BRASS KNUCKLES

Blagojevich, soon to be impeached, goes ahead and appoints Roland Burris as Obama’s Senate replacement anyway

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/the_blagoburris_press_conferen.php
[Eric Kleefeld] Rod Blagojevich and Roland Burris just held their press conference to announce the attempted appointment of Burris to the Senate -- and it was a train wreck if there ever was one. . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016245.php
[Steve Benen] I hope I wasn't the only one who watched the Blagojevich/Burris press conference rather gobsmacked. The controversy surrounding Blagojevich was surreal enough before today, but this afternoon's leak, followed by a bizarre press conference, has moved this story from bizarre to farcical. . . . Blagojevich seemed to be having a great time. I got the sense that he thinks, for the first time in weeks, that he's finally on the offense, sticking it to, well, pretty much everyone. He even took a shot at the legislature, saying today's decision is their fault, because they didn't call for the special election he wanted.

It was quite the political circus.

Don't miss it! http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2008/12/not_one_iota_of.php



What’s he trying to pull?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/30/blagos_hail_mary_pass.html
[Dan Conley] The selection of former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President-Elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate has very little to do with the actual seat. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has already made it clear that he will not certify any Blagojevich pick. That will give the Senate Democratic caucus sufficient cause to reject the appointment, which they have already pledged to do. At this point, it would be impossible for the Democrats to backtrack on their earlier pledge, it would implicate them in the Blagojevich sleaze, which is something they will avoid at all costs. So while Burris seems like a winner today, he's a long-term loser.

Why did he agree to be used? Because he's desperate to return to the limelight. It's a sad end to a career that included numerous runs for governor, the U.S. Senate and Mayor of Chicago, plus a term as the state's Attorney General. The truth is, he wasn't much of an Attorney General -- the legal opinions that came out of his office in the early 90s were legally suspect and linguistically challenged -- but he has been a fixture in Illinois politics for years and he's escaped any hint of corruption.

The appointment of Burris is a pure impeachment-defense tactic from Blagojevich. First, he's making a public case that no crime was actually committed. If Burris was appointed without any quid pro quo (highly likely, since Burris has no great wealth or influence), then Blagojevich can argue that all the talk about other possible appointments were just that -- talk. And talk is not a crime. Is anyone going to buy that? Well, even if only ten percent of Illinois voters buy it, Blagojevich will have doubled his support, so why not? There's a certain freedom in nearly complete unpopularity.

But second, and more important for Blagojevich's survival plans, he's chosen to play the race card. To anyone who thought that the election of Barack Obama would diminish the power of racial politics, today's press conference was depressing -- especially the appalling spectacle of Rep. Bobby Rush using the word "lynch" in reference to criticism of Burris, then Blagojevich repeating the phrase while wagging a finger at the press corp on the way out of the room. For a Governor looking to rally support in the House and Senate to avoid impeachment or convinction, it's a smart move. A combination of African American and Latino Senators could be sufficient to save Blagojevich from a conviction in the Illinois Senate. It probably won't work, but Blagojevich has few options left.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/political-circus-by-digby-you-have-to.html
[Digby] He's trying to divide the Democrats both in Illinois and Washington and he did it using a powerful tool. . . . Blago pointed to the press on his way out of the room and said "don't lynch this appointee." What a piece of work.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/at_a_loss_for_words.html
[Kevin Drum] I don't really have the words for it. I mean, what can you say about something like this? Blagojevich is obviously living in his own personal looking-glass land these days.

Still, the silver lining here is that maybe this will give the Illinois legislature the kick in the butt it needs to get cracking on impeachment. Maybe.

The racial angle

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/30/burris/index.html
[Joan Walsh] All hell broke loose during the press conference, as reporters asked how much Burris' law firm had contributed to the governor, and Burris and Blagojevich took turns at the podium. Then a frail-looking Rep. Bobby Rush, the former Black Panther who represents Obama's district in Congress, made his surprise appearance. "My prayers have been answered ... that the governor would appoint an African-American to complete the term of President Obama." Rush reminded the crowd there is no African-American in the U.S. Senate, and that Illinois has elected two black senators, Obama and Carol Moseley-Braun (although Burris endorsed Alan Dixon over Moseley-Braun in the 1992 Democratic primary). "It has tremendous national importance," said Rush, who defeated Obama to keep his House seat in 2000. Rush promised to lobby his "friend," Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, to change his mind and back Burris and urged observers not to "hang or lynch" the black Democrat. . . .

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/burris_predicts_major_outcry_f.php
[Eric Kleefeld] You really do have to wonder what planet Roland Burris is living on right now.

In an appearance just now on MSNBC, Burris was asked about the possibility of the Senate refusing to seat him. "Well, I think you will see a major outcry form the people of Illinois," Burris said, "based on the fact that the governor has appointed me."

Illinois Sect’y of State says he won’t certify the appointment

http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/illinois/ill_ap_springfield_white_will_try_to_reject_blago_pick_200812301415

Senate Dems say they won’t vote to seat Burris

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/senate_dems_to_blago_call_off.php

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/30/144139/76
[Jonathan Singer] It's still not clear to me that the Senate can refuse to seat Burris if he is certified . . . (and, by the way, it's not clear that the SoS has the power to withhold certification) . . . [read on]

Obama: “I agree” with Senate Dems

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_i_agree_with_senate_dems.php

Who is Roland Burris?

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/corruption_in_washington_/2008/12/the_burris_problem_and_what_to_do_about_it.php
[Mark Kleiman] Roland Burris seems to have a reputation as reasonably clean but not too bright. . . . Burris has been a losing candidate for just about every major office in Chicago and Illinois. . . . [read on]

More: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/who_is_roland_burris.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/us/31burris.html

Minnesota Senate race: the final stretch

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/its_official_franken_ahead_by.php
It's Official: Franken Ahead By 50 Votes For Now . . .

Next steps? http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/fortified-for-war-by-dday-in-other-not.html
[Dday] The working rule from the state Supreme Court is that both the Franken and Coleman campaigns have to agree on allowing a ballot to be counted, and that is predictably going unwell. Of the 1,360 ballots that local election officials have cited as eligible for counting, Coleman is asking for just a portion to be counted, and most of them come from areas that voted for him in big numbers. They also want to look at ballots that officials did not put on the list. So Coleman is re-litigating the election, while Franken is perfectly content to have those 1,360 ballots counted and to leave it at that, which considering that he's only 50 votes ahead is something of a risk, although the absentees in general are thought to favor him.

Meanwhile, Coleman's strategy is to bash election officials and claim that the election is tainted as he moves into what will certainly be a contested election and a series of lawsuits. . . .

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_camps_new_strategy_in.php

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/30/franken-coleman-recount-update-123008-like-sands-through-the-hourglass/

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gop_launches_new_public_attack.php

The GOP plays hardball: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/cornyn_indicates_senate_gop_wi.php
Cornyn Indicates Senate GOP Will Resist Seating Al Franken

Hardball

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/29/235659/56/979/678371
[Boston Globe] The confirmation hearing for Eric Holder, Obama's pick for attorney general, promises to be bruising, with Republicans determined to explore Holder's role in controversial pardons under President Clinton, his views on gun rights, and his involvement in the case of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy returned to his homeland by Clinton's Justice Department . . .

FEC Republicans refuse to enforce the law

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/fecs_republicans_choose_not_to.php
[Zachary Roth] Bloomberg reports that the Federal Election Commission's three GOP members all voted against fining the Chamber of Commerce for illegally spending money in 2004 on attacks against John Edwards, that year's Democratic vice-presidential nominee. The 3-3 final vote tally meant the commission took the rare step of rejecting an FEC counsel recommendation to impose the fine. . . .

Let’s remember the source of the “Magic Negro” ditty to begin with. How much longer is the GOP going to want to be the party of Rush Limbaugh?

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/2725

These guys are geniuses: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/republicans_popping_up_to_defend_saltsman_for_magic_negro_cd.php
Republicans Popping Up To Defend Saltsman For "Magic Negro" CD . . .

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16919.html
Alabama Republican Committeeman Paul Reynolds said the fact the Saltsman sent him a CD with the song on it “didn’t bother me one bit.” . . .

“Bush’s search for a legacy”

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/91910/3/Bushs_search_for_a_legacy

Bonus item: Bush’s reading habits

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016202.php
[Steve Benen] Karl Rove devoted his latest Wall Street Journal column to bragging about George W. Bush's impressive ability to read an enormous number of books very quickly. Rove explained that he and the president have engaged in an annual contest since 2005, in which they see how many books they can finish in a given year. . . .

I wrote a piece about the president's alleged reading habits a few years ago, and have been keeping an eye on these reports ever since. I think it's fair to say this notion that Bush is a curious thinker with his nose constantly buried in complex texts is, by all appearances, kind of silly. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901896.html
[Richard Cohen] In his column, Rove says that Bush read 95 books in 2006 alone. In 2007, he read 51 books and as of last week, he had read 40 in 2008. . . .

As might be expected, most of Bush's books have been biographies and histories. Biographies are usually about great men who often did the unpopular thing and were later vindicated. . . . . But the books themselves reveal -- actually, confirm -- something about Bush that maybe Rove did not intend. They are not the reading of a widely read man, but instead the books of a man who seeks -- and sees -- vindication in every page. Bush has always been the captive of fixed ideas. His books just support that.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:26 AM

 
TAKING THE LONG VIEW

Big Three networks pull correspondents from Iraq. Troops are still fighting and dying there, but, well, you know, ratings are down and . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/29/42724/385/300/678057

The latest line of the Bush apologists: He may be unpopular now, but boy, when people look back on this period they’ll realize that he was right and everyone else was wrong

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016222.php

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/return-of-zombies-by-digby.html

Here is today’s must-read, a heavily sourced Vanity Fair article that represents the Anti-Legacy perspective: former Bushies admit where the administration screwed up – badly

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/02/bush-oral-history200902
[Lawrence Wilkerson, top aide and later chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell] We had this confluence of characters—and I use that term very carefully—that included people like Powell, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, and so forth, which allowed one perception to be “the dream team.” It allowed everybody to believe that this Sarah Palin–like president—because, let’s face it, that’s what he was—was going to be protected by this national-security elite, tested in the cauldrons of fire. What in effect happened was that a very astute, probably the most astute, bureaucratic entrepreneur I’ve ever run into in my life became the vice president of the United States. . . . [read on!]

Dick Cheney explains his rock-bottom poll numbers: it’s because he’s been willing to make the TOUGH decisions, see?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016231.php

Gutting OSHA

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016226.php

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122802124_pf.html

Like pigs at a friggin’ trough

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/former_fdic_chair_now_advising.php
[Zachary Roth] The New York Times reports that several former government officials who helped organize the savings and loan bailout of the early 1990s are now putting that expertise to use by working as lawyers or lobbyists helping banks get a piece of the financial bailout -- or even by investing in some of the bad assets to be offered for sale. . . .

[T]he paper reports that at least one former top government official is advising both the Bush and Obama teams on how to respond to the crisis, while at the same time being involved in efforts to profit from it.

Looks like it’ll be Senator Franken

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/big_surprise_franken_and_colem.php
[Eric Kleefeld] So will any of the wrongly-rejected absentee ballots in Minnesota, which have been the subject of copious litigation between the Franken and Coleman campaigns, actually get counted? The latest report from the Star Tribune suggests it's going to be a rough time over the next few days, with the Franken camp calling for 1,346 ballots to be counted, while the Coleman team thus far wants to include...136.

The thing to remember here is that the state Supreme Court released a bizarre opinion a week and a half ago, calling for these ballots to opened up and and counted -- but only if both campaigns agreed that an individual envelope was wrongly rejected. . . .

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/will_senate_seat_franken_provi.php
[Eric Kleefeld] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office is not yet committing to provisionally seating Al Franken, pending the outcome of the expected post-recount election contest litigation in Minnesota, as the date for new Senators to be sworn in gets closer and closer. . . .

"At this stage, it appears that Franken will be certified the winner by the State Canvassing Board," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Harry Reid, in a statement to Election Central. "We're keeping abreast of the situation and will make a decision with regard to Senate action at the appropriate point in the process." . . .

More: http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/12/file_under_coleman_own_petard_hoisted_with.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_okays_counting_ballots.php

Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Shrinking Minority Leader and part of the braintrust that has driven the GOP into the hinterlands, now thinks it’s a good idea to block Obama’s stimulus package. Please try, Senator McConnell

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902037.html
Congressional Republicans objected yesterday to hurried consideration of President-elect Barack Obama's emerging stimulus proposal, questioning the economic value of many of the projects being floated for inclusion and voicing support for a more methodical process that might delay the legislation's passage well into February.

Concerned by Democrats' push to enact the massive bill into law within days of Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R.-Ohio) issued calls for a lengthy vetting of the stimulus proposal, whose price tag could top $850 billion when it is completed next month. . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/here-come-obstructionists-by-dday-mitch.html
[Digby] But the simplest and therefore most likely explanation is that they oppose it because Democrats favor it. This is, in general terms, how modern Republicans practice politics - by being the biggest pains in the ass possible. "Because they can" is probably the most obvious answer. This is especially true when you have a rump conservative faction committed to fighting the pointy-headed elites to preserve Southern honor . . .

As we hear a lot about bipartisanship and Republicans and Democrats having to come together to solve the nation's problems, as we hear from a President whose focus is "what works" instead of ideology, someone's going to have to stand up and mention that the modern Republican Party defines ideology through negation. Someone might want to mention that there's no compromise with those who reflexively oppose for no reason other than denying your opponent a victory is seen as a higher good than helping someone get a job or health care or a higher wage to support their family. Someone might want to suggest that accommodation is impossible.

More: http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/gop-senate-leader-mitch-mcconnell.html

[NB: Here's how you play it. Don't say you're opposing it, just say you're doing due diligence in scrutinizing the details before voting on it. Let it hang out there for a while. Make yourselves still look relevant. Sap away the new administration's momentum. Expect to find a few projects that look silly and make good headlines. Before it's all over, demand a much smaller package that includes more of your priorities and fewer of Obama's. Declare it a victory for bipartisanship, and let the press describe it as a defeat for Obama. I do not think the Obama team will let them get away with this.]

A party without a head

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/29/125550/91
[The Hill] For the first time in party history, members of the Republican National Committee have called their own unscheduled meeting without the aid of the Washington-based party apparatus. . . . [read on]

More fall-out from the “Magic Negro” CD

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249689.php
[Josh Marshall] I think I have this right. The Republican party has decided on the racial joke issue as the vehicle to reintroduce themselves to the American people after the 2008 blow out.

Am I missing something?

Bonus item: Priceless. This is how the GOP thinks it will plot its way back into power – a conference on how to use the Internet, headlining Glenn Reynolds (“Instapundit”), Michelle Malkin, and Joe the Plumber! (thanks to Atrios for the link)

http://instaputz.blogspot.com/2008/12/hehindeedy_29.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:03 AM

 
BEYOND THEIR CONTROL

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/world/middleeast/30mideast.html
In a third straight day of deadly air strikes against the emblems and institutions of Hamas on Monday, Israeli warplanes pounded targets in Gaza including the Interior Ministry while the Israeli army declared areas around the beleaguered enclave a “closed military zone.” . . .

Professor Rice, easy grader

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/28/235233/19

Sad, really

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/28/quote_of_the_day.html
"As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves."

-- Laura Bush, in an interview on Fox News, on an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President Bush.

Will Isaac Toussie fight to get his pardon back?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249571.php

Obama is determined to break with the Bush/Cheney torture policy. That doesn’t make them happy over at the CIA (who have a lot to worry about once their tissue-paper legal justifications get exposed)

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/27/161129/09/657/677676

Credit where it’s due: Howard Dean set in motion many changes to the Democratic Party that helped make the kind of victory Obama had possible

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090105/berman/print

http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2007/07/howard_dean.html
“Technology democratizes politics . . .”

More: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.01/dean_pr.html

Blagojevich: intentionally trying to hold Obama hostage to save himself

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/28/the-squabble-over-subpoenas-in-springfield/
[Emptywheel] When Blagojevich's lawyer threatened to subpoena Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett last week, it made a lot of sense. By causing the Obama team ongoing distraction, it would have allowed Blago to exact a price from Illinois Democrats aiming to oust him. . . . [read on]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/quinn-predicts-blagojevich-will-be-removed-soon-2008-12-28.html
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) on Sunday predicted that the state legislature would remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) from office before Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday on February 12.

The Illinois state House can impeach Blagojevich with a simple majority, and it takes two-thirds of the Senate to convict.

“There’s far more [senators] than that ready to” remove Blagojevich, the lieutenant governor claimed on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” . . .

Quinn said he hopes to be able to appoint an interim senator who would serve on a temporary basis until the state can organize a new election.

“I hope we can have a special election,” he said, estimating that it would not take place before June.

Hopeless

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/27/162742/11/667/677682
[Jed L] When your best political strategy is yet another Bush, your party is in serious trouble. . . . [read on]

The death of free market fundamentalism

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/just-right-by-digby-at-some-point-in.html

The Grand Old Regional Party

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016217.php

Loss of control

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/wingnuttia_update.html
Ed Yong posts this weekend on some research about what happens when people feel they have less control over their lives. The nickel version is that they tend to see patterns that don't exist, they get more superstitious, and they become ever more captivated by conspiracy theories. . . . “Republicans (and Republican bloggers) will spend at least the next two years with about as much political control as a bug in a jar. You can make your own conclusions.” [read on]

The Magic Negro

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016218.php
[Steve Benen] After some initial hesitation, Republicans have begun to take sides of Chip Saltsman's decision to distribute a CD containing "Barack the Magic Negro" as a Christmas greeting to members of the RNC . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/whos-their-daddy-by-digby-newtie-is.html

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/black-republican-leader-says-its-not.html
Black Republican leader says it's not offensive to disparage a black man as "a negro" . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:30 AM

 
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? (APPARENTLY NOT)

Troubled news from around the world

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/world/middleeast/web28mideast.html
The Israeli Air Force on Saturday launched a massive attack on Hamas targets throughout Gaza in retaliation for the recent heavy rocket fire from the area, hitting mostly security headquarters, training compounds and weapons storage facilities, the Israeli military and witnesses said. . .

Most of the fatalities were among members of the security forces of Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, but a few civilians were also among the dead, including children. . . .

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/attack_on_gaza.php
[Matt Yglesias] The Israeli government, seemingly dissatisfied with the results of their earlier effort to just make life as miserable as possible for residents of the Gaza strip went and killed a couple of hundred people in retaliatory airstrikes. The strikes were in response to Hamas’ habit of launching indiscriminant rocket fire from Gaza land, though how exactly these strikes are supposed to stop the rockets is mysterious to me. Less mysterious is the idea that the Kadima-Labour coalition wants to “look tough” and beat off the political challenge from Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud. . . .

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/israel_/2008/12/israelpalestine_again.php
[Jonathan Zasloff] Once more into the breach, the IDF has launched massive air strikes into Gaza, in an attempt to stop Hamas from shooting rockets into Israel. A short blog post cannot do justice to the complexity of the situation, except to say that 1) no other country would be asked to tolerate what the Israelis have been asked to tolerate on their southern border; 2) the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza was bad enough before now having to deal with this violence; 3) domestic politics is shot through all of this (with Kadima, Labour and Hamas all trying to show how tough they are in advance of a domestic political contest); and 4) something happens to Matt Yglesias whenever this issue comes up, and he loses 40 points of IQ. . . .

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/this_is_not_what_a_good_prospect_for_democracy_looks_like.php
[NYT] With provincial elections scheduled for the end of January, Iraq appears to be plagued by political troubles that seem closer to Shakespearean drama than to nascent democracy. . . [read on]

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/the_pakistan_shift.php
Rising tensions with India are prompting Pakistan to shift forces away from fighting the Taliban near the Afghan border and toward preparations for a subcontinental standoff. . . .

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3870089/Protectionist-dominoes-are-beginning-to-tumble-across-the-world.html
Protectionist dominoes are beginning to tumble across the world . . .

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/27/2204/5405
[Charles Lemos] This weekend elections in Ghana (a second round run-off) and in Bangladesh will mark the end of the 2008 world election cycle. In sum, national elections were held in 33 countries plus regional and referenda in about a dozen more. On balance, the world is a more democratic place at the end of 2008 than it was at the start . . . [read on]

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/cholera-and-starvation-continue-in.html
Cholera and starvation continue in Zimbabwe . . .

