Link: Ezra's Big Time

Ezra Klein has a great op-ed in the L.A. TImes. It's about another stupid California Proposition, but it's just a great column, and it speaks of wider implications. Go read it.

New Rule: George Bush must meet some new people.

Bill Maher:

...And finally, New Rule: George Bush must meet some new people. You know, when Americans see their president giving every job to the same old cronies, they use words like "loyal to a fault" and "stubborn" and "close-minded," "lives in a bubble," "sock-puppet," "asshole." "Worst president ever." But they're missing the point. The problem isn't his political philosophy - "kill people and animals and take their gas" - the problem is he has to expand his circle of friends beyond his mom, Karen Hughes and the House of Saud. Which is why before George Bush makes another political appointment, he has to join Friendster.

This week, President Bush had to nominate a Supreme Court judge, and he picked the most qualified person within 30 feet of his office. Her qualifications: well, she is a lawyer and former commissioner of the Texas State Lottery. And she's seen every episode of "Judging Amy." Abortion, affirmative action, separation of church and state. Yeah, let's ask the lady who peddled scratch tickets to liquor stores.

Does he just go with the first person he sees? I wouldn't be surprised if Laura was his sister. Now, of course, George Bush isn't the first politician to hand out graft gigs to his pals, but he doesn't seem to understand that that's what the bullshit jobs are for: ambassador to the Bahamas. The Recycling Czar. Head of the CIA. But George Bush puts stooges where they can do real damage: Director of FEMA? That guy from the horsie show is available. U.N. Ambassador? Dick Cheney knows a guy with a mustache and anger issues.

Supreme Court justice? Lady down the hall. Labor Secretary? The guy who helped me move that hooker's body at Yale could probably do it. You know - you know, Mr. President, when you got elected, we all figured you were no genius, but smart enough to hire qualified people. But it turns out you're just a dimwit who enjoys feeling superior. And the only way to accomplish that is to surround yourself with the likes of Mike Brown and Harriet Miers: Goober and Aunt Bea. Unspectacular souls who make you feel comfortable and unthreatened. Kind of like when Madonna used to hang out with Rosie O'Donnell.

Well, I hate to burst your bubble. But real friends are the ones who tell you the truth. They're also the ones who work hard so as not to embarrass you. These people who work for you aren't behaving like friends. They're behaving far worse. They're behaving...like family.

Yes, it's almost enough to make you miss the old pre-"honor and integrity" days. Because at least when Clinton talked about tapping the woman down the hall, he was just having sex with her.

There's more. And the one from two weeks ago is hilarious as well. If 'Real Time' were on every day, I might consider getting HBO. But, if it were on every day, it would probably suck. Coming up with stuff like that on a daily basis is asking a lot...

Baseball: Thank God.

Thankfully the Angels took care of business tonite. I wish I could wake up in NYC tomorrow and enjoy a full afternoon of Chris "Mad Dog" Russo giving it to the Yankee fans...

I enjoyed this little quote from the recap [link]:

A-Rod, just 2-for-17 in the final four games of last year's ALCS collapse against Boston, went 2-for-15 (.133) with no RBIs. Sheffield, 1-for-17 during last year's final four games, finished the series 6-for-21 (.286) with no extra-base hits and two RBIs.

"I had a great year, something I'm very proud of," A-Rod said. "I left my guts on the field, I left my heart out there. I'm not going to hang my head. I'm going to learn from it and become a better Yankee."

A better Yankee? Jesus. That just shows why A-Job will never really be a Yankee*. Here's Jeter:

"We don't play to just make it to the playoffs, we've been to the playoffs before," New York captain Derek Jeter said. "We play to win, and we fell short again."

Sorry, A-Rod, when you play on Jeter's team, this is the season, jackass! Fifty home runs only gets you to what matters, the post-season. And you don't show up. A-Rod plays for himself and the back of his card. A-Rod, Sheffield, Johnson, Giambi, Matsui, Contreras—all the money and all the trades, and all they have after the last five years is an old-ass team, no prospects and a payroll over $200 million.

