Saturday, February 11, 2006

Isaiah on DiFi and Maria on the week's headlines





Saturday post, consider yourself lucky. As always C.I. had posts today but also check out Kat and Ma's site Trina's Kitchen. The comic above is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts from last Sunday and it captures the reality of the last Monday's NSA hearings perfectly. Just finished my research paper and am grabbing some time before we start working on the latest edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review. So this isn't a "talkly post." In fact, that's about it for me.

Now here's a roundup of the week's news in Spanish and English, "Ex funcionario de CIA en Medio Oriente acusa a gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información sobre Irak en forma ventajosa:"

Maria: Buenos dias. De parte de "Democracy Now!" diez cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.

Ex funcionario de CIA en Medio Oriente acusa a gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información sobre Irak en forma ventajosa
Mientras tanto, el ex funcionario nacional de inteligencia de la CIA para el Medio Oriente acusó al gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información en forma ventajosa para justificar la invasión a Irak. En un nuevo artículo de Asuntos Exteriores, Paul Pillar escribió: "Quedó claro que la información oficial no fue tenida en cuenta para tomar las decisiones más importantes en materia de seguridad nacional. La información fue mal utilizada públicamente para justificar decisiones ya tomadas…y el propio trabajo de la comunidad de inteligencia estaba politizado".

Veterano herido de Guerra de Irak obligado a pagar por armadura
En materia militar, "Charlestown Gazette" informa que un soldado de Virginia Occidental herido en un ataque con bomba al costado de una carretera en Irak, fue obligado a pagar por el armadura que le quitaron mientras recibía tratamiento. La semana pasada, el Primer Teniente William "Eddie" Rebrook IV, fue obligado a pagar 700 dólares luego de que le dijeron que el ejército no tenía registro de que le hubieran retirado la armadura. Rebrook dijo: "Si las cosas de un soldado son dañadas por fuego enemigo, el soldado no debería pagarlas...Hay una total falta de empatía de los oficiales superiores que no saben lo que es ser un soldado de combate en el terreno". Su madre, Beckie Drumheler, agregó: "Es atroz, ridículo y desmedido. Quería pararme en una esquina y gritar por un altavoz lo que sucedió".

Informe: Rove amenaza a miembros republicanos del Comité Judicial del Senado por programa de espionaje
Mientras tanto, la publicación conservadora "Insight on the News" informa que el subjefe de personal de la Casa Blanca, Karl Rove, está amenazando a cualquier miembro republicano del comité judicial del Senado que se enfrente a la Casa Blanca sobre el programa de supervisión interna. Según Insight, "fuentes dicen que la lista negra implicaría que la Casa Blanca suspendería todo apoyo político o financiero a los senadores que busquen la reelección en noviembre". Un colaborador republicano veterano dijo a la publicación: "Es un juego duro hasta el final".

Jimmy Carter: Espionaje telefónico es "vergonzoso e ilegal"
Surgió un nuevo crítico al programa de espionaje interno, el ex presidente Jimmy Carter. quien describió la decisión del gobierno de Bush de realizar espionaje a través de escuchas telefónicas como "vergonzosa e ilegal". Carter dijo que "nadie sabe la privacidad de cuántos estadounidenses inocentes fue violada a causa de esta ley secreta". Carter hizo el comentario en Nevada, en una actividad en la que su hijo, Jack, anunció que se presentaría como candidato al senado de Estados Unidos.

Funcionario de la NASA designado por Bush renuncia tras revelación de que había mentido en su curriculum
En otras noticias, un funcionario designado por el presidente en el departamento de asuntos públicos de la NASA renunció tras la revelación de que había inventado parte de su curriculum. George Deutsch, quien fue designado el año pasado luego de trabajar en la campaña de reelección y en la asunción del presidente Bush, afirmó erróneamente que se había graduado como periodista en la Universidad A & M de Texas. Deutsch es uno de los funcionarios de la NASA acusado por los científicos de la agencia de intentar silenciar sus advertencias sobre las amenazas del calentamiento global.

Informe: Gobierno de Bush fue informado de rotura de dique antes de que fuera anunciada
Volvemos a Estados Unidos, el "New York Times" informa que la Casa Blanca fue informada acerca de que el huracán Katrina había derribado un dique en Nueva Orleáns casi doce horas antes de que el gobierno de Bush lo anunciara. La Casa Blanca argumentó que se le informó de las roturas del dique la mañana del martes 30 de agosto de 2005. Pero documentos demuestran que el gobierno de Bush fue informado la medianoche anterior.

Bush propone gran aumento del gasto de defensa y reducción de programas socials
El presidente Bush presenta su propuesta de presupuesto de aproximadamente unos 2,8 billones de dólares para el año próximo, lo que implica importantes aumentos en el gasto de defensa, pero profundos recortes del programa de salud Medicare y otros programas sociales a nivel nacional. Según esta propuesta de presupuesto, el gasto de defensa aumentará a 440 mil millones de dólares, casi un 7 por ciento. De ser aprobado, el presupuesto del Pentágono aumentará 45 por ciento con respecto al presupuesto asignado cuando Bush asumió por primera vez hace cinco años. El gasto militar es mucho más alto porque esta propuesta no incluye el gasto de las guerras de Irak y Afganistán. Un reciente cálculo estimó el costo de la guerra de Irak en 100 mil dólares por minuto. Al mismo tiempo, el presidente propone que las reducciones de impuestos sean permanentes. Esto costará alrededor de 1,5 billones en la próxima década. El Secretario de Defensa Donald Rumsfeld habló el lunes sobre el presupuesto: "La solicitud de presupuesto del presidente para el Departamento de Defensa representa un aumento con respecto al año anterior. Refleja lo que creemos que deberían ser las prioridades de la seguridad nacional de nuestro país. Fundamentalmente para ayudar a defender a Estados Unidos de América y al pueblo estadounidense y sus intereses, para otorgar flexibilidad a los comandantes, para prepararnos tanto para la guerra convencional como para la no convencional o irregular, y, algo que es muy importante, para trabajar junto a naciones socias para ayudarlas a desarrollar las capacidades necesarias para vencer a los terroristas dentro de sus fronteras y para que cooperen con nosotros y con otros países con respecto a esta amenaza mundial".

