Out of Commission

Excruciating headache today. I've suffered from them all my life and they take a while to resolve. Hopefully I'll get some narcotic relief tomorrow. ER's an unlikely possibility because physicians often don't care about pain if the condition isn't potentially fatal (my personal thanks to the Neanderthals that make up the DEA). I'd love to smoke a big fat joint right now but, alas, none is available and, besides, cannabis isn't covered by my insurance. Maybe it's time to start growing poppies for The Pope's favorite beverage, poppy tea.

The DRAFT: Feeding The Beast

Right on time, wouldn't you say?

"The United States military is too small for the responsibilities we are asking it to assume." So begins the letter from PNAC, the blood for oil people.

Neoconservatism, the official religion of America's One Party State, has created an entrenched marketplace that demands payment in blood. The neoconned masses who so boldly proclaim their superiority to the rest of the world have labored under the illusion this blood debt would flow from the dirty arteries of swarthy, freedom-hating foreigners.

Shit happens, as they say, and when it does, slovenly Wal-Mart shoppers and beautiful Lexus owners converge to proclaim every dead soldier a hero, every hapless recipient of a Purple Heart a brave and noble warrior. Though not often publicly acknowledged, many share a measure of admiration for the occasional "bad apples" who inexplicably torture and kill and bring disgrace - wink, wink - on our besieged, misunderstood nation. Do not call these soldiers what they are - victims of their government's avarice - because such a designation calls out for scrutiny, justice, conscience and remorse.

Reverberating in their callow minds is the cold comfort of knowing every American soldier, whether hero or bad apple, accepted the job knowing full well the risks of their allegiance. Rich and poor and aching with frightful ignorance, they wave little flags in support of The Empire with giddy enthusiasm and unabashed sentimentality, fleetingly thankful an all-volunteer military will bear the brunt of their hallowed leaders' occasional "miscalculation." Murder and death are for other people, not one's own son or daughter, brother, sister or cousin. The followers of this squalid official religion sleep well, but their long slumber will soon come to an end.


The living architects of neoconservatism are, at best, indifferent to human suffering whether the pain radiates from soldier or civilian, American or Arab, man or woman, adult or child. At worst, they delight in it, as it feeds their insatiable appetite for power and wealth. Such is life, they shrug, and blood - someone else's blood - is the cost of doing business. This is what they call "freedom" though it has nothing to do with being free and everything to do with whipping the rubes into a nationalistic bloodletting frenzy.

The blame for our current situation does not stop at the feet of the neocon faithful. Democrats and the now mythical "moderate" Republicans are oh-so-cautious when criticizing the reckless, disastrous policies of the current administration. They routinely demonstrate zero leadership, blinding hypocrisy and spectacular cowardice, trembling in the long shadows of the madmen crafting our demise. You and I are complicit in these ongoing crimes against humanity because we deluded ourselves into believing our Democratic "leaders" worked for us. They didn't. And as a political body, they don't today. We -- you and I -- have an obligation to eject these weak-kneed, self-interested, incompetent bureaucrats and replace them with individuals who truly represent the Democratic rank & file. Unless and until we accomplish this, we must be prepared to reserve some guilt and shame for ourselves.

I welcome the coming draft with all the enthusiasm of a gangrene patient awaiting an amputation. Let us acknowledge this moribund creation for what it is: the culmination of an insidious political movement fueled by irrational fear, unfathomable hatred and blatant contempt for those with whom we share this beautiful planet - including each other.

How heartbreakingly sad it is that nothing short of a military draft, and the carnage it is sure to bring, will force Americans to realize what a catastrophic path we have taken. Maybe, just maybe, a true anti-war movement will emerge from the immeasurable grief we have delivered to the world and ourselves.

Let the counter-revolution begin.

Death Takes a Holiday

...for about five minutes.


Condoleeza Rice sworn in as Secretary of State

What was Cheney thinking?

Not much.

