Dubious Dems

Here's a list of Democratic House members who voted in favor of both the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act and the Military Commissions Act. If I had some buckets of money to spend to finance a serious Democratic primary campaign, these are incumbents I'd look at first.

Robert Andrews (NJ-1st) *

Melissa Bean (IL-8th)

Sanford Bishop (GA-2nd))

Dan Boren (OK-2nd)

Leonard Boswell (IA-3rd) *

Allen Boyd (FL-2nd) *

Ben Chandler (KY-6th)

Bud Cramer (AL-5th)

Henry Cuellar (TX-28th)

Artur Davis (AL-7th) *

Lincoln Davis (TN-4th)

Chet Edwards (TX-17th)

Bob Etheridge (NC-2nd)

Harold Ford (TN-9th)

Bart Gordon (TN-6th) *

Stephanie Herseth (SD-At-Large)

Brian Higgins (NY-27th)

Tim Holden (PA-17th)

Jim Matheson (UT-2nd)

Mike McIntyre (NC-7th)

Charlie Melancon (LA-3rd)

Mike Michaud (ME-2nd)

Dennis Moore (KS-3rd) *

Collin Peterson (MN-7th) *

Earl Pomeroy (ND-At-Large)

Mike Ross (AR-4th)

John Salazar (CO-3rd) *

David Scott (GA-13th)

John Spratt (SC-5th) [gets props for voting against the Schiavo bill]

John Tanner (TN-8th)

Gene Taylor (MS-4th) *

Update: I did a check of the vote on the Terry Schiavo bill. Only one of the above representatives (John Spratt) voted against that law. Those listed with an asterisk simply did not vote on the Schaivo bill.

New Tune: "Pull Up a Chair"

The title is derived by the Saturday morning chats at the wonderful Firedoglake blog. This is just some instrumental music (muzak?) I assembled with the help of software. Click on the icon to bring up a pop-up music player (requires javascript) and then click on the play button. ;)

Keeping the "Lamont Score"

I posted this comment at Firedoglake on November 11th...

Personally, I’d like to see BlueAmerica use some of it’s influence to keep wayward Dems in line. Perhaps listing all Dems coming up for reelection in 2008 and giving them a “Lamont Score” based on degree of support for progressive causes, avoidance of K Street coziness, and perhaps one other measure. Those with low scores would be targeted for a primary challenge with funding from BlueAmerica. Of course there may not be a progressive candidate to take the incumbent on but the threat alone might induce some behavior modification.

The third measure mentioned above should be how well the politician avoided using his/her position to achieve some sort of sweetheart deal or in some other way reflecting poorly on the Democratic party.

It's too soon to pass judgment on a few high profile Dems who have recently been in the news for potential ethics issues so I won't mention any names other than Albert Wynn (D-MD) who should wake up and smell the coffee given how closely Donna Edwards came to defeating him in the Democratic primary. As I said before, I realize that there may not be a progressive candidate willing to take on a well established incumbent with a poor "Lamont score". But a politician with a poor "Lamont Score" should understand that he/she is being flagged for a primary challenge with funding support by ActBlue. The Lamont victory in the Connecticut primary and the Edwards near-victory in the Maryland primary should be sufficient to keep a few of these wavering Dems in line.

New Song: "I Blame Clinton"

A song for the Republican pundits out there. The words have been
placed in the public domain.

(v. 1)

Well Osama ain'’t been found
Iraq casualties abound
And I blame Clinton

That ol'’ deficits a mess
Coulter wears that same old dress
Well I blame Clinton

We got Foley’'s pedophile emails
Abrahamoff's goin’' to jail
Well blame it on Clinton

(v.2)
North Korea’'s got a nuke
Mid-terms look like a rebuke
And I blame Clinton

There'’s a bird flu on the loose
And Limbaugh’'s had some drug abuse
But I blame Clinton

If there'’s a brush fire or a quake
Or if I have a stomach ache
Then I blame Clinton

(instrumental verse)

(V.3)
Now the Taliban returns
And global warming's a concern
So I blame Clinton

Halliburton's got the dough
No bid contracts don’'t ya know
But I blame Clinton

It'’s been five years since he'’s gone
But everything that has gone wrong
Well I blame Clinton

Winning the War One New Slogan at a Time.