It’s sickening when conventional thinking tells us what it knows to be true, without actually thinking at all. For example: we “know” that the military adored George Bush, and we “know” that they are cool to Obama. Don’t let the facts get in the way (thanks to SusanG) for the link

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=14924

There is a real question whether Bush CAN pull back the Toussie pardon

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016194.php
[Steve Benen] Even by the standards of the Bush White House, this entire mess is bizarre. On Tuesday, Bush pardoned Isaac Toussie, who falsified the finances of prospective homebuyers seeking HUD mortgages, and pleaded guilty in 2003 to mail fraud and lying to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The pardon itself was inexplicable -- Toussie scammed hundreds of families, selling overpriced, poorly built homes to minority first-time buyers who couldn't afford them, and was only sentenced to five months in prison. He's been out of jail for several years, working as a real estate and marketing consultant.

Complicating matters, Toussie's father, Robert, who had never made political contributions before, suddenly decided to donate more than $40,000 to Republicans earlier this year. A few months later, Toussie's pardon petition was filed, and five months after that, Toussie's record was made clean by presidential fiat.

That is, until Wednesday night, when the president changed his mind and decided to take back Toussie's pardon.

There are all kinds of questions about what, exactly, transpired here. For example, the president and his spokesperson had pledged publicly, before this week, that all pardons would go through the pardon attorney at the Justice Department. Toussie's application bypassed the DoJ and was taken directly to the White House counsel's office.

Also, Toussie's attorney is none other than Bradford Berenson, who was a top attorney in ... wait for it ... Bush's White House counsel's office from 2001 to 2003. Might he have used his connections to pull a few strings? . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249501.php
[Josh Marshall] Needless to say, I'm not an attorney or a constitutional expert. But I've seen few if any press write-ups with quotes from people with relevant expertise who say the president is actually able to do this. And my discussions with people with relevant expertise give me the strong impression that the president's action is highly dubious in constitutional terms, even if no Court case has specifically addressed this combination of facts.

In any case, I feel sure we won't have to wonder forever. If nothing else Toussie has a solid case to bring. So I feel confident the Court will eventually decide if this passes muster. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016209.php

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10610

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249529.php

The Bible on sex

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10637
In fact, the Bible accepts sexual practices that we condemn and condemns sexual practices that we accept. Lots of them! . . . [read on]

The Republicans have a real dilemma. They’ve long relied on racially coded appeals, but they also want to reach out electorally to minorities who have tilted traditionally toward Democrats. Karl Rove thought he had the formula: use anti-gay, abortion, and theocratic appeals to pry off culturally conservative minorities who can be induced to vote against their own social and economic interests.

The attempted remaking of the GOP is caught in-between its nativist wing, represented by Limbaugh et al., and its “big tent” supporters. The latest flare-up over the “Barack the Magic Negro” CD shows this dilemma in all its glory

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/27/chip_saltsman/index.html
[Mark Schone] On November 4, the Republican party endured its second consecutive electoral drubbing, and much of the pain was administered by non-white voters. Surging Latino support helped Barack Obama win three states in the Interior West, and flipped five House and two Senate seats. Black voters supported Obama by an incredible margin of almost 19 to one, and were a crucial component of victory in at least five states.

In light of the GOP's problems with nonwhite voters, then, its approach to choosing the next Republican National Committee chairperson seems a little odd. The contest now includes a couple of black guys who lost statewide races by large margins and a couple of white guys who have problems with black guys. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016212.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gop_piles_on_saltsman_for_magi.php

A preview of 2010 Senate races – more GOP losses ahead?

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/24/124020/72

The sorry state of political journalism

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/27/journalism/index.html#

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/sunday_show_preview_104193.asp
NBC Meet the Press: David Axelrod. Richard Wolffe of Newsweek, Todd Purdum of Vanity Fair and Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post.

ABC This Week: Former White House Chief's of Staff Leon Panetta and Ken Duberstein, Obama Senior Advisor and incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and a roundtable with Studio 360's Kurt Anderson, Slate.com's John Dickerson, NPR's Alison Stewart, and the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan. Jake Tapper guest hosts.

CBS Face the Nation: Bob Schieffer, Paul Krugman, David Axelrod, Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn.

CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain, President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Sarah Palin and CNN founder Ted Turner.

Bonus item: Digby defends eristics

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/we-just-disagree-by-digby-those-of-you.html
Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I think Americans are probably not destined to all come together in comity and good will to work toward the common good any time soon. And you also know that I don't think there's anything especially wrong with that. If politics is war by other means then that's the way things are supposed to work. . . .

Of course I respect everyone's right to their beliefs and I will fight the proverbial fight for them to be allowed to express them. But I don't have to respect every view that comes down the pike and I certainly don't have to willingly make room in my political coalition for people to enact their agenda if it goes against what I believe in. Why would anyone think I should?

The truth is that it's disrespectful to sincere people on all sides to suggest their disagreements are so shallow that they can be dealt with by pretending that all we need to do is proclaim that we respect one another. Even if you respect someone, sometimes there's no avoiding a fight. . . . [read on]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 8:22 AM

 
THE LONG GOODBYE

Get outta here, already

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/26/bush.poll/index.html
Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday said they're glad Bush is going. . .

The poll indicates that Bush compares poorly with his presidential predecessors, with 28 percent saying that he's the worst ever. Forty percent rate Bush's presidency as poor . . . [read on]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/breaking_american_people_reall.php
[More from CNN] Brought the kind of change the country needed: Yes 13%, No 86%

Is honest and trustworthy: Yes 37%, No 62%

Is a person you admire: Yes 27%, No 72%

Inspires confidence: Yes 20%, No 80%

Has united the country and not divide it: Yes 17%, No 82%

We’re all whack-jobs now, apparently

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016204.php
A few years ago, Chris Matthews said, on the air, that "everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs, maybe on the left." . . . [read on]

Meanwhile . . .

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-12-25-admire-poll_N.htm
A month before his inauguration, Americans choose Barack Obama as the man they admire most in the world, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. It's the first time a president-elect has topped the annual survey in more than a half-century . . .

Sarah Palin: what’s she been up to?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/sarah_palin_blast_from_the_pas.php
[Zachary Roth] First, earlier this month, Palin, who marketed herself during the campaign as a maverick-y exemplar of reform-minded openness and transparency, filed disclosure reports for free trips she had taken as governor. Nothing wrong with that -- except that the trips took place in 2007, and according to Alaska law, reports must be filed within 30 days of the trip. A spokesman attributed it to staff oversight.

That's just the beginning. Remember that second Trooper-Gate investigation, conducted by the state personnel board -- whose members, of course, are appointed by the governor? The one that found, in contrast to the independent probe conducted by the legislature, that Palin broke no laws in connection with the affair? Well, back in October, while Palin was still a candidate for vice president, her lawyer said publicly that she wanted a transcript of her testimony released.

But it appears that position is "no longer operative." Palin has now changed her mind, and is refusing to release the transcript. . . . [read on]

Karl Rove, Mr. Irrelevant

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10623

For conspiracy theorists

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016197.php
[Steve Benen] Just a week ago, Michael Connell, a top Internet consultant for the RNC and both the Bush and McCain presidential campaigns, died in a plane crash. He was alone, flying a small, single-engine plane, and the details of what caused the crash have not yet been determined. The FAA is investigating -- as it does whenever any plane crashes -- and has not yet filed a report. . . . [read on]

NOW the Senate decides to get serious about oversight with the bailout plan. When will they learn?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_go_co/meltdown_senate
Under legislation proposed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, firms receiving federal rescue money would be required to report their spending to the Treasury Department every three months. And it would prohibit them from spending the taxpayer dollars on lobbying or political contributions. . . .

In a letter sent Tuesday to Paulson, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she joined those Americans who were "astonished and outraged" that banks were not explaining how the money was being spent.

"This lack of transparency and accountability is deeply troubling," Collins wrote. "The current lack of reporting requirements is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue."

Winning hearts and minds and, uh, other things in Afghanistan

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3965138/CIA-give-Afghan-warlords-Viagra-in-exchange-for-information-on-Taliban.html
CIA give Afghan warlords Viagra in exchange for information on Taliban . . .

More: http://www.samefacts.com/archives/afghanistan_/2008/12/the_viagra_maneuver.php

It looks as if we’re going to keep hearing about Obama and Blagojevich, facts be damned. The latest twist is that we know there wasn’t any quid pro quo about Obama’s Senate seat – but what about Rahm’s House seat? No quid pro quo there either, but we are learning more . . .

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1347443,CST-NWS-rahm24.article
Just after accepting the top post with Obama, Rahm Emanuel discussed with Blagojevich the possibility of keeping his congressional seat "warm" for him for a couple of years, the Sun-Times has learned.

Emanuel expressed interest in returning one day to his elected position because he was on track to become U.S. House speaker . . .

Theocracy watch: some reflections on atheism, serious and not-so-serious, from loyal PBD readers Ddjango and Michael W

http://ddjango.blogspot.com/2008/12/changing-of-god-conceit-of-science.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/25/festivus-pole-on-display_n_153501.html

The great GOP comeback (don’t hold your breath)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016201.php

Bonus item: Stay classy, boys

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249482.php
RNC chair wannabee Chip Saltsman's Christmas gift to RNC members was a CD that includes the Rush Limbaugh "satirical" tune, "Barack, the Magic Negro."

Minority outreach? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016203.php

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:29 AM

 
UNPARDONABLE

We’re learning more about the Isaac Toussie pardon, which Bush withdrew once the story broke that his father had given the GOP $40,000. Are we supposed to believe that they didn’t know about his father’s donations when they gave him the pardon – or did they withdraw it only once the story became public knowledge?

My question: Did somebody point out that the Repubs couldn’t go after Eric Holder for the Marc Rich pardon if Bush was caught doing basically the same thing?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/25/1003/6286/342/676982
[Scout Finch] Again, anyone with an Internet connection can look up contributions.

So, the question is --- how did Isaac Toussie end up on the pardon list? Who at the Justice Department made the recommendation? And why was it granted if President Bush was so utterly clueless about the facts of the case? . . . [read on]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/25/bush.pardon/index.html
Among the questions now being asked are:

• Why didn't the White House conduct a more thorough investigation of Toussie's background?

• Why did White House Counsel Fred Fielding circumvent the typical pardon application process by directly considering Toussie's clemency request instead of leaving it to the Justice Department?

• Did Toussie get special treatment because of his political connections? . . . [read on]

More: http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10610

Okay, everyone else is catching on to the Holder angle too

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/error-message-by-digby-in-case-anyones.html

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/25/unpardon/index.html

It’s probably not a huge scandal, but Bush appoints 24 more last-minute positions

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/25/bush-announces-new-appointments-for-24-aides-and-supporters/

There are a lot of Bush decisions that are going to leave a lasting legacy for generations to come. But perhaps the most unforgiveable is his neglect of environmental problems whose consequences may only become apparent long after the memory of the Bush/Cheney years has faded

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/opinion/25thu1.html
On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal Clean Air Act plainly empowered the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks — and, by inference, other sources like power plants.

There was great hope at the time that the decision would force President Bush to confront the issue of climate change, which he had largely ignored for six years. Instead, it became the catalyst for a campaign of scientific obfuscation, political flimflam and simple dereliction of duty — which United States Senator Barbara Boxer aptly described as a “master plan” — to ensure that the administration did as little as possible.

The guiding intelligence behind the master plan has been Vice President Dick Cheney; Mr. Cheney’s point man, in turn, has been Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

It was Mr. Johnson who refused to grant California a normally routine waiver that would have allowed it to impose its own greenhouse gas standards on cars and trucks. It was Mr. Johnson who was trotted out to explain why the administration could not possibly fulfill the Supreme Court’s mandate before leaving office.

And it was Mr. Johnson, in one final burst of negativity, who declared last week that his agency was under no obligation to even consider greenhouse gas emissions when deciding whether to allow a new coal-fired power plant to go forward. . . . [read on]

The coming war over the Employee Free Choice Act. And I do mean “war”

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/25/americas-real-patriot-act-the-employee-free-choice-act/

Norm Coleman, when he was ahead in the Minnesota recount, decried retrying the election in court. Guess what he’s saying now?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/25/3833/3154/242/677074

I generally stay away from trashy personal interest stories like the drug arrest of Levi Johnston’s mother (Levi is soon to be married to Bristol Palin, Sarah’s daughter, whom he got pregnant). Sherry Johnston was busted for dealing OxyContin (aka, “redneck heroin” – what a surprise).

Okay, it’s all trailer trash drama, not part of our usual interest. But I do think it is interesting and relevant that the Alaska police knew about all this in September, but held up the charges until after the election

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/25/AR2008122500930.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:43 AM

 
COAL FOR THEIR STOCKINGS

No, the last-minute PR blitz by Bush and Cheney won’t change the judgments of history (thanks to John Aravosis for the links)

Bush: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-woodhouse/another-presidential-lega_b_153154.html
[Brad Woodhouse] The jig has been up for some time now for the once revered Bush administration PR machine with the President's job approval rating failing to crack the fortieth percentile in more than two years. In fact, the President's numbers never really rebounded since 2005 following his hugely unpopular attempt to privatize Social Security; the tragic milestone of 2000 fallen U.S. soldiers hit and surpassed in Iraq; and of course, his administration's woefully inept response to Hurricane Katrina. . . . [read on]

Cheney: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081223_cheneys_legacy_of_deception/
[Robert Scheer] In the end, the shame of Vice President Dick Cheney was total: unmitigated by any notion of a graceful departure, let alone the slightest obligation of honest accounting. . . [read on]

The rude version

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/21/72054/084
One Leg Raised on the Bush-Cheney Legacy: Deconstructing the Spin and Propaganda
In an incisive 2,500 word analysis, award-winning journalist and university professor Walter Brasch reviews eight years of Republican spin and propaganda, all wrapped up in a letter sent by the Republican National Committee. . . .

Chris Cox: we’re still learning about his failures as SEC chair – and the price we’re all paying for them now

http://www.propublica.org/article/on-the-way-out-the-sec-chiefs-non-mea-culpa-1224#6866

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/secer_under_cox_subpoena_power.php

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249390.php

Is Afghanistan already lost?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a_G.w1Vgsork

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/strangling-tourniquet-by-dday-were.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/the_sons_of_afghanistan.php

http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/12/24/geoffmorrelljustadmitit/

Pardon me!

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/corruption_in_washington_/2008/12/not_entirely_shameless.php
[Mark Kleiman] Remember the pardon the Beloved Leader was going to give to a home-loan scammer whose father made his first political contribution ($28,500 to the RNC) earlier this year? Well, you can forget it, and so can the scammer. Once the papers started to pick up on it, the WH folded. . . .

Maybe not? http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249420.php

Gah!

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/constitutional_politics_/2008/12/the_la_times_editors_heads_explode.php
[According to the LA Times editorial board] The Bush Administration engaged in a a "systemic failure to take seriously the spirit as well as the letter of this country's commitment" to the law and human rights, and therefore we should not do anything about it. . . . [read on!]

More: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-rumsfeld24-2008dec24,0,3624077.story

Guerilla tactics

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249395.php
[Josh Marshall] Earlier I flagged the AP article about the environmental activist who snuck into a Bureau of Land Management auction and managed to marginally jack up the give-away prices a bunch of oil and gas companies were going to pay to lease the land. Now it turns out, according to one of our readers, that the 'scam' was only possible because the Bush administration did the whole thing on a rush basis in order to get as much of the public domain given away to energy industry cronies before January 20th . . . [read on]

The return of stem-cell research

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016189.php

Obama’s going to keep Defense Sect’y Bob Gates and most of the current DoD senior staff in place, at least for a while. This upsets a lot of people – should it?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016186.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/panic_at_the_dod.php

Obama: 82% approval!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016188.php

“Obama’s five rules of scandal response”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16836.html

“Unanswered questions” and “rumblings” about Emanuel/Blagojevich contacts. There’s no there there, but that won’t stop the press

http://mediamatters.org/items/200812230012

There’s a real chance that Obama could take office with two key Democratic Senate votes undecided

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minnesota_senate_seat_could_st.php

The bell tolls for Coleman: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minnesota_supremes_shoot_down.php

Conservatives: the party of ideas?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016185.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016184.php

The path to victory for the GOP in 2010?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/24/10302/010/722/676594

Sleaziest ads from the 2008 campaign

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249348.php



Fox News: Fact-Free Zone

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10609
Fox News: "Historians Pretty Much Agree" That FDR Prolonged the Great Depression . . .

Bonus item: Shocking expose about S. Claus (sorry if it ruins your holiday)

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/24/shocking-investigation-santa-jolly-elf-or-major-douchebag/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 5:33 AM

 
FULL DISCLOSURE

Blagojevich report released, and . . .

http://www.slate.com/id/2207405
The Obama team's report on the Blagojevich affair says just what they said it would. . . .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/23/obama-white-house-rod-blagojevich
[Michael Tomasky] We have lived, in Washington and in America, in a world of conspiracy and suspicion for many years. At least for 15 years, if you go back to the thrusts and parries of the Whitewater era, and arguably for 35 years, if you carry it back to Nixon.

The milieu is nurtured and given oxygen by the doubt and distrust that has held sway on both sides, which itself is driven by the very lawyerly need to say as little as possible. For the person who stands accused of an illegal act or an ethical violation, there is no percentage, really, in our present legal and media culture, in coming clean and telling everything.

Telling everything can, perhaps paradoxically, invite more questions. And that can only add to your legal bills at the end of the day. The point is always to say as little as possible and hope it goes away.

The problem that arises from this situation is that it ensnares the guilty and the innocent indiscriminately. Because after all, more questions can always, always be asked. . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-over-when-we-say-its-over-by-digby.html
[Digby] This story is over when the press corps says it's over and not a minute sooner. . . .

Full report: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/23/obama_blagojevich/ContactsMemo.pdf

Summaries: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/23/obama_blagojevich/index.html

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_team_releases_blago_repo.php

Just about the dumbest effort yet in the “Bush Legacy Project”

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/12/myths_and_facts_about_the_real.html
Myths & Facts About the Real Bush Record . . . [don’t miss it!]

Myths, yes: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/the_bush_legacy.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016174.php

The Cheney Legacy Project

http://www.slate.com/id/2207070/pagenum/all/
[Dahlia Lithwick] In an ever-escalating game of chicken between the executive branch and the rest of the world, Vice President Dick Cheney wants you to understand that he has done nothing wrong over the past eight years. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016178.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/23/is-cheney-relying-on-gonzales-retroactive-notes/

Murray Waas breaks a new story

http://murraywaas.crooksandliars.com/2008/12/23/exclusive-cheneys-admissions-to-the-cia-leak-prosecutor-and-fbi/
Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a still-highly confidential FBI report, admitted to federal investigators that he rewrote talking points for the press in July 2003 that made it much more likely that the role of then-covert CIA-officer Valerie Plame in sending her husband on a CIA-sponsored mission to Africa would come to light.

Cheney conceded during his interview with federal investigators that in drawing attention to Plame’s role in arranging her husband’s Africa trip reporters might also unmask her role as CIA officer.

Cheney denied to the investigators, however, that he had done anything on purpose that would lead to the outing of Plame as a covert CIA operative. But the investigators came away from their interview with Cheney believing that he had not given them a plausible explanation as to how he could focus attention on Plame’s role in arranging her husband’s trip without her CIA status also possibly publicly exposed. At the time, Plame was a covert CIA officer involved in preventing Iran from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, and Cheney’s office played a central role in exposing her and nullifying much of her work. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/23/163353/63/677/676647

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/23/cheneys-fbi-report/

I suppose it isn’t such a surprise that the companies receiving bailout money can’t/won’t document in the press how their money is being used. But you might think the government would care

http://www.propublica.org/article/treasury-docs-still-blacked-out-1223#6814
[Ben Potress] Two months and counting, the Treasury Department still refuses to release key details of contracts it awarded as part of its $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout plan. . . .

