A PARTY AT WAR WITH ITSELF

No, it’s not the Democrats. Why isn’t this a big national story?

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/michael-steele-says-either-stfu-or-fire
[Wash Times] Some wealthy contributors are shunning the Republican National Committee and donating instead to the other GOP campaign committees or directly to candidates -- in many cases because of discontent with the leadership of Michael S. Steele, the party's national chairman.

"I don't plan to give to the Republican National Committee this cycle, and no other major donor I know is planning to either," Christine Toretti, a Pennsylvania RNC member and a longtime major donor to the RNC . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/7/822702/-Steele-to-Republican-critics:-Shut-up-or-fire-me
According to the Times report, the RNC has just $8.7 million cash on hand, nearly $5 million less than the DNC and far below the $35 million it had entering the last mid-term election. When Steele took the reigns of the RNC, it had $23 million cash . . . .

http://washingtonindependent.com/73440/steele-is-really-setting-us-far-back-with-his-comments
Hallow reports that some donors and RNC members are closing their wallets (to the RNC, not to other GOP groups) as a reaction to Steele’s self-promotion, which includes a book tour that’s being scheduled independently of the RNC. . . . [read on]

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/republican-national-committee/is-michael-steele-using-rnc-perch-to-profit-from-new-book/
[Greg Sargent] We can’t get anyone to tell us whether profits from the book sales are going into his pocket. And his silence is raising eyebrows among Republicans who wonder whether he’s profiting off his RNC gig and a book tour that’s distracting him from his party duties.

Steele already took some heat from fellow Republicans for using his chairmanship to command lucrative speaking fees. As one former RNC chair put it: “I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches.” So it seems fair to ask whether Steele is now raking in money by using his perch to sell a book.

The RNC declined to comment, referring us to Steele’s publisher, Regnery. Our reporter Beth Marlowe has been asking Regnery where the money is going for two days. No dice — they won’t say. . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/07/republicans_furious_at_steele.html
The Hotline reports House and Senate leadership aides "are furious with RNC chair Michael Steele and have angrily confronted the RNC's press shop over their inability to keep the chair on message."

In a daily conference call with congressional aides, a senior RNC press aide "admitted the shop had no control over Steele's interviews as he embarks on a book tour to sell his blueprint for a GOP comeback. Steele has hired a public relations firm, the RNC aide said, and the press shop has no control over when interviews are scheduled."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/22/ex-rnc-chiefs-rip-steele-speaking-fees/
"Holy mackerel, I never heard of a chairman of either party ever taking money for speeches," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., RNC chairman under President Reagan and CEO of the American Gaming Association.

"The job of a national chairman is to give speeches. That's what the national party pays him for. We didn't have a rule book back then, but being national chairman was and is a full-time job," Mr. Fahrenkopf said.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, who served in that position from 1997 to 2000 and was President George W. Bush's Veterans Affairs secretary from 2005 to 2007, said the job "demands so much of your time that you can work 24/7 and not get everything done, so taking time out to speak for the benefit of one's own bank account is not appropriate."

Mr. Steele's office dismissed the criticism, saying the chairman was a highly sought-after speaker before being elected to lead the RNC, he's following all RNC rules, and is committed full time to growing the Republican Party. . . .

RNC ethics rules appear to forbid anyone working for the national committee from taking outside income or using a committee position for personal gain.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/gop-hill-aides-sound-off-on-steele-you-really-need-to-have-him-be-quiet.php
Reid Wilson gets the scoop on a tense daily press call with RNC staff, reporting that one angry aide called Steele a "fool" and another told RNC press staff, "you really need to have him be quiet." The aides told RNC staff Steele was "ruining what should be several days of glowing press for the GOP" after a string of high-profile Democratic retirements.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/steele-lashes-out-at-critics-fire-me-or-shut-up.php
RNC Chairman Michael Steele struck back today at Republican critics, saying they can either fire him or "shut up" . . .

"I tell them to get a life. That's old Washington, that's old ways, and I don't represent that, and that kills them," Steele said. "I'm telling them and I'm looking them in the eye and say I've had enough of it. If you don't want me in the job, fire me. But until then, shut up. Get with the program or get out of the way."

"All I'm saying is cut it out. If we have party differences that are inside the party, let's deal with them inside the party. You don't see the Democrats running around trying to beat up their national chairman or embarrass him," he added.

[NB: Well, the chair of the DNC isn’t a MORON who says stupid things almost every day.]

Obama addresses intelligence failures with Flight 253 – and it all sounds sadly familiar

His speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/07/release-security-review-conducted-after-failed-christmas-terrorist-attack-0
First, although our intelligence community had learned a great deal about the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen -- called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- that we knew that they sought to strike the United States and that they were recruiting operatives to do so -- the intelligence community did not aggressively follow up on and prioritize particular streams of intelligence related to a possible attack against the homeland.

Second, this contributed to a larger failure of analysis —- a failure to connect the dots of intelligence that existed across our intelligence community and which, together, could have revealed that Abdulmutallab was planning an attack. . . .

Analysis: http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/obama-age-of-war-on-al-qaeda.html

More details: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/piecing_it_together_the_abdulmutallab_flight_253_i.php

Gitmo recidivism?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/nyt_runs_faulty_headline_in_guantanamo_ex-detainee_story_--_again.php

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/terrorism/obama-admin-all-gitmo-terror-recidivists-may-have-been-released-under-bush/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021810.php

Will these charges eventually get dropped too?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/07/afghanistan.blackwater.charges/index.html
Two men who worked as security contractors for the company formerly known as Blackwater have been charged with murder in the killings of two Afghan men, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. . . .

Life is cheap: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5idDKyi-MLQnKdAjARLC8IFOQpH9A
The security firm formerly known as Blackwater has reached a settlement in a series of federal lawsuits in which dozens of Iraqis accused the company of cultivating a reckless culture that allowed innocent civilians to be killed. . . .

The seven lawsuits cited a pattern of illegal activity, including several killings such as the 2007 shooting in Iraq's capital that left 17 Iraqis dead and strained relationships between Washington and Baghdad. . .

Blackwater, now known as Xe, released a statement saying the company was "pleased" that the settlement, in the works for months, had been affirmed. . . .

Not all the plaintiffs appeared happy with the decision. Sami Hawas Hamoud Abu al-Iz also was wounded during the 2007 Nisoor Square incident along with his son. His mother was killed. He said the agreement came after the plaintiffs were told by their lawyers that there was a risk that they might not receive anything. . . . "All the victims' families signed the settlement papers under pressure, after we were informed that the Blackwater firm is broke and if you don't sign, you will get nothing," he said.

He said the firm offered $30,000 for each person who was wounded and $100,000 to the families of people who died. . . .

