Digestible News

The Speech

2005-06-29T11:20:00.000-04:00

There are only a few clear take-aways from Bush’s speech last night.

One, the persistent failure of the reality in Iraq to conform to his rosy prediction has taught him absolutely nothing.

Two, when confronted by inconvenient facts or – worse – inconvenient poll numbers – his default strategy is to Lie Harder. Why wouldn’t he? It’s worked for him so far.

Three, no matter how often a lie has been discredited, that won’t stop him from repeating it – or at least slyly suggesting it – whenever it happens to be convenient to his political purposes. It takes a mind-bending effort of mendacity to continue to associate the Iraq war with 9/11 – and yet he does so no less than five times. It takes even more mind-bending leaps of logic to suggest that we are in Iraq to fight the terrorists – who weren’t even there when this debacle began.

Four, he remains constitutionally incapable of recognizing that, for any given circumstance, there might actually be more than two possible courses of action. The only choice he sees is between continuing what he’s been doing all along – and quitting altogether. It’s as if, while barreling down the highway, he sees a sign declaring that the bridge ahead is out – and concludes that he can only “bravely forge ahead,” or turn tail and go home. Not to worry, dear, that bridge is on the mend…

The possibility of an alternate route eludes him.

In short, we’re screwed. We got into this war because we had a commander-in-chief who was utterly disconnected from reality – and we will remain at war, at yet-unimagined costs in lives and dollars and dislocation, until we have a commander-in-chief who is worthy of the name.

I live in New York, so I would never speak lightly 9/11. But as devastatingly awful as that day was – it pales in comparison to the harm George W Bush has done, and continues to do, by invoking its memory.

Mark Bittman Doesn’t Get it

2005-04-13T12:13:00.000-04:00

In Today’s Times, there’s a piece where Mark Bittman – in a fairly shameless bit of self-promotion for an upcoming television series – contrasts his own cooking with that of a famous chef. In today’s article, he contrasts a Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe for sea bass fillets, with his own far simpler creation “sesame crusted fish.” The Jean-Georges recipe, as described, runs eight steps, and takes a full hour. Bittman’s recipe has four steps, and takes fifteen minutes.

There are several problems with his story.

The most obvious is that Mark is comparing a recipe for nothing more than a piece of fish -- with a complete entree that includes a full complement of side vegetables. Unless you count sesame seeds as a vegetable, he hasn't actually cooked dinner. So his comparison of the time involved, or the number of steps, or even the number of ingredients, is practically meaningless.

The next problem is that Mark cleverly ignores the fact that nearly all of the Jean-George dish can be prepared in advance. The beauty of this type of approach is that you could literally do all of the prep work, and then go out for cocktails, secure in the knowledge that you can finish your dinner in ten minutes ... whenever the mood strikes, using only two pans.

What the Jean-George recipe actually describes is a simple and elegant method of cueing up a dish ahead of time. All of the vegetables that need cooking at all are cooked in advance. The mushrooms are cooked merely to create a tasty bit of stock. The nuts and spices are toasted and blended ahead of time. Even browning the butter can be done early -- but I wouldn't bother; I would just brown the butter at the last minute, and stir the mushroom stock in to cool it.

The final steps come down to this: "warm up the vegetables in a flavored brown butter while you saute a piece of fish." How hard is that, really?

Here's my take on how you can do this at home. Any time during the afternoon, or up to several days ahead of time, you can complete the first four steps of the Jean-Georges recipe. In fact, these steps can even be completed before you buy the fish. [Note: for some reason, I can't get the link to the online version of the recipe to work; you should be able to find it by linking to the article, and then following related links the the "Sea Bass Filets with Mushroom Beurre Noisette"]

In steps one and two, you're making a mushroom stock, which you can reserve in a tiny container. In step three, which you can do while you're doing steps one and two, you make a nut and spice mixture. This you can also reserve in a tiny container. (I wouldn't fret, by the way, if I didn't have exactly two almonds and exactly two hazelnuts on hand to make this stuff. Pick or on the other, or pick up a jar of mixed nuts and pick them out.) In step four, you're pre-cooking the vegetables, which you can also easily manage while doing steps one through three. Dump these together into yet another tiny container, and you're ready to roll. (You may as well chop your herb garnish while you're at it, too.)

You now have three little containers (or four including the herbs), with everything you need to head start the dish: a bit of mushroom stock, a nut-and-spice mixture, and some pre-cooked vegetables. You also have your fish filets, and some cherry tomatoes -- which you haven't touched yet. The rest of the ingredients are fairly typical pantry items.

Now here's the final dish, in four steps, which should take not more than ten or fifteen minutes, (including the time to warm up the pans):

Brown 3 Tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan. Stop the cooking by adding the mushroom stock (stand back; it will spatter a bit). Keep warm.
Place a skillet over high heat. Meanwhile, season and coat the fish fillets. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Brush with cream. Then press only the flesh side into the nut and spice mixture.
Melt 2 Tablespoons butter (I would use clarified butter here, or 1 T butter + 1 T oil) in the skillet, then lay the fish fillets in skin side down. Cook 3-4 minutes per side. (Here I question the recipe: I might fire up the oven, start the fish on the stove top, and then let them finish in the oven, without flipping them at all. You're less likely to leave a lot of burnt nut-and-spice mix in the pan that way).
While the fish cooks, warm the vegetables. Add the onions, beans, and cherry tomatoes to the mushroom-brown butter sauce, and gently heat through. To serve, place the vegetables with the sauce in a warm serving bowl, place the fish filets on top, garnish and serve immediately.

The bottom line: since Bittman's dish isn't a complete dinner -- there's absolutely no basis for the claim that his method is any quicker or easier. The Jean-Georges recipe, on the other hand, is interesting -- and readily adaptable to busy schedules.

I'm Baaaccck

2005-04-13T12:07:00.000-04:00

This will be the short version, just to see if anyone is still out there.

One more post will follow today, a comment on Mark Bittman's piece in today's times.

Don't expect daily posts -- but weekly may be feasible, depending on how it fits in with other projects.

The Convention Cheap Eats Guide

2004-08-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know. I haven’t exactly been posting a lot lately (work seems to be intervening). But I’ll try to make it up to you here & now with a Digestible News exclusive: my personal guide, as a longtime resident, to cheap eats in lower Manhattan. Think of it as a service to visiting media, bloggers, protesters, etc. There is no attempt to be comprehensive: for every place I’ve included, there are a least a few more that I considered, and probably many times more than that that I just don’t know about. The idea here is not overwhelm you with choices – just to provide a worthy handful.

One note: If you happen to be at the convention, or otherwise at Madison Garden, you are basically screwed food-wise. Manhattan has a well-deserved reputation for wonderful food – but not as a result of anything you are likely to find in the handful of blocks closest to Madison Square Garden or Penn Station. What you will find is just about every fast-food chain you can think of, all of which, due to sheer volume, have trouble even on a normal day maintaining their franchise standards (“70% satisfaction every time”) – so who knows what the situation will be during the convention. The alternatives are largely a lot more expensive and not all that good (“sports bars,” unsurprisingly, abound); your best bet is to head at least a few blocks away from the area, if you can – and all of these choices fit the bill. The subway is your friend here: within minutes, you can be halfway across town – and they are largely impervious to street-level congestion.

An absolute must is take-out only Daisy May’s BBQ, the most convincing evidence yet that you can, after all, get good barbecue in New York. Their main location is 46^th Street & 11^th Avenue – but there are also carts offering an abbreviated menu dotted around town: 39^th &amp;amp;amp; Broadway (i.e., a five minute walk from the Garden); 50^th & Sixth Avenue; and near 40 Wall Street. The barbecue is the real thing – cooked “low and slow” over wood – and the chef, who clearly has a gift for flavor, is a veteran of several of the city’s high-end dining establishments (Daniel, Le Cirque, etc). There’s no need to apologize for this stuff as “budget” food: it’s flat out delicious, by any standard. As a North Carolinian, I’m predictably smitten by their pulled pork – though on my last visit, I was having such a tough time deciding between that and the Texas brisket that I bought one of each (conveniently, their packaging – ready-to assemble kits with bun, barbecue, and toppings in separate containers -- makes it easy to save an extra sandwich in the fridge to enjoy later). For $8 bucks a sandwich – it’s hard to go wrong.

For pizza lovers, SliceNY has already done a nice job of highlighting the landmark destinations, even assembling a visitor’s guide at GOPizza, so I won’t repeat their efforts here. Their ostensible claim is that they are “making nice” to the visiting Republicans, but my own guess is that the hordes of protesters will likely be more grateful for, and deserving of, this effort. In lower Manhattan, John’s on Bleecker (just below 7^th Ave), and Lombardi’s on Spring Street (at Mott) are the essential stops (both have coal ovens); just be aware that if you show up at peak dinner hours (7-9 PM), you may also mean long lines.

If you’re in the vicinity of Lombardi’s, also consider Café Gitane (242 Mott), about a block away (Just north of the corner of Prince & Mott). This is a casual café with vibrant French/Moroccan fare, including exceptional salads and sandwiches. There’s almost nothing on the menu over ten bucks. The last time I was there, dinner for two, including a decent bottle of Alsatian Reisling, came in under $50 bucks – and more than half of that cost was the wine.

For Pannini (which is what you call grilled-cheese sandwiches when you upgrade the ingredients & charge eight bucks for them), the essential stop is ‘ino on Bedford Street, the place that started the craze. You’ll be amazed at what they can do with the right ingredients, a couple of sandwich presses, and a few toaster ovens. Consider the “Quatre-pannini” -- which for two extra bucks allows you the privilege of ordering not just one sandwich, but your pick of four different quarter-sandwiches. (And don’t miss the truffled egg toast, for $7). The wine list is appealing, reasonable and all Italian; if you’re unfamiliar with Italian wines, ask for help, or a small taste. They’ll work with you. They’re open from 9 in the morning until 2 AM; best bet again is off-peak hours. One warning: the place is so comfortable, it’s very easy to keep ordering wine. One memorable afternoon last fall, I walked in with two friends, and we managed to spend less than $20 on food – but then couldn’t pass on the temptation to order a second bottle of wine. Total tab: about eighty bucks – still not bad, all things considered.

‘ino, by the way, is just a few blocks from John’s Pizza – and has a larger sister location in the Lower East Side, at Ludlow & Rivington. Another worthy choice for pannini, is Bread in Soho – on Spring Street about a block east of Lombardi’s.

Grand Sichuan. Ninth Avenue & 24^th Street. This place frankly looks like a dump from outside – and the interior has all the charm of a basement rec room that hasn’t been re-decorated in thirty years; but you don’t go here for the atmosphere. It’s not uncommon to have to wait for a table here – but tables turn very quickly, so the wait is rarely long. Specialties are the soup dumplings, which you must experience if you’ve never tried them, and tea-smoked duck.

El Cocotero (18^th Street between 7^th & 8^th Avenues) This new addition to Chelsea’s restaurant offerings has been an instant, if low-key, hit. The food is honest, simple, Venezuelan fare; the atmosphere casual and friendly; and the prices right. Arepas with tasty fillings are around five bucks (I’m fond of a version called Reina Pepiada, shredded chicken with avocado & cilantro); main courses hover around ten; and, since the place does not have a liquor license yet, you can bring in your own beer or wine.

The Lunchbox Food Company (West Side Highway between Clarkson & Leroy Streets). Okay, I admit it: I’d go there just to sit in their back garden all afternoon and drink their insidiously good ginger-sake lemonade. But the food is also good, and certainly good value. In general, the menu is cooking-school-grads do diner food, and they pull it off well. Even potentially dull staples such as tuna salad can surprise here: their version is nicely brightened by a sherry vinaigrette, and served with arugula pesto on olive foccacia. This place deserves to be crowded, but seldom is – presumably due to a location that sounds more out-of-the-way than it actually is. Take the #1/9 train to Houston St., walk one block north, and then four relatively short blocks west until you reach the West Side Highway; the Lunchbox will be on your right, just north of the corner, sandwiched between a garage and a car wash. Weather permitting, you’ll be in an ideal location for a stroll afterwards: the Hudson River Park is right across the street.

Pearl Oyster Bar. (18 Cornelia, between Bleecker & West 4th). This one, I admit, isn’t exactly cheap: The lobster rolls are market-priced, typically $20; the fried oyster roll is $15. But for food of this caliber, the place is a bargain. The menu is very simple: a handful of appetizers, the aforementioned rolls, plus a selection of simply prepared fish dishes and whole lobsters; nothing is fancy, just very fresh and expertly prepared. If you can, you’ll want to get a seat at the main bar – where it’s friendlier, and for some reason less cramped than at the small tables in the adjoining room. Long waits at dinner time are not unusual, so figure it into your schedule – or consider going for lunch instead. (N.B. The oyster roll is officially only on the menu at lunch, but I’ve found that if you ask nicely, they’ll often indulge the request at dinner time).

The Shake Shack (south end of Madison Square Park: near 23^rd St & Fifth Avenue). Danny Meyer, a restaurateur better known for upscale expense-account destinations, has added to his stable a simple hamburger-and-hot-dog kiosk in the middle of a shady green park. This isn’t wow food, just fresh & honest – and that’s more than enough. Best bets are the Shack Burger ($3.95) and the Chicago Dog (though I haven’t gotten around to trying the shakes yet). Also worth considering is their ‘Shroom Burger – which, while delicious, seems to have been engineered as a subtle form of revenge against self-righteous vegetarians: it’s a whole portabello mushroom cap, topped with cheese, breaded and deep-fried, and served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and their signature (mayonnaise-based) “shack sauce.” True, no animals were harmed – and please, enjoy it; just don’t pretend it’s good for you. Even the beverage choices include some welcome surprises. You’ll find good lemonade, soft drinks such as Abita’s Root Beer, and respectable beer & wine choices (Brooklyn Lager, $5; Half-bottle Huet Vouvray, $16).