Recruiters of Conscience

Village Voice: Feeling a Draft?
Poor kids of color fight the Pentagon":

On January 15 and 16, a coalition of local peace and student groups met in Manhattan to brainstorm ways to reach kids with the facts, starting with their right not to give up their personal info. "Schools are obligated to inform both parents and students of their right to opt out," said Amy of Youth Activists-Youth Allies (Ya-Ya), which helped organize the weekend counter-recruitment workshop. "Different schools and districts are doing a different quality of job with that "ranging from letters sent home to each student to a small classified ad in the local paper."

Ya-Ya has been meeting with high school officials, convincing them that giving recruiters "equal access" does not mean giving them free access to roam the halls and pull kids out of class. The group's teenage members hand out flyers at area public schools about the dangers of signing up for an eight-year hitch. One of them is headlined "What Recruiters Don't Want You to Know." Others talk about institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia in the military, and false economic promises.

It is a wonderful thing to behold young activists on such a noble - and practical - pursuit. We're gonna need these people even more once the neocon house of cards collapses under the weight of greed, blood and "miscalculations" as Cheney might charitably put it.

Human Rights, American Style

The report, released Tuesday after a year of research, is based on interviews with employees and managers at a Nebraska Beef factory, a Tyson Foods chicken plant in Arkansas and the Smithfield Packing Co. pork plant in Tar Heel, about 100 miles south of Raleigh. It says workers at all three plants are frequently injured, then refused medical care or fired.
The report found that repetitive motion injuries are universal in the industry; unsanitary conditions sometimes leave workers covered in animal urine and feces; and attempts to unionize are sometimes violently quashed.

Smithfield Foods has violated workers' rights for years, said Tom Clarke, leader of an 11-year effort to unionize the pork plant, which employs about 5,000 and is the country's largest hog-killing factory.

"It's been an attitude of, 'Look, this is rural North Carolina. Who's going to know, and who's going to care?'" said Clarke, part of the Washington-based United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. "This is going to shine a brighter light on the activity of the company." -more

No one in the Bush mal-Administration is going to care. At a time when the warmongering Commander-in-Chief holds America up to the rest of the world as some kind of free-for-all utopia, one might think the phantom-like Labor Secretary Elaine Chao just might feel compelled to respond to allegations of human rights violations. But one would be wrong.

2 + 2 = -2.3 trillion

Creative Accounting

...the Congressional Budget Office (news - web sites) predicted the government will accumulate another $855 billion in deficits over the next decade.

The projection, for the years 2006 through 2015, is almost two-thirds smaller than what congressional budget analysts predicted last fall. But the drop is due largely to quirks in budget estimates that required the agency to exclude future Iraq and Afghanistan war costs and other expenses. Last September, the 10-year deficit estimate was $2.3 trillion.

The CBO also projected this year's shortfall will be $368 billion. That was close to the $348 billion deficit for 2005 that it had forecast last fall. The two largest deficits ever in dollar terms were last year's $412 billion and the $377 billion gap of 2003.

Bush budget alarms GOP, angers Dems

Taken together, the new estimates appear to make Bush's goal of halving the deficit by 2009 more difficult. They also put renewed pressure on the White House and Congress to address rising red ink.

Bush intends to halve the deficit by 2009? Riiiiight.

King George is still a kid running up George & Bar's credit card without ever having to consider the bill. Except it's not the Bushes' credit card - it's the economic security of this country - and those responsible for checking the bill are allowing it to be frittered away like glitter on a homemade Christmas stocking.

Conservatives spent the eighties and early nineties pounding it into America's head that deficits matter. They were right, even if their motivations were more than suspect. The Republican call for "fiscal responsibility" had little to do with economic prosperity and everything to do with eliminating as many social programs as possible. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.Today's Republicans, with a little help from their counterparts across the aisle, conveniently ignore yesterday's unending call for fiscal restraint because neoconservatism is all about immediate gratification. When Jim Morrison sang "We want the world and we want it now," he wasn't referring to a multi-trillion-dollar smash & grab, but that single lyric reveals everything one needs to know about the priorities of neo-conservative cultists. Always eager to completely gut any aspect of the American economy which serves as a social investment, we can be certain the same neocons who express concern over the spiraling deficits are quietly savoring the coming economic cataclysm.

