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[Photo credit of eggs frying on sidewalk: operapixels]

All the kids I know are asking if you can really do this...yes, you can, but it's disgusting. I give that answer alot these days.

[UPDATE: Harriet Miers blows off the subpoena. Conyers responds here. My response? Throw her ass in jail. Now. What's your response?]

Speaking of these days, you don't need me to tell you that it's summertime. The mercury is through the roof, and we're all seeking a little shelter. And while you seek that shelter, what are you talking about with your friends and neighbors? More important, what are you talking about with strangers? You know, the folks in line at the grocery store, or in my case, at the town pool.

I usually know what's on the minds of my close friends and neighbors, but I've found that what's on the minds of strangers usually provides the most insight as to what the country, as a whole, is talking about.

So here's what people are talking back about:

Two Bush-appointed nominees for full-term ambassadorships come up before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this afternoon. One of them is thoroughly qualified for the position he's been nominated for. The other guy? Well, not so much.

One the one hand, we have:

Curtis S. Chin, of New York, to be United States Director of the Asian Development Bank, with the rank of Ambassador.

According to this 2006 Wall Street press release:

Chin is a public affairs & policy specialist with extensive experience working with corporations, not-for-profit organizations and the public sector in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere around the world. ... Chin has worked in the firm’s Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., and New York offices. He also served in the Administration of President George H.W. Bush as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. During the Administration of President George W. Bush, Chin served on the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Diplomacy.

Wow. That's a pretty strong set of credentials, don't you think? Sounds like Chin would be a good choice for the Asian Bank gig.

But then, on the other hand, we have:

Sam Fox, of Missouri, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belgium.

And that is just all kinds of wrong.

Why? Well, let's let these guys tell you about Sam Fox in their own words:

"You win some. You lose some. And then there's that little known third category." - Al Gore -

Meet the new Congressman-elect from the Great State of Texas

Ciro Rodriguez

Last evening, in the last Congressional race of the 2006 cycle, Democrat Ciro Rodriguez beat the pants off of Republican Henry Bonilla, bringing the total number of seats gained by the Democrats in the US House of Representatives to 31.

But the Ciro Rodriguez story is not about Democrats versus Republicans for me. It's about the power of the people.

Remember how the Ciro story got going? It got started on Daily Kos, and Ciro's opponent in the Democratic primary, Henry Cuellar's people called it a one day story. THAT'S how this began. And Ciro lost that primary, but he never put away his campaign signs, and then next time out, he won, and went on to beat Bonilla last night.

Now, it's no secret that the DCCC pumped beaucoup bucks into the race in that last couple few weeks. That's not my point. My point is that a year ago, the DCCC would have been scratching their collective whatevers, and looking around that room with dazed blank facial expressions if someone had raised the name of Ciro Rodriguez. Back then, we would have had a response of yawning, not fawning.

No, the point here is that the PEOPLE brought Ciro forward as a candidate. The PEOPLE raised money through Act Blue pages, organized phone banks, reached out to fellow voters and in general worked their asses off for a guy that they believed might not win, but deserved a chance to compete. And they gave him enough support to bring him within striking distance of Bonilla, so that the DCCC would back him in the closing days.

THAT is power. And that is only ONE of the lessons to be taken from this story.

Here's another lesson from this story: Ciro Rodriguez won by nine points. In ALL of the Dec. 5, 2006 polling, Ciro was down by nine points. Let's all remember that the next time we see a poll that looks bad for a candidate that you support and it's a week out from an election.

And here's what I think is the most important lesson. Many political types, unfamiliar with what real political blogging is about, talk about the miracle of political blogging as the ability to raise money over the internets. How much money Howard Dean raised in small donor money is often cited. And yes, that was interesting then, and in this last cycle, that has become an even more formidable weapon in the PEOPLE'S arsenal than in the 2004 cycle.

But no, that was not the miracle of the Dean story.

The miracle of the Dean story was that complete strangers, from across the country, to across the world, talked to each other about politics and what mattered to them for the first time in a very long time. The miracle of the Dean story, is that complete strangers invited other complete strangers into their homes, their work and their lives. All for a political cause. All to take action. All of them, intent on making their voices heard and using some part of their lives in service to making the world a better place.

Now THAT is a miracle. And it's a miracle that the people can make happen.

More of that, please.

It's safe to say that the curious and curiouser political dynamics of last week's remarkable turnaround elections will be analyzed to death in the public press, across the blogospheres, and among professional political operatives everywhere for many months and years to come.

It's certainly striking when one of the emblematic figures of those curious and curiouser political dynamics comes out and tells the public press that he's seriously considering changing parties in the aftermath of those remarkable turnaround elections. As the Associated Press reported on November 10,

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican.

Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat.

"I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the GOP, he replied: "That's fair."

Why do I think Republicans will lose the mid-terms?

It's pretty simple. I hang out with all kinds of Moms, especially that elusive political unicorn of Moms, the "security/soccer" Mom.

While I am clearly liberal, some of the group are Democrats, some are Republicans, some are Bush supporters, but most are self-identified independents.

I had coffee with "The Moms" yesterday. In my memory, all of the moms have never agreed upon anything politically with one unanimous voice, except for this: We all think pedophiles should be put up against a wall and shot. Period.

Now that's a strange thing for me to say, because I am against the death penalty, as are others in the group. And I understand the the psychological history that is generally part of pedophiles. But I don't care. Personally, I would want to kill anyone who harmed any member of my family in any way, shape or form. But, that's why we have laws. To keep a civilized society.

Nonetheless, there you have it. A group of fifteen women who agree that pedophiles are scum, and the only thing worse than a pedophile is someone who covers up for pedophiles. And the only thing worse than that, is someone who does it for personal/political gain. They all believe that every Republican Congressman in a position of leadership knew about it. And every one of these women is ready to exact a measure of punishment at the polls for Predatorgate.

So unless many things change between now and then, the Republicans are finished.

But this is just my opinion. Let's hear what you think.

Let's hear what you are doing politically this weekend.

May I suggest registering voters?

My husband and I are making a committment to register ten voters each this weekend. Since a number of states have their registration period closing, you may want to check the deadline for your state and do the same.

For all the information you need on registering voters in any state, click here to link to Project Vote-Smart.

It's the nature of too many politicians not to take chances, and Joe Lieberman announced today that he's decided not to take a chance with the Democracy primary voters of Connecticut on August 8.

On the off-chance that anti-war insurgent Ned Lamont might beat him fair and square in the Democratic primary, Lieberman announced today that he was launching a petition drive to get on the November ballot. He's got until August 9 to gather 7,500 signatures, which shouldn't be a problem. And he says that if he wins in November, he will still caucus with Senate Democrats.

