True Confession: I'm a Rove-gate addict

Those of us who have distrusted and detested this administration for five l-o-o-o-n-g years are following the scandal surrounding the outing of Valerie Plame like a serial thriller.

We smell blood. We discover fingerprints. A mysterious DNA sample turns up. Then a clue that might be the lynchpin slips thru our hands. But wait! Somebody reports seeing the suspect enter the victim's house that dark night. A muffled phone call hints at other players...

The New York Times, then the Washington Post and Newsweek uncover a little more every day. The amazing armchair sleuths at DailyKos, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo and other liberal blogs dig up more and more obscure dirt and speculate on how it all fits together....

Frank Rich today blew me away with the revelation (for me anyway) that Gonzales took TWELVE hours to notify the White House that an investigation was coming down - plenty of time for some serious shredding to occur, dontcha know. And all the Sunday TV talk shows hit the topic too.

I am spending altogether too much time on this disgraceful scandal and wish prosecutor Fitzgerald would just indict the heck out of these scumbags and let us get on with saving our democracy, bringing health care to all citizens, peace to the Middle East, and a halt to global warming. We've got important work to do!

Who's on First? Politics of the Absurd

Bush affects an air of perplexed innocence when asked about Rove's part in the Plamegate affair. What a liar! Helen Thomas, in today's Boston Herald, nails it.

Although he's the nation's chief executive, President George W. Bush apparently is going to have to wait for special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to tell him about the involvement of key White House aides in the CIA-leak affair.

Bush­ told reporters earlier this week that he doesn't "know all the facts" but that he wants to.

Of course, he could invite Karl Rove to an Oval Office meeting where the president could say, "Karl, what happened?" Or he could ask I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, to come clean.

Both Rove and Libby have been publicly identified as sources of information about an undercover CIA officer. Fitzgerald is investigating whether they or anyone else in government violated the federal law that makes it a crime to out someone with that status.

But Bush says he'll wait until Fitzgerald completes his investigation -- now in its second year.

"I want to know all the facts," he said. "I would like this to end as quickly as possible. If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."

Shouldn't the President KNOW what his staff is up to?

Talking to Republicans

Recently I sat waiting for my delayed plane to show up at the Portland airport. Across from me a woman was reading Ann Coulter's How to talk to a Liberal -- every now and then reading particularly "hilarious" parts aloud to her husband.

After awhile she looked over at me and I pointed at her book in a friendly sort of way. Then I pointed back at myself, and said, "Would you like to talk to one right now?"

A look of horror crossed her face. "Oh," she said. "I'm not ready yet."

It is not easy to talk with someone with whom you believe you share so little in common, but at my other favorite blog, Stories in America, liberal journalist Rose Aguilar is doing just that - meandering around the red states interviewing folks. If you read her earlier posts from Texas you'll find she poses the kinds of questions that really open people up to talking and to fresh examination of some of their automatic responses.

The most successful questions are open-ended: often beginning with such interrogatory words as what, who, how, why, when... Here are some good ones - neutral in tone:

What is your opinion of the state of the nation?

How do you feel about the war? how do you feel it’s going?

What about the economy? Has it affected your job/family?

What do you think we should do about health care coverage for the millions of Americans without it?

Do you identify with a political party? What does being Republican/Democrat mean to you?

Why do you think Republicans who are critical of Bush hesitate to speak out?

What message would you send to the Democratic (Republican) party?

I had a dream about GW Bush...

In my dream, Bush stands weeping before his staff. He has a gun to his temple and is preparing to kill himself.

"Why, George, why??" someone implores him. "Why now? We're SO close to controlling all branches of the government and the private lives of America's citizens. We're SO close to completing the merger between America and Big Business. And we're SO close to making fundamentalist Christianity America's Official Religion."

"It's all coming unglued," he says. "I am not smart enough to keep the lies straight any more. And once Karl starts talking, I know that he'll spill the beans on the rest of us to protect his own ass. Without Karl, I am nothing. I know they'll get Dick and Rummy next. Then me. It would be better to die than suffer the mortifiction."

Someone else says, "But what about the War on Terror? You said you'd see it through."

George begins sobbing. "Soldiers are soldiers. They agree to risk death when they go to war. But those little kids last week...." Tears stream down his cheeks. "All they wanted was some candy."

He pulls himself together for a moment, draws a bead on Cheney and fires.
Before anyone can stop him he also shoots Rumsfield.
The secret police pounce on him and haul him off to prison where Karl is already waiting.

I wake up smiling.

Obsessed with Rove's imminent demise...

Unless the scums create another news blowout to obscure the administration's misdeeds.

The bloggers on DailyKos, Think Progress, and Talking Points Memo (to name just a few) are all over this story, linking it by intent to the Downing St. Minutes and John Bolton - all to squelch evidence that there was insufficient evidence of WMD to justify this brutal war in Iraq.

Grrr. I want this administration to implode up its own asshole SOON, before they do any more damage to my democracy.

McDonalds, Coke and Tobacco - kissin' cousins

In 2002 a lawsuit (Pelman v. McDonald's) accused McDonald's of making two teenage customers in New York fat and unhealthy. Lawyers were trying to hold food companies responsible for America's obesity crisis. The food and restaurant companies (not wanting to be hammered like their cousin tobacco) immediately began fighting back.