The first really big scandal of the Obama administration?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/emails_fed_pressed_aig_to_keep_bailout_details_und.php
The New York Fed pressured AIG in late 2008 to withhold from the public details about its massive and controversial payments to counter-parties, according to emails obtained by Bloomberg News. At the time, Timothy Geithner, now the Treasury Secretary, was New York Fed chair. . . .

http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/07/geithner%E2%80%99s-new-york-fed-ordered-aig-to-violate-securities-law-in-2008/
Geithner’s New York Fed Ordered AIG to Violate Securities Law in 2008

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/7/822736/-Economic-Outrage-du-Jour:-Emails-Exposed-

The next Treasury Secretary?

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/22747

Will this be the issue that brings down a health care agreement? (no, it isn’t abortion)

http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/obama-sides-with-senate-on-tax-on.html
Obama sides with Senate on taxing higher cost healthcare plans

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/on-call-house-dems-say-cadillac-tax-remains-major-sticking-point/
House Dems Say “Cadillac” Tax Remains Major Sticking Point, Vow To Fight On

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/01/06/white-house-still-pushing-the-excise-hocus-pocus/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/7/822719/-The-Policy-Arguments-Against-an-Excise-Tax

This is what Republicans are telling local audiences

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/jane-norton-obama-rights-terrorists
Jane Norton [R-CO] on Obama: 'The rights of terrorists are more important in this administration than the lives of American citizens'

Teabaggers rule!

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/teabaggers-dont-michael-steele-or-gop-b
Teabaggers don't like Michael Steele or the GOP because they aren't conservative enough

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/what-tea-parties-hath-wrought.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021793.php

John McCain: I’m important! (and humble too!)

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/mccain_i_stand_in_obamas_way.php
"President Obama is leading an extreme, left wing crusade to bankrupt America. I stand in his way every day. . . .”

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/73403/the-modesty-of-john-mccain

Bonus item: Show me da money!

http://washingtonindependent.com/73411/is-palin-getting-100000-to-speak-at-the-tea-party-national-convention
Is Palin Getting $100,000 to Speak at the Tea Party National Convention?

***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.***

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

A bit of perspective on the recent spate of Democratic resignations from Congress. The GOP is whooping it up and the press is reacting like it’s armageddon. But let’s get some facts straight.

First of all, while the Dorgan resignation will probably cost them a seat in ND – the Dodd resignation (though I’m sorry to see him go) probably saves them a seat in CT

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/inside_track.php
Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal already way ahead of Connecticut's GOP Senate candidates. He's also faring much better than Chris Dodd was against the same Republican candidates.

Second, here are the actual numbers

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/mass-retirements-not-so-fast-dems-say.php
14 House Republicans are retiring; 10 Democratic incumbents

Six Senate Republicans are retiring, 2 Democrats

In the states, 3 Democrats have opted against reelection to governorships; 4 Republicans have made the same decision

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/6/822471/-Perspective-on-House-retirements
[Kos] Even with a couple more possible House Democratic retirements, the party is still running below the historical average. . . .

More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/06/van_hollen_expects_just_a_few_more_retirements.html

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/2010_elections/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/01/06/sky_not_falling

Third, the GOP has vulnerabilities too: here are six or seven Republican Senate seats that are in play

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/will-the-dems-lose-their-60-seat-edge-not-necessarily----gop-could-lose-seats-too.php

More: http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-dems/dem-senate-campaign-chief-we-face-challenge-in-2010-but-gop-has-six-open-seats/

And don’t forget . . .

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/dems_could_save_money_on_retirements.php
Dems Could Save Money On Retirements

Meanwhile . . .

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/06/rnc_spending_spree_leaves_coffers_drained.html
RNC Spending Spree Leaves Coffers Drained

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021791.php

The growing dominance of the teabaggers within the GOP

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/6/822412/-Will-Michael-Steele-Take-The-Call
[Wash Times] A founder of the Tea Party movement said Wednesday he had a warning for Republican leaders: Back conservative candidates or else other states will suffer the same backlash that toppled Florida's Republican Party chairman this week. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/lotta_tea_party_primaries.php
[Josh Marshall] In addition to the big ticket races you're hearing about, one of the big stories of 2010 is going to be the "tea party primaries," the series of GOP primaries around the country in which Tea Party candidates are either challenging GOP incumbents or going up against the anointed (and usually more moderate) challenger to the sitting Democrat. Here are three 'tea party primaries' we're currently watching. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021793.php

False populism

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703436504574640580953121784.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/teabag-truthiness-by-digby-after.html

Peter King (R-NY) has gone all-in with the crazy. His latest is that Obama can help to make us more safe just by using the word “terrorism” more. Of course, Obama has used the term frequently. But there’s a reason behind this ridiculousness – the GOP knows that the more frightened people are, the better for them politically. Why not have Obama do their work for them?

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/peter-king-thinks-key-protecting-americ
Peter King thinks the key to protecting America is for Obama to use the word "Terror" more

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/6/822373/-Republicans-just-want-to-be-terrified
Republicans just want to be terrified

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822267/-Promoting-al-Qaedas-Agenda
Matt Duss at The Wonk Room asks an excellent question: why are conservatives so committed to promoting al Qaeda's "success"? . . . [read on]

More: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/01/06/king/index.html

As you’ve read, Republican Attorneys General across the country are filing suit against the health care reform bill. Guess who’s funding them?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/6/822217/-Whos-Funding-Attorneys-General-Behind-Health-Reform-Constitutional-Challenges

Would it be rude to point out that it’s the REPUBLICANS who are always railing against trivial lawsuits, and using courts to override the decisions of the political process?

http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/gop-has-new-legislative-strategy.html

Time to push financial reform – it’s a winner whether it passes or not

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/its-time-to-not-get-financial-reform-done.php

Pucker up!

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/conservadems_met_with_wall_st_execs_while_pushing.php
A group of moderate Democrats held private meetings this fall with executives from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase, while in the midst of pushing successfully to water down landmark legislation designed to beef up regulation of the financial industry. . . .

The Right’s answer to the Huffington Post

http://washingtonindependent.com/73364/carlson-launches-rights-answer-to-huffpost

Jon Stewart skewers Brit Hume’s proselytizing to Tiger Woods while denying that he’s proselytizing

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/the-daily-show-ridicules-brit-hume-for-tiger-woods-christian-conversion-comments.php

Bonus item: All the Whitmers . . .

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/06/liz-cheney-echoes-father/
Liz Cheney is echoing her father's recent criticism of President Obama's response to the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day, saying Wednesday the president has not taken sufficient national security steps in the wake of the botched plane bombing. . . .

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/terrorism/happy-hour-roundup-139/
[Greg Sargent] You don’t say! Anyone have any idea why CNN deems it news that Liz agrees with Dick that Obama is weak on terror?