Overheard

Cat Lewis - 08:21 pm Pacific Time - Jan 25, 2005 - #4978 of 4985 "For if this nation is to remain true to the ideals symbolized by its flag, it must not wield the tools of tyrants even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny." Justice John Paul Stevens, for the minority in Rumsfeld v. Padilla.

To provide some insight...

I agree that Cokie is a media whore, but - at least 15 years ago - she was a nice person.

Her sister, Barbara, was Mayor of Princeton, NJ. I was running a non-profit at the time, and Barbara steered at least $1 million our way, in donations. The family was solidly Democrat.

At the time of Hands Across America, then-governor Tom Kean provided the money to host a breakfast for local politicians, to promote HAA. It proved to be a very unusual gathering - we had all the top pols there, from both parties, all trying to outdo each other because we had all the local network affiliates there, with cameras.

We had a beautiful little girl - 4 years old - who was the local poster child for HAA. I made a dress for her - red, white and blue - and she was a charmer. Trouble was, a day before the breakfast, she came down with measles.

Local newspapers had bold headlines - "Hands Across America Girl has Measles!"

But she came to the breakfast. Her mom told me that she still wasn't feeling well, but that the doctor had said that the contagious period had passed. Poor little thing was SO brave!

At one point, I was standing with 3 or 4 pols (including Cokie's sister and little girl, with her mom holding her). The conversation got around to the fact that measles are highly contagious, and that grown men who haven't had measles can become sterile, upon contact with an infected child. At that very moment, a group of 5 or 6 Repub politicians walked by.

Barbara immediately snatched the child from her mother's arms, yelled, "I know some people I HAVE to introduce this child to!", and ran off. We cracked up!

A few months later, Barbara died of cancer. I wrote to the family, expressing my condolences and relating this story to them. I received a personal note from Cokie, inviting me to DC for a visit. I went - and had the time of my life.

She's a really nice person, and fun.

She's just been in DC too long.

I'd almost forgotten the Cokie Roberts I used to listen to (and respect) on National Public Radio many years ago. Her ability to navigate liberal and conservative viewpoints and emerge with an insightful opinion was skillful (was being the operative word).

Cat's last sentence, "She's just been in DC too long," probably nails it, although - their marriage advice book notwithstanding - Cokie should've dumped Steve Roberts a long time ago because he obviously wasn't the person to impede her downward slide. She still would have required a move to LA for a complete rinse, but new surroundings might have saved her.

Groucho Marx would have a field day with today's Cokie Roberts, a person I'd be tempted to render homeless and hungry just to revive whatever sense of humanity she once had. The RNC talking points; the conventional Conventional Wisdom she espouses as though it was unique; her above it all conceit: nothing short of intolerable. On the plus side, she and Maura Liason were instrumental in helping me go Cold Turkey on a debilitating National Public Radio habit.

Old Glory on Craptacular Display

BAYREUTH, GERMANY - Baffled authorities in southern Germany have issued an alert concerning unknown persons who have been sticking small US flags into piles of dog droppings in public parks in Bayreuth.

"This has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2,000 to 3,000 piles of excrement that have been thusly 'adorned' during that time," said Bayreuth parks administrator Josef Oettl.

The sporadic series of incidents originally was thought to be some sort of protest against the US-led invasion of Iraq. And when it continued it was thought to be a protest against President George W. Bush's campaign for re-election.

Bayreuth police say they are completely baffled.

"We have sent out extra patrols to try to catch whoever is doing this in the act," said police spokesman Reiner Kuechler. "But frankly, we don't know what we would do if we caught them red-white-and-blue handed."

Legal experts agreed, saying there is no law against using faeces as a flag stand and the federal constitution is vague on the issue.

Now that is creative protesting.

Iraqi forces & human rights

Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director for Human Rights Watch, said Iraqi forces and international advisers were allowing abuses to "go unchecked" in the name of bringing stability to Iraq. "The people of Iraq were promised something better than this after the government of Saddam Hussein fell. The Iraqi interim government is not keeping its promises to honour and respect basic human rights. Sadly, the Iraqi people continue to suffer from a government that acts with impunity in its treatment of detainees."