Rainbow Falafel (17^th Street near Union Square West). This little take-out only Middle Eastern eatery, in a battered storefront approximately the width of a broom closet, draws such long lines every day at lunchtime that several other establishments have popped up nearby just to peel off a business from the ones who won’t wait. In fairness, however, the lines move fast – and the reason for them becomes obvious when you taste the food. There’s nothing remotely subtle about this stuff, but it’s hard to beat for $3.50. Stop by a deli beforehand and get a tin of Altoids (you’ll want them afterwards) – then carry your sandwich, along with a lot of napkins, into nearby Union Square Park to enjoy.

Other things to consider:

Restaurant Week

For a more upscale dining experience, without the expense, I’d give serious consideration to booking an advance reservation at one of the spots participation in the summer-long “restaurant week.”

The hook is simple: for either $20.12 (at lunch), or $30.12 (at dinner), you can have a three-course meal at one of what are billed as “New York’s best restaurants.” The reality, of course, is that some of the participants in the program are more deserving of this description than others: the trick is to choose carefully (and pay close attention to their level of participation. Some only offer the deal at lunch, a handful only at dinner, etc); the best ones will book up early. A handful that jumped out that I can vouch for personally are Amuse, Aureole, The Mercer Kitchen, and Patria (all four participating at Lunch only); and I’d be equally comfortably steering anyone to Café Boulud, Chanterelle, Jo-Jo, Riingo, Tabla, or Tamarind (also Lunch-only participants); or Montrachet, Tribeca Grill, or Zoe (either Lunch or Dinner).

New York Magazines Cheap Eats List. 103 Selections, including several of the ones included here.

Dessert Places:If you find yourself with a sudden hankering for something sweet, a few places come to mind. La Bergamote, Ninth Avenue & 20^th, consistently offers an astonishing array of pastries, all unapologetically butter-laden and French. Miniature tarts and éclairs are just the right size to be irresistible without inducing needless guilt. (Their sandwiches, which may be breathtakingly simple, such as duck pate on a baguette with sliced cornichons, are also delicious). In the West Village, the Magnolia Bakery (Bleecker & West 11^th St) is known for their cupcakes, which seem to sell as fast as the bakers can replenish them. Most are apparently consumed within a few feet of the front door. The polar opposite of La Bergamote’s precisely executed art, Magnolia is all homey goodness & buttercream.

The Zagat Guide.

Seriously, if you think you’re going to spend more than $100 on food while you’re in New York (and this is very easy to do in a day), you should have a copy of the Zagat Guide. If it spares you from one bad meal, or helps you find one particularly good one, it’s worth the price. The “Best Buys” section alone can save you the cover price the first time you use it.

I use it in combination with Vindigo – which is handier when you’re trying to figure out what’s closest by, and has everything you need to know about finding anything (maps, subway information, etc). Vindigo also has a few other very useful features for visitors: ATM locations, bathroom locations, etc.

A Bridge, the Press, and Metaphor

2004-08-04T11:11:00.000-04:00

Among the provisions for the upcoming RNC convention that caught my attention just a few weeks ago was the construction of a temporary bridge over Eighth Avenue. The idea was to provide convenient access for the press, between their encampments in the old Farley Post Office, and the convention itself across the Avenue in Madison Square Garden.

At the time, it occurred to me that this might also provide an interesting vantage point towards the protests outside, which will be conveniently corralled only a block or two below the point where the bridge passes.

Today, walking by the place, I was disabused of that notion.

The bridge itself, for all intents and purposes, is an above-ground tunnel – completely shrouded in blue canopies. As a result, the press will be able to travel between their own operations and the convention, directly through one of the busiest areas of the city, without ever making contact, or even seeing, the world outside.

While this seems an apt enough metaphor for the Republican Party, I had hoped it wouldn’t apply quite so obviously to the press as well.

Apparently not -- though I may yet be proven wrong.

I can’t rule out the possibility that those blinding canopies are just a temporary part of the construction process, and that – come the convention days – clear views will prevail.

But, between you and me, and I wouldn’t bet on it.

Let Them Eat Prozac

2004-07-30T10:20:00.000-04:00

Great moments in compassionate conservatism:

A campaign worker for President Bush (news - web sites) said on Thursday American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better.

Obama

2004-07-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

I had fully intended to leave the convention blogging to the bloggers who are actually at the convention -- but Barack Obama's speech last night was just too damn good.

It was brilliant on many levels -- not the least of which is that it managed the neat trick of being deeply impassioned, while at the same time being so indisputably reasonable that the Right is now twisting itself into knots trying to figure out what to attack.

If the meaning of "awesome" hadn't been sucked out of the word from overuse, this would be a fine time to use it. Add "inspiring," and you're getting there...

I'm not surprised

2004-07-28T08:50:00.000-04:00

Judge orders Rocco out of Rocco's.:

Yesterday, after a pretrial hearing to determine who owns Rocco's, Justice Ira Gammerman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan granted a motion barring Mr. DiSpirito from the restaurant. The justice had issued a temporary restraining order last month at the request of Mr. DiSpirito's partners, Jeffrey Chodorow and China Grill Management.

...

Mr. DiSpirito testified at the two-day hearing that he had made an oral agreement with Mr. Chodorow to be a 50 percent partner in the ownership of Rocco's. His lawyers referred to drafts of contracts that were being negotiated as Rocco's was hurried into business to meet the scheduling demands of the reality show. The agreements were never finalized.

So let me get this straight, Rocco. Someone puts up $4 Million for you to open a restaurant. You screw it up royally, and yet you still imagine that you own half of it, on the strength of an oral agreement?

Moron.

Starbucks, Move Over

2004-07-23T18:18:00.000-04:00

There's a better option for the mid-afternoon blahs.

Bummer

2004-07-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

The so-called marriage protection act passed the House. Let's make sure it dies, fast, in the Senate (though don't bet on it: all it will take is a simple majority).

Here's the core of it:

No court created by Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, section 1738C or this section.

In other words, if this turkey gets past the Senate, no Federal Court will be able to hear matters concerning the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act -- at least until this idiotic piece of legislation is itself rule unconstitutional.

This is driving me nuts.

Funny thing, there would be no need to tell the courts they can't consider a matter of constitutionality -- if they didn't know perfectly well that they the law they don't want them to consider would never pass constitutional muster.

So much for liberty and justice for all.

[UPDATE: Josh Chafetz at Oxblog agrees that this thing is totally unconstitutional. Referring to the article III language used to justify this bill, Josh explains: "But the exceptions and regulations language is clearly talking only about the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction. Congress cannot strip jurisdiction over a federal question from the federal judiciary as a whole."]

Punditry You Won't See on TV

2004-07-22T09:44:00.000-04:00

Mark Morford offers up his perspective on election-season political tactics "that will make Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' look like a cupcake cookbook."

Conservatism

2004-07-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Via Seeing the Forest, we find this gem.

Gay Divorce

2004-07-22T09:02:00.000-04:00

It had to happen:

Two Toronto women who were among the first same-sex couples to marry in Canada are now seeking what may be the first Canadian same-sex divorce.
The women married on June 18, 2003, a week after a landmark court decision legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. They had been together for nearly 10 years, but separated after five days of marriage.

Oh well.

Plan B for Marriage Foes

2004-07-21T14:34:00.000-04:00

From the Villiage Voice:

We've been watching the wrong game.
With attention focused on the doomed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the media, general public, and gay rights supporters are overlooking a more lively threat: H.R. 3313, the so-called Marriage Protection Act.

The constitutional amendment was merely an opportunity for conservative members of Congress to throw red meat to the base. Opponents of same-sex marriage knew the amendment wouldn't pass, so they crafted a fallback plan: the Marriage Protection Act, which says federal courts may not hear cases from gay couples challenging the eight-year-old federal law that prohibits them from marrying. If the bill passes, many states will refuse to recognize the marriage of a gay couple hitched in another state. Under today's rules, the couple could bring suit in federal court, asking that the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, be ruled unconstitutional. If the Marriage Protection Act becomes law, no federal court could take the case.

Read the rest.

Burden of Proof

2004-07-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

Stephen Sestanovich has an op-ed in this morning’s Times, wherein he argues that “Bush was right” to put the “burden of proof” on Saddam Hussein. To make his argument work, however, he relies on a weak analogy and ignores inconvenient details. (Could there be a pattern here?)

He starts by bringing up an incident that occurred during the Clinton administration, when rumors of Yeltsin’s death preceded a planned visit to Moscow. The argument is that this is an example of when it is appropriate to “shift the burden of proof to the other guy.” In that case, it was, for one simple reason: Yeltsin could easily disprove the rumors simply by showing up alive.

To apply this thinking to Iraq, you would have to imagine that there was some equally unequivocal stroke by which Saddam Hussein could have proven the absence of WMD -- essentially a negative proposition. There wasn’t.

Further, you have to ignore the fact that processes were underway that might have brought real clarity to the matter (it’s telling that he makes no mention of David Kay, or of the inspections that were taking place and were ultimately cancelled during the run-up to the war), and ignore that fact that the Administration treated every failure to find evidence as evidence of dissembling – even as inspections were repeatedly failing to find weapons where we thought they were.

Finally, by arguing about burden of proof, Mr. Sestanovich is merely distracting us from the more critical question, which is what is the standard of proof required to lead a nation to war.

I could go on, but you see the point: like the Administration itself, he blithely ignores evidence that doesn’t fit his argument, and likes to keep us focused on anything but the real issue.

Scottyworld

2004-07-20T12:35:00.000-04:00

Via The Hamster, Jim Norton deconstructs the latest White House Press Briefing.

In Other Food-related News

2004-07-20T11:55:00.000-04:00

...Dairy Queen joins the ever-widening ranks of companies eager to turn your afternooon pick-me-up into a caloric nightmare, with (I'm not making this up) the MooLatte™.

Not the KFC We Know

2004-07-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

...though apparently, the West Virginia.

When West Virgina native Private Lynndie England first made it into the news, this quote made the Daily Mirror:

Colleen Kesner, a local in her home town, said: "To the country boys here, if you're a different nationality, a different race, you're sub-human. That's the way that girls like Lynndie are raised.

"Tormenting Iraqis, to their mind, would be no different from shooting a turkey."

Or, apparently, torturing chickens:

An animal rights group has released a videotape showing slaughterhouse workers with a KFC Corp. supplier [in Moorefield, W. Va.]jumping on live chickens and slamming them into walls, apparently for fun, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Sheez.

Rickshaws with Pedals

2004-07-19T15:27:00.000-04:00

In the current New Yorker, Adam Gopnik ruminates on the pedicab & the ever-widening gap between the wealthy few and everyone else:

The pedicab may merely suggest rather than entirely embody the new America of puller and pulled, but it is a sharp symbol of a new reality. It even evokes new metaphors. For instance, the thing about George W. Bush is not that he was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. It is that he has been in a bicycle taxi all his life but has not yet bothered to notice that someone else is pedalling.

Go read.

Packing in Virginia

2004-07-16T20:03:00.000-04:00

American gun laws are a source of wonder, as David Sedaris has noted ("I've
heard, for example, that the blind can legally hunt in both Texas and
Michigan. They must be accompanied by a sighted companion, but still,
it seems a bit risky.").

So I was not altogether surprised when I ran across this:

On July 2, Fairfax County police received a 911 call from a Champps
restaurant in Reston. Six men are seated at a table, the caller said.
They're all armed.

...

Turns out, packing a pistol in public is perfectly legal in Virginia.
And three times in the last month, including at Champps on Sunset Hills
Road, residents have been spotted out and about in the county, with
guns strapped to their hips, exercising that right.

It get's weirder:

Virginia law 18.2-287.4 expressly prohibits "carrying loaded firearms in public areas."

But the second paragraph of the law defines firearms only as any
semiautomatic weapon that holds more than 20 rounds or a shotgun that
holds more than seven rounds -- assault rifles, mostly, Van Cleave
said. Regular six-shooters or pistols with nine- or 10-shot magazines
are not "firearms" under this Virginia law.

Comforting, isn't it?

Southern Longevity Secrets Revealed

2004-07-15T23:51:00.000-04:00

Casseroles are good for you. No word yet on the protective value of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup.

Keep Your Eye on This

2004-07-15T10:43:00.000-04:00

From the Hill:

Realizing that a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage faces little chance of passing soon, if ever, House Republicans yesterday discussed alternative approaches, including stripping federal courts of jurisdiction over the issue, passing a federal law to define marriage and using the appropriations process to ban gay marriage in Washington.

Jurisdiction-stripping has already made it past the House Judiciary committee. Not that denying people their rights, and their legal recourse, is anthing new for these folks...

Marriage Amendment Defeated

2004-07-15T10:16:00.000-04:00

It feels good. At the end of the day, the Republicans couldn’t even summon a bare majority – when sixty votes were needed – to even allow the measure to a vote.

It’s especially gratifying that even some Republicans (Snowe, McCain, and four others) had the courage to stand up for fairness and common sense.

But don’t expect proponents of the amendment to shut up about it. And don’t expect them to stop pretending that they are “protecting marriage.” They’re not: they’re just pandering to bigotry, and the religious extremists who put them in office, as they always have.

What disappoints me is that the Democrats have done such a poor job of countering that central meme, that preventing same-sex couples from sharing in the civil and legal “incidents” of marriage somehow “protects” anyone. It doesn’t.

What this is about is fear.

The notions advanced by the Right – that same-sex marriage will “undermine the family” or some such silliness – are all, in the end, to expressions of fear. There is not, nor will there be, any solid evidence to support these claims.

What is clear, and unequivocal, is that denying same-sex couples the rights of marriage causes real harm.

What is remarkable is how few Democrats seem to be willing to tackle the misleading framing advanced by the right – and move the question back to the one of fairness that has gone before the courts.

The judges in Massachusetts were never asked whether they were “for” or “against” same-sex marriage – or whether they disapproved or approved. Those are personal matters that are rightly beyond the reach of the law.

They were asked to rule on a matter of fairness. Is it fair, in a country that values individual autonomy, under a constitution that explicitly requires that each of its citizens be treated equally, to deny to same sex couples the civil and legal protections that married opposite-sex couples take for granted?

