Tuesday’s Mini-Report

June 17, 2008

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Bloodshed in Baghdad: “A car bomb tore through a market area in a mainly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the deadliest such attack in more than three months.”

* Flooding worsens in the Midwest: “Hundreds of volunteers on the surging Mississippi River piled sandbags atop strained levees on Tuesday as the worst Midwest flooding in 15 years delivered a blow to the U.S. economy and world food prices. A levee broke in Gulfport, Illinois, sending muddy waters from the most important U.S. waterway cascading into nearby farmland and a few homes.”

* The few bad apples were, tragically, running the country: “A Senate investigation has concluded that top Pentagon officials began assembling lists of harsh interrogation techniques in the summer of 2002 for use on detainees at Guantanamo Bay and that those officials later cited memos from field commanders to suggest that the proposals originated far down the chain of command, according to congressional sources briefed on the findings. The sources said that memos and other evidence obtained during the inquiry show that officials in the office of then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld started to research the use of waterboarding, stress positions, sensory deprivation and other practices in July 2002, months before memos from commanders at the detention facility in Cuba requested permission to use those measures on suspected terrorists.”

* The FISA “compromise” won’t face too much resistance in the Senate.

* One of Abramoff’s buddies caught a break from an appeals court today.

* See what appeasement gets you? “Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Tuesday said they have reached a long-awaited cease-fire with Israel meant to end months of Palestinian assaults on Israeli border towns and bruising Israeli retaliation. The announcement came shortly after Egypt, which has been trying to broker the truce for months, said the cease-fire would go into effect on Thursday. Israel refused to confirm a deal, but said a ‘new reality’ would take hold if Palestinian attacks end.”

* For reasons that defy reason and common sense, the National Press Club hired Jeff Gannon as its in-house blogger. Yes, that Jeff Gannon. (Update: OK, it appears this is not the case. Any National Press Club member can create a blog on the NPC’s site; the group did not “hire” Gannon and he’s not writing for the Club. Why Gannon remains an NPC member is a separate question.)

* Conservatives continue to insist, reality be damned, that China got drilling rights from Cuba (Mary Matalin repeated the lie last night on national television). Andrew Tilghman tries to track down the far-right myth’s origin.

* Note to CNN: Obama offered McCain five debates, not one.

* I lack the words to sufficiently mock Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for his truly ridiculous new web video. It’s literally jaw-dropping.

* I’m delighted to know that Paul Krugman likes Doctor Who.

* Speaking of sci-fi, purged U.S. Attorney David Iglesias offered a metaphor I could relate to: “I thought I was working with the Jedi Knights and I was working for the Sith Lords.”

* Honda is launching the first commercial production of a hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle. Interesting (Thanks to reader R.K.)

* Bill Kristol is so far out there, he’s starting to find his own positions offensive.

* George Will, surprisingly enough, did a nice job ripping McCain for his criticism of last week’s Supreme Court ruling on habeas.

* Would NBC really ruin the “Meet the Press” brand with a guy like Chris Matthews?

* And finally, GOP activists attending the Texas Republican Convention this week can pick up a button that reads, “If Obama Is President … Will We Still Call It The White House?” What are Dems up against this year? This is what Dems are up against this year.

Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

For reasons that defy reason and common sense, the National Press Club hired Jeff Gannon…

Oh, I think we know why. The National Press Club is a bottom.

Would NBC really ruin the “Meet the Press” brand with a guy like Chris Matthews?

I couldn’t think of a better way for them to ruin it. How did you expect them to ruin it? I certainly think

  • The homophobes already know that info, doubtful @2. That’s why they try to turn gays into women in some countries…

  • I vote for Marcy Wheeler to replace Tim Russert (she asks hard questions).
    Failing that, Bill Moyers.
    Failing that, Scott Horton.
    Failing that, Seymour Hersh.
    Failing that, Hendrik Hertzberg
    Failing that, Helen Thomas.
    Failing that, Dan Froomkin.
    Failing that, any reporter from McClatchy

    Chris Matthews is not a journalist.

