Gov't: "I'm Not Listening, La La La La La"

Members of Congress apparently do not heed the common-sense findings of non-partisan commissions, deciding instead to listen to special interests or just pretending that the problems will just magically go away. It's cute when this little girl does it, but not grown men and women entrusted with running the country.

First up, Medicare. A bill passed the House that would have put off a scheduled cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients. To fund the measure, money would be taken out of payments to the Medicare Advantage program, which allows patients to receive insurance benefits from private insurers instead of traditional Medicare. According to an independent commission, however, these payments are overly generous and make Medicare solvency more difficult. But Republican Senators sided with the insurance agencies and the bill fell two votes shy of the sixty needed for cloture. Worth noting: Sens. Levin & Stabenow (D-MI) voted for cloture, as did Sen. Obama (D-IL). Sen. McCain (R-AZ) was absent, as was Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) who at least has a good excuse as he's still recovering from brain surgery and cancer treatment.

Secondly, levee systems. A recent opinion piece by Gerald E. Galloway, a civil engineer associated with the University of Maryland and the Army Corps of Engineers, again levels much of the criticism against Congress. Dr./Prof./Brig. Gen. Galloway led a White House study after major flooding along the Mississippi in 1993. The study found that jurisdiction over the levees was scattered among local, state, and federal governments and that many levees "were woefully undersized." But years past and Katrina hit and now the floods in the Midwest and still nothing has happened. Bush requested (and received, I think, the article isn't exactly clear) $30 million in 2006 for the Army CoE to inventory and assess the nation's levees. No funds have been granted since then. Congress passed the National Levee Safety Act in 2007, which formally establihed the assessment, but still has not allocated funds.

So what's Congress doing now?

RECESS!

Headlines: 26-29 June 2008

• 6/26: Afghans See Pakistani Role in Karzai Plot: Members of Pakistan's intelligence service seem to have played a role in the attempted assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
• 6/27: Feds raid Blackwater's armory in firearms probe: Everybody's least favorite military contractor gets a visit from ATF.
• 6/28: Oil Hits New High as Dow Flirts with Bear Territory: Amid high oil prices and mortgage worries, the Dow entered then retreated from bear territory (defined as less than 80% of the value of its all-time peak) on Friday.
• 6/29: Hersh: U.S. escalating covert ops against Iran: Operations originally intended to investigate Iran's nuclear development and destabilize hard-line elements of the regime "have now been significantly expanded."

FINALLY!

Whether or not you agree with the candidate, this video made me so happy for so many reasons. First, the guy, J Xavier, looks like he's about 15 years old yet he's invested himself into the election system enough to write a song and produce a video about his candidate (that he can't vote for).  

Secondly, while the lyrics and musical technique is simplistic at times, the fact that this kid paid enough attention to what is happening to mention the important issues circling in this campaign season is also commendable.

Third, most of the role models of rappers who make it big available for kids to emulate suck. Point blank suck.  There are hardly any well-known rappers now aside from Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Lupe Fiasco that actually incorporate sociopolitical issues into their songs (as in their music also serves a higher purpose than mindless entertainment).   For J Xavier to show other kids his age that knowing about politics and being involved (and to encourage this behavior in their parents) in spite of all the other influences that say that flashy crap is cool is amazing.

Hopefully, this kid gets some airtime and that this is only the beginning of a new wave of conscious music, like "The Proud" by Talib Kweli. It's a little angry, though, but at least it's talking about issues that drastically need to be addressed.

WE GOTTA MAKE EVERYBODY SEE, IN ORDER TO FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE!  ~Public Enemy

Greetings from the Bronx

According to CNN, today the New York City Department of Health announced "A three-year initiative will seek to give HIV tests to everyone in the Bronx from age 18 to 64." 

The announcement comes on the heels of a report released Wednesday that found a high rate of "unsafe sexual behavior" in New York City.

"Of most concern, among men who have sex with men who had five or more partners in the past year, 36 percent did not use condoms consistently," Health Commissioner Thomas Freidan said in a statement released with the report. "This is a core group which is at high risk for getting, and spreading, HIV."

HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus that causes AIDS.

The Bronx has been particularly hard-hit, according to the report. A quarter of New Yorkers infected with HIV -- more than 21,000 people -- live in the Bronx, and the borough reports a third of the city's AIDS deaths each year.