Muchos programas sociales sufrirán recortes en virtud del nuevo presupuesto
Mientras el presupuesto del Pentágono aumenta sensiblemente, el Centro sobre Presupuesto y Prioridades Políticas advierte que el presidente Bush propone realizar recortes a cientos de programas nacionales. Los recortes afectan a programas de educación, protección ambiental, numerosos programas de asistencia a las familias de bajos ingresos, niños, ancianos y personas discapacitadas, así como recortes a la investigación del cáncer, afecciones cardíacas y otras enfermedades. En uno de los casos, el centro estima que 420.000 adultos mayores de bajos ingresos perderán asistencia alimentaria del Programa de Alimentación Complementaria. Legisladores demócratas, e incluso algunos republicanos, criticaron a Bush por proponer recortar el gasto de los programas sociales. El senador republicano Arlen Specter calificó de "escandalosos" a los recortes en educación y la salud propuestos por Bush, mientras que la senadora republicana Olympia Snowe dijo estar "decepcionada y hasta sorprendida" por el alcance de los recortes propuestos por el gobierno a los programas Medicaid y Medicare.

Se cumplen 30 años del arresto de Leonard Peltier
Hoy se cumplen 30 años del encarcelamiento del activista estadounidense de origen indígena Leonard Peltier. Se están realizando manifestaciones en todo el país para solicitar su liberación. Fue procesado por matar a dos agentes del FBI durante un tiroteo en la Reserva India de Pine Ridge en 1975. Pero Peltier ha sostenido su inocencia desde ese momento. Escuchamos parte de una entrevista realizada por Amy Goodman a Peltier en prisión en el año 2000. Publicaremos un archivo mp3 con la entrevista completa en nuestro sitio web: Democracynow.org En una reciente declaración a quienes lo apoyan, Peltier dijo: "Estamos preparados para presentar más apelaciones en base a nueva información que mi equipo jurídico halló mientras investigaba documentos ocultos. Quiero que sepan que seguiremos luchando por mi libertad".

Más de 10.000 personas asistieron al funeral de Coretta Scott King
En Georgia, se calcula que unas 10.000 personas acudieron a la Iglesia Bautista Misionaria del Renacimiento en Letonia, un barrio residencial de Atlanta, para el funeral de la pionera de los derechos civiles, Coretta Scott King. Los ex presidentes Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, y el actual presidente George W. Bush asistieron al funeral junto con 14 senadores estadounidenses, y otros personajes públicos como Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey y Stevie Wonder. King falleció el 30 de enero a los 78 años, cuando se encontraba en México, donde buscaba tratamiento contra el cáncer de ovarios. Durante el funeral del martes, tanto el ex presidente Jimmy Carter, como el ex director de la Conferencia de Liderazgo Cristiano del Sur, reverendo Joseph Lowery, realizaron duras críticas al presidente Bush. Hablaron de la guerra en Irak, las violaciones de las libertades civiles y acusaron al presidente de ignorar la terrible situación de los pobres de Estados Unidos.

Maria: Now in English, here are ten headlines from Democracy Now! Peace.

Ex-CIA Mideast Officer Accuses Bush Admin. Of "Cherry-Picking" Iraq Intel
Meanwhile, the CIA's former national intelligence officer for the Middle East has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar writes: "It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions. Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made…and the intelligence community's own work was politicized."

Injured Iraq War Veteran Forced To Pay For Body Armor
In military news, the Charlestown Gazette is reporting a West Virginia soldier injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq has been forced to pay for the body armor that was removed from him while he was being treated. Last week, 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV was forced to pay $700 dollars after he was told the army had no record the armor was taken from him. Rebrook said: "If a soldier's stuff is hit by enemy fire, he shouldn't have to pay for it… There's a complete lack of empathy from senior officers who don’t know what it’s like to be a combat soldier on the ground." His mother, Beckie Drumheler, added: "It's outrageous, ridiculous and unconscionable. I wanted to stand on a street corner and yell through a megaphone about this."

Report: Rove Threatens GOP Senate Judiciary Members Over Spy Program
Meanwhile, the conservative publication Insight on the News is reporting White House deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is threatening any Republican Senate Judiciary members who challenge the White House on the domestic surveillance program. According to Insight, "Sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November." A senior Republican aide told the publication: "It's hardball all the way."

Jimmy Carter: Warantless Spying is "Disgraceful and Illegal"
A new critic of the domestic spying program has emerged -- former President Jimmy Carter. He described the Bush administration's decision to go ahead with the warrantless spying as "disgraceful and illegal." Carter said, "No one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act." Carter made the statement in Nevada at an event where his son, Jack, announced he is running for U.S. Senate.

