Clarence Thomas Had Conflict Of Interest In Citizens United

Put briefly, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose that Citizens United spent $100,000 on ads in 1991 supporting Thomas's nomination to the Court. Thomas's receiving those in-kind contributions means, of course, that Thomas had a conflict of interest and should have recused himself from the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the decision that allows corporations to give unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns.

Thomas neither recused himself nor reported the contribution in kind. The case was decided by a 5-to-4 vote of the Court.

Impeach the man. Right. Now.

(H/T klynn in a comment on Firedoglake.)

UPDATE:  Rachel Maddow has more about Thomas's failure to disclose other contributions to himself and/or his wife from organizations funded by the Koch brothers:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Is Obama Showing Balls?

Obama Threatens to Veto House GOP's Spending Bill.

MoveOn Does Not Mince Words

MoveOn emphasizes one undeniably certain consequence of any Republan action to curtail abortion:

As far as I know, unless someone is lying to me, I have never caused a pregnancy leading to an abortion. But I have known women who had abortions back in the days before Roe v. Wade made it clear there is a constitutional right to choose abortion. One of those women almost died from a back-alley abortion. The same woman later had another back-alley abortion, again got infected, and again almost died.

Many anti-choice zealots argue that abortion is murder. That depends, of course, on whether a fetus is a human life... and no other aspect of Western legal tradition holds that it is, so we have to agree to disagree on that one. What I think everyone can agree on is that allowing a woman to die as a consequence of a predictable back-alley procedure is not punishment for sin... it is murder, and the woman's murderers are not only the sepsis-riddled abortionists who infect her but also the legislators who make it intentionally as difficult as possible for her to exercise her constitutional right to choose a safe, legal abortion.


UPDATE a few hours later: the South Dakota legislature is contemplating a bill passed out of committee yesterday which would make it "justifiable homicide" to kill anyone "attempting to harm an unborn child." Eric Rudolph legalized, here we come.

AFTERTHOUGHT directed to President Obama: Do you understand yet why your beloved notion of compromise with Republans is simply not applicable here? This is not about attempting to work out a law that would satisfy pro-choice and pro-life individuals (though I suspect that, too, is unlikely)... this is about whether you can compromise with the GOP leadership in circumstances where doing so means suborning murder, murder of an adult human being whom nobody, pro-life or pro-choice, doubts is a living human being. You can't be half for murder and half against it. Take a stand, even if it does mean supporting for one rare time those who elected you.

Boehner: 'Job Cuts? So Be It.'

"Fuck everyone but me and my campaign contributors," he did not say but might as well have. Here's what he did say:

In the last two years, under President Obama, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs. If some of those jobs are lost so be it. We're broke.

In the Republan tradition, Boehner gives us two lies for the price of one: first, apart from temporary Census employees (remember, the Census is a constitutional obligation), Obama has added approximately 20,000 employees, not 200,000, to the federal payroll, and second, no government empowered to print money and assess taxes is ever broke.

If we ever had any doubt, now we know for certain the Republans' answer to the victims of massive unemployment: "FUCK YOU."

(Aperiodic reminder: "Republan" is "Republican" without the "ic"; I'll stop using it when they stop using "Democrat Party".)

Bill Moyers: 'Facts Still Matter'

The great man is no more retired than, say, an elderly violin virtuoso who plays only an occasional concert. Moyers is still very much worth your time to read.

I Agree With Robert Reich

In particular, I agree with his proposal for a revision of the tax structure as one of the methods of defeating the recession and restoring the economy to good health:

The best way to revive the economy is not to cut the federal deficit right now. It’s to put more money into the pockets of average working families. Not until they start spending again big time will companies begin to hire again big time.

Don’t cut the government services they rely on – college loans, home heating oil, community services, and the rest. State and local budget cuts are already causing enough pain.

The most direct way to get more money into their pockets is to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (a wage subsidy) all the way up through people earning $50,000, and reduce their income taxes to zero. Taxes on incomes between $50,000 and $90,000 should be cut to 10 percent; between $90,000 and $150,000 to 20 percent; between $150,000 and $250,000 to 30 percent.

And exempt the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes.

Make up the revenues by increasing taxes on incomes between $250,000 to $500,000 to 40 percent; between $500,000 and $5 million, to 50 percent; between $5 million and $15 million, to 60 percent; and anything over $15 million, to 70 percent.

And raise the ceiling on the portion of income subject to payroll taxes to $500,000.

It’s called progressive taxation.

Actually, it's called learning from history. We have been through a Great Depression before. Obama seems to be following the path taken by Hoover and initially even by FDR. That way lies economic collapse. We were heading for disaster before FDR reversed course. And we're heading that way again, unless Obama relents.

Let me remind everyone that the Declaration of Independence guarantees us each a right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Neither the Declaration nor the Constitution guarantees anyone the right to boundless wealth, especially in time of great national need. Indeed, Ben Franklin put it this way in 1789: "Private property therefore is a creature of society, and is subject to the calls of that society, whenever its necessities shall require it, even to its last farthing."

We're not even asking the wealthy for their "last farthing," only for 70 percent of their yearly income over $15 million. I think anyone with an income of $15,000,000 can scrape by on only $6,604,000 of it (that's $15,000,000 - (40,000×0.1+60,000×0.2+100,000×0.3+250,000×0.4+4,500,000×0.5+10,000,000×0.6)) for the sake of saving the nation. I know it will be tough on them, but surely we'll all offer our sympathy...

(Totals above corrected after first posting.)

Obama: Reduce Deficit by $1 Trillion, Two-Thirds By Spending Cuts

The man is fucking nuts. I don't know any other way to put it. Spending cuts to essential government programs amounting to an average of $100 billion per year for 10 years, in a time of deep recession, are a good way to kill the economy altogether... not to mention leaving many American families homeless and starving.

And is O hoping for Republan approval? Gimme a break. Of course they don't approve. And a budget year starting in October gives the GOPers some time to pursue their own spending cuts. Did Obama hope they would back off if he proposed still deeper cuts? Well, I did say he was fucking nuts; maybe he did hope that.

I used to be a Democrat. Then I dropped out of the Party as they moved damned nearly to the right of the Republans, but I still mostly voted for Democrats. Now? Good question. Maybe it's time for me to stop voting... period. Based on all recent evidence, what good does it do?

Conspiracy To Destroy Everyone And Everything

I'll let Glenn Greenwald detail it; this is too much for me. Be sure to follow at least his link to the relevant Salon editorial. And if you're reading this in the morning, set down your coffee first.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  If you haven't had your fill of conspiracy mania, and want to read about how the war on terror(ism) is conducted in real life, take a look at a Washington Post project (linked by Greenwald) called Top Secret America. Never have so many spent so much money surveilling so many people to so little effect...

Mystery

The antimacassar of my favorite easy chair, missing for more than a year, reappeared tonight on the floor in the office. I can think of several possibilities of where it has been all this time... maybe the original cats "lost" it and then their successors "found" it again for me, or perhaps it was stuck inside a jacket which I hung up in a closet in the office and brought out only recently in response to the painfully cold weather (by southern standards)... but mostly I am glad that its return does not mean that I have to use Macassar or any other hair goo. I had quite enough of hair goo in my young years, when every male of my generation used the damned stuff. Viva antimacassar; long may it wave!