The Bronx already leads the way with HIV testing, with 68 percent of adults -- compared with 64 percent in Manhattan and 56 percent in Brooklyn -- reporting having been tested at some point in their lives. But the new initiative seeks to reach the 250,000 Bronx adults who have never been tested -- some of whom may be unknowingly living with HIV.  'New infections are still occurring at epidemic rates,' Bronx borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. said in a written statement, "especially among women and people of color."

According to city officials, one in four people with HIV in the Bronx do not know that they are infected, and one in four of those who find out that they are HIV-positive also learn that they already have full-blown AIDS.

For the full CNN article, click here.

Clearly, the United States' encounter with the HIV/AIDS epidemic is not over.  Preventative measures must be taken, such as education and awareness that includes comprehensive sex education programs in middle and high schools.  

Since education is the biggest factor in preventing HIV infection from spreading, below I am going to repeat some information last seen in an earlier blog-post of mine, "HIV Myths Sentence Man to 35 Years."These are taken from Heroes Project India's FAQs, but the same information is easily available through other HIV/AIDS-prevention organizations.

• Abstain from vaginal, anal, and oral sex.
• Use condoms.
  
• Effectiveness: Studies have shown that latex condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV transmission when used consistently and correctly. These studies looked at uninfected people considered to be at very high risk of infection because they were involved in sexual relationships with HIV-infected people. The studies found that even with repeated sexual contact, 98-100 percent of those people who used latex condoms correctly and consistently did not become infected.

• If lubricant is used, it must be water-based. Lubricants containing oil (such as Vaseline) might cause latex condoms to break.
• If spermicidal (birth control) foams and jellies are used, they must be used along with condoms, not in place of condoms. The effectiveness of spermicidal in preventing HIV is unknown.
• If you shoot drugs, seek help. And never share needles.
• Avoid mixing alcohol or other drugs with sexual activities-they might cloud one's judgment and lead to engagement in unsafe sexual practices.

For more about HIV/AIDS and prevention, please visit the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

Supreme Court Rulings, Pt. 1: The Death Penalty

From CNN:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment for crimes against individuals can be applied only to murderers.

Patrick Kennedy, 43, was on Louisiana's death row after being convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.  The ruling stemmed from the case of Patrick Kennedy, who appealed the 2003 death sentence he received in Louisiana after being convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that execution in this case would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, citing "evolving standards of decency" in the United States.  Such standards, the justice wrote, forbid capital punishment for any crime against an individual other than murder.

"We conclude that, in determining whether the death penalty is excessive, there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons, even including child rape, on the other," wrote Kennedy, who is not related to the convicted rapist.

As this is a blog, here's the editorial part of the post. I personally disagree with the death penalty being used for any crime first and foremost because deciding when another person should die seems like a highly-flawed system that is backwards and opposed to the purpose of human life (this take on the right to life should not be confused with my documented pro-choice stance nor should the right to life regarding the death penalty be confused and conflated with the right to die, as in refusing treatment, etc.).

First, some insight by famous people who are far smarter than myself. There is a reason that the vast majority of the world evolved beyond Hammurabi's Code. In the words of Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."  While the purpose of human life is constantly pondered by everyone who attempt to answer this evasive question in numerous ways, including religion, the late Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. summed it up best in "Sirens of Titan" stating, "The purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."  

From a different standpoint, the intentional killing of another person, unless in a situation where self defense of any other kind is impossible, is first degree murder, no matter who the killer(s) is/are.

One of the most heated issues surrounding the death penalty debate is the role that DNA testing plays in determining guilt or innocence of the accused.  With more and more technological developments, many wrongly convicted people have finally been acquitted due to the proof of innocence that DNA testing provides.  However, in many cases, there is no DNA evidence available to be tested for definitive proof of guilt or innocence.  In such situations, there can almost never be 100%  certainty of guilt that would demand such a strong sentence.  

 As Benjamin Franklin said, "That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer, is a maxim that has been long and generally approved. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."   Agreed.

Furthermore, states without the death penalty have consistently lower murder rates.  Therefore, not only is the death penalty ineffective at determining real guilt but states that choose capital punishment also end up suffering from the very criminal actions that they are trying to prevent.

Additionally, the United States prides itself on being a progressive country that is a model for the rest of the world.  So it makes perfect sense that the USA uses a form of punishment exempt from the 8th Amendment and continues an ancient practice of state-sponsored murder (wars could also fall under this category), riiight?  WRONG.  The USA is actually one of the few "developed" countries in the world to still have the death penalty legally allowed.  For the breakdown of countries, click here.  While our "oh-so-effective" criminal justice system helped us to become the country in the world with the largest percentage of our population imprisoned with a total of 2 million people (80% of which are minorities and 70% of the 2 million being imprisoned for petty crimes. Oh yeah!  Also, we build more prisons than schools), we also made the list of countries that execute the most people per year.  WE'RE NUMBER ONE!  WE'RE NUMBER ONE!