Lieberman's in jeopardy because of what many Democrats see as his much-too-tight embrace of George Bush, and especially his support of Bush's war in Iraq. Netroot activists have played a significant role in forcing Lieberman to take this drastic step. They've raised tons of money for Lamont, and mounted the kind of independent attacks, complete with devastating videos on youTube, that most challengers only dream about.

It's hard to imagine a more genuine tribute to the power of the netroots than Lieberman's announcement today. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone a year ago who said Lieberman would be in such desperate political trouble now. If netroot organizing can throw this much of a scare into such a well-established politician, the possibilities for surprises in other races are huge.

Who's next?

As Editor and Publisher reports, the Republican Congressman from my birthplace, Peter King (R-NY), has labeled the actions of anyone who discloses classified information during wartime "treasonous". (emphasis mine)

WASHINGTON The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee urged the Bush administration Sunday to seek criminal charges against The New York Times for reporting on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists.

Rep. Peter King blasted the newspaper's decision last week to report that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages within a massive international database of money-transfer records.

"I am asking the Attorney General to begin an investigation and prosecution of The New York Times -- the reporters, the editors and the publisher," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "We're at war, and for the Times to release information about secret operations and methods is treasonous."

While King was referring to the NY Times' reports of US Treasury Department's massive mining of financial database records, I am sure that in his quest to be the uber-patriot, he would include anyone who leaked such information during wartime.

As such, I am sure he is extremely concerned about Scooter Libby's role in the leaking of Valerie Plame's name to the press, and will be asking for Karl Rove to step down.

Or will he? Regardless of whether the courts ever pass judgement of the actions of the New York Times, does Congressman King also believe that Scooter Libby should also be charged with treason?

Enquiring minds want to know. And those enquiring minds can reach Congressman King's office to ask those question at 202-225-7896.

Please let us know if Congressman King supports the troops by removing traitors in his midst.

The real swiftboating of Murtha is beginning.

The Agonist and Taylor Marsh are tracking things down. They are conducting a full and detailed fact-finding investigation on those behind it. They could always use help.

If you read through the comments, it's an interesting unfolding of how the smear merchants behind the campaign operate. The internet research line is very instructive.

Reporters should take note. This is how it's done.

Anyone feel like it's August 2004 again?

I do. The media is suckling at the Republican narrative "Dems are divided...Dems are weak on National Security..." teat and what are the Democrats doing? I mean, what are the Democrats doing?

Moreover, what should they be doing?

Here's some advice from TRex over at FDL and I'd like to know what people think of this:

Which brings me to tonight’s topic. As netroots activists, we hear a lot of talk about the importance of "reframing the arguments", and I couldn’t agree more. But so few of our advocates in the public sphere seem to be taking that advice to heart. The whole "Lie and Die" thing is a nice try, Mr. Kerry, it’s short and it rhymes, sure, but it is still a response to the GOP’s charges of us being "cut and run" liberals. It still places us in the argument in a defensive crouch.

As long as we continue to form our strategies and sound bites around defending ourselves, the GOP will always win. They have consistently set the tone for every debate from gay marriage to the War in Iraq by arriving there first, seizing the moral high ground, and hurling accusations, which the vichy Dems seem more than willing to waste their time parrying, ducking and weaving around in a doomed effort to justify themselves to the electorate, no matter how absurd and disingenuous the accusations are. We always enter the debate on terms set by the Republicans. If we continue to do that, we will always, always lose.

Listen to me, Democrats! Never defend. Never explain. Attack, attack, attack! When a right-winger accuses you of something, back up, reframe, ignore the charges, just ATTACK. How hard can this be? Ann Coulter doesn’t waste her time defending herself against our accusations. Neither does Rush Limbaugh. They launch their attacks and the terms of the debate are set from there, and once again, as liberals, we are bringing knives to a gun fight.

To whit:

A Republican says, "All you liberals are cut-and-run traitors! You don’t support the troops!"

Instead of frantically beginning to tap dance and show that you’re not a traitor and that you do support the troops, you fire back, "Why are you Republicans such cowards? Your leaders are all draft-dodgers who’ve never fired a shot at anything but a bunch of canned quails and old lawyers. You’re using the troops as human shields against the midterm elections! Do you like seeing our brave men and women in uniform slaughtered and killed? Or are you just too much of a coward to face the consequences of your failed policies in Iraq? Which is it? Do you just hate the soldiers or do you hate your constituents?"

There. You have just put the burden of proof on the Repugnican that he/she isn’t a coward and that they don’t hate the troops. Then you set up a false dichotomy that they can’t answer without looking like a fool.

The rest of the entry is here. I'd like to know what people think of this approach. Please comment.

There are a couple of other strategies being floated out there and I will post on them later today for discussion.

I am posting these, because, as I have written on before, the Democrats will not be in charge of the narrative, because they are not in charge of the media. The only topics that will be covered in the media wil be Iraq, Immigration, fear and loathing. And it's up to the Democrats to deal with it. So the DCP will be posting several options, and we would appreciate your feedback.

There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.

George Orwell, 1984 (1948)

Just in case there was anyone out there left who thought that there was any personal privacy remaining, this ought to put that fantasy to rest:

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.

"It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.

For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made — across town or across the country — to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others.

B-b-but, but, but I thought they were only spying on people talking to Al Qaeda? You mean they are keeping records of every phone call we make without a court order?

Yes, Virginia, they are. First they spy. Then they lie. The Fourth Amendment?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

It's in the shredder.

If I were on the Intelligence Committee, I would raise hell until I got a list of people who have access to this information, and people who have accessed this information in the past.

Here's the list of the members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Feel free to give them a phone call to voice your concern over this illegal program.

Here's what I will be asking when I call:

I understand that the NSA is amassing the largest database of phone records in history, and those phone records are of ordinary citizens, most of whom have no ties to terrorists, could you tell me what the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution says? And how is this program legal under the Fourth Amendment? And what does Member/Senator X plan to do about it? How do I find out if my phone records have been illegally appropriated?

What will you be asking?

Second exit poll showing Silvio Berlusconi out as Prime Minister of Italy.

Reuters reporting Berlusconi out and Mediaset shares falling on the news.

The Guardian does a fine job of explaining the weirdness that is the complex political situation in Italy. (hat tip to Moonbootica)

And last but not least, meet Italy's new Prime Minister, Romano Prodi.