Since then they've campaigned fiercely to make it impossible for anyone to sue them successfully for causing obesity or obesity-related health problems - and according to an artilce in today's NY Times they have had astounding success tackling it on a state by state basis.

Twenty states have enacted versions of a "commonsense consumption" law. ["commonsense" - a favorite word from Luntz's Republican playbook] They vary slightly in substance, but all prevent lawsuits seeking personal injury damages related to obesity from ever being tried in their courts. Another 11 states have similar legislation pending.

... the measures, along with a class-action overhaul bill President Bush signed into law this year, will probably make it harder for lawyers in obesity cases to win the kind of large awards seen in tobacco cases.

The National Restaurant Association, based in Washington, and its 50 state organizations, which represent large chains like McDonald's and small independent businesses, led the campaign. In most states, lobbyists for food companies and restaurants helped write the legislation and did much of the legwork in state capitols. . . .

According to data from the Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan research group based in Helena, Mont., in the 2002 and 2004 election cycles, the food and restaurant industry gave a total of $5.5 million to politicians in the 20 states that have passed laws shielding companies from obesity liability.

Adoption of "commonsense consumption" laws by almost half the states reveals how an organized and impassioned lobbying effort, combined with a receptive legislative climate, can quickly alter the legal framework on a major public health issue like obesity. "We wanted to make sure that frivolous lawsuits like this never made it to the discovery stage, which is where these things get expensive for businesses," says an industry spokesperson. [''frivolous lawsuits" - another Luntz favorite, used to belittle and denigrate any kind of attempts at reining in corporate power]

While industry reps see this as good old-fashioned lobbying, some critics say the process is flawed. "It's unnerving to think that public laws are being crafted by corporate interests that simply hand language over to a lawmaker to insert in a bill," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "These bills are intended to protect the industry, not the public." . . .

As the country grapples with the doubling and tripling of obesity rates in the last 25 years, the food industry stands firmly against efforts to make food or restaurant companies legally accountable for the problem. The National Restaurant Association and the 50 state associations lead a coalition of food industry interests, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Beverage Association and the Food Products Association. . . .

Many health activists and lawyers are willing to be patient, because they believe that public sentiment will shift when people learn the elaborate ways in which companies market products they may know to be unhealthy, especially products aimed at children.

"People changed their minds when documents started to come out about how tobacco companies misled customers about the alleged health benefits of light and low-tar cigarettes," Professor Daynard said. "Similarly, people will start to realize that Ronald McDonald is not their friend."

I can't wait.

I blame BushCo for London attacks

By his obsession with invading Iraq and getting Saddam (proving to Daddy and Mommy that he really is a big boy now) Bush left the job in Afganistan unfinished, Bin Laden still on the loose, and created a thriving terrorist network in the region that is rightly pissed off at America (and the UK) for devastating their country in the name of democracy.

I don't buy his line that we're "dealing with terrorism in Iraq so we won't have to deal with it at home." It may be just a matter of time. And we certainly are unprepared, given the lack of real homeland security measures taken in the US.

I don't like feeling so hateful towards another person, but Bush, Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfield are dangerous dangerous creeps.

Crapola Toss - perfect for a holiday weekend

When one is as "attached" to paper as I am, it piles up very quickly, especially when I'm involved in activities that require a lot of it... research for an article, tax preparation, chartering a new organization. Then there are all the informative articles on politics I download and print because I don't like reading long pieces on screen. Throw in a three day conference out of town from which I return with a satchel full of paper and all the junk mail that accumulated, and you've got enough to get a good-sized compost pile going if you add a little soil, chicken shit and water. Why not?

I spent the weekend getting back down to wood. Feel much better. Gave me the energy to tackle the protection of my blueberry bushes, which have been attacked by Mongol starlings in from the North. My ex designed an elaborate cage which works great to keep birds out. We'll see if I can still get in to pick the crop.

Howard Dean sparkles; Bush slimes

Yesterday there was a fantastic long profile of Howard Dean in the Washington Post (reprinted here). He comes across as a very real human being... one not simply mouthing words prescribed by pollsters and advisors. He's chastisted for spouting off sometimes, but so far he has only spoken the truth that other politicians are too chicken to talk about.

He is so different from the Rove/Luntz mouthpiece that now passes for our president. I can't believe people would elect such a hypocrite, such a puppet.

We need a leader with passion AND integrity. Dean's the man.

Krugman on the "Girth of a Nation"

Paul Krugman in today's NY Times points out yet another nefarious industry scam...

Not wanting us to connect overeating, or eating the calorie-laden crap they produce, with obesity, food industry greats like Coca-Cola and Wendy's have created a "publi c information" organization, "The Center for Consumer Freedom," to let us know about our patriotic duty to eat. From the website:

"Far too few Americans, remember that the Founding Fathers, authors of modern liberty, greatly enjoyed their food and drink. ... Now it seems that food liberty - just one of the many important areas of personal choice fought for by the original American patriots - is constantly under attack."

They heap contempt on such nutrition activists as the Center for Science in the Public Interest to the point where they've created a separate website, www.cspiSCAM.com just to bash them for suggesting that too much salt is bad for us, as is too much fat.

These companies are no better than Philip Morris et al... pretending like there's nothing wrong with their product and pointing the finger of blame instead outward at those who would try to protect the public.