wrote, "If you think the government is responsible for your well-being from cradle to grave, you should be a Democrat." Who thinks that Bob? My team doesn't. I'll turn to Mr. Harris first where he writes:

... As far as caring for people from the cradle to the grave, is that not what the Bible tells us to do? While it is preferable, the community and churches take care of as many people as possible but the need outstrips the resources. And still people are going hungry and are homeless. ...

Well put sir. I need to get a post together to cover this yet for now I'll turn to a post on what Ralph Nader said of the Clintons. I'll be happy to compare welfare for the poor with corporate and investment bank welfare any day.

In the Leader we also have Frances Fetner. She gave one of her concise corrections to State Senator Kim Benefield for missing a vote on S.B. 426. That legislation is from Scott Beason and I've already scolded him. Miss Frances wrote in part, "This bill was about immigration. Do you not care about this issue?" Maybe she cares enough to get it right? Also, reckon she knows that Scott Beason and the Alabama GOP are ready to use this flawed legislation more for throttling their opposition than for policy.

Mike Sutton turned his talents toward Barack Obama. He writes, "There is something about Obama, unseen by the human eye ..." My last post on this Texan is a good recap of his past ranting. Sutton also had harsh words for John McCain, "a man who has spent his entire career lusting for the approval of, and collaborating with, America's great enemy -- the liberal, socialist media." Aren't the overwhelming majority of media outlets reaching the overwhelming majority of American citizens more like multi-level multinationals Mike? And they're socialists? Who knew? Before I leave Mr. Sutton I must admit that while I'd heard there was a draft J.C. Watts for St. John's Veep effort going on I still had to snicker.

Finally, William Pool of Fairburn, Georgia gives us a rather odd and offensive combination of global warming denial and racism. Mr. Pool wrote, "The final answer is God regulates the earth's thermostat." Reckon the refreezing rate has something to do with how much of the ice in the Arctic had melted over this summer? Or it could be volcanoes? Actually, I'd not noticed their eruption rates. Here's what confuses and even more so offends me ... "As for the kudzu, hire some Mexicans to pull it up. Sixteen foot long roots mean nothing to them." How odd. How obnoxious.

So there's "home". I'm certainly proud. Does love wait for me? What will I have lost and/or won by the time I return, if I ever do? And for the record, I can't imagine doing so. Do I hear a collective "Whew!" from on high? I suppose sorrows and troubles ending will at least be certain. I often think of "land" and "place" when I think of home. With some notable exceptions like Baby Plaid and ... I increasingly do not think of blood. Some family might lament that I'll be "home" if and only if I pass to a place of the higher power. I do like pasta. John Gunn

One More Bible Thumping Nutjob in McCain Camp

Team McCain continues to do what they think it will take to win. I'd taken note in this post of St. John seeking out and then accepting the support of Texas televangelist John Hagee. David Corn appears on Mother Jones to tell us that St. John campaigned in Ohio with Rod Parsley. I've mentioned Pastor Parsley, and that's who you see over to the left, before and the links in that post are worth following I'd hope.

Yet, I didn't know about Parsley's Silent No More. Note that prior link sent you to WorldNutDaily and allows you to see rooting Rod gets from Walter Jones, Kenneth Blackwell, and last but certainly not least Ted Haggard. His apparent call to arms to eradicate Islam in that book is just part of what offends me about this operator.

So what will St. John do with this loon? Buring his 2000 presidential bid, he referred to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance". I'd think Hagee and Parsley surely fit that description. We'll be waiting Senator McCain. John Gunn

Andrea Mitchell to get her own hour at MSNBC

I posted on Tucker Carlson being put out to pasture somewhat with MSNBC yesterday yet I missed that Andrea Mitchell is getting her own hour. Her marriage to former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan ought to make for some interesting opportunities given his role in the housing bubble and the deficit and the ... There's so much relevant for this election that the hubby was part of that I can't imagine how she'll handle with a straight face. (There's a joke here given her abundant "work".)

Seriously, The Maestro had to know the consequences of propping up Bu$hCo on his bizarre efforts to cut taxes for the fat cats at that point in time. It was so clear the surplus was going bye-bye even then. That war was looming makes it even more so. Truly, his battle against inflation consumed so much of his focus yet that can't explain how he whored for Bu$hCo's tax cut. He faded at the end maybe?

I'm reading Professor Paul Krugman's The Unraveling: Losing our way in the New Century presently and it's amazing. There's plenty he has to offer up on the finale of Mr. Greenspan. I can't wait to read what Dr. Krugman thinks of the Fed's $200 billion investment bank welfare plan. The WaPo's Steven Pearlstein will do for now. John Gunn

Alabama's Family Farm Bill ~ Don't do it Kim S.

There's likely nobody in the blogosphere that thinks more of Alabama Senator Kim S. Benefield from Woodland, Alabama. I've known her for years and think she's top drawer. However, I do worry she's gone over to the dark side in supporting this ALFA backed legislation cleverly framed as the Family Farm Preservation Act.

Senator, didn't ALFA, likely the biggest of the Big Mules in Alabama, support Gerald "Dino" Dial against you? I know we must move on in politics. Surely having ALFA's support in the future will be helpful but hold them to a little responsibility please. Should this bill (and the actual text may be found via ALISON) become law then instead of the seemingly happy porkers to the left (that might be the ideal even if not always the reality) you'll have plenty of this. The Anniston Star labels this ALFA backed bill the "Alabama Agribusiness Advancement Act" and rightly asks why it fails to define "family farm". "Hog Farm Bill" might work just as well.

I'll also send you to the Top Ten Reasons for rural communities to be concerned about large-scale, corporate hog operations by John Ikerd, Agricultural Economist, University of Missouri, Columbia. One of the things he references is the fact that small operators will be harmed by CAFOs in most cases. The Sierra Club's Cahaba Group tells us "While corporate growers claim to bring economic growth to small rural communities, the truth is that they tend to hamper economic growth. For every 3 jobs created by corporate agriculture, 7 rural agricultural jobs are lost. The big profits end up in out-of-state corporate headquarters."

The Anniston Star closes with:

This space can concede that there is a place in the farm economy for CAFOs. They (concentrated animal feeding operations) are a byproduct of a food culture that place more importance on cheap than healthy or sustainable. Reversing this factory farm trend is a long, hard slog; the good news is the struggle has begun as more people are coming to appreciate the "eat local" movement.

A law that prevents new CAFOs from coming in to fill existing neighborhoods with flies and smells and health hazards should not be allowed. Nor should existing factory farms be allowed to expand to create a nuisance for existing neighborhoods.

In effect, this law, which is being debated in a statehouse committee Wednesday, gives large factory farms a free pass to expand or relocate, and it discourages those who feel they have been hurt by what is done from seeking legal redress.

Unless the bill is rewritten to define a family farm and clarify the responsibilities and rights of farmers and non-farmers in dealing with farm-operations byproducts — and to remove the clause inserted to discourage citizens from going to court with their grievances — this proposed law should never get out of committee.

There's a better option that this legislation Kim S. Get it right and then we'll see. But don't open Pandora's Box. John Gunn