The courts concluded that it wasn’t.

At this point, the Right will no doubt try to paint opponents of the amendment as “opposed” to traditional marriage – which is arrant nonsense. Sadly, the Democrats are likely to continue the tap-dance and take cover under a phony states’ rights banner – when what they are really for is a proud tradition of fairness and equality under the law.

It is sad that they should let the issue become so clouded, when the merits are so clear.

I know the feeling...

2004-07-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

From the Onion:

Nation’s Liberals Suffering From Outrage Fatigue

We Should Be So Lucky...

2004-07-12T22:07:00.000-04:00

From the NYT:

"I hate to say it, but the conservatives, for the most part, are not excited about re-electing the president," warned Paul Weyrich, the longtime Christian conservative organizer, in an e-mail newsletter on Friday. "If the president is embarrassed to be seen with conservatives at the convention, maybe conservatives will be embarrassed to be seen with the president on Election Day."

W Ketchup?

2004-07-10T22:14:00.000-04:00

TBogg explains.

Bush on Marriage

2004-07-10T18:42:00.000-04:00

My annotated version of Bush's radio address today:

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. The United States Senate this past week began an important discussion about the meaning of marriage. Senators are considering a constitutional amendment to protect the most fundamental institution of civilization, and to prevent it from being fundamentally redefined.

Protect from what? What precisely is the harm? Please explain to me what it is about your marriage, or anyone else's marriage, is being "redefined?"

This difficult debate was forced upon our country by a few activist judges and local officials, who have taken it on themselves to change the meaning of marriage.

Nothing was “forced on us:” judges only rule on the matters that come before them; in this case, that of several couples who felt they had been unfairly deprived of the rights and privileges of marriage. The judges looked at the case, the law, and the arguments, and agreed. It is utterly misleading to suggest that the judges “took it upon themselves."

In Massachusetts, four judges on the state's highest court have ordered the issuance of marriage licenses to applicants of the same gender. In San Francisco, city officials issued thousands of marriage licenses to people of the same gender, contrary to the California family code. Lawsuits in several states, including New Jersey, Florida, Nebraska, and Oregon, are also attempting to overturn the traditional definition of marriage by court order.

No where do you seem to recognize that every single one of these actions has its basis in the constitutional principles of individual autonomy and equal protection under the law. Nor, I should note, have you bothered to question any of the judges' decisions on the merits.

In 1996, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Defense of Marriage Act, and President Clinton signed it into law.

We all know this was a craven and regrettable act, put to a vote for purely political reasons during the run-up to the 1996 elections, just as you are putting this amendment to a vote now.

That legislation defines marriage, for purposes of federal law, as a union between a man and a woman, and declares that no state is required to accept another state's definition of marriage.

Which is why it is likely to be declared unconstitutional.

Yet an activist court that strikes down traditional marriage would have little problem striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

Precisely. Because, in other words, you readily admit that, under the law, you haven't got a freaking case.

Overreaching judges could declare that all marriages recognized in Massachusetts or San Francisco be recognized as marriages everywhere else.

As long as we agree that the definition of "overreaching" is "conforming to tenets of the United States Contitution," such as Article IV, which clearly states: "Full faith and credit shall be given in each sate to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state."

When judges insist on imposing their arbitrary will on the people, the only alternative left to the people is an amendment to the Constitution -- the only law a court cannot overturn.

I guess you're cornered here. Your prejudices just won't square with our constitutional principles. Oh -- and am I overlooking something, or did I miss the part where you explain how judges who respect the Constitution are "arbitrary?"

A constitutional amendment should never be undertaken lightly -- yet to defend marriage, our nation has no other choice.

Since what you want to do obviously violates the constitutional rights of a large segment of our citizens, the only way to do this is to change the constitution. (And it would never occur to you that other choices, such as the option to act honorably and fairly, are even a possibility).

A great deal is at stake in this matter.

I guess that would be your re-election.

The union of a man and woman in marriage is the most enduring and important human institution, and the law can teach respect or disrespect for that institution. If our laws teach that marriage is the sacred commitment of a man and a woman, the basis of an orderly society, and the defining promise of a life, that strengthens the institution of marriage. If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract, and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost, and the institution is weakened. The Massachusetts court, for example, has called marriage "an evolving paradigm." That sends a message to the next generation that marriage has no enduring meaning, and that ages of moral teaching and human experience have nothing to teach us about this institution.

Yeah, yeah. You no doubt would be much happier if wives were still defined as the property of their husbands, with neither voting nor property rights. All kidding aside though, no one is trying to turn anyone elses marriage into a “mere” legal contract: what we want is simply the same legal and contractual rights that accrue to everyone else, under civil law, the moment they get married. As for all that stuff about sacredness…well that’s up to your church. Last I checked, no government official ever made any marriage sacred.

For ages, in every culture, human beings have understood that traditional marriage is critical to the well-being of families. And because families pass along values and shape character, traditional marriage is also critical to the health of society. Our policies should aim to strengthen families, not undermine them. And changing the definition of traditional marriage will undermine the family structure.

Back on this again, huh? That idiotic notion that allowing others to enjoy the rights you take for granted, will somehow "undermine the family structure..." Evidence, please?

On an issue of this great significance, opinions are strong and emotions run deep.

Which is absolutely fine. Emotion and opinion are individual matters, and we all have the right to them. That doesn't justify giving them the force of law.

All of us have a duty to conduct this discussion with civility and decency toward one another.

Using Mr. Civility, Dick Cheney, as your model.

All people deserve to have their voices heard.

...until richer and more powerful people can drown them out...

And that is exactly the purpose behind the constitutional amendment process.

Which means you are forgetting “exactly the purpose” of the Bill of Rights, which was to prevent a majority from depriving others of their rights – which is precisely what is going on here, and precisely what those judges have held.

American democracy, not court orders, should decide the future of marriage in America.

Screw our constitution; let’s just take a vote and see who gets to keep their rights.

The process has now begun in the Congress. I urge members of the House and Senate to pass, and send to the states for ratification, an amendment that defines marriage in the United States as a union of a man and woman as husband and wife.

Thank you for listening.

Aaaaarrgg! This wouldn't be a bad time to write your senators & congressmen, and make sure they know where you stand on this.

Questions for Tom Ridge

2004-07-09T13:47:00.000-04:00

From yesterday’s statement:

"Credible reporting now indicates that al-Qaida is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the U.S. in an effort to disrupt our democratic process ... ," Ridge said. "We lack precise knowledge about time, place and method of attack. But along with (the CIA, the FBI) and other agencies, we are actively working to gain that knowledge."

Ahem. With all due respect, Mr. Ridge:

Since you are merely asserting that you have “credible reporting,” without actually offering any evidence, why should we believe you?

Specifically, given the administration’s track record with regard to intelligence matters, why should we treat this announcement as any more credible that the claim – to cite just one example – that Iraq had WMD?

Even if we assume, for purposes of discussion, that your belief that such plans exist is correct, how is it that you are able to infer that the purpose of these plans is “to disrupt our democratic process?”

Just asking...

[Tresy over at Corrente offers up a "Shorter Tom Ridge: If we fail to keep you from getting killed between now and November, it will mean that we are winning the war on terror and deserve re-election."]

Cutting and Running

2004-07-08T19:11:00.000-04:00

Kos had this earlier, but I like Capital Hill Blue's version (even if they're not always the best source):

A clearly-rattled President George W. Bush walked out of a media briefing Thursday, refusing to answer questions about his close relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth Lay, a campaign benefactor Bush nicknamed "Kenny Boy" when the two were up-and-comers in Texas.

The President, visibly upset, stomped off the stage when reporters pressed him about his relationship with Lay and left White House press secretary Scott McClellan to deal with the questions.

The San Francisco Chronicle characterizes the scene more neutrally -- but tells essentially the same story:

Bush was asked about the indictment Wednesday at an appearance in Waterford, Mich., but he walked away without answering.

If anyone out there sees a video clip of this, let me know.

Utterly Amazing

2004-07-07T23:57:00.000-04:00

Remember that evacuation of the capitol during Reagan's funeral week? You're not going to believe this:

The top general at the North American Aerospace Defense Command was on the telephone and prepared to order an F-16 fighter to shoot down an unidentified plane that turned out to be carrying the governor of Kentucky to President Ronald Reagan's funeral last month, according to two federal security officials briefed separately about the incident.

…

On June 9, the Beechcraft King Air was flying with a broken transponder, a device that transmits an identifying signal picked up by ground controllers. After takeoff, the pilot, as required, notified Federal Aviation Administration officials in Ohio about the problem at 2:56 p.m.

But the FAA failed to notify military and homeland security officials, who monitored separate radar displays, about the broken transponder. To everyone but the FAA, radars showed an unidentified intruder entering restricted Washington airspace at 4:24 p.m.

At 4:31 p.m., with the plane a minute or two from downtown Washington, officials ordered the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol, where thousands had gathered to await the arrival of Reagan's coffin.

Iraq Checklist

2004-07-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

The Left Coaster issues a report card.

Good Point

2004-07-07T09:34:00.000-04:00

Jack Balkin:

I see that Bush is now running an ad noting that McCain was Kerry's first choice for Vice-President.

The Dems should run an ad noting that Al Gore was the country's first choice for President.

Cheney Lying Gasbag, Concludes 9/11 Panel

2004-07-07T09:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, they didn't actually put it that way. But it would have been long overdue. And I'm sure they would have felt much better if they had:

After the commission reported its finding June 16, Vice President Dick Cheney said he "probably" knew things that the commission did not know that demonstrate greater links than the commission found. Commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton called on Cheney to provide such information.

Yesterday, Kean and Hamilton said in a written statement that the commission "believes it has access to the same information the vice president has seen regarding contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq prior to the 9/11 attacks."

In other words (in the spirit of frank discussion) Cheney is -- quite probably -- full of shit.

As, apparently, is Condi Rice:

As part of the White House reaction to the Sept. 11 commission's report, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) who said she believed the panel was actually denying that Saddam had control over al Qaeda. Kean and Hamilton flatly rejected her interpretation.

Not that any of this is a surprise, of course. It's just pleasing to see that the panel has a spine.

You may breathe now...

2004-07-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

A couple of Nebraska grandparents take on a giant hog producer, that maintains 20,000 pigs “a mile or so” from their farm, and win:

Sick of the stink, the Stephenses joined 10 other neighbors and took the hog producer to court, suing for a loss of quality of life. A Nebraska appeals court has sided with them, ruling late last month that the hog producer, Progressive Swine Technologies, must compensate its neighbors for living with the noxious fumes. It was left to a state court to determine the damages. The state of Iowa has also delivered a blow to the confinement livestock industry, the factory-like farms where thousands of pigs or cattle are caged in small pens. The Iowa Supreme Court recently decided that residents could sue livestock producers, striking down the state's Right-to-Farm law. The court ruled that the constitutional right to own property "includes the right to use and enjoy it." Pig and cow manure has always been part of country life. But the huge livestock operations, with manure lagoons the size of football fields, are a bit more rank than Old MacDonald's farm.

Left unanswered is who in the world thought it was a good idea to name a concentrated animal feeding operation “Progressive Swine Technologies.”

Great Moments in Journalism

2004-07-06T09:38:00.001-04:00

The New York Post gets it utterly, completely wrong. The cover of this morning's print edition is almost entirely filled by the words "KERRY'S CHOICE" -- followed by this subhead: "Dem picks Gephardt as VP Candidate." Inside ("Exclusive -- Full Story: Page 4"):

Mo. Rep to get VP Nod

John Kerry has chosen Rep. Richard Gephardt, the veteran congressman from Missouri, to be his running mate, The Post has learned.

Oops.

Here's the article on the on-line edition -- though who knows how long it will stay there. I had to rush out and get a couple of souvenir copies of the actual print, which far more graphically illustrates the magnitude of the error (complete with the requisite photo, in the lower right quadrant, of Kerry and Gep smiling at each other, and a little inset photo-bio, with wife Jane, accompanying the full article inside).

I'm betting that long before the day is out, we'll have a shot of actual (and much wiser) pick John Edwards, duplicating the Dewey-beats-Truman moment, holding up a copy of the paper and having a very good laugh at the Post's expense.

[UPDATES: Atrios has the screen shot; the goof itself makes news worldwide. Josh Marshall hits the right note: "not only did Kerry manage to make a solid VP pick he was able to take a bit of hide out of the behind of the Murdoch media empire."]

F 9/11 Still Holding Strong

2004-07-05T12:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, you didn't really expect it to outdraw Spiderman 2, did you?

Last weekend's top film, Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," held up strongly, taking in an estimated $17 million from Friday to Saturday. Doubling its theater count to 1,725, "Fahrenheit 9/11" pushed its total to $56.1 million and has a good shot at becoming the first documentary to top the $100 million mark.

...and it looks like the DVD will be coming out in October, just before the election. Sweet.

Hot Dog News

2004-07-05T12:06:00.000-04:00

This guy apparently does not need to be convinced that, in a recent taste test of Hot Dogs, Nathan's all beef won top honors (followed by my personal fave, at least among major brands, Hebrew National).

(And thanks, JJ, for the tip...)

Court the Protest Economy

2004-07-05T11:53:00.000-04:00

Ben, of Ben & Jerry's, speaks:

MAYOR BLOOMBERG clearly went to great lengths to lure the Republican National Convention to New York City, and now he's busy making sure the convention-goers have a great time once they arrive, offering them special performances of Broadway shows, fancy parties sponsored by Wall Street firms and more.

Mr. Bloomberg justifies the effort and expense he's dedicated to the convention - at least in part - by saying that New York will reap major economic and public relations benefits by playing host to the Republicans. But what about the economic benefits that will accrue thanks to the one million protesters who are expected to visit New York City to demonstrate?