Among the alleged abuses detailed in the 94-page report:

• Detainees were routinely beaten with cables and metal rods during interrogation, given electric shocks and kept blindfolded and handcuffed for days
  
  
• Detainees were held for long periods in isolation, deprived of food and water and crammed into small cells with standing room only
  
  
• Iraqi police sought bribes in return for releasing prisoners or allowing them access to family members or food and water.

Survivor IRAQ

Fear Shrouds Iraq's Elections in Secrecy, Confusion

Election centers have been bombed, candidates and electoral officials threatened and even killed. With only a week to go, intimidation is turning Iraq's landmark polls into a new kind of secret ballot.

Some Iraqis don't know who to vote for as most candidates keep their identities hidden, fearing for their lives.

Those who've made up their minds don't know where to cast their ballots, since the location of polling stations is being hushed up until the last minute to thwart election day attacks.

"We don't know these candidates, not their names, not their programs, not where they've come from. I will not vote for people I don't know," said Hussein Ali, a handyman in Baghdad.

"Until now, we don't know how to vote. I know there is an election center nearby, but I'm not sure exactly where it is."

Sunnis plan to ignore 'illegitimate' elections

Even among those who oppose the violence, there is deep frustration and anger.

"Many people thought when the Americans came they would change [Iraq] into heaven," said Khaled Dulaymi, who lost his job in the Information Ministry when Saddam's regime fell and now is struggling to pay for the black-market kerosene he needs to power the generators that heat and light his home.

"But now people say it would have been better if they had left us with Saddam Hussein," said the 40-year-old, his politeness masking a simmering rage as he served tea to a foreign guest.

"I see all the political parties, and they're just empty. All of them are from outside Iraq. None of them has honor. I will not vote."

Iraq Elections Face Boycotts and Growing Violence

The US ambassador to Iraq has acknowledged serious problems ahead of next weekend’s election but offered assurances that “great efforts” were being made so every Iraqi can vote.

But in an audiotape posted on the internet, a speaker claiming to be Iraq’s most feared terrorist declared “fierce war” on democracy, raising the stakes in the vote.

Rebels who have vowed to disrupt the balloting blew up a designated polling station near Hillah south of Baghdad and stormed a police station in Ramadi west of the capital, authorities said yesterday.

All I know is that if I was an Iraqi citizen, I'd pass. This upcoming vote is nothing more than a fig leaf for George W. Bush and his neocon cronies, not to mention the idiots who insist on keeping them in power. Can't you hear them now? "This election was not perfect, but it does represent historic progress in the American quest to free the people whose resources we're stealing." Or something like that.

Hussein Ali, the Baghdad handyman, says "We don't know these candidates, not their names, not their programs, not where they've come from. I will not vote for people I don't know."

Good call, Hussein. I've voted many times for people I didn't know - judges, constables, Railroad Commissioners, numerous county positions, etc. - and I can say with some certainty that casting votes for unknown candidates doesn't appear to have improved my quality of life. The assertion that anyone should be repeat my mistakes - particularly while risking life and limb to do so - is criminal.

Despite widespread and obvious problems with security and participation, the Bush Machine has firmly resisted extending the timeline for the Iraq elections. Why? Remember the Mission Accomplished sign. As usual, the Chimperor is in a hurry to declare victory before embarking on the Next Big Catastrophe. Like the Type A father driving a carload of kids to a vacation destination, George W. Bush has declared the timeline Priority One and there will be no stops to pee "so you'd just better hold it." Iraqi citizens will be murdered and maimed while attempting to support a democratic ideal, but does anyone believe this administration gives a rat's ass about them? Given their sorry track record, one would hope not, yet as long as the proper solemn announcements ooze forth after the fact, that'll be good enough for Bush and his stooges, including the American lapdog news media.