Amnesty International has some more to say:

Key facts:  

-137 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

-60 countries retain and use the death penalty, most often as a punishment for people convicted of murder.

-At least 1,252 people were known to be executed in 24 countries during 2007. The true figure was certainly higher.

-88 per cent of all known executions in 2007 took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA.

 

More Key Facts:

Death sentences and executions in 2007

Abolitionist and retentionist countries

Countries abolitionist for all crimes

Countries abolitionist for ordinary crimes only

Countries abolitionist in practice

Executions of child offenders since 1990

Ratification of international treaties

 

For the full CNN article, click here.

For the Amnesty International webpage on the Death Penalty, click here.

Headlines: 23 June 2008

• Obama Camp Closely Linked with Ethanol: I'm going to have to disagree with Obama on this one. Subsidizing corn-based ethanol does little for the environment/sustainability/energy independence (Ethanol still causes pollution and the fertilizers used to grow corn are largely petroleum-based.) and raises food prices.
• Mugabe Rival Quits Zimbabwe Runoff, Citing Attacks: It's now entirely up to the international community to act.
• Is Israel Preparing to Bomb Iran?: It looks that way, but they shouldn't. Because when you engage in diplomacy instead of militarism, you get results like...
• ...North Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast: The six-party talks have resulted in the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
• How George Carlin Changed Comedy: The irreverent stand-up comic is dead at 71.
• Getting to Know Jim Webb: Joe Klein says that veep "speculation is usually a waste of time. It is what political reporters do instead of reporting during the dead weeks after the primaries." What? My last two weeks of work isn't real journalism?
• The Warrior-Poets celebrate their 100th post:

The Veep Search, Pt. 2: Obama

And now for Obama. His Top Ten:

Hillary Clinton

Senator Hillary Clinton is the veep nominee with the most vocal supporters...and the most vocal detractors. Choosing Clinton would unite the party, help heal the wounds of a long primary season, and could stave off a flow of Clinton supporters to McCain. But perhaps choosing a former Clinton supporter would do the same thing, and the defectors will likely cool off and return to Obama regardless. Hillary's experience might not mesh well with Obama's change message, but this is a spin problem that can be easily circumvented. Hillary comes with Bill, a brilliant strategist (that Obama's campaign was nonetheless able to outwit), and choosing Hillary will associate Obama with Bill's presidency, for better (relative peace and economic prosperity) or worse (Scandal!). In my opinion, Sen. Clinton has definitely earned a consideration after her primary performance, and she would make a great VP and a good nominee as long as she and Bill can diminish their own egos and content themselves with playing second fiddle. (Chances: 2%) [Add'l. Reading: Salon's flip sides of the same coin--Heads & Tails.] UPDATE: Obama named Patti Solis Doyle to be chief of staff for his running mate. This is significant because she was unceremoniously let go from the Clinton campaign in February. Not a good sign for Hillary's chances.

Bill Richardson

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would be a nice choice for VP. He has executive and foreign policy experience; he has been governor for five years and was Ambassador to the UN before that. He could draw many Latinos--who overwhelmingly supported Hillary--to Obama and could turn New Mexico blue. Although hardly an exciting candidate during the primaries, Richardson could do much to beef up the ticket. (Chances: 20%) [Add'l Reading: Wikipedia]

Kathleen Sebelius

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) would be a fairly good fit as Obama's running mate. She has clear administrative capability; as Kansas's insurance commissioner, she made a slightly controversial decision by nixing a proposal by an Indiana-based insurance provider to buy Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, while she was also running for governor. She has a history of reaching across party lines. She could turn Kansas blue and help draw female supporters to Obama, if they don't perceive it as a slap in the face to Hillary. She is little known outside of Kansas; indeed, what I knew about her prior to researching this was Jon Stewart's lampooning her State of the Union response as "flat and boring." Sebelius also has little foreign policy experience, although she has travelled to the Middle and Far East as governor. However, her weakness are slight relative to her strengths. (Chances: 16%) [Add'l Reading: The Fix likes coins too! Heads or Tails?]