The last two presidential elections were clouded, to say the least. The mainstream media went on with business as usual, while private citizens went sleuthing. The result is a diversity of grassroots investigation and activism. I now view fair elections activism as a branch of the civil rights struggle that has gone on for decades.

Last week, Elizabeth Walters of Seattle organized a Forum. She is a political activist and volunteer who has chosen the issue of fair elections as her major focus, and considers it the question that really matters in the 2006 and 2008 elections. The event was essentially about preserving democracy in America. Co-sponsors were local party districts, local progressive talk radio, Code Pink and the Backbone campaign. We heard three speakers at the forum which was followed by a moderated discussion.

The Speakers

Bev Harris, author of “Black Box Voting – Ballot Tampering in the 21st century” and founder of Blackboxvoting.org, a consumer protection organization that helped prove that voting machines can be hacked.
Paul Lehto, consumer protection attorney; recently won a citizen’s lawsuit against Sequoia Voting Machines.
Richard Borkowski, computer consultant and activist, demonstrated in person how to secretly reverse election results and he did it in a few seconds.

When I started to even THINK about writing letters to the editor, Gore had lost the recount and Bush was installed. I thought, but I didn't do anything.

Eight months later I had a baby, and six weeks after that I was nursing my baby at about nine in the morning and watching the Today Show. The date was September 11, 2001.

A week later, as I watched the manipulation of fear turn into a grab for what would eventually look an awful lot like a fascist government in our midst, I knew I needed to DO something.

I was a political and media professional. I had skills and experience. How could I stand by and do nothing?

I began to feel real terror, but not from the terrorists who attacked us in New York. I felt terror at watching the freedoms and liberties I was raised to fight for, be traded off like the cheap items and a silent auction. A very silent auction.

But I had a big problem. I had a new baby.

What if Mommy says a word that the government doesn't like and they drag Mommy off to jail? Shortly after 9-11 the Congress gave the President the power to determine who is an enemy, and then pick them up, never to be seen again.

Of course, we come to find out five years later that both Congress and the Courts are just an irritating formality to the Executive. The President did not need Congress to pass legislation approving that. He would have done it anyway. And that is what I suspected in the first place.

If I had been single and childless, it would have been much easier, but now I had a baby to consider.

I called my sister (not the Bush supporter, the one who believes in the Constitution), to complain about the government. I call her everyday with a "Daily Disgrace" political report. She had been already getting these calls for sometime, when finally one day in October she asked me pointedly, "Look, when are you going to do what you know you should be doing about this? When are you going to get involved and start writing and going public with all of this stuff?"

I said, "I can't. I'm afraid. What if they don't like what I am saying? These are some seriously scary people."

I still remember the tone of her voice when she said to me, "That's why you have to do it. Because these are very scary people."

I looked at her hard. "Hey, I'm not kidding. These are scary people and they are NOT going to like what I am saying."

She put her coffee cup down, and as she stood and turned to put on her coat to leave she looked down at the baby and said, "Well then, you better be sure that whatever you have to say, you shout from the rooftops so as many people hear as possible. The more people that know what's going on, the safer we'll all be. Really, it's our only hope."

And she was right. She still is.

One foot in front of the other. Keep moving, keep going. Each thing builds on the next.

Hope conquers despair, and action vanquishes fear.

Editor's Note: No, this is not a mistake that this post is still up. We made an editorial decision that this post will remain up for two days in order to give as wide an audience time to see it as possible, and to post about it here and everywhere else you can. This story is being largely ignored by the traditional media, and not just because Dick Cheney shot someone in the face. It's being ignored because the images are disturbing, and nobody wants to think that Americans do that to people.

Well, here's the news. Americans DO THAT to other people. And the media reaction of, "Oh, this is more of the photos from Abu Ghraib, and those people were already tried. Let's move on," just doesn't cut it. These photos represent the cover up of torture of prisoners, sexual abuse, and flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions.

And it wasn't just some 11 "bad actors", as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was fond of saying when photos first surfaced. It was most likely people hired by the US government, in addition to US military personnel, who were carrying out instructions to torture people at Abu Ghraib. After all, I don't imagine Lynndie England got the studded dog collar, leather helmut and leash in a care package from her family back in West Virginia. I don't think there has ever been a satisfactory explanation for how the chain of command of torture worked. It's past time that there was.

So I would ask that you pass this link around to everyone you know. Put pressure on the traditional media to cover the story, and abandon their heretofore attitude of "torture is icky", in favor of a more dignified approach, like a commitment to finding out and reporting the truth.

For years, the Bush Administration has been trying to prevent the release of photos that finally saw the light of day in media outlets from Australia.

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

Tonight the SBS Dateline program plans to broadcast around 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Although a US judge last year granted the union access to the photographs following a freedom-of-information request, the US Administration has appealed against the decision on the grounds their release would fuel anti-American sentiment.

Some of the photos are similar to those published in 2004, others are different. They include photographs of six corpses, although the circumstances of their deaths are not clear. There are also pictures of what appear to be burns and wounds from shotgun pellets.

After having seen the photos, I can certainly understand why the Pentagon is concerned these will fuel anti-American sentiment. These images and actions of torture from American or American directed armed personnel, upon Iraqis, are beyond inhumane. If cartoons depicting images of the prophet Mohammed spurred the outrage we are seeing throughout both the Middle East, Asia and Europe are any sign, they going to be some serious hell to pay over these photos.

If you wish to view these photos, you can see them on Kos at Waitingtoderail's diary. They are sick and sickening.

I seriously doubt that the prosecution and convictions of a handful of "bad actors" will do anything whatsoever to mitigate the situation, and I suspect the White House will continue to do everything in its power to shoo this story down the memory hole, just like last time.

But isn't it time for America to demand a little bit more from its leadership?

Isn't it time that the moral outrage in America over what is being done in our name to innocent Iraq civilians, matches the moral outrage of some of the Iraqis?

This is what is being done in your name, America. Shouldn't those responsible be made to take responsibility for their complicity in war crimes?

Isn't it past time for Donald Rumsfeld, the most incompetent Defense Secretary in history, to resign?

If the United States citizens allow Rumsfeld to continue to serve, it does so at the risk of putting its stamp of approval on the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. And God help us all if that happens.

[Editor: This piece was submitted by DCP blogger Veritas after length discussion in our "think tank" (IRC) with DCPer madame defarge.]

Tired of dodgy elections?
Worried your votes aren't counting?
Itching to make vote reform a reality?

Then I challenge you, challenge all of us here at the DCP: Find a way to join, even run, your local Board of Elections.

