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: 27 0 62 5011

Articles from The Liberal Doomsayer

The Long Goodbye 2007-07-19 16:43:00 As I shake my head over mcjoan’s post concerning this Eric Edelman person at the Pentagon who said that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s questions about U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq “boost enemy propaganda,” I found myself wondering exactly how we were going to accomplish the task that Sen. Clinton inquired about.This story by reporter David Wood in the Baltimore Sun gives us an idea of the scope of the effort required for the withdrawal…The 20 ground combat brigades deployed (in Iraq) will fill 10,000 flatbed trucks and will take a year to move, logistics experts say. A full withdrawal, shipping home some 200,000 Americans and thousands of tons of equipment, dismantling dozens of American bases and disposing of tons of accumulated toxic waste, will take 20 months or longer, they estimate.Yet the administration, long intent on avoiding what it once called a "cut and run" retreat from Iraq, has done little to lay the groundwork for withdrawal, officials here said."We don't have the ...

The War On Science Continues 2007-07-19 14:29:00 Today marks the one-year anniversary of the first veto of Dubya’s failed presidency, and that would be for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (which he replicated again recently as we know).Ruy Teixeira of The Century Foundation has more.Oh, and by the way, Impeach Bush and Impeach Bush - only have to say it twice this time.) ...

Still "Two Americas" 2007-07-19 13:23:00 This story appeared on Yahoo News via Time today about James Lowe, a 51-year-old disabled coal miner who lived with a severe cleft palate for five decades before he was able to receive treatment last year. His story was told by John Edwards during his tour to highlight poverty in America.It is representative of the populist chord that Edwards is striking with a great many voters in this country, and it is why our corporate media will continue to denigrate him as a phony while trotting out the usual “non-stories” about Edwards that you and I know all too well.With this in mind, please take a minute or two to read this from Elizabeth Edwards…Dear friend,For the last 30 years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to share my life with John Edwards, the most optimistic, hard working, and fair-minded man I have ever met.Whenever I talk to voters about this campaign, I try my best to share straight from the heart why I know—really know—that John Edwards is the right person to l ...

Sickness Isn't Ideological 2007-07-19 11:27:00 The utter catastrophe of the Iraq war should be enough to indicate the moral bankruptcy of the adminis- tration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. However, as we know, there are many other symptoms that clarify that sorry state.And perhaps the most dramatic new one is the determination by President Brainless to veto bipartisan legislation to renew the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. As noted in this story…About 3.3 million additional children would be covered under the proposal developed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Republican Sens. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa) and Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), among others. It would provide the program $60 billion over five years, compared with $30 billion under Bush's proposal. And it would rely on a 61-cent increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes, to $1 a pack, which Bush opposes.Grassley and Hatch, in a joint statement this week, implored the president to rescind his veto threat. They warned that Dem ...

Saint Mikey Trods His Lonely Path 2007-07-18 17:15:00 OK, boys and girls, it’s time to break out the hankies; we’re all going to have a good sob over poor Mikey Fitz- patrick, OK?Since our lovable pal of a former 8th District U.S. Congressional rep was exiled into profitable private life by those baaaad Bucks Countians voters who voted elected for Patrick Murphy last fall, it seems that he has borne his yoke of oppression for lo these many months in silence (well, almost).We were reminded of this by the following Letter To The Editor by Kay McBride that appeared in the Courier Times today…Reconsidering the past congressional election gives me a real appreciation for the power that slick marketing now has over the election of public officials.The 8th Congressional District had in office a true “public servant.” Mike Fitzpatrick has lived his whole life in Bucks County and is raising his children in Bucks County. His life and his prior service have demonstrated his vested interest in his hometown.Our choice for change was a nicely ...

