Drinking Liberally in New Milford

5/2/09

What day is it?

Just a reminder, from the archives, concerning what a big part of Blogging is all about. Also, it is a reminder that every day is Blogroll Amnesty Day:

Celebrating Blogroll Amnesty Day!

It is a little early but Mike the Mad Biologist brings back an idea that skippy the bush kangaroo and Jon Swift got a lot of people involved in last February after January's link assault by some "A list" Bloggers:

"Speaking of Jon Swift, the start of 2008 seems like a good time to have another Blogroll Amnesty Day. If you're not on my blogroll, and I'm on yours, leave me a link below and I'll add you (note: racists, creationists, and flat-out weirdos won't be accepted). Instructions below the fold.

Please put your blog name on one line, and the url on the second line, like so:
Mike the Mad Biologist
http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/

or give me a line of html code, like so:

Mike the Mad Biologist

Thanks!"

Same goes for this Blog. If I am on your Blogroll and you notice that you are not on mine, tell me! I will fix it. Heck... Add me to yours and I will add you to mine. Just drop a note in comments here.

For me, it doesn't matter whether you are covering local Connecticut stuff, national politics, and or pretty much anything else. And if you click around you should be able to get a link from Mike, John Swift and skippy as well as from here! Four Blogroll links just for being astute enough to add 4 links from your Blogroll... Does it get any better or easier than that? [ed. note: Of course, for the cost of a few comments once in awhile you might be more likely to get links?]

Some ideas are worth repeating over and over again. It is all about building a better Blogtopia! (y!sctp) I was re-repeating the mantra to left leaning people to "Link Damnit!" in a piece on the "Blog Link Meta Backlash" around the time all of that stuff was going down:

(Here I am with another "Link Damnit!" moment...)

Skippy hops along in Jon Swift's "Liberal Linking Policy" footsteps:
skippy the bush kangaroo:
we got yer 'amnesty' right here

"and who are we to limit political discourse diversity? what's going on here? it's as if the major blogs are trying to emulate the democrats in washington who suddenly forget about their constituents.

(ok, it's not. our metaphors suck tonight. but we're pissed. so cut us some slack.)

ergo, we here at skippy are planning to retaliate by offering real blog amnesty. and here's how it goes:

many smaller blogs link to skippy for one or more of a few reasons: out of politeness, out of a hope that we might notice them and link back, or simply out of the imitation of what it takes to make a good blog. it's the second reason that interests us (we really should have put it as the last reason to be more clear with sentence structure (on the other hand, using less parenthetical phrases in a paragraph would go a long way towards grammatical clarity (too late now))).

to wit: any blog that has linked to skippy and has not received a reciprocal blogroll link will now be included on our roll! all you have to do is notify us in our comments section or email us, and we will happily include you! that will show those big shot elitists too good for the little guy blogs! ha!"

At a time when the bigger Blogs need to be doing more to help build the left community some are, and some aren't. I find it ironic that I posted just last week on Chris Bowers argument that we need to link more effectively:
If everyone on the left works a little harder on this we can turn the tides on on the Google Wars and win. We have already made a lot of inroads since this 2004 picture:

The graphs represent the aggregate linkage going on leading up to the 2004 election. Reds (them) are the Republican bloggers, and Blues (us) are the Democratic bloggers. The full expanation of the graphs particulars are on page 9 of the PDF paper. Basically, the first graph connects dots (blogs) when there is strong linkage between them (+25 during the period), the second one where there is less stronger linkage (+5), and they've a 3rd map that includes all linkage that I've not included.
Between blogs then (not taking into consideration that diaries on #8DailyKos and #17MyDD serve to allow massive coordiantion and spreading of message), there's just a lot more coordination through linking among Republican than there has been with Democratic bloggers, at least on the surface of particular URL's. The other interesting thing I noted was that the blog by George Bush's campaign didn't even make the top 40-- now that's pitiful.

We were less coordinated in '04. But in '06 we did little things a little better. I am sure the more recent graphs would look a lot better. But you know that we can still keep on improving on this.

Remember that every time you link to any site you are, over time, creating a kind of GOOGLEBOMB effect on that site when it comes to site rankings, search results, etc.. Tagging and choice of words that are used to link are important in these cumulitive effects as well.
Now this week... Brilliant at Breakfast has the scoop on how MyDD has become an apologist for those attempting to cut out the links that we need to build the Left:

Shorter Chris Bowers
"We innovate more than you, we hired people to help us, and because we did that there is no place for you lone bloggers anymore -- because WE decide who makes it and who doesn't."

Oh, you really have to read this self-congratulatory drivel to believe it. It's truly amazing to see one blogger fellating the entire Big Name Blogosphere in one post, while at the same time consigning the rest of us to the ranks of the MySpacers.

Kool Kidz Klub indeed.

It's funny how Bowers uses a quote by Jeffrey Feldman to illustrate his point, because as I've mentioned before, I had a very nice conversation about blogging just last week with Mr. Feldman, who seems to be in no way a blog snob. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is at least one Big Name Blogger who isn't puffed up with his own self-importance.

But with Kos and Atrios making a big show about "culling the blogroll", and Chris Bowers playing "Mine's Bigger" with the rest of the blogosphere, is this really what it's come to? Is this the Revenge of the Nerds come to fruition? Is this the guys who DIDN'T get laid on prom night finally staking their claim to coolness?

If so, are we going to sit by and take it? Are we going to just toil away while guys like Atrios and Kos and Chris Bowers define the rules and brand the rest of us as useless?

What an amazing flip-flop-contortion there Bowers... This leaves me wondering just how committed he really is to the cause.

Jon Swift puts it all in perspective:
I adopted this policy in a spirit of both self-interest and altruism. In the blogosphere links are like capital. By offering links to others, others would be more inclined to offer links to me. But I am also very grateful to those who helped me out by throwing a link my way or adding me to their blogroll when I was just starting out. Now that I am a Large Mammal, according the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem, I have tried to return the favor by helping out those further down the food chain.
Links are capital! It is the foundation of bringing views from fellow bloggers out of obscurity and into the top of search engine results. And just how much does it cost any blogger to spend some of this valuable capital?

ZIP. Zilch. Zero dollars.

Not even one penny to use the most effective marketing tool that Blogtopia has to offer.

All you have to do is put a few seconds into the act of cut'n'paste into your Blogroll or into a post... And you make a huge difference for everyone in our fight.

As ctblogger commented in an earlier MLN diary of mine on building a better community:
We should all work together to fight the good progressive fight and not be so critical in terms of other people's sites. I read CTBlue, Ed's Daily Rant, CT Local Politics, and the watch sites everyday and I learn something new from all of those guys which I incorporate into my site and that's the way it should be. Learn something from me and I learn something from you.

2006 is going to be a HUGE election year and Connecticut will be ground zero in terms of who controls Congress (2nd, 4th 5th district races). The faster we can all work to get this site up to full-speed, the more national attention it will receive.

He also called me out for not having links to his sites... Which I quickly fixed. lol

2006 is behind us but there are still a lot of common causes that we all share, and we can all help each other in achieving our goals. Linking is the first, easiest AND cheapest way to start.

For more background on all of this: Boston Joe has a Meta diary up x-posted at BooTrib and at MLW covering a bit more of this Meta discussion in a thoughtful way. Both have generated a lot of comments. I usually hate Meta... But this topic is the foundation of what Blogging is all about.

We can do better than we have been doing. And if we keep building on what we already have our numbers (and the fact that we deal in reality) will easily overcome the right wing echo chamber's lies and propaganda.

Start the new year off kicking Blogtopia (y!sctp) up a notch! BAM!

