William F Buckley and Gore Vidal debate, ABC August 1968

Reminder, the Tavis Smiley Democratic debate is on this evening, PBS, 6 PT and 9 ET. 

I think Michel [McQueen] Martin, Ruben Navarette and whomever else is the panel questioning.  A panel of journalists of color.

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Hold your nose, commentary to follow on the really tired EE and AC thang (it was tired as it rolled out).  Stumbled on this at, whooops! YES a conservative site, Real Clear Politics (RCP).  It’s a useful quick read for links to MSM, they catch things I would miss otherwise.

Anyway, clearly Edwards national numbers are down.  Wandering around 5 – 8% in latest polls.  Quickly coming to close of Q2 COH and fundraising numbers (they are raising “Coulter Cash”). Looking thin on the ground.  And, as this transcript from Tweety’s Wednesday show indicates, Donny Deutch sums it up quite quickly:  Edwards is not running against AC.  And if he is, pretty pathetic. 

In the same transcript, John Edwards is on Hardball, to make the manly point I would guess.  He calls Ann – and her ilk – “crazy”.

Talk about missing the point.  She’s not crazy, she is a front line operative.

Seems the John Edwards campaign IS running against AC.  And losing, would be my take.  Meanwhile I would also guess her book has shot up again in sales.  Perhaps EE’s has as well.

The very last thing to add is that the “Wade Story” was indeed worked to death years ago.  Edwards repeatedly credited the amalgam of his son’s life and death with the [sudden] dedication of his life to public service.  Always good to put a gloss on the trough.  Sorry to be rude, tell the story once and get on with it.  They ran it and ran it and ran it.  They still run it.

They are not to blame, oh no.  Gore and his sister’s death and the Bushes (first set) and the death of the baby girl, all those many many years ago. 

Nothing new in American heart throb suffering politics.

It fits in with the old Queen for a Day scheisse that America loves so much:   She is Blind, in a Wheelchair (and still needs a cane!), she has 42,000 children all in wet nappies!  Her husband is dead, but first he stepped out on her during every one of her 52,000 pregnancies (she lost some, funerals for all) and today, well today we gift her with

a Washing Machine.  And a Freezer.

For being American Mother of the Year.  And for her Great Suffering.

It is so fucking small town.

I wish we could get away from that, but as long as people who barely voted as adults and barely showed up for the Intelligence Com meetings in the Senate wax on and on about a dead son, we will have the ACs of the earth to shake a nasty bony blondined finger.

People are wheezing that, when cornered as to what Bible passage(s) she read in The Big House, Paris is a bit unclear.

Remember Bush?  This very same thing has been made clear several times, he claims the Bible, but when cornered is unable to speak clearly and knowledgeably about it…  the point was made, very notably, by Al Franken (and I am not a fan of his) in his carefully annotated (by the Harvard kids who worked with him) book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.

So, you know, like, [insert gum snap sound], who is the bigger problem?  Paris or Bush?

No prize for the right answer.

Yes our discourse is ugly, but our governing is even uglier.  All sides.

Stories about celebrities and their petty offenses are safe distractions for a people with diminishing hopes.  In a world made cruel by their own selected leadership, Paris is just “what’s on.”

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Bill Quigly has a piece up at Counterpunch, 33 hard punches look at how to destroy a great and amazing American city.  New Orleans.  The one that Obama forget to mention in his speech to the UCC congregation.  And he forgot the Gulf Coast as well.  And Katrina itself.  Think all the sins of omission and commission in public speech lie with the ACs of the earth?

Here are a few to show that every punch is packed:

Step Thirteen.  When you finally have to reopen the city, make sure to reopen the African-American sections last. This will aggravate racial tensions in the city and create conflicts between those who are able to make it home and those who are not.

Step Fourteen.  When the big money is given out, make sure it is all directed to homeowners and not to renters. This is particularly helpful in a town like New Orleans that was majority African-American and majority renter. Then, after you have excluded renters, mess the program for the homeowners up so that they must wait for years to get money to fix their homes.

