John Amato: Mike's Blog Roundup

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 05:25:26 GMT

Broken Ethics Process Dump Mike

An example of the broken ethics investigation process in Congress: Watchdogs lack bite, to benefit of both parties.
U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, a New Jersey Republican, in 2003 paid a $210,000 fine, the largest ever for a sitting member of Congress, to the Federal Election Commission. Ferguson, R-7th District., during his 2000 campaign had taken $525,000 from his parents, violating a statute limiting contributions from individuals to $1,000.

The settlement allowed Ferguson to claim he had not deliberately broken the federal law. The matter prompted no reaction from the House ethics panel, and Ferguson was re-elected in 2004.

Why wasn't the largest ever FEC fine for a sitting member of Congress investigated by its own ethics committee? More

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 08:00:46 GMT

Party Over Country, Over Self, Over Everything That's Holy
Fact-esque

Who's the most pathetic example of the most tragic and despicable Republican on Earth?
A) John McCain (see Shakespeare's Sister, who makes a good case) or
B) Colin Powell, who, refused to resign in protest over the rush to BushCo's War in Iraq although he knew that the rationale for the war was built on lies...More

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 08:00:05 GMT

Ways to blog like a conservative . . .Hey Jenny Slater

. . . the easiest, of course, being to make a completely moronic, asinine excuse for a completely inexcusable bit of behavior on the part of a conservative. As usual, we've found our poster children in the asshats at Power Line: More

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 07:59:46 GMT

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 06:41:14 GMT

Guide to Wingnut Logic

The following rules are intended to help you make sense of the nonsensical--a discussion with or among wingnuts. click here

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:13:45 GMT

NCLB Unpopular Pacific Views:

It looks like Bush's No Child Left Behind plan, like all of his other plans, becomes less popular the more people know about it

The 37th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools indicates that between a 65-80% majority agrees that: Charter and private schools should not be funded at the expense of the public school system, that they would rather see schools improved than students transferred out of them and don't think the testing regimes now in place fully measure the performance of their schools.

Interestingly, while the "nation's schools" got low marks, "schools in the community" were well thought of by 69% of parents.

Yet again, another Republican policy is proving unpopular and their hatred for a public institution, in this case public schools, has been proved to be outside the mainstream. The majority of public opinion on any of the questions asked would represent a solid election victory. If only there was a party who shared the public's sensibilities on this issue and was willing to make skillful use of this in a political campaign, they might be able to make some serious gains in the upcoming mid-term elections.

"If there were two sides to every issue, the Republicans would have an opposition party." - Bill Maher

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:09:42 GMT

Dear Yellow Elephants Ex Cathedra

Don’t pretend you support the military. You don’t. You just support the war…. [S]ave the lectures on patriotism and who wants us to lose the war. You do. You aren’t serving. — Steve Gilliard

I wonder how many young Republicans realize that their personal decision to support the war, but stay home themselves, is stacking up to bury them under an avalanche of public contempt? Probably none of them. We criticize this Republican President as living in a bubble, but I think the pampering and attention and money and connections YRs are getting from Republican insiders is building an even thicker bubble around them.

They’ll be casualties themselves — not in the sense of joining the 1,800 dead and 13,000 wounded Americans they sent to fight for them. But they’ll discover that even their own despicable definition of “combat” has casualties. They’ll find themselves dumped, on the outside, irrelevant and shunned.

The “Yellow Elephant” meme started as a prank, but lately it seems to have touched some deeper feelings about the kind of people who get us into wars. And as soon as the Republican elites get wind of this, they’ll drop these YRs like a live grenade. They’ll be casualties without blood, without risk, and without honor.

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:08:21 GMT

Fundamentalists on Fire Obsidian Wings

The award for the most disappointing response has to go to some of the organizations that really ought not choose this moment to be ambiguous about what Robertson said. I'm talking of course about Pat's political and spiritual allies, the organizations that claim to stand for traditional American values. From The New York Times:

Some of Mr. Robertson's allies distanced themselves from his comments. The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, released a statement saying Mr. Robertson should "immediately apologize, retract his statement and clarify what the Bible and Christianity teaches about the permissibility of taking human life outside of law."