AFTERTHOUGHT:  how many of you have a new vocabulary entry tonight? and how many of you learned the word at your grandparents' knee? Pop, my maternal grandfather, may or may not have known the word; Mommy Tad, my maternal grandmother, knew it in spades, because she had to clean every damned one of the things on the chairs in the presentation-perfect living room (a room never used except when invited guests were present in the home). But I did not learn it from either of them. It crept into my store of words one day a decade or so ago, when I wasn't looking, and it took up residence without asking permission. Antimacassar... a grand word, isn't it?

'Guvmint Keep Yer Hands Off My Medicare!'

We've all seen the famous sign quoted in the title above. But today I learned from David Sirota via Mustang Bobby that the sentiment is all too common:

...

According to new data crunched by Cornell University's Suzanne Mettler, large numbers of Americans who receive benefits from government social programs nonetheless tell pollsters they "have not used a government social program." And when I mean large, I mean large. For example, a majority of those who have received federally subsidized student loans, 44 percent of Social Security beneficiaries and 40 percent of G.I. bill recipients say they have not used a government social program.

...

So almost half of Americans who receive government funds do not recognize, or at least will not acknowledge, that the money comes from the government. Something is seriously missing here. Not all these people can have been home-schooled as kids, or sent to charter schools so bad it hurts to think about them. By no means do all of them come from families on welfare; rather the contrary in the case of Tea Partiers, I'd think. Where do they think the money comes from, and how did they fail to learn the basic fact that the government is giving it to them? I have no answers to either question.

Dear NumbersUSA

Dear NumbersUSA:

As you are an anti-immigration organization which appeared at CPAC today and which claims support from Democrats and Republicans, I would like to interview some of the Democrats and related persons you claim on your Supporters page.

In particular, I'd like to interview former Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI, deceased), Edward Abbey (author, deceased), David Brower, former executive director, Sierra Club (deceased), former Senator Tim Wirth (D-CO, apparently still living), former Gov. Richard Lamm (D-CO, deceased), former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (D, apparently still alive), former Sen. Robert Byrd (D-VA, deceased), former Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-TX, deceased), former President John F. Kennedy (D, deceased), former Rep. Tony Beilenson (D-CA, apparently still living), former Rep. John Bryant (D-TX, alive) and most especially union leader Samuel Gompers (deceased).

As it appears that more of your Democratic supporters are deceased than living, if you could arrange for a single group interview with all of your deceased Democratic supporters, I'd appreciate it... I do not wish to make any more trips to Hell than absolutely necessary.

Very truly yours,
Steve Bates

Et Tu, Hoyer?

Tuesday I mentioned Republan Sen. Richard Shelby's proposal that the retirement age be raised an unspecified number of years... to "save" Social Security, of course, even though all the evidence is that SS is solvent and doesn't need saving. Now it's Democrat Steny Hoyer. From TPM's Brian Beutler via FDL's David Dayan:

...

In a speech last summer about entitlements and deficits, Hoyer said, "We should consider a higher retirement age or one pegged to lifespan."

At his weekly press availability on Wednesday, I asked him if he still stood by his previous comments, or if, like Boehner, he'd rather keep his powder dry. 

"Unlike Boehner [who supported raising the retirement age outright], what I said is it ought to be on the table," Hoyer said. "We ought to consider all options, including raising the age, but there are a lot of other options also that can be considered and I also indicated that whatever we do needs to be done prospectively. And I think all parties agree with that."

...

Have you noticed how the strongest supporters of raising the retirement age are often wealthy millionaires who are themselves past any suggested retirement age? Yeah, sure; they're happy to force you to work another several years; it's no skin off their backs.

I wish each and every senator and member of Congress who advocates raising the retirement age could live one day in my shoes, including the big one. I don't know that it would give them any perspective, but it pleases me to think of their suffering along with the rest of us.

PATRIOT Act Provisions NOT Renewed

Apparently even a few Republans... Tea Party types, no less... voted with Democrats not to renew the expiring provisions, which were "... one authorizing 'roving' wiretapping and one allowing the government to pull all sorts of records and electronic communications from U.S. citizens."

Of course, the other GOPers will try again, but at least their midnight debate-limited effort fell on its face. And also of course, the most powerful Republan of all, Barack Obama, is beside himself in frustration that his arbitrary powers may be reduced. We live in interesting times.

Jon Kyl To Retire From Senate

Good riddance to bad rubbish. His presence "out there" will be reason enough to do whatever must be done to stop the election of a Republican president in 2012. Can you just imagine an Associate Justice Jon Kyl on the Supreme Court?

Is This Story For Real?

Well, Jonathan Turley doesn't mark it as a hoax:

No Baals in Fort Wayne: City Officials Refuse To Name Center After Former Mayor Harry Baals

When city officials called upon the public to name their new government center in Fort Wayne, the public responded overwhelmingly in selecting a former mayor. That would normally seem an ideal choice for officials . . . unless the former mayor’s name is Harry Baals (pronounced “Balls”). Officials said that they have decided not to let the voters pick after all to avoid a sign reading “the Harry Baals Government Center.”

...

I wish I lived in a city that had Harry Baals...

(Turley follows up with the classic SNL fake "NPR" video segment about Schwetty Balls. If you've never seen it, it's worth a view.)

Beginnings Of Climate Change Drive World Food Prices Up, Up, Up

Global climate change deniers, please go testify for your idiocy somewhere else; sane people are seeing the leading edge of a very large and very real economic... not political... problem. Paul Krugman outlines the mechanism by which climate change drives, and very well may drive to extremes, the price of food in some places in which people are desperate to say the least.

And We Shelby Changed

Specifically, we Shelby working until the day we die, that is, if we can find employment. If I had a job as cushy as that of the ancient and well-fixed Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Hellabama), I'd probably want to advance the retirement age a few years, too, so I could rake in more of those bankers', insurers' and lawyers' contributions. With a personal net worth of between $4 and $10 million, and nothing to do in his job except cover a seat and provide a predictable vote, it's no surprise Shelby, who is only 76, is not going to retire, so he doesn't want anyone else to retire, either. And you know what, he's only the 22^nd wealthiest senator. It's so good to see the rich looking out for the rest of us, isn't it? [/snark]

Remembering Reagan

I remember Ronald Reagan. He was the man with his head in the clouds and his hand in the pockets of the poor and middle class, spewing sententious garbage about government all the while he ripped us off. If our nation undergoes total financial collapse as some predict, Ronald Reagan, dead though he may be, will be greatly to blame. No one has done more to destroy the typical American's wellbeing than St. Ronald.

Peter Dreier also remembers Reagan, and for him, as for me, the memory is not a fond one. Near the end of his article we find this paragraph:

...

Another of Reagan’s enduring legacies is the steep increase in the number of homeless people, which by the late 1980s had swollen to 600,000 on any given night—and 1.2 million over the course of a year. Many were Vietnam veterans, children and laid-off workers.

