The Liberal Doomsayer My blog deals primarily with national politics in the U.S. as well as, on occasion, local politics in Pennsylvania. From time to time, I may have something to say about sports and entertainment as well. I try to interpret information that shapes the news and provide context to current events. I am definitely left of center politically, but as far as I'm concerned, neither major party is perfect. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 2 0 54 4452

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

Dubya's Toke(n) Draft 2007-10-15 16:31:00 As Jeralyn of Talk Left tells us here, Incurious George recently relaxed restrictions on eligibility for those convicted of drug offenses to serve in the military. However, no such restrictions have been loosened for students convicted of similar offenses so they could receive student aid for college.I’ll admit that I didn’t know exactly the position of John Edwards on drugs, but what follows is important information on this issue (from here):• Help convicts with drug counseling & job counseling. (Jun 2007)• Supports drug courts and alternatives to incarceration. (Mar 2004)• Disparity in penalty for crack vs. powder is not justified. (Jan 2004)• Admits having smoked marijuana. (Nov 2003)• Voted NO on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)• Rated B- by VOTE-HEMP, indicating a pro-hemp voting record. (Dec 2003)I don’t know how Edwards feels about denial of student aid for relatively minor drug convictions based on the 1998 Act, so I sent him a message ab ...

More On General Sanchez 2007-10-15 15:31:00 (Posting will be sporadic to non-existent tomorrow, by the way.)I expressed my appreciation to retired Gen. Ricardo Sanchez a couple of days ago here for quite correctly calling the Iraq war “a nightmare with no end in sight,” and Prof. Marcus quite rightly pointed out that Sanchez perjured himself before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May 2004.And as I checked a bit more on Sanchez during the period when he led the ground forces in Iraq (referencing “State of Denial” by Bob Woodward again), I came across the following:During a White House briefing in January 2004 with Rummy, the former “Secretary Of Defense We Had” noted an “incident” of prisoner abuse by Army military police at Abu Ghraib; on January 16th, Gen. Sanchez put out a press release announcing an investigation of “detainee abuse at a coalition forces facility,” noting that “(release of) specific details could hinder the investigation.”Sanchez “did not communicate effectively enough” with ...

No More For Gore (Don’t Run, Al) 2007-10-15 14:42:00 I really didn’t plan on saying anything about this, but all manner of scribes in print and online are toasting Al Gore for co-winning the Nobel Prize along with the International Panel on Climate Change and also hinting that he should run for president next year (there are many columns out there in a related vein, but this one by Paul Krugman today may be the best, partly because he doesn’t even bring up the issue, but focuses instead on Gore and the reflexive freeper outcry).I probably said this about Gore awhile back, but I’ll repeat it again here.In the spring of 2000, I watched Al Gore speak to a group of students at Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College) in Pennsylvania about politics, environmental issues, and other matters (the program was broadcast on a local cable network). He interacted well with the class, and they had a lively exchange of ideas with him also. And as I watched the half-hour-or-so broadcast, I had a bit of a George Tenet moment and thought his win ...

Send Laura To Iraq 2007-10-15 11:33:00 The New York Times reports today that Laura Bush will leave soon for “a diplomatic mission” to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait.I would say that there’s one destination country missing from her itinerary that is more important than all of those locations (and she should visit for a few days, with time spent outside the Green Zone also).As far as I’m concerned, this should be a no-brainer for someone whose profile the Repugs want to raise primarily for two reasons; 1) the appalling, and totally deserved, approval ratings of her husband, and 2) the media’s proclamations of the ascendance of Hillary Clinton (with some Repugs having stated previously that the First Lady should be running for president herself now, further evidence of their total disconnect from reality).And as you might expect, this puff piece from Sheryl Gay Stolberg wants to have it both ways with Mrs. Bush, portraying her both as some demure housewife having recently taken some oh-so- ...