Invading Iraq was a choice, not an imperative. As an occupation force, America has a direct obligation - one which cannot be abridged by neocon platitudes - to provide a secure environment in which Iraqis can make an informed vote. By willfully ignoring this solemn duty to the Iraqi people, the United States is sabotaging the already bleak prospects for peace and sovereign rule. And the possibility of averting civil war - one which could easily grow into a regional, and, thus world war - grows smaller each day. Whether this is by design, malfeasance or indifference on the part of the Bush Machine remains to be seen.

Conscientious Objector charged

Dahr Jamail: Omar Kahn's interview with Kevin and Monica Benderman. On December 20, 2004, Kevin applied for conscientious objector status and refused orders to return to Iraq for his second tour of duty. The U.S. Army has charged Benderman with desertion.

At a time when the corporate news media machine sees fit to replace the word "victim" with "hero" on a daily basis, I am struck by the Bendermans' genuine heroism in summoning the courage of their convictions. Exercising one's conscience is often difficult, particularly at a time when the test of jingoistic patriotism requires complete subservience to the government.

Those who refuse to kill for the king are owed a debt of gratitude from a nation that gives much lip service to freedom and liberty.

This is a fine example of how the ever duplicitous Pentagon gets to have its cake and eat it, too. Abu Ghraib personnel are prosecuted for following orders to "soften up" Iraqi detainees. Kevin Benderman is prosecuted for rejecting further participation in the whole illegal, immoral, unconscienable debacle that is United States policy in Iraq. The American soldier, thanks to George W. Bush and his neocon apparatus, is once again placed in a situation of "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Obit: There goes Johnny

He was like your fun uncle, the one who, wearing both vice and virtue on his sleeve (a quality now referred to derisively as sincerity), always knew how to have a great time without pissing off everyone in the family. Johnny Carson, unlike today's hosts of late night TV, actually listened to what his guests had to say. Although he rarely missed an opportunity to take advantage of a well-timed observation, guests weren't merely props for Johnny's aggrandizement. Of course, he'll be missed. He's been missed since retiring from "The Tonight Show" in 1992.

Blood Money & Homeland Security

Jill, of Brilliant at Breakfast, blogs a great story today:

Michael Chertoff: Security Risk: Leave it to the tiny University Star to give us the news that Bush's nomination for Homeland Security Chief, like predecessor nominee Bernard Kerik, has a skeleton in the closet. "Federal Appeals Court Judge Michael Chertoff’s ties to the financiers of the Sept. 11 attacks may prevent his confirmation as Homeland Security Chief. "

The mighty Democratic overlords in the Senate wouldn't dare let this get in the way of denying a new playmate for King George, would they?

Garnish, serve.

Chertoff shouldn't be too badly bruised by this revelation. After all, having ties to the financiers of 911 certainly never hurt Bush.

The Coronation

"At this second gathering, our duties
are defined not by the words I use, but
by the history we have seen together."
The difference is that "we" acknowledge the events of the day while you and your criminal adminstration deny them entirely.

Bush-Style FREEDOM on the march at home and abroad.

pictures linked

Morning Call

Fireworks in Washington, despair around the world

Since George Bush was re-elected over 200 more US soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Each new day brings another 70 attacks on the occupation forces as the territory dominated by the insurgents expands and the area which the occupiers can safely patrol shrinks. This week a senior Kurdish leader, although a supporter of the occupation, admitted that for a lot of its citizens, "the Iraqi government exists only on television"...

The president and his speechwriters have yet to confront the tension between their rhetoric about freedom, which is universally popular, and their practice of projecting US firepower, which is resented in equal measure. That explains why, on the very day when the president set forward his mission to bring liberty to the world, a poll revealed that a large majority of its inhabitants believe that he will actually make it more dangerous. The first indication of whether they are right to worry will be whether the Bush administration mediate their differences with Iran through the state department or through the US air force.

American Perverts Upset, Aroused by Greek Nudity

A clutch of complaints by U.S. viewers that the Athens Olympics opening ceremony featured lewd nudity has incensed the Games chief, who warned American regulators to back off from policing ancient Greek culture.