[NB: This puts me in mind of Mark Twain’s description of the opening pages of the Book of Mormon:

http://www.truthandgrace.com/twainbom.htm
[Mark Twain] “The title-page reads as follows:

THE BOOK OF MORMON: AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF MORMON, UPON PLATES TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI. . .

Next comes:

THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES.
Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record . . .
OLIVER COWDERY,
DAVID WHITMER,
MARTIN HARRIS.

Some people have to have a world of evidence before they can come anywhere in the neighborhood of believing anything; but for me, when a man tells me that he has "seen the engravings which are upon the plates," and not only that, but an angel was there at the time, and saw him see them, and probably took his receipt for it, I am very far on the road to conviction . . .

Next is this:

AND ALSO THE TESTIMONY OF EIGHT WITNESSES.
Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which hath been spoken . . . And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing witness of it.
CHRISTIAN WHITMER,
JACOB WHITMER,
PETER WHITMER, JR.,
JOHN WHITMER,
HIRAM PAGE,
JOSEPH SMITH, SR.,
HYRUM SMITH,
SAMUEL H. SMITH.

And when I am far on the road to conviction, and eight men, be they grammatical or otherwise, come forward and tell me that they have seen the plates too; and not only seen those plates but "hefted" them, I am convinced. I could not feel more satisfied and at rest if the entire Whitmer family had testified.”]

***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.***

A RESURGENT GOP?

You’ve heard me for weeks express frustration with the self-confirming narrative by the press that the Dems are going to be in big trouble in the fall elections while the Repubs are some kind of unstoppable juggernaut. Yes, mid-term elections usually go against the party in power and there are lots of reasons to be concerned that the Dems will lose seats in the House and Senate – and, of course, once they drop below 60 seats in the Senate the Republicans won’t let Obama get ANYTHING passed. But before we enshrine them, let’s look at how fractured and dysfunctional the GOP is right now:

The GOP is at war with itself

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/bad-moon-rising-for-charlie-crist-fl-gop-chair-stepping-down.php
On a conference call with reporters in a few minutes, Florida Republican Party Chair Jim Greer is expected to step down from the chairmanship . . .

It's hard to overstate the importance of this resignation to the national GOP landscape.

Florida is shaping up to be the epicenter of the intraparty GOP war in 2010, and the resignation of Greer suggests the battle is tilting toward the ultra-conservatives on the tea party side of the line. . . .

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/greer-announces-resignation-as-florida-gop-chair----and-slams-right-wing-critics-on-his-way-out.php
On a conference call with reporters just now, Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer officially announced his resignation, effective on February 20. He took the opportunity to tear into his right-wing critics for wanting a smaller party and accused them of pulling apart the GOP itself in order to take him out. . . .

Michael Steele is utterly hopeless as GOP chair

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/01/05/steele/index.html
Steele not exactly firing up the troops

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822030/-Michael-Steele:-Are-we-ready-...-I-dont-know
RNC chair Michael Steele doesn't think his party can take back the House in '10, and even if they do, he doesn't know if the GOP is ready. . .

"I can't give a number [of seats the GOP will win] yet, because like I said, we're just now beginning to look at the races," Steele said. Asked if GOPers will take back the House, Steele confessed: "Not this year."

"I don't know all the candidates yet," Steele continued, according to a transcript of the show. "We still have some vacancies that need to get filled, but then the question we need to ask ourselves is: If we do that, are we ready?"

In fact, when Hannity followed up on the point, Steele said he doesn't know if the GOP is ready to take back the reins of power.

"I don't know. . .”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/05/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
[Steele] "Our platform is one of the best political documents that's been written in the last 25 years. Honest Injun on that."

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822172/-Steele:-GOP-supports-full-repeal-of-health-care-reform
Steele: GOP supports full repeal of health care reform

http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/05/michael-steele-the-bushes-wrecked-the-gop/
Michael Steele: The Bushes Wrecked the GOP

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822258/-Michael-Steele-Wishes-He-Could-Be-A-Teabagger
[Politico] Michael Steele said Tuesday that if he was not chairman of the Republican National Committee, he’d be a tea party protester. . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021777.php
[Steve Benen] Choosing to let Michael Steele lead the Republican National Committee was always a very bad idea. The poor guy doesn't know how to run anything; he's easily confused; and he's failed in pretty much endeavor he's tried in his adult professional life.

But things just seem to keep getting worse for the clownish RNC chairman. . . . [read on]

More: http://washingtonindependent.com/73233/steele-vs-disloyal-scozzafava

The GOP is attracting the very best candidates too

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021769.php
Some politicians leave Capitol Hill voluntarily, less fortunate lawmakers depart under less-pleasant circumstances. And then there's that third category of those leave the Hill humiliated.

Former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) is in that last group, which is why it's a little surprising to see him launching a comeback. . . .

Does this sound like a party on the defensive?

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/house-republicans/bring-it-on-van-hollen-dares-gop-to-make-2010-elections-about-obama/
Bring It On: Van Hollen Dares GOP To Make 2010 Elections About Obama

Still, there’s bad news for the Dems too

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/05/dorgan_to_retire.htm
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) "dropped a late-day bombshell, announcing he will retire when his term ends this year," USA Today reports.

"Dorgan's announcement represents an opportunity for Republicans: North Dakota is a Republican-leaning state, where President Obama got just 45% of the vote last year."

Most analysts now expect Gov. John Hoeven (R) to run. If so, he will instantly become the favorite to win this seat.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/colorado-gov-bill-ritter-joins-retiring-democrats-1.php
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) won't seek a second term, retiring from the key swing state . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/holy_crap_3.php
The NYT is reporting that Sen. Chris Dodd will not seek reelection this November. . . .

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/exodus_for_dodd_ritter_dorgan.php
Exodus For Dodd, Ritter, Dorgan -- What It Means . . .

He says it, they publish it. How Politico cemented its status as Dick Cheney’s favorite Dictaphone – and why they don’t want to give it up

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/chris-matthews-asks-politicos-martin-why
Chris Matthews Asks Politico's Martin Why They Act as Dick Cheney's News Conduit

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/politico-editor-defends-platform-granted-to-cheney/
Politico Editor Defends Platform Granted To Cheney

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822084/-Politico-Defends-Politico

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/01/05/politico/index.html

Do the Republicans embrace Cheney? Not all of them, apparently

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/05/paul-takes-aim-at-cheney/

Ick. Why full-body screenings won’t prevent determined airline bombers. Can you say “body cavities”?

http://washingtonindependent.com/73140/perhaps-the-most-uncomfortable-underpants-bomb-ever

Hey! Something from Charles Krauthammer I agree with

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/before-we-launch-a-proxy-war-in-yemen.php
It is not a place we want to go and invade. It is like Afghanistan. It is a wild place. It’s like the northwest territories of Pakistan. It’s never had a strong central government. It’s got secessionist in the south, Houthis in the north who are Arabian clients. It is so complicated it’s almost incomprehensible. . . .

