Wednesday, May 20, 2009

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - Rachel's on the Case . . . .

We love Rachel:




IF, (and that's a big "if") Mr. Obama puts an end to this ridiculous policy, it is Rachel Maddow's efforts that should be credited . . . .

(H/T "Olde Goat Patrick)


Saturday, May 16, 2009

"Change is Good!" * . . . .

* To quote an old MickeyD's ad campaign.

That's why it's so exciting to see the "change" Mr. Obama has already instituted:

To play off of our friend Alison and Mike's blog posts, and per Glenn Greenwald in Salon today:

Can anyone deny what the NYT and Post are pointing out today? This is what happened this week alone in the realm of Obama's approach to "national security" and civil liberties:

Monday - Obama administration's letter to Britian threatening to cut off intelligence-sharing if British courts reveal the details of how we tortured British resident Binyam Mohamed;

Tuesday - Promoted to military commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChyrstal, who was deeply involved in some of the worst abuses of the Bush era;

Wednesday - Announced he was reversing himself and would try to conceal photographic evidence showing widespread detainee abuse -- despite the rulings from two separate courts (four federal judges unanimously) that the law compels their disclosure;


Friday - Unveiled his plan to preserve a modified system of military commissions for trying Guantanamo detainees, rather than using our extant-judicial processes for doing so.


It's not the fault of civil libertarians that Obama did all of those things, just in this week alone. These are the very policies -- along with things like the claimed power to abduct and imprison people indefinitely with no charges of any kind and the use of the "state secrets privilege" to deny torture and spying victims a day in court -- that caused such extreme anger and criticisms toward the Bush presidency.


Gee, isn't it great that we have this new President south of the 49th and everything is going to "change" for the better?

Sure it is . . . .


Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Someone's Happy 'Bout the Results in BC . . . .

Per The Tyee:

Campbell and cabinet win third term
By Monte Paulsen May 12, 2009 11:08 pm


VANCOUVER –
Premier Gordon Campbell and his entire B.C. Liberal Party cabinet have been re-elected, giving the Vancouver native who led the centre-right party from opposition to government an historic third term in office.


The Liberals had won 45 seats to the NDP’s 32 as of 11 p.m., with an additional eight ridings remaining too close to call. Among those re-elected were John van Dongen, the solicitor general who resigned in the wake of several speeding tickets, John Les, the former solicitor general who resigned over suspicious land deal, and Attorney General Wally Oppal, who ducked questions about the BC Rail sale controversy throughout the campaign.


Campbell bound triumphantly up the stairs of the gleaming new Vancouver Convention Centre – itself a controversial legacy of his party’s profligate spending in advance of the 2010 Winter Games – and pressed through an adoring crowd waiting in a glass-walled conference room.


Well, I guess Iggy's happy . . . .



(Normally, photo images are included in my posts. I could not bring myself to post one of gordo. Sorry.)


Friday, May 08, 2009

Florida "Out" Front Again . . . .

Once again our former home state of Florida is "out" front in the news.

Per AlterNet today:


Florida's GOP Governor to Be Outed in Explosive Documentary Released Today

By John Byrne, Raw Story | May 8, 2009

The Republican governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, who is strongly considering a run for Senate, will be outed in a independent film being released today.


The film, Outrage, tracks the outings of prominent gay political figures, such as Crist and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. It's being produced by Magnolia Pictures and will appear in Landmark Theaters across the country.


"Using some firsthand accounts of former sexual partners, old campaign footage (to occasionally humorous effect) and commentary from gay political media watchdogs, the film makes the case for each man's homosexuality, and presents his lifetime gay rights voting record," according to one reviewer. "In each instance, the disconnect is staggering.


"The usual suspects are all there: Craig, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, former New York mayor Ed Koch, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, former Rep. Ed Schrock, even dusty McCarthy relic Roy Cohn."


A top Republican leader signaled Wednesday that Crist will likely enter the Senate race for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), who is quitting.







Hypocrisy thy name is repuglican . . . .


Thursday, May 07, 2009

Brand Obama . . . .

Thanks to thwap bringing it to our attention this morning, we can now understand the Obama phenomenon quite clearly.

Granted, Mr. Obama is head and shoulders above the previous White House "decider," but there are still problems, folks.