Wesley Clark

Retired General Wesley Clark has a long list of military credentials--first in his class at West Point (where he later taught), Rhodes scholar, various command posts, culminating in the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the operations in Kosovo--that would serve Obama well. Only two minor drawbacks: (1) WaPo reminds us that he has never held an elected office, and is this not particularly adept at political maneuvering. (2) As an early Hillary supporter, he criticized Obama's lack of experience. But Clark is the safest foreign-policy choice and would attract plenty of blue-collar voters. (Chances: 15%)

Jim Webb

Many are excited about the possibility of Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) as VP. Like Obama, he's been against the Iraq War from the beginning, and he predicted a difficult insurgency when the war had just started. He wrote another Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal reminiscent of John Edwards' Two Americas. He recently proposed a new GI Bill of Rights that would have increased college benefits for returning veterans. He is a pro-gun Democrat, a plain-spoken, decorated veteran from Virginia, a red state growing increasingly bluer. But his plain speaking has a tendency of getting him in trouble. While teaching at Annapolis in 1979, he wrote an article entitled "Women Can't Fight," although he was endorsed by nine female soldiers in the 2006 Senate race. Some have inferred a glorification of violence and the Confederacy from his books. But perhaps the biggest problem is that he seems uninterested in the job and content with his Senate seat. (Chances: 12%) [Add'l Reading: Wikipedia]

Joe Biden

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, would bring some serious foreign policy cred to the table. In 2002, he tried to pass a resolution that would have ensured that President Bush exhausted all the diplomatic means of dealing with Iraq before going to war. Born in Scranton, Biden could help Obama take Pennsylvania. However, his son is a lobbyist, and he got into trouble on the campaign trail for calling Obama "articulate." However, I think these flaws are forgivable/negligible in light of his strengths. (Chances: 9%) [Add'l Reading: Wikipedia, The Washington Post]

Tim Kaine

Current Virginia Governor Tim Kaine could help Obama with two constituencies. As a popular, moderate governor, Kaine could deliver the now purplish Virginia to the Democrats in November. He is a Catholic--he even took a year off from Harvard Law to go on a mission trip to Honduras and can speak fluent Spanish--and he could help draw Catholic voters, who largely supported Clinton in the primaries, to Obama. His centrism and eloquence would work well with Obama, their mothers were both born in the same Kansas town and Kaine was the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse Obama. The only drawback is that he too lacks foreign policy experience. (Chances: 6%) [Add'l Reading: The Boston Globe]

John Edwards

A lot of people, including Mrs. Wolverine, would like Obama to pick former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. During the primaries, Edwards seemed closer to Obama than to Hillary, and most Obama supporters liked Edwards. Many in the media have discounted him because he seemed to be of little electoral help as Kerry's running mate in 2004. But Obama is not Kerry. The biggest sticking point is that it is difficult to tell whether Edwards wants to be VP or wants a nice Cabinet post or maybe just wants a jet ski. (Chances: 5%)

Ed Rendell

Pennsylvania Governor and former Clinton supporter Ed Rendell accused the press of drinking the Obama Kool-Aid before the Pennsylvania primary. Now he says he's drunk some himself. As a former Hillary supporter, Rendell would make a nice unity ticket, and his support will help Obama win Pennsylvania. However, he does nothing to shore up Obama's foreign policy credentials. (Chances: 3%)

Evan Bayh

As one of the most popular Democrats in Indiana's history, Senator Birch Evans Bayh (D-IN) could deliver the right-leaning state's 11 electoral votes to Obama as his vice presidential nominee. Bayh was a two-term governor and served on the Senate Committees on the Armed Forces and Intelligence; he has executive and foreign-policy experience. As a Clinton supporter, Bayh could possibly unite the Democrats if chosen. He is a fiscally responsible, moderate New Democrat in the style of Bill Clinton, but without the scandals. He has been characterized as "bland," but this could simply complement Obama's soaring rhetoric. (Chances: 1%) [Add'l Reading: Wikipedia, The Indianapolis Star]

Honorable Mention:

Former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia has worked tirelessly to limit the proliferation of WMDs, would give Obama much foreign policy cred, and could put Georgia into play. However, he has been out of the political arena for 12 years and was a fairly conservative Democrat when he was in it.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has been mentioned, but Sebelius seems the stronger female candidate. More importantly, selecting her for VP is unlikely to take away Arizona from McCain--it's his home state too--and, most importantly, would force her to resign her governorship under Arizona law, which would mean that the Secretary of State, Republican Jan Brewer, would take her office.

Mark Warner, the third Virginian, is the state's former governor and is running for the Senate. Which is why he won't be Obama's VP. He's ahead of Republican Jim Gilmore, another former governor, in the polls and Democrats would like to take that Senate seat in the fall.

Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) has been suggested, but seriously? Sure he's been a co-chair of Obama's campaign, but he lost his Senate seat in 2004, the first party leader to lose their seat since the 50's, and since then has been working for a law/lobbying firm in D.C. He's too much of an insider for Obama's change campaign.

And you thought Hillary was the only unity ticket. Outspoken Iraq critic Chuck Hagel (R, yes R-NE) has been mentioned, and if Obama were to select a Republican, it would be him. And Hagel would consider if selected. But in the end, he is a Republican with conservative stances on most issues and would be out of place. Don't rule out a Cabinet post though.

Additional Reading

CNN & Deborah White

Good Night, and Good Luck

I've thought a bit about how to say this.

At first, I thought I'd say I was throwing in the towel.

But that might denote defeat, and this is in no way about feeling or being defeated.

I just don't enjoy the blog format at all, to be honest. So I've decided to retire as a Warrior-Poet.

If you still want to hear what I have to say about some things, feel free to stream WMHW 91.5 Mt. Pleasant at WMHW.org, where I'll be the news director this coming school year.

I chose the title of this post to be a tip of the hat to one of my broadcasting role models - Edward R. Murrow. If you've seen the film of the same name, you'll know that was his sign-off. I'm not purporting to be anywhere near his calibre, but I'd like to strive in that direction. If you've gotten the chance to read anything about him (the movie doesn't really provide an accurate portrait in some aspects), you'll know he wasn't beholden to any interest group, party, or ideology other than his own - which was basically to tell everyone what he would like to know himself. I hope that I accomplished that somewhat as a Warrior-Poet.

I'd like to leave ya'll with this quote, from Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius:

"If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it."

Oops. Our Bad.

Dear World and future generations,

Oops. Our bad.

<3 ,

US Government


PS: So, while the United States government felt that detaining people in Guantanamo Bay and subjecting them to interrogation methods that were unconstitutional and in violation of international law, the government did this to protect innocent people. Really? Because when one thinks of the perfect way to create enemies where none existed before, this methodology pops into mind, but such actions probably are not the best way to protect innocent lives.

According to Tom Lasseter, "Militants found recruits among Guantanamo's wrongly detained."

Mohammed Naim Farouq was a thug in the lawless Zormat district of eastern Afghanistan . He ran a kidnapping and extortion racket, and he controlled his turf with a band of gunmen who rode around in trucks with AK-47 rifles.

U.S. troops detained him in 2002, although he had no clear ties to the Taliban or al Qaida. By the time Farouq was released from Guantanamo the next year, however - after more than 12 months of what he described as abuse and humiliation at the hands of American soldiers - he'd made connections to high-level militants.

In fact, he'd become a Taliban leader. When the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released a stack of 20 "most wanted" playing cards in 2006 identifying militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan - with Osama bin Laden at the top - Farouq was 16 cards into the deck.

A McClatchy investigation found that instead of confining terrorists, Guantanamo often produced more of them by rounding up common criminals, conscripts, low-level foot soldiers and men with no allegiance to radical Islam - thus inspiring a deep hatred of the United States in them - and then housing them in cells next to radical Islamists.

So, instead of detaining those who were responsible for the deaths of so many people, the United States government mixes up a recipe to turn people that posed no such national security threat, the guise under which they were detained, into real threats.

Given the gravity of the situation, an "our bad" wouldn't be the appropriate response. How about an ever-patriotic bit of encouragement for such a misguided administration (and those who voted for it twice):


Way to go?




For the full article, click here.

Set Fire to the Stake...Wait, He's a Democrat!

Politico.com reports that campaign volunteers from Barack Obama's presidential bid asked two women in Muslim headscarves to move out from behind the podium in two separate incidents at a recent rally in Detroit. The volunteers wanted to make sure the headscarves were not in television shots or photographs taken at the event. Given certain events throughout the globe, one volunteer told a Muslim woman that it wouldn't be good " 'for [Aref] to be seen on TV or associated with Obama.' " Aref was one of the women with a hijab.

In another incident, a Muslim woman was told that nobody with any head-coverings would be allowed behind the podium.

This, of course, is made all the more sticky due to the fact that the world's largest Middle Eastern population outside of the Middle East is in southeastern Michigan, where the rally was.

Of course, the campaign (not the candidate) has apoligized to the two women concerned. However, I believe the uproar, had this been the Republican campaign would be considerable. There would be calls to have the candidate replaced, frankly. But there has no such outcry against Obama yet. The volunteers responsible should at least be asked not to help anymore.