From the "inside", you have the opportunity - in fact, the responsibility - to ensure that every vote counts. You will have first-hand knowledge of voting machines and absentee ballots and ballot validity. What's more, you will be able to expose any irregularities and advocate for truth-in-voting from a position of power and respect.

Check out the responsibilities of one Election Supervisor, whose duties include speaking to "schools and civic groups about elections, voter registration, and voting", among other, more predictable, job components.

Think it's too tough? One job description listed the following requirements for applicants:

-Bachelor's degree or equivalent general, broad professional/technical knowledge.
-Three years of experience in administration, management, or teaching
-The ability to read and interpret election law
-Able to interpret voting machine tabulations and Census data
-Management responsibilities over Election Assistants

I haven't met all of you personally, but I know from your comments here on the blog and in the IRC that most DCP'ers have experience and knowledge far beyond these minimal qualifications.

Some supervisory Elections positions are elected, but many are simply government jobs that you can apply for through normal processes. And even elected officials have a staff consisting entirely of regular government hires. (If you don't have time to be a full-time Supervisor, or Registrar, or Clerk, you can always be an hourly-wage, temp-hire Election Assistant.) Not that you'll suffer in these positions: in addition to the typical government-job reliable pay, job security, and benefit packages, supervisory Elections positions can pay upwards of $100K yearly. Getting paid for ensuring legal voting: priceless.

So I challenge all of us to research the makeup of our local Elections Boards. Find out who runs what. And then find a position where you can make a difference from the inside. Officially. Daily. Because you never know what will be your Katrina, your Gore v. Bush, your Iraq war, your strip search. You never know when it might be too late to make a difference. You never know when even your most desperate fight for everything you believe will be in vain.

Keep us updated on your progress.

UPDATE: Well, there you have it. The Attorney General just told Senator Biden that we will be at war forever, as long as there is one person alive that could possibly be considered a threat to the United States or its interests. Any questions?

Glenn Greenwald will be doing much of the legal-blogging coverage, as he's both a lawyer and an expert on these issues.

And if you are up, Glenn will be on C-SPAN's Washington Journal tomorrow morning from 7:45-8:30 a.m EST debating the NSA scandal with University of Virginia Professor Robert Turner.

Glenn sez:

This clip of George Bush should be talked about all week -- why, if the Administration had all the legal authority in the world to eavesdrop without warrants and outside of FISA did it repeatedly make false statements to the public and to the Congress assuring us all that it was eavesdropping only in accordance with FISA? Parties make false statements in order to conceal their behavior only when their behavior is improper and wrong, not when it is justified and legal. And deliberately false statements of that sort from our government officials happen to be unacceptable and wrong, and really constitute a scandal unto itself.

Or at least they should constitute a scandal in and of themselves.

Glenn also has the inside scoop on Ted Kennedy's line of questioning and you can read about that here.

While Senator Kennedy's line of approach may be unexpected, it shouldn't be. There are only two real ways to win this fight, and one of them is already been somewhat lost. The first way, would have been to control the conversation. The White House wanted the coversation to be about National Security, while the rest of the folks who have read the Constitution, want it to be about The Constitution. That point has been lost, I fear.

So Senator Kennedy has done what I think is a wise move, which it appears would be to pivot, to cede nothing to the administration or Gonzales on National Security, but rather make them prove that this program actually worked, and worked so damn well, that it was worth breaking the law, et cetera.

Of course, having seen this committee at work during the Alito hearings, I kicked my expectations to the curb last week for any democratic coordination or effectiveness during this set of hearings.

I'm with Dr. Greenwald on this one - we'll all wait and see.

Consider this an open thread on the NSA hearings.

The Democracy Cell Project is reporting live from the Capitol, and will be doing so all evening.

WASHINGTON D.C.-Live Blogging the SOTU, and the Alternative SOTU happenings around Washington DC from today's activities and the plans for the evening events.

Karen is reporting in to us right now.

She is standing directly front of the Capitol. A cold wind is blowing in Washington tonight. Interestingly enough, there are about 14 FEMA trucks between the protesters and the Capitol itself. It's possible, though hard to believe, that these trucks somehow got lost on their way to provide relief in Louisiana, for what other purpose could they be here, when help is still so desperately needed there?

It's sadly heartwarming to see that flags are flying at half-mast in observance of the death of civil rights icon Coretta Scott King. To the program tonight for the Alternative SOTU, we have added a bagpiper who will be playing Amazing Grace at the beginning of the event, to honor Mrs. King's memory.

Right now nationally known performers Chris Chandler and David Roe are setting up the and sound checking their instruments. They will be contributing spoken word and musical performances this evening, along with geurilla poets, jazz musicians, folk musicians, a few tap dancers (and you thought they were all tap dancers in Washington were members of Congress, busily answering corruption charges), along with The Rhythm Workers Union, who will be bringing in the "mother drum ship". We're not quite sure what a "mother drum ship is", but it is certain to be more interesting than watching Mrs.Sob Sister Alito in the gallery sitting with the self-styled Laura "I AM a Desperate Housewife" Bush.

Earlier today, Karen wandered through many alternatives to the State of the Union. One highlight of the afternoon was the large "Impeach Bush" sign being driven around the neighborhood, courtesy of The Velvet Revolution.

Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan is doing many events today and Karen has run into her several times, and can report that it's much warmer in Venezuela than Washington, in more ways than one.

As the day wore on, it became clear that more people than ever before, are coming out of their homes and into the street to protest this president's policies and the lies and deceptions he and his administration have used to sell them to an unwitting, and sadly, and unquestioning public. But the public of years before, is not the public this administration will be facing this evening. The public is sending this President a message-his popularity is at 39% for a reason. People are angry, dissatisfied, and remember the sixteen words from the State of the Union of two years ago. And they remember that they were lied to. And the anger and the questions have just begun.

The limosines are beginning to arrive, carrying the scions of political power once more behind the gates, and away from We the People. But not for long.

Evening has fallen in Washington, and the perfume of dissent is sweeping briskly through the air.

Written and reported by Karen B. and Casey Morris, The Democracy Cell Project

[Editors Note: Cross-posted at The Daily Kos. There will be live blogging of the SOTU this evening beginning at 8:45 here on The Democracy Cell Project Blog, and in the IRC Chat Room. Please come join us.]

[Editor's Note: I opened my mail this morning and it was full of requests to post on Alito. The first post is a call to action from DCP member Rick Albertson. The second post comes to us from DCP member Barry Schwartz. As some of you may know, Senate Majority Leader Frist has refused Senators time to speak on the floor of the Senate about Alito until January 25 (the day after the scheduled committee vote). In response, Senators are fanning out across America to give speeches urging action against the Alito confirmation. I will reprint a short portion of Senator Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) speech with a link to the full text. The upshot of these posts is clear. ACT NOW.]