Credit goes to GSD at Firedoglake for the title. And to quote Christy Hardin Smith,

As for George Bush, well he'd like you to forget that the buck stops anywhere near him ever. ThinkProgress has put together a great clip compendium from the Bush Administration statements this past weekend and from this morning (from Dan Bartlett's truthiness appearance on CBS) that the Bush Administration has "never been a stay the course strategy." HA!

Sheesh. I predict that the word "benchmarks" will be the next term the administration will proclaim it never said. I don't know what it means when an administration is so self-delusional, but it can't be good.

I was thinking of commenting on Rush Limbaugh's commentary on Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease but I want to keep my dinner down.

Don't Know If There Are Any Dots To Connect But...

... here's some dates/places where a few characters in the Mark Foley saga have spent time at lobbyist expense from January 2000 through December 2005 (courtesy of American Public Media).

• J. Dennis Hastert
  • Ted Van Der Meid
  • Scott Palmer
  • Michael Stokke
  • Ron Bonjean
• John Shimkus
• Thomas Reynolds
• Rodney Alexander
  • Royal Alexander
• Mark Foley
  • Kirk Fordham
• Jim Kolbe

If you click on the link for the sponsor of any given junket, you can see which Congresscritters/staffers were in attendence. I'm thinking certain topics may have come up in the hotel lounge...

I Wish I Was Making This Up

From Firedoglake

Rush Limbaugh re-victimized Mark Foley's teenage victim today by using his name publicly, as did Matt Drudge. (Both Roger Simon and InstaCracker made sure the identity was widely disseminated by linking to the no-name wingnut blogger to whom the original dirty work was tasked.) Because it's not enough that their leaders are beating off online during national security votes, or that the GOP spent years covering the whole thing up — no, no they must do their part to harass, bully and intimidate anyone who threatens their authoritarian cult, even the young victims of sexual predators. Especially if there might be other kids thinking of stepping forward with similar stories (as three more now have). It's the manly thing to do, after all.

Listen to this on an empty stomach. (via Crooks and Liars).

Yeah, these brainiac high school juniors from politically connected Republican families are now being portrayed as a bunch of sleaze bags who "egged on" a 50-something Congressman. If I was the parent of a page (or former page) I'd be even more pissed than I already am. These Republican apologists simply have no shame. The pages will probably end up not mentioning their Congressional Page service on their resumes simply to avoid being asked a lot of stupid questions by moronic dittoheads. Disgusting isn't a strong enough word. Puketastic comes closer.

Drudge on Foley: Blame the Victims - Not the Louse in the House

This may be an all time low for Republican apologists. Crooks and Liars has the audio of Matt Drudge saying this:

And if anything, these kids are less innocent — these 16 and 17 year-old beasts…and I've seen what they're doing on YouTube and I've seen what they're doing all over the internet — oh yeah — you just have to tune into any part of their pop culture. You're not going to tell me these are innocent babies. Have you read the transcripts that ABC posted going into the weekend of these instant messages, back and forth? The kids are egging the Congressman on! The kids are trying to get this out of him. We haven't got the whole story on this.

Well, I happen to have a son who is a high school sophomore who would be eligible to be a Congressional page next year. To get an idea of what one of these "beasts" look like, you can check out the next to last photo on this page. I'm sure his parents appreciated Mr. Drudge's characterization of Congressional pages. Sheesh. How low can you go?

Update: According to Wikipedia, I learned tonight that lice are also known as "fly babies". Seems like a good term for Boehner, Hastert, et al.

Speaking of Hastert, Glenn Greenwald is now reporting...

