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: 33 0 59 4457

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

How Not To Write A Lede 2007-10-01 14:49:00 It seems that AP writer Andrew Taylor did more than a bit of editorializing over the congressional Democrats and the budget, as follows...WASHINGTON - The most basic job of Congress is to pass the bills that pay the costs of running the government. After criticizing Republicans for falling down on the job last year, Democrats now are the ones stumbling.(This, by the way, was originally an update to this post, but I added more here.)Wow, what a tool, huh?Well, as it turns out (here), Taylor lambasted Democrats last February 1st over passage of a $463.5 billion spending bill; in the process of doing so, the Dems apparently generated “hard feelings” on the part of congressional Republicans (awwww, let’s all break out the crying towels for the Repugs).Of course, as Media Matters points out, Taylor didn’t note in his February story what he had reported previously the prior November – the fact that the $463.5 billion spending bill was necessary because, as soon as the Repugs found ...

MoDo's Latest No-Nos 2007-10-01 12:14:00 I definitely second this post from Scott Lemieux today (h/t Atrios) about what passed for punditry in yesterday’s New York Times, specifically concerning the rehashing of all of the “can Hillary cut it” and “where does her ambition come from” and “can she make it without Bill” story lines about one of the leading nominees for next year’s Democratic presidential nomination (snoozerama time regardless of the gender in question).And no, my objection is not based on the fact that Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd were taking on Democrats as opposed to Republicans. To prove it, I’ll cut Rich a little more slack because he noted the issues where HRC has recently advocated positions, though a little late as if to worry more about alienating potential voters than stating a case (namely, Iraq and health care – actually, a lot late on heath care, but perhaps because she knew she would get blamed for 1994 all over again, but still). I would add as well HRC’s uncomfortable (to me, ...

Happiness Is Red And White 2007-10-01 10:58:00 We spent a good part of the day in Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, Pa. yesterday, arriving for brunch at the Cock N’ Bull, then wandering around some of the clothing stores, specialty shops, and various other exhibits (the Halloween/scarecrow contest winners had been named – one witch with a broom that was modeled after a Lockheed L10 Electra aircraft called “Amelia Scareheart” was particularly clever, we thought).For anyone who has never visited Peddler’s Village, by the way, I should not that it is a very walkable place largely modeled after farmhouses tucked away amidst the scenery of Bucks County between New Hope and Upper Black Eddy not far from the Delaware River.(By the way, as a public service, I should also ask that anyone visiting not throw coins into the fish ponds, but only into the stream where the waterwheel is located. The water corrodes the coins to the point where the metals seep into the water, poisoning the fish when they try to drink.)Anyway, we took a bre ...

Friday Videos 2007-09-28 23:09:00 Happy belated birthday to Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music ("Slave To Love," one of his solo hits, with lots of Michael Mann-ish touches to this '80s vid)......Miles Davis left us 16 years ago today (his solo from "Footprints" recorded in 1967 - I don't have the entire recording, but his music typically seemed to start and end as if by accident, though that of course was by design - as Wynton Marsalis said, you could find yourself captivated by his playing in a subtle way, or words to that effect)......guilty pleasure time; happy belated birthday (lots, I know) to Olivia Newton-John ("Have You Never Been Mellow" from "The Midnight Special" in 1975 - I'm wearing my bell bottoms at this very moment, I swear)......happy ontime birthday (number 79) to Koko Taylor ("Wang Dang Doodle," with Little Walter)......yet another happy belated birthday to Marvin Lee Aday, otherwise known as Meat Loaf ("Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad," from back in '77 or so)......and finally, happy belated birthday to Ces ...