Hey, All You Flyers Fans 2007-10-14 13:39:00 I just thought you'd want to know what happens when you give money to an organization run by Ed Snider; part of it goes to Freedom's Watch...If you bought a ticket to the game last night, all you need to do to answer the question "who is paying the bills?" is to look in the mirror.Update 10/15: I know the "ad buy" for the Freedom's Watch propaganda took place from August through September, but anyone who thinks this group won't show up again as themselves or in some other demented incarnation the next time Congress looks at war funding is fooling themselves. So yes, anyone who gives money to Ed Snider is fueling an ongoing campaign as far as I'm concerned. ...

The Truth, At Long Last 2007-10-13 09:05:00 Thank you, General Sanchez - I thought I would never see actual leadership from anyone on this war (I disagree with your assessment about staying there, as well as the notion that something like victory can be achieved by transcending partisan politics - way too later for that now - but you placed the blame for this catastrophe exactly where it belongs).Now, though you have a clear conscience, prepare to be ostracized for the rest of your life. ...

Friday Videos 2007-10-12 23:09:00 Happy belated birthday to Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates (a couple of local guys doing "Possession Obsession")......happy ontime birthday to Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens ("Only A Memory")......another happy belated birthday to Scott Johnson of The Gin Blossoms ("Til I Hear It From You"; I think that's Liv Tyler, but I'm not sure of the movie)......ten years ago today, John Denver was killed in a plane crash ("The Strangest Dream" recorded in 1971 at a peace march in Washington, D.C. protesting the Vietnam War - a wish as far away now as it was then)......another belated birthday, this one for Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet ("True"; an '80s anthem for sure - try not picturing a John Hughes comedy with Molly Ringwald, I dare you)......and on a personal note, happy anniversary Mrs. Doomsy ("I Only Have Eyes For You," by The Flamingos). ...

Friday Wrapup (10/12) 2007-10-12 17:35:00 Time to clean out my “in” bin again…Welcome Debbie Stafford (pictured - story appears here)…A state representative abruptly left the Republican Party and became a Democrat, the first time in 20 years that a Colorado lawmaker has switched parties.(Stafford), 55, who also is a minister, said the Republican Party no longer represents her values.“Ideally, I find myself a moderate and I think I would be best suited for a third party. However, the reality is that our political system is not designed for a third party voice to be strong,” Stafford said Thursday.She added: “I am not leaving the Republican Party as much as I believe the Republican Party left me,” she said.You have a lot of company.Concerning this story about an anticipated surge in home heating costs…Surging crude oil prices are the primary, but not the only, culprit for the jump in fuel oil costs. This spring and summer, American refineries experienced an unusual number of unexpected maintenance outages. The ...

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (10/12/07) 2007-10-12 15:52:00 As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week.HouseIraq withdrawal reports. The House passed, 377-46, and sent to the Senate a bill requiring the administration to report quarterly to Congress on its military plan for pulling U.S. combat forces out of Iraq.A yes vote was to pass HR 3087.All Philadelphia-area representatives voted for the measure.Putting aside his cries of the dreaded “partisanship” in the House (sure, it’s still going on to a degree and always will, but it’s only a “problem” if the Repugs are the minority) and this notion of training the Iraqi security forces (another shell game at this point as far as I’m concerned), I thought Mike Castle of Delaware had some good things to say about this bill here (happily separating himself from the “Joe-Pitts-head-in-the-sand” crowd for now…Pancake Joe did the right thing here, but he’ll revert to his typi ...

Rudy's "Gift That Keeps On Giving" 2007-10-12 13:21:00 Just when things are going oh so swimmingly for Rudy! in his quest for the Repug presidential nomination, along comes Bernie Kerik once more, floating to the top of the pond like the carcass of a dead fish.As noted here, the one-time-protégé of “America’s Mayor” is facing charges of bribery, tax fraud and obstruction of justice…The indictment will have direct implications for Giuliani, the sources said.For one, another Giuliani commissioner and a top inspector general during Giuliani's years as mayor will be called as witnesses to describe the secret meeting in Tribeca.The Giuliani officials are Raymond Casey, former head of the Trade Waste Commission, a city agency set up to keep the mob out of the carting industry, and Michael Caruso, former inspector general with the city Department of Investigation.In July 1999, Casey and Caruso met with Kerik, then the city Correction Department commissioner, at Walker's bar on North Moore St., court papers reveal.At the time, Casey wa ...

