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: 28 0 2 4214

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

"Giuliani Time" In S.C. 2007-08-17 14:32:00 I just finished reading the Peter Boyer profile of Rudy Giuliani in this week’s New Yorker magazine, and I wanted to share some observations (sorry that I don’t have a link, but I run into some technical issues whenever I try to link to the magazine’s online location, newyorker.com – I hope you have better luck than I do) never mind - this may work.(I think it’s particularly apropos to look at Rudy! in light of his latest gaffe, in which he originally stated that he was at ground zero “as often, if not more, than some of the workers,” when in fact it appears, based on the records in his mayoral archive, that he was only at ground zero for 29 hours as opposed to the 962 hours endured by those working at the site.)Boyer’s article begins and concludes with Giuliani appearing in South Carolina while running for the Repug presidential nomination and offers choice items such as this…“But to many in the heartland Giuliani was heroic for what he did in New York before Septe ...

A Bushco "Triumph"? 2007-08-17 11:53:00 Regarding the conviction of Jose Padilla (pictured) yesterday, I give you today’s New York Times editorial on the subject…It is hard to disagree with the jury’s guilty verdict against Jose Padilla, the accused, but never formally charged, dirty bomber. But it would be a mistake to see it as a vindication for the Bush administration’s serial abuse of the American legal system in the name of fighting terrorism.On the way to this verdict, the government repeatedly trampled on the Constitution, and its prosecution of Mr. Padilla was so cynical and inept that the crime he was convicted of — conspiracy to commit terrorism overseas — bears no relation to the ambitious plot to wreak mass destruction inside the United States, which the Justice Department first loudly proclaimed. Even with the guilty verdict, this conviction remains a shining example of how not to prosecute terrorism cases.When Mr. Padilla was arrested in 2002, the government said he was an Al Qaeda operative who had ...

BoBo Makes Sense - Film At 11 2007-08-17 10:48:00 David Brooks was positively lucid, insightful, and genuinely interesting in his New York Times column today (not sure where he got the Kerry thing, though - and mentioning Edwards and Ronnie Baby in the same sentence? Is that an insult or flattery?).I'm scared - please hold me :-). And since it's "behind the wall"...Every presidential candidate tells a certain sort of story. Some talk about being part of a great movement. Some talk about surviving an ordeal with a band of brothers. John Edwards’s stories begin with family, continue with work and solitary struggle and conclude with triumph over privilege.He may begin, for example, by describing an incident from his boyhood. He came down from his room one morning before dawn. The house was dark, except for the blue glow of the TV. He found his father in front of the television, watching educational programming on PBS so he could get promoted at the mill.Edwards clawed his way to college but felt like a hick and an outsider. Everybody ... Film

No "Shanghai Surprise," I Hope 2007-08-17 10:39:00 There are many reasons why unilaterally attacking Iran is a stupid idea, but one of them is because of the alliance they have formed with other nations in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (here is a prior post with more information – I realize our corporate media thinks it’s more important to tell us about the latest celebrity nonsense than to tell us exactly what is going on with the SCO).This Philadelphia Inquirer online story tells us here that Mahmoud AhMADinejad, attending the SCO summit for the second straight year with leaders of Russia and China, criticized Bushco’s plans for missile defense in Europe (the whole thing is a costly Trojan Repug horse that has never amounted to anything except a bigger payday for Repug-simpatico defense contractors), and our buddy Vlad Putin chimed in also, saying that "any attempts to solve global and regional problems unilaterally are hopeless."Also, this story tells us that Chinese President Hu Jintao flew from Kyrgyzstan to Chelyabi ...

Thursday Videos 2007-08-16 22:53:00 The Capitol Years ("You Can Stay There" - yep, that's pretty twisted all right)......Happy Birthdays to both Joey Spampinato and Terry Adams of NRBQ ("It's A Wild Weekend" - well, beginning this time tomorrow, I hope)......Legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans would have been 78 today ("My Foolish Heart").....and sadly, we lost drummer extraordinaire Max Roach today (performing the Duke Ellington composition "What Am I Here For?" with pianist Billy Taylor)......Happy Birthday also to Emily Robison of The Dixie Chicks ("Not Ready To Make Nice" - still aren't, and may never be; remember when all three of them were some of the very few out there saying and doing the right things about Bushco and the war and they were ridiculed of course, but now the majority of the country is now where they were before almost everyone else? I wonder how many apologies they received? Probably best that I don't know the answer.)......and once more, I give you Elvis ("If I Can Dream," recorded in 1968, an ap ...