[update] Many Bloggers chose to participate in Blogroll Amnesty Day, but did it work?

Yes! But not perfectly:

Rotus correctly deduced that Technorati and the like don’t recognize blogrolls when they calculate how many times your blog has been linked to. They do count if the links are in a post so, like Rotus, I’m going to make a post of our blogroll so everyone can get a Technorati hit. It is alphabetical and leaves out the retailers.

As always, we have an open blogroll policy so if you want on, drop us a line in the comments. Blogroll after the jump:

A Blog Around the Clock

American Street

Argue with Everyone

Bitch Ph.D.

Center Face

Chuck for…

Clark’s Picks

Crinch Pin

Daily Kos

Drinking Liberally in New Milford

Eschaton

Firedoglake

Hullabaloo

I’ll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book

I’m Jus’ a Lil’ Dizzy

Ice Station Tango

Jon Swift

Kiko’s House

Last Left Turn Before Hooterville

Maryannaville

Memeorandum

Mike the Mad Biologist

Monkeyfister
Moue Magazine

My View of “IT”

Old Fashioned Patriot

On My Mind

One Good Thing

Ornery Bastard

Pandagon

Pharyngula

Pygalgia

Rightwingsnarkle

ROTUS

Sadly, No!

Shattered Soapbox

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo

Talking Points Memo

The Crone Speaks

The Culture Vultures

The Democratic Daily

The Ex-Lion Tamer

The Field Negro

The Great Endarkenment

The Impolitic

The Largest Minority

The Mahatma X Files

The Midpoint

The Osterly Times

The Political Cat

The Seminal

Undeniable Liberalism

World O’Crap

Zen Comix

I hope that helps a little in fixing the problem, and I still plan on using these Blogs for references in future posts...

Do you read a lot?

I do...
Just a Blogroll edition in an effort to keep the links in the technoratie count of my faves since Blogrolls don't do as much used to anymore:

1percentmoreconscious
Colin McEnroe
CT Bob
Connecticut Local Politics
ConnecticutBlog
CT Blue
CT News Junkie
Denis Horgan
Hat City Blog
Jaded Prole
Laura Elizabeth
My Left Nutmeg
New Haven Independent
Orient Lodge
Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman
Saramerica
Spazeboy
The 40 Year Plan
The Nutmeg Grater
CT Voices for Civil Justice
Cool Justice
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Savoir Faire Scribenoir
FatMixx
Undercurrents
Region 19 BOE Gazette
Presidential Politics
Politics in the Zeros
CT Smart Growth
CT Working Families
NB Politicus
Tom Gogola
West Hartford Blog
The Mad Liberal
Main Street Danbury
Stop The raids!
Caterwauled
CT Progressive News Wire
Politics Press
Without a Purpose
Jim Himes Blog
Irregular News
New Britain Democrat

by BlogRolling

Caterwauled
The 40 Year Plan
Region 19 BOE Gazette
Main Street Danbury
The Mad Liberal
CT Bob
Tom Gogola
CT Smart Growth
Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman
Saramerica
Laura Elizabeth
My Left Nutmeg
The Nutmeg Grater
Without a Purpose
Colin McEnroe
Connecticut Local Politics
Hat City Blog
Jim Himes Blog
Presidential Politics
Politics Press
Jaded Prole
Undercurrents
Cool Justice
Savoir Faire Scribenoir
Stop The raids!
1percentmoreconscious
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
West Hartford Blog
Denis Horgan
Irregular News
CT Progressive News Wire
New Britain Democrat
CT Blue
Politics in the Zeros
ConnecticutBlog
NB Politicus
Spazeboy
CT News Junkie
CT Voices for Civil Justice
FatMixx
New Haven Independent
Orient Lodge
CT Working Families

by BlogRolling 1percentmoreconscious
New Haven Independent
Politics in the Zeros
Tom Gogola
The Mad Liberal
Presidential Politics
Denis Horgan
Saramerica
Colin McEnroe
CT Smart Growth
CT Working Families
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Hat City Blog
Cool Justice
CT Voices for Civil Justice
Without a Purpose
Politics Press
Laura Elizabeth
Irregular News
Jim Himes Blog
NB Politicus
CT Bob
New Britain Democrat
ConnecticutBlog
Main Street Danbury
Undercurrents
Savoir Faire Scribenoir
Spazeboy
Jaded Prole
My Left Nutmeg
CT Blue
Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman
Caterwauled
Stop The raids!
FatMixx
Region 19 BOE Gazette
Orient Lodge
West Hartford Blog
Connecticut Local Politics
The 40 Year Plan
The Nutmeg Grater
CT Progressive News Wire
CT News Junkie

An Inch at a Time
Blue Gal
Booman Tribune
Brilliant at Breakfast
Disabled Americans for Democracy
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
ePluribus Media
Eternal Hope
Everybody Comes From Somewhere
Firedoglake
Howard-Empowered People
Hypnocrites
Intrepid Liberal Journal
jc's designs
June Revolution
Mike the Mad Biologist
Pam's House Blend
Pharyngula
Pushing Rope
pyzch
Shadow of the Hegemon
skippy the bush kangaroo
Surf Putah
Survivor Left Blogistan
The Bonddad Blog
The Field Negro
The Strange Death of Liberal America
Universal Health
Independent Bloggers Alliance (WordPress)
Independent Bloggers Alliance (Blogspot)
African American Politcal Pundit
Arabisto
Cannablog
Come Speak To Me 2
Dr Scotts Pulp Culture
Demokat
Fetch My Axe
Francis L Holland
Liberal Oasis
MWAPP
My Left Wing
Namaste
NG Blog
Reno and its Discontent
Simply Left Behind
The Blogging Curmudgeon
The Impolitic
Thoughts of an Average Woman
Videot Speak
Waiting For Dorothy
Hahn at Home
PSoTD
The Crone Speaks
Turn Maine Blue

African American Politcal Pundit
An Inch at a Time
Arabisto
Blue Gal
Booman Tribune
Brilliant at Breakfast
Cannablog
Come Speak To Me 2
Demokat
Disabled Americans for Democracy
Dr Scotts Pulp Culture
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
ePluribus Media
Eternal Hope
Everybody Comes From Somewhere
Fetch My Axe
Firedoglake
Francis L Holland
Hahn at Home
Howard-Empowered People
Hypnocrites
Independent Bloggers Alliance (Blogspot)
Independent Bloggers Alliance (WordPress)
Intrepid Liberal Journal
jc's designs
June Revolution
Liberal Oasis
Mike the Mad Biologist
MWAPP
My Left Wing
Namaste
NG Blog
Pam's House Blend
Pharyngula
PSoTD
Pushing Rope
pyzch
Reno and its Discontent
Shadow of the Hegemon
Simply Left Behind
skippy the bush kangaroo
Surf Putah
Survivor Left Blogistan
The Blogging Curmudgeon
The Bonddad Blog
The Crone Speaks
The Field Negro
The Impolitic
The Strange Death of Liberal America
Thoughts of an Average Woman
Turn Maine Blue
Universal Health
Videot Speak
Waiting For Dorothy

What? I wasn't kidding... I really do read a whole lot.

I just stole from Blue Gal...

And I feel B.A.D. about it.

I wonder how long it will be before she notices that I did a panty raid while I was there?