Chris Cox, Bush’s SEC chair: on the hot seat

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/23/christopher-cox-a-blast-from-the-past/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122302765.html

Looks like we may soon learn about the politically motivated Don Siegelman prosecution

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/doj_responds_to_conyers_on_sie.php

Has Norm Coleman moved to the Acceptance Stage?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249315.php

Not yet: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minnesota_campaigns_agree_to_f.php

The GOP’s hard times

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016180.php
[Steve Benen] By now, the list of problems -- structural, practical, ideological, historical -- facing the Republican Party is pretty familiar. . . . [read on]

Now, THIS is just weird

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016169.php
[Steve Benen] For a while, before the presidential campaign, conservatives on Fox News and talk radio had an idea: the economy wasn't that bad, but Americans had been led to believe it was, thanks to an elaborate conspiracy involving the media and Democrats.

After the election, high-profile conservatives, including Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove, publicly described a new theory: an elaborate conspiracy involving the media and Democrats is still working to convince Americans the economy is in bad shape, so as to help Barack Obama appear even more impressive when conditions turn around.

This week, we have yet another conspiracy theory, this time from Rush Limbaugh, who's just delusional enough to believe Democrats, most notably Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), deliberately created the global economic crisis for partisan gain. . . . [read on]

Bonus item: TPM’s 2008 Golden Duke Award nominees

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249314.php



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:40 AM

 
THE BIG RIP-OFF

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249138.php
[Josh Marshall] Everybody, it seems, wants a bailout. And observers are left demanding bailouts for some industries (cars) and bewailing them for others (commercial construction, hedge funds). But as I watch this unfold I feel increasingly concerned that the people controlling the money are using the complexity of the situation and the public's difficulty in understanding it to use public money to shield very wealthy institutions and individuals from the inherent risks of their chosen line of work. . . . [read on]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081221/ap_on_bi_ge/executive_bailouts
Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016155.php
[HIlzoy] I've been wondering why such different standards are applied to financial executives and Detroit's auto workers . . . [read on]

Healthy companies BUY UP banks to grab some of the bailout money

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/with_bailout_money_at_stake_it.php

And now, this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_secrets
It's something any bank would demand to know before handing out a loan: Where's the money going?

But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it.

"We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."

The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?

None of the banks provided specific answers. . . .

Watch: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28358312



Afghanistan doesn’t want a U.S. “surge”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/afghan_leader_presses_us_milit.php

Cheney claims that the entire Democratic leadership SUPPORTED illegal wiretapping and ASKED the Bush gang to keep it secret (of course, he might be lying)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/22/cheney/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] Dick Cheney's interview yesterday with Fox's Chris Wallace was filled with significant claims, but certainly among the most significant was his detailed narration of how the administration, and Cheney personally, told numerous Democratic Congressional leaders -- repeatedly and in detail -- about the NSA warrantless eavesdropping program. And, according to Cheney, every one of those Democrats -- every last one -- not only urged its continuation, but insisted that it be kept secret . . . [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/22/145116/80/126/676197

The Villagers tell us that we need to stop with all this investigating of Bush and Cheney. It’s just political payback, you see, whatever crimes were committed

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/22/125440/42/168/676147

Meanwhile, of course, the nonexistent Obama/Blagojevich link MUST be pursued aggressively

http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200812220006
The WSJ telegraphs how it's not going to let the Blago/Obama story die

No matter what the released report says about the contacts between Obama's team and Blago.

Monday's Journal news report acknowledges that Obama sources insists the report won't contain any damning information. And Stephanopoulos over the weekend reported that Rahm Emanuel was caught on tape telling Blago all he'd receive from Obama was "appreciation" if an Obama favorite was selected to fill his U.S. senate seat.

But the Journal, on behalf of the Beltway press corps, announces that it already has a back-up plan in order to hype the non-scandal . . . .

Government prosecutors screw up the slam-dunk Ted Stevens (R-AK) conviction. Nice work, boys

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/22/fbi-whistleblower-plugs-toobz-stevens-prosecution/

Franken pulls ahead in the Minnesota vote recount: Coleman’s only remaining chance is through the courts

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/star_tribune_franken_will_lead.php

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/21/franken-coleman-recount-update-122108-mea-dopa/

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/22/franken-coleman-recount-update-evening-edition-confusion-chaos-not/

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_playing_defense_in_the.php

The end of an era: Fox News sues Bush admin

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/22/fox_suit/index.html

GOP: regional party

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/22/152620/55
[Jonathan Singer] [T]he problem with a regional minority coming to dominate a party's caucus is that the party can become less responsive to the desires and needs of the rest of the country, and as a result less enticing to voters across the country. With regards to the Republicans' current conundrum, the extreme focus on Southern conservatism makes is significantly more difficult to win over moderate voters around the country -- a trend already visible in Barack Obama's 60 percent to 39 percent victory among moderate voters, a trend that will very possibly continue into the future as the GOP turns even more Southward in its focus.

Bonus item: Sarah Palin, Conservative of the Year

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/22/182311/77
[Todd Beeton] What's even sadder though is that there's very little in the editorial that references Palin's conservatism. The message Coulter is sending is that what defines conservatism is not ideology or policy but rather the effectiveness of its opposition to liberalism, which pretty much sums up the problem with movement conservatism. It's always been an opposition movement even when they were nominally in power. This is what they do, they rail against their fictional demonized version of liberalism and now that failing is laid bare for all to see in Coulter's rant. It also points to why movement conservatism is so unsustainable -- it's based on nothing but tearing down straw men. . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:07 AM

 
VICE PATROL

Dick Cheney channels Dick Nixon

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016153.php
[Steve Benen] It's been a common refrain over the last eight years, but it's even more common now in light of the new Frost/Nixon movie: "When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal."

In context, Frost had asked about the notion that a president can "do something illegal," if he/she decides the crime is "in the best interests of the nation." . . . After uttering the now famous phrase, Nixon added, "If the president, for example, approves something because of the national security, or in this case because of a threat to internal peace and order of significant magnitude, then the president's decision in that instance is one that enables those who carry it out, to carry it out without violating a law."

Fox News' Chris Wallace asked Dick Cheney something similar for an interview aired this morning: "If the president during war decides to do something to protect the country, is it legal?" Cheney's answer wasn't exactly Nixonian, but it was close. . . . [read on]

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/cheneys_unlimited_power_doctrine.php

Cheney thinks anyone who questions his massive, unconstitutional power grab is “diminishing the office of the Vice Presidency.” After him, it needs some diminishing

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/21/14435/950

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016151.php

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/249066.php
[Josh Marshall] But let's be really frank on this one. The vice president has no substantial powers at all. None. He or she can break ties in the senate. They have the key role of succession. And as a practical matter they can play an important role as the president's partner -- the chief executive's inability to fire the VP serving as a benign form of independence within the White House, in terms of giving advice . But the very fact that we can even be having a conversation about the prerogative powers of the vice presidency is a testament to the world of Alice in Wonderland constitutionalism that has been a hallmark of Cheney's time in office.

Mr. Vice President, what was your highest point in office?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/21/13492/534/506/675809



Torture prosecutions?

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/21/torture-crimes-to-be-referred-for-prosecution-be-still-me-beating-heart/
[Carl Levin, D-MI] You can’t just suddenly change some thing that’s illegal into something that is legal by having a lawyer writing an opinion saying that it’s legal . . . [read on]

Biden’s future

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/21/biden_explains_his_role.html
Vice President-elect Joe Biden told ABC News that he is going to chair a "middle-class task force" that will determine how the Obama administration's policies are affecting America's economic midsection. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016156.php

Why isn’t there a place for Wesley Clark in Obama’s administration?

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/_/2008/12/national_security_obamas_missing_man.php

Is this evidence of a recalcitrant military, or a little Kabuki that allows both Obama and the generals to save face?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/washington/22combat.html
Even though the agreement with the Iraqi government calls for all American combat troops to be out of the cities by the end of June, military planners are now quietly acknowledging that many will stay behind as renamed “trainers” and “advisers” in what are effectively combat roles. In other words, they will still be engaged in combat, just called something else. . . . [read on]

More: http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/21/we-wanna-stay-in-iraq/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/revolt-of-generals-by-dday-wes-clark.html

The “war on terror”

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/21/212734/37/377/675938
[LithiumCola] In a sense, this hardly needed to be said. That the so called "War on Terrorism" walks like a duck and talks like a duck is pretty good evidence that it is in fact a strategically pivoting geo-political duck whose target is not "Islamo-fascism" but "influence in Central Asia" . . . unless those are simply two phrases for the same thing. . . . [read on]

Rahm Emanuel had ONE contact with Blagojevich, during which he refused even the hint of a quid pro quo over the Senate seat appointment, sending Blago into a rage. This is all uncontested fact. So WHY is Emanuel supposedly “threatened” by the scandal?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2008/12/exclusive-obama.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016150.php

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/21/154031/45

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/22/obama-white-house-rod-blagojevich-contacts

Chris Cox’s SEC is panicked over the Madoff scandal: what are we going to find out?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/secer_agency_in_a_state_of_com.php

The NRA, still making robocalls against Obama even after the election is over

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016146.php

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/nra_in_need_of_funds.php

Bonus item: “Why conservative ideas can’t work”

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10558
[Paul Rosenberg] (1) Conservative ideas cannot work, because they are faith-based, rather than reason and evidence/experience-based.

(2) Conservative ideas cannot work, because they are accepted-and liberal/progressive ideas are rejected-based on authoritarian obedience.

(3) Conservative ideas cannot work, because they are based on an objectively false model of the world, reflected in a false moral model for human action.

(4) Conservative ideas cannot work, because they are based on a limited level of causal connectedness, which is functionally inadequate to understand the world. . . . [read on]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:39 AM

 
HOW DID WE GET HERE?

We’re coming to the end of a pair of bookends, starting with Nixon (“I’m saying that when the president does it…that means it’s not illegal.”), and ending with Bush and Cheney. Read Nixonland to see how it all started. Will it end with real consequences for the Bush gang?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/20/marcus/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus today perfectly expresses the consensus view of establishment Washington regarding the exemption which political elites should and do enjoy from the rule of law, and, in doing so, she unintentionally highlights -- as vividly as possible -- the glaring flaw in this mentality. . . .

The same controversies over government lawbreaking arise over and over. And why is that? Because our political leaders keep breaking the law -- chronically and deliberately. And why do they keep doing that? Because there is no deterrent against it. Every time they get caught breaking the law, the Ronald Reagans and Ruth Marcuses of the world step in to insist that they should not be punished, that the criminal law is not for elite leaders in political office, that those involved in the noble function of ruling America are too intrinsically well-intentioned to warrant punishment even when they commit crimes, that it's more important to look forward than back.

Every time we immunize political leaders from the consequences of their crimes, it's manipulatively justified in the name of "ensuring that it never happens again." And every time, we do exactly the opposite: we make sure it will happen again. And it does: Richard Nixon is pardoned. J. Edgar Hoover's lawbreakers are protected. The Iran-contra criminals are set free and put back into government. Lewis Libby is spared having to serve even a single day in prison despite multiple felony convictions. And now it's time to immunize even those who tortured detainees and spied on Americans in violation of numerous treaties, domestic laws, and the most basic precepts of civilized Western justice. . . . [read on]

“25 Reasons to Impeach Bush” (well, it’s a little late now)

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10557

Evidence of perjury

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/20/and-while-youre-indicting-alberto-gonzales-for-lying-to-congress/
[Emptywheel] DOJ may well already be considering charges against Alberto Gonzales for lying to Congress about the US Attorney firings (and, for that matter, about the illegal wiretap program). Waxman lays out one more instance where Bush's Fredo appears to have lied about Administration activities. . . .

Told ya

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/20/AR2008122002102.html
The required transfer in four weeks of all of the Bush White House's electronic mail messages and documents to the National Archives has been imperiled by a combination of technical glitches, lawsuits and lagging computer forensic work, according to government officials, historians and lawyers. . . .

The Three Wise Men tell Obama that the reasonable, prudent thing to do in Iraq is to keep doing what they’ve been saying all along

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/20/lieberman-mccain-and-graham-give-obama-iraq-advice/
This Sunday, the Washington Post will feature a little advice for President-elect Obama from Lieberman, McCain and Graham, those experts on our occupation of Iraq. Their advice is really simple – just listen to General Odierno – the guy who last week said he would not withdraw US forces from Iraqi cities and maybe, since three years is a long time, skip the 2011 SOFA deadline for complete withdrawal . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/20/133917/44/826/675489
[Kos] Why does talk of "consensus" always mean agreeing with the likes of Joe Lieberman and John McCain, and not them agreeing with us? . . .

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/_/2008/12/shorter_mccainliebermangraham.php
[Mark Kleiman] It's very important that elections should have no consequences. When the country votes by a solid margin for a President who promised to get us out of Iraq, against an opponent to promised to keep us in indefinitely, the winner must, in the name of national unity, turn around and keep us in Iraq indefinitely. . . .

The cost of conservatism

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/20/the-cost-of-conservatism-in-trillions/

The bailout scam

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10551

The enablers

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/who-me-by-digby-peggy-noonan-is.html

The Limbaugh line: the mortgage crisis is all because the Democrats forced the government to give subprime loans to people who couldn’t afford them . . .

David: http://www.davidlimbaugh.com/mt/archives/2008/09/new_column_the_34.html
Which brings us back to the current subprime mortgage crisis. When we strip away all the complexity, we discover that social planning largely led to this debacle. Government politicians and bureaucrats forced lending institutions to make un-creditworthy loans and helped create unnatural demand in the housing market by priming the pump on bad loans. This created an unnatural price bubble in real estate, which was securing these ill-advised loans. When the bubble inevitably burst, the mortgages secured by the artificially inflated real estate plummeted in value, which left us with an epidemic of grossly under-secured loans.

Rush: http://crooksandliars.com/node/23397
They're doing far more, folks, than just cheating when it comes to elections and registration. They are in deep in this mortgage crisis. ACORN and Obama and Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, the Democrat Party, have their fingerprints all over the subprime mortgage crisis. The whole concept of affordable housing was people that can't afford a mortgage are going to get one, because America is unfair.

But here’s the real story . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html
Eight years after arriving in Washington vowing to spread the dream of homeownership, Mr. Bush is leaving office, as he himself said recently, “faced with the prospect of a global meltdown” with roots in the housing sector he so ardently championed.

There are plenty of culprits, like lenders who peddled easy credit, consumers who took on mortgages they could not afford and Wall Street chieftains who loaded up on mortgage-backed securities without regard to the risk.

But the story of how we got here is partly one of Mr. Bush’s own making . . .[read on]

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/21/02749/373
[NYT] The president listened as Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, laid out the latest terrifying news: The credit markets, gripped by panic, had frozen overnight, and banks were refusing to lend money.

Then his Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., told him that to stave off disaster, he would have to sign off on the biggest government bailout in history.

Mr. Bush, according to several people in the room, paused for a single, stunned moment to take it all in.

"How," he wondered aloud, "did we get here?" . . . [read on]

Aren’t these the people who are always decrying quotas and token gestures at “diversity”?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016138.php
[Steve Benen] The Politico had a fairly long piece this week, noting that Barack Obama's cabinet was pretty diverse, but lacked Southerners. The piece suggested there was some grumbling in political circles over this, but it quoted a grand total of two people complaining -- both anonymous Hill staffers, one of whom doesn't even work in Congress anymore.

In the ensuing days, however, the complaints about Obama having "snubbed" the South have picked up steam. . . .

The sorry state of Republicanism

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/in_the_wilderness.php
[Matt Yglesias] Ambitious people don’t like the idea that their fate is out of their hands. But an opposition political party’s fate is largely out of its hands. The Democratic Party’s recovery from its low ebb in the winter of 2004-2005 had very little to do with Democratic policy innovation and a great deal to do with the fact that the objective situation facing the country got worse. The time for the GOP to improve, policy-wise, was back then. Had the Bush administration been animated by better ideas, Bush might not have led to declining incomes, rising inequality, and catastrophic military adventures. But since he did, the GOP lost. And now the reality is that it’s the Democrats’ turn to govern. If things work out poorly, the GOP will get back in whether or not they have an ideological renewal, and if things work out well the Republicans will stay locked out.

But the time when it’s smart politics to have smart policies is when you’re governing. . . .

More: http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10549

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016096.php

Thinking small, and thinking big

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/20/11232/448/859/675456
[CNN] The [Congressional] aide insisted no decisions have been made on the price tag, and pushed back on the higher numbers floating around on the stimulus, which have ranged from $850 billion $1 trillion. "It's not going to be that. I just don't see it going up to $850 billion," said the aide, who pointed to the range cited by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier in the week -- $500-600 billion -- with a majority of the money devoted to infrastructure projects, and the rest designated to fund a middle class tax cut.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/20/AR2008122001395.html
President-elect Barack Obama has expanded his goals for a massive federal stimulus package to keep pace with the increasingly grim economic outlook, aiming to create or preserve at least 3 million jobs over the next two years. . . .

Food policy

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/21/55110/585

CNN introduces this story as “Obama takes fresh jab at Bush”

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/20/obama-names-science-and-technology-team/
President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”

“It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in an apparent offhand swipe at President Bush.

“It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient,” Obama said, adding that government support had been essential for the greatest scientific breakthroughs of recent history, like the development of the Internet. “Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us." . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016141.php

[NB: Sad, isn’t it, when a defense of scientific evidence and reasoning is framed as a partisan political stance? What’s the old line, “The facts have a liberal bias”?]

The facts have a liberal bias

http://www.nowpublic.com/facts_have_a_well_known_liberal_bias

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015624.php

Don’t miss it: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=89307&title=new-media

Looks like it’s over in Minnesota

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camp_we_win_by_35-50_v.php
[Eric Kleefeld] The Star-Tribune's analysis of the challenged ballots currently has Franken winning by 78 votes once they're all processed, actually somewhat higher than the Franken camp thinks. With any luck, we could know the truth as soon as Monday.

Bear in mind, however, that this will hardly be the end of it -- there is still a whole lot of legal wrangling over the wrongly-rejected absentee ballots, plus the Coleman campaign's claim that some other absentees were actually counted twice. But whoever is ahead after this leg of the process will be very, very likely to win when it's all over. . . .

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/sunday_show_preview_103964.asp
NBC Meet The Press: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a roundtable with CNBC's Erin Burnett, Chicago Sun-Times' Carol Marin, NBC's Andrea Mitchell and NPR's Michele Norris.

ABC This Week: Joseph Biden and a roundtable with ABC News' Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, and George Will along with ABC's Donna Brazile.

CBS Face the Nation: Kerry Kennedy, Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY), Geraldine Ferraro, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), NYC Dept. of Education Chancellor Joel Klein, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and NY1 political anchor Dominic Carter.

CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman, Financial Services Committee, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Laura Tyson, former Clinton economic adviser, Carly Fiorina, former chairman & CEO, Hewlett-Packard, Ed Rollins, Republican strategist; CNN political contributor, David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst; former presidential adviser, James Carville, Democratic strategist; CNN political contributor, Tara Wall, deputy editorial page editor, The Washington Times; CNN political contributor, Jessica Yellin, CNN national political correspondent, William Schneider, CNN senior political analyst and Ed Henry, CNN senior White House correspondent.

Bonus item: Ah, capitalism . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/shoes_make_the_man.html
[Bloomberg] The brown, thick-soled “Model 271” may soon be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush,” Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic., said in a telephone interview today. . .

Baydan has received orders for 300,000 pairs of the shoes since the attack . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 8:05 AM

 
LAWLESS

Legal jeopardy for the Bush gang?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/176044
The United States, like many countries, has a bad habit of committing wartime excesses and an even worse record of accounting for them afterward. But a remarkable string of recent events suggests that may finally be changing—and that top Bush administration officials could soon face legal jeopardy for prisoner abuse committed under their watch in the war on terror. . . .

Seriously, is Cheney claiming the power to withhold or destroy documents HE deems not covered by the Presidential Records Act?

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/19/somebody-needs-to-serve-a-subpoena-on-ole-fourth-branch-in-a-hurry/

More: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/18/washington/AP-Cheney-lawsuit.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016136.php

Bernard Madoff was apparently running his scheme for a very long time, so there’s plenty of blame to share – but the Republican anti-regulatory spirit certainly helped

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/cox_worked_to_dismantle_the_se.php
[Zachary Roth] There's no longer much debate about the fact that the SEC badly slipped up by failing to catch Bernard Madoff's alleged "$50 billion ponzi scheme." Even commission chair Chris Cox lamented "multiple failures over at least a decade" in the matter. And yesterday President-elect Barack Obama declared that the commission had "dropped the ball."

