Jeffrey Sachs on Real Time

Jeffrey Sachs was talking to Bill Maher on Friday about sustainablity & how BushCo. has been fiddling for the last 8 years while the planet burns.
(h/t C&L)

Saturday Night Special

PiL

Rep. Clyburn on Clinton scorch & burn strategy

this is a fairly remarkable exchange, but not entirely "news" to those of us who have suspected this strategy for some time.

"He's dead to Us"

looks like some other folks have picked up on the Godfather analogy that I made way back in January.
here's Eleanor Clift from Newsweek:

"If the Clintons get back into the White House, it will be retribution time, like the Corleone family consolidating power in "The Godfather," where the watchword is, "It's business, not personal."
Not that anyone will be sleeping with the fishes with Hillary in the White House, but with the Clintons it's business and it's personal. Just think of all the scores to settle, the grievances to indulge."
"Notables who abandoned her for Obama will get the Big Chill. "He's dead to us," a Clinton aide was quoted saying of John Kerry, who along with Ted Kennedy was turned off by the perception of race baiting that led up to the South Carolina primary. A major donor, conflicted between the two candidates and apologetic over his backing of Obama, found Hillary less than sympathetic. "Too bad for you, because I'm going to win," she snapped."

(h/t matt yglesias)
we've already had nearly 8 years of this kind of dynastic family operation. can we really afford 4, or 8 years more? this kind of petulance is part of the reason we are where we are in the 1st place.

it's clinched!

Obama wins the coveted Superchunk endorsement!

the tide is turning?

follow this handy dandy Daily Show timeline & watch as Hillary transforms herself from inevitable nominee to complete wanker.

humpday interlude

The Jesus And Mary Chain - Never Understand

the only real winner

Tweety says it all:

Signing off, Chris Matthews says "Another victory for cable television tonight, the battle goes on..."

(via tvnewser)

every once in a while, he gets something right.

in the window

stasis

so, after 6 weeks of 'Bitter-gate', 'Flag-Pin-Gate', 'Sniper-Gate', 'Preacher-Gate' & any other Gate you can think of, we are in exactly the same spot we were in before.
unbelievable.
this feels like a party that has gone on far too long, it's into the next morning & the last few stragglers refuse to leave. someone please throw them out already! we're all way too tired for this crap.

the view from above

on this Earth Day, when so much overdue attention is placed on saving our ecosystem, it might be prudent to take a moment to see a macro view of the planet. the image above is from the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies website.
the red dots in this image represent all the debris that is now in orbit around the Earth. here's their definition of 'space debris':

"Orbital debris generally refers to material that is on orbit as the result of space missions, but is no longer serving any function. There are many sources of debris. One source is discarded hardware. For example, many launch vehicle upper stages have been left on orbit after they are spent. Many satellites are also abandoned at the end of useful life. Another source of debris is spacecraft and mission operations, such as deployments and separations. These have typically involved the release of items such as separation bolts, lens caps, momentum flywheels, nuclear reactor cores, clamp bands, auxiliary motors, launch vehicle fairings, and adapter shrouds."

( note: this image doesn't include active satallites )

more info at NASA site, here

War, Inc. trailer & clips

(careful with that scorpion, Hillary)
John Cusack was over at C&L tonight doing a live blog. it was pretty great. there's also more info from Cusack himself over at Down With Tyranny.

it staggers the mind

there were 37 shootings reported here in Chicago over the past weekend, 7 fatally. roughly, that's about 1.5 every hour. as the mercury rises, so too do the tempers.
(via the Chicago Sun-Times)

"The Sun-Times recorded at least 37 shootings from noon Friday to late Sunday evening, including seven fatal ones. [...]

There were 22 shootings between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday, and four more between midnight and 7 a.m. Sunday, Weis said. Four of the 26 shootings were fatal, and at least three were not gang-related. Seven victims were juveniles, and of those shootings, five were after curfew, he said.

Last year, during the same 24-hour period in April, there were 19 shootings."

it's significant to note that many of these shootings were committed with assault rifles, and still our politicians do nothing to strengthen gun laws. thanks NRA.

Elizabeth Edwards is Brilliant!!

Elizabeth Edwards slapped down McSame today in a guest blog over at thinkprogress.
here's an enticing snippet:

"John McCain accused me of taking a “cheap shot” on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” yesterday for noting that people with preexisting conditions, such as he and I have, would not be able to get health care under his plan –- and that he perhaps was not as sensitive to this problem as he should be since he has been in government health care his whole life.