In early 1984 on “Good Morning America,” Reagan defended himself against charges of callousness toward the poor in a classic blaming-the-victim statement. He said that “people who are sleeping on the grates…the homeless…are homeless, you might say, by choice.”

...

I was not homeless in the Reagan era. But I encountered a lot of homeless people, because I bicycled to and from work along the hike-and-bike trails which often followed the paths of bayous, under the bridges of many city streets. Under each bridge was a homeless person, or sometimes more than one if the bridge was long enough. Each of the homeless had an improvised shelter. Many of them... disturbingly many... had alarm clocks beside their sleeping bags. I took this to mean that they had jobs, but the jobs did not pay enough for them to afford even the lowest rent. That was my memory of the Reagan era.

You may celebrate St. Ronnie's centennial any way you please. I plan to fantasize pissing on his grave.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  Here's "Homeless" by the incomparable Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Since I'm Going To Hell Anyway...

... I might as well give you a link to Ben Hillman's Evolution video.

Feb. 7, 1978: A Date Which Will Live...

... in infamy? No, not quite. That was the date of my one-and-only solo recital, a faculty recital at University of St. Thomas - Houston, jointly sponsored by the Houston Harpsichord Society. In those days, I held the title "Lecturer in Recorder" at UST. How in the world does one lecture in recorder? I don't know, but I suppose I'm the right person to ask.

The recital went splendidly, thanks in large part to my accompanists, Bill Welch and Wayne Moss. The small hall, brand-new in those days, was jam-packed, probably more with people who wanted to see the new hall than with those who wanted to hear me play. But I was proud of the result; it was quite possibly the best I've ever played.

I no longer play recorder for public consumption. My peripheral neuropathy has deprived me of the ability to sense the exact position of my fingers relative to a musical instrument; attempts to play a woodwind instrument like recorder result in the awful sounds of incompletely covered holes. But it was a grand experience while it lasted!

Sierra Club Joins DoJ Suit Against BP

Sierra Club has filed a motion to intervene in the Justice Department's $21+-billion-dollar suit against BP for damages under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act and the Clean Water Act. Presuming the motion is approved, this means that Sierra Club will have a seat at the table in any negotiations of a potential settlement.

I have known some of the local Sierra Club officials who are most active in pursuing legal action when other means fail, and I have this to say about them: they know their stuff. They know a whole lot more about oil spills than I do. And they've been in those seats at the table before, and know exactly what they're facing in legal negotiations. If you are a Gulf Coast resident attempting against all odds to be made whole after BP's grotesquely negligent spill damaged your property, you could not do better than to have Sierra Club at that table.

James Zogby: Know Something About Arabs, Or STFU

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, remarks on the breathtaking ignorance of American politicians of both parties regarding matters in the Arab world, as especially evidenced by the stupid statements they have made recently about Egypt. According to Zogby, our pols seem to think it is either all about Israel, or all about U.S. partisanship. Here's a sample:

...

In other words, Ros-Lehtinen supports a democracy where we (not they) set up the criteria. Not quite "respect for the will of the people", but still better than former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's partisan tirade. 

Gingrich, who is reported to be considering a presidential run, is shallow and remarkably uninformed about most Middle East issues. He gets by largely because he sounds so authoritative and always has a clever quip or two. In Gingrich's assessment of the current situation "there's a real possibility in a few weeks... that Egypt will join Iran, and join Lebanon, and join Gaza, and join the things that are happening that are extraordinarily dangerous to us". Having thus displayed almost no understanding of the Middle East, Gingrich goes on to ridicule President Obama's "naiveté"...

...

No one is an expert on everything, but today's crop, especially the Republans, seem to think that any statement is better than nothing. One of these days that attitude is going to get America into serious trouble. The American people would hold its politicians in higher regard if, when they are ignorant of an issue, they either a) learn something about it before speaking to it, or b) STFU.

Getting The Goods On St. Ronald

Today would have been the late Ronald Reagan's 100^th birthday. ellroon has some links to lists of things St. Ronnie did; please visit her post and click through to some of the genuine horrors of American politics. Reagan's signature quote, as far as I'm concerned: "A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"

Forget St. Ronald. Give me a Saint Arnold instead.

GOP's Pitts: 'I'd Love To Gain... Complete... Control Of You'

That would be Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Perdition), and the quote is from a Cole Porter song which, because of that one line, I could never hear as a love song. But Pitts's attitude toward women isn't far from that line. Read Evan McMorris-Santoro of TPM:

New GOP Bill Would Allow Hospitals To Let Women Die Instead Of Having An Abortion

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 4, 2011, 4:10PM

The controversy over "forcible rape" may be over, but now there's a new Republican-sponsored abortion bill in the House that pro-choice folks say may be worse: this time around, the new language would allow hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform the abortion that would save her life.

The bill, known currently as H.R. 358 or the "Protect Life Act," would amend the 2010 health care reform law that would modify the way Obamacare deals with abortion coverage. ... But critics say a new language inserted into the bill just this week would go far beyond Stupak, allowing hospitals that receive federal funds but are opposed to abortions to turn away women in need of emergency pregnancy termination to save their lives.

... [explanation of EMTALA here]

Pitts' new bill would free hospitals from any abortion requirement under EMTALA, meaning that medical providers who aren't willing to terminate pregnancies wouldn't have to -- nor would they have to facilitate a transfer.

The hospital could literally do nothing at all, pro-choice critics of Pitts' bill say.

"This is really out there," Donna Crane, policy director at NARAL Pro-Choice America told TPM. "I haven't seen this before."

...

You see where this is going, don't you? Roe v. Wade still enables a woman's right to choose abortion, and few people... until now... have questioned a woman's right to have an abortion to save her own life. But make no mistake, women: Joe Pitts would KILL YOU before he would allow you to have an abortion. Mr. Obama, there is no room for compromise on this one: either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. It's time to put your foot down. (If you like, I can put my foot down in your behalf; I guarantee you I have a much bigger boot...)

AFTERTHOUGHT:  Something like this bill is the law in some South American countries, countries which have no separation of church and state, and which therefore implement some version of Catholic law as civil law. (And all the GOPers here are so worried about Sharia law... would Catholic law be any better?) The reasoning is as follows: the mother about to die in childbirth has had a chance to redeem herself and be saved and sent to Heaven; the infant, if it fails to survive birth, has not; therefore priority must be given to saving the life of the infant. I know a doctor in such a country who quietly saved a mother at the expense of the infant's life; the doctor told me that the woman's other six children needed a living mother more than they needed a dead mother and a seventh sibling. But common sense and religion often don't coincide, and the doctor must keep quiet about the decision. American women: how would you like to see such a system implemented here? Right. I thought not.

Slip-Slidin' Away

We did not get snow, and it's only 29°F outside. But the ice on the roads makes up for it. Three tollways are closed down until Saturday. There have been 100 wrecks in four hours. One baby was born on Loop 610; now that kid is a real Houstonian! And one car, I've heard, slipped off a bridge, though I have no details.

And Stella is out there in the middle of it right now, on her way to work.