B.A.D Blogger... Very B.A.D. Blogger.

this upcoming weekend we will be celebrating the second anniversary of blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath anniversary remembrance day!

this year our partner in this endeavor, jon swift, will join us in celebrating this blogtopian-wide holiday all next weekend beginning on saturday.

update: we will officially start on saturday, jan. 31. the original blogroll amnesty day is february 3, but we're calling for a four-day weekend! huzzah!

as you may remember, the modus operandus of blogroll amnesty day is to link to 5 blogs smaller than your own, thus introducing your readers to new voices.

and may we stop all the stupid jokes right here, right now: yes, there are blogs smaller than yours, no matter who you are.

mas update: ok, so we can't even stop the jokes before they start. ergo, we will ammend the parameters: if you really don't believe there are blogs smaller than yours, then in lieu of making the stupid joke that there aren't any, ha ha, please link to five blogs with traffic equivalent to yours (or in the same ball park). as long as they represent new voices (new to your readers, at least), you will have satisfied the requirement. just please don't do the stupid joke!!

The moral of the story? Link up, link sideways, link down... And never trust a guy like me anywhere near your knickers...

[update] Other Blogs that participated in B.A.D.:

BLKDGRD
Reconstitution 2.0
Mahatma X Files
Peace Arena
Just an Earth-Bound Misfit
Corrente
Simply Left Behind
Outta the Cornfield
Mock Paper Scissors
Vagabond Scholar
Blue Herald
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Virtuous Skeptic
Cheyanne's Campsite
A Blog Around the Clock
Tangled Up in Blue Guy
The Hackenblog
WTF Is It Now?
Ornery Bastard
Moue Magazine
Newshoggers
Readin
distributorcap ny
Talking Dog
Welcome Back to Pottersville
Rip Coco
Comrade PhysioProf
Mike the Mad Biologist
Rotus
Chuck for...
The BoBo Files
William K. Wolfrum
From Pine View Farm
That's Why
Clark's Picks
TwoTonGreenBlog
The Aristocrats
Darkblack
Life's Journey
Just My Little Piece of the World
Kiko's House
That's Right Nate
Politickybitch
Kittywampus
Slobber and Spittle
Upper Left
Saying Nothing Charmingly
Carolina Naturally
NYC Educator
Barking Rabbits
Bark Bark Woof Woof
I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!
Third Estate Sunday Review
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Rawrahs
Thorne's World
Madam Miaow Says...
Right Wing Wiz Kid
The Great Endarkenment
Brilliant at Breakfast
At Home with Books
Graphic Truth
ThePoliticalCat
Zen Yenta
Stop the Press!
Ramblings
Brass and Ivory
Capitol Annex
Mahablog
Liberal Values
Miriam's Ideas
Watergate Summer
Steve Audio
Rubber Hose
J-TWO-O
Greg Laden
Pushing Rope
Badtux the Snarky Penguin
Mikeb302000
Pajama Pundit
Media Bloodhound
Some of Nothing
Liberty Street
Foma
Tin, Steel and Rust
Crooks & Liars
Onyx Lynx
Diary of a Heretic
Southern Fried Science
Scriptoids
Lost in the Ozone
Phil Nugent Experience
Jobsanger
Liberal Journal
Meta Watershed
When Will I Use This?
Divided We Stand, United We Fall
Scribble City Journal
Zaius Nation
Oooh, Hecky Nawl; That Guhl is Raw
Bifurcate in the Road
Left in Alabama
Buzz Twang
The Moderate Voice
Thinking Outside
Independent Bloggers Alliance
Muddy Mo
Popehat
Vast Variety
JM Bell
The Modern Left
Alyson Love
Almost Diamonds
Knight and Stars
Asian Conservatives
MS Maze
My Saturday Evening Post
The Flying Trilobite
Evil Mommy
The Impolitic
True Blue Texan
Drifting Through the Grift
The Quaker Agitator
Blogroll Amnesty Day Blog
Democratic Daily
Howard Empowered People
Ken Levine
Sciencewomen
Redlady's Reading Room
Social Seppuku
Slothropia
Evolving Complexity
That's Why
driftglass
Naked Opinions
Miss Cellania
Frieddogleg
The Reaction
Today's Sermonette
League of Ordinary Gentleman
Dinosaur Trader
Chawed Rosin
Wetmachine
Kirmalak
By Neddie Jingo
Johnny Pez
Republic of T
Sma' Talk Wi' T
Rob Singleton
yikes!
eTrilobite
American Street
The Garlic
Political Byline
Heresy Today
Evolving Complexity
Scientiae
GOPnot4me
Gone Like the Wind
Suzi Riot
Two Ton Green Blog
Over the Cliff, Onto the Rocks
Pushing Rope
Cookiesinheaven
Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy
Inverse Square
Truth, Justice & Peace
News Hounds
Connecting.the.Dots
Unspeak
Bug Girl's Blog
Indigo Journal
Byzantium's Shores
Balloon Juice

Anyways...

Every day is BAD!

Blogroll Amnesty Day - Celebrating the Spirit of Linking: blogrollamnestydaysmall.jpg. My good friends Skippy and Jon Swift are calling on bloggers to join in and celebrate Blogroll Amnesty day this weekend: today marks the three-day weekendcelebration blog-burst of bad, or blogroll amnesty ...; Brewed by Pamela Leavey at February 02, 2008 3:40 PM
Today Is Blogroll Amnesty Day: blogroll_amnesty_day_cake.jpg. About the only thing besides a martini-soaked foot massage from Bjorn the Houseboy that can get me out of bed when I’m not feeling well is a modest request from the very modest Mr. ...; Brewed by Myrna the Minx at February 02, 2008 1:52 AM
bad blogging around: the number of blogs celebrating the diversity of the smaller sites is growing! our favorite crankpot, maru, over at wtf is it now???; liquid daddy at zippidy doo da; chuck at chuck for...; david at the art of peace; ...; Brewed by skippy at February 01, 2008 8:13 PM
Blogroll Amnesty Day: From the day I started this modest blog I have tried to follow one simple rule, the Golden Rule of Blogging: Blog unto others as you would have them blog unto you. I don't call people nasty names because I don't like being called nasty ...; Brewed by Jon Swift at February 01, 2008 10:44 AM
swift reads 3: stephen herron at drinking liberally in new milford reminds us that february 3 is the first anniversary of blogroll amnesty day, which was once one of the darkest days in the blogosphere, but has now been turned into a celebration of ...; Brewed by Jon Swift at January 20, 2008 4:59 PM
Blogger Something day coming up...: this blogging alert brought to you by: Swiffer Reactions 8 Plastered Amnesty Mad on the Mike Biologyst frum Ze Swiffer: "have reminded me that this February 3 is the first anniversary of one of the darkest days in the blogosphere, ...; Brewed by Fade at January 11, 2008 5:08 PM
swift reactions 8: drinking liberally in new milford and mike the mad biologist have reminded me that this february 3 is the first anniversary of one of the darkest days in the blogosphere, blogroll amnesty day, the day that atrios of eschaton intitiated ...; Brewed by Jon Swift at January 11, 2008 8:05 AM
National blogroll amnesty day: skippy reminds us that Jon Swift reminds us that Drinking Liberally in New Milford reminds us that Mike the Mad Biologist reminds us that the first anniversary of the terrible blogroll amnesty day blogroll bloodbath will be upon us ...; Brewed by The Barefoot Bum at January 09, 2008 7:50 AM

4/28/09

Senator Arlen Specter Dumps the GOP

Holy Crap! Senator Arlen Specter dumps the GOP for the Democratic party:

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter shocked the political world Tuesday by jumping from the GOP to the Democratic Party – likely handing President Obama an EZ-Pass to drive his agenda on Capitol Hill.
The sudden move, coming as the veteran lawmaker already faces a fierce 2010 primary challenge from the right in the Keystone State, all but gives Democrats and Obama a roadblock-free Senate, putting them on the cusp of a 60-vote majority.
"I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," Specter announced on his campaign Web site.