Bushco Prepares Another Innocent Victim 2007-10-12 12:03:00 It looks like CIA director Michael V. Hayden want to “arrange a neck tie party” for that agency’s inspector general John Helgerson, as noted on the front page of the New York Times today…The review is particularly focused on complaints that Mr. Helgerson’s office has not acted as a fair and impartial judge of agency operations but instead has begun a crusade against those who have participated in controversial detention programs.Any move by the agency’s director to examine the work of the inspector general would be unusual, if not unprecedented, and would threaten to undermine the independence of the office, some current and former officials say.Frederick P. Hitz, who served as C.I.A. inspector general from 1990 to 1998, said he had no first-hand information about current conflicts inside the agency. But Mr. Hitz said any move by the agency’s director to examine the work of the inspector general would “not be proper.”“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Mr. Hitz ...

Thursday Videos 2007-10-11 22:16:00 Killswitch Engage ("Holy Diver"; time to get really, really loud!)......now for a change of pace; jazz piano legend Thelonious Monk would have been 90 yesterday (Duke Ellington's "In My Solitude," recorded in Berlin in 1973)......legendary composer Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 10, 1813 (here is an animation inspired by "La Traviata"; I thought this was kind of fun)......and happy belated birthday to John Prine, still hanging in there ("Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," recorded at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2004). ...

How Quickly He Forgets 2007-10-11 17:06:00 Robert Zoellick, the new president of the World Bank, said that, in addition to providing help for the world’s poorest countries, assistance should be provided for “middle income” countries such as China “coping with problems resulting from their fast-growing economies” (here).Uh, I don’t think so…In the first speech outlining his priorities for the bank since he became its president in the summer, Mr. Zoellick sought to rebut critics who say that the bank should stop helping China, India, Brazil and other countries that can tap capital markets and even carry out foreign aid programs on their own.Indeed, in response to that criticism, the bank has lent less money to these countries in recent years.But Mr. Zoellick said that 70 percent of the world’s poor live in countries that are prospering over all and that aid was needed to help them deal with environmental damage, energy shortages and other internal problems that breed instability. These countries also need more sop ...

It Was “Practical” For Them 2007-10-11 15:52:00 It looks like the sour, self-promoting, holier-than-thou apple doesn’t fall far from the foul Bushco tree, does it?So Time asked Jenna Bush 10 questions (tied to her hawking a new book, of course), and one is the following…If the war in Iraq is so noble, why aren't you and your sister serving our country there? — Donald Pence, San FranciscoI understand that point, but there are many ways to serve our country, and I think my skills are better suited for teaching and representing the U.S. in Latin America through UNICEF. I respect the men and women of our country who are over there fighting. It is an unbelievably selfless thing to do. But if people really thought about it, they would know it's not even a practical question.Oh, I don’t know about that. You seem like a fairly able-bodied young woman, Jenna. I’m sure you could get into fighting shape to be shipped out over to the Mesopotamian sand pit and face all manner of deprivation, sentenced to the same fate as many your ag ...

Immigrants 1, “No-Match” Mike Chertoff 0 2007-10-11 14:35:00 I really wanted to side with Dubya and Mike (“City Of Louisiana”) Chertoff on this one. I really did. But I can’t.As reported here, Bushco tried to get this country’s private employers to do the work of government again in policing illegal aliens, but…A federal judge in San Francisco on Wednesday blocked the Bush administration's attempt to enlist the nation's employers to banish illegal immigrants from the workplace.Apparently, the plan (such as it was) was for DHS to send out “no-match” letters to affected employers (meaning that some employees’ social security numbers from their W-2 tax forms could not be verified against the numbers in the government’s database), and the employer would receive 90 days to resolve the discrepancy and an additional three days for the employee to submit a new number. If the employer failed to act after that, they would be subject to civil fines and/or criminal prosecution (from the story).But…(U.S. District Judge Charles) Breyer s ...