Glad to see it.

(Yes, I know I am a Sox fan, and yes, a Yankees loss is as good as a Red Sox win sometimes—like when the Sox can't win any more games.)

* NOTE: As much as I hate the Yankees, there is a core group of true Yankees that are actually pretty classy, and dare I say, I respect. And homegrown even: Jeter, Rivera, the vastly-overrated Bernie, the cast-off Pettitte (who is about to carry another team to the promised land—Go Astros!) and I'll give Tino Baseball honorary status. All the rest? Wannabes. Big-ticket players that have never paid off.

Bush: Hacktacular

The New Republic has a cover story on the Bush Administration's cronyism. They come up with their Top 15. Guess who's toppin' the charts [emphasis mine]...

Miers's croniness quotient is high. After all, the president has given her five jobs over the past eleven years. And senior White House aides have repeatedly remarked about her devotion to Bush. A Bush official's Danger to the Republic factor can generally be gleaned by the importance of his or her new job. And, while we grant that some unqualified candidates have turned out to be capable justices, Miers's lifetime appointment to the highest position Bush is authorized to fill is like winning the hack lotto.

[...] In announcing his choice, Bush pointed to her storied career as chairman of the Texas Lottery Commission. Although the Commission has historically not produced many Supreme Court justices, Bush has reason to be pleased with her lottery service. Miers may not have dealt with issues like civil rights or the death penalty, but she dealt with bingo.

[...] Miers's solid job at the Lottery Commission and her other work for Bush catapulted her into the upper ranks of the White House. After three years as staff secretary, she beat out Brett M. Kavanaugh, a bright conservative lawyer with a John Roberts-like resumé, for the job of White House counsel. It was this job that positioned her to lead Bush's search for a court nominee.

Good stuff. And as bad as Miers is, you should get a load of #2—the clown in charge of FEMA in the Pacific Northwest. You know, the part of the country with earthquakes and volcanoes. No chance actual experience with disasters might come in handy there. Bush tapped a 38 year old campaign hack who ran a coffee business. I guess Arabian horse qualifications were scarce in that corner of the country.

Politics: The Pro-Torture Nine

Worth reminding people who their names are:

Allard (R-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Stevens (R-AK)

[courtesy Sullivan]

Ninety Senators think giving the military some guidelines and restrictions on treatment of prisoners is a good idea [link]. McCain and Graham most of all. They should know. McCain was a POW who was tortured himself and Graham was a JAG. The neanderthals on the list above are a Who's Who list of the the biggest assholes in Washington. Hopefully at some point the people who get to vote on them realize that.

Oh, let's not forget the Asshole in Chief who has vowed to veto it.

Perfect.

[Courtesy Atrios]

Music: Friday Random Ten

1. "Take the Power Back" - Rage
2. "Gideon" - My Morning Jacket
3. "Black Limousine" - Rolling Stones
4. "Supersatellite" - Our Lady Peace
5. "Gone Crazy" - Marcy Playground
6. "I'm Nuthin'" - Ethan Hawke
7. "In Memory Of Elizabeth Cotton" - fIREHOSE
8. "Go Let it Out" - Oasis
9. "Flame" - Sebadoh
10. "Spit" - NY Loose

To save space on the front page, go to the comments for the breakdown...

"Terrific! Funny, smart, and thoroughly enjoyable. . . Nicholson is charming!" USA Today

A post-production house organized a competition where assistant editors 're-cut' trailers for famous movies to try and make them seem like different movies... this is the winner.