Obviously, McCain's campaign has discriminated some - one Hispanic supporter was asked to sit behind the candidate to add "diversity" to the backdrop - but had it been anything as flagrant as what has been done by the Illinois Senator's campaign, McCain would be dismissed as a bigot. Or at least a candidate who allows bigots to participate in important aspects of his campaign.

So will they light the stakes under Obama? No. He's a Democrat.

Kudos to Lukasz Zbylut!

My Windows sidebar today told me about a teenager who was accepted to seven ivy league schools - along with ten other universities. What makes this even more amazing is that when he emigrated to the US five years ago from Poland, he couldn't speak any English. He was denied only by MIT.

Can somebody tell me again why we can't have a national language?

Pass on the Grass

So, according to yet another new study, this time of seized marijuana from 48 states, THC levels are almost double what they were in 1983. This translates into "increased potency of marijuana, including the risk of mental impairment, respiratory problems, addiction, the correlation between pot use and teen depression, and its status as a gateway drug," according to the press release from the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. The press release also states, "Baby boomer parents who still think marijuana is a harmless substance need to look at the facts."

However, for many, this is not new information. The real concerns are first, what took so long for the White House to pick up on this dangerous new trend and secondly, what effective policies are being developed and implemented to combat the damaging effects?

If anyone has any good suggestions, aside from reinstating Reagan's War on "Drugs," feel free to post them as comments and let's hope the White House gets a whiff of this.



For the full report in PDF format, click here.

For the full press release, click here.

Surprise, Surprise

Headline: "Pentagon lawyers sought harsh interrogation" from the Associated Press.

Here's some excerpts:

The Pentagon in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks pursued abusive interrogation techniques once used by North Korea and Vietnam on American POWs despite stern warnings by several military lawyers that the methods were cruel and even illegal, according to a Senate investigation...

"The guidance (administration lawyers) provided will go down in history as some of the most irresponsible and shortsighted legal analysis ever provided to our nation's military and intelligence communities," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an Air Force Reserve colonel who teaches military law for the service.

The hearing is the Senate Armed Services Committee's first look at the origins of harsh interrogation methods and how policy decisions were vetted across the Defense Department. Its review fits into a broader picture of the government's handling of detainees, which includes FBI and CIA interrogations in secret prisons.

The panel is expected to hold further hearings on the matter and release a final report by the end of the year.

Among its initial findings is that senior Pentagon lawyers, including the office of general counsel William "Jim" Haynes, sought information as early as July 2002 regarding a military program that trained U.S. troops how to survive enemy interrogations and deny foes valuable intelligence.

Much of the training program, known as "Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape," or SERE, is based on experiences of American prisoners of war in previous conflicts, including those in Korea and Vietnam.

In response, SERE officials provided Haynes' office a list of tactics that included sensory deprivation, sleep disruption and stress positions.

For more, click here.

Aside from the government knowing that what they were doing was illegal and being advised against such actions by their own employees and advisers, is it troubling to anyone else that one is no longer enraged by the Bush Administration's actions and has simply come to accept the fact that one will be lied to many times a day?


Life will begin to pick up the pieces and put itself back together on January 20, 2009. Inshallah!

So Long, Tim Russert

Tim Russert of "Meet the Press" passed away today at the age of 58. The cause of death has been declared as a heart attack.

For More, click here.

Headlines: 12 June 2008

• No renewal for renewables: Two bills failed to achieve cloture in the Senate on Tuesday, the Consumer First Energy Act and Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act. The former would have taxed oil companies' windfall profits and used the taxes to invest in renewable energy. Oil companies could avoid the tax by investing in the energies themselves. The latter bill would have extended tax breaks for renewable energies and would have funded it by closing loopholes in the tax code. Key quote from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: "Republicans are determined to lower gas prices the only way we can: increasing supply." What about decreasing demand? Even if you don't believe in global warming, we don't have an infinite supply of oil. Sir, you and your colleagues have the farsightedness of Mr. Magoo.
• Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts: "What? Due process? Argh! Justice Kennedy, you have killed us all!" said Justice Antonin Scalia. This would be funny if he didn't actually say that the ruling "will almost certainly cause more Americans to get killed."
• Zimbabwe Detains Opposition Leaders: MDC's secretary general was detained almost immediately after his return from South Africa.