Sen. McCain noted that he was not receiving government health care for the six years he was in captivity. That is true. But it has nothing to do with my point — which is that the problem with Sen. McCain’s health care plan is not how it affects us –- but how it affects the tens of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions who, unlike Sen. McCain and myself, do not have the resources to pay for quality health care.

That is not a cheap shot, it is a potentially life and death question for tens of million of Americans. And it is a question Sen. McCain must address."

(read the whole post here)

happy Monday

Spring is finally here!

(music: Brian Eno - Sombre Reptiles)

the shock of the .......

...completely obvious & expected.
does any revelation of past misdeeds from BushCo. even garner more than a mild 'harrumph' anymore. the political blogs are all abuzz this morning with reports on this article from todays NYT.

"A new New York Times article reveals that the Pentagon has wooed military analysts with private briefings and access to classified information “in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance.” Most of these analysts have ties to contractors who are “vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air,” and many admit that they suppressed doubts about the administration’s misinformation out of fear of jeopardizing their access or contracts."

These analysts were also instructed to not “quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon.”

(via thinkprogress)

didn't we all suspect this long ago? & more importantly, won't it all be forgotten tomorrow when the next 'BitterGate' or Flag Pin Controversy gets churned up by the MSM & their Corporate Fathers.
& most importantly & demoralizing is that BushCo. will skate away scot free as usual.

UPDATE: Glenn has a great post (as per usual) up on the subject.

"At the same time, though, in light of questions on this very topic raised even by the NYT back in 2003, it is difficult to take the article's underlying points seriously as though they are some kind of new revelation. And ultimately, to the extent there are new revelations here, they are a far greater indictment of our leading news organizations than the government officials on whom it focuses."

Saturday Night Special

The National - Mistaken For Strangers

Glass trailer

35,000 of the faithful

Barack Obama spoke before a crowd of 35,000 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia last night. His biggest gathering, yet.
sheesh, maybe he is the messiah.

Mrs. Straight-Talk...

... not so much:

"John McCain has released his tax returns for 2006 and 2007 today, his first release of such information in 25 years. However, unlike the Democratic candidates who released information for themselves and their spouses, McCain will not release information on his wife's estimated $100 million fortune.

The McCains' marriage has mixed business and politics from the beginning, according to an expansive review by The Associated Press of thousands of pages of campaign, personal finance, real estate and property records nationwide. The paperwork chronicles the McCains' ascent from Arizona newlyweds to political power couple on the national stage.


As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career -- even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems."

the elite of the elite

ala John Hodgman

Glenn Greenwald on DemocracyNow

Glenn Greenwald was on DemocracyNow speaking with Amy Goodman this morning.
he spoke at length about the disastrous ABC debate, as well as his great new book.
check it out. it's well worth the time.

something's fishy

Josh Marshall has a couple of posts over at TPM about the video question from the ABC debate the other night. they are both well worth the read.

Now, it does seem like McCabe is not a fan of Sen. Obama's. And I think we can assume that it's not a coincidence that McCabe managed to show up featured in the Times and also as the sole outside questioner in the ABC debate. Presumably, a researcher for ABC or Gibson saw the piece in the Times, figured, hey, this lady hates Obama and is seriously ginned up about the lapel issue. Let's send a camera crew and film her slamming Obama to his face. It'll be great in the debate.

...you usually assume that these citizen questions come from people who are at least partly conflicted about their support if not undecided. But it does reinforce my sense that the disgraceful nature of the debate wasn't just something that came together wrong, some iffy ideas taken to far, but was basically engineered to be crap from the ground up.

our craptacular 'liberal' news media at work. ABC news has been full of hacks for years (I'm looking at you Jake Tapper & John Stossell), but this takes the cake.

something to ponder

(via Cogitamus)

Do you think if Barack Obama had left his seriously ill wife after having had multiple affairs, had been a member of the "Keating Five," had had a relationship with a much younger lobbyist that his staff felt the need to try and block, had intervened on behalf of the client of said young lobbyist with a federal agency, had denounced then embraced Jerry Falwell, had denounced then embraced the Bush tax cuts, had confused Shiite with Sunni, had confused Al Qaeda in Iraq with the Mahdi Army, had actively sought the endorsement and appeared on stage with a man who denounced the Catholic Church as a whore, and stated that he knew next to nothing about economics -- do you think it's possible that Obama would have been treated differently by the media than John McCain has been? Possible?