Bush NASA Appointee Resigns Over Resume Fabrication
In other news, a presidential appointee at NASA's public affairs department has resigned following the disclosure he fabricated parts of his resumé. George Deutsch, who was appointed last year after working on President Bush's re-election campaign and inauguration, wrongly claimed he had graduated with a journalism degree from Texas A & M University. Deutsh is one of several NASA officials accused by agency scientists of attempting to silence their warnings over the threats posed by global warming.

Bush Administration Told of Levee Breach Earlier Than Claimed
Back in the United States, the New York Times is reporting the White House was told Hurricane Katrina had overrun a levee in New Orleans almost twelve hours earlier than the Bush administration has claimed. The White House has maintained it was first informed of the levee breaches the morning of Tuesday, August 30th 2005. But documents show the Bush administration was first informed at midnight the night before.

Bush Proposes Big Increase in Defense Spending, Cuts in Social Programs
In his proposed nearly $2.8 trillion budget President Bush is calling for major increases in defense spending but deep cuts in Medicare and other domestic social programs. Under the proposed budget, defense spending will increase nearly 7 percent to $440 billion. If approved the Pentagon’s budget will become 45 percent larger than when Bush took office five years ago. The military spending is actually far higher because the proposed budget does not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One recent estimate put the cost of the Iraq war at $100,000 every minute. At the same time, the president is proposing to make his tax cuts permanent. This would cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the budget on Monday: "The President's budget request for the Department of Defense represents an increase over last year. It reflects what we believe should be the country's national security priorities. Namely to help defend the United States of America and the American people and their interests, to give flexibility to commanders, to prepare for both conventional and unconventional or irregular warfare, and, importantly, to work closely with partner nations to help them develop the capabilities needed to defeat terrorists within their borders and to co-operate with us and other countries with respect to this global threat."

Wide Range of Social Programs To Face Cuts Under New Budget
While the Pentagon budget is soaring, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warns that President Bush is proposing to make cuts in hundreds of domestic programs. This includes education programs, environmental protection programs, numerous programs to assist low-income families, children, and elderly and disabled people, and research related to cancer, heart disease, and other medical conditions. In one case, the Center estimates 420,000 low-income seniors will lose food assistance from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Democratic and even some Republican lawmakers have criticized Bush for proposing to slash spending on social programs. Republican Sen. Arlen Specter called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health "scandalous" while Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said she was "disappointed and even surprised" at the extent of the administration's proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare.

Leonard Peltier Jailed 30 Years Ago Today
And today marks the 30th anniversary of the imprisonment of Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Rallies are being held across the country to call for his release. He was convicted of killing of killing two FBI agents during a shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. But Peltier has long maintained his innocence. This is from an interview in 2000 I did with him from jail. We will post an MP3 of the full interview on our website democracynow.org. In a recent statement to supporters, Peltier said "We are all geared up to file more appeals on new information my legal team has found while reviewing withheld documents. I want you to know that we will continue to fight for my freedom."

Over 10,000 Attend Funeral Service for Coretta Scott King
In Georgia Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 people filled the pews of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, for the funeral of civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush attended the funeral along with 14 US senators and public figures including Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder. King died January 30th at the age of 78 after seeking treatment in Mexico for ovarian cancer. She had just recently suffered a rehabilitating stroke and heart attack. At Tuesday’s service both former President Jimmy Carter and the former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Joseph Lowery, made subtle criticism of President Bush. They cited the war in Iraq, civil liberties transgressions and accused the president of ignoring the plight of the US poor.

















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Friday, February 10, 2006

Scooter fingers Dick

Good evening. Starting late tonight because Elaine and I were on the phone trying to figure if we had any energy left in us to do entries tonight. It's Friday evening and I think I can rally for one more lap around the field. Let's go to Democracy Now!

Libby Testifies "Superiors" Ordered Leak of Classified Information
New evidence has emerged linking Vice President Dick Cheney to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Investigative journalist Murray Waas has revealed testimony from Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- Cheney's indicted former chief of staff -- before a federal grand jury. Libby testified he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to invade Iraq. Larry Johnson, a former intelligence official and colleague of Plame's said: "This was not some rogue operation, but was directed at the highest levels, and specifically by Dick Cheney. Libby was definitely a man with a mission, but a man who was given a mission."

What if Libby really did blow the whistle on Cheney? Would it make it into the coverage or would it be like Russ Feingold and Patrick Leahy forcing a vote on whether or not Alberto Gonzales should be sworn in for testimony which is something that pretty much got ignored when reporters wrote up their stories on Monday's NSA hearing?

How far up could it go? And is there a reason that Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't indicted Karl Rove?
I was really excited when the investigation was announced and then the press seemed to back down even more than before. By the time Libby was indicted, they really weren't trying to determine what had happened.

Is that a regular failure of the press, that when we need them to shine a light, they tell us "I get scared in the dark!"

If the press had gone after the story of the outing of Valerie Plame back in 2003, how different would things be today?

I have no respect or trust for Matthew Cooper. In 2003, he could have gone public. In 2004, before the election, he could have gone public and written about it. He did go public. So there's none of that "I was protecting a source" because if that's the case, you keep your mouth shut.
Cooper didn't. He kept his conversations with Karl Rove private.