The Rev. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals said he and "most evangelical leaders" would disassociate themselves from such "unfortunate and particularly irresponsible" comments.

"It complicates circumstances for foreign missionaries and Christian aid workers overseas who are already perceived, wrongly, especially by leftists and other leaders, as collaborators with U.S. intelligence agencies," Mr. Cizik added.

But other conservative Christian organizations remained silent, with leaders at the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition saying they were too busy to comment.

The obvious parallels here are the Islamic clerics who don't condemn assassination fatwas or terrorism in rapid or clear enough terms for many Americans, but let's step back and give them a bit more credit than that. These folks have indicated they had other priorities. (they're busy...busy, busy...busy preachers...oh, oh...well, you know). What could be more important for such influential spiritual leaders than defending our values by condemning Robertson's blood-thirsty call for murder? Let's look and see, shall we?

The Traditional Values Coalition's frequently updated website reserves it's top spot today for an article titled "Of Liberals, Toads, And Growing Up In Middle America" and although it lists close to a dozen pieces on Roberts, there's no mention of Robertson. Top billing on the Family Research Council's website was reserved for "XXX Internet Domain Not Safer for Kids," and what kept the Christian Coalition so busy were news stories ranging from "Christian Doc: Parents Must Combat Media Vanity With Biblical Truth" to "California Court Declares One Child Can Have Two Moms."

That last story broke more or less the same time the Robertson story did. Conclusion: Liberals, porn, gay parents, and vanity are more pressing issues than murdering elected officials. Not only more pressing, but so incredibly pressing that despite the fact each of these organizations had made countless statements about each of these issues over the years, they couldn't interrupt that flow of thought long enough to say one way or the other whether Jesus wants us to kill Chavez...whether Jesus would even have an opinion about that.

There is most definitely something foul rotting in the hearts and minds of these people.

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:07:47 GMT

Giving the finger to Iraqi Women After School Snack

Compare and contrast:

1. "These are extraordinary times, historic times. We've seen the fall of brutal tyrants. We're seeing the rise of democracy in the Middle East. We're seeing women take their rightful place in societies that were once incredibly oppressive and closed. We're seeing the power and appeal of liberty in every single culture. And we're proud once again -- this nation is proud -- to advance the cause of human rights and human freedom." (Dear Leader, March 12, 2004)

2. "Across the country, a steady clampdown on women's rights has been going unreported and unchecked by the government. Islamic terrorism is killing and injuring Iraqi women daily, employing among other weapons, acid attacks ... This is all the outcome of the occupation of Iraq. This has been pursued under the name of liberation, but what we actually see is women increasingly losing their freedom, while political Islamists feel free to terrorise them. The Islamicists pour into this invaded, so-called Muslim land in order, they say, to liberate it; but in reality, neither the US nor the Islamists are our liberators. They both really fight for power and influence in Iraq and in the region." (The Independent, August 15, 2005)

3. "Islam will be "the main source" of Iraq's law and parliament will observe religious principles, negotiators said on Saturday after what some called a major turn in talks on the constitution and a shift in the U.S. position. If agreed by Monday's parliamentary deadline, it would appear to be a major concession to Islamist leaders from the Shi'ite Muslim majority and sit uneasily with U.S. insistence on the primacy of democracy and human rights in the new Iraq." (Reuters, August 20th, 2005)

Words fail me. Fortunately, they don't fail Pepper, Digby, Ms. Julien, Amanda, or Shakespeare's Sister.

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:50:52 GMT

Dubya's War DJ Paul Edge Blog

"How good bad music and bad reasons sound when we march against an enemy"
Friedrich Nietzsche Read on...

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:50:38 GMT

Go look at.... Science And Politics

"Red-State Serbian Jewish atheist liberal PhD student with Thesis-writing block and severe blogorrhea trying to understand US politics by making strange connections between science, religion, brain, language and sex."