More on Yemen: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/post-about-yemen

Who has the money?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/the-end-of-influence.php
[Matt Yglesias] I downloaded The End of Influence: What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money by Brad DeLong and Stephen Cohen last night and read the whole thing. . . . What you really get here is a brilliant short tour of the rise and fall of the neoliberal project on an international basis. They offer what will strike some as an almost laughably uncynical account of the motives behind this project, but that makes the documentation of its ultimate failure all the more compelling. As they lay out, it proved to actually be the case that the only route to sustainable economic development anyone could find involved substantial state-directed export-oriented growth. This, in turn, required the United States to play the role of global importer of last resort. The up shot of this is that more and more America doesn’t have “the money” in the world system. And not only is the money in the hands of Asian exporters and oil producers, a very large portion of it is in the hands of sovereign wealth funds. In addition, the Panic of 2008 has left governments in the developed world with large ownership stakes in a variety of firms. As a result, we’re going to have to transition to a very different-looking world economic order—one in which self-conscious government planning is going to play a bigger role, one in which US living standards will decline relative to our major trading partners, and in which American cultural and ideological influence is likely to wane. . . .

The changing meanings of "rule of law"

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/01/05/rule_of_law/index.html

Here’s one reason why the Republicans are stalling at all costs to hold up approval of the health care bill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/ma-senate-debate-underscores-vulnerability-of-health-care-reform.php
The candidates in the Massachusetts Senate special election debated this morning on a local radio station, with Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown setting up some stark partisan contrasts. But perhaps the most important message of the debate was Brown's promise to stop the health care bill in its tracks if he is able to pull off an upset two weeks from today and become the 41st GOPer in the Senate. . . . "I would be the 41st senator and would stop that particular bill, because as a Massachusetts Senator I need to look out for our jobs and our hospitals. . . I can stop it”

Could Coakley lose? http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822045/-MA-Sen:-Could-Coakley-Lose

The issues at play in the Senate-House health care deliberations

http://www.politico.com/playbook/0110/playbook916.html
POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown posts a fascinating 11-page staff comparison of the House and Senate health reform bills: “More than 50 ‘topline differences’ need to be resolved, from the amount of taxes levied to the minimum benefit package offered in the exchanges. Today, Speaker Pelosi will meet with House committee chairmen to start setting the parameters for negotiations with the Senate. Then, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) go to the White House to meet with President Obama and Vice President Biden. Senate Leader Reid and Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will call in from their home states. White House aides have sought to downplay the challenge of reconciling the two bills. But the chart is an unambiguous reminder that a bill signing is still a ways off — and a series of politically unforgiving and party-straining decisions await Democrats.”

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822062/-Whats-negotiable-in-the-non-conference-conference-%28And-how-do-we-get-in%29

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822123/-House-Quietly-Pushing-for-Their-Bill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/mixed-messages-house-white-house-differ-on-health-care-roadmap.php

Should the health care deliberations be televised? A debate

Yes: http://washingtonindependent.com/73162/c-span-urging-televised-merger-of-dems-health-bill

No: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/overrated-transparency.php

Ha ha ha

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/5/822052/-Oops:-Bachmanns-anticensus-hysteria-could-backfire
[Jed Lewison] As you may recall, over the summer Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) urged Americans to protest the ACORN-Census conspiracy by refusing to comply with the decennial census.

But now it's becoming clear that if her constituents heed her advice, she might end up losing her seat in Congress. . . .

Fixing the Sunday talk shows

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/fixing-talk-shows-cls-punditocracy-prop

Only on Fox News does a news anchor need to do damage control . . . by appearing on another Fox News show

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021761.php
[Steve Benen] O'Reilly asked a reasonably good question: "Was that proselytizing?"

"I don't think so," Hume said, before reiterating his comments from Sunday that Woods should convert to Christianity.

Hume said that given Woods problems, he "needs something that Christianity, especially, provides, and gives and offers." That includes, he said, the chance for "redemption and forgiveness." Later in the segment, Hume said: "I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs."

[NB: But don’t call it proselytizing!]

Here’s how whacked-out the teabaggers are: GLENN BECK is too moderate for them

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=120992
Glenn Beck on birther issue: 'Dumbest thing I've ever heard'

http://atlah.org/atlahworldwide/?p=2778
[Operation Flood It] “The left are scared to death of the Obama eligibility issue and anyone that dares to bring it up is immediately attacked and and forced to resign. Just ask Lou Dobbs…

Why is Fox afraid of this issue? This could throw Obama into jail, we are not talking about czars here. That is small potatoes compared to multiple felonies and a conspiracy to deceive 300 million Americans. The ENTIRE house of cards in the Democrat party would topple, because they were all most likely involved in this conspiracy as well.

Fox has the guts to throw jabs at Obama for 4 years, but they do not have the guts to deliver the knockout punch, Obama’s ineligibility. WE have to change that…”

More signs of the decline of the Washington Post

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010010104/progressive-breakfast-bernanke
The Washington Post published an article, presented as a news story, which could be a signal of the death of the Post as an independent and objective news source. The piece, entitled 'Support grows for tackling nation's debt,' appeared to be one of those background news pieces common in newspapers like the Post. But article was written not by the newspaper’s reporters – and not by an objective wire service, like the Associated Press – but by a new organization called The Fiscal Times, whose founder and major backer [is] Peter G. Peterson . . .

Mark Halperin: It’s Obama’s fault that the Republicans refuse to work with him

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/hows-obama-doing

Bonus item: The Obamas vs. the Village

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021770.php
[More from Mark Halperin] In 2008 the country clearly craved new leadership that would sweep into the capital and change the ways of Washington. But politically and personally, the First Couple and their top aides have shown no hankering for the Establishment seal of approval, nor have they accepted the glut of invitations to embassy parties and other tribal rituals of the political class. In the sphere of Washington glitter, the Clintons were clumsy and the Bush team indifferent, but the Obama Administration has turned a cold shoulder, disappointing Beltway salons and newsrooms whose denizens hoped the uber-cool newbies would play. . . [read on]

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/the-good-kind-of-failure.php

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/mark-halperin-ich-bein-ein-villager/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-errors-by-digby-i-write-in-post.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/queen-of-pride-by-digby-on-december-4th.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.***

THEY LOVE AMERICA, BUT THEY HATE AMERICANS

The kind of people they are

http://washingtonindependent.com/73036/n-word-sign-dogs-would-be-tea-party-leader
Dale Robertson, head of Teaparty.org

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/gop-house-candidate-fight-against-democrats-bigger-than-fight-against-terrorism.php
Allen Quist, a Republican candidate seeking the nomination to go up against Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), has made a serious pronouncement: That the political battle against the Democrats is the defining fight of this generation, even greater than the fight against terrorism. . . .