I really thought he would become an independent...

[update] Via William K. Wolfrum, The batshit loopy GOP base lays its cards on the table:

From Twitter, Erick Erickson of Red State - which is truly the base of the GOP these days - had this to say about Arlen Specter’s move to the Democratic Party:

Guess now that Larry Craig is gone & Specter realized there was no teabagging at the #teaparty, he had to go Dem for Frank to fondle him.
Today’s conservatives - if someone upsets you, call them gay.

Truly dealing from the bottom of the deck on a sinking ship of fools...

Take a good hard look at the new face of NOM

The newest member of the anti-marriage equality group NOM, Orson Scott Card, is just a plain old lunatic that clearly proves, in his own words, that this is all about treating homosexuals as less than equal.

The hypocrites of homosexuality are, of course, already preparing to answer these statements by accusing me of homophobia, gay-bashing, bigotry, intolerance; but nothing that I have said here -- and nothing that has been said by any of the prophets or any of the Church leaders who have dealt with this issue -- can be construed as advocating, encouraging, or even allowing harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex.

Not Card - He isn't homophobic... And he isn't advocating harsh treatment of them. Is he?

After blabbering on about how homosexuals must admit that they are sinning according to the rules of Card's personal lifestyle choice, his own personal religious views that he is trying to force on everyone else, he later goes on to discuss appropriate punishment for homosexuals:

This applies also to the polity, the citizens at large. Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.

And he has the gall to title the piece "The Hypocrites of Homosexuality"...

You see, this has and always been about equality. The loonies at FIC, NOM and other anti-marriage equality groups are truly radical wingnuts that advocate Christianist hate and for treating others as second class citizens.

The latest face they have added to their stable of hate at NOM proves that it is all about equality.

But these days they know that they have to hide that fact because their real views are about as radical and un-American as it gets.

Chele, over at MLN, shows that Orson Scott Card has some serious problems with the US government. It is safe to say that his words do advocate for overthrowing the government and tossing The Constitution into the garbage:

When we're tempted to dismiss the anti-marriage equality crowd as a bunch of passe cranks who are losing their battle against civil rights and who will soon disappear to lick their wounds, we need to remind ourselves that their organizations harbor a lot of seriously deranged people. Family Institute of CT on a local level, and the National Organization for Marriage on the larger stage have the potential to be much more dangerous than they appear at first glance.
People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch has noted that the science fiction writer Orson Scott Card has joined the board of NOM. PFAW shares an interesting quote from Card, which appeared last July during the Prop 8 battle, in the Mormon Times:
How long before married people answer the dictators thus: Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn. [...] American government cannot fight against marriage and hope to endure. If the Constitution is defined in such a way as to destroy the privileged position of marriage, it is that insane Constitution, not marriage, that will die.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/...
NOM has put a man who advocates overthrowing the American government on their Board of Directors. One can only assume that NOM and their followers either agree that the government is their "mortal enemy" and that the Constitution is "insane" or at least have no problem with people advocating that the government of the United States be destroyed and brought down.

But these people at NOM aren't the radicals.

We are. Because. we. preach. real. equality.

And they aren't homophobes preaching violence, either...

(h/t Box Turtle Bulletin)

"About half the energy we use in America is wasted"

The BBC looks at the possibility of the USA "Innovating a way out of recession":

"About half the energy we use in America is wasted," says Dean Allen, the company's chief executive.
Half? That is an astonishing amount in a country that consumes as much as the US does.

"When it's free or cheap we tend not to focus on it."
The problem is how to divert the oil supertanker that is the US economy onto a more sustainable footing.
For many years there was not the political will to change. Now though more people here believe energy sustainability is important, either for the good of the environment, or to reduce America's dependence on foreign imports of oil.

4/27/09

5 members of Congress Arrested By Secret Service

For protesting human rights violations in Darfur:

Five members of Congress and two Darfur activists had themselves arrested Monday outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the continuing humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Uniformed Secret Service officers put plastic handcuffs on Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), along with Save Darfur Coalition president Jerry Fowler and Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast after the group stepped behind yellow police tape in front of the embassy.

Before being taken into custody, each of the arrestees addressed a small crowd of reporters and other activists who had been tipped off about the event. Each speaker called on the Obama administration to do more to stop the conflict in Sudan.

3 years ago:

5 members of Congress Arrested By Secret Service

For protesting human rights violations in Darfur:

Five members of Congress, including Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) were arrested today when they blocked the front entrance at the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. Their protest and civil disobedience was designed to embarrass the military dictatorship's ongoing genocide of its non-Arab citizens.

All told, 11 people were arrested outside the Sudanese embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, including six activists as well as representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston), Jim McGovern (D-Worcester, Mass.), Jim Moran (D-Virginia) and John Olver (D-Massachusetts). They were held in a jail cell for about 45 minutes and then released.

"If you're looking for lack of international morality, Darfur encompasses all aspects," Lantos said before his arrest. "Here we see the slaughter of innocent black women, children and men by a monstrous regime."

The eleven people were arrested and hauled down to a D.C. police station to be charged with "disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor."

[UPDATE] as Tengrain noted, the article I originally posted was the wrong one...

4/24/09

Help Wanted: Beat The Press Blogger Wanted in D.C.

Since there are so many over qualified candidates for this job in the Nutmeg state and so few good jobs available anywhere, I thought I would pass along this Think Progress opportunity:

Interested in working for ThinkProgress?

ThinkProgress is hiring a reporter/blogger to join our team at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. We're looking for enthusiastic applicants who ~~slave away at a keyboard~~ have strong research/writing experience, ~~don't sleep~~ have a desire to consume large amounts of news, ~~beat the media at their own game~~ have a passion for researching and reporting online, and don't mind being stalked by Bill O'Reilly's crew. Our new team member will produce content for ThinkProgress and our daily e-newsletter, The Progress Report. This is a full-time salaried position with benefits and requires the candidate to work out of our Washington, DC offices. A full job description can be found here. If you're interested, please email us your resume and a cover letter.

4/21/09

Harman: "Help Build My Defense Against Prosecution!"

What do you really think she really meant when Jane Harman was demanding all of the tapes be released to her?

Harman: "Bring It On"

In a MSNBC appearance moments ago, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) gave a strong denial that she in any way intervened in the AIPAC case or sought to make a deal to intervene in return for support for her becoming chair of the intel committee.
--David Kurtz

Trying to turn yourself into a victim of illegal spying is not going to change the fact that you are busted.

Also, AIPAC is not an advocacy group. They are a faux political arm spying on our country and helping American neoconservative traitors in a coordinated effort to spread propaganda for a foreign countries' interests.