Misc: Records Albums and Wristbands

It won't make it in the Friday Random Ten, well, because it's Thursday, but I have to give props to Genesis' "In the Cage" (Three Sides Live version). First, any song that lasts your whole commute is cool enough to start with, but I probably haven't heard that track in years. Awesome. It's easy to forget that before Phil Collins turned in to a giant easy-listening pussy, he was among the preeminent drummers in rock. Listening to this song was just a total timewarp experience to me. To back when I used to buy albums on vinyl and tape them because the sound quality was better...

Once, early in high school, for some "dress-up" Spirit Week thing, I went to school dressed as Phil Collins. Which, circa 1984, based on MTV concert videos, consisted of a grey T-shirt and wrist sweatbands... people were like, "Who the hell are you?"
"Phil Collins."
"Who?"

Anyway, needless to say, I love old Genesis. I know "Seconds Out" and the old Peter Gabriel "Live" are better, but "Three Sides Live" is special to me. In the car this morning, volume cranked, drumming furiously on my steering wheel (even though my hand is barely a week removed from being in a cast), I could still recognize the moment in the song where Phil leaves the front of the stage and climbs back to his bizarro lefty drum set to join Chester for a massive two-drummer jam. There's no cheer, no audible cue, just the sudden "doubling" of the drums. then Phil's signature "fills" start showing up.

Today will be a good day.

Comedy/Tragedy: Brilliant Bush Video

Watch.

This is brilliant. Andy Dick is great, and the Bush clips are hilarious. But I can never quite escape the "I can't believe this fucking idiot is President" disillusionment. How the hell was this moron ever elected, never mind reelected?

Over to the left [on the video's page] is a link to other videos. I watched the sex-ed video. A riot. I have a feeling I/you could waste plenty of time at that site.

[h/t LLatPoN]

Grrrr: What's More Odious than the Water in New Orleans?

Why, Republican-crafted legislation, of course...

Storm Victims May Face Curbs On Bankruptcy

[NY times link] When Congress agreed this spring to tighten the bankruptcy laws and crack down on consumers who took on debt irresponsibly, no one had the victims of Hurricane Katrina in mind.

The law was intended to keep individuals from taking on debts they had no intention of paying off. But many once-solvent Katrina victims are likely to be caught up in the net intended to catch deadbeats.

Right after Hurricane Katrina struck, several lawmakers - mostly Democrats but including some Senate Republicans - suggested that storm victims along the Gulf Coast should get relief from the new law's stricter provisions, which are intended to screen filers by income and make those with higher incomes repay their debts over several years. Under the old law, which remains in effect until mid-October, many more filers can have their debts canceled quickly in federal bankruptcy courts.

But House Republicans, who fought off a proposed amendment that would have made bankruptcy filings easier for victims of natural disasters, said there was no reason to carve out a broad exemption just because of the storm.

“...no one had the victims of Hurricane Katrina in mind…”

Bullshit. For the NY Times to pull a Bush "no one cold of imagined this..." is absolutely, fucking outrageous.

Perhaps they didn’t know what the name of the hurricane would be, but plenty of people had exactly this kind of scenario in mind when tring to stop this odious piece of corporate shit legislation. Natural disasters and a whole host of other unfortunate situations beyond the contol of people in financial straits are now meaningless, and those folks are shit out of luck.

Hurricane swept away your life? Tough. Guard or Reserve family decimated by the breadwinner being deployed in Iraq for nineteen months? Thanks for your sacrifice, get lost. Giant medical bills because you left a goddamn leg in Fallujah? Too fucking bad. You had cancer and had to stop working? Cry me a river. Someone stole your identity from a negligent credit company and ruined your life? Hope you can work that out...

Of all the crap to come down the pike in the last five years, this Bankruptcy “Reform” is, to me, the most personally offensive.

What happened to the Republican motto of "the market taking care of itself?" The lending industries are pushing too much credit on too many people who are poor risks, and they should pay the price for that business model, not be bailed out by the goverment with custom-legislation that fucks over tons of people with legitimate claims just to nail a few deadbeats.