Do you think that knowing the man who was running Bully Boy's campaign had been active in the outing of a CIA agent could have changed the 2004 presidential election? I think it could have. I consider Matthew Cooper a "Bush Pioneer" because, whether he gave money or not, he gave freely of his time to conceal what had happened.

If he'd gone to jail for his principle, I might feel differently. But when he turns yellow at the thought of jail time and starts singing, he can't use that as an excuse. Think about how different the 2004 election might have been if Matthew Cooper hadn't covered up for Karl Rove and the administration. And wonder about how much has been covered up that we've never heard about.




Ex-CIA Mideast Officer Accuses Bush Admin. Of "Cherry-Picking" Iraq Intel
Meanwhile, the CIA's former national intelligence officer for the Middle East has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar writes: "It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions. Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made…and the intelligence community's own work was politicized."

Wonder if ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and all the papers will pick up on this? I don't think they can. I think they'll bury it because they are as a complicit in this war as the Bully Boy. Hope I'm wrong.


Hope you read the indymedia roundup C.I. did last night. Jeremy Hinzman's appeal is going through the courts in Canada. Will he be granted sanctuary or sent back here? It amazes that Canada once accepted resistors (during the Vietnam war) but now has a hard time making the call. Cherry picking intelligence, Bully Boy lying us into war, I don't see granting Hinzman sanctuary as a difficult decision.

Be sure to check out Elaine's site Like Maria Said Paz. And be sure to have a great weekend. I've got a paper due on Monday and I'm not sure how great my weekend will be but you better believe I'm going to try to make it a great one. You try too. If you're feeling down or just wiped out, read Betty's "Thomas Friedman plays the woman scorned" because it will make you laugh and lift your spirits.





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Thursday, February 09, 2006

Guantanamo, Who does the Bully Boy love and Dave Zirin

Starting later than usual tonight because I took Nina out to the place of her choice for dinner. Last night's post never would have made it up if she hadn't said, "Oh let me type the thing up!" (We made the last showing of the movie but missed the previews.) I hate typing, I'm a hunt and peck kind of guy. When she finished typing up the tape of Wally's interview, I asked her, "Did you put in that you typed it?" And she didn't. We had to hurry to make the film so I couldn't go in and add it last night. But I'll put it in here and say, "Isn't she great?" (She really is.) And let me thank C.I. too because Wally and me both got a ton of e-mails after C.I. gave a heads up to the interview today. I got nothing but praise but Wally told me he got a few asking where were the penis jokes? Apologies to those left hanging, we forgot to penis jokes. We'll do 'em next time. So I've done my thanks, let's get started with Democracy Now!



Less Than Half of Reviewed Gitmo Detainees Accused of Violence
The news comes as a new study based entirely on Pentagon data shows that of 500 Guantanamo detainees whose cases were reviewed, fewer than half of them have been accused of committing violent acts against the United States or its allies. The study, carried out by lawyers for two detainees, found that the government has identified only 8% of the detainees as al Qaeda fighters. Of the rest, the study found that 40% have no connection with al Qaeda at all and 18% are have no affiliation with either al Qaeda or the Taliban. Meanwhile, 60% of the 500 detainees have been detained "merely because they are 'associated with' a group or groups the US government asserts are terrorist organizations."

You ever know a kid who told a big lie and the more obvious it became, the more he would lie to try to get out of it? I think that kid is the Bully Boy. He's built his "strong man" image on lies and one of the lies was that he's locked away (in Guantanamo) all these dangerous types to protect us. Truth doesn't reflect that. So Bully Boy's lies get bigger and he's trotting out the lie about how much he is protecting us (again) to try to make people say, "Oh, then it's okay that you spy on us." It's not okay. He's a liar and some people have the hardest time facing that.

Injured Iraq War Veteran Forced To Pay For Body Armor
In military news, the Charlestown Gazette is reporting a West Virginia soldier injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq has been forced to pay for the body armor that was removed from him while he was being treated. Last week, 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV was forced to pay $700 dollars after he was told the army had no record the armor was taken from him. Rebrook said: "If a soldier's stuff is hit by enemy fire, he shouldn’t have to pay for it… There’s a complete lack of empathy from senior officers who don’t know what it’s like to be a combat soldier on the ground." His mother, Beckie Drumheler, added: "It's outrageous, ridiculous and unconscionable. I wanted to stand on a street corner and yell through a megaphone about this."

Tony told me today, "You gotta put this in, you gotta!" He said it's "proof" that Bully Boy doesn't support the troops. I say, "Tony, come on. Bully Boy supports the troops . . . as targets. That's why he said 'Bring it on!' That's why he didn't provide body armor, that's why he had no plan. He loves targets." That's all we are to Bully Boy, targets. Cannon fodder. Things to be dimissed and sold out. We aren't his "base." The CEO "president" doesn't care for the workers which makes him pretty much like all the other CEOs.