But it's also becoming clear that the Madoff failures didn't arise out of nowhere. In recent years, particularly under Cox, a former California GOP congressman, the SEC has pursued a policy of de-emphasizing enforcement, part of the broader anti-regulatory philosophy of the Bush years -- helping to make Madoff, and perhaps others like him, possible. . . [read on]

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/who-could-have-dreamed-by-digby.html

The mismanaged bailout program

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/ap_on_go_ot/meltdown_bailout_watchdog
The top watchdog for the government's financial bailout said Thursday she's frustrated by the Treasury Department's refusal to explain how it's doling out billions in taxpayer money. . . .

The result? They want to be rewarded with the other $350 billion right now (what, they’re gonna spend it in a month?)

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/19/how-bush-can-get-his-hands-on-the-rest-of-the-350-billion-tarp-funds/

Bush offers a bridge loan to the auto industry, but then uses that as an excuse to get the rest of the TARP money

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/secretary_paulson_statement_on.php
[Sect’y Paulson] As a result of this decision, Treasury effectively has allocated the first $350 billion from the TARP. The actual disbursement of this amount is subject to approval of bank capital applications, many of which remain with the regulators and will not reach Treasury for review until early next year. Disbursement is also subject to finalizing the structure for the Federal Reserve-Treasury consumer credit program (TALF). In the very short-term, the allocated but not yet disbursed TARP balances, in conjunction with the powers of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, give me confidence that we have the necessary resources to address a significant financial market event. It is clear, however, that Congress will need to release the remainder of the TARP to support financial market stability. . . .

The Republicans are furious: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/248957.php
"Congress was wrong to grant the Administration the authority to bail out the financial industry through the TARP in the first place. The President is wrong to use this authority to bail out GM and Chrysler. Instead of pursuing the more responsible course to ensure that these companies restructure through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the President chose to stick the taxpayer with the tab as he walks out the door. I believe it is a shameful attempt by the President to protect his own legacy. The taxpayer will surely remember him for it."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/19/georgebush-automotive
[Michael Tomasky] On paper, Bush threw the Senate Republicans the bone they needed in insisting that the plan include the wage reductions. But Bush will be back in Texas by the time the details are actually implemented. The Obama administration might change some of these details, presumably.

So it doesn't look to me like the congressional GOP really got much at all. And this highlights one of several schisms within the post-election GOP that the party is going to have a difficult time sorting out. . . .

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/19/republican-bad-faith-negotiation-again/

Internal Republican memo reveals a party in crisis

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/in_internal_memo_rnc_chief_con.php
[Greg Sargent] In a frank and private memo sent today to Republican National Commitee members, the RNC chairman acknowledges that the GOP has grown too addicted to ideology, places politics before policy, and is bereft of ideas -- and that it's imperative that the party shift towards a genuine effort to develop concrete policy solutions to people's problems in order to rescue itself. . . . [read on]

More: http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/19/the_top_dozen_insights_of_cons/
The Top Dozen Insights of Conservatives, 2008
[David Frum, American Enterprise Institute] Sarah Palin symbolizes a party that has decided that we just don't care about making the government work anymore. . . . . . [read on!]

2010

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/19/more_losses_for_senate_republicans.html
The Fix rates the top ten U.S. Senate seats with the greatest chance at flipping and notes seven of them currently held by Republicans. . . .

Franken pulls ahead in the Minnesota recount – and Coleman’s last-gasp ploy ends up helping him further. He’s running out of options

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/with_key_phase_in_recount_now.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/whoops_coleman_maneuver_to_gai.php

What next? http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/19/111117/45

Obama’s “new politics” – a debate

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/19/obama/index.html

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/are_obamas_new_politics_really.php

More on the Rick Warren selection: from reader BW

I'm with the camp that says the Warren pick was "brilliant." Here's why:

(1) You have the most prominent evangelical in the country basically endorsing Obama. This move does not "legitimate Warren," it legitimates Obama. That is how the religious right is seeing it. Judging from the reaction I've read, it has rocked the evangelical world to the core.

(2) This is not a "platform" for Warren's misguided views -- this will be done according to Obama's rules. It will be polite and respectful, with absolutely no gay bashing.

(3) It reinforces Obama's message of finding common ground with religion on issues like poverty, AIDS, the environment, etc.

(4) It will give political cover to Obama to further a gay-rights agenda. (It even gives him cover to say things like "I think it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans" -- has a president every used such language?)

Obama's political instincts continue to impress.

The coming debate over “card check”

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=12&year=2008&base_name=putting_the_problem_before_the#111725

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/unions_and_organizing_/2008/12/ezra_klein_on_card_check.php

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/the_democrats_card_check_quand.php

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:56 AM

 
UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The unfinished “to-do” list Bush is leaving behind for Obama

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/2489

Whoa

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/04211/265/939/674359
[NYT] [A] bipartisan report by the Senate Armed Services Committee has made what amounts to a strong case for bringing criminal charges against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; his legal counsel, William J. Haynes; and potentially other top officials, including the former White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff.

Given that Vice President Cheney voluntarily added himself to that list, he should be included on it. . . .

A prosecutor should be appointed to consider criminal charges against top officials at the Pentagon and others involved in planning the abuse. . . .

Bush wants us to know that he never “compromised his soul”

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016107.php

More: http://www.slate.com/id/2207062

The GOP wants to revisit Clinton-era “scandals” – the worst of which were distasteful and foolish at worst. Nothing like, say, lying to start a war, wiretapping Americans, or authorizing torture

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/0424/6765/932/674358

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/17/81048/252/298/673983

Will Bush help the auto industry?

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/baseball-hot-dogs-apple-pie-and-chevrolet/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/not-disorderly-collapse-nice-orderly.html

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/microeconomics_and_policy_analysis_/2008/12/auto_bailout_why_hit_the_workers_and_not_the_dealers.php

Chrysler is now closing its plants because the GOP didn’t want to give them a bridge loan. Here’s how they plan to hold the economy hostage in the future as well

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/keeping-us-safe-by-digby-i-think-its.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/19/11149/810/426/674872

The broken Republican brand

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/18/gop_distrust/index.html
According to the Washington Post/ABC News poll, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, 56 percent to 23 percent, Americans trust the Democrats to better to handle the "main problems" facing the country. That 23 percent? It's the lowest level on record for either party since the Post/ABC first started asking this question in 1982. . . .

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/behind-the-numbers/2008/12/trust_in_gop_reaches_record_lo.html

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/14/future_of_the_gop/

Maliki is looking more and more like just another middle eastern strongman

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/keeping_power_in_iraq.html

The meaningless SOFA agreement

http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/sofaunderminers/

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/top-10-reasons-obama-should-resist.html

The Limbaugh brother who wasn’t smart enough to get a radio show tries to convince us that it’s a bad thing that Obama is trying to repair the US image around the world

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/18/whats-in-a-middle-name/

More fallout from Obama’s selection of Rick Warren for the Inauguration. One take: it’s smart for Obama to show he’s not beholden to left-wing interest groups

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/picking_rick_warren_brilliant.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016103.php

The other take: it’s smart for Obama to try to pry off the less extreme wing of the evangelicals. (We’re not buyin’ it)

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081229/posne

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/the-divisiveness-of-the-rick-warren-choice/

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/understanding_the_politics_why.php

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/18/warren_fallout/index.html

Obama tries to explain

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_on_rick_warren_pick_we_h.php
“I am fierce advocate for equality for gay and -- well, let me start by talking about my own views. I think it is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans. It is something I have been consistent on and something I intend to continue to be consistent on during my presidency.

What I've also said is that it is important for America to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues.

And I would note that a couple of years ago I was invited to Rick Warren's church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion.

Nevertheless, I had an opportunity to speak, and that dialogue, I think, is a part of what my campaign's been all about, that we're never going to agree on every single issue. What we have to do is create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable, and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans. So Rick Warren has been invited to speak, Dr. Joseph Lowery -- who has deeply contrasting views to Rick Warren about a whole host of issues -- is also speaking.”

Watch: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/248723.php

(Still not buyin’ it)

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/the_furiuous_reaction_of_parti.php

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/why-do-we-need-a-rick-warren-at-all/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/18/obama-white-house-rick-warren

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/religion_and_politics_/2008/12/more_reflections_on_rick_warren.php

A fresh take on the Warren debate: why are we having an invocation at all?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016116.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/rick-warren-and-invoking-teh-inauguration/

Sect’y of Labor

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/18/13593/244

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/solis_on_efca.php

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10514

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/andy_stern_on_obamas_labor_sec.php

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/18/obama-white-house-solis-labor

U.S. Trade Representative (and first southerner)

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10507

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/ron_kirk_will_be_obamas_trade.php

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10522

Looks like we may finally have a Director of National Intelligence

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/18/1721090.aspx

More appointments

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016117.php

The recount in Minnesota is looking very good for Al Franken – the only votes left to count are Norm Coleman’s challenged ballots, which naturally tilt more toward Franken

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/804/41072/945/674337

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/134015/96/672/674610

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_the_more_likely_winner.php

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/franken-coleman-recount-update-121808-now-you-know-why-norm-didnt-want-a-recount/

These are the kinds of “challenges” Coleman hopes will save him

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/22/19302/326

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/the_worst_ballot_challenge_of.php

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/144729/92/631/674659

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/18/194642/18/483/674799

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minnesota_supremes_decide_most.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camp_claims_victory_of.php

Bonus item: The gift for everyone on your “hard to shop for” list (no, no need to thank me)

http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02503.htm

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:18 AM

 
LEGACY OF LIES

The Bush Legacy Project continues: you could call it rewriting the historical record – if anyone was actually listening any more

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j057jBReERcsF-FcZRSWe0h1gaXQD954ME1O0
[AP] Addressing a supportive military audience at the U.S. Army War College, Bush sought to shape how he will remembered after Barack Obama succeeds him on Jan. 20. Bush held little back in depicting his two terms as a time of transformational change, saying the world has "more people live in liberty than at any other time in human history." . . .

"While there's room for an honest and healthy debate about the decisions I made — and there's plenty of debate — there can be no debate about the results in keeping America safe," Bush said. . . .

Bush said, "We have delivered a devastating blow to al-Qaida in the land Osama bin Laden once called the central battleground in the war on terror." . . .

More lies: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081217-6.html
[Bush] “After 9/11, we also reexamined the danger posed by Iraq -- a country that combined support for terror, the development and use of weapons of mass destruction, aggression against its neighbors, routine attacks on American forces, systemic violations of U.N. resolutions. We concluded that the world could not tolerate such a destabilizing and dangerous force in the heart of the Middle East. I offered Saddam Hussein a final chance to resolve the issue peacefully. It was his choice to make. And when he refused, we acted with a coalition of nations to protect our people . . .”

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/12/17/BL2008121701915.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016093.php

Rachel Maddow (with a big assist from Spencer Ackerman) dissects the lies – don’t miss it

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/17/spencer-on-maddow/



More on Cheney’s defense of torture

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/17/cheney-confesses-to-a-war-crime%E2%80%94whats-it-to-you/
[Looseheadprop] Great segment on Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night, talking with Jonathan Turley. They were discussing an interview in which Dick Cheney admitted some part of his role in authorizing the torture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. Olbermann's first question to Turley: Did Dick Cheney just confess to a war crime? . . . [read on]



I am starting to wonder, as the days click past, whether the Bush gang imagines that they can find some way to permanently bury their secret torture and warrantless wiretapping memos and keep them from ever becoming public

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/17/the-holder-delay-the-olc-delay-the-sjc-delay/

Blackwater to leave Iraq?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/world/middleeast/18blackwater.html

Don’t be shocked by this, but it looks as if another Bush regulatory agency sorta forgot to, you know, do its job

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/17/news/madoff_sec/index.htm
SEC's Cox admits 'failures' over Madoff . . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/sec_chair_blasts_multiple_fail.php

http://www.propublica.org/article/why-the-sec-missed-madoffs-con-1216

How, oh how could it happen? http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16608.html
Eric Swanson was the assistant director in the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ market oversight unit in Washington. . . .

The SEC has come under criticism for not following up on tips that Madoff’s investment returns seemed suspicious. Mr. Swanson left the SEC in 2006. He married Madoff’s niece the next year. . .

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/why_didnt_sec_look_closer_at_m.php
Madoff appears to have had a cozy relationship with regulators. . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/madoff_bragged_about_family_ti.php
Madoff Bragged About Family Tie To SEC . . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/madoffs_firm_all_in_the_family.php
But it's worth piecing together the extent of what we know about the cozy web of family ties that may have allowed Madoff to escape scrutiny for so long. . . .

Obama’s choice as Sect’y of Education, Arne Duncan: a debate from my two favorite education blogs

Pro: http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-arne-duncan-means-for-educational.html

Con: http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/search?q=arne+duncan

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/17/usdomesticpolicy

Don’t tell me THIS is what we’ll be hearing about at Duncan’s confirmation hearings

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016097.php
[Steve Benen] When Arne Duncan's nomination to head the Department of Education is considered, the most likely political dispute will have nothing to do with testing, merit pay, or charter schools. Instead, we're probably going to hear a fair amount of complaints about the Social Justice Solidarity High School. . . . [read on]

Republican Ray LaHood for Sect’y of Transportation?

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/17/lahood-for-transportation-secretary-say-what/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/17/obama-white-house-transportation-lahood

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/17/lahood/index.html

Sect’y of Labor?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/17/obama_narrows_candidates_for_labor_secretary.html

One less progressive in Obama’s Cabinet

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10490
[Bloomberg] Representative Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, said he turned down an offer by President-elect Barack Obama to be U.S. Trade Representative . . .

Obama invites homophobe Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Inauguration – the worst move he has made since the election

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/obama-picks-homophobe-pro-prop.html

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/17/173936/96

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/religion_and_politics_/2008/12/rick_warren.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/top_liberal_group_hammers_obam.php

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/rick-warren-is-major-fail-and-total.html

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/17/obama-selects-eliminationist-preacher-warren-for-inauguration-pulpit-the-audacity-of-hate/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016098.php

The Republican “brain trust” plans their future comeback. How's that going?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016096.php
[Steve Benen] I've argued a few times since the election that the Republican Party's intellectual bankruptcy compounds its electoral problems. The race to be the "party of ideas" is over; the GOP lost. When one of the top House Republican leaders wrote about the policy vision for the party's future, and listed three failed ideas from the '90s, it only helped reinforce the point this is a party lacking in substance and policy direction. . . . [read on]

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/12/more_republicans_revolt_on_oba.html
[Chris Cillizza] As the Republican National Committee continues its attempt to tie disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich to President-elect Barack Obama, more high-profile GOPers are rebelling against the strategy . . .

Perfect

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_wants_to_use_campaign.php
[Norm] Coleman Wants To Use Campaign Money For Legal Fees . . .

More from Minnesota: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/equal_protection.html
[Kevin Drum] Is Norm Coleman really trying to prevent ballots in the Minnesota senate race from being counted by using Bush v. Gore as precedent for an Equal Protection Clause claim? The same Bush v. Gore decision that was so contrary to previous conservative opinion that the court specifically (and to considerable mockery) stated that "Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances"?

Why yes. Yes he is. The mind reels.

Reversing Bush’s “Provider Conscience” rule

http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-eyes-provider-conscience-rule-1217

More reversals coming: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016101.php

Bonus item: The Best of the 2008 Election (video)

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/248555.php



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:55 AM

 
“A REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL EFFORT”

More true confessions from Dick Cheney: yeah, we tortured. So what?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/confessions-by-digby-in-abcs-exit.html
"[I]t's been a remarkably successful effort. I think the results speak for themselves." . . .

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkILjPu3KTE



More on defending torture: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/torture.html

Bush’s political wisdom

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/16/for-gop-to-start-winning-again-bush-recommends-tax-cuts/
"I still think we're a right-of-center country," the President responded when asked whether the election offered proof that the ideological center of the country had shifted to the left. . . .

"I think most Americans want their government to be effective, results-oriented, efficient," the President said. . .

"They would like to pay as little a tax as possible. They want their military to be strong, viable, and effective. They want their public leaders to promote personal responsibility by living responsible lives. Most people are - from the cultural side, believe in an Almighty. The question is how you take those basic beliefs and explain them, either through policy or words, in a way where there's common understanding." . . . [read on]

Blagojevich: a godsend for Republicans

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502491.html
[E.J. Dionne] Rod Blagojevich has been a godsend for Republicans. They have been looking on helplessly as Obama's approval ratings climbed into the stratosphere. Then came Blago's lively and profane performances, made public by Patrick Fitzgerald, the star federal prosecutor.

Suddenly, conservative columnists, bloggers and the Republican National Committee insisted that all other news was secondary to the burning issue of what Obama and his staff knew about any of this -- and never mind that Blagojevich used one of his favorite expletives to trash Obama for refusing to play ball. There were also dark hints that Obama could not possibly be squeaky clean, given his state's pay-to-play political culture.

As if this weren't bad enough for the Democrats, Blagojevich's troubles have endangered one of the party's safest U.S. Senate seats. . . .

The press: yes, we feel guilty for not doing more to expose Bush’s failings when it could have made a difference. But we’ll make up for it by being really tough on Obama now

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/press-throwdown-by-digby-earlier-today.html

Our “liberal” media

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/silly_benen.php

Hmmm . . . what game is Newt playing? Like McCain, he comes out hard against RNC attacks trying to link Obama to Blago. He can’t mean well by it

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Newt_denounces_Blago_attacks.html

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/gingrich_rnc_web_ad_is_destruc.php

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/newt-denounces-blago-attacks.html
[John Aravosis] Something is up. . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016079.php

The GOP: looking to pick a fight

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/_republicans_cant_criticize_it.php

The Repubs want to beat up Eric Holder over . . . . Elian Gonzalez?!?

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-probes-holders-role-in-elian-gonzales-case-2008-12-16.html

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/scalps-deja-vu-vu-by-digby-lets-party.html

Filibusters and obstructionism

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016077.php

Is the GOP still a viable national party?

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/12/are-republicans-still-national-party.html

Sound familiar?

Step 1: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/15/Coleman_Franken_promise_fewer_challenges/UPI-94541229355077/
Both candidates in Minnesota's protracted U.S. Senate race have pledged to reduce the number of ballot challenges headed to the board overseeing the results.

Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman said he would have no more than 1,000 challenges and Democrat Al Franken promised to pare his total 500, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Monday. The campaigns together lodged more than 6,000 challenges as part of a statewide hand-count undertaken after the Nov. 4 election. . . .

The state canvassing board is scheduled to convene Tuesday and has given itself until Friday to decide all challenges.

The board criticized both campaigns for the number of challenges they made. Franken spokesman Andy Barr said in a release Sunday that the pledge to reduce the number of challenges shows "we are taking to heart the good advice of the canvassing board and the best interests of Minnesotans who want to see this process move forward efficiently."

Step 2: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/today_in_the_minnesota_recount.php
Today In The Minnesota Recount: Franken Doing Well With Challenged Ballots . . .

Step 3: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/after_a_long_day_coleman_camp.php
After A Long Day, Coleman Camp Brings Back Even More Ballot Challenges
[Eric Kleefeld] Here's a fun coda to today's exhausting meeting of the Minnesota canvassing board: The Coleman campaign suddenly indicated that it wants to bring back some of their challenges that they'd previously withdrawn -- a development that will probably drag out this process well past the board's original goal of finishing by Friday.

Both campaigns lodged thousands of challenges during the manual recount phase, then withdrew thousands of frivolous ones going into the meeting. But now the Coleman camp wants to take back some of those withdrawals. . . .

The “right of conscience” – and reproductive health

http://www.propublica.org/article/midnight-reg-on-right-of-conscience-for-health-workers-moves-forward-1216

Bonus item: Naming the Blagojevich scandal. Please, not “Blagogate”

http://www.slate.com/id/2206842

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:25 AM

 
SO WHAT?

We’re learning a lot about the Bush gang from their attempts to rationalize their failed foreign policy before leaving office. One thing we’ve learned is that they really don’t care if we know that their Great War in Iraq was based on false promises and lies

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016064.php
In an interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz yesterday, the president reflected on the war, saying, "One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand."

Raddatz interjected, noting that Iraq was not a major theater for al Qaeda until after the U.S. invasion. "Yeah, that's right," the president said. "So what?" . . . [read on]

More: http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/12/15/everyonethrowyourshoesforalleternity/

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3D11E4DA-18FE-70B2-A8F758C0A57188C5
Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday defended the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq in March 2003, claiming that then-President Saddam Hussein had “every intention” of resuming production of weapons of mass destruction once United Nations sanctions were lifted.