Most Democrats were on the right side of this issue, and this should have been something to hammer the Republicans with next year. This is the real life consequences of the corporate sell-out of our government staring the country in the face. There's no pretending this was unforeseen. They ALL knew about it. So why isn't this an issue we can use? The problem is that too many Dems crossed over on this, giving this abomination the cover of "bipartisanship." Here's what I wrote in April:

There was no good reason for any Democrat to support this. Period. There was nothing "bipartisan" about this Bill. Republicans struck down every single possible amendment offered by the Dems that could have taken some of the edge off this horrendous bill. Often by a party-line vote. As result, the Democrats should have banded together and said, "Fine. We don't want our names on this thing, it's all yours." Why? Because there is not one single Democrat or potential Democrat voter in this country supporting this thing. In fact, I'd bet there aren't too many Republicans either. The only people who wanted this were the lending industries...

In 2006 it would have been nice to hang this anvil around the necks of the "Republicans who choose big business over regular Americans", but that can't happen as a nation-wide, Party message thanks to these 73 corporate whores. Thanks a lot for making defining our Party versus the Republicans a near impossibility. Fuck.

And If Joe Fucking Biden thinks I will ever vote for him after pushing that Bill, he's got another thing coming. And that goes double for Debbie Stabenow here in Michigan. She is dead to me. I hope everyone who's name is on the "yea" list goes down over this. They deserve nothing less.

Misc: Blowholeback

I heard this on the "coming up on the news" promo last night, "Armed and dangerous Navy dolphins escaped during the hurricane..." and I asked my wife "Did they just say armed dolphins?" Yup. Now, I'd heard of dolphins trained to sweep for mines, plant bombs on hulls of ships, and protect naval bases, etc. But trained "hit-dolphins" with toxic dart guns? Ezra has a link to the story:

[link] It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US Navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

[...] 'My concern is that they have learned to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?'

Ezra's right, this sounds like a GI JOE comic. I'm glad our billions in Homeland Security and Pentagon money is going into stuff like this. I feel safer already! Don't worry about those "unsecured" chemical plants, folks—the terrorists don't stand a chance against our laser beam-equipped eagles.

Hopefully the Navy has fully deployed its fleet of Sea Wolf subs in the search...

Misc: Politics Test

[via John Cole] JC links to a pretty quick politics test. Here's my result:

You are a Social Liberal (76% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (13% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

A bit due south of Cole. Frankly, I'm a bit deeper into the socialist area than I anticipated.

Music: Friday Random Ten

1. "Zooropa" - U2
2. "Changed Your Mind" - Chris Isaak
3. "Ruby Baby" - Donald Fagan
4. "She Said, She said [live]" - Matthew Sweet
5. "Clampdown" - The Clash
6. "Alive and Kicking" Simple Minds
7. "Since You're Gone" - The Cars
8. "Runaway" - Bonnie Raitt
9. "Weightless" - Chris Whitley
10. "Mr. Hanalei" - Sound of Urchin

To save space on the front page, go to the comments for the breakdown...

Blogs: Latest Nerdy Blog Meme...

Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

Ok. Wednesday, July 14, 2004. Here it is...

This nitpicking and finger-pointing is based on the Fall of 2002 and the 2003 SOTU address—all of that was water under the bridge by the time we invaded.

[Link] From back when this blog was about a month old. Before that I had nursed a diary at Kos.

I will say this: The title of that post remains one of my favorites (Public Enemy fans only need apply). Too bad no one was reading back then. Not that anyone reads now...

Katrina: The Onion

Ouch.

Misc: `Tis also "Keel-haul th' New York Times Day"

Matt Welch has an excellent follow-up on th' dirty, thievin' Kelo ruling, an' th' stance o' th' New York Times. An' th' fact that they, too, be usin' eminent domain t' screw th' wee guy. Go read 't ye lily livered swabbie.