CALL NOW

From Rick:

This news alert slash call to action comes direct to you from the fine folks over at Political Cortex. We're reproducing it here body and soul because goshdarnit, fellow DCPeople, this is important stuff and we all need to get on the horn and on the keyboard and make your feelings known before it's too late!

Via Political Cortex
[gently edited to comply with DCP's federal regulations]

Alito's not a done deal!

Over at Daily Kos they estimate he no longer has 60 votes!

Let's make sure thatwe are heard: CLICK HERE TO CALL YOUR SENATORS

John Edwards has endorsed this petition for FILIBUSTER

Phone, fax, and email addresses for the Judiciary Committee

People for the American Way has collected over 60,000 signatures to send to the Senate, please add yours: Save the Court Petition

MoveOn.Org's Stop Alito Petition

Democratic Party's Reject Alito Petition

Stop the NRA's Oppose Alito Petition

And while you're at it, sign: Planned Parenthood Petition

NARAL Say "No" On Judge Alito

Brady Campaign

Human Rights Campaign

National Abortion Federation

National Council of Jewish Women

National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association

National Organization for Women

National Partnership for Women and Families

National Women's Law Center

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

US Action

From Barry, via WaPo:

It's all in the record.

Law professors at Judge Alito's alma mater, Yale Law School, analyzed more than 400 of his published opinions and concluded: "In the area of civil rights law, Judge Alito consistently has used procedural and evidentiary standards to rule against female, minority, age and disability claimants..."

"In the context of these civil rights cases, Judge Alito seems relatively willing to defer to the claims of employers, the government, over the individuals advancing civil rights claims."

KENNEDY: And other objective observers who have examined Judge Alito's record have reached a similar conclusion. According to an analysis by the respected University of Chicago law professor, Cass Sunstein, said, "when there is a conflict between institutions and individual rights, Judge Alito's dissenting opinions argued against individual rights 84 percent of the time. In almost all of the cases in which Judge Alito dissented in order to reject an individual rights claim, he was sitting on a court with a majority of Republican appointees."

A comprehensive review of Judge Alito's published opinions by Knight-Ridder similarly found that Judge Alito has "seldom sided" with "an employee alleging discrimination" and "almost never found a government search unconstitutional..."

An analysis published by The Washington Post found that "routinely, he defers to government officials and others in positions of authority" and has "very little sympathy for those asserting rights against the government."

In sum, in case after case, Judge Alito's decisions demonstrate a systematic tilt toward the powerful institutions and against individuals attempting to vindicate their rights. He cites a few instances in which he has decided for the little guy, but they are few and far between.

Justice Lewis Powell captured the spirit of America best when he said: "Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building. It is perhaps the most inspiring idea of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists."

In evaluating Supreme Court nominees, there are no more important questions than whether they are dedicated to equal justice under law. Judge Alito is a highly intelligent man, but his record does not show a judge who is willing to enforce the constitutional limitations on executive power when government officials intrude on individual rights.

His record does not show a judge who is open to the claims of vulnerable individuals asking only justice against powerful institutions. His record does not show a judge who upholds the liberty and privacy of citizens seeking to protect their fundamental rights.

His record just does not show a judge who is committed to equal justice under law.

Full text of Senator Kennedy's speech can be found here.

It's clear. The time to act is now.

Blog entry written by Rick Alberson and Barry Schwartz, with contributions by Casey Morris and Suz Krueger.

I just don't understand and maybe someone can help me.

Say, for example, I am the leader of the reconstruction effort in Iraq for 18 months, and during those 18 months, I repeatedly lie about any number of things, including the state of the reconstruction, the state of the war there, the cost of the reconstruction. And not only do I lie, I lie about it on camera, repeatedly, and often, during many, many interviews with journalists covering the war.

Fast forward to a year later. I have now left the job and written a book about it. And almost everything I have to say in the book is in direct opposition to what I claimed was the truth only a year ago when I made statements to the reporters in Iraq.

Moving along, I begin to go on my book promotion tour and, lo and behold, a journalist has some minimum wage staffer pull up the video tape of me lying on camera and shows it to me during our interview and asks the inevitable questions about the discrepencies.

Here's the question, why am I shocked at this? If you had behaved that way, would you be shocked?

So why was former Ambassador-cum-Reconstruction Czar in Iraq, shocked and maybe a teeny bit irritated when Wolf Blitzer did just that? From CNN transcripts:

I was raised in a geeky family. In terms of popular culture, this meant that we eagerly awaited the announcement of the winners of the Nobel Prizes with the exact same eagerness as we watched the beautiful, the breathless and the tearful accept an Academy award or the Miss America crown.

As an adult, I still eagerly await the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners, but now I also eagerly await their Nobel lectures. I crave more insight into these exceptional minds. Sometimes, it's the first time we get such access, and often it is the only time.

So when Harold Pinter was selected earlier this year as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, I thought, "Well, that's going to be one damn interesting lecture." I thought that because I have long been a fan of Pinter's work. His literary work to be sure, but I mean his other work. His political work. I felt certain that this would be the thrust of his speech. And the man did not disappoint.

If you wish to hear the lecture for yourself, click here, and follow the link for high or low band-width. You will need RealPlayer. If you wish to read the text, click here.

For those that wish to do neither, I will hit a few of the highlights below of his lecture, titled, "Art, Truth, and Politics".

Austin Chronicle

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Voting Rights Act and the implications of violations of it. Now, the redistricting plan that gave the Republicans in congress a huge majority and was created by Delay has been found to be a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

According to the Washington Post,

"Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

"The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," the memo concluded."

As Iraq War hawk John Murtha spoke today, calling for the immediate scheduling of redeployment of US forces from Iraq, one could sense the shift in American attitude towards the War in Iraq.

The full text of the statement by the fifteen term veteran Democratic Congressman and 38-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps:

"The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region."

"General Casey said in a September 2005 hearing, "the perception of occupation in Iraq is a major driving force behind the insurgency." General Abizaid said on the same date, "Reducing the size and visibility of the coalition forces in Iraq is part of our counterinsurgency strategy."

"For 2 ½ years, I have been concerned about the U.S. policy and the plan in Iraq. I have addressed my concerns with the Administration and the Pentagon and have spoken out in public about my concerns. The main reason for going to war has been discredited. A few days before the start of the war I was in Kuwait - the military drew a red line around Baghdad and said when U.S. forces cross that line they will be attacked by the Iraqis with Weapons of Mass Destruction - but the US forces said they were prepared. They had well trained forces with the appropriate protective gear.

