Out of My Mind

DeLay is such a class act, him and Abramoff using a "pro-family" organization as a front for influence peddling (to say the least). Sorry details from the Washington Post (reg. reqd.).

But really, is there not a legion of Abramoffs? And what will maybe nailing up to 20 congress-putzes of both parties accomplish? One would think many, most, are from safe seats which is to say even if the politico in question is retired (in the active sense), the replacement will come from the same party. So the more things change....

As I'm sure I've noted somewhere or other -- maybe even on this blog -- one can only hope a hostility to all things GOP will bring us another 1994 in November. Anything less will be pretty pointless; bidness as usual.

John Yoo, the great enabler of illegality and perversions of the law gets sliced and diced in a recent New York Review of Books article by David Cole that you can still read for free at the site.

Even the Times' "Public 'Editor'" thinks Keller full of crap, more or less:

THE New York Times's explanation of its decision to report, after what it said was a one-year delay, that the National Security Agency is eavesdropping domestically without court-approved warrants was woefully inadequate. And I have had unusual difficulty getting a better explanation for readers, despite the paper's repeated pledges of greater transparency.

For the first time since I became public editor, the executive editor and the publisher have declined to respond to my requests for information about news-related decision-making. My queries concerned the timing of the exclusive Dec. 16 article about President Bush's secret decision in the months after 9/11 to authorize the warrantless eavesdropping on Americans in the United States.

I e-mailed a list of 28 questions to Bill Keller, the executive editor, on Dec. 19, three days after the article appeared. He promptly declined to respond to them. I then sent the same questions to Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher, who also declined to respond. They held out no hope for a fuller explanation in the future.

(Full column here; above quote via Atrios.)

Would like to agree but Keller is so much what Pinch wants that it's almost pointless to dis Keller without insisting on a replacement for the boss.

From the Democracy in Iraq Matures to the Level of the Modern American Democracy Dept., Free Elections Div.:

Based on preliminary results from the December elections, Chalabi received 8,645 votes in Baghdad, well below the threshold a top U.N. official suggested this week would be required to win a seat.

(WaPo; emphasis added.) Any bets on whether Chalabi's supporters that count -- the ones in the Pentagon, not any Iraqis -- manage to change that and manage to get him a seat?

Why Ahnold is so beloved in California and not at all a wanker:

Schwarzenegger bond plan at $25 bln-$27 bln-report
Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:07 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to ask for an infrastructure bond issue of $25 billion to $27 billion, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday, quoting administration sources.

Of course, bond issues are a way to move wealth from those with not much to those with too much. A fiscally responsible politico wouldn't need a bond issue.

A little wingnut perversity and dementia:

Actual result of Rasmussen poll: ""[s]ixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States."

Headline from wignut blog Ace of Spades: 64% Say Warrantless Eavesdropping OK

(By way of my comrade, firedoglake.)

Intercept and warrantless illegal spying ain't the same thing. The nutjobs would love to make it so, and Big Media courtiers would go along with that, but it just ain't so. Jeez, we need a seance to bring in the spirit of George Orwell....

And in the same vein:

He's Stupid and He's Ugly and Nobody Likes Him

Just on CNN. Bush favorability rating (not job approval) hits all time low in CNN Gallup poll.

46 favorable/53 unfavorable.

What was it Chris Matthews said? Oh yes, it was:

Everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs.

All 53% of us.

(Via Atrios again.)

From Silent Majority to the Whack-Job Majority....

A sizeable minority, meanwhile, outside the administration and its courtiers, still believe in crap. Details here.

Why the "If Israel Does it We Should do it" defense for illegal spying is crap is spelled out here:

CNN has had the annoying Kelli Arena in Israel all week, travelling with a group of law enforcement from Louisiana that is studying how Israel handles the threat of terrorism (I wrote about this briefly the other day). I'm not sure what their point is supposed to be, but the subtext is clear - that Israel is better prepared for terrorism, and we could be too if we put armed guards and surveillance cammeras everywhere, built a concrete wall around the country and subjected ourselves to random searches by 'civil patrol officers.'

I'll respond to this foolishness by paraphrasing my mother - 'If Israel jumped off a bridge, would we do it, too?'

***

But there is a subtle form of conditioning going on here. Arena's reports refer repeatedly to 'the next terror attack in America,' as if it's a foregone conclusion that another 9/11 is right around the corner, and we'd better deploy those cameras and set up those checkpoints now if we want to have the slightest hope of living through it.

***

Part of the problem at this point is that no matter what the size of a terror attack - most likely a small bomb against public transportation or in a public place - would be automatically treated as on the same level as two jet planes flying into skyscrapers and bringing them down. And you can bet that the reaction from this government would be to lash out and kill a bunch of people, because that's pretty much what they do. If a trash can in Penn Station is someday blown up in the name of jihad, who knows what kind of crackdown would be inflicted upon the citizens of this country?

That's why I consider reports like Arena's to be nothing more than pernicious fear-mongering, and I wish to hell they wouldn't do it. Images of guards with machine guns are presented, and Arena says it's 'normal.'

It's not normal. Not here. There are fundamental differences between this country and Israel that are so obvious I can't believe I'm taking the time to point them out. Unless you want to consider Canada or Mexico a sworn enemy of the United states, there is no equivalent as far as proximity to an enemy. A wall around Israel makes sense, simply because there are suicide bombers that can walk or ride across a common border and kill people. That's a reality for Israel - there is no equal number as far as the United States is concerned.

And while there's always a possibility that you'll die in a terror attack, there's also a possibility that you'll get hit by a truck, or shot by a gang member with a gun, or have a brick wall or scaffold collapse on you. Death is a daily gamble for every person everywhere, and that's a fact. If you're so goddamned scared of being killed by a terrorist, then stock up on canned goods, put bars on your windows and hole up in your basement with a goddamned shotgun. Don't even advocate putting up walls on American borders or putting guards with machine guns in shopping malls, and don't try selling me on the notion that it's somehow 'normal.'

For CNN to even submit these measures for consideration is appealing to the low-level fear that Bush and his fellow fear merchants have instilled into this country. It is disingenuous, and it hurts this country. Americans should reject it out of hand.

'Nuff said!