Step Fifteen.  Close down all the public schools for months. This will prevent families in the public school system, overwhelmingly African-Americans, from coming home.

Step Sixteen.   Fire all the public school teachers, teacher aides, cafeteria workers and bus drivers and de-certify the teachers union–the largest in the state. This will primarily hurt middle class African Americans and make them look for jobs elsewhere.

Step Seventeen.   Even better, take this opportunity to flip the public school system into a charter system and push foundations and the government to extra money to the new charter schools. Give the schools with the best test scores away first. Then give the least flooded schools away next. Turn 70% of schools into charters so that the kids with good test scores or solid parental involvement will go to the charters. That way the kids with average scores, or learning disabilities, or single parent families who are still displaced are kept segregated away from the “good” kids. You will have to set up a few schools for those other kids, but make sure those schools do not get any extra money, do not have libraries, nor doors on the toilets, nor enough teachers. In fact, because of this, you better make certain there are more security guards than teachers.

Step Eighteen.   Let the market do what it does best. When rent goes up 70%, say there is nothing we can do about it. This will have two great results. It will keep many former residents away from the city and it will make landlords happy. If wages go up, immediately import more outside workers and wages will settle down.

Step Nineteen.   Make sure all the predominately white suburbs surrounding the African-American city make it very difficult for the people displaced from the city to return to the metro area.

Have one suburb refuse to allow any new subsidized housing at all.

Have the Sheriff of another threaten to stop and investigate anyone wearing dreadlocks.

Throw in a little humor and have one nearly all-white suburb pass a law which makes it illegal for homeowners to rent to people other than their blood relatives!

The courts may strike these down, but it will take time and the message will be clear–do not think about returning to the suburbs.

Step Twenty.   Reduce public transportation by more than 80%. The people without cars will understand the message.

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I will update as things other than the metal garbage can lid hit me on the head and look interesting.

Once again, still here.  Sorry to dis-appoint….

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UPDATE, 8:53 pm

Yowser Bowser… When Rahm launched this excursion a few days ago, wilfred dropped an email that he was watching C-Span and Rahm was working hard “to be butch”.  But would fail.

What a hoot!  Oh yeah they are SO GONNA IMPEACH. 

House Narrowly Defeats Measure to Defund Vice President’s Office

Thursday, June 28th, 2007 in News by Eric Garris|

The House of Representatives just narrowly defeated an amendment to deny funds to operate Vice President Dick Cheney’s office. Cheney had insisted that his office is exempt from Executive Department oversight by arguing that he is not part of that department. Rep. Rahm Emanuel proposed the amendment as a counter to that incredible claim.

The measure was defeated 209-217, with most Republicans and 24 Democrats siding with Cheney. GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas and Walter Jones of North Carolina voted in favor of defunding Cheney’s office.  [snip]

Here is the link AGAIN (it is in the body of the text) to the Roll Call.  Do check who voted iwth the R. 

Some new, some old.  Something borrowed, something blue.

They always get enough to vote with the R, in this instance 24 of the Dems did.

The attempt to kill funds for Cheney’s vice presidential office and the government-owned mansion he lives in came on the same day Bush said he would not provide documents being subpoenaed by Democrats in Congress related to the firings of federal prosecutors.

[Thanks to Madman for the link and wilfred for the quote!]

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UPDATE, 3:32 am Friday…

Wonder what other dicey little impasses these two will pair up for in the future…

WASHINGTON — Virginia’s senators helped deliver what is likely a death blow Thursday to a proposed overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws.

Republican Sen. John W. Warner, who for weeks had declined to comment on the measure, joined most of his Senate colleagues in voting to block a bill that was sought by President Bush.

…
“However, the immigration issue remains one of the most significant matters of concern to our citizens, and I feel strongly that we have a duty to address it in the future.”

While most Democrats voted to advance the bill, freshman Democratic Sen. Jim Webb joined Warner in voting to block it.

Webb, who campaigned last fall on a platform of greater economic fairness for American workers, expressed concern that the bill would legalize too many immigrants who would compete for American jobs and drive down wages.