The Vatican's "Vapors" Over Tube Time 2007-09-28 17:34:00 According to this story from today’s New York Times…Over the past week, the Vatican and an Italian doctor have sparred over the doctor’s accusation that (Pope John Paul II) should have been fitted earlier with a feeding tube. The doctor, Lina Pavanelli, an anesthesiologist, argued in a magazine article, then again this week in public, that the failure to do so before March 30, 2005, when the Vatican announced that John Paul had been fitted with a nasal feeding tube, deprived him of necessary care and thus violated church teachings on euthanasia. He died, at 84, on April 2 that year.In an article in the magazine, Micromega, Dr. Pavanelli argued, “When the patient knowingly refuses a life-saving therapy, his action together with the remissive or omissive behavior of doctors, must be considered euthanasia, or more precisely, assisted suicide.”…The accusation came as the Vatican restated its position on feeding tubes. Last week, a Vatican office described them as “an ordinary ...

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (9/28/07) 2007-09-28 16:45:00 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.(The Inky is back to the correct order of House and then Senate – that makes someone like me with a touch of OCD happy.)HouseTerrorism insurance. The House passed, 312-110, and sent to the Senate a 15-year renewal of the program that provides taxpayer backing to help the insurance industry meet the catastrophic costs of any future terrorist attacks. The bill expands the program to cover nuclear and chemical attacks.A yes vote was to pass HR 2761.Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), H. James Saxton (R., N.J.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).Voting no: Michael N. Castle (R., Del.) and Joseph R. Pitts (R ...

Coming Clean Too Late 2007-09-28 14:16:00 This CNN story tells us that the private military contractor Blackwater “delayed and impeded” a congress- ional probe into the deaths of Jerry Zovko, Scott Helvenston, Mike Teague and Wesley Batalona, four of its employees in Iraq, on March 31, 2004 (more on Blackwater is available from here).This also ties into today’s New York Times column by Paul Krugman on the abominations caused by Bushco’s privatization to outfits like Blackwater and the perverse thinking that people from “industry” can always come into government jobs and ancillary functions and work efficiently.Though I’ll state that I wish well for Americans working in Iraq for profit and a measure of sympathy for their loss (only going so far since they chose to be there in the first place), my deepest concerns lie with our military who face ever-escalating danger, entrapped in a sectarian civil war with no end in sight.And whose fault is that?Krugman and others quite rightly blame Bushco for their gross mismana ...

"Illegal" In '08 = Gay In '04 2007-09-28 11:15:00 (Though I suppose, if you’re a Repug, demonizing either group is always “in play” – the first word is in quotes because I’m trying to cover myself in case anyone wants to “flame” me over not saying “undocumented,” though they probably will anyway.)This news release from his office tells us the following about Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher (pictured above with former Repug U.S. House Rep. Anne Northup – h/t McClatchy)…In a continuing effort to protect the public, (Fletcher) has notified federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that Kentucky wants authority to verify the immigration status of foreign-born felons in Kentucky prisons.Governor Fletcher made the request in a letter dated September 14 to ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers. The letter proposes that Kentucky be allowed to participate in a detention and removal program under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.Well, the problem is that states and localities really ...

Willard Mitt Is Full Of... 2007-09-27 21:40:00 I'd say he's got another "penumbra of angst" on his hands with this one (h/t Eschaton). ...

Edwards, Health Care And The "Sensible Center" 2007-09-27 17:13:00 I’ve been pondering this column from Cokie and Steve Roberts that was reprinted in the Bucks County Courier Times Tuesday partly because I don’t know what they’re trying to accomplish here.Are they trying to seriously inform anyone as to the different positions on the issue of health insurance presented by each candidate for president from either party (as the New York Times did here last Sunday with this excellent editorial)? No.Are they trying to tell us about real-life stories of people who’ve experienced some of the horror of our profit-driven private care, where fewer and fewer people are covered? No (after all, the Robertses live in the accountability-free zone of pundit land, which is located primarily in the Beltway but also other regions, particularly in the South – they do throw in a lot of polling data that is supposed to impress us, though).Well then, let me share some of what they have to say here and maybe I’ll come up with an answer. Here is an excerpt…Take ... Health