"I, like you, have seen that our country is being destroyed. I mean, this is -- every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom. This is our fight. And this is our time. This is it. Terrorism, yes -- but that's not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C., with the radicals. They aren't liberals, they're radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz -- they're not liberals, they're radicals. They are destroying our country. And people all over are figuring that out."

[NB: Yes, he said it. Democrats are a bigger threat than the terrorists.]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/idaho-candidate-who-joked-about-hunting-obama-now-says-god-can-save-constitution.php
A Republican candidate for governor in Idaho who joked about hunting President Obama over the summer is calling for God to save the U.S. Constitution. . . .

Rex Rammell said recently it is time for citizens to "rise up" and defend the Constitution. He said he will spread that message on the campaign trail.

"To think that we can save the Constitution without God's help when the government of the United States is corrupt is absurdity," he said. "We are in America's second Revolutionary War to save our freedom, which we paid for with blood. We need God's help and I'm not ashamed to ask for it."

Great piece from Rachel Maddow – how the Republicans lost their mojo in exploiting the terror issue

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#34695374

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why are the failed foreign policy hawks of the Bush administration working so hard to get Obama to repeat their mistakes?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/townsend-time-to-start-being-polite-and-start-getting-vague-and-hawkish.php

Did you know that Obama’s security policies, in substance, are almost identical to Bush’s?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/obama-terror

Cowards. Gutless cowards

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/former-bush-officials-refusing-to-endorse-policies-they-support-out-of-pique.php
[Peter Baker] A half-dozen former senior Bush officials involved in counterterrorism told me before the Christmas Day incident that for the most part, they were comfortable with Obama’s policies, although they were reluctant to say so on the record. Some worried they would draw the ire of Cheney’s circle if they did, while others calculated that calling attention to the similarities to Bush would only make it harder for Obama to stay the course. And they generally resent Obama’s anti-Bush rhetoric and are unwilling to give him political cover by defending him.

[Matt Yglesias] It’s really staggering what this says about the ethical caliber of the people we’re talking about. These are the toughest issues out there. Obama is, they think, doing the right thing. But some of them don’t want to say he’s doing the right thing because that might make Dick Cheney mad and they’re timid, gutless careerists? And others don’t want to say he’s doing the right thing because their feelings are hurt that a Democrat said bad things about his grossly unpopular Republican predecessor? For this they’re going to undermine support for policies that they themselves believe are keeping the country safe?

Dick Cheney. Karl Rove. Rush Limbaugh. Newt Gingrich. Sean Hannity. Glenn Beck. Mitch McConnell. John Boehner. Mitt Romney. Sarah Palin

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122207603&ft=3&f=2101090
Cokie Roberts: Terrorism Issue 'A Particular Problem For A Democrat Who Hasn't Served In The Military'

http://searchwarp.com/swa526145-10-Reasons-Why-Republicans-Seldom-Serve-In-The-Military.htm
Democrats in Congress have out-served Republicans in the military almost two to one. . . . .

More: http://www.obamaers.com/why-are-democrats-far-more-likely-serve-in-the-military-than-republicans/

Please stop confusing us! The media have already told us that the Republicans are going to do well in 2010. It's been decided!

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/04/gop_retirements_mount_in_the_house.html
GOP Retirements Mount in the House

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/04/republican_cash_woes_threaten_midterm_plans.html
Republican Cash Woes Threaten Midterm Plans

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/04/AR2010010403313.html

Heh

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/party-switcher-griffiths-capitol-hill-staff-quits-en-masse.php
Party-Switcher Griffith's Capitol Hill Staff Quits En Masse

My slogan for 2010

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/big-con-begins-2010dont-get-fooled-agai
"Don't Get Fooled Again" [read on]

Gee, I thought they didn’t believe in quid pro quos

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/steele-sent-rnc-money-to-gop-in-small-non-voting-territory----where-the-party-backed-him-for-chairma.php
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele made a curious donation from the national party coffers in the last two months, the Hotline reports: $20,000 to the Republican Party in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which has no electoral votes, no vote in Congress, and too small a population to even imagine statehood -- but where the party committee members did help him win the chairmanship a year ago. . . .

Avoiding a House-Senate conference on health care will speed up the process and prevent Republicans from slow-walking the bill (clearly they won’t vote for it under any circumstances). But what effect will this have on the content of the compromise?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/ping-pong-the-house-prepares-to-take-up-the-senate-health-care-bill.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/4/821742/-Congress-looks-to-avoid-conference-on-health-insurance-reform

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/immigration-battle-looms-on-health-care-but-interested-groups-will-concede-with-promise-from-obama.php

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/01/04/will-immigration-rights-advocates-accept-a-promise-as-currency/

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/top-house-liberal-rips-dem-plan-to-skip-conference-to-pass-health-care/

The Repubs are howling about it: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/no_conference_for_health_billgop_attacks_to_follow.php

Rush Limbaugh, multimillionaire, praises the health care he received in Hawaii: "Based on what happened to me here, I don't think there is one thing wrong with the American healthcare system. It is working just fine, just dandy." Just one problem, Rush

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/01/04/limbaugh/index.html

STILL waiting for the release of the DOJ report on torture memos

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/12/04/yoo-opr-and-the-ninth-circuit/
November 18: Holder says the OPR report will be released by the end of November . . .

Ack!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/03/AR2010010302110.html
Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

The policy was designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive industry. But critics -- including the Obama administration -- say the secrecy has grown out of control, making it impossible for regulators to control potential dangers or for consumers to know which toxic substances they might be exposed to. . .

How conservatives dominate school curricula – they work at it

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/22215

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021745.php

Reactions to Brit Hume’s uninvited recruitment of Tiger Woods to convert to Christianity. Steve Benen nails it

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/01/04/hume/index.html
"It's hard to even know where to start with something like this. How many high-profile Christians have had damaging sex scandals of late? . . .” [read on]

More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/05/foxnews-your-home-for-digging-deeper-and-going-for-gold/

[NB: Yeah, but when you're a Christian, you can REPENT, and then you're FORGIVEN. It doesn't matter what you did, who you hurt, how much you lied about it, or how big a hypocrite you are. It's Jesus's "Get Out of Jail Free Card." What a deal!]