Links: Hork th' New York Times

Friday`s Paul Krugman column be th' last one that appears fer free on th' NT Times website. From now on, Krugman an' much o' th' other content be behind a paid subscription wall. T'was always annoyin' that after a week, columns became a paid archive, now ye won`t e'en be able t' read Krugman at th' Times site at all without payin' fer 't, the dirty bilge rats.

Krugman`s column be syndicated (avast, he appears regularly in me Ann Arbor News), so ye`ll be able t' find th' lad's online somewhere eventually, but less conveniently. That be unless th' Times has somethin' in mind fer that as well...

Anyway, hork th' Times, an' here`s hopin' this aftfires on 'em profoundly an' in th' meantime, atrios gives us this link which archives all th' Krugman columns. E'en th' old ones th' NYT would try an' sell ye. Arrr, them horn-swagglin' scurvy dogs...

[Most o' this excellent sea dog translation courtesy o' this place.]

Misc: "Avast, me hearties!"

Monday be "Talk Like a Pirate Day," an' t' story be here. Aye, it be hogsheads o' fun for ye and yer friends! So ye best be learnin' t' be talkin' like a buccaneer. Some pirate vocab and phrases are here, and an English-to-Pirate translator is here.

Me pirate name is 'Evil Jim Rackham'... punching in Mr. Furious gets me "The Blood-Letter." I like it!

Music: Friday Random Ten

1. " One More Time" Joe Jackson
2. "Walks Like a Lady" Journey
3. "Sister Morphine" Rolling Stones
4. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" dada
5. "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" Chicago
6. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" Cake
7. "Lonely as You" Foo Fighters
8. "Driving South" The Stone Roses
9. "New World Man" Rush
10. "Fatman in the Bathtub [live]" Little Feat

To save space on the front page, go to the comments for the breakdown of this most excellent streak of tunes.

Bush: Time For Bush to Go

Bill Maher's "New rules." this is like a week old now, but if you haven't seen it yet... Video here.

Politics: Bush's Speech Tonite

Tonite, while you're watching President Bush, surrounded by artfully posed rescue workers, trying to desperately save face and thereby his second term, keep in mind that everything he says and everything he does is driven by desperation politics not sound policy.

At some point he's going to boast about the huge sum he will appropriate for the reconstruction of New Orleans. And it will be huge. The Bushies expect this to get them off the hook for botching the pre- and post-storm prep and rescue efforts, and that's all it is—guilt money. Well, that's not exactly true, it's also a monster giveaway of cronyism and corruption the likes of which will make the Iraq reconstruction crooks blush.

[WaPo] The president will call on Washington to resist spending money unwisely, but some in his own party are already starting to recoil at a price tag expected to exceed $200 billion -- about the cost of the Iraq war and reconstruction efforts. As emergency expenditures soar -- with new commitments as high as $2 billion a day -- some budget analysts and conservative groups are warning that the Katrina spending has combined with earlier fiscal decisions in ways that will wreak havoc on the government's finances for years to come.

Quit yer frettin', there's votes to buy and corporations to gravy...

Josh Marshall says it better than I can...

This worries me. Note the added emphasis. The clip comes from a piece in tomorrow's Post about yet another huge funding bill the president will roll out tomorrow for Katrina aid, which the Post says will cost more next year than the entire cost of the Iraq war thus far...

Bush and Republican congressional leaders, by contrast, are calculating that the U.S. economy can safely absorb a sharp spike in spending and budget deficits, and that the only way to regain public confidence after the stumbling early response to the disaster is to spend whatever it takes to rebuild the region and help Katrina's victims get back on their feet.

Regain public confidence in who? Is the nation undergoing a crisis of confidence in itself?

Put that passage together with this one in Mike Allen's piece in Time and I think you see where we're going ...

By late last week, Administration aides were describing a three-part comeback plan. The first: Spend freely, and worry about the tab and the consequences later. "Nothing can salve the wounds like money," said an official who helped develop the strategy.