"As Americans surely are aware, there is great hostility in the world today to cultural domination in which a single value system created elsewhere diminishes and degrades local cultures. In this context, it is astonishingly unwise for an agency of the U.S. government to engage in an investigation that could label a presentation of the Greek origins of civilisation as unfit for television viewing."

U.S. Military Preparing PULLOUT

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it is preparing to wind down tsunami relief efforts around the Indian Ocean. The comments were made by the chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, Admiral Thomas Fargo, and came after he toured the devastated areas of Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Fargo says international aid is starting to focus on reconstruction and it is now time to gradually reduce the military's huge initial deployment. He says operations will be gradually transferred to the host nations and various international organizations.

Fargo says the U.S. military has no deadline, but is looking to withdraw by late next month.

from the Department of Sweep It Under The Rug
FCC Orders Probe of Williams-Bush Deal

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation Friday into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose he was paid by the Bush administration to plug the president's education agenda...

Also Friday, two Democratic senators asked the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, to review whether any other federal agencies have paid commentators to support the administration's agenda.

But for a more insightful look at the Armstrong Williams Dirty Deal, read Black Commentator's Armstrong Williams, The Biggest Whore of All.




More FCC news
Mr. Consolidation to Depart FCC

Cheney's Calculated Miscalculation

Cheney admits "miscalculation", telling withered hater Don Imus that Saddam Hussein's brutality in putting down a revolt in 1991 "made the situation tougher" than the administration expected. This evil bastard actually uses the term "miscalculation" but lies about the nature of said miscalculation.a calculating Dick

Cheney ponders miscalculation.
Is anyone in the Bush Machine even capable of completing a sentence without lying? It's gotten to the point where I await swarms of flies to pour out of their mouths. Cheney's so-called miscalculation had nothing to do with 1991. The miscalculation was recklessly launching a pre-emptive, illegal war of aggression -- and all without a post-war plan.

If pressed, I could come up with at least one American president impeached for a lesser transgression.

Wicked Missionary Position

Villagers furious with Christian Missionaries

Most of the 200 people here are homeless or displaced , battling to rebuild lives and locating lost family members besides facing risks of epidemic,disease and trauma.

Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked when the nuns asked them to convert before distributing biscuits and water.

Heated arguments broke out as the locals forcibly tried to stop the relief trucks from leaving. The missionaries, who rushed into their cars on seeing television reporters and the cameras refusing to comment on the incident and managed to leave the village.

Disappointed and shocked into disbelief the hapless villagers still await aid.

Quite a benevolent god you've got there!

Overheard

Ritz - 12:16 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4842 of 4866

I'm starting to wonder where these tutu wearing bozos will actually draw a line.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Paul Avery - 12:26 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4843 of 4866

There is no line except in labeling. Imho, the best course of action would be to support any and all Repug candidates against the tutus. Suffocate the system in its own puke. As it stands now, the progressives are like the Catholic victims of child molestation being told to stay loyal to parish priest for he's really the bulwark of our salvation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MGF - 12:28 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4844 of 4866

I'm starting to wonder where these tutu wearing bozos will actually draw a line.

I suppose they might draw the line if Junior re-nominated Bork for the Supreme Court, but even then I wouldn't count on it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dominic - 12:28 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4845 of 4866

I've heard that Dems have all unanimously agreed behind closed doors that they would stand together in firm opposition if the Republicans tried to legislate court-jester apparel as the dresscode for the minority Party.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Scott Ferguson - 12:29 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4846 of 4866

Well, no. The best course of action would be to remove the tutus via primary challenges.

I'm not suggesting it's an easy solution.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Paul Avery - 12:39 pm Pacific Time - Jan 19, 2005 - #4847 of 4866

That seems the rational course in a rational system, Scott. Problem is, this ain't a rational system--the tutu incumbents and their Repug challengers have the most the money and resources. Therefore, vote for the worst of the worst, the evilest of the evils.

Of course it won't be an effective protest unless you let them know it's a protest.

***************************************************************************

One of these days, Democrats en masse are going to realize Paul Avery's salient point that ZERO representation is better than .05% representation. Voting for do-nothing airheads like Joe Biden and the rest of his collegial Vichy Dem fraternity does one thing and one thing only: Delays the rehabilitation of the Democratic Party. Is that something for which you care to assume responsibility?