Few people here have either the equipment or the experience to drive in icy conditions. For those who must, I wish them luck. I'll never forget the time I had to ride home from work on a bicycle on a hike-and-bike trail with freestanding bridges over the bayou...

As I was writing this, I just got a call from Stella; thank the good Dog she made it to work safe and sound! Now all she has to do is make it home this evening.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  I just spent some time reading a thread on the Chron's "SciGuy" column. I do not recommend this thread. Based on the comments posted there, I think we need a new slogan: "Houston: City of Assholes!" Considering that most current-day Houstonians moved here a couple of decades ago when jobs were scarce in the Northeast, one could make the obvious generalization. But I won't.

From the EVERYTHING-IS-POLITICAL department: commenter Met on the same thread notes this, regarding the inaccuracy of yesterday's forecast:

Back in the early 90's the NWS in D.C. closed the upper-air (weather balloons) at Victoria. We were left with nothing but Lake Charles and Corpus Christi in this area. Computer models are useless if you don't have good observations to initialize them with. The precipitation type is mainly controlled with temps at about 5000 feet (850mb). The models were off by 50 miles or so as to where that freezing line would be.

 It's just another example of "cutting out government waste." IIRC, a Republan was president in the early 90s...

Snow And Sleet

... tonight and tomorrow. Today I felt as cold as I have ever felt; for a short while, I thought I was going to lose some fingers. But it was only 24°F. The fingers stayed attached, though they hurt a lot. Even on a grocery store trip, navigating with a walker approximately doubles or triples the time one spends out in the cold. Perhaps tomorrow... I'll remember to wear gloves. I do have gloves... somewhere...

Please Read This!

If you thought H.R. 3 was bad for its redefinition of rape, you haven't fathomed the half of it. Please read "H.R. 3 hides even bigger dangers than redefinition of rape" from David Waldman at Daily Kos. If you accept this bill from Congress, you accept as fact the notion that Congress has a virtually unlimited right to choose the provisions of the health insurance plan you buy. And believe me, you won't like what Congress will do with that power.

(H/T ellroon for linking the post.)

Planned Parenthood 'Sting' Attempt Fails

I was going to write about the "James O'Keefe-style undercover 'prostitute' hoax at multiple clinics" (Alex Pareene, Salon),  but Mr. Pareene has done my job for me. Short version: anti-abortion group Live Action sent fake pimps who claimed to be involved in underage sex-trafficking to five different Planned Parenthood clinics; Planned Parenthood did the right thing by reporting them to law enforcement (the FBI, since it was an interstate scam); the "pimps" constructed a video attempting to frame Planned Parenthood employees anyway.

Unfortunately, the MSM largely ignored the whole incident (unless you count Breitbart's tirade, which I will not link from here, and... guess who... Fox News, ditto), so most people are left with only rumors and lies. And as Mark Twain is supposed to have said, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." Anything not discounted by the MSM is bound to have actually happened, right?

My contract work 20+ years ago for Planned Parenthood is well-known; I don't need to revisit it here. But I do need to emphasize why I jumped at the chance to do it: Planned Parenthood is arguably America's signature provider of health care for poor women... reproductive health care, of course, but many other sorts as well. Are you poor, and need to ensure that your pregnancy goes smoothly and your baby emerges healthy? Go to Planned Parenthood. But that sort of thing never makes the evening news, does it? "Healthy Babies Born with Assistance of Planned Parenthood" is a headline you truly never see. But that is the organization that Live Action is attempting to kill.

I'm not too worried. Planned Parenthood has been in considerably more political combat than, say, ACORN, and they will win this one. But it's an indicator of the extremes to which the lying bastards will go. And it's not going to get any easier.

Full-Blown, Batshit Crazy: Georgia GOPer Wants To Ditch Driver's Licenses

If Bobby Franklin gets his way, I don't want to be on the roads of Georgia for any reason:

Republican Georgia state legislator Bobby Franklin thinks that driver's licenses impose undue restrictions on the right of citizens to travel. So he's proposed legislation to stop the state from issuing them.

"Free people have a common law and constitutional right to travel on the roads and highways that are provided by their government for that purpose," Franklin's legislation states. "Licensing of drivers cannot be required of free people, because taking on the restrictions of a license requires the surrender of an inalienable right."

In an interview with CBS Atlanta News, Franklin claimed driver's licenses are a throw back to oppressive times. 

"Agents of the state demanding your papers," he said. "We're getting that way here."

...

I oppose the use of driver's licenses as, or with, voter ID cards. I oppose electronic chips in driver's licenses that can be read from sensors several feet away. I oppose license-check roadblocks set up by rural police presumably as a source of local income. There are a lot of things involving driver's licenses that I do oppose.

But if you propose to use a multi-ton implement with lethal potential even in the course of everyday use, you should have no objection to the government's testing to make sure you can use it properly and know the traffic laws. Anyone who has ever driven in Houston can understand why I am so insistent on this simple safeguard: once in their lives, if no other time, drivers must prove they can use their vehicles safely. Only a nut would see this as a constitutional issue.

Have Some More Tea... Would You Like A Revolution With That?

Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Uranus) has a plan to pay our nation's obligations to China before its obligations to its own people through Social Security:

...

New Republican legislation in the House and Senate would force the U.S. government to reroute huge amounts of money to China and other creditors in the event that Congress fails to raise its debt ceiling. 

"I intend to introduce legislation that would require the Treasury to make interest payments on our debt its first priority in the event that the debt ceiling is not raised," Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) wrote in a Friday Wall Street Journal op-ed. 

If passed, Toomey's plan would require the government to cut large checks to foreign countries, and major financial institutions, before paying off its obligations to Social Security beneficiaries and other citizens owed money by the Treasury -- that is, if the U.S. hits its debt ceiling. ...

...

"[T]his idea is unworkable," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin in a statement. "It would not actually prevent default, since it would seek to protect only principal and interest payments, and not other legal obligations of the U.S., from non-payment. Adopting a policy that payments to investors should take precedence over other U.S. legal obligations would merely be default by another name, since the world would recognize it as a failure by the U.S. to stand behind its commitments." 

...

Whoa-whoa-whoa; wait just a minute. Social Security is not paid for out of general revenues. It is withheld as payroll tax from almost every worker's paycheck, and allocated specifically toward providing a stable retirement for elderly Americans. Advocating using it for another purpose is not far from advocating raw theft.

Besides, there would be all those messy riots in the streets... all those old people who don't take kindly to being robbed by Tea Party economics. The standard line at our tea party, delivered while each of us holds a large club, should be "One lump or two?"

We're Having Weather

A wind-and-rain storm came through this morning, about an hour ago. Since that time, the temperature feels as if it has dropped about a °F every couple of minutes. Tonight it's supposed to plummet into the lower 20s°F, not quite unheard-of here, but relatively rare. I cannot tell you the temp for certain, but my disabilities provide me with a built-in barometer which has been aching all night, to the point that it interfered with my sleep.

I'm supposed to do a couple of things out of the house this morning... pick up prescriptions, stop by the doc's office. I hope it's not already too late: the weather isn't supposed to get any better this week, and Thursday night it's supposed to snow. Yes, you read that right.