Former White House Adviser Karl Rove said last week that if pre-war intelligence on the Iraqi WMD programs had been accurate, the United States likely would not have entered the war. But asked about Rove’s comment during an interview with ABC News Monday, Cheney said “I disagree with that.” . . .

[NB: Of course, the intelligence was never anything more than the post facto rationale for a decision that had already been made. Thanks for explaining that, Dick.]

Rice: we were right all the time

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/rice_bush_approach_best_to_ach.php

Hey, yeah. But have you heard the latest about Blago’s hairbrush?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/15/rumsfeld/index.html
Senate report links Bush to detainee homicides; media yawns . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/us/politics/15blagojevich.html
And yet, Mr. Blagojevich, 52, rarely turns up for work at his official state office in Chicago, former employees say, is unapologetically late to almost everything, and can treat employees with disdain, cursing and erupting in fury for failings as mundane as neglecting to have at hand at all times his preferred black Paul Mitchell hairbrush. He calls the brush “the football,” an allusion to the “nuclear football,” or the bomb codes never to be out of reach of a president. . . .

Now you can read the Pentagon’s review of the misguided Iraq reconstruction effort – hey, it’s only 500 pages

http://www.propublica.org/article/browse-iraq-reconstruction-history-for-yourself-1215

Laws?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/248194.php
[Josh Marshall] Don't we have laws to cover stuff like this?

[WP] Meanwhile, Paulson repeatedly told lawmakers that he did not plan to use bailout funds to inject capital directly into financial institutions. Privately, however, his staff was developing plans to do just that, Paulson acknowledged in an interview.

Two more Obama Cabinet posts: Education and Interior

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_to_announce_education_se.php
Arne Duncan, currently the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools . . .

More: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/obamas_ed_pick_set_to_drop_tom.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016072.php

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10463
Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar has accepted an offer to become Barrack Obama's Interior Secretary . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/15/195954/49/828/673461

No Southerners in the Cabinet (yet)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/14/politics/politico/main4668050.shtml

So what? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016062.php

Congratulations, media

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/poll_voters_split_on_whether_o.php
Nearly Half Think Obama Team Was Involved In Blago Scandal . . .

What does “involved” mean? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016068.php

So what?

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/cnn-fact-that-theres-no-hint-of-obama.html
CNN: The fact that there's no hint of Obama having done anything wrong with regards to Blago-gate, well that just means maybe Obama did . . .

“Questions” http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/questions-and-more-questions-by-digby.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016070.php
[Steve Benen] Given the last week, I'm starting to get the sense the AP is making a conscious effort to cover this story badly. . . .

Obama team completes internal review showing zero wrongdoing; Fitzgerald asks them not to release it

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/at_fitzgeralds_request_obama_t.php

More: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/obama_blago_review_done_to_be.php

What a concept

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_my_administration_will_v.php
Obama: My Administration Will Value "Science" And "Facts"

Norm Coleman (R) asks the Minnesota Supreme Court to stop the recount

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minnesota_supremes_agree_to_he.php

The rise of the Roveans

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/rove_protege_griffin_mulling_s.php
Karl Rove may be relegated to Fox News appearances and hoping to avoid prosecution once President Bush leaves office -- but the political career of one of his proteges, Tim Griffin, may just be getting started.

The Associated Press reports that Griffin, a former White House and RNC staffer, is mulling a run for the US Senate from Arkansas against Democrat Blanche Lincoln in 2010. . . .

A DOJ report released this fall found that the department improperly fired Bud Cummins as US Attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas in order to make room for Griffin, thanks in part to pressure from the White House political office. Wrote Kyle Sampson, the DOJ point man for the round of politically motivated firings of which Cummins' was a part: "Getting [Griffin] appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc."

Griffin served six months as interim US Attorney but was never confirmed by the Senate.

Griffin has a long track record as a partisan political knife-fighter. . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:42 AM

 
NOT ENOUGH SHOES

Following up on a story from yesterday: so what’s the problem with spending infrastructure money on roads and bridges that already need repair? It’s not new or sexy, but it’s necessary

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_12_14_archive.html#6567326119253314111

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/the_investment_deficit.php

Last-second change creates loophole that erases Congress’s intent to limit executive salaries for bailout recipients

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/bush-included-bailout-loophole-to-allow.html

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121402670.html

Credit where it’s due: John McCain defends Obama from phony Blagojevich accusations

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016052.php
"I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody -- right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. . . .”

The press still doesn’t get it: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/still_fools_for_scandal.html
[Kevin Drum] I've lost count of the number of op-eds and TV talking head segments over the past week that have started out with something like this: "There's no evidence that Barack Obama was involved in Rod Blagojevich's pay-to-play scheme — in fact just the opposite — but...." After the "but," we get a couple thousand words with some take or another on why this is casting a "lengthening shadow" over Obama even though there's precisely zero evidence that he had even a tangential involvement in the whole thing. . . .

More from Honest John: will he endorse his former running mate for 2012? (Yes, I agree, it’s a ridiculous question to start with)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/14/mccain_refuses_to_say_hed_support_palin.html

A different approach to the Illinois Senate replacement

http://truthmakesfree.org/2008/12/14/illinois-senate-solution/

How Republicans think

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/14/republicans-take-away-the-car-keys/
[Glenn W. Smith] Conservative ideologues looking to punish workers and the American middle class for auto industry failures are driven by an authoritarian worldview George Lakoff calls the strict parent model. . . [read on]

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/line-in-sand-by-digby-conservatives-are.html
[Digby] The Republicans are giving the majority of the country tough love. . . . [read on]

Bush gang targets wiretapping whistleblower

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/secrecy_in_government_/2008/12/a_quiet_hero_under_siege.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/14/thomas-tamm-to-vaughn-walker-they-knew-it-was-illegal/

More: http://www.newsweek.com/id/174601/

What was the fight over wiretapping really about? Metadata (read on)

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/metadata.html

Accountability for torture

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/14/iqbal-and-the-question-of-accountability-for-torture-decision-makers-at-the-top/

Donald Rumsfeld, never wrong

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016048.php
[NYT] The history records how Mr. Garner presented Mr. Rumsfeld with several rebuilding plans, including one that would include projects across Iraq.

"What do you think that'll cost?" Mr. Rumsfeld asked of the more expansive plan.

"I think it's going to cost billions of dollars," Mr. Garner said.

"My friend," Mr. Rumsfeld replied, "if you think we're going to spend a billion dollars of our money over there, you are sadly mistaken."

More: http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/12/details-details.html

Karl Rove, never wrong

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016054.php

Bonus item: Not enough shoes

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/return-of-show-bomber-by-digby-iraqi.html
[CNN] An Iraqi reporter called visiting U.S. President George W. Bush a "dog" in Arabic on Sunday and threw his shoes at him during a news conference in Baghdad. .

[Digby] According to CNN, this is the worst insult in Iraqi culture. . . .

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duLds-TZMGw



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:23 AM

 
REBUILDING

Things we already knew

http://www.propublica.org/feature/hard-lessons-from-the-reconstruction-of-iraq-1213
[T. Christian Miller] An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016047.php

We also knew this: they never had any intention of abiding by the SOFA agreement

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/odierno-thousands-of-us-troops-will.html
Gen. Ray Odierno said Saturday in Baghdad that non-combat US troops would remain inside Iraqi cities after June 31, 2009, in a training and mentoring capacity. The security agreement concluded between Washington and the Iraqi government appears to call for all US troops to be deployed to bases outside the cities by the end of June. . . .

Yesterday we had the story about the Bush Justice Dept withholding documents from the Obama transition team. Today we learn more

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/13/the-delays-at-doj/

He’s ba-a-a-a-a-ck

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/13/breaking-rove-to-lead-the-good-fight-against-holder/
[Bmaz] [O]n tomorrow's edition of the syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, on the "Tell Me What I Don't Know" segment, Andrea Mitchell will announce that "Karl Rove will be running and leading the GOP effort against Senate confirmation of the Eric Holder nomination". . . .

Obama’s reconstruction effort: big, or not so big?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016044.php
[WSJ] President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is considering an economic-stimulus program that will be far larger than the two-year, half-trillion-dollar plan under consideration two weeks ago, according to people familiar with the team's thinking. . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121301819.html
Most of the infrastructure spending being proposed for the massive stimulus package that Obama and congressional Democrats are readying, however, is not exactly the stuff of history, but destined for routine projects that have been on the to-do lists of state highway departments for years. . . . [read on]

Your future Republican party

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-gopunions13-2008dec13,0,7065427.story
The congressional push to help U.S. automakers was generally cast in terms of protecting the reeling national economy from another body blow -- the collapse of one or more of Detroit's Big Three.

But in killing the stopgap rescue plan worked out by President Bush and congressional Democrats, conservative Republicans -- many from right-to-work states across the South -- struck at an old enemy: organized labor. . . .

Handing a defeat to labor and its Democratic allies in Congress was also seen as a preemptive strike in what is expected to be a major battle for the new Congress in January: the unions' bid for a so-called card check law that would make it easier for them to organize workers, potentially reversing decades of declining power. The measure is strongly opposed by business groups. . . .

Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), a strong auto industry supporter, acknowledged that some of his colleagues simply did not want to help the UAW. . . .

Quote of the day

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/13/quote_of_the_day.html
"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh? Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

-- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

Bad days for Norm Coleman (R-MN): his legal fight to challenge the recount is undermined by the fact that he’s under investigation at the same time

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/13/132535/60/514/672734

Hmmm. . . . so Rahm Emanuel DID give Blagojevich a list of preferred Senate replacements

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/13/rahms_list.html
[Taegan Goddard] The Chicago Tribune has the list: Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Attorney General Lisa Madigan. All are Democrats.

Missing from the list: Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) -- a.k.a Senate Candidate 5 -- who Blagojevich threatened to name if Obama wasn't willing to give him anything more than "appreciation."

Will there be a Senate version of the “Blue Dogs”?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016045.php

Reforming the credit card industry – and why it needs it

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/heroic_corruption.html

Reflections on the religious left

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/13/142528/56

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121301624.html
THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

NEWSMAKERS (C-SPAN): Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson.

MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Madigan, Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D), former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R), Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Wal-Mart President H. Lee Scott Jr. and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina.

LATE EDITION (CNN): Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), United Automobile Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and former Clinton White House economic adviser Gene B. Sperling.

Bonus item: Doh!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016042.php
[Steve Benen] On Wednesday, the Washington Post noted that the McCain campaign's Arlington headquarters was about to host a "blowout sale," getting rid of some leftover equipment -- including laptops and blackberries -- at a fairly deep discount. Everything, as the saying goes, must go.

Reading the piece, a little voice in the back of my head said, "These guys do know to clean up the equipment and delete campaign-related information, right?" I assumed the staffers knew what they were doing.

I assumed wrong. Some folks from the Fox affiliate in D.C. bought some Blackberry phones at $20 apiece, and "ended up with a lot more than we bargained for." . . . [read on!]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:44 AM

 
THE LIMITS OF COOPERATION

How the Republicans decided to declare war on the auto industry – and the northern states that depend on it

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247971.php
[Josh Marshall] On a strictly political calculus, in part because of the highly dysfunctional state of the GOP, those Southern Republican senators simply have no interest at all in being even remotely constructive on the auto bailout.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247855.php
[From one knowledgeable source] I do think it'll be hard for Senate Republicans to explain themselves.

They were invited, repeatedly, to participate in more than a week of negotiations with a Republican White House. They declined.

They were asked to provide an alternative bill. They refused.

Finally, one of their members - Senator Corker of Tennessee - participated in a day-long negotiation with Senate Democrats, the UAW, and bondholders. Everyone made major concessions. Democrats gave up efficiency and emissions standards. UAW accepted major benefit cuts and agreed to reduce workers' wages. Bondholders signed off on a serious haircut. But when Senator Corker took the deal back to the Republican Conference, they argued for two hours and ultimately rejected it.

Why? Because they wanted the federal government to forcibly reduce the wages of American workers within the next 12 months.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247867.php
[MA] I think it is really important to point out that the Republicans had many alternatives to avail themselves and that they chose the worst possible one.

1) Cooperate with White House and Democratic negotiators earlier in the process

2) Negotiate in good faith with Reid following the failure of the original bill

3) Pass the original bill

4) Vote for cloture on the original bill and then vote against it.

Option (4) would have been the grown up and responsible thing to do--the bill had, probably, majority support and the consequences of not bailing out the auto industry are dire. Allowing a vote is not synonymous with acquiescing or voting in favor of the bill.

I think the fact that option (4) doesn't seem to have even been considered is indicative of the abuse of the filibuster in recent years. The filibuster is meant to be a tool to express extreme outrage, not as a device to force the threshold to passing a bill to 60 votes.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247926.php
[From a Hill staffer] It is possible that there was some sort of covert nod-and-wink between Bush and the Senate GOP that the latter could have their cake and eat it, too. Senate Republicans could posture against unions (and try to set the UAW up as the villain) and vote against the bill, while Bush would subsequently use the TARP authority for a bridge loan.

In the long run, the political fallout from this maneuver (whether Bush invokes TARP authority or not) means that the GOP has not only written off New England and the Mid-Atlantic, but the Midwest, and is hunkering down in its Dixie and Plains base. The GOP used to consider Indiana as a given, Ohio as a must, and Michigan as a like-to-have. Now all three are gone, along with Wisconsin and Minnesota.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/12/205148/15
[Harry Reid, good] "By rejecting every good-faith bipartisan compromise -- including those from the White House and Senator Bob Corker -- it is now abundantly clear that Republicans have no interest in keeping the Big Three from collapsing.... Republicans may think that rejecting this legislation sent a message to the auto industry. Instead, they sent a message to every single American that they are more interested in settling scores than solving problems."

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/12/senator-dodd-angered-by-republican-desire-to-screw-workers/
[Chris Dodd, better] * Worker salaries make up a tiny fraction of the financial challenge facing the automakers.
* The UAW had already agreed to achieve “compatibility and comparability” by March—a major concession.
* We still have the opportunity to fix this and the obligation to try.
* It is “incredible” that the one demand put above all others by Republicans during this negotiation is that workers, who have already been hurt badly by the declining economy, should take another hit. . . .

As Sen. Dodd told NPR on Friday, there was a part of the minority that was “set on having this deal blow up.”

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iNYon5Xy3A



More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247858.php
[Josh Marshall] Worth noting that the geniuses at Reuters manage to explain what happened last night in the senate without mentioning that the plan failed in the face of a filibuster by senate Republicans.

What the Republicans REALLY wanted: I call this losing by winning

http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/12/1713569.aspx
Countdown has obtained a memo entitled "Action Alert - Auto Bailout," and sent Wednesday at 9:12am, to Senate Republicans. . . . The brief memo outlines internal political strategy on the bailout, including the view that defeating the bailout represents a "first shot against organized labor." . . . [read on!]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016037.php
[Steve Benen] Senate Republicans, soon to go from 49 to 41 members, seemed quite adept yesterday at getting exactly what they wanted. In one of the final moves before the year ends, the caucus shrinks, and they have to deal with a Democratic president for a change, the Republican caucus killed the bill, attacked unions, punished the industry, and put the economy at risk. Mission accomplished.

But what was it, exactly, that was accomplished? If McConnell "ran circles" around Reid, what did the Minority Leader end up with? . . . [read on]

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/gm-calls-gops-bluff-will-temporarily.html
GM calls GOP's bluff, will temporarily shut down 20 plants across North America . . .

TARP?

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/12/white_house_and_tarp_to_the_re/
[Robert Reich] What now for the automakers, now that their bridge loan failed in Congress? The Troubled Assets Relief Program -- TARP -- was enacted to save Wall Street but it's already been so twisted out of its original shape by Hank Paulson that a bit more twisting to save the Big Three from bankruptcy, at least over the next few weeks, won't be difficult. The White House was behind the auto rescue, and Bush doesn't want to leave yet another failure on the portico as he leaves. . . . [read on]

BUT . . . . http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_12_07_archive.html#2703156685279516804
[Atrios] The teevee tells me the Bushies might use what's left of the TARP money for loans to the auto companies. They'll probably have to ask Congress to give the other $350 billion before they do it. . . .

[NB: Remember that Congress was holding up the second half of the $700 billion bailout, so Obama could use it. Will the Bush gang hold the auto industry hostage so they can get it released to them?]

The limits of cooperation, apparently

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/12/10452/571/192/672039
[BTD] A senior Justice Department official said Tuesday that "99.8 percent" of the department's work with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has gone smoothly. The 0.2 percent snag: The department has reservations about granting the team's request to review classified legal opinions related to secret CIA and National Security Agency programs. . . .

[McJoan] And which opinions aren't being released? You already know that: those which "contain the legal rationale of the NSA's warrantless spying program and the CIA's detention and interrogation policies, among other intelligence initiatives." . . . [read on!]

The next President and his family would like to settle in DC a few days early so their girls can start school on time. The current President tells them Blair House is already booked up for more important things

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/12/laura-tells-obama-family-no-room-at-the-inn/
[WP] Administration officials said there are no foreign dignitaries scheduled to stay there during the first two weeks of January, but some farewell events have been booked for departing Bush administration officials. . . . [read on]

Can we ever set aside the myth that the Bush administration was more pro-troops than the people trying to get them out of harm’s way?

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/surprise-gop-screws-troops-again.html
[Wired] A Defense Department project, supposedly designed to support U.S. troops, was used instead to channel millions of dollars to personal friends and allies of its chief. The "America Supports You," or ASY, program was led in a "questionable and unregulated manner," according to a Department of Defense Inspector General report, obtained by Danger Room. At least $9.2 million was "inappropriately transferred" by the project's managers. Much of that money served only to further promote ASY, instead of assisting servicemembers.

Minnesota election board adopts the radical view that a recount means recounting ALL the votes: the Coleman camp goes to court to stop it

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/12/124353/32
Canvassing Board Rules To Count Missing Ballots AND Rejected Absentees . . .

More: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_gets_big_win_at_canvas.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_seeks_court_order_to_s.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camp_coleman_is_desper.php

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/12/franken_gain/index.html

Bonus item: Scandalous!

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/12/breaking-blagojevichobama-links-on-senate-seat-sale-confirmed-missing-link-discovered/
FDL CAN NOW REVEAL THAT BARACK OBAMA CONSPIRED WITH WILLIAM AYERS TO FORCE ROD BLAGOJEVICH TO SELL A SENATE SEAT TO REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT. . . . [read on]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:25 AM

 
THERE IS NO THERE THERE

Senate Repubs, who saw no problems with giving banks and financial institutions $700 billion with no strings attached, and then blocking oversight to ensure it was being used effectively, kill an auto bailout bill that is 2% of that amount by loading it full of conditions, then voting against it anyway. The stock market will be brutal today

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247814.php

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/no_bailout_1.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016024.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/11/republicans-ask-workers-to-give-but-not-small-businessmen-or-bond-holders/

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/12/fools-on-hill-put-bullet-in-the-heartbeat-of-america-world-markets-tank/

Will the White House approve using TARP funds instead?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/12/13348/231/107/672140

Who needs oversight?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/bailout_oversight_too_little_t.php

Health reform coming, says Obama

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_promises_health_care_ref.php

The press continues to manufacture a pseudo-controversy over Obama and Blagojevich

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016019.php
[Steve Benen] The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz noted this morning that "some conservative pundits" have tried to argue, evidence be damned, that Barack Obama has been tainted by the Blagojevich controversy.

That's true, but the problem, alas, isn't limited to conservative pundits. Most of the political media establishment has been making the same connection, despite reality. . . [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/11/13353/001/637/671618

The press seems to think there’s a story here. The people see the obvious: Blago was furious that the Obama people wouldn’t make a deal with him. Story over

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10393

The torture regime

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/11/washington/AP-Detainee-Abuse.html
[AP] The physical and mental abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was the direct result of Bush administration detention policies and should not be dismissed as the work of bad guards or interrogators, according to a bipartisan Senate report released Thursday. . . [read on]

More: http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/12/11/sascreporttorture/

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-interrogate-abuse12-2008dec12,0,2238629.story

Another Bush going-away present

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/9/53340/3799/268/670970
The Bush proposal would allow fishery management councils, regionally based management advisory bodies represented in significant part by fishing interests, to determine whether new policy implementation would harm the environment. . .