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UPDATE, 7:40 am Friday

There was so much news yesterday, that for now will post reports and blogger articles on all the various rulings and issues.

Still on the Immigration bill, this from Xicano Power (Para Justicia Y Libertad) on the “Green Card Draft“:

A couple of days ago, Kyle from Immigration Orange informed of an of an article that was written in the Boston Globe. Bryan Bender reports how the military will benefit from this provision.

While the DREAM Act may facilitate access to college for a small percentage of these undocumented students, in many cases other factors will militate against the college option. This is where the military comes in, tucked away in the current immigration bill is a provision that will help boost military recruiting.

A little-noticed provision in the proposed immigration bill would grant instant legal status and ultimately full citizenship to illegal immigrants if they enlist in the US military, an idea the Pentagon and military analysts say would boost the Pentagon’s flagging efforts to find and recruit qualified soldiers.

The reality is that military recruitment is down significantly and there are reports that the Pentagon is wanting to impose a “limited military draft” in order to maintain “its present force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan” according to The First Post. 

And never forget with whom you are dealing…

With few prospects of gaining US citizenship through the usual channels, and with little hope of employment, decent housing and education, risking ones life for a glimmer of a chance for a better future clearly holds some attraction. But it does comes with a price. The sad reality, the promises made by the Government frequently fail to materialize. Just ask Yaderlin Jiminez, wife of missing servicemen Alex Jimenez, who is now facing deportation. One of the greatest challenges for many immigrants is the experience of immigration itself, but to the Bush War Machine, this is not a concern to them. For them, all they see is cannon fodder for their war effort  [snip] 

The post from XP is loaded with links and information…

Other than that, I am laughing at all the sad, so sad faces in congress.  Republicans will craft a wedge between themselves and Mr 26% and Dems have immigracion to run on in ‘08.

Promises promises…

Win WIn.  Well, for the white guys in the congress.  Which is just about everybody. 

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UPDATE, 8:37 am

awww.  Well, no shock, conservatives vote together…. And “fairness” as in Fairness Doctrine, such a decent notion. 

NO!

House votes to ban FCC on ‘fairness’

By Alexander Bolton

June 29, 2007

The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from using taxpayer dollars to impose the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters who feature conservative radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

By a vote of 309-115, lawmakers amended the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill to bar the FCC from requiring broadcasters to balance conservative content with liberal programming such as Air America. ….

And listen again for the ringing tones and the cry for freedom that is used to clamp (or keep) a nasty lid on American life…

In 1985 the FCC discarded the policy after deciding that it restricted journalistic freedom and “actually inhibit[ed] the presentation of controversial issues of public importance to the detriment of the public and in degradation of the editorial prerogative of broadcast journalists,” according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Yesterday, the House firmly rejected the prospect of requiring balanced views on talk radio.

Before the passage of the amendment, which he sponsored, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), a former full-time radio host, forecast a big majority and took a shot at the Senate, saying:

“This House will say what some in the other body are not saying, that we believe in freedom on the airwaves.

We reject the doctrines of the past that would have this federal government manage political speech on the public airwaves.”

Tell me again about the hard right drying up and blowing away?  The DLC, partner to the right, drying up and blowing away?

Will the Edwardses craft a message to raise money?  Or is it too damned tough to explain the Fairness Doctrine?

Keep bleating about those Two -  simple, reduced to fiction - Americas [didja notice how they all loved Black People last night?  What a bizarre 'dipshits on parade' show that was!].

Pabulum in, soft baby shit out.

Well I am off to the kitchen, for some coffee that will etch the spoon and some amaretti biscotti.  No pabulum…

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UPDATE, 10:08 am

This starts out as a fairly reasonable meander (on Don’t Weep for BvBoEd)… but then Juan Williams hits the fork in the road:

In their rulings ending court mandates for school integration, the judges, too, spoke of the futility of using schoolchildren to address social ills caused by adults holding fast to patterns of residential segregation by both class and race.