"Newt-Mania" Beckons! 2007-09-27 15:51:00 Can you feel it?Are you awaiting the bluster and bombast, the overflowing pretense that will soon engulf our discourse in a similar manner as the contents of a ruptured sewer line engulfing your basement?Are you truly ready for cosmic-scale, accountability-free egomania?Then I have glorious news for you...It is only a matter of time until NEWT! declares!I know this to be true because of the full-page ad that appeared in today’s New York Times (and what a pleasure it is actually to discuss a full-page Times ad besides that one) announcing the formation of “America’s Solutions For Winning The Future,” commencing with “Solutions Day,” which I guess is supposed to be today – conveniently coinciding with the 13th anniversary of the Contract On America; 13 being such a lucky number of course – though the ad notes that it will extend until this Saturday the 29th - ???Oh, hang that. Never mind! The point is that NEWT! will soon be back, which means that the normal rules of time ...

Rudy The Sunshine Patriot 2007-09-27 14:09:00 I’d like to institute a rule among the media punditocracy and our political establishment that, when a member of this self-important group does something manifestly ignorant and stupid (as Rudy Giuliani did here), then that person should disappear completely from sight for at least a week (a month would be better, but there’s no sense being greedy).And yes, I know there’s no chance whatsoever that that will happen, but all I can do is take a shot.And since that is the case, Rudy! has appeared once more to inform us here that “the military option is definitely on the table” concerning Iran.So I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at “Mr. 9/11” and his own military history. Let’s see what this guy who invented the “perp walk” did in the service of his country.Joe Conason tells us the following (from here)…Born in 1944, young Rudy was highly eligible for military service when he reached his 20s during the Vietnam War. He did not volunteer for combat -- as ...

Don't Let SCHIP Fall Where It May 2007-09-27 11:54:00 I know this is more “echo chamber” time, but we need to keep beating the drum in support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, especially in light of this propaganda from Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt that appeared in USA Today (particularly this excerpt)…Ideology is really behind the Democrats' plan. They trust government more than the free choices of American consumers. Some in Congress want the federal government to pay for everyone's health care, and expanding SCHIP is a step in that direction.First of all, you nitwit, the SCHIP legislation is not “the Democrats’ plan.” It was arrived at through a bipartisan consensus (I realize, though, that those two words aren’t in Bushco’s vocabulary, so I guess your confusion on this is understandable).Two Senators who have taken the lead in authoring this commendable legislation are Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah. And they are Republicans (and here is their response to ...

Calling Out One Of Our Own 2007-09-27 10:57:00 It pains me a bit to admit that it’s getting harder and harder to find interesting commentary on The Huffington Post any more.To begin, we were treated to this angry screed (and I’ll admit that I know a thing or two about angry screeds) by John Ridley aimed at the New York Times over the MoveOn “ad that will never die.”As I stated in a prior update, if Ridley wants to accuse the Times of some kind of a double-standard in running the ad…well, I may not agree with him, but I’ll cut him some slack. However, when he starts citing percentage numbers showing a decrease in readership and revenue as a signal that the paper is ready for the bone yard, he starts to sound ridiculous; all newspapers are taking those hits. And to say that the paper stinks now because “Pinch” Sulzberger has supposedly never had to work for anything is childish.Next, we have HuffPo blogger Sam Stein trying to manufacture a “story” out of the fact that “webisodes” (I hate it when people invent ...

Wednesday Videos 2007-09-26 22:44:00 Three Days Grace ("Never Too Late")......Happy belated birthday to Jerry Donahue of Fairport Convention ("Now Be Thankful" from waay back here - God, does R.T. look young)......and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "West Side Story" and its debut on Broadway, here is "America" from the film......and here is Mat Munro singing "Somewhere" (yes, it wasn't necessary for the words to appear, and I would have rather had the clip of Richard Beymer singing to Natalie Wood from the film, but the sound quality here is much better).For more videos, please check the WeShow link from the home page. ...