And -- this is fun to contemplate -- if Michelle Obama had been an adulteress, drug addict thief with a penchant for plagiarism -- do you think that she would be subject to slightly different treatment from the media than Cindypills McCain has been?

no, but I bet McSame isn't bitter about his lousy bowling game.

something's shakin'

seems something was ashakin' this morning here in Chicago & I went & slept right through it.

Residents across the Midwest were awakened Friday by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that rattled skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop and homes in Cincinnati...
The tremors could be felt in downtown Chicago at the Tribune Tower, 435 N. Michigan Ave., for about 20 seconds beginning around 4:40 a.m. People across the Chicago area reported being awakened by rattling windows and shifting furniture.
The strongest earthquake on record with an epicenter in Illinois occurred in 1968, when a 5.3-magnitude temblor was recorded about 75 miles southeast of St. Louis...

(Chicago Tribune)

Obama in Raleigh

Road Kill stats

as someone who spends an inordinate amount of time traveling the highways & byways of this fine country, I'm really not too surprised by this new study. seems the same cannot be said for the scientists who conducted it.

"A surprising new study on road kill suggests some species, particularly amphibians, are so often victims of motorists that the phenomenon may help explain the decline of entire populations.

During the survey, they found 10,500 dead animals representing 69 species.

To find their study subjects, the researchers drove slowly in vehicles marked with light beacons, said coauthor David Glista. They worked in two-person teams "so there were extra eyes to observe traffic," he said, adding that there were frightening instances "where we had to question some motorists' skills."

amen, brother...

train wreck

lucky enough, I was out last night & missed all of the debate. from what I'm hearing this morning it was a doozie. really unexpected, though? I don't think we could have hoped for anything less from the MSM, especially ABC.

this little tidbit was particularly interesting. Georgie-boy getting his questions from the likes of Sean Hannity!? it's bad enough that he was allowed to moderate w/his long history w/the Clintons. that's certainly 'Fair & Balanced'.

"Screw 'Em"

so sayeth Hillary, circa 1995:

'In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.

"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."'

(more here)

humpday interlude

Wire - Kidney Bingos

Jon, on the nose

remember... Elite = GOOD

McCain's Media

lest we forget that the media just loves The Maverick, Dana Milbank reminds us in todays WaPo.

'John McCain and Barack Obama both appeared before the nation's newspaper editors yesterday. The putative Republican presidential nominee was given a box of doughnuts and a standing ovation. The likely Democratic nominee was likened to a terrorist.

At a luncheon for the editors hosted by the Associated Press, AP Chairman Dean Singleton quizzed Obama about whether he would send more troops to Afghanistan, where "Obama bin Laden is still at large?"

"I think that was Osama bin Laden," the candidate answered.

"If I did that, I'm so sorry!" Singleton said.'

oh, SNAP!

Obama was asked by Will Bunch if he:

"would seek to prosecute officials of a former Bush administration on the revelations that they greenlighted torture, or for other potential crimes that took place in the White House.

Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted"

(more here)

OBEY!

in case you missed the article in this weekends NYT about the candidates & all the assorted art that they are inspiring, then head on over to obeygiant.com. there's a link there to the article, which mentions Shepard Fairey prominently. Also there is a great section w/pics of all the different & assorted places where Fairey's Obama poster has been spotted.

Where's the outrage, indeed

C&L & the ACLU have started a petition to call for an independent council to investigate BushCo.'s admission that they sanctioned torture & therefore are in violation of laws including the War Crimes Act, the federal Anti-Torture Act and federal assault laws.
head on over & lend your support.

Obama fires back

Bullseye!

more on 'shamelessness'

Josh Marshall over at TPM has this:

'Theda Skocpol writes in ...

I have been in meetings with the Clintons and their advisors where very clinical things were said in a very-detached tone about unwillingness of working class voters to trust government -- and Bill Clinton -- and about their unfortunate (from a Clinton perspective) proclivity to vote on life-style rather than economic issues. To see Hillary going absolutely over the top to smash Obama for making clearly more humanly sympathetic observations in this vein, is just amazing. Even more so to see her pretending to be a gun-toting non-elite. Give us a break! [...]

Yes, she wants a big break, she desperately wants the nomination she and Bill believe is hers by right. We all know that. But where is her authenticity and her dignity and her sense of any proportion? [...]