Drudge just put up a screaming headline, complete with the whole melodramatic multi-color siren bit, which reads:


WASHINGTON TIMES ON TUESDAY WILL CALL FOR SPEAKER HASTERT'S RESIGNATION, NEWSROOM SOURCES TELL DRUDGE... DEVELOPING... 'House Speaker Dennis Hastert must do the only right thing, and resign his speakership at once' -- Washington Times, October 3, 2006...


If Drudge (who last night was blaming the 16-year-old pages for Foley's conduct) and The Washington Times are now on the "Fire Hastert" train, it's hard to see him lasting more than a week. I actually think the best thing that could happen for Republicans would be for Hastert to resign sooner rather than later, although they then would be faced with the very serious problem that the next in line, Rep. Boehner, is quite implicated in all of this also. It seems like a safe bet that while the top level of the GOP House leadership is focused on saving themselves, the next level down is focused on which new jobs will be up for grabs.

Har tip to my wife for coming up withe the "louse in the house" phrase earlier this evening. We hereby place it in the public domain (assuming it's even necessary) if anyone has any reservations about reusing it.

GOP Ethics: Lewinsky Warrants Shouting But Foley Warrants Silence

How hypocritical can you get?

Re Clinton (h/t Dover Bitch at FDL)

Republicans were aghast at Clinton's behavior, with many saying it showed he had lied and abused his power.

"It's vile," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach. "It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."

But when it comes to the sleazy online sexual solicitation of Congressional pages by the aforementioned Republican Congressman Mark Foley, well check out this video (courtesy of crooksandliars.com) and note the response by the Republicans to Nancy Pelosi's request for a roll call vote.

The 16 year old page in question worked for Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander of Louisiana and was the first Congressional person to recognize the inappropriateness of this. But does he report it to the folks in charge of ethics? Noooooo! Does he report it to the folks in charge of the Congressional Page School? Nooooo! He reports it to the person in charge of getting Republican Congresscritters reelected, Rep Tom Reynolds. Shows where his priorities are, eh?

So what does our defender of youth Mr. Reynolds do? Does he contact the ethics folks? Nooooo! Does he contact the Page School? Noooo!

(He) said Friday that when he learned of the e-mail exchanges 10 to 11 months ago, he called the teen's parents. Alexander told the Ruston Daily Leader, "We also notified the House leadership that there might be a potential problem."

Then the Washington Post reported yesterday

The resignation rocked the Capitol, and especially Foley’s GOP colleagues, as lawmakers were rushing to adjourn for at least six weeks. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of some “contact” between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert assured him “we’re taking care of it.”

So it appears Alexender told Boehner and Boehner told Hastert. Anybody giving any thought to the safety of Congressional pages? Apparently not. Obviously "taking care of it" apparently doesn't include informing the (admitedly toothless) ethics committee or the (more blatantly obvious) Page School. See Firedoglake's analysis here. Hastert now claims he doesn't remember being told about it. Gee whiz, what would it take to make an impression on him?

What is painfully, indisputably clear (and I challenge anyone to provide evidence about this incident that proves me wrong) is that for the GOP getting reelected is more important than any other moral value. It trumps all others. This is a sad epilogue to an already sad week.

New York Times seems to have a reasonably good summary (as of 09/30/06) G.O.P. Leaders Knew in Late ’05 of E-Mail. However, for some reason they don't bother to report that...

The emails include Foley discussing what a great body a teenage friend of the boy had, and asking the boy for a "pic" - or "picture" in America Online "pick up" vernacular.

See the email at Americablog and come to your own conclusion.

Ugh.

A Bright (but very dark) September Day

A Bright September Day

It happened in a hurry
That the rules were washed away
It was done with little notice
On a bright September day

"They hate us for our freedoms"
So due process we'll give up
Call them "enemy combatants"
And forever lock them up

(chorus)
They don't need to see the evidence
Or learn who turned them in
Interrogation methods
Set by Presidential whim
So forget habeus corpus
The Constitution too
Just say "enemy combatants"
And make them disappear from view

A self inflicted wound
Was administered that day
The terrorists made a nation
give it's principles away

So the patriots of yesteryear
who died for rights held dear
Had their sacrifice diminished
Because it was an election year