It's abundantly clear that turning the pallid Democratic Party into a vibrant champion of liberty will not be accomplished with the current pods in office. The party will never - not in a million years - morph into a progressive fighting machine as long as Democratic voters settle for candy-ass representation. The token opposition dished out by party leaders only serves as a useful fig leaf for Rethuglican criminals hell-bent on totalitarian rule.

Whether one considers this THROW THE BUMS OUT tactic a pragmatist's nightmare or a purist's wet dream is irrelevant. Drastic times call for drastic measures. The most enduring, effective tactics in overhauling the party must be implemented from the ground up. There is no other way. It's past time for non-neocons to wake the up and start cracking a whip on those who don't take their positions of trust and leadership seriously. This purge (and, yes, I'm very comfortable with that word) is long overdue. If you don't vote for Republicans because they don't represent your most basic beliefs, why would you vote for a Democrat who doesn't, either? You're not doing yourselves or your country any favors by voting for a (D) when you know you're going to get some collaborationist clown with a record of supporting an (R) agenda.

The neoconservative revolution is complete. When does the counter-revolution begin in earnest? Anyone who thinks Joe Lieberman and Martin Frost and John Breaux and Joe Biden represent a mindset useful to the future of the Democratic Party is crazier than a barrel full o'monkeys.

BTW, Sen. Barak Obama? Your go along to get along mode appears to have been modeled on Hillary Clinton's recipe for failure. In due time, you will be held accountable for volunteering to exchange your integrity for the ready camaraderie of "national leaders" who possess none. Even the most eloquent talk is still dirt cheap.

Morning Roundup

Get your blood flowing with:
Salon's 34 Bush Scandals (courtesy of BartCop)

From The Departments of Day Late and Dollar Short:
Ohio Dumps Touch-Screen Voting Machines
And why not? Their work is done.

Exiting Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was being unusually candid during an ass-kissing session conducted by Greg Sheridan of The Australian:

Armitage's disappointments? Not a lugubrious person, Armitage doesn't nominate disappointments spontaneously. But he'll answer a question honestly: "I'm disappointed that Iraq hasn't turned out better. And that we weren't able to move forward more meaningfully in the Middle East peace process."

Then, after a minute's pause, he adds a third regret: "The biggest regret is that we didn't stop 9/11. And then in the wake of 9/11, instead of redoubling what is our traditional export of hope and optimism we exported our fear and our anger. And presented a very intense and angry face to the world. I regret that a lot."

Earlier in our discussion Armitage had refused to claim any political dividend out of the generous US response to the Asian tsunami, saying it was a question of responding to a human tragedy and the US would have responded the same wherever the tragedy occurred, and that to talk about it in political terms cheapens the effort.

Those Bush cats sure enjoy being "straight shooters" once they've packed up the office. Their stinking legacies, left to rot beneath the blistering sun and blankets of swarming flies, are beyond salvation. Just ask Robert McNamara.

Our Televisual Fairyland

Check out George Monbiot's A Televisual Fairyland at The Guardian.

The role of the media corporations in the US is similar to that of repressive state regimes elsewhere: they decide what the public will and won't be allowed to hear, and either punish or recruit the social deviants who insist on telling a different story. The journalists they employ do what almost all journalists working under repressive regimes do: they internalise the demands of the censor, and understand, before anyone has told them, what is permissible and what is not."

"So, when they are faced with a choice between a fable which helps the Republicans, and a reality which hurts them, they choose the fable. As their fantasies accumulate, the story they tell about the world veers further and further from reality. Anyone who tries to bring the people back down to earth is denounced as a traitor..."

Toadies. "Attack Poodles" as James Wolcott calls them. I used to think of them as mere enablers of the Fascist Right, but I was far too generous; they're dues-paying Fascists themselves and they reap many rewards for their allegiances. Well dressed pigs beneath domesticated hair and pancake makeup, winking at each other for being in on the joke that is The News.