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/ex-epa_official_to_congress_on_midnight_regs.php

I call this “leadership”

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247768.php
[Josh Marshall] An unnamed White House official, quoted in today's Times, describing Bush administration efforts to get home foreclosure relief: "It's become clear that if you stick your head up, it'll get cut off. We're done in two months. The next administration can try to find a way out of that maze."

Difficult transition

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/11/nasa/index.html
[Alex Koppelman] Apparently, the relationship between the Bush administration and the Obama transition team could still use some work, at least when it comes to NASA. The Orlando Sentinel has a pretty amazing report about the conduct of the agency's head, Mike Griffin, who is reportedly fighting hard against the Obama people . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/016011.php

Still fighting over ballots in Minnesota

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/still_more_ballots_in_minnesot.php

Karl Rove continues to use his various pundit positions to celebrate the mighty comeback of the GOP. We’re great! People still love us!

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/11/rove/index.html

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/11/12352/060/381/671874
[Nathan Gonzales] Republicans look like the football team dancing in the end zone in the fourth quarter of a game when they’re down by 40 points . . .

Republicans need to come to terms with the fact that over the last four years, Democrats have gained control of every level of government. . . . [read on]

Bonus item: Please, keep believing it

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/11/122310/56/378/671869
[Kos] The more America hates Palin, the more Republicans love her . . . [read on!]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:17 AM

 
JUST SAY NO

The Republicans make it clear that Obama will get no honeymoon from them

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/specter-starts-playing-typical-gop.html
[Joe Sudbay] Senate Republicans are trying to remain relevant, but all they know how to do is obstruct. That's one reason why next year there will be only 41, maybe 42, Republicans. But, those GOPers just can't help themselves. They're already up to their old tricks . . .

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/leahy_and_specter_at_odds_over.php

Blocking the automobile bridge loan?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/eve-of-destruction-by-digby-so.html

Blocking the stimulus package?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/pawlenty_lets_plunge_the_economy_into_depression.php

I’ll try not to keep harping on this, but Blagojevich is the gift that keeps on giving – to the Republicans

Exhibit A: http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/10/aps-sprinkles-sidoti-reaching-for-the-next-gop-blast-fax-memefest-on-obama-and-blagojevich/
[AP] President-elect Barack Obama hasn't even stepped into office and already a scandal is threatening to dog him.

Obama isn't accused of anything. But the fact that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a fellow Democrat, has been charged with trying to sell Obama's now-vacant Senate post gives political opponents an opening to try to link him to the scandal. A slew of questions remain. The investigation is still under way. And the ultimate impact on Obama is far from certain....

Republicans pounced nonetheless.

"The serious nature of the crimes listed by federal prosecutors raises questions about the interaction with Gov. Blagojevich, President-elect Obama and other high ranking officials who will be working for the future president," said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the new GOP House whip.

Added Robert M. "Mike" Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, "President-elect Barack Obama's comments on the matter are insufficient at best." . . . [read on]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_calling_on_blago_to_resi.php
[Greg Sargent] As both Steve Benen and Jamison Foser note, this sort of "analysis" is nothing but a self-fulfilling prophesy. The Blago mess hasn't "dogged" Obama yet in any meaningful sense . . .

[NB: Yeah, a headline like “No Evidence that Obama Did Anything Wrong” just wouldn’t have any pizzazz – but something like “Accusations Continue to Hound Obama” sounds good, even if it’s based on absolutely nothing.]

Another example: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/extending-its-legs-by-digby-following.html
[Politico] At first blush, Barack Obama comes out of the Rod Blagojevich scandal smelling like a rose. The prosecutor at a news conference seemed to give the president-elect a seal of approval, and the Illinois governor himself was caught on tape complaining that Obama was not interested in crooked schemes.

But make no mistake: For Obama and his team, the Blagojevich scandal is a stink bomb tossed at close range. . . . [read on]

Exhibit B: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247655.php
[David Kurtz] It's looking increasingly like Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., was truly uninvolved in Rod Blagojevich's alleged Senate-seat-for-sale scheme, other than expressing the usual interest in getting the appointment. Most telling was the report from Jackson's lawyer today that the feds called Jackson as Blagojevich was being arrested to give him a heads up that the arrest was happening and that Jackson might see his name in the news. If this all bears out and Jackson turns out to be a victim here, too, it's hard not to feel pretty bad for the guy. Yeah, yeah, he's an experienced pol and a big boy and all that. But still a pretty a raw deal thanks to Blagojevich . . .

Exhibit C: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/12/sizing_up_the_illinois_special.html
[Chris Cillizza] A political junkie's dream -- a special election to fill a Senate seat (!) -- appears to be growing increasingly likely as Illinois Democratic leaders scramble to remove the power to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's Senate successor from recently-arrested Gov. Rod Blagojevich. . . .

Given the power players lining up behind a special, the only way it could be derailed at this point is if Blagojevich resigned his office within the next few days -- a move that would allow Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) to ascend to the top spot and pick Obama's replacement. But, those who know Blagojevich best believe that he is not one to back away from a fight and, if his comments revealed in yesterday's criminal complaint are any indication, the governor is not well acquainted with political reality at the moment.

So, assuming a special election is in the offing -- the election calendar would suggest party primaries would be held on Feb. 24 and a special general on April 7 . . .

[NB: Which means – surprise! – that Obama could be trying to enact some of his most important legislation deprived of a key filibuster-fighting Democratic vote. AND . . . they might even lose that one now, thanks to Blago.]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16399.html
A special election would ensure the seat remains vacant for months. Democrats also worry it could give Republicans a clear shot to pick up a vacancy they had been certain of retaining. . . .

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/10/usa-blago-senate-seat-mess

This story is not getting quite as much national coverage as the Blagojevich story – I wonder why?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/10/fbi-investigating-coleman_n_149840.html
Federal investigators are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/10/112140/92/778/671469

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/report_fbi_probing_charges_in.php

In Minnesota, still fighting over uncounted absentee ballots

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/even_more_ballots_in_minnesota.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camp_ratchets_up_press.php

Gitmo FUBAR

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/10/potemkin-justice-bushco-stage-managing-gitmo-to-tie-obamas-hands/

Obama’s tough call on heads for the intelligence agencies

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/obama_still_mulling_over_ciadn.php

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/10/reyes/index.html

Obama’s energy and environment team includes (gasp!) real scientists

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/10/obama_chu/index.html

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/a_rocket_scientist_in_the_cabi.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/steven_chu.php

And let’s remember the guy on the way out – who has a creationist-based degree in biology

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/9/01545/0736/302/670936

Here’s one Bush going-away present that’s NOT going to happen

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/clean_air.html

Obama’s interesting new use of the Internet

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/obama_team_rolls_out_new_site.php
[Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld] This is pretty interesting: An Obama aide points out to us that the Obama transition team has just rolled out an innovative new feature on its Web site, hoping to carry through on the President-elect's campaign promises of greater government transparency.

It's a page entitled "Open For Questions," in which anyone can submit questions to the transition and, subsequently, to the administration.

The rub, though, is this: The public is able to vote on how much they'd like certain queries to be a priority, and the voting tally is visible -- which means it'll be tougher for the Obama team to not answer questions that participants clearly want answered. . .

More: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/10/change_questions/index.html

Bonus item: Just one more indication of how stupid and self-defeating the McCain campaign strategy was -- making a hero of "Joe the Plumber"

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/10/121430/11
[Todd Beeton] This is hilarious. "Joe the Plumber," currently on what I guess is sort of a pre-book release tour (his "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream" comes out later this month,) appears to be throwing John McCain under the Straight Talk Express. On Glenn Beck recently, Wurzelbacher had some choice words about the man who cynically and cringe-inducingly made him famous.

"I honestly felt even more dirty after I had been on the campaign trail and seen some things that take place. It was scary, man," Wurzelbacher said. He told Beck he asked McCain "some pretty direct questions" about the bailout, and wasn't pleased with the response. "They appalled me, absolutely. You know, I was angry. In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."

The reason he didn't jump off the bus? Well, turns out he felt McCain was the lesser of two evils. And hey, can you really blame Joe? The guy had a book deal and a fledgling country music career to nurture.

But as surprisingly sober, discerning anad dare I say reality-based as Joe's up close take on McCain appears to be, it looks like those qualities didn't translate to his opinion of Sarah Palin.

“You know, I only got to spend a short amount of time with her but, you know, it was been asked if I felt any presence when I was with John McCain or Barack Obama. You know, with Sarah Palin, I don't want to say I felt a presence but she definitely had energy and she definitely went to work for American people...It's just, you know, she really wants to work for America and I mean, I wish people would listen to her and let them, and let her work for us. You know, she wants to serve us. She's not looking for power.”

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:01 AM

 
IDIOT

The purpose of this blog isn’t to address issues of Democratic corruption, but there’s no way to ignore the story about Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. He’s the anti-Midas: everything he touches he turns to crap. He’s wrecked the Illinois state economy, he’s managed to turn a Democratically controlled state government into one of the most dysfunctional, mismanaged administrations in the country – and, as we all know now, he isn’t just corrupt, but stupidly, crudely corrupt.

Well, that’s the cross Illinois has to bear for electing the bastard. But now he has managed not only to ruin the state. He has managed to do the one thing the Republicans couldn’t do: smear Obama with the taint of corruption and drive a story onto the national stage which takes a big part of attention away from Obama’s new administration and agenda – and guarantees that for months to come his administration is going to have to deal with stories of who talked with Blago, about what, and when.

No one suggests that Obama or his people ever bought into the pay-to-play sleaze that was apparently business as usual for Blagojevich, but by treating the Senate replacement decision as just one more opportunity to feather his own nest Blagojevich has associated Obama with the long tradition of Illinois sleaze – which you can be sure the Repubs and their proxies will play up for whatever it’s worth.

Nice job, Rod, you stupid [expletive]

The Patrick Fitzgerald press conference

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28141722#28141722

The full FBI affidavit

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/blagojevich/

A precis: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/9/162531/780/34/671180

“Highlights”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/blago_on_senate_seat_authority.php
Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247368.php
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/charges_blago_discussed_cash_f.php
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois' U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

- a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
- placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
- promises of campaign funds - including cash up front; and
- a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor that he might "get some (money) up front, maybe" from Senate Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on October 31, Blagojevich claimed he was approached by an associate of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator."

Who is Candidate 5? http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/09/who_is_senate_candidate_5.html

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/is_jesse_jackson_jr_candidate.php

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/09/usa-blagojevich-candidate-5

More highlights

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/fitzgerald_blago_thought_about.php
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/blago_was_rushing_to_raise_mon.php
The charges focus, however, on events since October when the Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A, who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating Blagojevich's allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to accumulate as much money as possible this year before a new state ethics law would severely curtail Blagojevich's ability to raise money from individuals and entities that have existing contracts worth more than $50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned that Blagojevich was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by the end of the year, principally from or through individuals or entities - many of which have received state contacts or appointments - identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich, which the FBI has obtained.

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/blagojevich_charged_with_selli.php

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/09/blagojevich_complaint/index.html

Idiot

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/blago_update.html
[Kevin Drum] Bizarrely enough, despite his 4% approval rating and ongoing corruption investigation, Blago seriously considered appointing himself to Obama's open senate seat because he thought it would a good launching pad for a 2016 presidential run. The mind reels. . .

Two redeeming aspects of the story: Obama’s people gave him NOTHING in response to his demands, and there’s a hint that Rahm Emanuel turned him in to the feds

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247390.php
In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them."

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/09/barackobama-blago-complaint

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/09/rahm_blago/index.html
Think Progress notes that at least one Chicago reporter thinks that future White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel might have had something to do with the arrest of his fellow Democrat, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. And no, not because he's been caught up in the investigation, but because he may have gone to the feds and told them about the governor's alleged attempts to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. . . .

Rahm says no: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/rahm_source_story_that_he_tipp.php

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/09/did-rahm-bust-blago/

Will Obama be dragged down into the mess? The facts won’t stop the GOP from trying. Any kind word he has ever said about Blago will be dredged up. No statement of condemnation he might make against Blago will ever be strong enough. Any points of indirect association, like Tony Rezko, will be paraded around all over again

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/9/173219/626/20/671202
[Jed] Without doubt, some GOP hacks across the country have smiles on their faces right about now. They think the arrest of Rod Blagojevich is a godsend for their party, a chance to talk about something other than the daunting task of recovering from the Bush Recession. . .

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/post_8.php

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/the_obama_presidency_/2008/12/six_degrees_of_rod_blagojevich.php

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/questions-arise.html

Did Obama talk to Blagojevich?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/09/did_obama_talk_to_blagojevich.html

How will the Senate seat be filled now?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120902809.html

The dumbest story on this so far

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/us/politics/10chicago.html
Obama’s Effort on Ethics Bill Indirectly Led to Case
In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich’s efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama. One official whose name has long been mentioned in Chicago political circles as a potential successor is Mr. Jones, a machine politician who was viewed as a roadblock to ethics reform but is friendly with Mr. Obama.

Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. . . .

[NB: HE PUSHED FOR THE PASSAGE OF AN ETHICS LAW! How is the shady way that Blagojevich responded to it in any way Obama’s fault? That's like saying, If Obama hadn't won the election, there wouldn't have been an open Senate seat for Blagojevich to try to sell.]

In other news . . .

Hoping to change the subject, Obama to announce energy and environmental picks this week

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/10/3460/2918

Another going-away present from Bush

http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2008/12/ugly-bush-stain-water-toxin-edition.html
Among the Bush administration's final environmental legacies will be a decision to exempt perchlorate, a known toxin found at unsafe levels in the drinking water of millions of Americans, from federal regulation. . . .It could take years to reverse. . . .

Is a “surge” in Afghanistan a good idea?

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10348

We knew this at the time, didn’t we?

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/pentagon-ig-slams-dod-for-not-providing.html
The Pentagon's acting Inspector General says that despite the foreseeable need for armored vehicles in Iraq that could withstand roadside bombs, and despite the increasingly obvious need for such vehicles as the guerrilla war unfolded, the Pentagon was slow to deploy such vehicles.

The article does not mention the infamous exchange between Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and troops in the field on this issue in 2004 . . .

Bonus item: Rachel Maddow has fun with Blagojevich

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28149258



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:57 AM

 
JUSTICE FOR ALL

Now what will they do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/09gitmo.html
All five of the Guantánamo detainees charged with planning and coordinating the Sept. 11 attacks have asked a military judge to accept their confessions in full.

The request appeared to be intended to cut short any effort to try them, and to challenge the United States government to put them to death. . . .

Blackwater guards turn themselves in – IN UTAH, where they think they are more likely to get a friendly jury

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/venue_fight_blackwater_guards.php

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/indictments_unsealed_in_blackw.php

Is Obama going to keep Bush’s CIA chief in place?

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/12/5/president-elect-obama-may-keep-mike-hayden-as-director-of-the-cia.html

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/08/hayden/index.html

Yesterday Condi Rice and today Stephen Hadley – their only job any more, it seems, is recycling the self-serving lies about intelligence that justified Bush’s disastrous war policies

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081208/pl_politico/16297;_ylt=Atm98Jz_eggBzJpTJqqBEnGs0NUE

Lifting the lid on NSA domestic spying

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/08/nsa-spying-are-we-about-to-get-a-peek-behind-the-door/

The auto bailout deal: is the Bush gang bargaining in good faith? What it appears is that they’re trying to co-opt Obama into supporting THEIR policies, locking them in and limiting his range of freedom after he takes office

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247263.php

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_12_07_archive.html#5475128008780533859

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28111911

More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122866009874385877.html
Barack Obama's transition team is resisting Bush administration overtures to coordinate more on the financial-sector rescue, convinced that neither the lame-duck President George W. Bush nor the president-elect has the clout to win a smooth congressional release of more bailout funds. . . .

The Republican Way

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803538.html
Americans who wondered whether Congress was serious about independent oversight of the federal government's $700 billion bailout finally got an answer yesterday, when the Senate confirmed a New York prosecutor as watchdog of the costly rescue program for the nation's financial sector.

The special IG is the sole executive branch officer with the power to oversee the potential conflicts of interest and miscalculations in the program. Armed with a $50 million budget and dual-reporting responsibility to Congress and the president, the special IG has the independence to audit and investigate every transaction and subpoena every record associated with the rapidly changing program.

And yet it took two months from the time the Treasury Department started spending the $700 billion before the special IG's job was filled.

The Bush administration acted immediately to appoint the rest of the bailout team, but it waited six weeks to nominate Barofsky as special inspector general. Then, his confirmation was held up anonymously by one senator. The opposition was finally lifted last week. . . .

"Half the money is gone," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) told Barofsky in his Senate Finance Committee hearing Nov. 17. "And it is way past the time when you should have been on the job overseeing the program. I hope you will be on the job by the end of this week."

With about six weeks left in his administration, why is Bush hiring people NOW?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/8/123641/073/541/670697

Freddie and Fannie, and their friends in high places

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/07/ap_impact_how_freddie_mac_halted_regulatory_drive/
[AP] Internal Freddie Mac budget records show $11.7 million was paid to 52 outside lobbyists and consultants in 2006. Power brokers such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were recruited with six-figure contracts. . . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gingrich_slammed_pols_beholden.php
Gingrich Slammed Pols "Beholden" to Fannie and Freddie -- But Shilled For Freddie Himself . . .

More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gingrichs_ties_to_fannie_fredd.php

http://www.propublica.org/article/freddie-spent-millions-to-make-republican-friends-1208

In what is becoming a recurring theme here, the GOP is trying to pull straws from the wind to show that they are indeed still a mighty, mighty political force for Obama and the Dems to deal with

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/8/131554/164

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/08/2-4-6-8-the-gop-is-doing-great/

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/08/cao_comeback/index.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015969.php

Obama isn’t even in office yet and those eager-beaver Republicans are already preparing their campaign of filibusters

http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/othercities/phoenix/stories/2008/11/03/daily77.html
Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal.

Kyl, Arizona’s junior senator, expects Obama to appoint judges in the mold of U.S Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer. Those justices take a liberal view on cases related to social, law and order and business issues, Kyl said.

“He believes in justices that have empathy,” said Kyl . . .

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/2009_democratic_agenda_/2008/12/judicial_filibusters_and_the_gang_of_fourteen.php
[Mark Kleiman] If Jon Kyl carries out his threat to filibuster Obama's judicial nominees he'll put some of his colleagues in a tricky position. Graham, Snowe, Collins, and McCain were all members of the Gang of Fourteen, whose statement said "Nominees should be filibustered only under extraordinary circumstances." . . . [read on]

The conservatives have always had a smarter, long-term plan for controlling the courts, and it shows. Now Obama has a chance to reverse that trend

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015966.php
[Steve Benen] When Bush took office, seven of the 13 appellate courts had Republican-appointed majorities. Now, that number has increased to 10, with two more where Democratic appointees and GOP appointees are equal. Most importantly, in some circuits, if a randomly-selected three-judge panel includes two or more judges from a Democratic administration, Republican judges will insist that the entire appellate court hear the case (en banc) to ensure a conservative outcome. As one Democratic-appointed judge on the 6th Circuit noted, "Anytime two of us show up on a panel and they don't like it, they yank it."

With this in mind, Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to reshape the legal landscape. . . . [read on]

What is an “organizing resolution,” and why does it matter?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/8/12302/7004/708/670514

Hmmmm . . . Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for Obama’s Cabinet? Interesting move

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/8/18113/0886

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/08/olympia-snowe-to-head-a-cabinet-level-sba/

In Minnesota's ultra-close recount, an envelope of ballots heavily tilted toward Al Franken has gone missing, apparently forever. Now what?

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/minneapolis_gives_up_on_findin.php

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/8/1726/59788

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/08/franken-coleman-recount-update-120808-up-in-the-air/

Bonus item: Remembering John Lennon

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/time-by-digby-i-can-hardly-believe-it.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:13 AM

 
A DANGEROUS WORLD

Afghanistan: Obama’s quagmire?

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_12_07_archive.html#9124525923879330514
[LAT] In one of the biggest and most brazen attacks of its kind to date, suspected Taliban insurgents with heavy weapons attacked two truck stops in northwest Pakistan early today, destroying more than 150 vehicles carrying supplies bound for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan. . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/afghanistan_update.html
[NYT] Most of the additional American troops arriving in Afghanistan early next year will be deployed near the capital, Kabul, American military commanders here say, in a measure of how precarious the war effort has become. . .