This is not the weather I live in Houston for!

Frosh Republ[]an Gets Early Start On Ethics Violations

It's what they do best: lie, cheat and steal. In this case, the apparent culprit is Rep. David Rivera (R-Fl) ... whose campaign financial disclosure seems to be questionable.  From the Miami Herald:

...

At the heart of the probe is Millennium Marketing, a company owned by Rivera's mother and godmother that received $510,000 from the Flagler Dog Track as part of a deal for Rivera to lead a pro-slots political campaign on behalf of the parimutuel.

Rivera, who had long denied receiving any money from the dog track, earlier this month admitted to receiving $132,000 in undisclosed loans from Millennium -- loans Rivera says he has since repaid.

Also under investigators' microscope: Rivera's campaign expenses, including $30,000 he paid to Millennium for consulting in 2006, and $75,000 he paid last year to a now-defunct consulting company owned by the daughter of a longtime aide. Rivera has denied any wrongdoing.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Rivera paid himself nearly $60,000 in unexplained campaign reimbursements over the eight years he served in the state Legislature.

...

So what's the best headline? "Campaign financing goes to the dogs," or perhaps "Keeping it all in the family"? This is so blatant that even the GOP pretends to take offense, with Boehner making the excuse that "These were activities that took place before [Rivera] was elected." Yeah, sure, that makes it all OK.

Someone in the FDL comment thread remarked that the purpose of Florida Republ[]ans is to make Texas Republ[]ans look honest. Perhaps that's going too far, but I appreciated the thought.

Shutting Down The 'Net: Can Egypt Survive Economically?

Monday, the government of Egypt faces a choice: continue cutting off 'net access in the assumption that the opposition depends on it for effective resistance... or restore the 'net and resume something like normal banking and commerce with the rest of the world. There is probably not really a middle ground, and no modern economy has seriously tried to do without the 'net. It doesn't matter what I think, but I believe the choice is real, and as stark as it possibly could be.

(H/T upyernoz, here and here. 'noz's post on the American role in the crisis [the second link] is well worth reading.)

UPDATE Sunday evening CST:  If this is "shutting down the internet," let's have more of it, please. Al-Jazeera, the English version, seems to be going strong. They have talked more than once about tweets they have seen, so Twitter must also be living and active in Egypt.

UPDATE Sunday night CST:  Juan Cole says the broadcasts are not originating from Cairo, and that Al Jazeera had not been permitted to broadcast from there even before today. Cole's post is definitely worth your time to read. (H/T Bryan.)

Red Alert Fades To Black

It's true: sad to say, the infamous color-coded terrorism alerts are being retired. I can't help remembering my doggerel on the subject back on 3/13/2002. So you won't have to traverse a link to a nearly defunct site, I'll reproduce the doggerel below.

Red Alert! Misread Alert!

Can't afford to be in error?

Try our color-coded terror

There's a color of the spectrum

   for each level of alert;

Save the hue for quick retrieval:

It's your measure of the evil...

Doesn't tell you how you'll lose your ass,

   but how you'll lose your shirt!

First: they'll verbally announce

That the terrorists may pounce,

Though the statement won't assist you

   in discerning where or when;

When the bad guys hear the color,

In frustration they will holler:

If it clashes with their clothing,

   they'll commit no fashion sin!

Next: each dendrite and each axon

Are assaulted by a klaxon

Blaring loud, with flashing colored lights

   delighting all the Trekkers;

It's the rainbow you'll have seen

(Though they flipped the blue and green),

It will help you stave off boredom,

   but it won't avoid the wreckers.

Next: you're shouting, "Holy shit," sir:

Seeing Jennings, Rather, Blitzer

On the tube, with hair and skin

   all dyed the color of the day;

With your breakfast in your throat,

You may reach for your remote;

You can mute, switch channels, turn it off...

   It never goes away.

Next: I cannot tell you how, sir,

But they'll commandeer each browser,

Pitching popups full of terror words

   in shades you'll hate to view.

Once you're full of fear and loathing,

You should wear no piece of clothing

That you care about, for there's no doubt

   you soon will poop or spew!

Last: new color. For a while it

Seems to push beyond the violet,

Then you'll realize this new alert

   has struck you bloody blind.

While your body heaves and pukes,

Dub is setting off his nukes,

Just to show the evil terrorists

   what's on his tiny mind.

But before you melt or vaporize,

Or burn as bright as paper, guys,

Remember, you were duly warned;

   for once Dub didn't lie.

Do not think his warning cruel;

Just recall the ancient rule:

Tuck your head between your legs, my friend,

   and kiss your ass goodbye!

- Steve Bates

New Air Force Sponsored Software Predicts Civil Unrest

That's what they claim:

Scientists working on a project sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory now have a forecasting model that they claim can accurately predict civil unrest against foreign governments.

A team composed of academics at Kansas State University and New York's Binghamton University developed the Predictive Societal Indicators of Radicalism Model of Domestic Political Violence Forecast. The KSU/Binghamton plans to integrate their forecasting model into applications developed by Milcord, a firm that develops web and mobile applications for various government agencies. According to Milcord's Alper Caglayan, the model "will be integrated into strategic planning, early crisis warning and contingency planning-type operations."

...

Toto, I have a feeling... aw, never mind.

In related news, similar software is being developed that predicts future commissions of crimes, so that perpetrators may be apprehended in advance. Reports say the prototype software has exceptional difficulty predicting really, criminally bad movies...

Our Republ[ic]an President

He really sounds like a member of that other party. He proposes to act like a member of that other party. He's going to fuck the nation like a Republan.

I give up; I'm tired of the bullshit. For a decent liveblog of the speech, read David Dayen of FDL. And try not to slit your wrists tonight.

UPDATE: read Krugman. Then imagine my face with that cat's expression on it.

Ghailani Convicted In 1998 Bombing - Sentence: Life Without Parole

The Guardian has the details. This is the first Gitmo detainee tried in a civilian U.S. court.

Remember how all the Republans* in Congress were saying it couldn't be done, that the risk of acquittal was too great, that the punishment would be inadequate, etc. etc., in other words, a veritable laundry list of alleged reasons why the justice system that has served us well in the past simply would not do against "known" terrorists? Well, guess what. Ghailani got LWOP (Life WithOut Parole... an acronym that I hope will become common) for the one conspiracy count of which he was convicted. The Guardian says, "Ghailani will now almost certainly be sent to a 'supermax' high security prison in Colorado, where other defendants convicted in the bombings are being held. His sentence includes no prospect of ever getting parole,"

My late father, who (unlike me) was an advocate of the death penalty, admitted occasionally that a life sentence without the possibility of parole was almost surely a more severe punishment than death. I was young; I didn't understand. But in recent years I've come to realize the truth of what he was saying. And besides, LWOP, unlike death, is reversible in the event the conviction is somehow found to be in error.

* They call themselves "RepublICans". They call the opposition the "Democrat" party. It is only justice to remove the IC from their name: an IC for an IC.