"We spend more money on Intelligence that all the countries in the world together, and more on Intelligence than most countries GDP. But the intelligence concerning Iraq was wrong. It is not a world intelligence failure. It is a U.S. intelligence failure and the way that intelligence was misused.

What would you say if I told you that one of our government's most trusted, nonpartisan investigative organizations published a report a few weeks ago that confirms the claims of basically all of the critics of electronic voting machines? And that furthermore, none of the government agencies charged with fixing these problems is in any hurry to finish the work before the 2006 election?

Well, the Government Accountability Office did just that, publishing
Elections: Federal Efforts to Improve Security and Reliability of Electronic Voting Systems Are Under Way, but Key Activities Need to Be Completed, GAO-05-956, September 21, 2005.

The GAO identifies dozens of flaws that would allow tampering with election results. And despite the well-known existence of many of these problems, the GAO found a truly remarkable lack of urgency. Many of these problems will not be repaired or eliminated before the 2006 election.

But now comes the real mystery. The mainstream press have virtually blacked out any mention of this report. Bradblog, which broke the news on the GAO report, has pointed out this strange silence. Just this evening, I searched both the New York Times and the Washington Post: nothing. I ran a Google News search, which turned up a handful of online mentions, plus a couple of very small newspapers.

And what exactly does the mainstream press not want you to know (or in a more generous mood, think is not important to bother you with)?

The CEO's of the five major oil firms will be coming to Capitol Hill this morning, ostensibly to answer questions from the Senate on the difference between record quarterly profits and price gouging. I, for one, will be glued to C-SPAN3 in the vain hopes of hearing anything close to an answer. Or the truth. Whichever gets mistakenly blurted out first.

The hearing begins at 9:30 AM, with C-SPAN3 carrying the live stream.

Just as a sidenote: I will be sending a DCP t-shirt to the first Senator who asks any CEO if there is a relationship between the price of gas dropping fifty-five cents in the last two weeks, and their appearance before Congress.

UPDATE,11:58PM: As I am sure you all know by now, Democrats claimed victory in both key Governor's races, Tim Kaine in Virginia, and Jon Corzine in New Jersey. We congratulate the winners.

I am equally sure that Democrats will try to paint this as spelling epic problems for the Republicans, and the Republicans will vaguely cast about for some memory of an election taking place today ("There was an election?").

Well, in terms of forecasting what this means for 2006, really who knows? All I can give you are the tealeaves' contribution from neck of the upstate NY woods. It's up to you to read them.

The major television station boasting the best "on site team coverage", had reporters in 4 of seven loser headquarters. What do I mean? I mean that there were serious upsets to Republican candidates. The reporters were sent to the headquarter of the person who was clearly expected to win, only to be at the site of the losing candidate.

And Republicans were losing offices on any number of levels. All across the board-from a newly created judgeship that I would have bet money on would have gone to a high profile district attorney, to the one term mayor of Saratoga Springs getting the boot from a political newcomer Democrat.

In what I found to be particularly interesting results, the Mayor of Albany, Jerry Jennings (D), got reelected with 62% of the vote, and the next closest was the Green Party candidate with 26%, and the Republican got only 9% of the vote.

So that's my local election news of interest. What happened where you live?
-------

It's Election Day.

So go vote already!! And then come back and tell us something we don't know (shoutout to DiAnne!), or an Election Day story from today.

It's democracy-don't miss it!

From CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The war in Iraq saw two milestones Tuesday that reflect the country's path to democracy and its human toll as officials said the referendum on a draft constitution passed and the U.S. military's death toll reached 2,000.

CNN's count of U.S. fatalities reflects reports from military sources and includes deaths in Iraq, Kuwait and other units assigned to the Iraq campaign.

I don't know why we mark these things in nice round numbers. Somehow that seems just slightly obsene to me. I don't think the families of these people think of their loved ones in nice round numbers.

I don't think God works in base ten. I wonder, why do we?

Watching the Republican Political Machine is an awful lot like watching snakes limbo. Just when you think the belly-crawling crowd has gone as low as they can go, they just slither right under the morality bar one more time.

Take United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-TX) performance on Meet The Press yesterday morning:

I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn’t indict on the crime so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation were not a waste of time and dollars.

I was watching the show with my older sister who was visiting for the weekend. Now, you should know that I call my sister nearly every day with my "political outrage of the day". And everyday, her response is a stunned, "Are you kidding me?".

I always give her the same response, "I can't make this up."

Three major sections of the Voting Rights Act will soon be expiring. I learned more about these at the Rainbow Push Convention.

Section 2 is a very powerful section. It requires language accommodations when English is a second language. It requires translators be available. Most people think this refers only to Hispanics; however, it refers to all languages, including Native Americans.

Section 5 is also extremely important. It requires certain districts that have a record of discrimination to get permission from the Justice Department before they may make any changes to their election procedures. This section has important value as you can see because though Ohio did not have a previous record of discrimination violations before last years elections, they now do. This section safe guards the rights of Blacks, Hispanics, and the working poor who live in those regions.

Sections 6-10 Are the sections which give the authority to the Department of Justice to monitor elections.

Keep in mind, According to Barbara Arwine of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, if the VRA is made permanent the Supreme Court would have to call it unconstitutional because it would invalidate those three sections. Let me explain: What makes the VRA constitutional is that it is individualized for each district and is not a blanket statement. Therefore, it offers reform, control, investigation, and protection to those who need it but not to those who don't.

Today, Rev. Jessie Jackson, The Rainbow Push Coalition, Randi Rhodes, and Labor took their protests to Atlanta. They're taking a stand to Protect our right to vote. For those of us trapped at home, we can still help get this message across.

Join them by writing the letters to the editors to explain this act. And join them by asking your Congressman to support the Voting Rights Act. And you can join them by talking to your friends, families, and neighbors.

Ask them, "Do we really want to go back to the days of Jim Crow?"

Last night's election returns vigil was the usual roller coaster of partial returns inspiring hope for a smashing upset, followed by the reality of a tight loss. Having entered the race as the longest of long shots, Hackett demonstrated the kind of disciplined civilian bravery that brought him surprisingly close to a win in an overwhelmingly Republican district, that Bush won almost 2:1 in 2004.

Unlike too many of his fellow party brethren, Hackett did not run away from the truth about the war in Iraq. The vote total shows that he was able to use this message to convert thousands of Bush voters. If yesterday had been November 2, 2004, such a sea change would have swept the Democrats into control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.