The plan for the incoming brigade means that for the time being fewer reinforcements — or none at all — will be immediately available for the parts of Afghanistan where the insurgency is most intense. . . . [read on]

More: http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/07/why-surge-when-the-war-is-already-lost/

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/taliban-hit-nato-warehouses-destroy-150.html

Iran says no

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/world/middleeast/09iran.html
Iran said Monday that it would not abandon its nuclear program and urged President-elect Barack Obama to change America’s carrot-and-stick policy toward Iran . . .

Rising tensions between India and Pakistan

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/07/is-india-stumbling-blindly-to-war/

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247120.php

Condi Rice, not good for much anymore but shoveling tripe like this

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/07/condi-rice-still-lying-about-bushcos-wmd-claims-implies-we-wouldve-gone-to-war-anyway/
[ABC] GEORGE: Is that a fair criticism of the Bush White House...Could you have done a better job airing dissenting views on the WMD?

CONDI: We talked a lot about dissenting views. The idea that somehow within the Bush White House there weren't dissenting views during this period time is simply not true. But the intelligence didn't permit frankly, much in the way, of uh, alternatives for the weapons of mass destruction. Uh, now the...

GEORGE: Although the dissents inside the National Intelligence Report from the State Department and others...

(crosstalk)

CONDI: Go back sometimes and read that it was not a dissent on whether or not he had chemical weapons. It was not a dissent on whether or not he had reconstituted his biological weapons capability.

GEORGE: Certain dissents on nuclear.

CONDI: On the nuclear side one had to look to the intelligence community to resolve and present to the President a unified view that was their best estimate of what was there. . . [read on]

The latest Bush going-away present

http://www.propublica.org/article/midnight-reg-watch-in-turnabout-epa-allows-mining-debris-near-streams-1204
[Joaquin Sapien] Ignoring its own scientific study, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday that dumping debris from coal mining into mountain streams doesn't conflict with the Clean Water Act . . .

The kind of useless article that points to the open barn door long after the horses are gone

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/07/AR2008120702425.html
As other presidents have vowed, President Bush said in 2001 that he would not impose an ideological litmus test for his appointees. He said he would demand only their understanding that "the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not to legislate from the bench." But scholars say that despite these protestations, there has been a discernible pattern in both the backgrounds and the rulings of the judges Bush picked. . . .

The emerging policy fight: the Keynesians (Dem and GOP) versus the neo-Hooverites

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015960.php

Do the Republicans WANT a recession?

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10322

Can the Republicans stage a big comeback?

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/im_going_to_spill_just.php

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/watching_conservatives_/2008/12/the_price_of_victory.php

The phony fight over the Fairness Doctrine continues

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015956.php

Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, pegged for an Obama cabinet position, says no. Is she going to run for Senate instead?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/7/12568/4180/874/670356

Bonus item: Karl Rove says his new book will out those who never accepted the legitimacy of the Bush presidency. He seems to think this is a punishment to them. Doesn’t it make them prescient?

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/07/rove-haters/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015959.php
[Steve Benen] Great. Rove is going to identify all the people he doesn't like, and all the big meanies who were less than kind when his former boss failed at every opportunity.

No wonder publishers didn't jump at the chance to get behind the book.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:32 AM

 
STIMULATING

Obama’s stimulus/employment/public infrastructure package: details emerge

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/politics/07radio.html
President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy. . . .

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpIT2bVZDw



I like this move: General Shinseki, forced out for speaking truth to the Bush gang, has an important new job for Obama

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/not_far_from_the_mark_shinseki.php

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/obama-taps-shinseki-for-veterans.html

The Big Lie: Bush kept us safe from terrorist attacks. First of all, this ignores the well-documented story of how completely Bush, Rice, and his security team misread the copious evidence that a major attack was coming in summer and fall of 2001. Second, even AFTER 9/11 the overall record is not very good

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/keeping_us_safe.php

The misnamed, and slightly creepy, “Department of Homeland Security”

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/the_department_of_lieberman.php

A pro-labor Sect’y of Labor?

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/6/105448/042

Obama’s choices for major intelligence posts – a dilemma?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/tainted-by-digby-theyre-not-happy.html

More Bush going-away presents

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/washington/07memo.html
Mr. Bush has made roughly 30 personnel moves since the November election, some in nominations that will require Senate approval, and others in direct appointments that will last well into President-elect Barack Obama’s term and beyond. . . .

Why it will be hard for the GOP to remake itself

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_11_30_archive.html#1773079727110659623

Interesting: the McCain campaign was prepared for much tougher stories coming from the press. They never came

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/6/53449/2362/208/669989
[Politico] John McCain’s press shop and legal teams spent a lot of time answering questions about –- and preparing to rebut –- exposes that never ran, according to the campaign’s top lawyer, Trevor Potter.

"I could walk into our communications director’s office on any one day and there would be six or seven truly horrific stories sort of bubbling away on the stove," Potter said Thursday morning during a panel discussion hosted by the University of California Washington Center.

"This journalistic entity was doing an expose on Cindy McCain. This journalistic entity was doing an expose on John McCain’s military record in Florida in the 1960s. On they went," Potter continued. "Most of them probably never turned into anything," he said, but they still took a lot of time to vet.

"That meant they were a problem for the legal office," he said, partly because the lawyers had to pick up some of the slack when financial pressures forced McCain to pare down his press staff last summer, but also because the inquiries required some serious due diligence.

The legal team had "to investigate, assemble facts, put it down on paper, brief staff on what was happening -– the sort of things that law firms would do in an investigation," Potter said.

After the session, Potter wouldn’t tell Politico which media outlets made the most inquiries about exposes that never ran or what subjects they covered. . . . [read on]

The Mumbai attacks: the plot thickens. . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/india_man_arrested_in_mumbai_a.php
[AP] One of the two Indian men arrested for illegally buying mobile phone cards used by the gunmen in the Mumbai attacks was a counterinsurgency police officer who may have been on an undercover mission, security officials said Saturday, demanding his release. . . .

It must be hard sometimes being a defense lawyer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/world/middleeast/07iraq.html
Lawyers for the five Blackwater guards indicted by the Justice Department in connection with a 2007 shooting in Baghdad accused the government of overstepping its authority and recklessly staining the reputations of five decorated veterans who had honorably served their country. . . .

In Baghdad, Ali Khalf Selman, a traffic officer who said he witnessed the killing of 21 people on the day of the shootings, recalled things differently. “They started shooting randomly at people without any reason,” he said. “I wish I could see the criminals in person, and I hope that they will pay a price for killing people who just happened to be in the wrong place on that bad day.”

Sunday talk show lineups

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120601812.html
THIS WEEK (ABC): Condoleezza Rice and Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers.

FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

MEET THE PRESS (NBC): President-elect Barack Obama.

LATE EDITION (CNN): Rice, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) and former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Bonus item: Sarah Palin, a look back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NEtRNrQwwg



***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 8:06 AM

 
CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST

The terrible unemployment numbers, and what they mean

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/6/03458/6639/281/669932
Official Unemployment Rate Understates the Situation . . .

More: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_11_30_archive.html#6733934205834467379

A transitional auto bailout deal is coming

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWEN145820081206
Democratic leaders and the White House reached a deal to provide billions of dollars in relief to the ailing U.S. auto industry, a senior congressional aide told Reuters on Friday.

The package, which Democratic leaders hope to win passage of next week and send to President George W. Bush, totals between $15 billion and $17 billion, the aide said . . .

More: http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/05/barney-frank-democrats-tell-bush-to-go-cheney-himself/

Health care moves up the Obama priority list

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/4/133938/316/883/669314

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/theyve-created-monster-by-dday-tom.html

The most important Cabinet position you never hear about: Agriculture

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/05/ag_secretary/index.html
Quick: Name the secretary of agriculture! . . .

Obama doesn’t just have his massive Internet database – he still has $30 million on hand, and the Dems have $90 million more. What will they do with this war chest?

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10291

Looking ahead to 2010: lots of Republican low-hanging fruit

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/5/195240/748

Today’s Bush going-away presents (this is turning into a daily feature!)

http://www.propublica.org/article/rush-interior-dept-rule-overrides-congress-125
After only 15 days' review -- less than half the normal period -- the Department of the Interior issued its final rule today that will effectively allow controversial mining of uranium next to the Grand Canyon National Park. . . .

Guns too: http://www.propublica.org/article/midnight-reg-guns-in-national-parks-now-a-ok-125
The Department of the Interior announced today the finalization of a rule that will allow visitors to national parks and wildlife refuges carry loaded and concealed weapons. . .

Bush’s grandiose beliefs about success in the Middle East, dismantled brutally by Juan Cole. Don’t miss it!

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/arguing-with-bush-one-last-time.html

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120402859.html
[Eugene Robinson] Remember that long-ago news conference when George W. Bush couldn't think of any mistakes he had made? Unbelievably, he still can't. . . .

The Mumbai attacks: Pakistan WAS involved

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/world/asia/04india.html

Hmmm. . . I’m not sure this is going to turn out well

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/us/w05scotus-web.html
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide the most fundamental question yet concerning executive power in the age of terror: Can the president order the indefinite military detention of people living in the United States? . . .

Alberto Gonzales: in the prosecutorial cross-hairs?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gonzos_lawyer_quits_civil_case.php

Hilarious: during the US Attorney scandal, a frequently repeated defense from the Bushies was, “of course the winning administration gets to come in and put their own people in place” (though that isn’t what happened in the case of the US Attorney firings – they fired THEIR OWN PEOPLE for refusing to engage politically motivated investigations). Well, what are they saying now?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015933.php
[Steve Benen] Take Mary Beth Buchanan, for example, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh since 2001. Buchanan has been accused, repeatedly, of being one of the more blatantly partisan prosecutors in the country, and using her post to launch politically-motivated investigations. With Bush's second term nearly over, many have been looking forward to Buchanan stepping down, as all U.S. Attorneys do when the White House changes hands.

But therein lies the twist. As Faiz noted this morning, Buchanan wants to stay right where she is . . . [read on]

In Minnesota – do we have a winner?

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camps_claim_the_hand_c.php
Franken Camp's Claim: The Hand Count Is Over -- And We're Up By Four Votes!

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_camp_the_missing_ballo.php
Coleman Camp: The Missing Ballots Don't Exist; Officials: Yes, They Do

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/official_lost_ballots_could_be.php
Official: Lost Ballots Could Be Restored In Final Count, Giving Boost To Franken

More: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/05/recount_incompetence/index.html

More bad news for Coleman: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/coleman_s_office_wont_say_whet.php
Coleman's Office Won't Say Whether He's Under Investigation In Kazeminy Case

Oh I just can’t resist (and don’t want to). So, all told: how much did the GOP spend on making Sarah Palin look good?

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/05/palin_stylists/index.html

More: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/mccain-campaign-spent-110000-on-palin-stylists/

Palin backers: their view of the world

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/opinion/06collins.html
[Gail Collins] Anyhow, the Georgia runoff was more important than you might imagine. Certainly more significant than anything Chambliss has done since he skipped a closed-door Senate session on Iraq intelligence data to go golfing with Tiger Woods. His victory means that the Republicans will have at least 41 seats in the Senate when Barack Obama becomes president. (This is actually going to happen eventually. I promise.) . . .

One woman at a Sarah Palin rally told The Times’s Robbie Brown that she was terrified that Obama was “going to push a socialist agenda” but that she was sure “Saxby Chambliss can stop him.” . . . [read on]

I’m reading “Nixonland,” a damn fine book and a road map of how modern GOP politics were formed. And though I lived through those years I’ve learned a lot that I didn’t know, including the likelihood that Nixon purposely sabotaged the Vietnam peace talks to insure that no agreement could be announced before the 1968 election. More on that here:

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/05/lbj-called-nixon-a-traitor-for-meddling-in-vietnam-peace-talks/

Who’s worse: Nixon or Bush? (a debate, of sorts)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015891.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015941.php

You knew the wingnuts wouldn’t accept defeat quietly. Their latest ploy: Obama’s election is invalid

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/supreme-nuts-by-digby-i-have-only-been.html

The end of the newsPAPER?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246985.php

Bonus item: You can laugh, you can cry – but isn’t it the Republican Way?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/homeland_security_official_arr.php
A top homeland security official has been accused in federal court of hiring multiple illegal immigrants as cleaners for her home, reports the Associated Press.

Lorraine Henderson is the regional director of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection. She is responsible for stopping illegal aliens from entering the U.S. . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 8:17 AM

 
CHANGING HISTORY

A mandate for change

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/6145629.html
A group of retired military officers opposed to harsh interrogation techniques sanctioned by the Bush administration met with members of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team Wednesday to press the incoming administration to establish a single, internationally accepted standard for the treatment of detainees by all U.S. government agencies. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/us/politics/04web-cooper.html
President-elect Barack Obama’s aides say he is considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office. . . .

Hoover was right! The Republicans seem to be slowly converging on their new oppositional narrative – after supporting massive deficit spending and government bailouts proposed by the Bush admin, they are suddenly talking like deficit hawks who believe the economy needs “tough love” and not government stimulus

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246854.php

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246828.php

Maybe Bob Corker (R-TN) was short-selling GM stock

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/04/did-bob-corker-just-cause-gm-to-lose-10-of-its-value-on-inaccurate-information/
[Emptywheel] Bob Corker is very busy trying to force the Big Two and a Half into bankruptcy so he can bust the UAW. He's using all the regular methods--arguing about GM's failed business model, arguing that they haven't changed their business plan.

But he went over the line, earlier, when he stated that the Department of Energy had rejected all the Big Two and a Half's applications for DOE funds to retool their factories to produce more efficient cars. Basically, he took the opportunity of the hearing to announce, publicly, that the companies weren't going to get $3 to $7 billion they were counting on to turn around their business. He even suggested that the applications were rejected because they weren't viable companies.

Only, he was wrong.

Funny thing is, though, the stock market didn't wait until Sherrod Brown came in and corrected Corker--by noting that the DOE had not rejected the applications, but had simply asked for more information. And it didn't wait until Corker himself--having been called by the guy awarding those loans--admitted that he was wrong. (Though, dead-ender that he is, Corker still tried to insinuate that they applications were rejected, rather than sent back for more clarification.)

Not long after Corker made those remarks, GM's stock price dropped from $4.44 to $4.27. And then it dropped again, from $4.27 to $4.02. $.42 altogether, all shortly after Corker insinuated false things about government decisions in a widely and closely watched hearing.

I know that $.42 might not be much to you, Bob Corker. I know you're working hard to bankrupt these companies.

But it really is rather bad form to take out 10% of a company's stock price just so you can make an ideological point.

Yet another going-away present from the Bush gang

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/feds-set-to-low.html
Among the Bush administration's final environmental legacies will be a decision to exempt perchlorate, a known neurotoxin found at unsafe levels in the drinking water of millions of Americans, from federal regulation.

The ruling, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in October, was supposed to be formalized on Monday. That deadline passed, but the agency expects to announce its decision by the year's end, before president-elect Barack Obama takes office. It could take years to reverse. . . .

What’s going to happen to Halliburton when they don’t have a Vice President (and former CEO) to run interference for them anymore?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/4/112526/419/958/669263
KBR and Halliburton are the targets of a new class-action lawsuit alleging that U.S. troops have been sickened by water, food and fumes produced by the two massive private contractors . . . [read on!]

More: http://www.propublica.org/article/kbr-under-fire-again-and-again-1204

The pathetic, demoralized, and driftless GOP still wants us to believe that the survival of an incumbent Republican senator in a low-turnout runoff election, after almost losing in the general election, in an ultra-red state, is a huge victory for the party and a great repudiation of Obama. Keep trying, boys

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/rnc_chair_gops_victory_in_geor.php
RNC Chair: GOP's Victory In Georgia Senate Race Proves Obama Doesn't Have Mandate

http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=2506
Chambliss Landslide Victory Humiliates Obama . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015923.php

Watch Rachel Maddow: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28061050



Justice!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120403653.html
The Justice Department dealt a blow to the Pentagon this week, saying it has no legal authority to resist orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade in Maryland and two other military sites that have been contaminated by chemicals. . . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/blackwater_prosecution_9
Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.

Dept of Justice taking another look at the shady Don Siegelman prosecution

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/justice_to_reopen_probe_of_sie.php

Has the DOJ’s investigator issued an interim report on the US Attorney firings? THEY WON’T TELL US

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/doj_wont_say_whether_prosecutor_has_submitted_us_attorneys_report.php

Bush gang caught altering and back-dating web documents to change the historical record on Iraq (thanks to David N. for the tip)

http://yubanet.com/usa/Changes-in-White-House-documents-raise-concern-about-rewriting-history.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-brauchli/bush-lies-and-deception-a_b_148249.html

More: http://www.clinecenter.uiuc.edu/airbrushing_history/

http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/policy/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212200754

Ah, we haven’t had Alice here for such a long time

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/clusterwha.php
In an amusing moment yesterday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino couldn’t remember why the White House opposes the Convention on Cluster Munitions that over 100 nations signed in Norway. . .

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GRALtV1fzw



Two stories you can be sure will keep appearing, because they are easy narratives that replicate themselves endlessly and give the appearance that the press is being oh-so moderate and balanced, are the “the leftists are unhappy with Obama because he isn’t progressive enough” and “conservatives are unhappy with Obama because he isn’t bipartisan enough.” A lazy reporter can roll out of bed any day of the week and find confirmation of one or the other, or both. Spin, rinse, repeat

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246718.php
Congressional Quarterly bemoans Obama's broken promise of a bipartisan cabinet since he's only appointed one Republican to one of the top three positions in government -- State, Defense and Treasury . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/4/103534/335/967/669238

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015913.php

Wow. Just wow

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/entire-national-mall-will-be-used-for.html
The entire length of the mall -- from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial -- will be used for the crowds at Obama's inauguration. . . .

We haven’t seen yet the full playing out of the Obama team’s strategy of using their massive Internet database for governing and political mobilization after they take office. But one thing is clear: the rules have changed

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015922.php

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/12/04/BL2008120402206.html

For our Canadian readers (and anyone else who enjoys watching a real meltdown): Conservative PM Stephen Harper seems to be in serious trouble

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246775.php
[Josh Marshall] I mentioned a couple days ago how Canada's Tory Prime Minister had managed to act with such hubris, economic stupidity and desire to castrate the political opposition that he'd manage to galvanize the three very disparate opposition parties into organizing what amounts to a constitutional coup against Harper's government.

How this works is that Harper got close to a majority in the recent election. But not quite. So he's running a minority government. So if the two parties of the center-left and left could team up with the Quebec secessionist party, they could boot Harper with a simple vote of no confidence in his government. And Harper had pushed things so far that that's precisely what was about to happen.

So now Harper has gone to Governor General Michaelle Jean (technically an appointee of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada's head of state) and received permission to suspend Parliament until January. In other words, he's just shut the legislature down so it can't do anything.

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4B34BC20081204

Bonus item: Quote of the day

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246864.php
[Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)] "[Obama's] going to have to be more assertive than he's been. At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation."

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:44 AM

 
LEGACIES

Another going-away present from Bush

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/04/going-out-with-a-bang-fetish/
[LAT] The outgoing Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new "right of conscience" rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable, including abortion and possibly even artificial insemination and birth control.

For more than 30 years, federal law has dictated that doctors and nurses may refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further by making clear that healthcare workers also may refuse to provide information or advice to patients who might want an abortion. . . . [read on]

The “Bush Legacy Project” (oh my)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015908.php

Rush replacement Mark Davis: http://stream.rushlimbaugh.com/cgi-bin/members.cgi?stream=clips/08/12/120308_2_bush_legacy.wma&site=rushlimb

Signs that the investigation into US Attorney firings is getting serious

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/prosecutor_on_us_attorneys_cas.php
[Zachary Roth] A report in the Washington Post suggests that Nora Dannehy, the prosecutor assigned by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to look into the U.S. attorney firings, is taking an aggressive approach to the job. . . .

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gonzo_contacted_by_prosecutor.php
[Zachary Roth] And it looks like Alberto Gonzales, the former Attorney General on whose watch the firings occurred, is among the people she's contacted. . . .