Bonus item: 2009 buzz words we hope to hear less of in 2010

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1951248,00.html
1. Shovel-ready
2. Transparent/Transparency
3. Czar
4. Tweet
5. App
6. Sexting
7. Friend as a verb . . . [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.***

THE NEW NORMAL

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/just_out_from_tsa.php
"Today, the Transportation Security Administration issued new security directives to all United States and international air carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. effective January 4, 2010.

The new directive includes long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners.

Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/us/04webtsa.html
Citizens of 14 nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, who are flying to the United States will be subjected indefinitely to the intense screening at airports worldwide that was imposed after the Christmas Day bombing plot, Obama administration officials announced Sunday.

But American citizens, and most others who are not flying through those 14 nations on their way to the United States, will no longer automatically face the full range of intensified security that was imposed after the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight, officials said. . . .

Three former Bush security officials say that Dick Cheney is full of it

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/03/brennan_hits_back_at_cheney.html
[John Brennan] "I'm very disappointed in the vice president's comments. I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat -- I've worked for the past five administrations. And either the vice president is willfully mischaracterizing this president's position -- both in terms of language he uses, and the actions he's taken -- or he's ignorant of the fact. And in either case, it doesn't speak well of what the vice president's doing."

http://washingtonindependent.com/72987/so-much-for-dick-cheneys-meme
But how about former Bush CIA and National Security Agency chief Mike Hayden? Asked on the same program about Obama’s counterterrorism record, Hayden replied, “I am heartened by the fact that the president consistently says we are at war with al-Qaeda its affiliates.” Former Bush secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff echoed Hayden. . . .

More: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/the_sunday_shows_john_brennan_edition.php

Thanks

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/01/03/the-party-of-nihilism-cont/
[WP] With former vice president Richard B. Cheney in the lead, the [Republicans] have embarked on an ugly course to use the incident to inflict maximum political damage on President Obama. That's bad enough, but their scurrilous line of attack is even worse. The claim that the incident shows the president's fecklessness in the war on terror is unfounded -- no matter how often it is repeated.

[Joe Klein] As for Cheney, I hope the old torturer just keeps blabbing--and his daughter Liz as well--to remind that American public what we're well rid of.

Repubs still trying to separate the handling of the shoe bomber case from the underwear bomber case – even though they’re identical

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/01/remember_a_few_days_ago.php

Joe Lieberman knows this is a lie

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/lieberman-no-facility-more-humane-gitmo
Sen. Joe Lieberman believes that Guantanamo Bay's bad reputation isn't deserved. "You could not find a better, more humane facility for a detention center in the world," Lieberman told ABC's Terry Moran Sunday. . . . [read on]

This is a very big deal, if true

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/administration-weighs-no-first-use-nu
Administration Weighs 'No First Use' Nuclear Policy

No conference committee on health care reform, which should speed up the process. They may get this done by the State of the Union after all

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/ping-pong-update

Repubs: Obama shouldn’t be wasting his time on trivial domestic problems like health care reform: he should be worried about terrorism 24/7

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/03/demint-obama-distracted-from-protecting-the-country/

No one can figure out what to call the last decade – the “naughts” seems to have caught on. I call them the Oh-Oh’s

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/3/821080/-Remember-Naught
[Devilstower] Don't forget the naughts, because this decade, no matter what anyone on the right might say, was conservatism on trial. You want less taxes? You got less taxes. You want less regulation? You got less regulation. Open markets? Wide open. An illusuion of security in place of rights? Hey, presto. Think we should privatize war by handing unlimited power given to military contractors so they can kick butt and take names? Kiddo, we passed out boots and pencils by the thousands. Everything, everything, that ever showed up on a drooled-over right wing wish list got implemented -- with a side order of Freedom Fries.

They will try to disown it, and God knows if I was responsible for this mess I'd be disowning it, too. But the truth is that the conservatives got everything they wanted in the decade just past, everything that they've claimed for forty years would make America "great again". They didn't fart around with any "red dog Republicans." They rolled over their moderates and implemented a conservative dream.

What did we get for it? We got an economy in ruins, a government in massive debt, unending war, and the repudiation of the world. There's no doubt that Republicans want you to forget the last decade, because if you remember... if you remember when you went down to the water hole and were jumped by every lunacy that ever emerged from the wet dreams of Grover Norquist and Dick Cheney, well, it's not likely that you'd give them a chance to do it again.

And they will. Given half a chance -- less than half -- they'll do it again, only worse. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021734.php

Fake news: the “birther” lies continue

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/chain-of-fools-by-digby-i-heard-some.html

Why does Charles Krauthammer still have a WP column?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/what-business-is-the-washington-post-in.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021732.php

I’m speechless

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/brit-hume-tiger-woods-must-become-christian
[Brit Hume – the “serious journalist” over at Fox News – on Tiger Woods] "The extent to which he can recover seems to me depends on his faith," said Hume. "He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of redemption and forgiveness offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger is, 'Tiger turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

Bonus item: 2009 top tens – video edition

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/tpmtvs-year-in-review-our-top-10-cable-news-moments.php
Top 10 Cable News Moments

http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/03/fdl-video-vault-the-best-smackdowns-of-2009/
The Best Smackdowns of 2009

***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.***

FIGHT THE FEAR

The GOP is trying mightily to tar Obama with the “weak on terrorism” label. This puts them into some . . err. . . awkward contortions

http://blog.buzzflash.com/honors/267
Jim DeMint Wins GOP Hypocrite of the Week Award . . .

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/01/02/it-all-depends-on-your-definition-of-failure/
[Emptywheel] Politico is now aiding the fear-mongerers in declaring the Obama’s Administration’s response to a failed terrorist attack a failure . . .

And yet, little mention of the successes the Obama Administration has had: preventing Najibullah Zazi’s alleged attack attempt, rooting out efforts to recruit Somali youth from Minnesota, catching several self-radicalizing Americans. Indeed, the frenzy surrounding the Obama Administration’s failure to prevent a failed attack seems to exceed that surrounding questions about the handling of Nidal Hasan.

Meanwhile, there’s also little mention of the recent reports showing how badly the Bush Administration screwed up the Afghan war–a massive strategic failure that has allowed al Qaeda to sustain its threat. And real hypocrisy about the Bush Administration response to equivalent events, like the Shoe Bomber. . . .

http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/bush-rumsfeld-responses-to-shoe-bomber.html
Bush, Rumsfeld responses to Shoe Bomber & Bin Laden Video: Bin Laden 'Not Escaping us'; 'We've Stopped Chasing'; Government 'Responding Accordingly'

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/01/02/blame_game_backfiring_on_republicans.html
Mike Allen notes that the GOP is blaming the Obama administration for the failed Christmas Day airplane attack. "But Republican lawmakers, candidates, pundits and commentators -- and the Bush administration -- blamed the CLINTON administration for 9/11."