Even if you add the 15,000 journalists who will be swarming around the Republican convention to the 13,000 convention-goers - and, for good measure, throw in 50,000 stray lobbyists and vendors selling talking Ann Coulter dolls - the protesters will outnumber and may well outspend the Republicans and their entourage.

Look at the numbers. Protest organizations are chartering buses and mobilizing people around the country to come to New York. If 500,000 out-of-staters visit for one night - a reasonable number in light of past demonstrations - they could easily drop a total of $150 million or more.

...

Last month, Mr. Bloomberg made a good start by issuing some permits to protest groups. But if he truly had the interests of New Yorkers in mind, he would immediately start a major marketing campaign, encouraging protesters from across America to demonstrate at the Republican convention. This campaign would emphasize that protesters are welcome in New York - and that they'll have a good time and be kept safe. As a sign of his commitment, Mr. Bloomberg should ensure that the demonstrators be given access to a prime venue, like Central Park, for their big event.

If protesters were properly invited and assured of a safe place to protest, who knows how many would come? Two million? Three million? This could translate into a billion dollars or more for the city.

As a former businessman, the mayor should understand that cash-carrying people are cash-carrying people, even if they don't like President Bush. So, Mr. Bloomberg, roll out the red carpet to protesters.

Scary

2004-07-05T11:48:00.000-04:00

Via Wonkette, all the proof you ever needed that rhythm & Republicanism are mutually exclusive.

...the General has a video link.

Healthy Forests

2004-07-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

Tom Toles explains it all for you.

Mozilla

2004-07-05T11:35:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to downloading Mozilla Firefox, and – my God! – what an improvement over Internet Explorer. You’d think I just went from dial up to broadband (and I’ve had a DSL connection for years now).

Oh, and folks: and it’s painlessly, stupidly easy. It imports saved passwords and bookmarks, so even crap like a “My Yahoo” page survives intact – and all of the bookmarks convert (even getting alphabetized in the process…).

Instantly, some of the odd aberrant browser behaviors*, such as IE’s occasional refusal to navigate within the NY Times site, or the “Reply” function in Hotmail failing, have gone away. These annoyances, along with the recently announced security problem in IE, finally got me to make the change.

If this posts in blogger, without that function hosing, well then, that’s another problem solved.

In short, if you’re still using IE – go, now, and get Firefox.

*In Micosoft's world, there is no such thing as a software bug: instead, they deploy a distinct hierarchy of euphemisms, ranging from the "known issue" to the "undocumented behavior."

The Spirit of the Law

2004-07-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

Does any one else see a pattern here? From the WaPo:

The Bush-Cheney reelection campaign has sent a detailed plan of action to religious volunteers across the country asking them to turn over church directories to the campaign, distribute issue guides in their churches and persuade their pastors to hold voter registration drives.

Campaign officials said the instructions are part of an accelerating effort to mobilize President Bush's base of religious supporters. They said the suggested activities are intended to help churchgoers rally support for Bush without violating tax rules that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activity.

"We strongly believe that our religious outreach program is well within the framework of the law," said Terry Holt, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign.

But tax experts said the campaign is walking a fine line between permissible activity by individual congregants and impermissible activity by congregations. Supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, charged that the Bush-Cheney campaign is luring churches into risking their tax status.

Somehow, I can't help reading that "we strongly believe" statement as "our lawyers have looked at this, and we feel we can get away with it."

Best Take Yet on F 9/11

2004-07-02T09:50:00.000-04:00

Krugman's

And for all its flaws, "Fahrenheit 9/11" performs an essential service. It would be a better movie if it didn't promote a few unproven conspiracy theories, but those theories aren't the reason why millions of people who aren't die-hard Bush-haters are flocking to see it. These people see the film to learn true stories they should have heard elsewhere, but didn't. Mr. Moore may not be considered respectable, but his film is a hit because the respectable media haven't been doing their job.

Bush Too Extreme for...Jesse Helms?

2004-06-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

Via Atrios, this fine quote from the former North Carolina Senator:

I would not have voted for [President Bush's] tax cut, based on what I know. . . . There is no doubt that the people at the top who need a tax break the least will get the most benefit. . . . Too often presidents do things that don't end up helping the people they should be helping, and their staffs won't tell them their actions stink on ice.

Phenomenon

2004-06-29T10:40:00.000-04:00

Last night, Fahrenheit 9/11 sold out all over Manhattan.

Now, it’s normal here, expected even, for the opening weekend shows of a first run movie to sell out – at least through Saturday night. Sunday is less of a challenge, and Monday – well, who the hell ever heard of any movie, much less a documentary, selling out on Monday night?

Well, this one did.

I started checking the Internet for ticket availability sometime before eight – and quickly discovered that there was not a ticket to be had, anywhere in Manhattan, before 10:30; a walk to the nearest box office confirmed the news, along with the degree to which it was taking people by surprise. People were strolling up, expecting to buy tickets to the 8:15 show, before spotting the sign: "Fahrenheit 9/11 SOLD OUT at 6:30, 7:30, 8:15, 9:30."

Amazing.

When we arrived back at the theater for that show, tickets in hand, a half-hour early just to get decent seats -- we found a line running a full block up Broadway, and turning the corner at 20th Street. By the time the movie started, it was very clear that there was not a single empty seat in the theater. At 10:30, on a Monday night.

I’m not sure quite what all this means yet, but I will say this: don't waste another second reading more reviews; the movie is more than worthy of the buzz. Just buy your tickets early, and go.

Eat Your Beans and Your Berries

2004-06-28T15:22:00.000-04:00

Those with a bit of New Orleans in their backgrounds will be righteously pleased to discover this: right at the top of the list of the "twenty most anti-oxidant rich foods" are red beans -- along with artichokes, most berries, and that most southern of nuts, the pecan.

I'm not too sure about the "power salad" suggested by the nutritionist interviewed for the article (which just made me wonder what she had in mind for a main course), but as soon as I can locate a nice ham hock, I may have to to fix up a batch of red beans & rice...

Joe Klein

2004-06-28T14:09:00.000-04:00

This piece from Time is well worth reading:

The Vulcans—a campaign 2000 nickname for George W. Bush's hawkish national security team—went Krakatoa last week. Dick Cheney erupted on the Senate floor, deploying the F word against Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, who had been belaboring the Vice President over the no-bid deals that Cheney's old company, Halliburton, had scored in Iraq. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz suffered a meltdown in a House Armed Services Committee hearing, blasting the press for "sitting in Baghdad" and "printing rumors." (He later apologized.) And the White House was forced to acknowledge that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had approved, at least for a while, the use of dogs, nudity, stress positions—that is, torture—against enemy combatants. Indeed, Rumsfeld, who works at a stand-up desk, indicated a desire for at least one more strenuous stress position: "I stand 8-10 hours a day," he scrawled on a memo. "Why is standing limited to 4 hours?"

Presumably the Secretary of Defense doesn't do his standing naked, continuously, in the middle of the night, surrounded by hostile guards and attack dogs. But then, Rumsfeld's blustery testosteronics are at the heart of what has gone wrong with the Bush foreign policy—and last week the assorted temper tantrums appeared to be a leading indicator of a gathering summer storm confronting this presidency.

Honorable mention: best use of bracketed euphemisms to identify an elided expletive, for this sentence:

Bob Woodward reported that Franks once called Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith, who was charged with postwar planning, "the [Cheney expletive] stupidest guy on the face of the earth," and some defense experts are wondering if Franks, who has a reputation for candor, will elaborate on that.

Indeed.

Can We Put this Meme to Rest?

2004-06-28T12:22:00.000-04:00

In the most recent Economist (subscription), Lexington tosses off the blithe statement that “(God forbid) an attack by al-Qaeda would almost certainly help Mr Bush.”

I don’t think so.

There’s just no real basis for believing it – and not simply because the attacks in Spain did nothing to help then-prime minister Aznar. The most obvious reason is that any further terrorist attacks, especially on American soil, are at least as likely to underscore the failures of Bush policy as they are to induce the electorate – which of late has been rather gratifyingly shedding itself of its ill-considered faith in the man – to “rally around the president.”

In other words, whatever the impact – it’s highly unpredictable. Simply put, there is no factual basis to assume that a terrorist attack on US soil would “almost certainly” help Bush. It might not.

There is, however, ample reason to assume that, should such an event occur, Bush will – more than likely transparently – try to use it for political advantage, as he has done with 9/11 for nearly three years now. This could backfire. Or he just might get away with it, partly because the press, by repeating statements such as the Economist’s, will have made it too easy for him: he’d just be encouraging people to follow the response that the press has already conditioned them to take.

I could be wrong – but let’s hope we don’t have to find out.

In the meantime, cancel the meme -- and cancel the unwitting pre-conditioning. Neither are helpful.

Clinton's Book, in Digestible Form

2004-06-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

From Slate: All 957 pages of My Life, reduced to six PowerPoint Slides.

Fahrenheit 911 #1 at the Box Office

2004-06-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

This must be giving Karl Rove fits. With an estimated weekend take of nearly $22 Million, Michael Moore's latest has already outgrossed Bowling for Columbine -- and appears likely to become one of the most profitable movies of the year.

(I haven't seen it yet, but I shall, soon...)

Headline Watch

2004-06-25T10:45:00.000-04:00

Among the difficulties of blogging, in our current news environment, is picking which of the innumerable outrages in any given day bears comment. Choosing is, of necessity, a somewhat random act -- which may introduce distortions of its own.

But hey, I’m just one guy.

That said, however, I wanted to take a slightly different approach this morning – partly to illustrate the problem, and partly to raise the question of why anyone who even opens a newspaper (much less reads some of its contents) can fail to conclude that our current leadership is a bunch of dangerous, lying incompetents.

The following heads (bold)are all from the print edition of today's NY Times. My questions and comments for the Bush administration follow(For some reason, my browser and the Times on-line are not getting along today, so no links to the individual stories):

Attacks in 5 Iraqi Cities Leave More than 100 Dead. And it was so important to create this mess that you had to lie to get us there?

Iraqis, Seeking Foes of Saudis, Contacted Bin Laden, File Says. This is the best you can do? The most damning document is one provided by Ahmed Chalabi, that claims that Iraqi Intelligence agents, back in the early nineties, before there really was such a thing as al Qaeda, contacted Bin Laden and agreed only to broadcast some anti-Saudi propaganda. That is the relationship you’ve been talking about?

Bush is Questioned as Part of Leak Inquiry. Exactly what part of “honor and integrity” requires that your responses regarding Plame affair be offered only with your personal attorney present, and not under oath?

Wolfowitz Offers Apology to Journalists Covering Iraq. (For his earlier claim that “a lot of the press are afraid to travel so much, so they sit in Baghdad an publish rumors.”) Does this mean Dick Cheney will also be apologizing soon, for telling Patrick Leahy on the Senate floor to “Go fuck yourself”? (The Times, unfortunately, couldn’t face up to printing the expletive that was the heart of the story here; instead see the WaPo version.)

House Committee Says C.I.A. is Courting Disaster by Mismanaging its Human Spying – in a report approved 360-61 by the Republican House. Oh yeah, this was part of anticipated bad news that made Tenet suddenly concerned for his family life….

Swiss Say Qaeda Suspects Used Country For a Base. Uh-oh. Does this mean we have to invade Switzerland?

Legal Scholars Criticize Memos on Torture… “and all but unanimously agreed that the quality of legal work in them is poor.” My favorite quote, from Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh: “If the president has commander-in-chief power to commit torture…he has the power to commit genocide, to sanction slavery, to promote apartheid, and to license summary execution.” Now there’s moral clarity for you.

Which may account for the headline just below it, on the same page:

U.S. Seeks a Deal, but Not a Formal Accord, to Shield Americans from Iraq’s Courts. It seems we need to do a little tapdance to allow the new puppet government to save face, while granting to our own thugs and garden variety assholes the immunity they assumed their uniforms gave them. Rule of law? Just asking…

Testimony Ties Key Officer to Cover-up of Iraqi Death. Commander testifies that Col. Pappas, head of Military Intelligence at Abu Ghraib, stood by and watched while a detainee died under interrogation. Good thing that immunity arrangement is working out…

Now: pick a story, pick any story, and rant.

Ron Reagan, on Larry King Live

2004-06-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

This was worth watching, in spite of having to sit through an idiotic interview earlier in the hour with the recently jettisoned juror#5 from the Scott Peterson case.

Here's Ron Reagan's refreshingly unequivocal response to Larry King's questions about the now famous, and very classy, line from his eulogy:

KING: You said, dad was also a deeply unabashedly religious man, but he never made the mistake of wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage. Were you referring to the president?

REAGAN: You know, it's interesting.

KING: Everyone thought that.

REAGAN: I know. I wasn't watching TV much after I delivered the eulogy for a few days. But after a couple of days I started getting calls from people saying, boy you really stirred something up, didn't you? I thought, well, what? Well, you know, the stuff you said about Bush. I said, I didn't say anything about Bush, why would I mention George W. Bush in my father's eulogy?

No, no, no, no, the stuff about the religion. I thought, ha, funny, you then everybody thought I was talking about George W. Bush. And then I heard -- everybody thought I was talking about George -- but people connected with George W. Bush thought I was talking about George W. Bush. And then I began to think, maybe I was, I just didn't know it.

KING: Do you think he wears his religion on his sleeve? He certainly refers to it more than your father ever did.

REAGAN: Well, you know, there was that answer he gave to the question about, did you talk to your father about going into Iraq? No, I talked to a higher father, you know, the almighty. When you hear somebody justifying a war by citing the almighty, God, I get a little worried, frankly. The other guys do that a lot. Osama bin Laden's always talking about Allah, what Allah wants, that he's on his side. I think that's uncomfortable.

KING: Do you have thoughts on the war?

REAGAN: Sure, I have thoughts on the war.

KING: And what do you think?

REAGAN: And I think we lied our way into the war.

KING: You think it's a mistake?

REAGAN: Absolutely, a terrible mistake. Terrible foreign policy error. We didn't have to do it. It was optional. And we were lied to. The American public was lied to about WMD, the connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam, which is virtually nonexistent except for fleeting contacts. But they're still trying to pull that one off now, Cheney and all are out there flogging that.