(bridge)
The use of fear is all it takes
To make a once great nation yield its place
And become one of those other states
Where folks vanish without a trace

(chorus)
You don't need to see the evidence
Or learn who turned you in
Interrogation methods
Set by Presidential whim
So forget habeus corpus
The Constitution too
If you're called "enemy combatant"
Your rights are gone - you're through

The steps along this process
and the use of fear this way
to keep some seats in Congress
on the next election day

Are aftershocks remaining
From another...
Bright September day

---

Once upon a time, America stood for something in the world and the protesters in Tiananmen Square chose a model of the Statue of Liberty as an important symbol of their protest.

It makes me heartsick to realize how severely our standing in the world has declined in the past five years. Can you envision something like that happening in a foreign country now? I doubt it could even happen in Great Britain or Canada. Now the pressures of a political campaign have led us to the point of abandoning our long-held moral principles in a rush to retroactively legalize what, under normal circumstances could be viewed as war crimes. Sickening.

But Glenn Greenwald lays out our choices for the way forward very clearly. It is essential that Democrats, despite their failings, win at least one house of Congress in November.

I wrote the above lyric yesterday while listening to C-Span2. I would have uploaded it last night but a tornado knocked out the power in my neighborhood. Luckily we didn't have any damage but some of my neighbors weren't so lucky. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

Comma, comma, DUMB (doobeedoo), dumdum

My answer to President Bush's dismissal of the war in Iraq a "just a comma".

BUSH: Yes, you see -- you see it on TV, and that's the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there's also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people. Twelve million people voted last December.

Admittedly, it seems like a decade ago. I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iran -- Iraq, it'll look like just a comma because there is -- my point is, there's a strong will for democracy.

Dumdum defined

Shorter Lieberman: “I’ve worked with Republicans to get us where we are today”

Joe, Joe, Joe. I hate to break it to ya, but your well intentioned "bi-partisanship" is being used by the Republicans solely for their own political purposes. What have you gotten out of it? What have they done for you besides helping bankroll your independent run? Do you really want to be associated with people like Mel Sembler?

Jeebus. You are just a useful tool to those folks.

I know being a US Senator is important to ya, but aren't those alarm bells ringing in th eback of your head? Where does it all end?

How Do Votes Disappear? A Diebold Tale

On yesterday's Mark Steiner show (on WYPR, Baltimore's NPR affiliate), there was a discussion about the problems Maryland experienced with electronic voting last week.

"Lee in Catonsville" (an election judge in Baltimore County) reported that the electronic poll books kept crashing.

"...something like every 63rd voter one of them would crash. And first it would be the first one, then it would be the second one, then it would be the third one, then it would be back over to the first one..."

But more alarming to me, was this

"We had a problem in my precinct - on the electronic poll books it showed that at the end of the day, all of them were in agreement, 829 people had checked in and been issued the voter access card to vote electronically on the touch screen machines. We counted the total votes on the touch screen machines and there were 822 people who had cast ballots on those machines. Did seven people who walked in, stood in line to wait, got an access card then walk out without voting? I seriously doubt that. And I have no idea what happened to those seven votes but that’s eight tenths of a percent of the votes in that precinct that just disappeared. And, you know, in a general election who’s going to know that all isn’t off one candidate…"

(my transcriptions above)

I’m wondering if the seven missing voters coincided with poll book crashes. If you want to suppress the vote in a precinct, maybe you can just arrange for the poll books to crash at a set interval.

There should, in my opinion be a forensic reenactment of the voting in this district using the same equipment. I am willing to give up a day’s work to go to the polling place and vote 829 times if need be.

You can listen to this Mark Steiner show (mp3) at http://tinyurl.com/nhrh3. The above call can be heard starting at about the 25:00 minute mark.

How Low Can You Go Joe Lieberman?

David Sirosa posed the question "Seriously folks, how low can you go? in response to the truly pathetic attack by Joe Lieberman's ex-spokesman Dan Gerstein on Ned Lamont's volunteering in an inner city public school. Basically Gerstein is saying (on behalf of Lieberman) that since Lamont only co-taught (as a volunteer) it's misleading to portray himself as a teacher.