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:50:19 GMT

Faulty Intelligence Proof Through the Night

Here's something you can try at home: First, read this article from the Paper of Record
regarding the so-called "theory" of Intelligent Design (note that ID is not a "theory" at all, in the sense that the word is properly used, but never mind that for now). Then read this article from The Onion (hat tip to TPM, BTW) about the theory of Intelligent Falling, and how it explains gaps and inconsistencies in the traditional, presently embattled theory of gravity.

Now, then - explain to me exactly how anyone can determine which of these articles is an intentional joke, and which is merely unintentionally ridiculous. I submit that it is impossible, and furthermore that the impossibility can be soundly established by experiment.

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:49:00 GMT

"Wolverine can move a mountain" Infidels of Every Denomination

Earlier this evening I saw a commercial showing a man on a gray rock cliff. The camera panned back, and words were superimposed over the image: "Wolverine can move a mountain." More of the hillside is shown, and you can see other hills and valleys. The text goes away for a moment, so you can see the complete scene before the word "Wolverine" comes up again, with a picture of the Wolverine work boot beside it.

The complete scene, unless I'm quite mistaken, is a strip mine.

Yes, Wolverine can move a mountain.

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:16:51 GMT

Don't Look Now Fafblog!

Last week, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard B. Myers, in a statement opposing the release of videotapes and photographs of torture at Abu Ghraib, said that the information should not be released for the purposes of national security. The release of such images, Myers said, could damage the war effort by instigating "riots, violence and attacks by insurgents."

Indeed, the Medium Lobster could not agree more: while some in the petty name of "truth," "accountability" and "basic humanity" might want to open this material to the world, outrage over yet another American atrocity would just fuel more violence. Oh, ACLU, don't you have enough blood on your hands? Which is why the Medium Lobster also believes the time is long overdue to classify the Iraq War.

Given the number of riots, the amount of violence, and the attacks by insurgents that appear to have erupted since the dawn of the war, it's clear that something has to be done to stop news of the conflict from getting out to crazed terrorists, who, becoming so excitable about the prospect of American torture, might well become livid if they learned of the US's involvement in preventively invading a muslim country and killing thousands there in a massively botched occupation. Indeed, in retrospect it was a mistake to have been so public about the war to begin with. Perhaps the Pentagon could have let a couple bombers and tanks into the country at night periodically to bomb a palace or shell a neighborhood. If anyone noticed a few demolished buildings, or a few thousand dead people, one could always blame it on a some bad apples, sort of fraternity air raid hijinks.

In any case, what's done is done. The Medium Lobster recommends in the strongest possible terms that no mention be made ever again of the war, its disastrous progress, its inept and incompetent leadership, or the mystifying reasons for which it was launched, ever again - for the sake of national security.

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:16:36 GMT

Quaint The Road To Surfdom

Consider the sheer irony steeped hilarity of this front-page report in The Australian Friday morning:

AUSTRALIAN soldiers are being blindfolded, stripped naked and menaced by savage dogs for up to three hours in extreme training exercises to prepare them to resist torture.
The intensive regime, approved at the highest level of government, is about to be upgraded in response to the growing threat from enemies who do not respect the rules of the Geneva Conventions.

Yes, curse those awful people who do this sort of stuff and do not respect the Geneva Conventions.

You remember the Geneva Conventions, don't you? They were those rules of behaviour that the White House thought were " rendered quaint" and no longer operative, right before they allowed their soldiers to, what was it now? Oh yes, blindfold, strip and harrass with dogs anybody they deemed an enemy. (Amongst other things.)

Defence Minister Robert Hill has confirmed interrogators are authorised to use threats of physical and sexual abuse during simulated interrogation sessions at the Defence Intelligence Training Centre at Canungra, near the Gold Coast.

"When approved by the exercise director, working military dogs that are muzzled and short-leashed may be used during advanced RTI (resistance to interrogation) training, in the presence of RTI trainees (including naked trainees), in order to create realism," Senator Hill said in a written response to a parliamentary question from federal Labor MP Daryl Melham.