KING: Can I gather from that, that you will not support this president?

REAGAN: No, I won't.

When you hear somebody justifying a war by citing the almighty, God, I get a little worried, frankly. The other guys do that a lot.

Okay, more than a little worried -- but thank you, Ron, for speaking so clearly.

Today's Schadenfreude Feature

2004-06-22T21:59:00.000-04:00

In case you missed it: the Jack Ryan Scandal. Billmon, as usual, relishes the occasion:

Here's a little advice for aspiring Republican politicians who also happen to be multi-gazillionaire former investment bankers. If your spouse asks for a divorce, and there are sex clubs, cages and whips involved, just give him/her whatever the hell he/she asks for and settle out of court.

Wonkette has more (though her grammar may need some whipping into shape here):

And speaking of fidelity: The Republicans, at least at this point, are sticking by their man. True, sources at BC04 say that the campaign will steer clear of Illinois, since allegations of sex clubs with "cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling" giving [sic] an exciting if unwholesome connotation to the term "battleground state."

The Trib has the original story.

Bush Sinking in the Polls

2004-06-22T21:29:00.000-04:00

Apparently a bit more of the public isn’t buying Bush’s bold plan of vigorously-asserting-the-contrary whenever inconvenient facts arise. A few snippets from the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll:

For the first time in ABC News/Washington Post polls, more than half of Americans, 52 percent, say the Iraq war was not worth fighting. Seven in 10 call U.S. casualties there "unacceptable," a new high. And there's been a steady slide in belief that the war has enhanced long-term U.S. security; 51 percent now say so, down 11 points this year.

[...]

While Americans broadly see Bush as more consistent, they see Kerry as more honest and trustworthy, by a 13-point margin, and more in touch with their problems, by 20 points.

[...]

Seventy-six percent now say the war has damaged the United States' image in the rest of the world; that's 13 points more than last summer.

As usual with this sort of the poll, some of the results are baffling and contradictory -- but Bush, as usual of late, appears to be in ever-deepening doo-doo.

Lewis Lapham, in the current Harpers (not available on line), had this to say about Bush's recent job performance:

I can understand why some people might find the performance terrifying, also why some other people might find it darkly comic, but what I don't understand is why anyone continues to think that the man knows what he's doing.

Nor do I. I not sure, however, which performance is more terrifying or darkly comic: that of Bush himself -- or that of the forty-plus percent of the poll respondents who evidently still believe the man.

If the poll is any indication, though -- at least some of them are learning.

Another light blogging week

2004-06-22T14:41:00.000-04:00

Pardon the brief hiatus -- but other obligations seem to be getting in the way, so don't be surprised if my posts are a bit spotty this week.

In the meantime, here's Kevin Drum on the Administration's latest attempts to blur their own previous claims, and the lack of evidence regarding, Iraq/al Qaeda links.

There are more bits and pieces, of course, but this is the guts of the case for cooperation. And remember: this is the best evidence, even after a year of free access to Saddam's files and the interrogation of hundreds of high-ranking prisoners. The fact is that there's just no case to be made.

Which explains why war supporters have been generally reduced to absurd arguments that the lack of good evidence is actually a reason to go to war — an argument so Strangelovian that it demonstrates little except abject desperation.

And that's pretty much where the administration is. After all, as one Bush advisor put it, "If you discount the relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda, then you discount the proposition that it's part of the war on terror. If it's not part of the war on terror, then what is it — some cockeyed adventure on the part of George W. Bush?"

Exactly.

Another one for your reading list...

2004-06-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

From the Guardian:

Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, due out next month, dismisses two of the most frequent boasts of the Bush administration: that Bin Laden and al-Qaida are "on the run" and that the Iraq invasion has made America safer.

[...]

Imperial Hubris is the latest in a relentless stream of books attacking the administration in election year. Most of the earlier ones, however, were written by embittered former officials. This one is unprecedented in being the work of a serving official with nearly 20 years experience in counter-terrorism who is still part of the intelligence establishment.

[...]

Anonymous, who published an analysis of al-Qaida last year called Through Our Enemies' Eyes, thinks it quite possible that another devastating strike against the US could come during the election campaign, not with the intention of changing the administration, as was the case in the Madrid bombing, but of keeping the same one in place.

The Bush Administration will likely respond by: (a) leaking the identity of the anonymous author; (b) issuing a series of vigorous but unsupported assertions in denial of its claims; or (c) all of the above.

If for some reason they are unable to identify the anonymous author, this will simply be treated as an opportunity for even wider-than-usual creative latitude for their customary barrage of ad hominen attacks.

Just watch...

Rumors of a Snark Shortage are Greatly Exaggerated

2004-06-19T00:44:00.000-04:00

Billmon has the details.

Fran Townsend at Abu Ghraib

2004-06-18T17:57:00.000-04:00

Today’s news is still so awful I’m still having trouble absorbing it – so I’ll take you on a brief detour of something that emerged yesterday in USA Today, regarding pressure from the White House on interrogations at Abu Ghraib.

Smack in the middle of the latest accusations is one of Condi Rice's direct reports: none other than Fran Townsend, thus far the most secretive of the numerous successors to Richard Clarke’s counter-terrorism post, about whom we have commented previously:

Army Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, in a sworn statement to Army investigators obtained by USA TODAY, said he was told last September that White House staffers wanted to "pull the intelligence out" of the interrogations being conducted at Abu Ghraib. The pressure stemmed from growing concern about the increasingly violent Iraqi insurgency that was claiming American lives daily. It came before and during a string of abuses of Iraqi prisoners in October, November and December of 2003.

Jordan, the top military intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, described "instances where I feel that there was additional pressure" to get information from detainees, including a visit to the prison last fall by an aide to Rice that was "purely on detainee operations and reporting." And he said he was reminded of the need to improve the intelligence output of the prison "many, many, many times."

Rice staffer Fran Townsend said Thursday that she spent about two hours at Abu Ghraib last November and recalls that Jordan was her guide. Townsend, then deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism, said she did not discuss interrogation techniques or the need to obtain more information from detainees, and neither witnessed nor heard about abuse of detainees.

What Townsend doesn’t seem to get is that the mere fact of her visit could easily be interpreted as pressure. Imagine, if you will, that you are a mid-level officer in a grimy prison halfway around the world, and you suddenly find out that someone who reports directly to Condi Rice wants a “tour.” Are you to assume that she was merely sight-seeing? How could you not feel pressure?

Townsend’s statement – which somehow implies that the brevity of her visit negates the possibility of pressure – is ludicrous. Whatever her real intent may have been – the fact that she traveled through eight time zones to deliver it in person gives it a weight and import that the same information imparted over the phone or in a memo never would have had.

In fact, it’s worth stepping back here for a moment to consider why anyone, in the age of instantaneous worldwide telecommunications, would go to the time and expense of a face-to-face visit. There are, of course, a number of powerful and compelling reasons, but here are a few off the top of my head:

You want to underscore the importance of the message by delivering it in person. The farther a person travels to deliver a message, and the more powerful the person doing the traveling, the greater the impact.

You need to make sure that the recipient of the message fully understands it. This is especially true if there is something about the message you wish to convey that is not, or perhaps should not be, explicit. Regardless, there's nothing like the feedback of eye-to-eye contact to make sure that the text and subtext of an important message is clearly understood. Notably, this is still true even in cases where there is a considerable language barrier.

You need to deliver a message that could be, um, problematic later on if delivered in writing. In other words, if you wish to maintain plausible deniability.

You want to create an opportunity for confidential asides that may not occur during phone calls tele-conferences.

You genuinely want to absorb details and circumstances from the other end that you simply would not be able to appreciate if you remained in your home office.

There are other possible reasons as well, but you get the picture. It's somehow worth bearing these considerations in mind when we hear what Ms. Townsend wants us to believe about her visit.

The likely, or at least highly plausible interpretation, is that Ms. Townsend’s statements
are just another variation of the White House’s routine of non-denial denials.

She could truthfully claim that “we never discussed interrogation techniques,” even if what she actually said was something more along the lines of ‘do what you have to do; I don’t want to know the details.’

She could truthfully say that she never discussed the need to obtain more information from the detainees – when what she did discuss was the need for better, or more complete information.

And she could truthfully claim that (as she does here) that she didn’t go there “to pressure them to do anything they weren’t doing.” Her visit was last November, after all – and while the timeline isn’t quite clear from the reports, it’s perfectly likely that by then, as the pictures have shown, the guards were already doing quite a bit more than anyone had any need to encourage them to do.

At best, none of these explanations are very enlightening, or very helpful. At worst, they are strikingly disingenuous.

[UPDATE: Spencer Ackerman connects a few more of the dots here, and provides more context]

Because I'm the President, and I said so, Part II

2004-06-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

The Guardian, as it often does, speaks with welcome clarity:

The Bush administration's reaction to the report of the bipartisan US commission investigating September 11, which has found no evidence of a substantive relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida, is a classic case of none being so blind as those who will not see. "We stand by what was said publicly," said the White House spokesman, thus endorsing the stream of loose and contradictory claims made by the president and vice-president as they have thrashed around to justify the Iraq war.

[...]

The commission's investigators have done a thorough job, helped by intelligence information as well as open sources, to provide a remarkably full picture of the changing plans, interconnections and movements of the September 11 plotters and the forces behind them. Against this detailed background, the failure to substantiate claims of a serious relationship, beyond some abortive early contacts, between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaida - let alone a specific September 11 link - is all the more striking.

Noting that Bush "has a vested interest in keeping the American public confused," they move on to the heart of the matter:

The ugly fact which Mr Bush cannot contemplate - far less let his public know - is that far from scotching the terrorist snake, the war has created new fertile ground for it, with almost daily bombings which can no longer be blamed on "Saddam remnants".

Repeat after me: what we have here, folks, is a failure to substantiate...

Because I'm the President, and I said so...

2004-06-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

Spencer Ackerman, subbing this week for Josh Marshall, takes on Bush's astonishing insistence, against all evidence, that there was a "relationship" between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.

Anti-Americanism & its Consequences

2004-06-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

Just when I was ready to concentrate on something productive -- I ran across something too good not to pass on: this piece, in Salon, adapted from a speech to U.S. Intelligence analysts. A few quick excerpts (emphasis added):

On the risk of re-electing George W. Bush:

Even now, however, America's critics continue to distinguish between the U.S. administration, which they fear and despise, and the American people, with whom they feel sympathy.

But the pictures from Abu Ghraib prison may have finally changed that. If the American electorate, knowing what it knows and, above all, having seen what it has seen, proceeds to reelect George W. Bush in November, the moderating distinction between the American administration and the American people will be eroded or perhaps erased -- with what violent consequences no one can predict.

On the practical consequences:

But, aside from the U.K., [The EU allies] will give the U.S. none of the substantial help it needs in Iraq. They would presumably be willing to contribute to a U.N. and NATO operation, so long as the U.S. reduced its visibility and relinquished command and control. But short of such a dramatic volte-face by Bush, the Europeans are not about to ride to the rescue.

So here we can register a genuine and serious injury to U.S. national security that is directly traceable to popular anti-Americanism. It is largely a self-inflicted wound, the result of the Bush administration's contemptuous treatment of America's European allies.

On the need for new leadership:

Some European commentators have said that there are few doctrinal differences, in foreign policy, between Kerry and Bush. But they quickly add that removing Bush from office in November will still make a decisive difference to international security, including the global struggle against terrorism. The need to correct grievous errors alone speaks for the importance of putting a new foreign policy team into the White House, a group that has no incentive to conceal embarrassing blunders or to continue failed policies.

Now get back to work....

[UPDATE: When you're done reading the article, read what Digby has to say about it: "The real argument is that a vote for Bush is to validate his failed policies and convince the rest of the world that we truly are nation of dangerous fools. This will not increase our safety, I'm afraid. In fact, nothing could help the terrorists more than to put this rogue administration back in office."]

Gephardt as VP? Not!

2004-06-17T08:47:00.000-04:00

Via Ezra at Pandagon, we learn of this Matthew Yglesias piece on the prospect of Dick ~~Doormat~~ Gephardt as the VP nominee. Yglesias nails it, effectively reminding us of the Gephardt’s craven capitulation on the Iraq war resolution – a move that squashed a Senate alternative that was decidedly less of a blank check:

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, it was announced that Dick Gephardt, leader of the House Democrats, had cut a deal -- a total capitulation to the president's demands, in fact -- with the White House, undermining the negotiating power of Senate Democrats and GOP moderates alike. The result was not only the Iraq War as we know it, but to put many congressional Democrats, John Kerry included, in a rather untenable position. Either vote no and leave yourself open to the charge of thinking that the continued deterioration of the sanctions and inspections in Iraq could simply be ignored, or vote yes and take it as a matter of faith that the president would exercise this broad discretionary power wisely. Thus Kerry and others found themselves voting yes while attaching verbal caveats, rather than voting for a resolution that would have attached actual caveats, and the country's best hope for a rational Iraq policy was dashed.

This fatal trait: the complete lack of resolution at the crucial moment, this utter failure of spine, is arguably the most telling example of what’s been wrong with the Democratic Party over the last few years. Winning will require overcoming this kind of stupidity, not validating it.

Worse, as Yglesias points out, this pattern simply makes Gephardt’s voting record all the worse as a “target of opportunity” for GOP operatives:

What's important is that Gephardt's record -- or rather, his many records -- will be putty in the hands of the Bush campaign, reinforcing their main line of critique against Kerry while adding nothing of value. Arguably, this would be a reasonable price to pay if we were talking about some kind of paragon of political virtue, but we aren't. We're talking about a man who helped drive the country to war in pursuit of transient electoral advantage and didn't even managed to derive any electoral advantage from it.

One can only hope that the “serious consideration” given to Gephardt is just show, an adept and politically astute courtesy, merely to keep him and his followers firmly in the fold, and nothing more.