For this demonstration of bravery under fire of ridicule, ALL Americans owe Paul Hackett a huge debt. Regardless of what party one supports, our Constitutional form of government is always best served when men and women rise above the petty and parochial concerns of politics as usual and put the truth on the line for all to see. Thank you, Paul.

We are all hoping for a free and fair election--well, it won't be *free*, but we can watch for fairness. Report in what you find here.

In what has easily been one of her best posts to date, Arianna Huffington offers this fascinating picture of the now "Rove-Libby-Wilson-Powell-Gonzales-Ashcroft-Bolton-Rice-Hadley-Fleischer-Card-Comey-Cheney-Hughes-Plame" scandal.

Not everyone in the Times building is on the same page when it comes to Judy Miller. The official story the paper is sticking to is that Miller is a heroic martyr, sacrificing her freedom in the name of journalistic integrity.

[Editor’s Note: "Live Blogging The Conyers Hearing" is available in chronological sequence here.]

UPDATE:18:42:15: [from rally after delivering the signed petitions to the White House] John Bonifaz has just called for the impeachment of President Bush. He's demanding "Give our country back."

He's now turning the mike over to John Conyers.

John Conyers said that 50 members of Congress showed up for the hearing. Mr. Conyers is beginning to lose his voice, but he is calling for "More Protests, More Marches, More Letters, More Hearings, More Signatures...". He said, "We are going to continue to collect more signatures... 1 million signatures, 5 million signatures, 20 million signatures.... However many it takes..."

Coingate. We've heard about it and read about it and seen it on television all of the...wait--whhhat's that?

Oh, right. Okay, let's try this again--Coingate, you've heard about it if you visit blogs which print the truth, and you've read about it if you have access to The Toledo Blade, or live in Ohio, and you have come nowhere near seeing it on television unless you've been taking peyote during some well deserved down time from your 9-5 gig.

But in a nutshell, Coingate is a story about the GOP led government in Ohio, and the looting of a $225 million Ohio State worker's comp fund. At least, that's how the story began--how it ends is anyone's guess. It was true for Watergate and it's still true. Follow the money, baby, follow the money.

The fact that there is all this money gone missing, and that Ohio had what was at best, poorly run elections, and at worst, fraudulent elections which led to the reelection of President Bush by a mere 10,000 votes, I am sure is a complete coincidence (pun intended).

And I haven't written about it before because I have been waiting to see what the lamestream media would do, the GOP would do, the Democrats would do, and how long it would take to get Coingate, Ken Blackwell, elections and Bush involved the same overall story.

We have crossed that threshold and the bride of scandal is in the house.

I never was good at math. Numbers make me panic. But these numbers even I can understand:

Cable News stations 6
Television stations 4
Clear Channel Media 600 stations
Sinclair Media 78 stations in major markets
AND
Christian stations 1100

Now this is a tiny bit of mixing apples and oranges, but not much. The point is still here to be made.

Christian networks nearly double the number of media outlets. They reach millions of viewers across the world and yet they are not obligated to pay taxes, despite their obvious political activities. These stations bring in tremendous financial support to those who are willing to promote a religion on the airwaves.

However, given today's infrastructure of internet, radio, and tv media, and the political outreach of these groups, the churches are teetering close to the line of politics and non-profit organizations. Not surprisingly, many people already view that line as having been crossed.

In fact, I remember when I first read about Rove and the neocons going to churches and requesting lists of members. Many clear-minded church leaders cried "Foul!" at the time, but very little was done to prevent it.

So what can we as a community do to insure that non-profit churches are not mixing politics in with their message? We can be alert, document, and report violations, and in the meantime we can organize our own nonpartisan groups as well.

We can work for change by being the change.

In seeing the inspiring political involvement and activities of the Princeton students, I started thinking about what is, or more important, what isn't being taught in schools today. In order to understand the complex world in which we live, there is a necessary baseline of information that all future voters will need. Are they getting that critical baseline of knowledge in our schools? In our homes?

I am afraid the answer is no. Consequently, I am worried about the quality or even the existence of democracy education in America, both in schools and in our homes.

My particular concern is this--Are we preparing our children to become full and active participants in our democracy? Again, the answer is no.

The lack of a basic understanding of the interpolation of world history and religion should be a deep concern for all members of our democracy, not just parents. For some time now there has been a movement fully engaged to mandate the teaching of creationism alongside the theory of evolution in schools. Now they are moving ahead with plans to reduce the factual basis for science education. Science no, God yes. But let's not lose sight of the larger issue here, which is how these decisions get made at their very roots, which is by voters.

Well, it appears that things will come to a boil mid-week concerning the Judicial Filibuster. The Senate comes back from a week-long recess to take up this issue once again, all guns ablazin' and full of...rhetoric.

But let's take a moment to examine what the Senators did during their spring vacation. Nope, not Fort Lauderdale for these folks. It was ads, ads, ads for them. And who were these ads aimed at? The opposition? No again, they were aimed at the constituents of their fellow republicans. Don't you want these people as your friends?

They ran ads in the states of the republican senators who are on the fence about the filibuster, in an effort to intimidate them and sway their votes.

Shorter version: Vote with us or we will make your supporters hate your guts.

Let's start with the awards...

BEST POLITICAL KNEECAPPING AND THE BIG STORY

President Bush left Frist, Dobson, Perkins, and the rest of the Fristian Right out on a big limb all by themselves with this exchange from NBC's David Gregory:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has defended the claim that opponents of President Bush’s judicial nominees are “against people of faith.” Tonight President Bush was asked if he agreed, and his answer was clear:

BUSH: … I just don’t agree with it.

QUESTION: You don’t agree with it?

BUSH: No. I think people oppose my nominees because of judicial philosophy.

QUESTION: Sir, I asked you about what you think of…

BUSH: No, I know what you asked me.

QUESTION: … the way faith is being used in our political debates, not just in society generally.

BUSH: Well, I can only speak to myself. And I am mindful that people in political office should not say to somebody, You’re not equally American if you don’t happen to agree with my view of religion.

Good night, Senator Dr. Mr. Frist, James, Dobson, Tony Perkins, and the rest of the Fristians. Don't let the door hit you on the way out...

BEST DISPLAY OF BAMBOOZLING (ALSO KNOWN AS THE JOSH MARSHALL AWARD)

The award goes to...President Bush!

There was so much bamboozling going on tonight in that press conference that it was easy to miss one essential contradiction in the president's argument. You don't have to worry about private accounts, he said, because if you want you can fill your account with US Treasury bonds which have no risk at all. They're backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. But he says that the very same Treasury notes, when they're in the Trust Fund, are just worthless IOUs.