The indictment of the two senior AIPAC staffers follows the indictment in may of Feith's footpad Larry Franklin. Franklin worked in the Office of Special Plans, run by then-Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, who reported to then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The OSP functioned as a "shadow" intelligence service on Iraq, and provided much of the information to the White House that was used to justify the American invasion of Iraq. Some wags have called it "Feith-based intelligence", since much of that intelligence and information has now been proven to be utterly false. At the beginning of May, Franklin was arrested by the FBI for the passing of classified documents to two AIPAC staffers, who were then to pass them to Israel. The documents in question concerned Iran.
One of the two newly-indicted AIPACers isn't just anybody. Steve Rosen, 63, is the man who built AIPAC into the $40 million dollar Capitol Hill powerhouse it is today. Buried in a Washington Post profile of AIPAC from May 19 is the skinny on Rosen as the power behind the scenes at AIPAC. Said the Post:
"For more than two decades, Rosen has been a mainstay of AIPAC and the architect of the group's ever-increasing clout. Though Rosen was listed below Executive Director Howard Kohr on AIPAC's organizational chart, people familiar with AIPAC's history say that Kohr is a protege of Rosen's and got that job with his help. Kohr declined to be interviewed about Rosen. 'He [Rosen] is a quiet guy,' said M.J. Rosenberg, director of policy analysis for the Israel Policy Forum, another pro-Israel group, and a former AIPAC employee. 'But everyone knows he's the brains behind the outfit.'"
Now, just what is AIPAC, you may well ask? AIPAC is the enforcer of the knee-jerk support for the Israeli government which characterizes the political and governing classes in this country, -- Israel is the real third rail of American politics: touch it with criticism, no matter how carefully couched, and you die. Both the Democratic and Republican parties fall all over themselves to kiss AIPAC's boots -- because AIPAC and its well-filled war-chest helps make sure they toe the line on Israel, and has been responsible for the defeat of a significant number of politicians over the years who dared to criticize Israeli policies. Earlier this year, AIPAC played a major role in destroying the candidacy of Tim Roemer for chairman of the DNC. There's an in-depth, critical profile of AIPAC by RightWeb's Michael Flynn that gives an in-depth look at AIPAC's arm-and-leg-breaking political style. And the newly indicted Rosen is The Man Behind the Curtain. Even though he formally resigned from AIPAC, the organization is paying his legal bills, and Rosen is still pulling the strings.
The reason for putting some daylight between Rosen and AIPAC is that the puissant political arm-twister is deathly afraid it will be forced to register as a foreign lobby, as the Jewish weeily The Forward reported earlier this year. Americans don't like the sight of their elected officials pocketing campaign cash from foreign governments, and AIPAC fears being forced to register formally as a lobbyist for Israel would thus diminish their clout on Capitol Hill. Bush won't make AIPAC register, and the spinless Democratic Congressional leadership won't lead the charge to make them do so either. But today's indictments of string-puller Rosen and his AIPAC colleague for spying on the U.S. gives progressives who want to see a peaceful, two-state, land-for-peace solution between Israel and Palestine a strategic opening to press loudly for AIPAC's formal shil registration as a shil for the government that built the Israeli Wall of Shame. It's a measure long past due.

Yeah... Harman may be just a horsehead in the bed... A warning shot to other guilty politicians. But she is also a fool if she thinks we are buying any of her faux outrage.

Yesterday, the Blogosphere erupted with Jeff Stein's CQ article suggesting that Jane Harman may have interfered in the prosecution of alleged Israeli spies in exchange for a committee chairmanship in the 2006 congress. The information was based upon leaks from wiretaps, according to the CQ article, of a "suspected Israeli agent". Today the NY Times adds new information that should send a chill down everyone's spine. The wiretapped "suspected Israeli agent" was working closely with California Billionaire, Haim Saban, a Major Democratic Donor. This whole affair is starting to smell rotten....

[update] I think that this Think Progress headline says a lot about the stupidity of Harman's position:

Harman: 'I'm Just Very Disappointed' NSA Wiretapped Me, After I Voted To Allow Them To

Hey, Joe! Where Ya Goin'...

With That Smoking Gun In Your Hand?

AN SUSTEREN: Even if it's -- first of all, is waterboarding torture?

LIEBERMAN: Well, I take a minority position on this. Most people think it's definitely torture. The truth is, it has mostly a psychological impact on people. It's a terrible thing to do...

Why do I think it was a mistake to give it out? I wasn't necessary. It just helps our enemies. It doesn't really help us.

Again, the president can decide what tactics he wants the CIA or the military to use on people we capture, suspects of terrorism. But to let our enemies know what we are going to do or not do, that's not a good idea.

Bullshit, Joe!

The President of the United States of America is subject to every single law and treaty that every single other American citizen is subject to. If his decisions are not legal within the framework of the law then he should be tried and found guilty of the crimes.

And those of you that participated in engineering these decisions to carry out these crimes of torture and rendition and/or participated in the cover up of these crimes are accomplices and just as guilty as the CIA officers, contractors and soldiers and prison guards that did your dirty deeds.

And it is no longer some BS debate about whether or not it was torture.

It was torture.

There are guilty people in both political parties.
There are guilty people in the military, the CIA and many other government agencies.
There are guilty people on the civilian side.
And there are even guilty people in other countries.

And you will all be served your just desserts at the end of the criminal investigations.

The one and only way to ensure that this never happens again is to prosecute every single one of the criminals and to ensure that they all do their time in jail.

And moving forward is impossible without looking back.

And Obama, the media and others can stop lying to yourself about bullshit catchphrases of "enhanced interrogations." This was torture.

Clearly torture. There is no rose on your bloomin' piles of BS.

4/19/09

Congressionally Approved Torture Tools for Lobbying 2

Since both the White House and Congress no longer consider prosecuting torture as a crime, it is safe to assume that we can begin to legally use these methods as legitimate tools to lobby our Congress and White House for the real changes we expect from our government. These methods that I document will be equally applicable to those who lobby against the interests of average American citizen on these issues.

Congressionally Approved Method of Lobbying #2

Method for lobbying Congressional members and White House administration officials that push for hate based and bigoted legislation against the LGBT community and Marriage Equality:

Making them face their own inner demons that are, often times, based on a self loathing because of repressed feelings concerning their own confused sexuality might begin to arouse their interest in equality for all as founding documents clearly defines it.

Standard Connecticut policed state disclaimer: Please read and clearly understand the meaning of "SNARK" before you waste my time and the taxpayers money following me around on the internet and in the real world. Just remember how stupid illegally harassing Ken Krayeske made all of you look.

This the second in the "Torture as a Lobbying Tool" series:

Congressionally Approved Torture Tools for Lobbying 1

Congressionally Approved Torture Tools for Lobbying

Since both the White House and Congress no longer consider prosecuting torture as a crime, it is safe to assume that we can begin to legally use these methods as legitimate tools to lobby our Congress and White House for the real changes we expect from our government. These methods that I document will be equally applicable to those who lobby against the interests of average American citizen on these issues.

Congressionally Approved Method of Lobbying #1

Method for lobbying Congressional members and White House administration members that push for funding of energy non-solutions such as the proven mythical "clean coal":

The symbolism of turning their mythical clean energy into a tool for lobbying for real clean energy solutions ought to shock them into doing the right thing.

Standard Connecticut policed state disclaimer: Please read and clearly understand the meaning of "SNARK" before you waste my time and the taxpayers money following me around on the internet and in the real world. Just remember how stupid illegally harassing Ken Krayeske made all of you look.

4/16/09

What? She can't include this in her per diem?

But I can't help but wonder if the same logic can't be applied to your daughter, Mr. Heath?

"I don't agree with what he's doing right now," Heath tells Us of Johnston's press tour. "It's not right. He's broke, so he's trying to capitalize on this. I wish he’d take some of this money he’s making and buy some diapers with it."

But Sarah Palin appears to be too busy trying to stay in the celebrity spotlight, as well, for her 2012 campaign and seems to use all of her money for legal defense funds.

And since you have resurfaced to inject Sarah and yourself into the celebrity spotlight of Us Magazine, Chuck Heath, would you care to answer a few questions about the Sandpoint, Idaho, Heath family connections?

Palin was born Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho, the third of four children of Sarah Heath (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin)

Up in the northwest, it's well known that Sandpoint, Idaho has a huge Aryan Nation/white supremacist background. My dad had lived there at one point, and we're not white. One of the more prominent family names there in the Aryan Nation is HEATH.