OSC Report: Bush White House Violated Law In 2006 Elections

Well, now is a fucking helluva time to tell us this:

TPMMuckraker
Report: Bush White House Violated Law By Using Gov't Resources To Support GOP in '06 Elections
Ryan J. Reilly | January 24, 2011, 8:51PM

George W. Bush's White House Office of Political Affairs violated the law by giving political briefings to political employees, concludes an Office of Special Counsel report issued Monday, nearly five years after the fact.

The report, titled "Investigation of Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials During the 2006 Midterm Elections," finds that the electoral success of the Republican Party and possible strategies for achieving it often were on the agenda at some of 75 political briefings at 20 federal agencies from 2001 to 2007, the Associated Press reported.

OSC found that "White House Office of Political Affairs (OPA) employees, as well as high-level agency political appointees, violated the Hatch Act through a number of practices that were prevalent during the months leading up to the 2006 midterm elections," they said in a news release.

"Because most of the briefings took place during normal business hours and in government buildings, many of the briefings implicated the Hatch Act's prohibition against engaging in political activity while on duty or in a federal workplace," the report found.

...

Mission accomplished, I suppose. What possible good does it do to announce in 2011 that a president used federal resources to steal yet another election in 2006? This just reinforces the common impression that laws are for little people, that politicians can do anything they damned well please with no consequences whatsoever.

Bradley Manning Is Denied His One Authorized Visitor - UPDATED 3x

The Quantico folks have decided to play hardball. Putting aside for the moment Manning's military obligations, please note, to start with, that he 1) is an American citizen, 2) has been held without charge and without legal counsel for some months now, and 3) is to all appearances confined to his cell 23 hours in a day, a practice that many argue is tantamount to torture... remember, Manning has not been charged with a crime under either conventional criminal law or UCMJ.

Tonight, his one permitted weekly visitor, David House, and the latter's driver, Jane Hamsher, were detained at the gate of the base for long enough to prevent House from visiting with Manning during permitted hours. Hamsher, who carried with her a petition of 40,000+ names urging due process for Manning, was denied any opportunity to present the petition to base authorities. Moreover, Hamsher's vehicle was cited for lack of proof of insurance... on every prior visit, her digital insurance ID had been accepted... and towed off base once she was released from detention. The guards who did all this were quite emphatic that the orders came "from the top." Which "top"? the base commander? the Commander-in-Chief?

It is pretty clear to most observers that the intent is to browbeat (torture?) Manning into making a statement implicating Julian Assange of Wikileaks for... what, exactly? Assange, no doubt an obnoxious guy, has behaved just like... just like a journalist, an honest journalist, and that apparently is sufficient to ensure his persecution.

It pains me to see my own government so willing to resort to "enhanced interrogation" of people not even charged with a crime. How low America has fallen.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  Before you argue whether Assange had a right to publish the material, please read the wiki regarding the Supreme Court's decision on the Pentagon Papers. The burden of proof for prior restraint is rightly very, very high. Are these Wikileaks papers embarrassing (or worse) to currently serving and recent high government officials? No doubt many of them are. Can the government take legal steps to stop them from being published? Probably not. Will they resort to illegal means? Is the Pope Catholic?

UPDATE Sunday evening:  Jane Hamsher's account of the event is posted. Please read it.

UPDATE Tuesday morning:  Bryan of Why Now provides a convincing explanation of the whole episode in comments to this post. I am taking the liberty of reproducing his comment here:

OK, I think I know who and why. The who is the Quantico brig commander and the the why is that s/he had just been smacked down for ordering a suicide watch on Manning. A suicide watch may only be ordered by medical personnel.

Further, there are now leaks that there is no indication of any connection between Manning and Assange, something that the DoJ really needed to prove to cobble up any kind of charge against Assange.

The brig commander will now retire at his/her current rank, rather than being offered another position or given a retirement promotion. I would imagine that the officer is a bit upset by that, and the juvenile performance at the gate is probably the result.

They have stretched the military system of justice to a breaking point with the conduct in the Manning case, it is very possible that they may not be able to try him now, depending on the outcome of a petition just filed by Manning's lawyer. The UCMJ is hard, but just, and there are definite rules about how long you can be held before the formal process begins.

UPDATE Tuesday late morning: Details are emerging confirming Bryan's explanation. Here's Trevor Fitzgibbon of FDL:

Military officials admitted today that Quantico Brig Commander James Averhart improperly classified Bradley Manning as a “suicide risk” in order to impose harsh conditions on him as punishment for failure to follow orders. Averhart’s order overruled the opinion of three brig psychiatrists who said Manning was not at risk. 

The statement comes one day after David House, Manning’s only regular visitor, was detained for two hours by military police and prevented from seeing Manning until visiting hours were over.

“With today’s admission, the government acknowledges they have been abusing Bradley Manning’s medical classification to consciously subject him to relentless isolation and deprivation,” says House. “President Obama and Robert Gates should heed the call of the United Nations, Amnesty International and Psychologists for Social Responsibility and put an end to Bradley’s cruel and inhumane treatment.”

...

Military officials also confirm that investigators have been unable to make any direct connection between Bradley Manning and Julian Assange. In December of 2010, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department was attempting to build a case against Assange by looking for evidence he colluded with Manning.

...

Follow the link to see more details. If you are an American, as you read, remember that this is what your nation has become.

Bad Doggerel. Bad, Bad Doggerel!

This time it's from Fred Phelps. Apparently bored with desecrating the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Phelps's Westboro Church (excuse me while I laugh in astonishment and derision at their latest craziness) is going after... Ozzy Osbourne.

...

Accompanying the cautions against what Ozzy is about to do to Kansas City is a link to Westboro's "parody" of Ozzy's hit Crazy Train. The parody was first rolled out late last year while the Westboro crew was arguing before the Supreme Court for their right to hold anti-gay protests outside military funerals. The outcome of that case is still pending.

...

They've written a parody of Osbourne's song Crazy Train. Read it at the link above... preferably not close to mealtime. As writing, it is a real pile of craft.

Comcast Boots Olbermann

... while denying that their merger with (takeover of) NBC has anything to do with his ouster. Comcast doesn't even take the helm until Monday. I guess they didn't want to put up with Olbermann as an employee for even one day.

Reports say that the deal reached to buy out the remaining two years of Olbermann's four-year contract includes an agreement that he will not take a similar position with another network for those remaining two years.

I hope Olbermann was fully compensated for those two years. If not, and if he objects legally, Comcast may find that courts are not fond of non-compete clauses that have the effect of depriving employees of their ability to pursue their primary livelihood. (It's been a long time since I signed a contract with a non-compete clause, but I researched the matter at the time. At the very least, the clause must be time-limited and restricted to a specific list of employers.)

Then again, maybe Keith is ready to retire. One could hardly blame him.

Who's next? Rachel Maddow?

Bye Bye, Miranda?

The Obama administration has a new policy ("guidance," whatever that is) on Miranda warnings in terrorist cases. The policy is... well, actually, the policy is being kept secret. Here's Justin Elliott on Salon:

The Obama administration has issued new guidance on use of the Miranda warning in interrogations of terrorism suspects, potentially chipping away at the rule that bars the government from using information in court if it was gathered before a suspect was informed of his right to remain silent and to an attorney. 