My bet: Kerry is smart enough to let Gephardt think he's being taken seriously, yet far too smart to actually do so.

Surprise, Surprise

2004-06-16T17:29:00.000-04:00

Re-enlistments down:

Since Fort Carson units began coming home in April, post recruiters have met only 57 percent of their quota for re-enlisting first-term soldiers for a second hitch, according to an Army report.

More disturbing, recruiters say, is they're re-enlisting only 46 percent of the quota for "mid-career" noncommissioned officers. These are the young sergeants with four to 10 years of experience who are the backbone of the Army - its skilled soldiers, mentors and future senior NCOs.

Ashcroft Re-mix

2004-06-16T16:54:00.000-04:00

Last week, BushOut.tv linked to this fine piece of work by Jason Woliner of Partisan Jab -- but the servers were so overloaded at the time, I never got to see it.

It seems to be working fine now, though the download is still slow. Go watch.

The Diplomats’ Rebuke

2004-06-16T16:47:00.000-04:00

The BBC has the story, and Joe Conason breaks it down for you:

The hallowed rule among America's professional diplomats is to avoid involvement in domestic politics, especially during an election year.

They regard partisanship as poisonous to the trust that an elected President must repose in them to execute U.S. policy abroad, and to their own careers as well. They hope to maintain influence and status no matter which party holds power. Their habit of speaking carefully and quietly tends to continue even into retirement.

Diplomats rarely act like dissidents.

So it was extraordinary to learn that on June 16, a group of 26 distinguished former Foreign Service and military officers plans to issue an urgent, explicit call for Americans to eject George W. Bush on Election Day. Although their brief statement does not endorse John Kerry, the implication will be plain enough. (None of them is likely to vote for Ralph Nader.)

Of note: according to the BBC, the bi-partisan group of 26 career diplomats and former generals “deliberately excluded” “known critics” of the administration.

Paris May Ban SUVs

2004-06-15T13:15:00.000-04:00

Link

Of course, if we tried in New York, we'd have to figure out what to do about these monstrosities.

Oh, this will be fun...

2004-06-15T10:07:00.000-04:00

The new Iraqi government wants custody of all of the prisoners by the end of the month, including Saddam Hussein.

The New Jim Crow

2004-06-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

I commented once before, very briefly, on Virginia's hideous new "Marriage Affirmation Law," which takes effect July 1. Via Sully, we learn of this excellent piece by Jonathan Rauch who illustrates clearly what this law really is:

If I seem to be splitting hairs, that is because Virginia -- where my partner and I make our home -- is not splitting hairs. It has instead taken a baseball bat to civic equality, thanks to the so-called Marriage Affirmation Act.

The act -- really an amendment to an earlier law -- was passed in April, over Gov. Mark R. Warner's objections, and it takes effect July 1. It says, "A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges and obligations of marriage is prohibited." It goes on to add that any such union, contract or arrangement entered into in any other state, "and any contractual rights created thereby," are "void and unenforceable in Virginia."

[snip]

To abridge the right of contract for same-sex partners, then, is to deny not just gay coupledom, in the law's eyes, but gay personhood. It disenfranchises gay people as individuals. It makes us nonpersons, subcitizens. By stripping us of our bonds to each other, it strips us even of ownership of ourselves.

Americans have a name for the use of law in this fashion, and that name is Jim Crow. It is not a name much called for anymore, but the Marriage Affirmation Act -- could that name be any more inapt? -- is the genuine article.

[snip]

Obstructing gay couples' private contracts is no less vindictive and abusive, and it deserves the same nationwide opprobrium -- especially among conservatives who distinguish between denying marriage to gay couples and denying civil rights to gay individuals. If Virginia's attack on basic legal equality does not offend and embarrass conservatives, what anti-gay measure possibly could? And if this law is not snuffed out, what might be next?

The whole thing is downright medieval: it's mean-spirited bigotry, and it's the law.

The Mall Scenario

2004-06-14T20:49:00.000-04:00

It’s always a challenge – when the announcements are coming from John Ashcroft – to sift through the sensationalism & suspect timing, and separate what is deliberately misleading from the genuinely scary.

First, the AP version of the story, as presented in the Washington Post:

A Somali native living in Ohio has been charged with plotting with other al Qaeda operatives to blow up a Columbus-area shopping mall, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.

Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment at a Justice Department news conference and used the occasion to warn anew of al Qaeda's threat. "Current credible intelligence indicates that al Qaeda wants to hit the United States, to hit the United States hard," he said.

The relevant facts here are that there was a real indictment – not just an arrest or detention – in connection with an alleged plot (details undisclosed) to blow up a shopping mall, in a place that serves as well as any as a surrogate for ‘Heartland, USA’: Columbus, Ohio. Since Ashcroft disclosed no details of the alleged plot, it is impossible to know if this means that a couple of suspicious characters were overheard saying “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if…” – or if there were actual explosives, and the plans and means to use them.

The other key fact, reported by CNN and others, is that the arrest took place last November 28th, which happened to be (though no one saw fit to mention this) the Friday after Thanksgiving: one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and not a bad day to pick if you’re a terrorist intent on screwing with the minds & wallets of Americans.

Oddly missing from any of the reports I have seen so far is any indication of when the indictment itself actually took place: only that it was unsealed, and announced today. Unsealed by whom? And why now?

One might also reasonably ask why Ashcroft said nothing at all back in November, at the time of the arrest. If it made sense not to alarm the public at the time, why does it make sense to do so now? Inquiring minds would like to know.

And if he has other information, unrelated to this arrest, that actually is "current and credible" -- why is he undermining his own credibility by mixing it all up with six-month-old news?

[UPDATE: Liberal Oasis has more; and Krugman opens today by calling Ashroft the "worst attorney general in history."]

[UPDATE II: The NYT has the most telling detail: "The indictment against Mr. Abdi makes no mention of the alleged plot to blow up a shopping mall. That reference was contained in the motion filed by prosecutors to keep Mr. Abdi in custody." As Jon Stewart would say, "Whaaaahh?"]

Quick Notes

2004-06-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

Josh Marshall has conveniently picked up on a NYT piece from yesterday, thus sparing me the trouble of commenting on the more shameless political dimensions of Bush's recent visit to the Pope. The telling note: Bush's reported complaint that "not all the American bishops are with me" on cultural issues.

Also from yesterday is this tasty little item from the LA Times: "Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go"

A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.

[...]

Those signing the document, which will be released in Washington on Wednesday, include 20 former U.S. ambassadors, appointed by presidents of both parties, to countries including Israel, the former Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia.

It looks like we're in for another interesting week....

Queuing for ‘Cue

2004-06-13T10:41:00.000-04:00

It sure sounded like a good idea: seven barbecue pitmasters, live jazz, “and more” -- on a crystal clear June afternoon in Madison Square Park. This, more or less, was the description of the 2nd Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party – sponsored by (among others) Blue Smoke & the Brooklyn Brewery. So I rounded up a couple of friends, and we went.

Well, the food – at least the food we eventually got -- was remarkably good. And it was a nice afternoon.

Too bad the event wasn’t better organized. And too bad the sponsors had to intrude their interests into the proceedings with an idiotic “cue-pon” system – which requires you to pre-purchase non-refundable coupons, and then use the coupons to pay for food & drinks.

So if you had imagined this might be like a typical New York Block Party, only with music and much better food, think again.

And if you had imagined that you might casually stroll past kiosks offering up enticing samples of fine barbecue, and indulge to your heart’s and belly’s content, think again.

The problem, at least the worst of it, was those coupons (sorry, I refuse to indulge the cutesy misspelling more than once), which clearly exist for no other reason than to assure the sponsors of their cut of every dollar spent. Never mind the inconvenience to the customer. Never mind that they are just as likely to curtail spending (as they clearly did in our case) as to encourage it. Never mind that there were better and less obtrusive ways to accomplish the same thing (for instance, one could have simply relocated the cashiers selling coupons to the kiosks with the food -- where the additional staffing might have actually helped move the lines along).

And yes, I know the venture was officially not-for-profit. But that's no excuse for spoiling the fun.

Imagine, for a moment, if a restaurant tried this. Here, sir, take a look at the menu. Now try to guess what you want to spend. Then pay us that amount, in advance, and we’ll give you these coupons. If you guess too little, well – you’ll have to come back, wait in line again, and buy more. If you guess too much, well – sorry, sucker – these things aren’t refundable. Have a nice day!

Now imagine that each and every thing that you and your friends want to consume is treated as a different transaction. If you want a beer, go wait in the beer line. If you want North Carolina pulled pork, go wait in that line, if you can find the end of it (when I was there, it took about forty minutes to get through a line than snaked and doubled back on itself and crossed at least two or three other lines, to the confusion of all). If your friend over there would like the Memphis-style baby back ribs, well, he’ll have to go wait over there - somewhere. Chips? Another line. Desserts? Another line. You get the picture.

There’s just no winning strategy. If you hang together – you’ll either limit your choices, or spend even more time waiting in lines, or both. If you try the divide and conquer strategy (which we did), well – then you can’t run off and get more coupons or beer while you’re waiting, and you’ll need your cellphones to re-locate your friends.

Needless to say, the arrangement is beyond ridiculous. I have a feeling that a lot of folks did what we did – which was buy just enough coupons to cover the first “plate” of barbecue and a beer, figuring that they could always go back for more. What we discovered was that the “plates” – in actuality, paper containers more suitable for a side order of onion rings – weren’t exactly generous. Which meant that another plate, or even two or more, would be needed, to constitute a meal. Which I would have been fine with, if not for the coupons, and the damned lines.

But at that point, we had had enough. We weren't going wait in line for more coupons, for the privilege of waiting in more lines for food. Instead we walked a few blocks, and got hot dogs at F & B.

Still, I liked the idea. It's not every day that you can get honest barbecue in New York. But the sponsors have a long way to go to make this work.

[UPDATE: The Food Section has more. As I suspected, quite a lot of folks went away unhappy -- and hungry]

Obsidian Wings

2004-06-11T13:14:00.000-04:00

While I suspect I should have added these folks to my blogroll long ago -- some of the recent stuff over at Obsidian Wings has particularly impressed me.

Two recent posts expand nicely on some of the themes we've been following here at Digestible News. The most recent is this neat summary of the drip-drip-drip of the Abu Ghraib scandal. There's much good in the piece, but you've gotta love the characterization of the Torture Memo as "advice that a half drunk first year law student could debunk between bong hits."

Another, from late yesterday, focuses on Bush's "Non-denial Denials" during yesterday's press conference -- quotes a lot of the same material that I did in my post on the same topic yesterday, and adds some interesting observations:

The administration will not release the memo to Congress, or say whether they adopted its findings, or discuss it in any way. So these answers tell us nothing.

The fact that the President won't give a meaningful answer, perhaps tells us something. The fact that the Democrats on Judiciary are not sure they'll find one G.O.P. Senator to cross the aisle and officially request the memo, according to this AP story, perhaps tells us something. The fact that Orrin Hatch told the AP that releasing the memos would "cause the deaths of our young people ... by publicizing something that shouldn't be publicized," perhaps tells us something.

Go check it out.

Optimism

2004-06-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

900-pound man vows he'll dance weight off

Poll: Iraq Not Worth It

2004-06-11T10:26:00.000-04:00

Not that we ever thought it was -- but it's nice to now that more than half the country now agrees. The LA Times has the details:

Most U.S. voters now say it was not worth going to war in Iraq, but an overwhelming majority reject the idea of setting a deadline to withdraw all U.S. forces from the country, according to a Times poll.
...

The Times Poll, supervised by polling director Susan Pinkus, surveyed 1,230 registered voters from Saturday through Tuesday. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
...

Most voters retained faith that the U.S. could control the military situation in the country. About half of those polled — 52% — said they thought the U.S. was winning the war; 24% said the insurgents were winning.

But voters were uncertain about the prospects of achieving broader goals in Iraq. Just 35% said the U.S. was "making good progress in Iraq," while 61% said they thought the U.S. was "getting bogged down." Three-fifths of independents and more than four-fifths of Democrats shared the sense that the effort was stalling.
...

In perhaps the most emphatic measure of anxiety about Iraq, 53% said they did not think the situation there merited the war; 43% said it did. When Times polls asked that question in November and March, the numbers were essentially reversed.

Charming

2004-06-11T10:19:00.000-04:00

From this morning's Washington Post:

U.S. intelligence personnel ordered military dog handlers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to use unmuzzled dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees during interrogations late last year, a plan approved by the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the facility, according to sworn statements the handlers provided to military investigators.

A military intelligence interrogator also told investigators that two dog handlers at Abu Ghraib were "having a contest" to see how many detainees they could make involuntarily urinate out of fear of the dogs, according to the previously undisclosed statements obtained by The Washington Post.

I wonder what the prize was....

Bush and the Torture Memo

2004-06-10T17:48:00.000-04:00

Remember this bit from John Ashcroft the other day?

[The administration] has operated with respect to all of the laws enacted by the Congress, all of the treaties embraced by the president and the Congress together, and the Constitution of the United States, and no direction or order has been given to violate any of those laws.

Those words came back to me when I was at the gym this afternoon, and I happened to catch a bit of Bush's press conference from Sea Island (transcript here). This question from a BBC reporter caught my attention:

Q: Mr. President, I wanted to return to the question of torture. What we've learned from these memos this week is that the Department of Justice lawyers and the Pentagon lawyers have essentially worked out a way that U.S. officials can torture detainees without running afoul of the law.

So when you say that you want the U.S. to adhere to international and U.S. laws, that's not very comforting. This is a moral question: Is torture ever justified?

The point, of course, is that it is meaningless to claim that you want to adhere to the law, or that you've issued no orders to violate the law, when you have in hand a lengthy legal opinion that was clearly created for no other purpose than to introduce as much flexibility as possible into your notion of what is legal.

Bush, rather shrewdly in my opinion, acted deliberately obtuse, as if he had missed the point altogether. Here’s his entire response:

BUSH: Look, I'm going to say it one more time. Maybe I can be more clear. The instructions went out to our people to adhere to law. That ought to comfort you.