The Veep Search, Pt. 1: McCain

It's only fair: John McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee long before Barack Obama wrested the Democratic nomination from Hillary Clinton's cold, dead hands. Or something like that. McCain's Pick-Six:

Charlie Crist

Current Florida Governor Charlie Crist's centrism would mesh well with McCain's. Crist has been called that state's first black governor, was the first Republican governor to attend the NAACP's state convention, and worked to limit disenfranchisement of black voters. As state AG, he refused to continue government intervention in the Terry Schiavo case. He has proposed limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. He is popular in Florida, his endorsement of McCain helped him win the Florida primary, and Crist would help McCain carry the state in the general. He is relatively youthful, but his inexperience would make it difficult for McCain to levy the same argument against Obama. Also, rumors and controversies that first appeared in the 2006 gubernatorial election would re-rear their ugly heads in a national contest. The bachelor governor has been accused of being homosexual and fathering an illegitimate child. He also drew fire for accepting the support of Rev. O'Neal Dozier who called Islam a "dangerous" "cult" and opposed the construction of a mosque because he didn't "want a breeding ground for terrorists" in Broward County. However, illegitimate-child rumors and guilt-by-association controversies have a definitively McCainian ring to them. (Probability: 32%) [Sources: Wikipedia, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Bobby Jindal

As the son of Punjabi immigrants, Louisiana Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is not your stereotypical Republican. At age 37, he is the country's youngest (can also be read most inexperienced) serving governor. As governor, he passed a rigorous ethics bill—a favorite McCain theme—in an historically corrupt state. When he became the state's Secretary of Health and Hospitals in 1996, he inherited a bankrupt Medicaid program that had a $400 million deficit; he balanced the budget and raked in $220 million in surpluses over three years. Although his background may help draw traditionally non-Republican voters to McCain, Jindal is a staunch conservative. He has an 100% pro-life voting record according to the National Right to Life Committee, an A rating from the Gun Owners of America, and some of the lowest ratings among conservation groups. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Jindal voted to make the Patriot Act permanent, sponsored a bill that would end the moratorium on offshore drilling, and supported a constitutional amendment that would ban flag burning. In short, Jindal might help McCain with both moderate independents and the Republicans' conservative base. (Probability: 32%) [Sources: Wikipedia, The Telegraph, The American Prospect]

Lindsey Graham

The senior senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, has been a longtime friend and associate of McCain and is currently his campaign co-chair. Like McCain, he has a reputation of not toeing the party line. His support for a 2007 bill that would have provided illegal immigrants a path to citizenship is providing fodder for Buddy Witherspoon, his challenger in South Carolina's Republican primary, and has been lampooned by Rush Limbaugh as "Grahamnesty." In 2005, he was part of the Gang of 14 that ended the standoff between Democrats and Republicans over judicial nominees and the use of the filibuster. Graham attended the Great Memorial Day Weekend Veep Meet, which Crist and Jindal also attended, although he was not mentioned as a potential running mate as much as a confidant whose opinion McCain seeks and trusts. Maybe Graham would prefer to keep his Senate seat, but that trust sounds like something McCain would want in his VP. (Probability: 16%) [Sources: Wikipedia, The Associated Press]

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee's campaign for the Republican nomination showcased his talents and his weaknesses. He is an evangelical and a former pastor, and his policies as Arkansas governor exemplified what Christianity is supposed to be all about. He sought to give the children of illegal immigrants financial aid to in-state colleges, waived state restrictions to accommodate Katrina evacuees, and signed the ARKids First program into law, reducing the number of children without health insurance in the state. He is known for his charm and his wit; after moving into a mobile home while the Governor's Mansion was being renovated, he joked with Jay Leno that it wasn't a trailer, it was "a triple wide" and that it "was big enough for [Leno's] chin." He even plays bass guitar in the band Capital Offense. But he is unschooled in foreign policy and his ignorance gets him into trouble. During the campaign, he wondered if Mormons thought Jesus and Satan were brothers and claimed that there are more illegal immigrants from Pakistan than from any other country except Mexico. But Huckabee could help McCain with economic policy and with evangelicals, and his recent reminder in New Hampshire that he didn't attack McCain in the primaries shows that he's interested in the job. (Probability: 12%) [Sources: Wikipedia]

Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty has been an outspoken supporter of McCain and is currently his campaign co-chairman. He is currently the governor of Minnesota and chairman of the National Governors Association. Before being elected governor, Pawlenty pledged not to raise taxes, a pledge he kept save a 75-cent "health impact fee" imposed on cigarettes. Thus, to balance the state's budget he relied on cutting state services and increasing fees. He sparred frequently with Democrats in the state legislature and is said to be Minnesota's most conservative governor since the 1920s. However, he has proposed a program that would pay for the first two years' tuition of the top quarter of students. He has promoted ethanol and the importation of prescription drugs from Canada before it was banned by the federal government in 2006. His chances of being picked are slim, however, as he is not well-known outside of Minnesota and is not incredibly popular inside Minnesota. He won the 2006 gubernatorial election by only 1% of the vote. (Probability: 4%) [Sources: Wikipedia, WaPo's The Fix]