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/12/03/shorter-terwilliger-dont-extend-the-investigation-past-january-20/
[WP] D. Kyle Sampson, who served as the chief of staff to Gonzales until his March 2007 resignation, recently took a leave from his job as a partner at the law firm Hunton & Williams while the investigation proceeds . . . [read on]

Ah, we haven’t had any Rachel Paulose items lately – more evidence that she managed her Minnesota US Attorney’s office with competence, fairness, and deft leadership

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/probe_finds_ex-us_attorney_ret.php
[AP] Former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Rachel K. Paulose retaliated against a top prosecutor in her office who reported her for careless handling of classified homeland security reports, a watchdog agency said Wednesday. . . . [read on]

Things turn ugly in the Minnesota Senate race

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camp_sounds_alarm_vote.php
Franken Camp Sounds Alarm: Votes Missing In Minneapolis!

More: http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/02/franken-coleman-recount-update-they-told-us-so/

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camps_vote-challenge_m.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/franken_camps_claim_were_now_a.php

The Republicans, who have had so little to cheer about lately, are trumpeting the Chambliss win in Georgia as a big victory for the party. We block the Dems from 60! Palin outpulls Obama! It is, of course, nothing of the sort. The story is not when an incumbent Repub wins in a conservative state – it was that he ALMOST lost. The turnout was low; Palin did little to affect the outcome; and 60, as discussed copiously here, isn’t the magic number it’s portrayed to be

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015897.php
[WP] Chambliss was introduced at his victory party Tuesday night by Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan as "Mr. 41," and he declared that Republicans "now have the momentum" after his victory. . . .

http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/03/erick-erickson-dances-in-end-zone-after-late-field-goal-by-saxby-chambliss-makes-final-score-48-3/
[Erick Erickson] Both Sarah Palin and Barack Obama campaigned in Georgia. Palin flew all over the state rallying Republicans. Obama flew under the radar heavily targeting black voters, demanding support for Martin . . . [read on]

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/partisans_will_take_to_the.php
[Marc Ambinder] Barack Obama pulled out all the stops for Martin? Not really. . . . [read on]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/3/13845/7830/295/668893
[Kos] Of course, while a Martin victory would've been the upset of the decade, Chambliss hanging on is now a stunning repudiation of Obama, or other such silliness. . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/03/how_big_were_obamas_coattails.html
[Public Policy Polling] "The Georgia electorate is easily the most racially polarized of any state we polled regularly during the 2008 election cycle. . .

The Palin effect? http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/chambliss-palin-makes-republicans.html

More on 60: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/03/no_60/index.html

Can we get a “Big duh!” for David Gergen?

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/3/34117/9995
“I think this actually puts a lot more pressure on Barack Obama to govern much more from the center and not from the left. He is going to need Republicans now, he is going to need a bipartisan approach” . . . [read on]

More: http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/3/72822/1043

Let’s hope the GOP takes all the wrong lessons from Georgia

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10257

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10258

Obama picks a progressive US Trade Rep – and the predictable opponents are in an uproar

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/pro-business_types_worried_abo.php
Xavier Becerra . . . [read on]

More: http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10246

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015911.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/2/175243/714

Bonus item: Obama “deeply disappointed” with new Commerce Sect’y Bill Richardson

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/03/obama-deeply-disappointed-richardson-shaved-beard/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:13 AM

 
UNACCOUNTABLE

The bailout – handled like every other Bush admin project

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/bailout_contractors_hired_by_t.php
Bailout Contractors Hired By Treasury Not Subject To Conflict Of Interest Rules

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gao_treasury_may_not_be_able_t.php
GAO: Treasury "May Not Be Able To Ensure That Conflicts Are Fully Identified."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/gao_treasury_not_ensuring_that.php
GAO: Treasury Not Ensuring That Bailout Money Is Being Spent As Intended

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/treasury_may_not_make_banks_re.php
Treasury May Not Make Banks Report Back On How They're Spending Bailout Money

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/bailed_out_banks_money_is_fung.php
Bailed Out Banks: "Money Is Fungible" So Don't Ask What We're Doing With It

The deserving recipients

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/regulator_banks_can_enforce_ex.php
[Zachary Roth] It looks like the limits on executive compensation that Democrats in Congress fought to include in the bailout bill aren't a top priority for Treasury. . . . [read on]

The kind of people they are (grubbing capitalist edition)

http://bakercg.typepad.com/baker/2008/11/ford-ceo-alan-mulally-no-thanks-im-good.html
Last night's ABC World News showed the CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and GM in front of a House committee begging for the $25 billion that will save their companies from ruin (or so they would have us believe.)

At one point, a congressman asked all of them if they would agree to reduce their salaries to one dollar as a show of solidarity with their employees and with the taxpayers whose money they want.

When asked, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said "No, I think I'm good where I am."

What the Bush gang is leaving behind

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/2/212012/884
"For a bunch of small-government Republicans," one former denizen of the White House who has now stepped back inside for the first time in eight years, "these guys built a hell of an empire." . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/02/AR2008120203489.htm

More going-away presents

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/washington/02labor.html
President Bush issued an executive order on Monday that denies collective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees . . .

A kind of justice

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/12/02/BL2008120201744.html
[Dan Froomkin] President Bush's interview with ABC News's Charlie Gibson is being heralded by some media outlets as reflective, apologetic and self-critical, even "stunningly candid" -- but it was none of those things.

Rather, in the first of several planned "exit interviews," Bush continues to refuse to take responsibility for a single thing that went wrong on his watch.

The president who sent troops into a disastrous war under false pretenses, led the economy into its biggest crash since the Great Depression, let New Orleans drown, embraced torture and turned America into a pariah nation seems to believe that if anyone is to blame, it's not him. He just happened to be in charge during a series of unfortunate events.

Bush evidently thinks he can win over the verdict of history with a smirk and a shrug, and by maintaining that he "stuck to his principles."

But there's little reason to think history will be kind to him. . . . [read on]

More: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/big_news_orgs_help_bush_whitew.php

Obama is keeping Bob Gates at Defense (but clearing out everyone else)

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/pentagon_subordinates.php

As expected, Bill Richardson for Commerce

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/02/AR2008120202869.html

Looks as if Richard Holbrooke may become a special envoy to South Asia

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/02/holbrooke_under_consideration.html

Low turnout, big margin: Chambliss holds onto GOP seat in Georgia

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/2/19222/4361

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/chambliss_wins_georgia_senate.php

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/12/martin_gets_crushed_in_georgia.php

Discovery of 200 uncounted ballots in Minnesota helps Franken

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246544.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/its_official_franken_picks_up.php

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/new_signs_that_recount_momentu.php

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/12/2/15384/6075

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/02/new_ballots_found_in_minnesota.html

Jeb Bush, eyeing a Senate move in 2010 – because we’ve lived too long without a Bush in national office

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/jeb_bush_ponders_florida_senat.php

Is Sarah Palin looking for a Senate fight in 2010? She’ll get one

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/12/02/murkowski_palin/index.html
[Alex Koppelman] Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, is up for reelection in 2010. And, Politico reports, she's warning Palin to keep out of the race. “I can guarantee it would be a very tough election,” Murkowski told Politico. “If she wants to be president, I don’t think the way to the presidency is a short stop in the United States Senate."

In 2006, Palin defeated Murkowski's father, Frank Murkowski, to become governor.

Hiss! http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/02/murkowski-to-palin-get-your-eyes-off-my-senate-seat-you-bitch/

The only thing more fun than bashing Bush is bashing Richard Nixon

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/02/1695418.aspx
"I can't have a high-minded lawyer ... I want a son-of-a-b----. I want someone just as tough as I am. ... We're up against an enemy, a conspiracy that will use any means. We are going to use any means... . Get it done. I want it done. I want the Brookings Institution cleaned out and have it cleaned out in a way that has somebody else take the blame." . . . [read on]

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/get-it-done-by-digby-i-love-it-when-new.html

Personally, I would like to see Obama and the Dems take on the Fairness Doctrine, but there’s no sign that they’re going to. That doesn’t keep conservatives from howling that they will – and using that imaginary threat to raise money

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/12/fairness_doctrine_update.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015884.php

Fox News suffers its own version of the Fairness Doctrine

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/2/22451/1619/900/668288

Bonus item: Greatest hits of the 2008 primaries

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246507.php

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 6:52 AM

 
WHO COULD HAVE KNOWN?

Bush’s legacy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081201/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_ignored_warnings
The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents. . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015881.php
[Steve Benen] Bush's record when it comes to disregarding warnings is right up there on the list of his most humiliating failures, isn't it? When warned that bin Laden is "determined to strike" inside the United States, the president humored the intelligence official and told him, "You've covered your ass, now." When warned that a hurricane was poised to destroy New Orleans, the president was satisfied that FEMA would handle the crisis. When warned about a looming financial crisis, Bush's White House paid more attention to the banks that told the president not to worry.

It's quite a track record.

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/for_the_record_2.php

Remember?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/18/attack/main509488.shtml
[May 17, 2002] Bush administration officials have repeatedly said no one in government had imagined such an attack.

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that ... they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile," National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Thursday. . . .

Former CIA Deputy Director John Gannon, who was chairman of the National Intelligence Council . . . said officials long have known a suicide hijacking was a threat.

"If you ask anybody could terrorists convert a plane into a missile, nobody would have ruled that out," he said.

http://www.public-action.com/911/clancy.html
Tom Clancy wrote two bestselling thrillers about a pilot deliberately flying a fuel-laden jet into the Capitol building and killing the President and top leadership (1994 and 1996)

These are the stories Bush tells himself

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6354012
Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as "biggest regret of all the presidency."

"I think I was unprepared for war," Bush told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview airing today on "World News."

"In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack,'" he said. "In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen." . . .

"A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein," Bush said. "It wasn't just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence.

"I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess," Bush added. . . .

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/bush_my_biggest_regret_was_fai.php
[Greg Sargent] [D]eeply pathetic. . . Of course, Bush made the decision to overlook all the good intel -- not to mention the claims of those poor forgotten inspectors -- saying that Saddam wasn't really a threat at all, or certainly not one requiring the response Bush himself ordered.

One overlooked thing about this is that not only Bush, but many supporters of the war -- Dems and liberal hawks included -- also have a vested interest in pretending that the good intel never existed and those inspectors never said what they said. Those inconvenient historical facts reflect rather badly on them, too. With so many opinion-makers having vested interests of their own in telling the story this way, history has been tidily rewritten, and Bush is able to make this claim without a peep of objection from his big-time network interviewer. . . . [read on]

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/bush_goes_out_dodging.php
[Matt Yglesias] Harry Truman famously said of his responsibilities as President that “the buck stops here.” No president makes all his decisions — or even any of them — completely on his own. But a responsible president needs to take responsibility for the policies and actions of his administration.

An irresponsible President, by contrast, says stuff like this . . .

No intelligence received by the White House ever justified the more extreme claims made by members of the administration, and some of the pre-war intelligence (that from the State Department INR Bureau, for example) was spot-on. The administration deliberately went out of its way to re-write intelligence reports as less ambiguous than they really were — compare the classified and unclassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq — and to ignore reports that didn’t match the administration position. . . .

Without a vigorous opposition party, this kind of thing goes down the memory hole. And with so much of the opposition party having joined Bush in failing to take a serious look at the intelligence, you don’t get vigorous opposition. And so Bush is able to get away with it. [read on]

Master of the obvious

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/01/bush-says-some-voters-backed-obama-%E2%80%98because-of-me%E2%80%99/
President Bush told an interviewer that his presidency may have helped Barack Obama win the White House.

"I think it was a repudiation of Republicans," he told Charlie Gibson of ABC News, according to a transcript released by the network Monday. "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy." . . .

Nice to tell us now, AFTER the election

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/12/01/nber-makes-it-official-recession-started-in-december-2007/
NBER Makes It Official: Recession Started in December 2007

Bush: not my fault http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/bush-blames-crisis-on-events-from-ten.html

The rise of Keynesianism

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015880.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/deficits_only_matter_when_they_matter.php

The choice of Hillary Clinton as Sect’y of State has given the media plenty of opportunity to dust off their old stories about Clinton/Obama tensions. They love a good narrative of conflict and rivalry. Problem is, there was remarkably little of it in this instance. But that doesn’t stop them

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/1/141816/973/42/668137

Obama’s national security team didn’t include his nominees for Director of National Intelligence and head of the CIA. Here’s why

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015877.php

The assault on Eric Holder

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/the_wayward_press_/2008/12/hatchet_job_on_eric_holder_in_the_nyt.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120102403.html

Not discussed often enough: part of the GOP strategy has always been to lock in YOUNG appointees to the Supreme Court. The Dems don’t

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/age-of-members-of-us-supreme-court.html

NBC and retired general Barry McCaffrey both have an interest in protecting his reputation as a network commentator. The NYT story, discussed here yesterday, pretty much demolished that – now they’re coordinating their stories to cover themselves

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/01/mccaffrey/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] I have obtained, from a very trustworthy source, emails sent last week between NBC News executives and McCaffrey (which cc:d Brian Williams), reflecting the extensive collaboration between NBC and McCaffrey to formulate a coordinated response to David Barstow's story. The emails are re-printed here.

Rather than honestly investigate the numerous facts which Barstow uncovered about McCaffery's severe conflicts, NBC instead is clearly in self-protective mode, working in tandem with McCaffrey to create justifications for what they have done. As these emails reflect, both this weekend's story about McCaffrey and the earlier NYT story in April have caused NBC News to expend substantial amounts of time, effort and resources trying to manage the P.R. aspects of this story.

But remarkably, this "news organization" has still not uttered a peep to its viewers about these stories; has not reported on any of the indisputably newsworthy events surrounding the Pentagon's "military analyst" program; and continues to present McCaffrey to its viewers as an objective source without disclosing any of the multiple connections and interests he has that would lead any reasonable person to question his objectivity. . . [read on]

Norm Coleman is doing everything possible to discredit the Minnesota recount

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/12/01/franken-coleman-recount-12108-chaos-chaos-chaos-not/

The US Senate may get involved: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/12/01/franken_may_appeal_to_senate.html

Sarah Palin rolls into Georgia to campaign for Saxby Chambliss, AFTER it’s already apparent he’s likely to win. Then she’ll take credit for her “clout,” you betcha

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/01/AR2008120102619.html
Declaring "I'll tell ya, I've had Georgia on my mind," former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin implored Georgia conservatives on Monday to vote for Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff election. . . .

More: http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/01/palin-rallies-wingnut-base-for-chambliss-says-rebuilding-the-gop-starts-with-him/

http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/gops-new-leader-sarah-palin-is.html

Bonus item: Oh, sure, one more Sarah Palin joke

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2008/dec/01/sarahpalin

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:28 AM

 
WHAT TO DO

Obama’s national security team – no surprises

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/election_central_sunday_roundu_38.php
Barack Obama will be announcing his national security team at a press conference in Chicago . . . scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET. The most anticipated name on the list will be Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, with Obama also expected to announce Eric Holder for Attorney General, Susan Rice for Ambassador to the United Nations, and Janet Napolitano for Secretary of Homeland Security, retired Gen. James Jones for National Security Adviser, and current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to be kept on in his role. . . .

Analysis: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/us/politics/01policy.html
When President-elect Barack Obama introduces his national security team on Monday, it will include two veteran cold warriors and a political rival whose records are all more hawkish than that of the new president who will face them in the White House Situation Room.

Yet all three of his choices — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the rival turned secretary of state; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, as national security adviser, and Robert M. Gates, the current and future defense secretary — have embraced a sweeping shift of priorities and resources in the national security arena.

The shift would create a greatly expanded corps of diplomats and aid workers that, in the vision of the incoming Obama administration, would be engaged in projects around the world aimed at preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states. . . . [read on]

The coming fight over health care

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/30/82733/105/408/667771

The future of FEMA

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_12/015865.php

Obama’s policies: generally left of center (a handy chart from Nate Silver, who never sleeps)

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/obamas-agenda-difference-between.html

A critique from Paul Rosenberg (who never sleeps either): http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10190

Paul Krugman on the economy: what to do

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22151

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/depression-by-digby-paul-krugmans-essay.html

Who is behind the Mumbai attacks? (and who is behind them?)

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/pakistani-reaganism-must-end-new.html

In the Georgia Senate race, Saxby Chambliss (R) says he doesn’t know if we’re in a recession or not, then lies about it

http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/30/saxby-chambliss-gets-caught-lying-about-recession-gaffe-still-doesnt-know-what-a-recession-is/

More: http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/11/30/204412/97

The Minnesota Senate race: not over yet

http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2008/11/29/franken-coleman-recount-112908-edition-searching-for-spines/

If you remember the big story about the Pentagon paying a team of reps to go on television as (ostensibly objective) commentators, but actually there to spread the Pentagon line – here’s the latest. Former general Barry McCaffrey gets nailed

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30general.html
In the spring of 2007 a tiny military contractor with a slender track record went shopping for a precious Beltway commodity.

The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles.

Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity potentially worth billions in sales, and Defense Solutions soon found its man. The company signed Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general and military analyst for NBC News, to a consulting contract starting June 15, 2007.

Four days later the general swung into action. He sent a personal note and 15-page briefing packet to David H. Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, strongly recommending Defense Solutions and its offer to supply Iraq with 5,000 armored vehicles from Eastern Europe. “No other proposal is quicker, less costly, or more certain to succeed,” he said.

Thus, within days of hiring General McCaffrey, the Defense Solutions sales pitch was in the hands of the American commander with the greatest influence over Iraq’s expanding military.

“That’s what I pay him for,” Timothy D. Ringgold, chief executive of Defense Solutions, said in an interview.

General McCaffrey did not mention his new contract with Defense Solutions in his letter to General Petraeus. Nor did he disclose it when he went on CNBC that same week and praised the commander Defense Solutions was now counting on for help — “He’s got the heart of a lion” — or when he told Congress the next month that it should immediately supply Iraq with large numbers of armored vehicles and other equipment. . . . [read on!]

More: http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2008/11/30/mccaffreycashesin/
[Spencer Ackerman] If this mammoth New York Times piece is wrong, Barry McCaffrey really ought to sue, because if it isn't, he has no reputation for integrity left. . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015862.php

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/30/mccaffrey/index.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/war_machine.php

Mark Kleiman on war crime trials vs. truth commissions

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/torture_/2008/11/truth_or_consequences.php
I prefer exposure to punishment. As ironic as it would be to hear the right wing whining about "political prosecutions" after what Bush & Co. did to poor Don Siegelman, we really should be loath to establish by precedent that the winners of elections get to put the losers on trial.

A full Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by contrast with a Truth Commission, functions under the rule of amnesty for whatever crimes are confessed to before it. Though there is, to my knowledge, no precedent for such a thing under common law or in American experience, nothing would prevent Congress from establishing such a body and giving it full subpoena powers. Then no Fifth Amendment question could arise, and we would have the pleasure of watching Dick Cheney, among others, answering questions in public under the pains and penalties of perjury . . . [read on]

Professional pundits: never wrong

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/30/friedman/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] With a new administration ascending to power in a matter of weeks, witnessing Beltway denizens desperately scampering to re-write their role in the last eight years is nothing short of dizzying:

Tom Friedman, New York Times, today . . . [read on]

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/kristols_next_war.php
[Matt Yglesias] In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he’s got another war he’s like to start . . .

Incredible (if true – thanks to Mark Kleiman for the link)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/renewableenergy/3535012/Ocean-currents-can-power-the-world-say-scientists.html
A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim. . . .

Is it? http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/11/vortices.html

Compromise? Bipartisanship? Moderation? Don’t hold your breath

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/11/mitch-mcconnell-going-moderate-i.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/not-there-yet-by-digby-howie-klein-has.html

The GOP id

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/246205.php
[Neal Gabler] But there is another rendition of the story of modern conservatism, one that doesn't begin with Goldwater and doesn't celebrate his libertarian orientation. It is a less heroic story, and one that may go a much longer way toward really explaining the Republican Party's past electoral fortunes and its future. In this tale, the real father of modern Republicanism is Sen. Joe McCarthy, and the line doesn't run from Goldwater to Reagan to George W. Bush; it runs from McCarthy to Nixon to Bush and possibly now to Sarah Palin. It centralizes what one might call the McCarthy gene, something deep in the DNA of the Republican Party that determines how Republicans run for office, and because it is genetic, it isn't likely to be expunged any time soon. . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015861.php

Bonus item: Yes, it’s real

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/antichrist-by-digby-you-just-wont.html
“Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?”

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***
- posted by Nick Burbules @ 7:09 AM