He taught two periods on Monday's for the full school year for chrissakes! I know at least one substitute teacher who teaches less. Does that mean he can't call himself a teacher? Jeebus! I only typically play guitar once a week so I better stop calling myself a musician.

"Moppin' Up the Gumbo" (in the key of G)

This tune was written for the folks cleaning up the "toxic gumbo" in New Orleans after hurricaine Katrina.

lo-fi (dialup)
hi-fi (broadband)

Cool New Tune - "Have You Had Enough?"

Tom Maxwell (of the sorely missed Squirrel Nut Zippers) collaborated with Ken Mosher (also ex-SNZ) and Howie Klein (of Down With Tyranny) to put together this catchy tune. They enlisted the fantastic Rickie Lee Jones to do the vocals and Crooks and Liars has the mp3 for free download. Take a listen. You won't regret it.

Here's the lyric as posted in the comments at Firedoglake.com.

Have you had enough of hypocrisy?
Have you had enough of the spending spree?
Have you had enough?
Does it make you want to scream and shout?

Have you had enough of the rubber stamps?
Have you had enough of the wire taps?
If you’ve had enough, then it’s time to throw the rascals out!

We’ve let them take the test too long
They’ve gotten all the answers wrong
No plan, no shame, no oversight
Now’s the time to put it right!

Have you had enough, cause they’re all corrupt?
Have you had enough of being divvied up?
If you’ve had enough, then it’s time to throw the rascals out!

Well, do what’s right and spread the word
It’s time to make our voices heard
You cast your vote it don’t cost a dime
Sittin’ it out will be a crime

I’ve had enough, and it’s time to throw the rascals out!

I Wanna Work For Rep. Melissa Hart

Congresswoman Hart (who may be a distant relative) gave a brief speech in support of President Bush's veto of the stem cell research bill. Unfortunately, her staff let her make a complete ass of herself by citing an incident that had absolutely no relevence to the issue at hand as evidence to support her position.

Now there's a job I could get into. No need to worry about doing any actual work, just read lots of right wing blogs and paraphrase what commenters there have posted. After all, bloggers (especially conservative bloggers) are authoritative sources, aren't they? What could be easier?

UPDATE: Well it appears the "grand non sequetor" that Rep. Hart pontificated (linking the Korean research problems with the issue of using stems cells from embryos that will not be used for in vitro fertilization) may have appeared in the mainstream press first in an article by Michael Reagan! I offer my apoligies to the bloggers.

The Ballad of Joe Lieberman

Oh I gotta be a Senator
It’s what I’m meant to be
Even our fine President
Does not disagree
Some silly lefty bloggers
Are leading folks astray
And pushing for a Democrat
To take my job away

(chorus)
But it’s my seat dammit
I’ve had it 18 years
And if I don’t win the primary
(the way things now appear)
I’ll change my party status
Make an independent run
‘cause that asinine electorate
Thinks my time is done

Some may say that an election
Should decide the people’s choice
But an election that does not pick me
Will miss some people’s voice
So screw the Dem electorate
What the hell do they know
I know what is best for them
That’s why they call me “holy Joe”

(chorus)
And it’s my seat dammit
I’ve had it 18 years
And if I don’t win the primary
(the way things now appear)
I’ll change my party status
Make an independent run
‘cause that asinine electorate
Thinks my time is done

I’ll change my views on many things
To gain a few more votes
I’ve redefined myself more times
Than I can even quote
Liberal, moderate, conservative
It matters not, you see
As long as I can hold the post
That rightfully belongs to me

(chorus)
'cause it’s my seat dammit
I’ve had it 18 years
And if I don’t win the primary
(the way things now appear)
I’ll change my party status
Make an independent run
‘cause that asinine electorate
Thinks my time is done

(Now I just need to figure out how to create a Flash-based karaoke file so folks can sing along LOL)

Defining Patriotism Down

Something to think about the next time you see someone being labelled as "unpatriotic".

