Institutions

post from TalkLeft on 13 April 2009 10:02:00 PM. © TalkLeft

Having already . . . restored the rule of law to America’s treatment of detainees in its custody . . . President Obama, in his tenth week in office, effectively put the government in charge of a large part of the automobile industry. . . . What underlies so many of Obama’s decisions is an attachment to the institutions that hold up American society . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) There is a lot to take issue with in Packer's piece, but the portion I excerpt is simply laughable. "Restored the rule of law to America's treatment of detainees in its custody[?]" What world is Packer living in? "Attachment to our institutions[?]" Not the courts apparently. I can only shake my head.

Speaking for me only

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GOP Talking Head Admits it Owns FOX Don't
"Misunderestimate" Republicans

post from Crooks and Liars on 13 April 2009 10:00:27 PM. © Crooks and Liars

video details and more

h/t FairWinds at Daily KOS. From their diary:

On April 6, 2009, the University of Colorado hosted the 61st Annual Conference on World Affairs, which included a panel presentation entitled Rebranding Republicans: Don't Misunderestimate Us, recorded by and broadcast on C-SPAN. Among the panelists was Robert G. Kaufman, author of In Defense of the Bush Doctrine: Moral Democratic Realism and American Grand Strategy, published in 2007. In a ten-minute presentation, Mr. Kaufman posited five "core principles" that Republicans must embrace if they are to succeed "when Obama fails."
There is much to find disturbing in Mr. Kaufman's presentation, such as his assumption that Obama will fail and his assertion that "multiculturalism is a euphemism for the Balkanization of the United States". However, his "recommendation" that the GOP "acquire another television network" to disseminate its message in future elections is both an audacious proposal and a stunning admission.

Kaufman stated: The fifth thing that Republicans have to do is understand the problem of communicating in a world where much of the television media, particularly, is hostile...If I had to recommend one single thing that the Republicans should be doing to help articulate the message, it is to acquire another television network so that there is not just FOX, but multiple sources of alternative information that will do a much better job than we did in 2008 to keep things honest.

Kaufman is not a spokesperson for the GOP but this slip is one that probably deserves some notice as the diarist writes. Heaven forbid that any of them they don't have enough control over our airways as it is already. Right now there are about six media companies that control almost everything we watch on television, at the movies and listen to on the radio. How could the GOP survive without one more Fox News channel to promote their agenda? It just boggles the mind.

My take on this is that it was unusual to have anyone actually admit that the GOP controls Fox, much less say they need another one. Maybe someone can look up Mr. Kaufman to see if he wants to stand by his statement and ask him who told him that the GOP has "acquired" Fox.

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stimate

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Shorter Mongiardo Campaign: Dan's a Redneck, Not
a Fag!

post from They gave us a republic... - Front Page on 13 April 2009 10:00:00 PM. © They gave us a republic... - Front Page

Jack Conway's campaign for Jim Bunning's U.S. Senate seat next year is all of about 10 minutes old, and he's already won the Democratic Primary, 13 months early.

The campaign of Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo officially jumped the shark today with campaign consultant Kim Gevedon's insane comments to Politico.

Four of Kentucky's five most powerful Democratic politicians (actually the four most powerful if you don't count DINO and cowardly waste of oxygen Governor Steve Beshear) endorsed Conway this afternoon, and Gevedon's response was to bash them as effete commies.

Conway kicked off his campaign at a rally in Louisville this afternoon, and appeared alongside some of the state party's leading figures: Reps. Ben Chandler, John Yarmuth, state Auditor Crit Luallen, and state House Speaker Greg Stumbo.
(Mongiardo notably received an endorsement from the state's Democratic governor, Steve Beshear.)
But in an interview with POLITICO, Mongiardo's consultant Kim Geveden dismissed the endorsements as coming from a bunch of effete elitists.
"They're all buddies, they're good friends. Daniel doesn't run in their social circle," Geveden said. "Daniel is a sportsman, a hunter and a fisherman... Daniel doesn't play golf, he's not the part of that social crowd, he never has been, and he never will be."
He added that Mongiardo would be courting the support of "ordinary Kentuckians, who work every day to make ends meet."