But the Department of Justice is refusing to publicly release the guidance, with a spokesman describing it in an interview as an "internal document." So we don't know the administration's exact interpretation of Miranda, even though it may have significantly reshaped the way terrorism interrogations are conducted.

...

Some seem to think this guidance may be an extension of the public safety exception to the Miranda requirement. But this administration seems to feel free to do literally anything regarding any legal procedure, constitutional due process be damned.

Does anyone else perceive the notion of "secret rules" as nonsensical to the point of stupidity?

Report: Gulet Mohamed On Way Home To America - UPDATED

Recall my post of a couple of days ago, "If It Can Be Done To One American, It Can Be Done To Any Of Us"? Remember that American citizen Gulet Mohamed was detained in Kuwait (by Kuwaiti or U.S. authorities, either way without due process), allegedly abusively interrogated, and placed on the no-fly list to prevent his return to the U.S.

The good news is that Mohamed is on his way home. As of this writing, the plane has not landed yet, but DoJ assures (heh) that he will have no trouble on arrival in the U.S. If you think about it, this probably would not have happened, at least not so quickly, without active pressure from our side of the blogosphere (notably Glenn Greenwald).

Of course this does not mean that we have regained all our civil liberties or even minimal due process. Only when there are real assurances that this will never happen again, only when all those illegally detained are either released or charged, only when... Dog help us... the torture stops, can we sigh with relief that our civil liberties have been restored. Don't hold your breath.

UPDATE: This morning, Friday 1/21, Mohamed was detained at Dulles airport and questioned without access to counsel by government agents (FBI). There it is again... that feeling I keep experiencing that the Bill of Rights has vanished. Be sure to watch the video. Denial of counsel after that right was explicitly invoked by an American citizen is truly un-American, and speaks badly of both the FBI and Obama's DoJ.

(Facepalm)

Here's Harry Reid, quoted by Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun, via TPM:

...

I am going to go back to Washington and meet with the president of China. He is a dictator. He can do a lot of things through the form of government they have. Maybe I shouldn't have said dictator. But they have a different type of government then we have and that is an understatement.

...

As this was spoken during Hu's official diplomatic visit, I guess this is what passes for diplomacy by Harry Reid. True or not, the statement was unspeakably rude and should never have been made during Hu's visit. I've said it before: it's time for Harry to retire.

Hot Nuts! Get 'Em While They're Hot! Bachmann Speaks Her Mind

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Another Planet) says the GOP House caucus was sent to Washington to "repeal the current Senate" and "repeal a president." Her words, not mine. Watch her say 'em at the link above.

Shorter Bachmann: "Who will rid me of this meddlesome Senate and President?"

Shorter answer: given that a new Congress has just begun, and that it's two years until the next presidential election, no one can legally do what she asks.

Does her statement mean that she is joining the ranks of GOPers advocating violent overthrow of the government?

Or is she just completely fucking nuts?

(I tend to go with Option 2 above.)

Vma2on's Effects On The Publishing Industry

NOTE: please make the obvious substitution throughout this post. They will find it, of course, but I'm damned if I'll make it easy for them.

I thought I knew something about this topic, but Onnesha Roychoudhuri of the Boston Review, writing for the Investigative Fund (a project of The Nation Institute) provides chilling detail about the hardball tactics Vma2on allegedly uses with publishers. I am reminded of many of the practices I've heard Wal-Mart uses.

Here's an example: have you ever happened upon a page on Vma2on for a book you want to buy, but find that there is no Buy button on the page? Vma2on allegedly uses removal of the Buy button as a club in its negotiations with publishers who do not go along with its various services and practices.

In other cases, they allegedly "disappear" not just the Buy button but whole pages or catalogs of publishers who don't cave in to deals Vma2on "offers" them. You've heard of "an offer you can't refuse"? Vma2on apparently makes them every day. You can well imagine the impact this has on smaller publishers, as they cope with Vma2on's alleged attempt to leverage a larger discount out of them. That in turn reduces the variety of books ultimately published and available to you, and of course is a sharp stick in the eye of talented young authors attempting to get published.

And did you know that the retail price to you from Vma2on allegedly varies depending on your purchasing history with them?

Google seems to have abandoned its "don't be evil" pledge in the matter of net neutrality. Are these practices going to become the equivalent in the world of online book sales?

Cookbook Quote Of The Week

From 200 Fast & Easy Artisan Breads: No-Knead, One Bowl, p. 166:

The dough should feel soft and smooth all over, like a baby's skin, but not at all sticky.

Right. Pick one and call me back.

Isolated Incidents

Tom Tomorrow nails it.

The Announcement Of The Announcement of Joe's Departure

That's right: Holy Joe LIEberman apparently said today that he will announce tomorrow his retirement from the Senate in 2012. One can only pray to all that is holy (except Joe) that it is true.

Comcast - NBC Universal Merger Approved By FCC, DOJ

How long before there's only The Media Giant Corporation?

...

Both the FCC and DOJ imposed conditions designed to ensure that the new company would not unfairly limit other companies' access to its content, or limit consumers' access to other companies' content. The FCC approved the public interest portion of mergers while DOJ approved the antitrust components.

The FCC passed the merger with votes from two the Democrats and two Republicans on the commission. The sole dissenter was Democratic Commissioner Michael J. Copps, who said in a statement that the transaction was "like no other that has come before this Commission—ever."

"It reaches into virtually every corner of our media and digital landscapes and will affect every citizen in the land," he said. "It is new media as well as old; it is news and information as well as sports and entertainment; it is distribution as well as content. And it confers too much power in one company’s hands."

...

Those "imposed conditions" ought to last about 10 minutes...

AFTERTHOUGHT: Can we now call the FCC "Copps and robbers"?

'Wal-Mart Is Not A Person'

Thom Hartmann explains to a roomful of lawyers about the Citizens United decision, how the original statement of corporate personhood emerged from a preface written by a court reporter and not the Supreme Court's actual decision in the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case of 1886, and how our nation's founders were adamantly opposed to all but the most minimal of rights for artificial entities like corporations. It doesn't make us any less screwed, but if you experience any confusion about the Citizens United case, Hartmann will clear it up for you.

Headline Of The Week

From Votelaw:

Jefferson Co, AL: Nell Hunter has retired after servicing 47 years as voter registrar

That's a lot of servicing!

If It Can Be Done To One American, It Can Be Done To Any Of Us

I'm talking about what's happening to Gulet Mohamed, an American citizen detained in Kuwait, with no due process (how common is that becoming), apparently abusively interrogated, and unable to return to America because 1) Kuwait requires deportees to be placed on a direct flight to their country of citizenship, and 2) The U.S. government has placed Mohamed on the no-fly list, refusing to provide an explanation of why. (Mohamed found out by purchasing a ticket and being denied boarding of the plane.)

Please read Greenwald's post. If this can be done to Mohamed, it can be done to any of us. Welcome to our world of executive-only rule, otherwise known as dictatorship.