Joseph Lieberman

Right-Wing Leftie has proposed that a McCain-Lieberman ticket would go a long way for national unity. To some extent, that's true. Senator Lieberman (I-CT) agrees with the Democrats on several issues—global warming, stem cells, gun control, affirmative action. However, he sides with Bush and McCain on one of the most important issues of this election: Iraq. A hawk ticket would probably not be popular nor would Lieberman's age (64) serve as a good complement to McCain's. Nominating an independent and former Democrat would not help McCain solidify the Republican base, although it would probably win McCain some votes from the Jewish community. I think it's politically too risky, and Lieberman could better help McCain doing what he's doing now, serving as McCain's attack dog. (Probability: 2%) [Sources: Wikipedia, MSNBC]

Honorable Mention:

Rob Portman, as a congressman from Ohio, could help boost McCain in that swing state. As a specialist in international trade, Portman could also give McCain some economic cred. However, Portman worked as director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Bush administration, and McCain does not need any more connections to Bush.

Mitt Romney was also invited to the GMDWVM, but experience from the Republican primaries/cauci suggests that Romney won't happen. Romney was almost universally hated by the other contenders, (Exhibit A: McCain throws his weight behind Huckabee so Romney loses in WV.) and he seemed to base his campaign on stereotypes. Going beyond his Who Let the Dogs Out? moment, he also seemed to assume that Republican voters were all racist chickenhawks. ("We should double Guantánamo"?)

Condi Rice, as a minority and a woman and with approval ratings better than both George W. Bush and Republicans in general, Rice has the potential to draw voters to McCain. One problem: she has repeatedly said that she is not interested in the job. Those who speculate she is interested—"She met with Grover Norquist!"—seem to be grasping at straws.

Haley Barbour, the current governor of Mississippi, has bona fide Republican credentials—he campaigned for Nixon and Ford and served as Reagan's political director—that could fire up the conservative base. However, he founded his own lobbying firm, and McCain recently purged his campaign of most lobbyists.

Additional Reading:

CNN, Reuters

Spending Priorities

Is it just me, or does Congress seem to be going backwards as far as public policy is concerned? The point of all public policy is to determine the best solution to the public's needs.  Well, after the national disaster and government humiliation of Hurricane Katrina, you'd think that the federal government would be doing everything possible to ensure that those affected by the storm in 2005 aren't suffering nearly three years later.  

But in its infinite wisdom, Congress is leaning towards allocating money for Iraqi refugees instead of those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  One homeless New Orleans resident puts it nicely:

[Patrick Clark] said the government was all too willing to increase the debt with war spending but is turning its back on those most in need of help after Katrina.

While I have nothing against helping Iraqi refugees in a mess that we created, you'd think that as the richest country in the world, the least we could do is help the homeless population created by the equally-poorly handled disaster of Katrina.   What really gets me is that the $73 million planned for mentally disabled Katrina victims is probably going to be scratched over $150 million in funding for Jordan and Mexico's militaries.  Sure, let's promote military forces abroad while not paying attention to the long-term ramifications of 12,000 homeless people - seeing as how it is the government's responsibility to protect the well-being of its citizens.

Changing Climate, Stagnant Politics

So, we haven't posted in a while, which of course means that nothing important happened in the past nine days.

Except the brief life of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. The act, which I first heard about on Monday, would have (1) created a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases--in my opinion, the best way to limit such pollution--and (2) allowed states to have tougher environmental regulations than the federal government, which California tried to do, but the Bush Administration's EPA denied California this right last December.

And now the bill has been filibustered to death. The supporters of the bill were 12 votes shy of the 60 necessary to invoke cloture and end debate. (Both Sens. Levin and Stabenow voted for cloture.) Senators will now wait until next year, when they will have a more supportive president and hopefully a more favorable legislature, until they try again.

Also on the climate change front, the NASA inspector general released a report stating that "political appointees in the space agency's public affairs office worked to control and distort public accounts of its researchers' findings about climate change for at least two years." Shock.

On a lighter note, there's a wolverine in Michigan's thumb!

The '01E Wolverine, North Campus, U-M, munching on the head of an Easter Bunny. (4/5/08)