Xavier U, Prepare For The Pestilence 2007-08-16 17:19:00 My first question is why this university in Ohio would grant a forum to Mann Coulter (due to speak on September 6th), but as long as they have…People For (The American Way) is teaming up with state groups like ProgressOhio and Equality Ohio to raise support for the progressive student groups at Xavier that fight for the American values -- equality, diversity, social justice -- Coulter routinely attacks. Since Coulter's speaking fee of $20,000+ equals about $5 per Xavier student, we are asking progressives to chip in $5 to support groups like Xavier's Gay-Straight Alliance, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity and Earthcare.Can you spare just $5 to support the same communities Coulter regularly bashes for pay?As Ann Coulter is speaking, People For, our Ohio partners, fellows from our affiliate People For the American Way Foundation's Young People For program and other progressive students and activists will participate in a rally on Xavier's campus, where we will counter Co ...

The Rarely-Told "Hold" 2007-08-16 16:45:00 This New York Times story today tells us that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) intends to block Dubya’s nomination of John Rizzo as the CIA’s top lawyer; Rizzo is currently the agency’s interim general council. Wyden said that he was “troubled” that Rizzo “did not object to a 2002 memo authorizing interrogation techniques that stop just short of inflicting pain equal to that accompanying organ failure or even death.”Hooray for sanity for a change (and kudos to Wyden).Wyden blocked the nomination through a Senatorial procedure known as a “hold,” and as noted here, Wyden has used this effectively before.When the EPA proposed rules to ensure cleaner gasoline everywhere but in the Pacific Northwest (because the skies are considered too clean to trigger any government regulation – yes, I’m serious, but remember, this was conceived by a Republican executive branch), Wyden identified the danger from refineries producing gasoline with more pollutants, particularly benzene, because t ...

AP: Dubya Good, Bubba Bad 2007-08-16 14:40:00 You have to read this news report by the AP’s Deb Riechmann a couple of times to find the misrepre- sentations and gratuitous slams at Bill Clinton and congressional Democrats, but they’re there.Here’s one…Outgoing presidents often unleash a flurry of executive orders and regulations in a last-minute attempt to leave their mark on U.S. policy. Frustrated by Congress' inability or unwillingness to pass the president's agenda, the administration already is taking steps to do it through executive action.How about Congress being frustrated by Dubya’s inability or unwillingness to work with it on crafting a bipartisan agenda? If you want, Ms. Riechmann, you can read this post by Kagro X that contains the sorrowful details of the result of Dubya’s idiotic stubbornness (and this actually is noted by John Podesta, but it’s buried waaay down in Riechmann’s story).Also…With his immigration bill dead, the administration rolled out a proposed rule to address some of the major i ...

The Peril Of One-Party Rule 2007-08-16 13:04:00 I thought this was an interesting item that popped up in the Philadelphia Inquirer online today (local Bucks County, PA stuff coming up).It seems that, out of sheer desperation given the prospects of defeat in the fall, Vincent J. Deon, Northampton Township Republican Supervisor, sent an Email to urge Bucks County Repugs to “lean on courthouse employees and consultants for help in registering new GOP voters. “"Many people owe their jobs to GOP leadership," it said. "Professionals, consultants, contractors, and loyal GOP supporters have benefitted handsomely."“Lean on,” huh? What is this, a protection racket or a political party?And when you read Deon’s Email here, he also states that if every courthouse employee and consultant that has a memory commits to registering 5 new Repug voters, their goal of registering 500 will be met.I can just picture it now.“Psst, buddy. C’mere. Here’s a registration form. Sign up as a Republican and nobody gets hurt. Ya’ got me?”Fortun ...