This has to be one of the few times in U.S. political history when a multi-millionaire has accused a much less wealthy fellow public servant, a person of the same party and views who made much less lucrative career choices, of "elitism"!'

Our Dystopia

from today's WaPO:

"Imagine a world of streets lined with video cameras that alert authorities to any suspicious activity. A world where police officers can read the minds of potential criminals and arrest them before they commit any crimes. A world in which a suspect who lies under questioning gets nabbed immediately because his brain has given him away.

Though that may sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 movie “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise and based on a Philip K. Dick novel, I’m not talking about science fiction here; it turns out we’re not so far away from that world. But does it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one?

It’s a question I think we should be asking as the federal government invests millions of dollars in emerging technology aimed at detecting and decoding brain activity.

But that's only the beginning. Police may soon be able to monitor suspicious brain activity from a distance as well. New neurotechnology soon may be able to detect a person who is particularly nervous, in possession of guilty knowledge."

oh, boy...I can't wait.

Rachel Maddow on Clinton tactics

once again, Rachel hits the nail on the head.
(this audio clip is from her show on Air America)

completely shameless

there's just no other way to describe these desperate tactics.
Hillary had this to say today in Indiana:

"You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught be how to shoot when I was a little girl," she said.

Clinton said she has hunted ducks.

ABC News later reported that Clinton also visited a restaurant in Crown Point, Indiana to share a shot of whiskey with the locals:

Clinton stood by the bar and took a shot of Crown Royal whiskey. She took one sip of the shot, then another small sip, then a few seconds later threw her head back and finished off the whole thing.

Clinton later sat down at a table and enjoyed some pizza and beer, and called over Mayor Tom McDermott of Hammond, Ind., to come join the table.

"Every time I get around you we start drinking, senator," the mayor exclaimed.

Clinton nodded and raised her glass.

"It's Saturday night, though, Tom," she said.

(h/t huffpo)

Jesus, now we're back to the "Who would you rather have a drink with" criterium for electing Presidents. suddenly Hillary is a hard drinkin', gun shootin', rootin'-tootin' good ol' boy...err, gal. give me a break!
seems she's a Republican now, too. siding w/McCain & 'The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" that she knows so well. the whole scenario is just so pathetic & disgusting.
(is it November yet?)

Saturday Night Special

Airiel - Peoria

Bush really, really ♥'s teh torture, pt.810

is there any new revelation about this administration that has any ability to shock anymore. I mean is anyone really surprised at all to learn this:

"President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency..."

(via ABC news)

or this:

"The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority."

(via WashPo)
uggh...I'm going back to bed...

some days are more like this

MRI of migraine

let the hilarity ensue

some days are just like that.

BushCo. really, really ♥'s torture

ABC News (via TPM) is reporting that senior Bushies had top secret meetings where specific details of torture techniques were discussed & planned out.

":The high-level discussions about these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic.

At the time, the Principals Committee included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft."

According to a top official, Ashcroft asked aloud after one meeting: "Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly."

we have seen the dystopian future...& it is now.

humpday interlude

Paul Weller - That's Entertainment

Keith deconstructs Petraeus Hearing

this is a good summary & analysis of what went on yesterday. Biden & Clinton were both great in admonishing Petraeus that he needs to consult Congress not just inform them.

the Ballad of Shreve & Charlie

American history is peppered with legendary partnerships. Butch & Sundance, Frank & Jesse, Bonnie & Clyde. We should add to that list the names Shreve & Charlie. It’s a rare opportunity that one is allowed to witness such relationships grow & flourish. The very nature of these partnerships is that time is needed to merge reality & myth into legend.
But those of us who have been paying attention (& we are legion) to the tale of an orphaned coyote pup & the young woman who came to his rescue have been witness to a truly amazing story.
One that began with a cross country journey (Vespa Vagabond) & continues to unfold in the wilds of Wyoming (Daily Coyote). This week both Charlie & Shreve celebrate birthdays. I encourage everyone to head over & witness the story (in words & incredible pictures) for yourselves. Leave a nice birthday wish while you’re there.

Great American Hypocrites

there is an excerpt from Glenn Greenwald's new book, Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Myths of Republican Politics, over at HuffPo. go read it now.