Flashback to September 2006, Secretary of State Rice told the New York Post editorial board: "Nobody organized this country or the international community to fight the terrorist threat that was upon us until 9/11 . . . We just weren't organized as a country either domestically or as a leader internationally. But what we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton Administration did in the preceding years. . . We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."

That logic would mean the Bush administration is also culpable for the intelligence failures discovered over the last week.

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021731.php

Remember during the Bush years, when people argued that, if the failure of Bush’s war was good for Democrats and progressives, that meant that we were “wishing for failure,” and hence disloyal to the nation’s interests? Doesn’t the same argument apply now to Republicans, who seem to be almost wishing for a terror attack to happen, so they can hang it around Obama’s neck?

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/the-anti-terror-rights-incentive-problem.php

There are serious people who think that the phrase “war on terror” is inaccurate and counterproductive. But of course we can’t have a serious discussion about that, can we?

http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/01/02/krauthammers-al-qaeda-smear/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/the-dumbest-term-you-could-use.php

Ah, if only this were true

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/obama-remember-our-adversaries-are-the-terrorists-not-each-other.php
Obama: Remember Our Adversaries Are The Terrorists, Not Each Other
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama said his administration is taking steps to address the Flight 253 attempted bombing, and directly blamed al-Qaida for plotting the attack. And he spoke against politicizing the event, in a seeming rebuttal to Republican political attacks . . . [read on]

David Brooks: when he’s right, he’s right

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/01/02/fear/index.html
Brooks documents how "childish, contemptuous and hysterical" the national reaction has been to this latest terrorist episode, egged on -- as usual -- by the always-hysterical American media. The citizenry has been trained to expect that our Powerful Daddies and Mommies in government will -- in that most cringe-inducing, child-like formulation -- Keep Us Safe. Whenever the Government fails to do so, the reaction -- just as we saw this week -- is an ugly combination of petulant, adolescent rage and increasingly unhinged cries that More Be Done to ensure that nothing bad in the world ever happens. Demands that genuinely inept government officials be held accountable are necessary and wise, but demands that political leaders ensure that we can live in womb-like Absolute Safety are delusional and destructive. Yet this is what the citizenry screams out every time something threatening happens: please, take more of our privacy away; monitor more of our communications; ban more of us from flying; engage in rituals to create the illusion of Strength; imprison more people without charges; take more and more control and power so you can Keep Us Safe. . . . [read on]

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/stopped-clock-by-digby-setting-aside.html
[Digby] Terrorists crashing planes is a scary thing. But the truth is that crashing planes is a scary thing. Yet people get on them every day by the thousands with the knowledge that it might happen --- for any number of reasons, all of which we hope are being prevented by the people we employee to ensure it that it is. But sometimes planes go down. It's part of life. This time it didn't. Hooray. You'd think we'd be celebrating the quick thinking of the passengers and instead we're hiding under the bed snuffling about how daddy didn't keep us safe.

Terrorism is an awful thing, but this bozo from Nigeria with explosives in his pants is not going to destroy America as we know it even if he did manage to do the unthinkable. But we can do that for him by allowing these panic artists, fearful children and political opportunists to turn the nation upside down every time a bozo like him attempts something. It's nothing but an excuse for the authoritarians to take the country further down the police state road in the name of "keeping us safe" while the media gets to pretend they are living out some virtual Ernie Pyle fantasy, except with really good hair and make-up.

The panic is the point. That's why they do terrorist attacks in the first place. And the damned bozo certainly succeeded, at least among the elites who, as far as I can tell, have worked themselves up into some kind of fugue state and are now practically speaking in tongues. It's embarrassing. . . .

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/opinion/01brooks.html

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/01/01/welcome-backlash-against-security-theater-and-overhyping-of-fear/

This makes me think about how lucky we actually are, and about how ineffectual Al Qaeda and related groups are. Bringing down an airliner would be horrific – and it will probably happen sooner or later. But the fact that we have these events fairly infrequently tells us that, while we need to be vigilant, the threats are not in fact pervasive and constant. Imagine the effect on the nation if, once a month or so, a bomber let off a blast in a crowded shopping mall, a movie theater, a sporting event, or anyplace where large groups of people congregate – the numbers would meet or surpass the deaths on an airliner, but the effects on people’s behavior and fear level would be constant, and perhaps growing. The fact that Al Qaeda hasn’t been doing that suggests that they don’t in fact have the resources, organization, and manpower to do it

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/world-gone-mad.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/12/very-rare-terrorists-are-very-hard-to-find.php

How the Dems will try to frame the 2010 elections

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/rebranding-enemy-by-digby-plan-emerges.html

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2010/01/03/sunday-talking-heads-january-3-2010/
ABC’s This Week: Terry Moran sitting in for George Stephanopoulos with White House Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan. Panel discussion with “the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman, Ranking Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and Rep. Jane Harman, Chair of the House Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee.” Roundtable: George Will, Cynthia Tucker, Ron Brownstein, David Sanger.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Nancy Cordes, Jan Crawford, David Martin, Bob Orr, Chip Reid.

CNN’s State of the Union: “Brennan; former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, chairman of 9/11 commission; Sens. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Fran Townsend, a former White House homeland security adviser for President George W. Bush; Richard Ben-Veniste, 9/11 commission member; former CIA official Michael Scheuer.” courtesy of DesMoinseRegister.com

NBC’s Meet The Press: White House Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan. Then, Michael Chertoff and the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, retired General Michael Hayden. Roundtable: Tom Brokaw, David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Bonus item: Sarah Palin shows up on Fox News (what a surprise) to tell us why she is qualified to be President

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/palin_on_oreilly.php
“I believe that I am because I have common sense. And I have, I believe, the values that are reflective of so many other American values. And I believe that what Americans are seeking is not the elitism, the kind of a spinelessness that perhaps is made up for that with some kind of elite Ivy League education and a fact resume that's based on anything but hard work and private sector, free enterprise principles. Americans could be seeking something like that in positive change in their leadership. I'm not saying that has to be me.”

***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.***

THE TROLL

Why does Dick Cheney hate America? Jane Mayer, in The Dark Side, explains that after he believed he had been infected with anthrax, Cheney went through a transformation. Always a hardliner, he gave himself even more fully over to a frightened and paranoid vision of the world, a world of relentless enemies out to destroy us, and one in which we need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent them from doing so. Cheney hates the Constitution, hates the democratic process, hates our system of justice, hates the fundamentally open and welcoming ethos of this very imperfect union – for these all become threats in a world where we cannot afford to impede the ruthless pursuit of intelligence gathering, interrogation, punishment, and imprisonment for the Enemy. Most of all, he hates no longer being able to control the levers of the security apparatus, and having a President he can bully, cajole, and manipulate into sharing his paranoid vision of the world.