I'll never forget listening to Jennings and Brokaw play down the staggering number of protestors at Bush's first coronation; descriptions of a festive, jovial environment that was more than a little disconnected from the tense scenes shown by the cameras. It made for a strange narrative. That's when it hit me the so-called Fourth Estate had completely collapsed, gone as though it never existed.

In hindsight, I feel foolish for ever believing The Fourth Estate was anything more than a comfortable myth. Damn, ain't life full of those.

Condi vs. Boxer

American Leftist documents part of the exchange between Sen. Boxer and Condi during yesterday's Secretary of State confirmation hearing in which a snappish Condi barked "Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like. But I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity. Thank you very much." That brief quote and no context was all CBS News saw fit to broadcast yesterday, a sure clue there was more marrow to that bone.
Stupid Pet Tricks:

She's got a million of 'em.
What I find so unsettling about Rice, aside from her incompetence, is her twitchy demeanor. The darting, soul-less eyes and the constant defensive quiver in her voice that gives away her darkest secret: She's not very bright. A relic from The Cold War, she's got Stalinism down cold, but furiously kissing The Chimperor's ass and parroting the same surreal garbage he's spouting are the only two prerequisites for any cabinet position with this bunch of criminals.

And how's this for a callous display of self-interest? "I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the U.S. government, but the heart of the American people," Rice said. "And I think it has paid great dividends for us."

Not the most diplomatic of comments, but, hey, she's only applying for Secretary of State. It's not like anyone expects her to actually practice diplomacy while working for the Thug-In-Chief. But won't it be great having her in the new office?

Real Journalism

The eagle-eyed wonks at The American Prospect did something worthy of positive excitment: They hired Joe Conason as the magazine’s Investigative Editor, a new position, to "oversee the Prospect’s new emphasis on investigative reporting." Conason, whose official first day is January 24th, will be responsible for making assignments, editing and writing.

I'm familiar with Conason's work by way of Salon. He's one of the Last Journalists Standing. Go get 'em, Joe. And stay off those small airplanes.

DNC Chair Candidate: 99% Water

Josh Marshall doesn't get it.

And as long as we're on the subject, for all the supercilious nattering, this seems like a great list of candidates to run the DNC. Usually the whole choice isn't even seriously canvassed among more than a few insiders. And the big contenders tend to be lobbyists and moneymen.

Not that I'm necessarily against either, in their place, mind you. But here, as near as I can see, are a group of candidates, most of whom have a clear argument and set of ideas about rebuilding, reshaping and generally toughening up the Democratic party. And most of them at least don't seem to be in it -- at least in any immediate sense -- for the purposes of future rainmaking.

We could do far worse.

Wrong, Josh. The Democratic National Committee couldn't do "far worse" than Martin Frost and the "great list of candidates" cited at the link.

Apparently, this cannot be said enough: The Democratic Leadership Council has wrested the wheel of the party from the top down, placing all of its chips on RED while pursuing policies that are anathema to the fundamental beliefs held by the vast majority of the Democratic rank & file.

There is only one candidate equipped to head the DNC. Democrats who stand between Howard Dean and the party chairmanship do so at great harm to the national party.

Meet the new boss?

The Steny Hoyers in the Democratic Party still embrace the comfortable politics of yesteryear a la Martin Frost while the rest of us are left to freeze to death in an increasingly harsh climate of Fascism. Frost is not the man to teach democrats how to turn the organization into an effective opposition party. He's a an old-timer with an old modus operandi. Ever see The Simpsons episode with Kent Brockman and the ants?

"Ladies and gentlemen, uh, we've just lost the picture, but what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has apparently been taken over- 'conquered' if you will- by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive Earthman or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves."

I'm not sure who Brockman reminds me of more, Frost or Marshall.

There has never been a time of greater need for national leadership within the comatose Democratic Party. Should party insiders manage to evade the populist wave which Howard Dean represents, they will be tightening the noose around their own necks even as they choose short-term self-interest over the long-term overhaul grassroots Dems know is inevitable if Americans are to have an alternative to the One Party State.