"Create realism"? Oh, come on, Senator Hill. Haven't you been listening to the endless explanations from supporters on the pro-war right that this stuff bears no relation to torture or abuse and is no more threatening than a bit of fraternity hijinks?

This won't prepare our soldiers for anything other than three years at university.

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:16:23 GMT

DEA strikes a blow against "marajuana legalization movement"

Seeing the Fores

This is outrageous: The Canadian Police have arrested marajuana legalization activist Marc Emery (a Canadian citizen, and founder/head of the British Columbia Marajuana Party) and two employees of his marajuana seed distribution company. This was done at the request of the U.S. Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (which obviously has nothing better to do, like taking out meth labs and breaking up crack distribution networks). They are attempting to have him extradited to the US, where if convicted, he faces prison time (up to ten years), and is even theoretically subject to life in prison or the death penalty, as a "drug kingpin" (ala Pablo Escobar). Why? Well, the quote below tells you: a transparent attempt to suppress a political point of view. Facism, pure and simple.

a column by Joel Connelly in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this morning quotes a statement by DEA chief Karen Tandy suggesting political motivations: " Today's arrest of Mark (sic) Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement... Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."

Here's the full article, from stopthedrugwar.org: Marc Emery Busted -- Canada's Leading Marijuana Activist Facing Life in American Prison Over Seed Sales

Here's the full column quoted above: Pursuit of drug case all smoke, no fire
Continue reading "DEA strikes a blow against "marajuana legalization movement""

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:15:40 GMT

The New York Times' Go To Guy For Right-Wing Pseudo Science On Race And Gender Roger Ailes

Today marks the first official appearance of Steve Sailer, writer for the white nationalist webrag, VDare, in an John Tierney op-ed column. Tierney has cited his bigoted pal in the pages of the Times before, but not in his op-ed column.

Tierney's column is filled with "evolutionary psychology" mumbo-jumbo purporting to show that golf is a manifestation of mens' hunting instinct. (Next column: "Aiming At The Urinal Cake Reveals Nature's Plan For Male Dominance"). Perhaps the similarities between Tierney's column and this three-year old Sailer column reveal the natural male instinct to recycle crap.

The web version of Tierney's column approvingly links to another Sailer piece containing this profound analysis: "On the other hand, the Ladies Professional Golf Association's Nabisco Championship in Palm Springs has become one of the largest annual lesbian get-togethers in the United States, but, as Camille Paglia has noted, lesbians tend not to be interested in the classic visual arts, and, indeed, are often resentful of the prestige of Dead White European Male artists." Do Tierney and the Times endorse this bigotry?

You can read more about John Tierney's best buddy here and here.

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:15:26 GMT

"Troops have died for your right to speak, so shut up and obey." Pat Riots!

Let us examine one of the other usual rationals for conflicts overseas: "If we don't fight them there, we'll have to fight them here."

I really love that one. It was said ad nauseum during the Vietnam war, a war we lost, and since we lost it, of course we all remember fighting the Viet Cong in Indianapolis and Butte, Montana, right?
Read on...

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:14:58 GMT

Wall Street Journal editorial page: don't trust it Shrillblog

Brendan Nyhan reads the WSJ editorial page so the rest of us don't have to. He escapes back to the protection of his guard of shoggoths just in time, pursued by the shambling WSJ zombies led by Michael Moore, who shamble forward and chant: "Bush administration fiscal policy is responsible!" "Cutting tax rates raises tax revenues!" "Extending the Bush tax cuts isn't expensive!" and, of course, "BRAINS!!!!"

Brendan Nyhan: WSJ agitprop on CBO report: The WSJ continues...

A second fact you won't see in many other newspapers is that the federal budget deficit has also declined to close to its modern average. CBO says the deficit will fall to 2.7% of national output in the fiscal year that ends at the end of next month. It is expected to continue to fall to 2.4% of GDP next year and 2.0% in 2010, even if the Bush tax rates stay in place.