We're a nation of law. We adhere to laws. We have laws on the books. You might look at these laws. And that might provide comfort for you. And those were the instructions from me to the government.

I doubt the BBC reporter was in any way "comforted" by this act, nor was I. The question of morality was ignored, and the obviously meaningless & disingenuous claim about “adherence to the law” was simply repeated, testily.

But some of the reporters in the room, who should certainly know better, apparently fell for it.

Just moments later, Judy Woodruff was on CNN reporting (this is approximate, from memory) that Bush, “when challenged on the torture memo, replied that he instructed people to adhere to the law.”

This AP report is equally clueless.

Addressing advice the White House got suggesting torture might be allowed for some terrorist interrogations, President Bush said Thursday he ordered U.S. officials to act consistent with law and international treaties.

And these people get paid to write this stuff....

Hilarious

2004-06-10T14:04:00.000-04:00

The Snoop Dogg on-line Shizzolator. Just "enter yo trickass URL," the site explains helpfully, and it will "traaanslate it from tha shizzle to da shiznit, know what I'm sayin?"

We here at Digestible Informative Shiznit were quite amused.

Give it a minute to work, though -- it seems to be a bit on the slow side. (Thanks to commentor JJFrisco over at Skippy's place.)

Separate Checks

2004-06-10T12:07:00.000-04:00

Slate’s "Dear Prudence" column today pretends to address the matter of separate restaurant checks – but ends up excusing smaller idiocies because they occurred in the presence of greater rudeness. I’ll skip the recap: go read.

My take: Prudence lets these people off much too easy. True, the late arrivals were capital-A a—holes. But while they were wrong to make a scene, wrong to insult their hosts, and wrong to order expensive wines and expect their companions to swallow the cost, they had at least one point: separate checks are petty, and all the more so when large groups are involved.

A request for completely separate checks works against you in several ways: first, it advertises a penny-consciousness that rarely betokens a decent tip – so your service may suffer accordingly; second, it confuses the kitchen, for whom the check is a tool to coordinate the timing & delivery of what each of you ordered; third, it simply adds unnecessarily to the amount of time required to handle your table. None of these attributes are likely to improve your experience.

For large parties – which typically stay longer, are more difficult to handle, and tip less than smaller groups – the notion of separate checks is an absurdity. For Prudence to suggest, even tacitly, that the request for separate checks was “the proper thing to do,” is decidedly unhelpful. Sorry, there is no excuse, anywhere, for requesting eleven checks.

There were at least two simpler strategies available – both of which would have likely been greeted more favorably by the servers.

The first would have been to gently request, “for simplicity’s sake,” that the servers start a new check for the late arrivals. This would make sense – since in essence the latecomers represent a new order, and a “new table” – even though they are seated with you. It can also be justified on purely practical grounds – since it is perfectly plausible that some of the earlier arrivals would like the option to leave (regardless of whether they actually choose to do so) before your tardy acquaintances are done. There is no need to invoke petty matters of economics, and the result is a perfectly reasonable pair of checks, rather than an unwieldy eleven.

The second approach would have required a level of consideration from the late arrivals that, given their behavior, seems unlikely. But I’ve done it, and it works. Whoever orders the wine – especially if he or she is aware that only some of those present plan to drink it – can simply request that the wine be placed on a separate check. Restaurants will not only honor, but respect such a request. Further, it will immediately transform what might have been perceived as an act of selfishness into an act of generosity (but you must at least offer to share). The wine lovers can then enjoy without guilt the vintage of their choice – and no one will feel cheated.

That, at least, is how some of us do it in New York.

The Reagan Non-bounce

2004-06-10T09:41:00.000-04:00

Early indications are that my little prediction from a couple nights ago will turn out to be utterly, and refreshingly, wrong. Bush appears to losing, rather than gaining ground.

Billmon’s theory is that the Bush campaign, by “aggressively holding their guy up next the iconic image of the late Ronald Reagan,” is unwittingly costing their guy – by emphasizing an unfavorable comparison.

Polling results thus far, while they don’t say why, are at least consistent with this possibility. The latest LA Times poll shows Kerry up 51/44, in a poll conducted June 5-8. Gallup, with somewhat less of an overlap with Reagan’s death (poll conducted June 3-6), also shows a widening Kerry lead: 49/44. Even Rasmussen shows a slight Kerry gain: 46/44.

Further, while it is clear that the Reagan rites have squeezed out a lot of coverage of unfavorable stuff, such as the “torture memo,” – a fair amount of it is breaking through. Jon Stewart, in particular, mercilessly skewered one of the most peculiar notions advanced in that memo -- specifically, the idea that “intent” somehow defines torture. Apparently, he said (and this is from memory, so don’t expect an exact quote), “If you attach an electrode to someone’s testicles out of, say, scientific curiosity, any collateral ball pain is OK.”

Reagan

2004-06-09T20:22:00.000-04:00

It somehow figures that much of what conservatives "remember" about Reagan isn't quite true. Jonathan Chait has the rundown:

What's most interesting about Reagan-worship is not so much that it overlooks his flaws but that it specifically overlooks his departures from conservative orthodoxy. Above all else Reagan's admirers extol his ideological certitude. The Gipper, they agree, held simple but profound views about restraining government and fighting communism, and he never wavered from them in the face of carping liberals. This narrative may be broadly true. But, although he was no liberal nor even a moderate, Reagan did repeatedly abandon conservative dogma. That he is nonetheless remembered as an unyielding conservative says less about Reagan than it does about the contemporary Republicans who lay claim to his cause.

Prediction

2004-06-08T20:39:00.000-04:00

George W. will get a slight bump in the polls by the end of Reagan Mythology Week -- and most of the pundits will be completely wrong when they try to explain why.

It won't have anything do to with favorable or unfavorable comparisons, or anyone borrowing anyone else's highly inflated aura. W. will gain plainly and simply because the Reagan funeral story will have eclipsed what would otherwise have been just another week -- for the administration at least -- of embarrassing news.

Consider the latest "torture memo" -- which newspapers everywhere have excerpted but John Ashcroft still refuses to disclose, or the highly questionable "Safe Harbor for Churches" bill (see post just below), or the latest news of dead soldiers, or whatever else may come to pass in the next few days.

There's even John Aschroft's odd claim before the Senate Judiciary Committee(reported here), full of telltale lawyerly specificity, that President Bush had "made no order that would require or direct the violation" of either the international treaties or domestic laws prohibiting torture.

Under the circumstances, Ashcroft's statement appears to have been tailored -- just as the memo under discussion was -- for maximum wiggle room.

But none of it will register on the evening news, because state funerals make better pictures.

Be Outraged

2004-06-08T10:37:00.000-04:00

From the NYT this morning (where it was naturally buried on page A-16):

Republicans in the House of Representatives have quietly introduced a measure to make it easier for churches to support political candidates, just days after the Bush campaign came under fire from liberal groups for inviting church members to distribute campaign information at their house of worship.

…

The provision, called Safe Harbor for Churches, would allow religious organizations a limited number of violations of the existing rules against political endorsements without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

…

“It looks suspicious,” Daniel Maffei, communications director for the Democratic miniroty on the committee, said of the proposal.

The bill, now proceeding on a fast track, is scheduled to move from committee to presentation on the House floor next week. If passed in time for the election, Mr. Maffei said, it would invite “widespread abuse” by religious leaders using their positions to support their favorite candidates.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Church and State, said the timing “simply reeks to high heaven, literally.”

Write your congressman, if you haven't already. This thing should be squashed, fast.

Light Blogging Ahead...

2004-06-07T14:11:00.000-04:00

For at least the next few days, I don't anticipate having much time for blogging -- though that may not stop me.

In the meantime, be sure to read this and this by Kevin Drum. And if you're not absolutely fed up with reading or hearing anything else remotely Reagan-related -- check out what Ron, Jr. had to say just a few months ago, here. Or just enjoy a cartoon.

Connectivity Follies

2004-06-05T17:31:00.000-04:00

Within the last twenty-four hours, my Internet connection has stopped working altogether, then worked only by bypassing my DSL router, and then -- after several twists and turns that I shall omit for the sake of brevity -- worked at least as well as before, and with all of the original pieces in place.

Suffice it to say that the process afforded me a fine opportunity to test my patience and equanimity, along with my ability to communicate regarding technical matters with non-native speakers of English. But I won’t bore you with the details.

It’s the part in the middle – the period when the router was bypassed – that concerns me. As it happens, it proved to be a lovely illustration of just how hazardous it can be to run a “fully exposed” exposed Internet connection.

That router, you see, performs a very useful security function, called Network Address Translation. The effect of NAT is to hide the computer from unfriendly outsiders.

I had always thought this was a good idea, but hadn’t really tested the theory until yesterday, when circumstances turned my computer into a little test lab.

What happened was startling.

Only minutes after establishing my “exposed” connection, little alarm boxes were popping up, courtesy of my virus scan software, informing me that it had identified and removed a couple of worms – both apparently of the variety that can insinuate themselves onto your computer without the necessity of doing something incredibly stupid, such as opening an e-mail attachment from a complete stranger with a “.exe.” file extension. Lovely.

I quickly set up a trial version of McAfee’s “personal firewall” – and was even more amazed. Within a couple of hours, it had intercepted literally hundreds of “events” – unwelcome probes from all over the Internet. Yikes.

Needless to say, I got my router back up – quickly – which put an end to the inbound crud. But it was a lesson, nonetheless. Which I share with you -- just in case there’s anyone out there without current virus software and something (NAT or a firewall of some sort) protecting their connection.

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

The Villiage Voice on the VP Selection.

2004-06-04T11:39:00.000-04:00

The other VP, actually. James Ridgeway takes a whack at the GOP Dream Ticket.

Budget Tap-Dance

2004-06-04T09:16:00.000-04:00

According to this item in yesterday's Times, "many Republicans are concluding they would be better off with no budget than with one that would require them to pay the costs of permanently extending last year’s tax cuts."

The reason: “pay as you go” would make it uncomfortably obvious, especially in an election year, just who’s doing the paying:

On Wednesday, two liberal policy research groups released a study estimating that the ultimate cost of the tax cuts would fall overwhelmingly on middle- and lower-income families.

According to the study, by the Tax Policy Center and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than three-quarters of all households would end up net losers if the government actually paid for the tax cuts by either spending cuts or other tax increases.

But the wealthiest one-fifth of families, who are by far the biggest beneficiaries of the tax cuts, would end up big winners.

“We should think of tax cuts as loans, not grants, and in particular as loans that are not paid back by the same people who get them,” said William G. Gale, a senior economist at the tax policy center.

The rich borrow, and you pay their bills. How's that for class warfare?

Clarke Successor Watch

2004-06-03T17:37:00.000-04:00

Periodically here at Digestible News, we like to check in on the various successors to Richard Clarke's old counter-terrorism post -- only one of whom, Fran Townsend, actually remains at the White House, where her responsibilities include her new post as Homeland Security Advisor, her old post as deputy national security adviser for terrorism, and – evidently – staying out of the news.

In fact, since her promotion/kicking upstairs (who’s to know?)in early May, there has been virtually no mention in the press of her name, until today – when she is briefly & forgettably quoted (under her old title) in coverage of the Saudi crackdown on “charities” funding terrorism, as in this example from the Washington Post.

Why she should remain so invisible, in an adminstration that claims to be so focused on terrorism, remains a puzzle. Perhaps even more amazing is that fact that this Google search (for "Fran Townsend"+counter+terrorism) will quickly lead you back to this very blog (which, unless Sitemeter is off by at least a few decimal places, does not exactly qualify as a major news outlet).

Meanwhile, Gen. Wayne Downing has resurfaced, at least by attribution, in this interview on PBS. Posing a question to Paul Wolfowitz about the Abu Ghraib investigations, PBS’s Margaret Warner asks:

I want to ask you about a couple of rosy scenarios at the end but first let me ask you about the prisoner abuse scandal. You have six investigations ongoing. We reported on that heavily on this program. But they are being criticized the fact that they're all really in house investigations. And let's just look at what Wayne Downing, a retired four-star army general had to say. "I really doubt whether the Defense Department can investigate itself because there's a possibility the secretary himself authorized certain actions. This cries out for an outside commission to investigate." Should Secretary Rumsfeld and will Secretary Rumsfeld recommend to the president that an outside commission, an independent inquiry be established?

Finally, Rand Beers shows up, in an interview blasted around to the Kerry-for-President e-mail list.

Josh Ross: Was it a difficult decision to leave the Bush administration?
Rand Beers: It was an extraordinarily difficult decision for me to make. When you've worked with people for a number of years, you develop a sense of loyalty and camaraderie. But I feel strongly that if you're going to play a part in any government, you have to be one hundred percent committed. When I could not give that kind of commitment because of differences in philosophy and the administration's rush to war, I decided to leave.
After I left, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do, and came to the conclusion that rather than being part of the problem, which I was within the administration, I wanted to be part of the solution.

No further developments, to my knowledge, on the retiring John Gordon.

[Note: the previous entry in this series, with more background & links to all the earlier posts, is located here.]

Tenet Out

2004-06-03T11:43:00.000-04:00

"For Personal Reasons."

Only no one is buying it. Notice the pains in most stories to place the claim in quotes, or preface it with "says" or "claims."

I couldn't help noticing the sequence of events in Bush's official statement: after a "good visit" last night, Tenet submitted a letter of resignation "today." Left unanswered was whether Bush's statement, or Tenet's letter, was drafted first.

[Update: Spencer Ackerman has the most plausible explanation I've read so far, which I offer with two caveats: (1) The only ones who know the truth (Bush, Tenet, and a few close aides) have obvious reasons to spin the story, no matter what the truth may be;(2)everyone is else is just speculating. So take all of it with ample salt -- even if a lot of folks appear to agree.]

Don't tell Bill Frist...