Let's note the one and only Dave Zirin's "The Value of A Number:"

When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947, baseball ceased to be just a game. In the dark years of McCarthyism, as his biographer Arnold Rampersad wrote, "only Jackie Robinson insisted day in and day out on challenging America on questions of race and justice." As Martin Luther King said of Robinson, "He was a sit-inner before sit-ins. A freedom rider before freedom rides." In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of Robinson's rookie season, MLB commissioner Bud Selig took the unprecedented step of retiring Robinson's number, 42, from the league.
Now a new push is taking place to honor another legend in a similar way. An appeal has been made by Hispanics Across America (HAA) to retire the number 21 of Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente. A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente was not the game's first Latino but its first breakout star. Clemente was a regular season and World Series MVP with 3,000 career hits, but he is especially revered for his efforts to support Latin American communities in the United States and abroad. Clemente's almost Bolivarian reputation was cemented when he perished in a 1972 plane crash taking medical, food and clothing supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.
But the effort to honor Clemente has met resistance from a surprising source: Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. In January, she said, "To my understanding, the purpose of retiring my father's number is that what he did changed all of baseball, not only for African-Americans but also for Latinos, so I think that purpose has been met. When you start retiring numbers across the board, for all different groups, you're kind of diluting the original purpose."
The place of blacks and Latinos in baseball is a highly sensitive one. Twenty years ago, African-Americans comprised 27 percent of the game's players; today they represent just 8.9 percent. In 2005 the Houston Astros became the first team since the days of Robinson to make the World Series without one African-American player. Latinos, according to 2005 rosters, represent 37 percent of players. Honoring Clemente, the HAA feels, is a way of honoring the role they play in today's game. HAA president Fernando Mateo responded to Sharon Robinson quite sharply, saying, "We as an organization and a community are surprised that Jackie Robinson's daughter would publicly address the retirement of Roberto Clemente's number or say it should not be retired. We believe it is self-serving of her to inject her personal views simply to keep her legendary father's number the only one in retirement."

Olympics are about to start. I said that to Tony today on campus and he shot back, "The Winter Olympics." Yeah, but it's Olympics. And remember, we got one more day to get through and then it's THE WEEKEND! Are you ready for it? If not, go read Rebecca's "dream journal" (stealing from C.I.).






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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Coretta Scott King's funeral, Rove runs the GOP and my interview with Wally

Good evening, let's kick things off with Democracy Now!


Over 10,000 Attend Funeral Service for Coretta Scott King
In Georgia Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 people filled the pews of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, for the funeral of civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush attended the funeral along with 14 US senators and public figures including Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder. King died January 30th at the age of 78 after seeking treatment in Mexico for ovarian cancer. She had just recently suffered a rehabilitating stroke and heart attack. At Tuesday’s service both former President Jimmy Carter and the former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Joseph Lowery, made subtle criticism of President Bush. They cited the war in Iraq, civil liberties transgressions and accused the president of ignoring the plight of the US poor.

The people care about Coretta Scott King. The mainstream media ain't real concerned. The New York Times sure isn't. Check out this from C.I. on how the paper of no record ignored Coretta Scott King.


Report: Rove Threatens GOP Senate Judiciary Members Over Spy Program
Meanwhile, the conservative publication Insight on the News is reporting White House deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is threatening any Republican Senate Judiciary members who challenge the White House on the domestic surveillance program. According to Insight, "Sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.” A senior Republican aide told the publication: "It's hardball all the way."


What? You think Bully Boy knows how to play "hardball"? He knows how to cheer. He's grabbing his pom-poms and hopping around screaming "Beat 'em! Bust 'em! That's our custom!" While Karl plays hardball. Then he leaps in the air, kicks his legs real high and comes down in a split. The cheerleading Bully Boy. You know, I'd buy that doll -- just to laugh at it.

Now get over to Like Maria Said Paz today for Elaine's thought. I'm rushing tonight because I interviewed Wally an hour ago and I'm going to try to get that typed up and get this up at the regular time or close to it so Nina and me can head to the movies.

And speaking of laughs, ladies and gentleman, for the hour, Wally of The Daily Jot.

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour! How long do you think most readers would keep reading if we kept doing that?

Wally: I'm not sure and not sure we should push it. But what the heck, for the hour!

For the hour! That's our Larry King impression. We love doing that. We'll stop.

Wally: For now.

Okay, so let's kick this thing off. You do The Daily Jot. That's your site. Your blog. You started it back in October.

Wally: And you interviewed me before.

Right. October 20th.

Wally: By starting in October I missed the whole "Let's go to DC!" for the September protests.

Yeah and let me note who was there from the community:

The rallies are back. This time we all focus on D.C. Last time "we" included The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Betty who was on the verge of starting Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man and C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review. This time we're joined by Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Morning Edition Report and her granddaughter Tracey.


Wally: And you all worked on "'Why Are You Here' and 'What's Changed'" which was all these voices from the protest.

And last weekend you went to DC with The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, C.I. of The Common Ills and Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)?.

Wally: That was so cool. A lot of fun. I understand when you guys went before, you were focused and working like crazy. C.I. said at one point that maybe you got cheated out of some of the fun?

Cause it was my first time visiting? Yeah but we were there having fun. I think the thing was that in September there were tons of activites. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But we did get to have fun and look around.

Wally: You also had good weather on your trip. "Dreary" was D.C. while we were there. But yeah, we went out to eat, went clubbing, lots of fun.

And you needed some fun. That week, you started out really depressed.

Wally: Oh yeah. The spineless Democrats. "I'll vote but I won't filibuster so why are people mad?" Because you were cowards. I was so disgusted.

C.I. told everyone, "Back off and let Wally have some space."

Wally: I read that on your site. Yeah, C.I. said take some time and just do whatever. It was good advice because if I hadn't, I'd probably be doing this interview with you right now to announce the end of The Jot.

It was that bad?

Wally: It really was. I really thought the Democrats would finally pull together, work together and prove that they could stand up for us. Then they rolled over and confirmed Alito. It just blew away all my illusions that they had spines.