The focus of efforts to improve elementary and secondary schools shifted to magnet schools, to allowing parents the choice to move their children out of failing schools and, most recently, to vouchers and charter schools. The federal No Child Left Behind plan has many critics, but there’s no denying that it is an effective tool for forcing teachers’ unions and school administrators to take responsibility for educating poor and minority students.

His lips are getting whiter, doing a sales job for the destruction / privatisation of public school k – 12 education… and then:

Dealing with racism and the bitter fruit of slavery and “separate but equal” legal segregation was at the heart of the court’s brave decision 53 years ago. With Brown officially relegated to the past, the challenge for brave leaders now is to deliver on the promise of a good education for every child.

Won’t be happening.  Can anyone be said to believe in the dream of separate but equal?  I really don’t see what else Juan is arguing for…

Won’t be happening…

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UPDATE, 1:42 pm Friday

Across the world but within our reach…

Angry Arab:

Mirvat, my sister, sent me this: “I just received a phone call from Baddaoui [refugee camp]. It seems a half an hour ago (around 3.00 am Lebanon time), displaced population from Nahr El-Bared (and staying at Baddaoui) went on a demonstration heading from Baddaoui to El-Bared to protest their current conditions. The Lebanese Army shot them like birds at a distance of 10-15 km away from Al-Bared. First information said aoround 20 wounded and 7 dead.”

Posted by As’ad at 8:56 AM 67 comments

Oh but! Look over there at the big bad bomb car! And another!

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And again from Angry Arab (check the link, I am just saying, they let us in on it all, one reason I listen to his wretched horrible speeches, there is always something)

“We believe the ultimate success of Afghans and Iraqis will inspire others who want to live in freedom, as well.”

Oh, yeah genius. All Arabs and Muslims are jealous of the car bombs, bombing of civilians from the air, looting, corruption, foreign occupation, religious fanaticism, sectarian warfare, shooting at civilians at checkpoints, 4 million refugees, and other aspects of “liberation” in those countries. (As-Safir used this headline: “Bush promises the Syrians and Iranians a fate similar to that of Iraqis and Afghans!”)

Posted by As’ad at 1:51 AM 46 comments

 

We are insane.  War and death is freedom. Liberation is a refugee camp for decades, under the UN mandate.  Segregation is freedom.  A black mouth whose mother cleaned floors on the Hill will help you sell equal protection is segregation.  Nuclear blast winger radio and wingers forever cable with no balance is freedom.  Women dying, so the Dobsons and Ratz-zingers of the earth can glory in their power, is freedom.  A wall that stretches, or is sold merely as illusion, one or the other, across the border with Mexico is “security” against The Age of Terror.  But we wage the Age of Terror…

We think we can wall off a contiguous land mass?

Last night Hillary promised, with a gleam in her eye and a wrench of her facial muscles, to bomb the Sudanese pilots out of the air to show we mean business.  She got applause but thank someone somewhere for something she also was boo’d [if I heard right, at all]

A partial list…

Hang it up America.  If the “experiment” ever was one, the petri dish is utterly utterly corrupt.

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UPDATE, 2:51 pm

NYT is up with the transcript from the PBS debate of last night at Howard University:

SEN. CLINTON: There are three things we have to do immediately. Move the peacekeepers that finally the United Nations and the African Union have agreed to into Sudan as soon as possible. In order for them to be effective, there has to be airlift and logistical support, and that can only come either unilaterally from the United States or from NATO. I prefer NATO. And finally, we should have a no-fly zone over Sudan because the Sudanese governments bomb the villages before and after the Janjawid come. And we should make it very clear to the government in Khartoum we’re putting up a no-fly zone; if they fly into it, we will shoot down their planes. Is the only way to get their attention. (Applause.)

The camera went to a section going wild for her martial arts line.  But from the other side of the auditorium I heard boos.  

Her big war/fp moment.  If called I will serve, if there is a chance to bomb I shall.  Why not just sell it as a ringtone?  Seems to be the biggest thing in America The Good.

Skip the beach reading for the summer… it will be bombs forever.  And ringtones.

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