BEST IDIOTIC BUSH QUOTE TO ADD TO THE LIST OF 1,205,305,472 BUSHISMS

Bush On Terrorism

"We need to find those people who intend to do us harm and remove them from harm's way."

BEST MISSING IN ACTION-NEWSMAKERS THAT REPORTERS FORGOT TO ASK ABOUT:TOM DELAY AND OSAMA BIN LADEN

It's hard to believe that in a press conference so long that it went over its scheduled time, reporters never got around to asking about embattled House Majority leader Tom DeLay, or the status of the government's ongoing efforts to capture or kill the criminal responsible for the worst terrorist attack on American soil, Osama Bin Laden. It was particularly surprising given the fact that both partisanship and 9/11-terrorism were discussed by the President. Well, we don't call them the White House Press Corpse for nothing.

And our last award

BEST PRESS CONFERENCE BLOGGING BONUS NUGGET OF FUN

In a daring move, NBC, CBS, FOX and other television networks pulled the plug on the President's press conference to return to scheduled programming, despite the fact that the conference continued for nearly another fifteen minutes.

You have to wonder who the decision maker was over at CBS who said, "Cut the President. Go to Survivor! NOW, dammit." At NBC, they cut him off for "The Apprentice", which, is weird, because you would think that if the audience liked one apprentice, they would like them all. And on Fox, in a strangly similar twist of fate as NBC faced, the President was given the ax in favor of "The Simple Life: The Interns".

Okay, so I was wrong. Apparently,if you've seen one intern you haven't seen them all.

Now, we go below the fold to the grim reality...with a huge assist from the Think Progress Team. You have my deepest gratitude and thanks for the rapid response research.

Many of us worked our tails off in preparation for the the 2004 election. There are still many unanswered questions about the election process in this country. We have a long road ahead of us and a lot to do. Our hard work at grassroots organizing for our parties and candidates may be in vain if our elections are not secure.

My friend Elizabeth attended a grassroots election reform conference in Nashville last weekend and reports, as she did for our democracy cell:

Attendees and panelists represented 30 different states. The panelists were people who are the leaders in this movement. They included statisticians, journalists, professors, politicians, lawyers and activists participating in the Ohio recount, New Mexico recount, and others. The information they have gathered is stunning! The general consensus is that electronic voting machines, with or without paper ballots, but especially without paper ballots, are a direct threat to our democracy.

While House Majority Leader and perpetually ethics challenged Congressman Tom DeLay is busy using the pain of the Schiavo family to deflect attention from his shady dealings, the spotlight gets has been refocused on him from an unlikely source, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks.

David Brooks has long associated himself with varying levels of apologia for the activities of conservative members of Congress, but today he moves off the reservation. And he didn't move next door, either. With one swift column, he has declared a truth jihad on the whole shady and unethical revolving door practices of those creatures on K Street, the lobbyists, and those who greedily stand in line for seconds and thirds and fourths at the trough of corporate campaign contributions, the members of Congress.

Everybody always likes to gritch about all the things the government does wrong.

And when it comes to applying high-tech solutions to everyday problems, the government’s track record is especially uneven. (The FBI’s recent abandonment of its unworkable agency-wide computing system after wasting four years and 170 million dollars on the project comes to mind, among other conspicuous failures.)

But sometimes even the government does get something right. And this time, in the case of FirstGov.Com, the government got it really right.

Although it calls itself "The U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal," the FirstGov website could just as easily claim the title of "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Your Government, But Didn’t Know Where To Ask."

Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on NPR yesterday morning:

But that's why as we manage the most serious risks, we drive down the consequences of an act. It's not terribly different from what we do with organized crime in this sense. When we attacked organized crime at law enforcement community, we didn't eliminate crime, but by targeting the high-priority elements of where they were causing the greatest damage to society, we drove the risks down, we drove the consequences down to a level which was still bad but was not as bad as it had been. Likewise, in the era of terrorism, what we seek to on the way to eliminating terrorism is drive down, again to protect the most important, most valuable things against the greatest risks so that the consequences of an act are less serious a year from now than they would have been, let's say, a year ago.

If this sounds familiar, it's because it is just about word for word what John Kerry said in an interview with the New York Times during his campaign for President.

I recently spoke to a person who works with the EOC and has an insider's perspective of the Help America Vote Act. In our discussion, we covered numerous areas.

Was the HAVA a success as implied by the EOC and by our Senators and Representatives?

The Help America Vote Act was a success if you look at what they were hoping to accomplish.

Some of us are old enough to remember the anti-war protest song by Country Joe & The Fish featuring that famous refrain, a song that helped to define America’s Woodstock moment for an entire generation.

All of us are old enough to remember the scandalous election frauds -– excuse me, "irregularities" -– that helped to define America’s 2000 and 2004 presidential elections for an entire generation, too.

“Laws are like sausages. It is better not to see them being made.” -- Otto von Bismarck

Ain’t that the truth. And it’s never truer than it is at budget-bill time.

Appropriations bills, and for that matter any other kind of bills, are incredibly complicated documents by the time they ever come up for a vote. Even the simplest, most obvious proposal gets bogged down in subclauses and disquisitions and legal caveats and so on before it ever gets introduced, and then they all get even more weighted down with amendments and exceptions and corollary clauses and such before they ever reach the floor.

The bigger the bill, the more barnacles that it's encrusted with before it ever even leaves the dock. Every Senator and Congressman with an axe to grind or an agenda to pursue has to put his or her $.02 in, and back-door deals and quid-pro-quo's and lobbyist maneuverings make it such a mess that there's no way that any one bill can ever just be about any one thing by the time it finally comes up for a vote.

That's why it's equally specious to make oversimplified statements like "Congressman X voted against tax cuts for the poor" and "Representative Y voted to spend billions on selfish pork-barrel projects". The devil is in the details, and boy howdy are there ever a devilish bunch of details to deal with whenever we look at the legislative process. So let's see if we can't use a simpler example to address this topic instead:

Part I outlined Bev Harris' recent talk to Seattle, with suggested websites and an invitation to the Voter Reform meeting Monday 2/14, spearheaded by Governor Christine Gregoire, Washington.

Part II described potential solutions to problems encountered throughout the country in the last two elections.

Part III covers Harris’s harrowing story,. The following is my own report, as no press were there, to my knowledge. I have included other links to information on Bev Harris, and she has a book called Black Box Voting.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/ 0410/040310_news_blackbox.php
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/03/12/int03323.html
http://www.blackboxvoting.org