It was really disappointing.

Wally: Yep and then comes the news about Coretta Scott King and it was just like, "I can't take anymore bad news."

So what happened? What changed?

Wally: Well, I guess I needed to wallow in despair. This was the first time I really thought we could make the party represent us and then when it was obvious that it wasn't happening, I just felt like, "What's the point?" When I said that to C.I., I was expecting a lecture like, "Well, it's a long fight and we just keep fighting" or something like that. And I honestly think I would've bagged it if that had happened, just quit blogging. But C.I. didn't say that, didn't give a lecture, just said to take time to relax and not worry or feel guilty about it.

And you did that.


Wally: And I did that and then I started having the itch to write something. But I didn't rush back. The Common Ills was all over the New York Times refusing to do an editorial or an op-ed about Coretta Scott King and I wanted to get in on that.

But you didn't.

Wally: Nope because that was one day. I could blog and then go back into my funk. So I took my time off and then Friday morning I called C.I. and said I was ready to fight again and that's when C.I. goes, "Do you want to go to DC? Kat and I are going for the World Can't Wait rally." And, yeah, did I! Absolutely. The only person more excited than me was my mom who thought it was a great thing and also was probably glad I wasn't in my dark mood. So, yeah, I went to DC. And I got to stay for the NSA hearing on Monday which was pretty cool.


And you've got a new direction at your blog that people are loving.

Wally: Yeah. It's "Bully Boy Press." I'm doing that right now. Just making fun of him. I don't know if that's from now on or just for right now. But it's a "jot" and that was one thing C.I. said to me: "You were going to jot and now you're doing all these heavy entries." That started with Florida. When Hurricane Wilma came through and no one seemed to care. So, I'm back to having fun with my site. I might change it up again, you never know. But I get to "Jot."

And you're not a first of the morning site now.

Wally: I never meant to be and kept saying that but it was like no one wanted to hear. Usually, I do it on campus when I've got a break between classes. I just e-mail it to my site and thanks to C.I. because we set that up when C.I. helped me set up my site back in October but it would never work. So while we were in DC we went in to my "dashboard" and "settings" together to figure out what was going on and we fixed it. So I'm usually posting at my site around two or three. Depending on if I bump into some friends or --

Scope out the ladies!

Wally: Scope out the ladies! You know it! Oops! You don't! You've got Nina!

That's right. No scoping for me. I never look. Never.

Wally: Dude, Nina is sooooo going to know you're being sarcastic.

It's cool. She'll notice other guys too.


Wally: Okay then.

So it's just really cool what you've done with your site and I wanted to talk to you about the new change and about how you were because you were pretty down.

Wally: Yep. I was really down. I bounced back. It was a blow, you know. Smart thing to do was to take time off.

You came back stronger.

Wally: Hope so.

Anything before we stop here because we put a time limit on this.

Wally: You hate typing!

I hate typing!

Wally: No. That's about all. Thanks to my old readers and everyone in the community for understanding I needed a break and sending lots of supportive e-mails.

I could say thank you but then you'd say you're welcome and we ain't going out like that. For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

















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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Bully Boy says no the people, Jimmy Carter says NSA illegal, and new plans for the convicted

Good evening let's kick things off with Democracy Now!


Bush Proposes Big Increase in Defense Spending, Cuts in Social Programs
In his proposed nearly $2.8 trillion budget President Bush is calling for major increases in defense spending but deep cuts in Medicare and other domestic social programs. Under the proposed budget, defense spending will increase nearly 7 percent to $440 billion. If approved the Pentagon’s budget will become 45 percent larger than when Bush took office five years ago. The military spending is actually far higher because the proposed budget does not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One recent estimate put the cost of the Iraq war at $100,000 every minute. At the same time, the president is proposing to make his tax cuts permanent. This would cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the budget on Monday: "The President's budget request for the Department of Defense represents an increase over last year. It reflects what we believe should be the country's national security priorities. Namely to help defend the United States of America and the American people and their interests, to give flexibility to commanders, to prepare for both conventional and unconventional or irregular warfare, and, importantly, to work closely with partner nations to help them develop the capabilities needed to defeat terrorists within their borders and to co-operate with us and other countries with respect to this global threat."


So with no jobs, no safety net, guess Bully Boy will have the troops for his never ending wars. As all the jobs drift overseas, we'll all be in the military marching under Bully Boy, then Jeb, then Jenna because the way things are going, the next thing Bully Boy's going to do is outlaw elections. They got the blood lust and they need troops to see it through.

Let me jump to Wally's "THIS JUST IN! CHENEY'S HIJINKS:"

BULLY BOY PRESS - DC.
THIS JUST IN.
MAINSTREAM PRESS COMPLETELY LOST ON WHAT TO WRITE OR SAY RE: DOMESTIC SPYING ON AMERICANS WITHOUT WARRANTS.
"WE ARE WINNING!" DECLARES VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
"NEXT YEAR, WE WILL DECLARE THE ENTIRE MAINLAND A BATTLE ZONE AND SITE AS PROOF THE GONZALES TESTIMONY IN THE SENATE YESTERDAY AND THE FACT THAT NO 1 OBJECTED IN THE SENATE TO OUR DEFINING THE PARIMETERS OF THE BATTLE FIELD. WE HAVE WON! WE HAVE WON!"
LIKE A GLEEFUL, YOUNG SCHOOL BOY, CHENEY WANTED A REWARD AND SO DECIDED TO ORDER ANOTHER AIR STRIKE ON NORTHERN IRAQ.
AUTHORIZING THE DROPPING OF TWO 500LB 'DEVICES' CHENEY BEGAN TO GIGGLE AND HOP FROM FOOT TO FOOT EXCLAIMING "WOO-HOO! IT SUCKS TO BE YOU!"