2004-06-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

From Seeing the Forest, via The Left Hand of the Dial:

George Bush is out jogging one morning and notices Little Hannah on the corner holding a box. Curious, he runs over and says, "What's in the box, kid?"

Little Hannah says, "Kittens, they're brand new kittens."

Bush laughs and says, "What kind of kittens are they?"

"Republicans", says Little Hannah.

"Now that's cute", Bush says and goes on his way.

A few days later, Bush is running with the Vice President Cheney and he spies Little Hannah with her box just ahead.

He says to Dick, "You gotta check this out.", and they both jog over to Little Hannah.

Bush says, "Look in the box Cheney. Isn't that cute? Hey, kid, tell my friend what kind of kittens they are."

Little Hannah replies, "They're Democrats."

"Whoa!", Bush says, "I came by here the other day and you said they were Republicans. What's up?"

"Well", Little Hannah explains, "their eyes are open now."

VP Speculation

2004-06-03T10:58:00.000-04:00

There’s no shortage of VP speculation lately, including this series, so I’ll go on record with a few comments:

Kerry/McCain is a non-starter. Yes, I understand the fascination. But don’t be fooled. McCain wants to move his party back towards the center, and wants to be the leader who does it. If Kerry wins, McCain could be a likely opponent in ’08, unless Kerry puts him in a cabinet position first.

I’d like to think that the choice will be John Edwards or Bill Richardson. Both are good choices, and since Edwards isn’t running for re-election, and Richardson is a governor, neither choice would endanger an existing Senate seat. But it’s tough to square that thought with the feeling that the eventual choice, like many of Kerry’s positions, will manage to be both vaguely disappointing and somehow still acceptable. Given the obviously horrendous Republican alternative, we’ll all embrace it.

In other words, I really haven’t a clue. So here are a few of the attributes I’d like to see in the VP pick: charismatic, capable of speaking in short sentences, attractive to swing voters, smart enough to demolish Cheney in the debate(s), and able to be aggressive without appearing mean. Of course, that would be John Edwards, which would blow my “vaguely disappointing” theory. But I could live with that…

Your thoughts?

News From the Flab Front

2004-06-02T19:36:00.000-04:00

A Tom Toles cartoon yesterday had me Googling for related stuff. I’m not sure what to make of it all, but here’s what I found:

Numerous citations of the study that inspired the cartoon. Sure enough, researchers have found a clear correlation between time spent driving – and the ever-widening American rear end. Who’d have thunk it?

A whole series from ABC news. My personal fave: this one, on hidden corn sweeteners, and the subsidies that make them so insidiously cheap. There are much better studies out there – but it’s always refreshing to see at least some of this stuff on the evening news.

Meredith Vieira’s program for overweight kids, whose first inductees are christened (I’m not making this up) “the Flab Five.” I’m not sure which part of this story is stranger: (1) the name, which seems to suggest that the children’s weight problems can be addressed by an afternoon of snappy remarks and shopping; (2) the fact the Ms. Vieira claims to be sympathetic because she was once (gasp) ten to twenty pounds overweight; or (3) the fact that one of the first steps Ms. Vieira has taken to help these kids is to hire them nutritionists and trainers (just what any concerned parent of a chubby child might do).

Speaking of Mendacity...

2004-06-01T17:43:00.000-04:00

Josh Marshall has a splendid take on David Brooks' latest:

This new argument -- that the White House pushed through big tax cuts because of the economic slow-down of early 2001 -- is simply an effort to retrospectively exonerate reckless and dishonest behavior which was demonstrably reckless and dishonest at the time. Columnists should challenge that sort of mendacity, not abet it.

"Unprecedented Negativity" in Bush Campaign Ads

2004-06-01T10:18:00.000-04:00

Since this is a Tuesday-but-Monday-observed, I’ll start with my pick of what you may have missed over the weekend: Dana Milbank and Jim VandeHei’s fine article on the “unprecedented negativity” of Bush Campaign ads:

Last Monday in Little Rock, Vice President Cheney said Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry "has questioned whether the war on terror is really a war at all" and said the senator from Massachusetts "promised to repeal most of the Bush tax cuts within his first 100 days in office."

On Tuesday, President Bush's campaign began airing an ad saying Kerry would scrap wiretaps that are needed to hunt terrorists.

The same day, the Bush campaign charged in a memo sent to reporters and through surrogates that Kerry wants to raise the gasoline tax by 50 cents.

On Wednesday and Thursday, as Kerry campaigned in Seattle, he was greeted by another Bush ad alleging that Kerry now opposes education changes that he supported in 2001.

The charges were all tough, serious -- and wrong, or at least highly misleading. Kerry did not question the war on terrorism, has proposed repealing tax cuts only for those earning more than $200,000, supports wiretaps, has not endorsed a 50-cent gasoline tax increase in 10 years, and continues to support the education changes, albeit with modifications.

Clearly part of the reason for this proliferation of misleading ads is that they work, and part of the reason that they work is that the press thus far has largely failed to call the Bush campaign on the ever-growing number of fouls. The news here, in other words, is not that the ads are misleading. If you’ve been attuned to the Blogosphere, and if you even occasionally visit sites such as The Center for American Progress, or Factcheck.org or BushOut.tv, you may well find much of the material familiar.

The news is that it isn’t some relatively obscure website that’s calling these guys on the lies – it’s The Washington Post. And Millbank and VandeHei are not just calling them out – they’re documenting just how much more frequently and extremely the Bush campaign misleads than the other side.

Three-quarters of the ads aired by Bush's campaign have been attacks on Kerry. Bush so far has aired 49,050 negative ads in the top 100 markets, or 75 percent of his advertising. Kerry has run 13,336 negative ads -- or 27 percent of his total.

Apparently, the Post has figured out that catching Republicans at lies is not “evidence of partisanship”—it’s just journalists doing their job.

Thus far, however, the article has attracted only modest attention – perhaps because most of the country was more focused on beaches and barbecues over the weeked. Atrios didn’t mention it. Josh Marshall gets a nice dig in, but otherwise mentions it only in passing. There was a lengthy but not terribly noteworthy thread over at Kos. Barry Ritholtz, at BOPNews, stood out by having the sense both to note it – and to pose a couple of interesting questions:

Are all these negative and false statements the acts of a desperate and floundering incumbent campaign? Or, is the incumbent in so much political trouble because of the negativity it personifies?

To answer those questions, and put the entire matter into perspective, it helps to refer to a couple of earlier sources. Start with this piece, from the Annenberg Survey, which shows that people do indeed believe the misleading claims -- in spite of that fact the few will admit to getting information from political ads. Then take a look at this piece, by Sidney Blumenthal, which nicely catalogs the stakes for the administration in encouraging mistaken beliefs.

Put the two together, and you have at least one answer to Ritholtz’s questions: the Bush team is relying on misleading ads more than ever (a) because so far at least they've been getting away with it and (b) because they really have no choice.

It does start to look a lot like desperation, however -- since as the lies unravel, they seem to just be lying harder and harder just to slow their erosion.

For the Bushies, it's a classic no-win situation. It's too late to start telling the truth, the ranks of the credulous are diminishing, and the lies -- as lies always do --are getting far too complex to maintain.

[UPDATE: I somehow overlooked Kevin Drum's brief comment on this topic, which nicely summarizes the Post's statistics: "So Bush is three times more negative than Kerry. Just the kind of leader America needs."]

Bush, the Environment, and “Governing by Polls”

2004-05-30T11:44:00.000-04:00

It takes a library …to describe the damage Bush is doing to the environment.

In the June 10 issue of The New York Review of Books, Bill McKibben tackles this pentagon report, plus nine recent books, calling the Bush policy “institutionalized corruption: a steady payback to the logging, mining, corporate farming, fossil fuel, and other industries that contributed heavily to put Bush in power:”

The scale of this assault on the environment is so large as to be numbing. With a hundred battles occurring simultaneously and without a majority in either chamber of Congress to hold hearings or issue subpoenas, the environmental movement has been almost paralyzed. In Congress and the administration, loss has followed loss in such steady succession that even the most conventional environmentalists, usually bipartisan to a fault and reluctant to jump into electoral politics, now find themselves with a single goal: defeating Bush in November.

There is much of interest in the article, but what caught my attention were a few tangential, but highly illuminating, tidbits concerning Bush’s use of polls. Specifically, the comments illustrate how Bush relies on poll data to frame policies that might otherwise encounter considerable resistance. For example, it was Bush's pollster, Frank Luntz, who created the phrase “Healthy Forests Initiative”-- to describe a bill that others have described less charitably as the “No Tree Left Behind Act.” The same pollster also christened the “Clear Skies” bill -- the most brazen cave to mercury and sulfur polluters in recent memory. And there’s more:

Luntz told Bush to stop using the phrase "global warming" (in a leaked memo, he stressed that "while 'global warming' has catastrophic connotations attached to it, 'climate change' sounds a more controllable and less emotional challenge") and to emphasize the (false) statement that there is no consensus among scientists on the issue. "Should the public come to believe that the scientific issues are settled, their views about global warming will change accordingly," Luntz wrote. "The scientific debate is closing [against us] but not yet closed."

These clever bits of framing, in turn, may allow Bush to believe he’s actually being truthful when he says that he doesn’t “govern by polls” -- at least from the perspective of what Peter Singer (in The President of Good & Evil) describes as Bush’s “arrested moral development:” a “childishly literal notion of what it is to be truthful.”

After all, it’s not the policy that’s being adjusted to respond to the polls, it’s merely the words that are being adjusted to tailor the spin to the political reality. All so Bush can go on governing as he damn well pleases.

It wouldn’t surprise me, in fact, to learn that the very phrase – “We don’t govern by polls” – is itself poll-tested. At the very least, it’s true to form: deeply misleading, without being literally untrue.

Feasting at the Schadenfreude Buffet

2004-05-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

Billmon, after a brief hiatus, is back in fine form.

I must confess that I spent a good part of my week off feasting at the schadenfreude buffet – and many good things to eat and drink did I find there, including such delicacies as skewered neocon, fricasseed Judith Miller, fried huevos de Sanchez (and you know I’m not talking about eggs), Republicans on the half shell (or in Denny Hastert’s case, on the half wit) and, last but certainly not least, Shrub-a-la-road, smothered in Max Factor.

The ability to cackle with delight at the misfortunes of others certainly isn’t the most attractive human quality, but given the events of the past year – and the great geysers of noxious slime spewed out over that time by the conservative agitprop machine – I think I can be forgiven my moment of weakness. It’s not every week you see the tracks completely come off the GOP tank.

This is not just a good post: it's essential reading.

A Better Way to Play the Rising Oil Price Problem

2004-05-28T13:01:00.000-04:00

A week ago, I went off on the astonishingly amateurish flash ad put out by the Kerry Campaign, "The House of Oil."

Today, Luke Francl points out a refreshingly professional, hard-hitting ad, put out by The Campaign for America's Future. The ad demonstrates nicely what can be done with essentially the same material. Go watch.

Essentially -- everything that the Kerry campaign got wrong -- these guys do right. The visuals are strong, the sound track powerful and appropriate, the message focused, clear, and absolutely unmistakable.

More to the point, the message is correctly calibrated, planting the right associations without undermining itself by making weak or unnecessary claims. Sensibly, they steer clear of "blaming" bush for higher oil prices -- opting instead to connect a few of the most damning & irrefutable dots. That's enough.

Channeling John Ashcroft

2004-05-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Tom Toles sets the tone. The Center for American Progress has the details.

Mmmm. Diseased Lobster.

2004-05-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

It could just be me. But somehow the phrase "diseased but not inedible" -- coupled with the blithe assurance that the "baffling" condition "doesn't affect the meat" -- doesn't exactly whet my appetite:

A baffling disease that makes lobsters ugly, but not inedible, has crept northward from the Buzzards Bay hotspot where it's afflicted lobsters for several years.

The numbers of infected lobsters are far too tiny to cause panic, but researchers and lobstermen are weary of the disease's progress. The disease doesn't affect the meat, but a lobster with a corroded, blackened shell is a tough sell.

"You go and spend $8 for a lobster, you want a good-looking lobster," said Edward Heaphy, a lobsterman of 50 years from Dover, N.H.

In 1998, diseased lobsters began filling traps in the Buzzards Bay area, off the coast of southeastern Massachusetts. Almost a quarter of all lobsters sampled by the state in the bay that year had the disease, known as shell burn.

More here.

Pretty Polling Pictures

2004-05-27T15:35:00.000-04:00

Chris Bowers at MyDD has the state-by-state map. His current projection: a Kerry win by 116 electoral votes. Sweet, if it happens -- but don't anybody get complacent.

Bush and Kerry alike on Iraq?

2004-05-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Did it strike you as odd that, on the same day the NYT was running their now-famous Mea Culpa piece, they were peddling the notion that Kerry's and Bush's Iraq policies are "broadly indistinguishable"? As if their rhetoric should be the deciding factor?

This claim, from yesterday's Times, made my head spin:

They still differ on some details, and Kerry continues to assert that Bush has lost so much credibility around the world that only a new president can rally other nations to provide the necessary assistance, a point he made on Tuesday while campaigning in Oregon.

That dismissive "continues to assert" effectively discards one of the largest and most obvious differences between the two candidates -- as if "credibility around the world" were a minor point.

I could go on -- but conveniently, there's a good rundown already out there. Thanks to a tip from Mr. Skippy, we find this excellent guest post over at Liberal Oasis, with further comments on the same article:

NYT also ran yesterday a separate piece suggesting that Bush’s repositioning makes it much harder for Kerry to take advantage of Bush’s political crisis.

That assumes that Kerry needs to stake out a dramatic policy difference with Bush rather than a dramatic ability difference.

Kerry needn’t risk taking a supposed politically expedient position on Iraq.

This is Bush’s war and, to paraphrase a man who was once considered to have had integrity, Bush broke it, it’s his responsibility to fix it and so far, he hasn’t come close to convincing anyone that he has the ability to even stop breaking it.

The Times would do well to heed Molly Ivins' advice, and pay more attention to what the man does, and less to what he says.