UPDATE:  If you fly (I don't), and if you take your laptop and cellphone with you when you fly, please read this Greenwald post:

For those who regularly write and read about civil liberties abuses, it's sometimes easy to lose perspective of just how extreme and outrageous certain erosions are.  One becomes inured to them, and even severe incursions start to seem ordinary.  Such was the case, at least for me, with Homeland Security's practice of detaining American citizens upon their re-entry into the country, and as part of that detention, literally seizing their electronic products -- laptops, cellphones, Blackberries and the like -- copying and storing the data, and keeping that property for months on end, sometimes never returning it.  Worse, all of this is done not only without a warrant, probable cause or any oversight, but even without reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in any crime.  It's completely standard-less, arbitrary, and unconstrained.  There's no law authorizing this power nor any judicial or Congressional body overseeing or regulating what DHS is doing.  And the citizens to whom this is done have no recourse -- not even to have their property returned to them.

...

The Bill of Rights is gone. Gone. All the fine speeches made by President Obama, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, etc. about our being a beacon of freedom to the world are just so much crap, nothing more. Welcome to totalitarian America; enjoy your stay.

Them's Fightin' Words

Via Susie Madrak, from Pensions & Investments:

Gingrich seeks bill allowing state bankruptcy to avert bailouts
Move afoot to help states escape benefit obligations
By Doug Halonen
January 10, 2011, 12:01 AM ET

Former House Speaker and possible GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich is pushing for federal legislation giving financially strapped states the right to file for bankruptcy and renege on pension and other benefit promises made to state employees.

Proponents of the measure — which include Americans for Tax Reform, a Washington lobby group that fights tax increases — said the legislation is desperately needed to clear the way for struggling states to slash costs before they go belly up, and should be regarded as a preemptive move that could preclude the need for massive federal bailouts.

“It's in the short-term and long-term interests of government workers and taxpayers to start those reforms now, rather than having to pick up the pieces after a crash landing,” ATR President Grover Norquist said in an interview.

“We are working with people inside and outside of Congress on this issue,” said Joe DeSantis, a spokes-man for Mr. Gingrich, whom Mr. DeSantis said is considering a bid to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

...

I paid into Texas Teacher Retirement System until I vested... back in the day, that was 10 years of hard labor for the great State... and now Mr. Gingrich wants to permit Texas to say "Sorry, Steve. We were just fooling when we told you that was for your retirement. We're gonna absquatulate with all of it."

Mr. Gingrich has no idea who he is tampering with. No idea.

New GOP Chair Has The Perfect Republican Name

After much acrimonious debate and seven rounds of balloting, the new GOP Chair is (drum roll, please...)

Reince Priebus!

Well, you knew it wasn't going to be E Pluribus Unum...

PATRIOT Act Likely To Be Renewed... Again

So much for the "sunset" provisions that made it possible for the Bushies to sell the original act. Lately it's been renewed year-to-year, on the basis that "it's only for a year." So far, it has been "only" more than nine years. Crooks and Liars has details. And yes, the FBI (at least) continues to abuse the act's warrantless surveillance provisions to peer into individuals' personal records.

This was completely predictable from the day the bill was introduced in Congress in 2001; indeed, I predicted exactly this on that very day... much good it did me.

David Rovics - Who Would Jesus Bomb?

It is astonishing to me how many self-proclaimed Christians advocate U.S. involvement in even more wars than we're in already. David Rovics has a question for these people: Who Would Jesus Bomb?

(H/T BadTux.)

Texas State Rep. Urges 'Religious Or Cultural Law' Ban

No place serves up cracked nuts like Texas:

Texas state Rep. Leo Berman (R), last seen getting shellacked by Anderson Cooper over his birther bill, is pushing a state constitutional amendment that would prevent Texas courts from considering "religious or cultural law" when handing down rulings.

Though the amendment doesn't specifically say anything about sharia law -- like a recently-blocked law in Oklahoma does, for example -- Berman said of the resolution: "A lot of federal courts are referring to international courts and laws of other countries. We want to make sure our courts are not doing this, especially in regards to cultural laws. If that includes Sharia law, then so be it."

The resolution says: "A court of this state shall uphold the laws of the Constitution of the United States, this Constitution, federal laws, and laws of this state. A court of this state may not enforce, consider, or apply any religious or cultural law." 

,,,

 Ahem (Steve sings, badly, of course)

How do you solve a problem like Sharia, ...

Aw, come on, Rep. Berman. You're not only a bastard, you're a stupid bastard, and apparently think the rest of us are stupid, too. This proposal is as unconstitutional as hell. You know it as surely as we do. And there's no remote possibility in Texas that a court would resolve a case explicitly according to sharia law. Yours is a purely political gesture, born of ignorance and aimed at your ignorant supporters. I can only hope you are defeated next election.

EPA Revokes Permit, Averts Mountaintop Removal Mining Disaster

One of the largest proposed mountaintop removal mining projects ever, Arch Coal’s Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, W. Virginia, has been blocked by the EPA, which has just fully revoked the permit for the project. Mountaintop removal is one of the most environmentally destructive mining techniques because the resulting debris... and there's a lot of it... all goes somewhere, often destroying streams and hollows.

Sierra Club provides more detail. The short version: "EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stopped a mountaintop mine that would have destroyed more than seven miles of vital streams and more than 2,000 mountain acres in an important part of Appalachia."

Memorial Service And Right-Wing Whines

I just watched most of the memorial service for the six people killed in Tucson. Everything was appropriate and predictable. But the Right had to have something to complain about, and they found it in the T-shirts distributed to the attendees by the university. The shirt bore the caption, "Together We Thrive: Tucson & America." If there's anything offensive to any American in that caption, I can't see it.

But I forgot something. Remember that the Right has determined to spoil every single thing in which Obama participates. If their action also spoils a memorial service for six people, that's nothing to the righties. The shirt contains nothing even remotely offensive, but they had to find something to fault in an event at which Obama spoke, and the T-shirts were about the only available target... anything else would have marked them... rightly... as unfeeling and insensitive for the world to see.

Ignore the sorry SOBs. They do not deserve a response.

AFTERTHOUGHT: I couldn't help thinking of Paul Wellstone's funeral, and the sorry bastard who was governor of Minnesota at the time who willfully appointed a replacement who was not a Democrat, because he didn't like the allegedly partisan tone of speakers at the funeral, never mind that Wellstone was to me the signature Democrat of our time. Since then, I have come to expect not one shred of fairness or kindness from a Republican in power or a right-wing pundit. It looks as if they have fulfilled my worst expectations tonight.

Shooting Event Cleans Glock From Store Shelves

Oh, now here's a rational response [/snark]:

Glocks Are Flying Off The Shelves In Arizona After Saturday's Massacre

Katya Wachtel | Business Insider

Sales of semi-automatic Glock handguns have surged since Jared Loughner gunned down six and injured 14 more, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on the weekend.

According to Bloomberg, one-day sales of pistols in Arizona leapt 60% on January 10 - the Monday after the shooting, compared to the previous week.

The owner of two Arizona gun shops told Bloomberg the store was "at double our volume over what we usually do."

...

Welcome to America, where if you're shot and you're not a member of Congress, you probably can't afford the necessary healthcare.