Chris Hedges of Truthdig.com has the definitive answer:

Buying Brand Obama


Posted on May 3, 2009
| By Chris Hedges

Barack Obama is a brand. And the Obama brand is designed to make us feel good about our government while corporate overlords loot the Treasury, our elected officials continue to have their palms greased by armies of corporate lobbyists, our corporate media d
iverts us with gossip and trivia and our imperial wars expand in the Middle East. Brand Obama is about being happy consumers. We are entertained. We feel hopeful. We like our president. We believe he is like us. But like all branded products spun out from the manipulative world of corporate advertising, we are being duped into doing and supporting a lot of things that are not in our interest.

What, for all our faith and hope, has the Obama brand given us? His administration has spent, lent or guaranteed $12.8 trillion in taxpayer dollars to Wall Street and insolvent banks in a doomed effort to reinflate the bubble economy, a tactic that at best forestalls catastrophe and will leave us broke in a time of profound crisis. Brand Obama has allocated nearly $1 trillion in defense-related spending and the continuation of our doomed imperial projects in Iraq, where military planners now estimate that 70,000 troops will remain for the next 15 to 20 years. Brand Obama has expanded the war in Afghanistan, including the use of drones sent on cross-border bombing runs into Pakistan that have doubled the number of civilians killed over the past three months. Brand Obama has refused to ease restrictions so workers can organize and will not consider single-payer, not-for-profit health care for all Americans. And Brand Obama will not prosecute the Bush administration for war crimes, including the use of torture, and has refused to dismantle Bush’s secrecy laws or restore habeas corpus.

_______________


Obama, who has become a global celebrity, was molded easily into a brand. He had almost no experience, other than two years in the Senate, lacked any moral core and could be painted as all things to all people. His brief Senate voting record was a miserable surrender to corporate interests. He was happy to promote nuclear power as “green” energy. He voted to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He reauthorized the Patriot Act. He would not back a bill designed to cap predatory credit card interest rates. He opposed a bill that would have reformed the notorious Mining Law of 1872. He refused to support the single-payer health care bill HR676, sponsored by Reps. Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers. He supported the death penalty.

Shopping, anyone ? ? ? ?


Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Shhhh! What's That Sound ? ? ? ?

That sound would be repuglican heads exploding all over the northeastern US.

"Shoot, Martha! Them damn homosexuals are a gittin' married all over the durn place!"

From NPR this am:

Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

by The Associated Press


NPR.org, May 6, 2009 · Maine Gov. John Baldacci has signed legislation making the state the fifth in the nation to allow same-sex marriage.

Baldacci, a Democrat, signed the bill Wednesday shortly after the state Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, to approve the measure authorizing marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law had allowed. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.

New Hampshire legislators are also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor. He has not indicated whether he'll sign it.


If same-sex marriage becomes law in that state, Rhode Island would be the sole holdout in New England.


You may want to invest in some earplugs.


Those exploding head noises are apparently going to get quite annoying.

Snicker.

Chuckle.

Chortle . . . .


Sunday, May 03, 2009

BC LINO's: "People With No Loyalty to a Territory . . . ."


At my good friend RossK's urging, listen to Corky, please.




The most informative 6 minutes you'll spend prior to the May 12th election.

Spread the word . . . .


Friday, May 01, 2009

One More Reason to Dislike iggy . . . .

If BC Voters need yet another reason to dislike/distrust iggy, check out this morning's "Early Edition" with Rick Cluff at the 2:11:30 mark.* (Requires Real Player, which I took pains to download, but that's a whole 'nuther story.)

If you don't want to bother, here's the verbatim transcript as per moi:


Pluffmaster: "Do you support the BC Liberal's carbon tax idea?"

iggy: "I'm not gonna wade into provincial politics. That's for the BC voter to decide."


Pluffmaster: "Aw, come on. It's just you and me." (chuckling)


iggy: "Look, I don't think it's any secret that a federal Liberal wants Gordon Campbell to win re-election. I think I can go that far, but I won't be drawn further."


'Nuff said, ya'll** ? ? ? ?



*
Note to RossK: See, I wasn't listening to the Goodship Watercarrier and his "Illegible Boys" - were you?
**
sorry, my Southern roots slipped out.