There is a price to the power, fame and fortune your family seeks and that is the loss of a typical citizens' right to privacy. Welcome to the beginning of your 15 minutes, Mr. Heath.

As far as Levi paying for diapers, I can sympathize with the mother expecting him to help support the kid because he should be if the child is his, but they both should have thought about how poor high school kids are when they both decided to do something that could lead to a dependent.

4/10/09

Brian Brown Champions Polygamous Gay Marriage?

Cough - Sputter ...

Ahem

NOM's anti-gay marriage campaign: 2M4M.

--David Kurtz

Who knew?

Not my best photoshopping effort BUT I cut corners and used a FotoTrix for the magazine cover part.

4/9/09

CODEPINK Crash Economy Club Party

Good for them!

VIDEO: Protesters crash Summers talk
Two protesters from the activist group Code Pink jumped on stage during a speech by White House National Economic Council Director Larry Summers Thursday, calling Summers a “toxic mess” and demanding his resignation.

The disruption marked the second time in a week the group has interrupted a financial gathering. On Tuesday April 7, protesters from the group interrupted a speech by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Their politically correct message?

“We want our $$$$ Back!”

Darn frigin' right.

4/8/09

I hope they mean talking about it...

"Oral sex linked to throat cancer"

Oh noooooes!

4/7/09

Glen "The Stewardess" Beck

David Waldman at dKos provides the paraphrased transcription of the most recent Glen Beck nutjobbery:

Blaming TV or radio hosts for the nutjob who killed three Pittsburgh police officers over the weekend is like blaming a flight attendant after a terrorist takes down a plane. In other words: Giving passengers a safety talk to prepare them for a worst-case scenario doesn't mean you are responsible should a terrorist make that worst-case scenario happen.

One person is providing important information. The other is a nutjob who would've acted no matter what.

Listen, Glen, and listen well...

The day I hear stewardesses calling on militant nutjobs to unfasten their seatbelts and prepare to rush the cockpit with their utility knifes in the upright position as part of their safety blurb is the day your most recent wingnutism will make sense when compared to your "grab yer guns before Obama does and surround them!" idiocy.

Video below:

The Courage Of the Vermont Congress

Many of us that support Marriage Equality didn't think they would have the votes to accomplish this...

VICTORY! Vermont votes for marriage equality!
Moments ago, the Vermont House voted 100-49 to override the marriage bill veto! The House vote, which followed the Senate voting 23-5 this morning to override Gov. Douglas’s veto, means that Vermont becomes the first state to OK marriage equality through the legislative process.

Vermont has now recognized the same Marriage Equality that Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa have already recognized.

[update] The NY Times explains why this is a bit of a surprise:

Approval had been expected in the Senate, where the vote was 23 to 5.

But the outcome in the House of Representatives was not clear until the final moments of a long roll call, when Rep. Jeff Young, a Democrat who voted against the bill last week, reversed his position. In the end the vote was 100 to 49, just slightly more than the required two-thirds majority of members present.

[udate deux] The Iowa Senate Majority leader, Mike Gronstal, is effectively blocking efforts to undo the recent decision of the Iowa Supremes:

One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time, there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country.

And my daughter Kate, after listening for about 20 minutes, said to them: You guys don't understand. You've already lost. My generation doesn't care.

I think I learned something from my daughter that day, when she said that. And I've talked with other people about it and that's what I see, Senator McKinley. I see a bunch of people that merely want to profess their love for each other, and want state law to recognize that.

Is that so wrong? I don't think thats so wrong. As a matter of fact, last Friday night, I hugged my wife. You know Ive been married for 37 years. I hugged my wife. I felt like our love was just a little more meaningful last Friday night because thousands of other Iowa citizens could hug each other and have the state recognize their love for each other.

No, Senator McKinley, I will not co-sponsor a leadership bill with you.

The video:

Good day for equal rights. Daughters and sons of miscegenation legal arguments past can cry me a river.

4/6/09

And the Prophetic Author Award Goes to...

Philippe Sands:

The Bush Six
By Jane Mayer - The New Yorker

About a year ago, a book came out in England that made a fascinating prediction: at some point in the future, the author wrote, six top officials in the Bush Administration would get a tap on the shoulder announcing that they were being arrested on international charges of torture.
If the prediction seemed improbable, the background of the book’s author was even more so. Philippe Sands is neither a journalist nor an American but a law professor and a certified Queen’s Counsel (the kind of barrister who on occasion wears a powdered horsehair wig) who works at the same law practice as Cherie Blair. Sands’s book, “Torture Team,” offers a scathing critique of officials in the Bush Administration, accusing them of complicity in acts of torture. When the book appeared, some scoffed. Douglas Feith, a former Pentagon official, dismissed Sands as “a British lawyer” who “wrote an extremely dishonest book.”
Last week, Sands’s accusations suddenly did not seem so outlandish. A Spanish court took the first steps toward starting a criminal investigation of the same six former Bush Administration officials he had named, weighing charges that they had enabled and abetted torture by justifying the abuse of terrorism suspects. Among those whom the court singled out was Feith, the former Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy, along with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer; and David Addington, the chief of staff and the principal legal adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Sands, previously, was involved in prosecuting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, as was the Spanish judge presiding over the Bush torture case.

[update] Just some added info for your research purposes taken from a bunch of previous posts on this topic in my archives:

Abu Ghraib: The Unrated Story

Do not watch or click through on any of the links in this diary if you can't stomach torture, abuse, death, sexual abuse and degradation, etc. and NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Sy Hersh has talked a bit about abuses at Abu Ghraib, but this time he gets the story from the General that investigatd the abuse, and General Taguba says that the investigation was blocked from going up the chain of command:

Taguba also knew that senior officials in Rumsfeld’s office and elsewhere in the Pentagon had been given a graphic account of the pictures from Abu Ghraib, and told of their potential strategic significance, within days of the first complaint. On January 13, 2004, a military policeman named Joseph Darby gave the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (C.I.D.) a CD full of images of abuse. Two days later, General Craddock and Vice-Admiral Timothy Keating, the director of the Joint Staff of the J.C.S., were e-mailed a summary of the abuses depicted on the CD. It said that approximately ten soldiers were shown, involved in acts that included:

Having male detainees pose nude while female guards pointed at their genitals; having female detainees exposing themselves to the guards; having detainees perform indecent acts with each other; and guards physically assaulting detainees by beating and dragging them with choker chains.

Taguba said, “You didn’t need to ‘see’ anything—just take the secure e-mail traffic at face value.”

I learned from Taguba that the first wave of materials included descriptions of the sexual humiliation of a father with his son, who were both detainees. Several of these images, including one of an Iraqi woman detainee baring her breasts, have since surfaced; others have not. (Taguba’s report noted that photographs and videos were being held by the C.I.D. because of ongoing criminal investigations and their “extremely sensitive nature.”) Taguba said that he saw “a video of a male American soldier in uniform sodomizing a female detainee.” The video was not made public in any of the subsequent court proceedings, nor has there been any public government mention of it. Such images would have added an even more inflammatory element to the outcry over Abu Ghraib. “It’s bad enough that there were photographs of Arab men wearing women’s panties,” Taguba said.

Via Salon, and don't bother to click through if you don't have the stomach for this stuff, and needless to say NOT SAFE FOR WORK:

279 photographs and 19 videos from the Army's internal investigation record a harrowing three months of detainee abuse inside the notorious prison -- and make clear that many of those responsible have yet to be held accountable.

snip

The 10 galleries of photo and video evidence appear chronologically in the left column, followed by an additional Salon report on prosecutions for abuse and an overview of Pentagon investigations and other resources.