Jimmy Carter: Warantless Spying is "Disgraceful and Illegal"
A new critic of the domestic spying program has emerged -- former President Jimmy Carter. He described the Bush administration’s decision to go ahead with the warrantless spying as "disgraceful and illegal." Carter said, "No one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act." Carter made the statement in Nevada at an event where his son, Jack, announced he is running for U.S. Senate.

Good for Jimmy Carter but let's ask the obvious, where is Bill Clinton? He can't say a word about the war, he can't say a word about the spying. When the country needs him, where is he? I'm sick of him. He's useless, his wife is useless. Bravery is speaking out and standing up. If he won't, he's either a coward, a sell out or he has something of his own to hide. Both Clinton's should stop boring America already.

I hope Jack Carter wins. My dad was talking about the whole arms for hostages deals and how the deal helped defeat Jimmy Carter's attempt for a second run. He said he thinks Jack and Amy Carter (that's Jimmy and Rosalyn's daughter) are both aware of how the Republicans work. I think he could make a difference. I think Amy could too. (Dad was saying she protested against the CIA in the 80s.) So maybe Amy Carter will run someday too.

But Jimmy Carter and Al Gore can speak out. They're not jerking off while democracy is at stake.

And C.I. wasn't in the mood for jerks jerking off this morning. Check out this entry:

What was the big moment at the hearings? It came fairly quick. But the Times can't tell you in any of the above articles. The moment was when Arlen Specter announced that Alberto Gonzales wouldn't be sworn in before testifying.
Reporters and "reporters" can't tell you that because they're too busy "seeing" and because they're operating under the Times guidelines which loves to act like reality didn't happen. The penalities for lying to Congress were briefly and superficially addressed by Specter (also not in the above articles). Of course we had lying to Congress by certain business heads not all that long ago (who weren't sworn in) and there was no effort to punish them. It's a different standard when they're not under oath. Specter damn well knows it, the Times should, but no one wants to talk about it. And New York Timid, always the handmaiden and never the power player (all scoops are supposed to come with built-in protection -- when the NSA spying support cratered, the Times lost interest in the story they broke -- they finally broke).
So instead of readers being told very basics things that happened in the hearings yesterday, the Times looks the other way (as it's done so well for so long). Who knows how NPR and their corporate sponsors will cover it, but if you were there or you listened or watched, you know what happened before the hearings could even start.
The Times isn't about to tell you. It's why they've reportedly scrubbed a story (removed it from the website) that was posted yesterday afternoon and available well into the evening. The story's nowhere to be found now but friends at the Times say it did address Specter's refusal to swear Gonzales in.
Now why go to all that trouble? Why remove a story from the website by a Times reporter? It's one thing not to print it, it's quite another to pull it from the website.

Doesn't the Times ever get sick of smelling its own ass? I know I get sick of smelling the paper's ass.

By the way, if there's time this week (ha ha ha), Wally told me he was cool with another interview. He's got a real sense of life going on at The Daily Jot these days, just all this new energy. And if we can find some time, we're going to talk about that. But that's how it will be with interviews from now on. I'm not asking anymore. That's not a dig at C.I. (I always knew that interview was "iffy"). But readers know I tried and tried on one and I just don't see the point in ever doing that again. If someone starts a site, I'm happy to do an interview with them. I'm just not going to make the offer and never get a reply. And make it again . . .

I started thinking, "Well, gee, is it me or my readers you don't want to talk to?" Because usually I'll toss in some questions that you guys come up with. I don't know. I know I'm probably not ever plugging that site again after all the crap I got for saying a movie review was going up there that never did (I was just going by what he wrote). But I never got so many e-mails from readers griping. So I'm just not interviewing him, to talking about him or to highlighting him. Good luck to him, hope he has lots of readers but I tried to do my part and I'm tired of trying. Wally and me have college and work too. We don't blow people off.

Betty's got a busy schedule and she made time for it when I asked her. I think people help each other out and, if they can't, they say, "Hey, no time, sorry." But if I'm going to be blown off, fine by me.

Don't forget to go to Like Maria Said Paz to check out Elaine's thoughts.

So where's Bully Boy going to get all the people for his wars between now and completely driving the economy into the ditch? How about from the convicted? From Salon by way of CoutnerRecruiter:

Facing an enlistment crisis, the Army is granting "waivers" to an increasingly high percentage of recruits with criminal records -- and trying to hide it...
Through the use of a little-known, but increasingly important, escape clause known as a waiver. Waivers, which are generally approved at the Pentagon, allow recruiters to sign up men and women who otherwise would be ineligible for service because of legal convictions, medical problems or other reasons preventing them from meeting minimum standards...
According to statistics provided to Salon by the office of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, the Army said that 17 percent (21,880 new soldiers) of its 2005 recruits were admitted under waivers. Put another way, more soldiers than are in an entire infantry division entered the Army in 2005 without meeting normal standards. This use of waivers represents a 42 percent increase since the pre-Iraq year of 2000...