Someone in the future will look back on Cheney’s extraordinary influence over the world view and war policies of the last decade – and let’s hope they don’t see it as a lasting shift away from our fundamental American character and values, but as a terrible aberration. I think the jury is still out on that. . .

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-shameless-cheney-ignores-own
Rachel Maddow: Shameless Cheney Ignores Own Record to Cast Stones

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/fox-talkers-attack-release-gitmo-ter
Fox talkers attack release of Gitmo terrorists to Yemen -- but neglect to mention it was Cheney who freed them

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/stopped-clock-by-digby-setting-aside.html
[Digby] Terrorism is an awful thing, but this bozo from Nigeria with explosives in his pants is not going to destroy America as we know it even if he did manage to do the unthinkable. But we can do that for him by allowing these panic artists, fearful children and political opportunists to turn the nation upside down every time a bozo like him attempts something. It's nothing but an excuse for the authoritarians to take the country further down the police state road in the name of "keeping us safe" while the media gets to pretend they are living out some virtual Ernie Pyle fantasy, except with really good hair and make-up.

The panic is the point. That's why they do terrorist attacks in the first place. And the damned bozo certainly succeeded, at least among the elites who, as far as I can tell, have worked themselves up into some kind of fugue state and are now practically speaking in tongues. It's embarrassing.

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/massa-cheney-has-political-tourettes/
Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) on Wednesday delivered a fervent and stinging rebuke to former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent attack on President Obama after the failed Christmas bombing.

"I am sick and tired of the former vice president of the United States taking shots not only at this administration, for problems he was largely and personally responsible for, but by an extension at those of us who served in the military and bring that experience” . . .

Why they hate us

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/02/us/02blackwater.html
Iraqis Angered as Blackwater Charges Are Dropped

Digby does it again

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/technicalities-by-digby-atrios-writes.html
First, imagine that these Blackwater guards were terrorist suspects who were brought to trial for allegedly massacring 17 innocent people and were released on what right wingers call a "technicality." How do you think they would be reacting to such a thing? And conversely, would we see some on the left reacting with outrage to the ruling because clearly guilty people were going free due to prosecutorial misconduct? . . .

But the case brings up an interesting problem: what if the government doesn't really want to prosecute some criminals because they've employed them to commit the crime? After all, we've now seen two high profile Republican criminals have their charges dropped because of prosecutorial "misconduct" by the Bush Justice Department. (Ted Stevens is the other one.)It's a problem, isn't it?

This is why you count on having an independent DOJ, which we certainly didn't have during the Bush years. And unfortunately, many of the same people are still in place. And since we can't look in the rearview mirror, you have to doubt that anything will be done about this Blackwater "error" either. . . . [read on]

No, I don’t think people like this should be heading up a major agency entrusted with confidential personal information

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102257.html
The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws. . . .

Southers, a former FBI agent, has described inconsistencies in his accounts to Congress as "inadvertent" and the result of poor memory of an incident that dates back 20 years. He said in a Nov. 20 letter to key senators obtained by The Post that he had accepted full responsibility long ago for a "grave error in judgment" in accessing confidential criminal records about his then-estranged wife's new boyfriend. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010101988.html
Democratic senators rallied around President Obama's pick to head the Transportation Security Administration on Friday as new details emerged indicating that key lawmakers already knew when they voted in November to advance his nomination that he had mischaracterized a personal incident in his testimony. . . .

Nice to have a Labor Department again

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100101/ap_on_bi_ge/us_labor_the_enforcer

A debate on obstructionism

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/opposition-strategy.php
Tom Schaller thinks the GOP’s party of no strategy is smart. Bruce Bartlett thinks it’s dumb. . . . [read on]

The Washington Post editorial page needs to read its own newspaper

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_01/021724.php

When Fox News interviews “Democrats”

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/01/2010-everything-old-is-new-again.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.***

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Settle in for some tasty morning-after tidbits, leftovers, and best of 2009 lists

A new leaked Pentagon report on Afghanistan, and it isn’t pretty

http://www.americablog.com/2009/12/new-report-documents-bush-admins-early.html
“A Different Kind of War” [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/30/820467/-A-Leak-About-the-Phantom-Army

Oh christ. Eight years after 9-11 and we’re still reading this?

http://washingtonindependent.com/72807/is-this-really-an-intelligence-failure-real-talk-on-abdulmutallab
[Spencer Ackerman] [T]he CIA, after hearing his father’s concern, compiled a profile of Abdulmutallab consisting of non-specific information, but apparently declined to share it with the National Counterterrorism Center. And the National Security Agency picked up communications from al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate indicating that the group was looking to use a “Nigerian” in an unspecified terrorist attack, according to The New York Times. That also didn’t go to the NCTC. . . . [read on]

More: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1209/Sounds_familiar.html

Good news: Obama wants to investigate what went wrong. Bad news: he asked the wrong guy to do it

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/12/31/obama-appoints-fox-to-evaluate-terror-watchlist-henhouse/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/white-house-grants-waiver-for-brennan-to-work-on-flight-253-review.php

GOP using attempted bombing for big fundraising appeal. Is there no limit?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/ka-ching-gop-goes-for-big-flight-253-payday.php

John Ensign (R-NV) thinks he can get a free ride coming on television to talk about other issues without getting asked questions he has never answered about his affair and bribery. He gets a BIG surprise

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/12/classic_tv_moment.php

I hate to start off the new year with bad news, but this is just awful

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/ap_all_charges_dismissed_against_blackwater_guards.php
All Charges Dismissed Against Blackwater Guards In Killing Of Iraqi Civilians

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/12/31/blackwater-charges-in-nisour-killings-dismissed/

Cheney and his apologists crow that people STILL think waterboarding suspects is a nifty thing. They seem to have been successful in shifting public perceptions on this issue – and aren’t they proud?

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/cheney-camp-rejoices-that-majority-wants-to-torture-bombing-suspect/

Why we love Rachel

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/31/820774/-Rachel-Maddow-rips-apart-Cheney,-GOP-attack-machine
Rachel Maddow rips apart Cheney, GOP attack machine

Ann Coulter: Is it just my wishful thinking, or is this harridan fading into the woodwork?

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/coulter-loves-those-zombie-lies-agai

Bonus item: The top ten “conservative” films of the decade

http://firedoglake.com/2009/12/30/late-night-oh-look-a-halfwit-list-of-top-conservative-movies-of-decade-how-pleasing/
Gladiator. . . . 300 . . . read on

Extra bonus item: TPM’s “Golden Dukes” for 2009 announced

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/12/2009_golden_duke_awards_announced.php

Extra extra bonus item: Ten weirdest political moments of 2009

http://www.americablog.com/2009/12/top-10-weirdest-moments-of-2009.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.***