Although the world is now sadly familiar with images of naked, hooded prisoners in scenes of horrifying humiliation and abuse, this is the first time that the full dossier of the Army's own photographic evidence of the scandal has been made public. Most of the photos have already been seen, but the Army's own analysis of the story behind the photos has never been fully told. It is a shocking, night-by-night record of three months inside Abu Ghraib's notorious cellblock 1A, and it tells the story, in more graphic detail than ever before, of the rampant abuse of prisoners there. The annotated archive also includes new details about the role of the CIA, military intelligence and the CID itself in abuse captured by cameras in the fall of 2003.

News you will never see from American news reporters on American Networks:

(Do not watch if you can't stomach torture, abuse, death, sexual abuse and degradation, etc. and NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)

On Wednesday 16 February 2006, Australian public broadcaster SBS current affairs program DATELINE telecast a segment featuring 60 new photos of the torture inflicted on prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These photos were secured by court order - the ACLU figures prominently in the report - but these photos haven't yet been shown in the media anywhere in the United States.

These files are all hosted on a server located in the United States to speed access for US viewers. If you do know how to use BitTorrent, please download the appropriate BitTorrent file and use that.

HIGH torrent: Link, MEDIUM torrent: Link, LOW torrent: Link

High download: Link, Mirror

Medium download: Link, Mirror

Low download: Link, Mirror

Waterboarding was way down the list of disgusting and criminal acts that prisoners were subjected to:

But The Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that the documents actually “contained details of how British intelligence officers supplied information to [Mohamed’s] captors and contributed questions while he was brutally tortured.” In fact, it was British officials, not the Americans, who pressured Foreign Secretary David Miliband “to do nothing that would leave serving MI6 officers open to prosecution.” According to the Telegraph’s sources, the documents describe particularly gruesome interrogation tactics:

The 25 lines edited out of the court papers contained details of how Mr Mohamed’s genitals were sliced with a scalpel and other torture methods so extreme that waterboarding, the controversial technique of simulated drowning, “is very far down the list of things they did,” the official said.

Another source familiar with the case said: “British intelligence officers knew about the torture and didn’t do anything about it.”

“It is very clear who stands to be embarrassed by this and who is being protected by this secrecy. It is not the Americans, it is Labour ministers,” former shadow home secretary David Davis said. But one unnamed U.S. House Judiciary Committee member told the Telegraph that if President Obama “doesn’t act we could hold a hearing or write to subpoena the documents. We need to know what’s in those documents.”

And the British are just as complicit in these sick criminal acts perpetrated by many in the Bush administration. Will there be any real justice in the USA ever again?

Two US Soldiers Charged With Murder

Details of various charges and the accused:

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US troops on Iraqi murder charge
Two American soldiers have been charged with the murder of an Iraqi prisoner, US military officials have said.

Staff Sgt Hal Warner and 1st Lt Michael Behenna are accused of the premeditated murder of Ali Mansour Mohammed.

They have also been charged with assault, making a false official statement and obstructing justice.

In other prison abuse news, further revelations on renditions and the prison at Diego Garcia continue to spin British politics:

Just three days after David Miliband's last attempt to draw a line under the story, the British Foreign Affairs Select Committee published its latest report on the British Overseas Territories (PDF), and was scathing about Diego Garcia, declaring that "it is deplorable that previous U.S. assurances about rendition flights have turned out to be false. The failure of the United States Administration to tell the truth resulted in the UK Government inadvertently misleading our Select Committee and the House of Commons. We intend to examine further the extent of UK supervision of U.S. activities on Diego Garcia, including all flights and ships serviced from Diego Garcia."

These new revelations, of course, leave the U.S. administration looking like bald-faced liars and the British government looking like myopic dupes. Whether Michael Hayden was also duped is not known, but his strenuous denial, just five months ago, that a secret prison existed, which was manned by his own employees, will do nothing for the credibility of the U.S. administration, which likes to pretend that it does not torture and has nothing to conceal, but is persistently discovered not only being economical with the truth, but also behaving exactly as though it has guilty secrets to hide.

Whether this scandal will awaken much indignation in the American public remains to be seen, but it is hugely damaging to the British government, which is legally responsible for the activities that take place on its territory, however much it likes to hide behind "assurances" from its leaseholders that they have done nothing wrong.

It scarcely seems possible, but Diego Garcia's dark history has suddenly grown even darker.

Once upon a time, the United States of America was a nation of laws.

Torture Is Illegal

And these are all criminals:

ABC News reported tonight that President Bush’s most senior and trusted advisers met in “dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House” beginning in 2002 to approve the use of “combined” interrogation techniques (the joint use of harsh interrogation techniques). Those tactics included whether detainees “would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding.”

Members of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee — Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft — approved the use of these techniques. “Sources said that at each discussion, all the Principals present approved.” According to ABC’s report, Ashcroft indicated he was troubled by the meetings:

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.”

Those people need to be locked up...

Rethinking Torture Tapes and the 911 Commission

Former Reagan administration Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Paul Craig Roberts, takes a look at the not so obvious concerning the destroyed torture tapes and the 911 commission:

Is the torture issue a red herring? The 9/11 Commission was not tasked with investigating interrogation methods or detainee treatment. The commission was tasked with investigating al Qaeda's participation in the 9/11 attack and determining the perpetrators of the terrorist event. There was no reason to withhold from the commission video evidence of confessions implicating al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Was the video evidence withheld from the 9/11 Commission because the alleged participants in the plot did not confess, did not implicate al Qaeda, and did not implicate bin Laden?

There is no reason for the Bush administration to fear the torture issue. The Justice Department's memos have legalized the practice, and Congress has passed legislation, signed by President Bush, giving retroactive protection to US interrogators who tortured detainees. The Military Commissions Act passed in September 2006 and signed by Bush in October 2006 strips detainees of protections provided by the Geneva Conventions: "No alien unlawful enemy combatant subject to trial by military commission under this chapter may invoke the Geneva Conventions as a source of rights." Other provisions of the act strip detainees of speedy trials and of protection against torture and self-incrimination. The law has a provision that retroactively protects torturers against prosecution for war crimes.

Did the Bush administration cleverly take advantage of the torture claims in order to spin the destruction of the CIA video tapes as a "torture story." It is conceivable that the tapes were destroyed because they reveal the absence of confession to the plot. As Kean and Hamilton ask, without evidence how do we know the truth?

Just some food for thought...

Canada Puts U.S. on Torture Watch List

This cannot be all that surprising since at the end of November Canadian Courts tossed out a “refugee/immigration” treaty with the US based, partially, on the courts recognition of the fact that the US tortures prisoners.

Via BuzzFlash and from CTV News:

Canada puts U.S. on torture watch list

Omar Khadr's lawyers say they can't understand why Canada is not doing more to help their client in light of new evidence that Ottawa has put the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on a watch list for torture.

Khadr -- a Canadian citizen who was just 15-years-old when he was captured in Afghanistan more than five years ago and taken to Guantanamo -- has claimed that he has been tortured at the prison. Now, CTV News has obtained documents that put Guantanamo Bay on a torture watch list.

Khadr's U.S. military lawyer says the new documents contradict Harper's assurances that his client is receiving fair treatment.

snip

Canada's new focus on torture was ordered by the inquiry into Maher Arar's nightmare in Syria. U.S. authorities sent Arar -- a Canadian of Syrian ancestory -- to Syria after he made a brief stopover in New York in 2002. They wrongly accused him of having links to terrorism in large part because of information provided by the RCMP.