Media Czech translates:

That's right folks. Dan Mongiardo is a FISHERMAN! A HUNTER! And A SPORTSMAN! He's A MANLY MAN, WHO DOES MANLY MAN THINGS! Ben Chandler, the most popular Democrat in the ENTIRE STATE, is an effete PUSSY! Did I mention that Dan Mongiardo KILLS THINGS! He KILLS them DEAD! Nobody likes Crit Luallen! She has a fucking VAGINA, for christ's sake!
I take it that it's been a really rough day in the Mongiardo campaign. Perhaps flask-inducing bad, judging by this quote.
Yes, this will be a FUN campaign.

Or a bloody slaughter. The only question left is whether Conway's double-digit win over Mongiardo in the primary will be bigger than Conway's double-digit win over Bunning in the general.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

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er-mongiardo-campaign-dans-a-redneck-not-a-fag

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I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major-General.
I've Information Vegetable, Animal And Mineral!

post from Zirgar's Fresh New Brain Squeezin's! on 13 April 2009 09:59:00 PM. © Zirgar's Fresh New Brain Squeezin's!

There are 3 issues I want to comment on here: 1) How does this Politico article on President Obama's decision to rescue Captain Phillips from his captors get interpreted to mean that the President had no choice in the matter, that he was legally required to order the rescue? 2) Bernard Goldberg is right to find fault with the right criticizing every little damn thing President Obama does. And 3) Rush Limbaugh.

Here's what the article said:

Obama's involvement in the decision to authorize lethal force was legally required, officials said, because it was a hostage situation, not combat, and unrelated to the already authorized U.S. effort against Al Qaeda and other terror groups, officials said.

?It?s not a combat operation, so the lawyers wanted to ensure this was done right," said a second defense official.

What that means is that presidential approval was needed for this rescue to be legal, not that the President was legally bound to make the decision, that he would be committing an illegal act by not authorizing it. I guess when you're so blinded by hate, resentment and unabashed stupidity that you can't see straight, like Hannity, then the truth gets twisted and perverted. The truth is usually the first victim sacrificed on the altar of spin and blatant partisanship.

Which dovetails into my next point: Bernard Goldberg is correct to sugguest that the right needs to stop finding fault with everything the President does. Of course he still couches this in as much right wing, self-promoting rhetoric as possible, but his salient point still manages to come through. I never thought I'd agree with Mr. Goldberg on much of anything, but I guess sometimes the truth can invade the heart of darkness and find purchase for its roots, if only briefly, because I'm sure that Goldberg will be right back on that right-wing train bashing President Obama soon enough. But for now, I applaud him for his stance.

All of this can be seen in the video, a display of both lunacy and a bit of sanity going head to head. Interesting...

One more thing and then I'm done with this rescue operation stuff. Rush Limbaugh added his two cents on the hostage crisis by saying about the Somali pirates:

"These people have an entitlement mentality. I could have sworn that they are originally Americans who maybe fled. Maybe they were illegal immigrants or something who got here, come here with an entitlement mentality, didn't like it, fled the scene because Republicans drove them out of the country in the last election, so they went over to Somalia and started pirating things. Because they have the attitude of entitlement just like a lot of American citizens do."

Nice. He brings to this matter illegal immigration, entitlements and criminality brought about by lack of government handouts. I can't help but wonder if Rush would've suggested these things if the pirates were of European extraction and not African. His history on racial matters is not good and this ridiculous tirade does raise serious questions about the underlying assumptions in his shtick and his ideology. Sickening.

It seems that if there is no real connection to be found between his paranoid fixations and a story he will simply fabricate one so that he can have a platform to bash welfare/government aid recipients, immigrants, blacks and anyone else determined to be a hindrance to his great conservative utopia. This man is in desperate need of rigorous psychiatric help.

ADDENDUM: In response to the Rush Limbaugh story over at Media Matters one person put forth this remarkably astute and accurate comment:

Leave it to Dave Ross to just get it right!