But... the Journal's 2010 date is cherrypicked -- the effects of extending President Bush's tax cuts... explode over the next five [years]. Once again, the lesson here is simple: never trust the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

A lesson to place alongside "never get involved in a land war in Asia," "never play poker with a man named 'Doc'," and "never accept a battle of wits where iocane powder is a factor."

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:14:19 GMT

Question: What is "George, have you finished your homework?"
d r i f t g l a s s

A: One question you never heard at Bush Family Home.

So why does this story from the WaPo...

Despite Setback, Bush Optimistic on Iraqi Charter
President Lauds 'Heroic Efforts' of Negotiators as Some Critics Fault U.S. Emphasis on Deadlines
By Peter Baker and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; A10
The failure to draft a new Iraqi constitution by yesterday's deadline represents another blow to President Bush's attempts to show progress that would pave the way for U.S. troop withdrawals, some analysts said yesterday, but U.S. officials called it a temporary setback and hailed Iraqi leaders for staying at the negotiating table.
…

...summon -- almost unbidden -- visions of GW’s wasted and wastrel youth?

Hmmm. Well...

1. Screwing around until the last minute.
2. Blowing off the “hard questions”.
3. Blowing off the deadline.
4. Getting the Dean’s Office to break the rules just for me.
5. Finally knocking together three pages copied out of the Tocqueville Cliff Notes to shut the professor up.
6. Being praised by Poppy for even doing that much.

Shit, sure sound’s like Furious George’s Salad Days at Yale to me. And how does this story always end?

7. Whatever I do, however badly I shit this up, Poppy’ll cut a fat check to bump that “F” up to a nice, resume-friendly, “B+”.

Let’s se how they match up, shall we? The story continues,..

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:13:37 GMT

My flag is bigger than yours Agitprop

After September 11 it was almost mandatory to hang an American flag. When people started taking down their flags toward the end of 2001 they were occasionally greeted with dirty looks for betraying their flag-flying neighbors. Are they any less patriotic than those who keep flying their flags? No. Then there's the case of non-white and foreign-born Americans. Why do they have to prove their patriotism more than white Americans? Why does the local Lebanese restaurant need to fly ten American flags just to prove that they like America? For instance, I occasionally frequent this dry cleaner which is owned by an Arab family. Inside the shop there is a large photo of the owner with George W. Bush surrounded by countless American flags. Do the owners happen to dig Bush or are they scared of being labeled terrorists if they don't prove their uber-patriotism?

Take the Yellophant Command Vehicle that is covered in "Support Our Troops" magnets. I have no idea how putting a magnet on one's car supports the troops who are currently serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other spots around the world. It might foster awareness but it is an empty slogan that does not provide any tangible support for those serving abroad. There are better ways to support the troops like donating money, demanding the truth from a lying regime or helping veterans who return from the war (here , here, here, and here). I think the flag and ribbon-magnet phenomenon has mainly benefited the companies who produce them. Now there's ribbons for breast cancer, autism and even green leafed ribbons that read "Support My Habit". Read on...

Wed, 17 Aug 2005 03:46:12 GMT

Bush's $2 Million Barbecue soundbitten

Remember that "regular guy" poll from last year that found that "voters would rather flip burgers and drink beer at a backyard barbecue with President Bush than Sen. John Kerry"?

The poll made perfect sense, of course -- who wouldn't like to get drunk with a teetoler whose wife made him quit drinking decades ago? That'd be a lot of fun.

Until today, however, I never noticed any opportunities for regular guys to make their Bush barbecue dreams a reality. The Associated Press reports:

He arrived before noon, local time, at a neighbor's ranch for a barbecue where he was expected to raise at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee, said RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt.

Some 230 people attended the fund-raiser at Stan and Kathy Hickey's Broken Spoke Ranch, a 478-acre spread next to Bush's ranch. All have contributed at least $25,000 to the RNC, and many are "rangers," an honorary campaign title bestowed on those who raised $200,000 or more for Bush, or "pioneers," those who have raised $100,000 or more.

Good to see that pesky elitist Cindy Sheehan isn't completely spoiling Dubya's vacation plans to "shed the coat and tie and meet with folks out in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."