Arar was sent to a Syrian prison where he was tortured for nearly a year. An inquiry into the Arar affair ordered a new focus on torture, and CTV News has learned that, as part of a "torture awareness workshop," diplomats are now being told where to watch for abuse.

Specific places noted for torture on their list include:

Syria
Iran
Afghanistan
China
United States
Guantanamo Bay
Israel

Notable is the fact that more than half of the places specifically cited in a training manual for Canadian diplomats, Afghanistan, GITMO, the United States and even the Syrian prison Arar was sent to under the US rendition (kidnapping?) program, are torture havens all under the direct control of... The United States.

Here is a CTV News video on the story.
And another video report here.

In November, the Canadian Courts had cited torture as one of the reasons to ditch a treaty with the US on refugee immigration:

Canadian Courts on American Torture Policies:
The Canadian courts don't seem to think too highly of the American torture of prisoners:
The Federal Court of Canada Thursday struck down a refugee agreement [judgment, PDF] between Canada and the US, noting that the US does not meet international refugee protection requirements or respect international conventions against torture. Justice Michael Phelan essentially nullified the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement , which barred foreign refugees who first arrived in the US from seeking refugee status in Canada and vice versa. Phelan noted that the US has not been compliant with the Refugee Convention or the UN Convention Against Torture. The court also held that the agreement discriminates against refugees based on how they first arrived in Canada and thus violates Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms .

The nullification of the agreement will likely result in Canada processing thousands more refugees each year. The US and Canadian governments have until January 14 to file an appeal. CTV News has more. [The National Post] has additional coverage.
This ought to make the crowd that wrapped themselves in faded flags feel pretty good about what they have accomplished under the criminal bush administration. This is the world view of America that you have created and supported.
Washington State Democratic Central Committee Passed Bush-Cheney Impeachment Resolution
Resolution Pertaining to Investigation and Impeachment Proceedings for George Bush and Dick Cheney

WHEREAS, there are already known and admitted illegal and impeachable actions on the part of George W. Bush, some examples being, in broad outline:

a) unlawful wire-tapping of American citizens,
b) deliberate manipulation of intelligence reports for the purpose of starting a war,
c) deliberate violations of international treaties pertaining to acts of war,
d) deliberate violations of international treaties pertaining to prisoners of war,
e) deliberate violations of constitutional rights provided in the Bill of Rights;

and... continue reading
Yeah... Impeach them.

Our politicians have gone beyond simply being embarrassing and should be considered criminal if they are not doing everything they can to stop this.

For video links and h/t jimstaro at ePluribus Media for video.

Why Some Democrats Refuse to Investigate for Impeachment - Part Deux

Just a rehash on the torture enabling situation. The other day I posted one of the main reasons why Dems continue to refuse to investigate and act on Impeachment:

Because some of the investigations would inevitably lead right back to some of their own members having been complicit in criminal actions:
It seems as if the "four" congressional leaders Harman refers to as knowing about the tapes were the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees: Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL), and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA). Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) took Goss' spot as chairman of the House intelligence committee that year when Goss became CIA director. Hoekstra told the AP that he didn't know a thing about either the tapes or their destruction. I'm calling Harman to ask her for her letter to the CIA about the tapes, and will bring it to you if and when I have it.

But the bottom line here is that at least some Congressional leaders knew something about the tapes and something about their destruction, and didn't say anything about either. Harman's silence is especially stunning: she co-chaired a joint Congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks in 2002 that didn't receive that very pertinent information. Why did she remain quiet about potentially criminal behavior? Marty Lederman has some thoughts here:
Jay Rockefeller is constantly learning of legally dubious (at best) CIA intelligence activities, and then saying nothing about them publicly until they are leaked to the press, at which point he expresses outrage and incredulity -- but reveals nothing. Really, isn't it about time the Democrats select an effective Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, one who will treat this scandal with the seriousness it deserves, and who will shed much-needed light on the CIA program of torture, cruel treatment and obstruction of evidence? ...
Jane Harman also knew of the intention to destroy the tapes, and she at least "urged" the CIA in writing not to do it. (Where were her colleagues?) But when she found out the CIA had destroyed the tapes, where was Harman's press conference? Where were the congressional hearings?

You are either with bush OR you are against him. If you enable the bush administration to cover up their crimes, you become part of the criminal conspiracy.

Glen Greenwald offers some further observations into this reality:

I continue to be amazed and disturbed by the number of people willing to defend the actions of Rockefeller and his comrades by claiming that these poor, victimized Congressional members just have no ability to do anything when they learn about outright lawbreaking by the administration. As I asked yesterday, why would they even bother to attend briefings if they believed that they were "powerless" to act even upon learning of serious illegalities? Here is the central purpose of the Select Committee on Intelligence -- the primary reason it exists, as stated by the resolution which created the Committee:
It is further the purpose of this resolution to provide vigilant legislative oversight over the intelligence activities of the United States to assure that such activities are in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
The Intelligence Committees were created as a response to the discovery in the 1970s of illegal conduct by the CIA and other intelligence agencies. The core function is to monitor what the intelligence community does and to "assure that such activities" are legal. It is a complete travesty for the senior Democrats on those Committees (and their apologists) to claim that they are powerless to act when learning of lawbreaking. Anyone who thinks that way should not be on the Committee. The idea that they can't do anything once learning of lawbreaking is the very opposite of the Committee's core purpose. But, of course, they were not and are not powerless to act. They simply chose not to act.
In addition to the other mechanisms for action identified here and elsewhere thus far that are available to Senators who learn of patently illegal behavior in a classified setting, key members of the Intelligence Committee could also refuse to cooperate in the enactment of legislation, block nominees, and otherwise thwart the administration's needs until there is some resolution. Such Senators could hold closed door hearings or announce publicly that they have learned of serious lawbreaking by the CIA (without specifying what the lawbreaking is) and demand that the administration agree to a classified setting to resolve those concerns (such as appointing a special counsel with security clearances or empowering a court able to investigate and adjudicate highly classified matters).

But they did none of that. They did the opposite: they continued to cooperate meekly with the administration, pass all of their demanded legislation, and keep quiet. Even for those who say that it's terribly unfair to expect our political leaders to subject themselves to any risk whatsoever in order to put a stop to such gross abuses, they could have acted in ways far short of some sort of melodramatic civil disobedience which would have risked imprisonment (i.e, they would not have had to go as far as actual leaders and patriots who did take risks in order to expose serious governmental wrongdoing).

If someone wants to defend these Democrats' complicit behavior (on the craven ground that what they did was understandable because it was politically wise), then they should make that argument. But nobody should pretend that these Senators and Representatives were "helpless" and had no options for putting a stop to Bush's torture programs and other lawbreaking if they were actually interested in doing so.

Needless to say, if anyone tries to argue that it is politically wise to ignore these crimes... They are no better than the neoconservatives and their GOPeeons that committed the actual crimes.

If there are Democratic party members that feel they are unable to do their jobs according to the responsibilities defined by their positions of power and the oaths they took to uphold The Constitution, up to and including putting impeachment back on the table, then I suggest they find a new line of work. Or, perhaps, prepare for a long visit to a prison with the other criminals they have enabled.

5/2/09

Shorter Chris Bowers

4/28/09

4/27/09

5 members of Congress Arrested By Secret Service

4/24/09

4/21/09

Harman: "Bring It On"

Bullshit, Joe!

It was torture.

4/19/09

4/16/09

4/10/09

Ahem

4/9/09

4/8/09

4/7/09

4/6/09

goblink

shots