Winter, 1780

Soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line, a unit of Washington's Continental Army, are camped near Morristown, New Jersey. They had endured tremendous hardship due to inadequate clothing and provisions. On December 16th their commander wrote:

"...we are reduced to dry bread and beef for our food, and to cold water for our drink. Neither officers or soldiers have received a single drop of spirituous liquors from the public magazines since the 10th of October last, except one gill per man some time in November, this, together with the old worn out coats and tattered linen overalls, and what was once a poor substitute for a blanket (now divided among three soldiers), is but very wretched living and shelter against the winter's piercing cold, drifting snows and chilling sleets."

"Our soldiery are not devoid of reasoning faculties, nor are they callous to the first feelings of nature, they have now served their country with fidelity for near five years, poorly clothed, badly fed and worse paid; of the last article, trifling as it is, they have not seen a paper dollar in the way of pay for near twelve months."

By this time, many men of the Pennsylvania line had served three years and were expecting to be discharged. Then word spread that their terms of enlistment "for three years or the duration of the war" were being interpreted by the officers as whichever event occurred last.

Given the lack of pay, the physical hardships, and the prospect of being in the army for the duration of the war, on New Years Day, 1781, the men mutinied.

Their plan was to march to Philadelphia and present their greivances to the Continental Congress, which was then in session.

On January 7th, the soldiers apprehended a British agent and his guide. The British, sensing an opportunity to try and persuade the mutineers to defect, had sent these envoys to offer the mutineers back pay in hard cash (continental paper currency was of little value) should they join the British side. The mutineers not only rejected the offer, they immediately arrested the agents as spies.

Also on the 7th, President Joseph Reed, representing the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, arrived to meet and negotiate with the leaders of the mutiny. The following day, an agreement was reached.

Discharges were offered to all soldiers who had been retained beyond their enlistments or coerced into reenlistment. If a soldier's enlistment papers were unavailable, he was allowed to simply to give an oath attesting to his time served. Clothing and pay was being sent to Trenton for distribution once the mutiny ended.

The two Britsh agents were turned over to the mutineers' erstwhile commanders. They were later hanged.

The men of the Pennsylvania Line remained loyal to the patriot cause. Many would continue to fight in the Continental Army until the end of the war.

Since September 11, 2001, the concept of patriotism has been redefined by many Republicans to mean unquestioned acquience to whatever actions the current administration chooses to take. Those who disagree are branded as unpatriotic or worse. This is a perversion of the principles upon which this nation was founded.

The danger of possible future terrorist attacks is real and very frightenting. And it may be necessary for citizens to sacrifice certain rights in exchange for additional security. However, this should not be decided unilaterally by any President. To raise an objection is not unpatriotic. It is, in fact, loyalty to the patriot cause.

The Decparation of Independence states "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,."

Think about the phrase "...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"

Do you recall the governed giving their consent to the warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens?

Do you recall the governed giving their consent to the establishment of secret prisons overseas?

The governed have never had the opportunity to give (or withhold) their consent for these policies. Until that occurs, the legitimacy of these actions is open to fair debate.

The American Revolution was not fought for a flag or a piece of paper. It was fought to establish a democratic system of government. Those who feel that any criticism of the current administration is unpatriotic or traitorous would do well to read the documents upon which this nation was founded. They can be found at the National Archives website.

For a detailed history of the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line see:
Charles S. Yordy, III: The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, its Origins and Patriotism

(To hear a piece of music inspired by this story, click here. It opens in a new browser window).

Read 'em and Weep (literally)

I haven't been able to get these two stories out of my head.

• The leaked memo from the Embassy in Baghdad describing how grim the situation really is there. Read the entire report (pdf) if you have the courage, and


• This Washington Post's "Fatal Inaction" story subtitled The world's most powerful military failed to provide the armor that would have saved scores of American lives. One father would like to know why.

Unbelievable. What a misadventure this war has been from the start. We'll be dealing with the wreckage for decades.