On today's (April 14th) show, he pointed out that Somalia is the right-wing heaven - a completely de-regulated government! War lords sell rights to dump toxic waste no other nation will take (no EPA!). War lords sell the rights to over-fish off shore (again - no pesky Federal government to tell the sacred private enterprise what to do or how to do it)!

Poor Ole BlunderRush never read his history. Pirates are the very essence of the individual. The hand of every nation is against them. Free enterprise! To borrow a phrase, this is "Adventure Capitalism."

He's correct! I love it!

Read The Full Article:
http://zirgar.blogspot.com/2009/04/brains-we-dont-need-no-stinking-brains.html

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AL-Gov: Roy "Ten Commandments" Moore Preparing A
Run

post from Daily Kos on 13 April 2009 09:50:05 PM. © Daily Kos

The gods are merciful.

They've brought supercharged right-wing nutter Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, back from the political dead to run for Governor as a Republican.

Roy-boy, you may remember, was kicked off the Supreme Court in 2003 by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, for failing to comply with a federal judge's order to remove the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the state judicial building.

You might think this would make him a populist hero among conservative Alabamians, but Moore was positively hammered in his last bid for office, losing the Republican primary for Governor in 2006 by over 30 point to incumbent Bob Riley.

But you can't keep a good radical down:

"Right now I'm very inclined to enter. I feel there is a need, and I feel I'm well qualified for the position," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Even before he gets in, our man Moore is breaking out the dog-whistles for future usage:

Moore said he hasn't decided on a theme if he runs, but he said he's thinking along the lines of: "It's time to stand up for Alabama. We have serious threats from Washington, D.C. - serious threats on our rights and liberties."

If that sounds familiar, it's because Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace built his long career with the slogan "Stand Up for Alabama" and coupled it with harsh criticism of the federal government.

Yeah, that George Wallace. You stay classy, Royboy.

Greenville businessman Tim James is running for the GOP; he may be joined by state treasurer Kay Ivey, attorney Luther Strange, or community college Chancellor Bradley Byrne. Or all of them.

If Moore gets into a big pool like this, he could potentially win the primary with 30% of the vote. If he did win the primary, he'd almost certainly be destroyed in a general election bid against the Democratic nominee (either Rep. Artur Davis, Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, or possibly State Sen. Roger Bedford if he gets in).

We can only hope. Moore is cannon fodder if he wins the primary.

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DC Council Honors Same-Sex Marriages and the
Constitution

post from Firedoglake on 13 April 2009 09:30:39 PM. © Firedoglake

When forming the "United" States, the Framers fully expected states to recognize and uphold one another's laws. So there's nothing "unconstitutional" about D.C.'s decision last week to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.[...]

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Minnesota Election Contest -- Decision of Panel &
Issues for Appeal

post from DemConWatch on 13 April 2009 09:22:09 PM. © DemConWatch

Proving that the general theme of this election contest was that orders issued on days ending in "y" tended to be bad news for former Senator Norm Coleman, at 6 p.m. CDT, the three judge panel issued its unanimous order and judgment deciding the Minnesota Election contest 97 days after it was filed.

Some key findings from the order:

1) While Coleman alleged that some absentee ballots had been wrongfully accepted, he did not identify any such ballots in discovery responses or present evidence of facially invalid ballots in court. He further did not prove that enough such ballots existed to make a difference.

2) Minnesota law does not authorize pro rata reductions at the precinct level to estimate the effect of invalid ballots. Furthermore, Coleman failed to prove any specific numbers in any precinct for such a pro rata formula to be applied towards.

3) Only 700 of the absentee ballots proposed by the two parties were cast by registered voters (and 351 were counted).

4) The fact that the number of duplicates and originals do not match does not mean that votes are being double counted. There are other explanations as demonstrated by what happened in certain precincts.

5) Unlike the situation in the one Minneapolis precinct where it is clear that an entire envelope of ballots is missing, evidence in other precincts did not exclude other possibilities for small discrepancies in ballot numbers.