18 sec. tribute

our hacktastic news media

Glenn Greenwald has another must read:

"Every day, it becomes more difficult to blame George Bush, Dick Cheney and comrades for their seven years (and counting) of crimes, corruption and destruction of our political values. Think about it this way: if you were a high government official and watched as -- all in a couple of weeks time -- it is revealed, right out in the open, that you suspended the Fourth Amendment, authorized torture, proclaimed yourself empowered to break the law, and sent the nation's top law enforcement officer to lie blatantly about how and why the 9/11 attacks happened so that you could acquire still more unchecked spying power and get rid of lawsuits that would expose what you did, and the political press in this country basically ignored all of that and blathered on about Obama's bowling score and how he eats chocolate, wouldn't you also conclude that you could do anything you want, without limits, and know there will be no consequences? What would be the incentive to stop doing all of that?"

(don't forget, Glenn's new book is out soon)

Saturday Night Special

giveth & receiveth

charity begins at home I guess.
(via huffpo)

The New York Times notes that most of the Clinton's charitable contributions went to their own foundation, which has yet to give away much of the money

Hillary is full of @#it, & a liar, too

Hillary is caught exaggerating (to put it delicately, lying to put it bluntly)...again.
what, she couldn't find a real horror story from the millions in the US healthcare crisis!? sheesh...she's just not trying.

'Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care by an Ohio hospital because she could not come up with a $100 fee.
The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.

“We implore the Clinton campaign to immediately desist from repeating this story,” said Rick Castrop, chief executive officer of the O’Bleness Health System.'

(via NYT)

horses & goat, central IL

McCain is full of @#it, & a liar

boy, "the Maverick" is sure doing alot of fancy footwork
today. 1st he gets booed & heckled during a very stiff speech
commemorating the 40th anniversary of King's assassination.
then he tap dances around his own history of opposing the creation of a national holiday commemorating MLK. here's a very uncomfortable interview aboard the "Considerably Less-Than-Straight Talk Express".

even Jake Tapper at ABC gets in a jab:

In Arizona, a bill to recognize a holiday honoring MLK failed in the legislature, so then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, declared one through executive order.

In January 1987, the first act of Arizona's new governor, Republican Evan Mecham, was to rescind the executive order by his predecessor to create an MLK holiday. Arizona's stance became a national controversy.

McCain backed the decision at the time.

MLK

(on the 40th anniversary of his assassination, peruse this photo essay of his last days)

let's not forget McCain's record in regards to MLK:

In 1983, while serving in the House, McCain voted against legislation creating MLK Day. Most Republicans (including then-Rep. Dick Cheney) supported the bill, later signed by President Reagan. McCain complained it “cost too much money,”

(via thinkprogress)

McCain is full of @#it

this is an amazing dissection of McCain's recent Bio Tour
2008. McCain refuses to get on board the New GI Bill. astounding when you consider that he is Branding himself 'the Military Candidate'. Wes Clark has more over at dailykos.

Bush really ♥'s torture

Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley was on Countdown tonight discussing the Yoo memo. here's a little snippet:

Turley:”…It’s really amazing, Congress, including the Democrats, have avoided any type of investigation into torture because they do not want to deal with the fact that the president ordered war crimes. But, evidence keeps on coming out. ”

(C&L has the video)

R.E.M. on the Colbert Report

this is just simply hilarious. enjoy.

Rachel smacks down Joe

I've been neglecting my love for Rachel Maddow lately. this video should more that make up for that.

Cuppa Joe is completely out of touch with McCAin version 2008, & Rachel sets him straight like only she can. (hint...she uses facts)
(h/t C&L)

pundits must die

Bush ♥ torture, pt. 2

a recently declassified 2003 Justice Department memo states:

"that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes."

what was that Bush was vehemently asserting over & over again?
something about "We Don't Torture". well, whattya know...seems we do. or at least did.

a reader at TPM puts it brilliantly:

"This is genuinely chilling. What shocks the conscience is that a legal scholar from one of our most prestigious institutions of law and higher learning could in his own mind on behalf of a government seeking to find a way around legal obstacles offer the same banal rationale for perpetrating unspeakable acts of torture and cruel treatment as all other totalitarian regimes: The ends justify the means. Why? Because someone cloaked with authority says it does."

(Glenn Greenwald has a great post up today on the subject)

a fitting tribute

the Huffington Post is reporting this initiative in San Francisco today. it's brilliant in it's complete appropriateness.

"the recently formed Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is looking to change the name of the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility. It seems the group would like to rename the SF Zoo adjacent facility to the 'George W Bush Sewage Plant"

(more here)

a view from the road