Long Live The King 2007-08-16 11:41:00 As many of us know, Elvis Aaron Presley died thirty years ago today. I recall hearing the news from Geraldo Rivera, of all people, who reported on all of the medications Presley consumed near the end of his life from Dr. George C. Nichopoulos (“Dr. Nick”), and I found myself amazed that he lived for as long as he did (though, at 42, Elvis died at way too young of an age).There is so much to post about concerning Presley (including the fact that he continues on as a “brand” earning big bucks, as noted here), but I want to comment on a misconception about him that still lingers for some reason, noted by Presley biographer Peter Guralnick in a column he wrote for the New York Times (behind the Times Select wall now, unfortunately).The misconception is that Elvis Presley was a racist, a claim that is patently false. As Guralnick tells us, his music stood for……the breakdown of barriers, both musical and racial. This is not, unfortunately, how it is always perceived 30 years afte ...

Today's Reminder To Impeach Dick Cheney 2007-08-16 08:46:00 I found out about this last night from MoveOn - it is truly shocking to hear Cheney speak these words in 1994 in light of what has transpired under Bushco...let's give MoveOn a hand for circulating this here.And let's not forget to Impeach Cheney First. ...

Important Enough To Repeat 2007-08-15 18:45:00 I just found out about this from MoveOn - it is truly shocking to hear Cheney speak these words in 1994 in light of what has transpired under Bushco...let's give MoveOn a hand for circulating this here.And let's not forget to Impeach Cheney First. ...

No "Sanctuary" For Stupidity 2007-08-15 17:14:00 I guess, partly because I wanted to take a break from reading about Iran and Karl Rove, I came across this post from Adam B at The Daily Kos about Fred Thompson, who apparently doesn’t know whether he’s a candidate for president or not.The problem is that, whether he wanted to or not, Thompson already declared himself by virtue of the amount of money he has raised to date (and I have to admit that I was prodded a bit to learn more based on this Susan Saulny article in today’s New York Times, embedded in Adam B’s post, which is practically a commercial for Thompson’s as-yet-still-exploratory campaign).Since Saulny obligingly gives you a good look at imwithfred.com (?), Thompson’s site, you don’t have to do much to learn how to navigate to The Fred File, which is our officially undeclared candidate’s forum where he holds court on issues of burning import for his blinkered followers, and number one of course for all of these people is immigration.Now I’m still learning a ...

No Wonder He Feels Good About It 2007-08-15 15:14:00 You know the report from Gen. David Petraeus that’s due next month on Iraq, don’t you? (here’s the “executive summary”; Surge 4Evah, Fight Them There So We Don’t Have To Fight Them Here, Freedom Is On The March, Clap Louder You Chicken Libtard Members Of The Democrat Party, Terra, Terra, Terra, 9/11. 9/11, 9/11 – got all that?).Well, as it turns out based on this story, Billion Dollar Cheney is going to write it himself.And the nightmare continues…(By the way, I just found out about this from MoveOn - it is truly shocking to hear Cheney speak these words in 1994 in light of what has transpired under Bushco...let's give MoveOn a hand for circulating this here.)Update 8/16: Getting back to the report, BarbinMD has a good question for Senate Republicans. ...

Their Darkest Hour 2007-08-15 14:26:00 This is a tough topic to discuss, but I think I should say something.Greg Mitchell at Editor and Publisher Online has written a few posts on the subject of the suicide of Iraq war veterans, including one post yesterday in which he notes that 118 U.S. military personnel have killed themselves since April 2003, representing about 3 percent of the overall Iraq death toll.Mitchell mentions in particular Col. Ted Westhusing (angry about contractor abuses), Alyssa Peterson (appalled by interrogation techniques) and Linda Michel (denied medication after returning home). But Mitchell focuses specifically here on Pfc. Andrew T. Engstrom, 22, of Slaton, TX, with the Army describing his death as due to a “non combat-related incident.”The post also tells us the following…This past January, Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman noted in The Hartford Courant that veterans advocates found the increase of suicides in 2006 "troubling." Steve Robinson, director of government relations for Veterans fo ...