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Monday, February 06, 2006

Gonzales snows Senate while New York Times continues to play "Coretta who?"

Good evening. Let's kick things off with Democracy Now!

AG Gonzales to Testify Before Senate Over Domestic Spying
On Capitol Hill, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is testifying today before the Senate over the Bush administration's domestic spying program. While Gonzales is expected to claim the Bush administration can legally carry out the warrantless spying, Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter has admitted the administration's legal reasoning does not hold up. He appeared on Tim Russert's program Meet the Press on Sunday. Meanwhile a new article in the Washington Post raises questions over the effectiveness of the domestic spy program.. Intelligence officers who took part in the eavesdropping on thousands of Americans say they dismissed nearly all of them as potential suspects after hearing nothing pertinent to a terrorist threat. According to the Post, fewer than 10 U.S. citizens or residents a year have aroused enough suspicion during warrantless eavesdropping to justify interception of their domestic calls.

Wally had the funniest joke about Alberto Gonzales, saying he'd won a lookalike contest. The hearings. Russ Feinstein and Patrick Leahy showed life. Otherwise? Were they just going through the motions? Do they not get how important it is to fight for checks and balances? I'm pretty much disappointed. They don't just need a summit for strategy, they need to learn how to speak. And how to question.

Or maybe they just don't care? I'm disgusted with just about all of them. Gonzales either says he doesn't know or he twists the words (like the Court case of Hamdi) and when there is accountability, it's delivered in a weak manner or not at all. Gonzales says the White House is willing to listen to Congressional "suggestions" on legislation and everyone's too scared to say, "We don't suggest, we make the laws." Bunch of cowards.

Here's C.I. on Dianne Feinstein:

DiFi, why do you ask questions? Or why do you ask your meandering questions?
Do you want answers?
If so, why say the following when Albie refuses to answer your questions:

Fair enough, let's move along.
Okay, that's fine.
I just want to ask some others [questions], you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

If that's it, if that's the best you can do, quit wasting everyone's time.
She was useless in the Alito hearings and she's useless so far today.
Why doesn't she get called on this nonsense?

I'll call her, Feinstein you came to life slightly for about 10 seconds in your second round of questioning. Then you went back to DiFi mode, completely useless. Get it together or get off the committee and take Herbert Kohl with you. I wish Leahy had told Kohl to speak into the mike the way he told Gonzales (twice) that he couldn't hear him.

40,000 Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King
In Georgia, over 40,000 mourners paid their respects to civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King by filing past her open casket in the state Capitol's rotunda. She became the first woman and the first African-American person to lie in honor there. She died last Monday at the age of 78. Today's Coretta Scott King's body will lie in honor at the original Ebenezer Baptist Church where her late husband, Martin Luther King, once preached.

First, Betty's post is up at her site and it's called "The Pig Is Racism, The Pig Is The New York Times." Go read it if you haven't already. Cedric's been covering it at his site with "About the New York Times's racist silence on Coretta Scott King" and C.I.'s been all over it daily at The Common Ills, plus there's The Third Estate Sunday Review's "Editorial: Does The New York Times editorial board not know that Coretta Scott King died or do they just not care?" which we all worked on.

So here's the thing, why won't the New York Times devote an editorial or an op-ed to Coretta Scott King? What's going on? They don't think she's important? What's up with that? The editorial page editor's friend gets an editorial and massive coverage. With Coretta Scott King, the paper's basically going "Ho-hum, nothing big."

It stinks. They need to be called on it.


Now go to Elaine's blog to get her thoughts Like Maria Said Paz on that and much more.

Wally, you bastard! :D The Daily Jot is back and you got to get there. Click, people, for the love of God, click here! Now! :D Wally and C.I. are both reporting from D.C. and I hope I'm not blowing anything there. The plan was to keep that on the down low and play it like they were leaving and had left DC but I guess it's obvious now. So Wally's done two posts and I'm going to highlight his thing called "THIS JUST IN! 'GET MRS. GONZALES HERE PRONTO!'" because it's on the hearings:


BULLY BOY PRESS -- DC.
THIS JUST IN.
OFFERING THE 'RULES? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING RULES!' DEFENSE
ALBERTO GONZALES.
ALBERTO GONZALES, WHO RECENTLY WAS AWARDED 1ST PRIZE IN A BILLIE JEAN KING LOOKALIKE CONTEST, ATTEMPTS TO WARD OFF QUESTIONS WITH THE FOLLOWING:
"I DON'T RECALL."
"I HAVE NO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE."
THE STRATEGY IS TO PLAY DUMB AND VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY IS CONVINCED GONZALES IS PERFECT FOR THE JOB.
PROBLEMS SURFACING.
IN REPLY TO GONZALES EVASIONS, SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY SAID, "OF COURSE, I'M SORRY MISTER ATTORNEY GENERAL, I FORGOT, YOU CAN'T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THIS INQUIRY."
SENATOR ORRIN HATCH WAS HEARD TO HISS TO BOY TOY SENATOR JOHN CORNYN, "GET MRS. GONZALES HERE PRONTO!"
SENATOR JOHN CORNYN RESPONDED, "PRONTO? ORRIN, YOU KNOW I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH!"


Wally, you the man! :D For the hour! And if I didn't note this Friday, let me steer you to it now, C.I.'s "On the Dangers of an Unchecked Bully Boy" which is the best thing from last week, you gotta check it out.











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