What's driving this budgetary push is not a natural disaster but a political crisis, the president's political crisis. The White House is trying to undo self-inflicted political damage on the national dime.

[...] Maybe you want to spend $200 billion on rebuilding the Delta region too. Fine. Something like that will probably be necessary. But don't fool yourself into thinking that what's coming is just a matter of a different chef making the same meal. This will be Iraq all over again, with the same fetid mix of graft, zeal and hubris. Cronyism like you wouldn't believe. Money blown on ideological fantasies and half-baked test-cases.

You could come up with a hundred reasons why that's true. But at root intentions drive all. You'll never separate this operation or its results from the fact that the people in charge see it as a political operation. The use of this money for political purposes, for what amounts to a political campaign, tells you everything you need to know about what's coming.

In many ways this will be his most important speech yet. the stakes have never been higher for him. His approval ratings are worse than in the toilet (down in the 30s, which basically means his die-hard base is the only group that can stomach him), and the press is no longer afraid of him. It will be perhaps his last chance to assert himself and try to regain the territory lost over the last month.

So, what Bush is really talking about tonite is rebuilding his reputation, not New Orleans. And naturally, money is no object when it relates to his imagery, public perception and politics. It's a golden opportunity. Bush gets to lavish billion-dollar contracts on companies like Halliburton, and grease palms down to the most local of levels. And what of the resultant deficits? Well, "we're at War and this natural disaster we never budgeted for..." It's insulation from fiscal concerns and a club to wield on those who dare question (and a dessert topping!)

[UPDATE]: The Carpetbagger has more on the ideological reconstruction shenanigans. Go. Now.

Bush: Saggy Diaper that Leaks

"I think I may need a bathroom break?"

Come on, Mr Big Tough Swaggering Cowboy President, do you have to go potty or not? It's only the UN, just get up and go, or tough it out. I'm sure Bad Boy Bolton behind you there just lets it fly on the carpet...

A fucking Boy King indeed.

[link to original]

Courts: Hot Air From Hearing Reaches Global-Warming Proportions

Dahlia Lathwick at slate.com has an entertaining report from inside the chamber of the Roberts Confirmation Hearing. It sounds like a perfect storm of blowhardiness and pompousity [is that a word?]. Here's her conclusion [emphasis mine]:

One of the reasons Americans are not very exercised about the Roberts hearings is because they are genuinely worried about bigger things, like whether the federal government is equipped to help them through the next disaster and whether the Bush administration dragged the country into war on a pretext. But today it seems the senators are the ones hopping around isolated behind that marble edifice. You'd think this country were actually at war with a bunch of renegade activist judges who perform abortions on the side, while citing Ruth Bader Ginsburg and pleading the Fifth.

The Senate accuses the high court of being checked out. But the high court grapples with hard questions about the reach of Congress' power and the rights of enemy soldiers, while these senators rattle off canned speeches about overreaching judges. If this is the Senate tackling the tough questions, I'll stick with the court parsing the Commerce Clause any day…

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

Right after Sen. Coburn filled in 23 Across, he started crying during his statement. Be sure your Tivo is set for The Daily Show, this will be a banner week.

Mea culpa: Gas Prices Back to "Normal"

Well, I was wrong. After gas prices soared past $3 a gallon, I predicted they would stay there for a while and slowly, if ever, retreat to previous levels. I fully expected prices to stay in, at least, the $2.80s for the foreseeable future.

After driving around Up North this weekend and passing many a station charging $2.99 or more, I noticed on the way to work this morning that gas in Ann Arbor is back to pre-Katrina levels. The same $2.74 it was two weeks ago.

The part I did get right is that they succeeded in making $2.74 sound cheap.

So, for a couple weeks the oil companies got to jack prices 20 percent above their already record profits-levels, with no overhead on their part. Plus, the government will have to refill the Strategic Reserve at today's inflated prices. I'd say they "weathered the storm" rather nicely.