6) There is no remedy in Minnesota law for ballots that are wrongfully accepted on election day.

7) Jurisdiction over election irregularities (including any equal protection claim based on misconduct by election officals) is with the U.S. Senate.

8) As to the counting of votes, Coleman failed to prove an equal protection claim. State law provides clear standards on which absentee ballots are valid and Minnesota sufficiently trained its judges in those standards.

9) Franken is entitled to the certificate of election.

10) Franken is entitled to attorney's fees related to the lack of disclosure of information connected with Pamela Howell (the election judge from Hennepin county that had exchanged draft affidavits/proposed testimony with the Coleman legal team).

11) Coleman must pay court costs (which does not include legal fees).

12) Having agreed to Rule 9 (regarding counting of originals instead of duplicates) and enforced it in certain jurisdictions where the number of originals and duplicates did not match, Coleman is barred from challenging Rule 9 due to his delay in challenging the Rule.

13) The mere existence of errors regarding absentee votes does not create a violation of the equal protection clause. Any differences in procedures for validating absentee ballots between the counties is substantially explained by differences in resources. Bush v. Gore does not forbid such differences in local procedure as long as the same ultimate standard is being applied.

14) A person who cast an invalid ballot does not have an equal protection right in having that ballot counted.

15) There was no evidence of intentional discrimination in reviewing absentee ballots.

The order does include extended analysis of the equal protection and Rule 9 issues.

That leaves the filing of an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court as the next step.

At the present time, I can't put a time-table on the next step. It will take some time to put together the "record" from the panel. A key factor that will impact this is whether the panel has been having daily transcripts prepared. From the order, it looks like they might have. That will shorten the time tremendously. If there are daily transcripts, the full record should be able to be filed by the middle of May (with a little burning of the midnight oil in the offices of the Coleman legal team). Then it is a question of how long the Minnesota Supreme Court will give for briefing. I can see an expedited briefing order which would finish briefing by the latter part of June.

Obviously, an appeal would involve most of the issues that have been noted on this site and others repeatedly over the last three months.

While Coleman keeps on talking about the 4,000 absentee voters, the fact that the panel only identified 700 registered voters makes that issue much harder to win. I can't see the Minnesota Supreme Court not requiring Coleman to specifically identify which uncounted absentee voters should be counted and showing the proof that they are registered. If there only another 349 votes which could be counted, the case will not be sent back just to get those votes counted.

As to the duplicate ballot issue, Coleman really failed to present convincing evidence. The argument that he is barred will carry some weight with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Coleman's real problem (with the possible exception of the 46 net votes from the Minneapolis precinct) is that too much of his case is dependent upon the appellate court deciding that it must presume one set of flaws in the process over a different set of flaws. Normally, the burden of proof in a legal case rests witht he plaintiff to prove their case. It is highly unlikely that a court would shift the burden of proof without evidence.

Read The Full Article:
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panel-issues-for-appeal

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President Obama To Open Telecommunications And
Travel To And From Cuba

Republicans, Predictably: He’s Gone Too Far!!! — Democrats, Predicably: He’s Not Gone Far Enough!!!Well, well, WELL — President Barack Hussein Obama has kept yet another of his campaign promises (The New York Times): Cubans will soon be able to travel, send money and gifts...

This is only a comment summary. Visit http://guntotingliberal.com to view the lastest content complete with some of the most outrageous original photoshops in the political blogosphere!

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Shut up, Dick

The American people, via a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, tell Dick Cheney to go suck a tea bag:

Seventy-two percent of those questioned in the poll released Monday disagree with Cheney's view that some of Obama's actions have put the country at greater risk, with 26 percent agreeing with the former vice president.

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Obama Shifts U.S. Cuba Policy

Well, Obama finally made the move, easing restrictions on Cuba, plus giving a little help to the telecoms dealing with Cuban telecoms. Humanitarian issues are also in the mix. Long overdue, but there’s a long way to go. We’re already[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2009/04/13/obama-shifts-us-policy-on-cuba/

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