Wednesday Gun News 2007-07-18 15:50:00 I should note the passage of a gun bill in the PA State Legislature Monday night (sorry I’m getting around to this only now).Yes, I’m serious (and by a vote of 50-0, no less). As noted here…One part of the bill would compel police departments to trace all illegal firearms confiscated from those under the age of 21 and report the guns to a state-police-run registry. The other would expand the definition of firearm under state law to include long-guns such as rifles and shotguns, providing more uniform application of state law.Though these are “baby steps” in the right direction (but progress all the same), what would really help would be if we could trace all illegal firearms confiscated from those over the age of 21 also. But oh no; see, that’s where that nasty little “Tiahrt/Shelby” amendment kicks in.As noted here, the original Tiahrt language was taken out of an appropriations bill by Senate Dem Barbara Mikulski, only to be put back by Repug Richard Shelby with more ...

Stop Me If You've Heard This One 2007-07-18 14:30:00 (Pic is from house blogs.net)...CNN reports that we’re currently holding bin Laden’s “go-between” in Iraq. You know, the liaison guy between Iraq’s al Qaeda and the regular al Qaeda.Sure we are (can you say “highly questionable timing”? - substitute "arrests" for "deaths" here).Update 7/19: Sounds like our military command is in on the joke too, though admittedly, it isn't all that funny (h/t Atrios - "Baghdadi"?). ...

“Hot Tub Tom,” The Concern Troll? 2007-07-18 12:55:00 The Inquirer also allowed itself to serve as Tom DeLay’s PR vehicle in this column by Dave Boyer of the editorial board today, noting DeLay’s appearance Monday night at the National Constitution Center in front of an audience of 200 people who, shockingly, had nothing whatsoever better to do with their time. And since we’re talking about DeLay, you know he wouldn’t have bothered to show up unless he could make money for himself.DeLay appeared at a fundraiser where he also hawked his book No Retreat, No Surrender (how dare he use the title of a Springsteen song!), and also invoked the Hillary-Clinton-as-President boogeyman in an effort to scare the audience into contributing larger donations (which Boyer actually noted, by the way).Actually, DeLay’s book really should be titled “No Church-State Separation,” since that is what he advocated on behalf of his fellow travelers at the Family Research Council here, or “No Overturning of My Redistricting Scam,” since that is w ...

Votes Matter, Not Sympathy 2007-07-18 12:01:00 The Inquirer also ran a story today about New Jersey Repug U.S. House Rep. Frank LoBiondo and his personal ordeal in supporting Dubya’s failed war in Iraq (here).Here, however, is a list of votes cast by LoBiondo dating back to January of 2005; I’d like to call attention to the following in particular…Vote 624: H.R. 2956: This bill would require the president to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops serving in Iraq 120 days after its enactment and would require most troops to be withdrawn by April 1, 2008 (No).Vote 425: H.R. 2206: This bill would provide funding in Iraq without setting withdrawal deadlines for troops, which anti-war Democrats sought in an earlier bill (Yes).Vote 265: H.R. 1591: House and Senate conferees approved this legislation providing $124.2 billion primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and setting benchmarks and a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, but President Bush vetoed the bill on May 1 (No).Vote 186: H.R. 1591: The bill offe ...

Today's Pitiable Inky Nonsense 2007-07-18 11:23:00 The Philadelphia Inquirer has provided a lot of material to keep me busy today, so I’d better get started.This story on the front page has to do with the shooting of Air Force Senior Airman Jonathan Schrieken in Willingboro, NJ on July 4th. The story tells us that Schrieken was “fighting for his life” afterwards, but he has since been released from Cooper University Hospital. The shooter, Matthew Marren of Pennsauken, NJ, killed himself soon after shooting Schrieken with his 25 mm semiautomatic handgun, presumably with the same weapon.Willingboro police continue to investigate this shooting, and that really should be the end of it. However, the freepers have jumped all over this, so you know they’ve propagandized this to the hilt. As noted in the story…Within days of the incident, cyberspace was burning with criticism of the media for underplaying the story and failing to report the reason for the shooting.Bloggers cited two notes left by Marren - in his car and at home - tha ...

Tuesday Videos 2007-07-17 22:47:00 Franz Ferdinand ("Darts Of Pleasure," with the debut of the "Mouth-Cam" - bleaugh!)......forgot to note the birthday last week of Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy ("Runaway Train"; heartbreaking stuff - let's just pray for them and do what we can to help)......Happy Birthday to both Bill Ward and "Geezer" Butler of Black Sabbath ("War Pigs," set to images burned into our memory, unfortunately - and no, this does not constitute insulting our military; those whom Harry Reid has quite rightly forced to stay in the Senate to explain why they refuse an up-or-down vote on amendments related to the Iraq nightmare should be forced to watch this)......and today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of John Coltrane ("My Favorite Things," recorded in 1961, probably with McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones; the sound is kind of goofed up, so keep the volume at about half way). ...

"The Scream" Lives On 2007-07-17 16:08:00 As you all know, I support John Edwards, but I have to point this out about another Democratic candidate.I realize it’s way too much to ask of our elite Beltway journos and other pundits to actually analyze candidates for political office based on their positions on the issues, so instead, we have insider tripe such as this column from Anne E. Kornblut and Perry Bacon, Jr. of the Washington Post today. They wrote what is, in essence, more meta-data campaign fluff that does absolutely nothing to help a voter learn about either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama (there’s a slight mention on Iraq near the end, but that’s it).More than anything else, the article preoccupies itself with how much money the Clinton and Obama campaigns have raised, as if that by itself is the objective of the election.And oh yes, we have these choice excerpts…Like (Howard) Dean and (Bill) Bradley, Obama is strongest among elites, whom other Democrats derisively call "latte liberals" -- a group that voices ...

Exit Jim Nicholson 2007-07-17 13:28:00 So another member of Bushco leaves us…Jim Nicholson was typical of Republicans appointed to oversee agencies who had no business doing so; his claim to fame for this regime (as noted here) was that, as head of the RNC from 1997-2000, he left the committee with money in the bank and a surplus of 160,000 on the voter list.And as also noted in the prior post (but expanded in a considerable way by Joe Conason here), Nicholson was one of the early deriders of Al Gore for speaking out about the climate crisis, with Nicholson saying the following about Gore’s book “Earth In The Balance”: “This is a book written by an extremist, and it’s filled with extremism …. He wants to do away with the automobile as we know it today…”Well, fortunately for us all, we can “do away” with Jim Nicholson running the Veterans Administration; here’s hoping the next person in charge won’t be responsible for losing the social security numbers of 26 million veterans.I know it’s too easy, ...

Riding Shotgun With Deadeye Dick 2007-07-17 11:48:00 As noted here, the Senate tried to withhold funding for Big Time’s “Fourth Branch” of government until he complied with an executive order that the Dems interpreted to mean that he must provide a report on how he handles classified information to the National Archives and Records Administration (here).(Hmmm, would it be too much of a stretch to imagine that Cheney “handles classified information” by divulging it to his buddies at KBR/Halliburton, Bechtel and ConocoPhillips at his earliest opportunity?)But upon hearing of the impending difficulty for his true boss here, Sen. Sam Brownback leapt into action immediately and stuck an amendment to a bill from the Senate Appropriations Committee reattaching the funding for Cheney’s office. The vote on the amendment was 15-14 in favor of Cheney’s funding, and you’ll never guess which gutless Dem cast the tiebreaking vote.As noted previously, Ben Nelson supported the nomination of “Strip Search Sammy” Alito to the Supreme C ...

Bucks County's Big Mouth Emerges Again 2007-07-17 10:56:00 I haven’t taken note of the ramblings of J.D. Mullane in the Courier Times for a good while now, because he really hasn’t given me an excuse to do so. However, in today’s column, he points out that “revealing truth isn’t unpatriotic.”And he’s absolutely right, pointing out the fact that George Washington owned slaves, Theodore Roosevelt praised eugenics and (all together now) Franklin D. Roosevelt interned Japanese Americans during World War II (I know it was serious and I’m not trying to trivialize it, but short of the accusation that Sandy Berger stuck documents from the National Archive in his underwear and ran screaming like a banshee with them in his possession – or something – that unfortunate fact about Roosevelt gets mentioned by freepers more than anything else).So, as far as Mullane is concerned, I suppose it would also be patriotic to note here the role played by Ronald Reagan in helping Osama bin Laden build his al Qaeda network (funny how videos from th ...