  • Of Course FISA “give away” will pass the senate and Reid can pretend his disapproval all he wants but this is the worst legislation passed by congress to date and he helped push it from day one. They just made all Bush illegal activities legal. I am so angry and have no one to complain to as dems in congress have shown their complete complicity with the Bush administration. I’ve lost all respect for those dem traitors. Bush can begin spying or continue spying on the dem party and all its donors without oversight, accountability or even an explanation and now the House has said that any law can be broken if a government leader asks you or a corporation to break it. “If the president does it, it’s not against the law.”-Nixon.
    Dems just approved a dictatorship.

    This FISA “give away” officially ended our democracy. They couldn’t extend it till after the election with a new president because telecom immunity is more important than our security, and it also would have left Bush’s ass exposed. Cheney said he’d do it, that the dems were just cowards that needed to be told to shut up and do what they are told. We need a revolution against this tyranny and complicity, against the power of money throwing corporate lobbyists.

    The legislative dems wasted all that tax payer dollar, salary. and time pretending to stand up against the president’s illegal spying only to turn around and give Bush everything he asked for. Is this what Pelosi means when she says “impeachment would take away from policy making”. This is the policy making???

    Oh yes, and Obama says nothing…but he’ll be different after he gets in office,… right?

  • Scratching the surface of the hydrogen car reveals:
    that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels.
    Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.
    However, it’s easier to organize clean energy production centrally, so I guess this counts as progress.

  • #7 Dale, yup I’m pretty much up for anything Glenn Greenwald suggests, and he’s dead-on right this time, so I gave a small donation today.

  • Would NBC really ruin the “Meet the Press” brand with a guy like Chris Matthews?

    Yes, and I said in the thread over the weekend that he would be the first choice. The real question is whether Matthews will give up his political ambitions to sign a new contract and commit to Meet the Press? Of course, they could be stupid enough to let him host for 18 months before leaving to run for office, but I hope the big bosses are at least bright enough to realize how bad that would look when their supposedly impartial moderator has to pick a political party.

  • For reasons that defy reason and common sense, the National Press Club hired Jeff Gannon as its in-house blogger. Yes, that Jeff Gannon.

    Is this the same National Press Club that invited Rev. Wright to speak during the lead-up to the NC and IN primaries?

    Is this the same National Press Club that invited Larry Sinclair to their party?

    These clowns have an agenda.

  • “…GOP activists attending the Texas Republican Convention this week …” They don’t even have to leave home to do that do they?

    Hydrogen fuel cell eh…the most expensive of the new technologies. They must have found a way to make some money off of it.

    MTP…how do you ruin a place where so called journalists and politicians come together to jerk each other off. Let Jeff Gannon run it. “If It’s Sunday”…it’s time to turn off the TV because nothing’s on but boring opinionated pretend news crap. You could be on the internet learning something.

    I guess it is up to the environment and nature to change our compromised legislative membership. Where’s “run for your lives the terrorists are coming “Trent Lott now” Bragging FISA rights in a mud wrestling bar no doubt. We’re coming for you Steny the weasel. You too baby face Blunt.

  • I was looking over the history of same-sex marriages. Very interesting.

    I thought that there had been other states or locales that had allowed same-sex marriage but later had them invalidated. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Didn’t California legalize it before? Is it going to stick now?

    Of course the big legalization will be at the federal level with all the things that effects.

  • IludiumPhosdex: Please please please **PLEASE** lose the background music on the blog.

  • I hope that my perch in a rural area in the reddest of states is skewing my viewpoint, but I think that the Texas “White? House” button will find favor with a fair number of possible swing voters.

    Don’t discount the effect of old-fashioned racism on this election. The kind of racism that makes someone say “Ain’t no way I’ll ever vote to put a n—– in the White House.”

    Most of them won’t say it to a pollster, but they’ll say it to each other at the coffee shop. I’ve heard them.

    Let’s just hope that there aren’t very many of these types who aren’t already committed Republicans. If there are, Obama has a headwind in his run for the presidency.

  • One possible upside of the disgusting thinking behind the “White House” buttons is that with any luck after a black family has occupied the White House, none of those racist republicans will ever want to occupy it again. 🙂

  • * See what appeasement gets you? “Gaza’s Hamas rulers […] CB

    Why do you hate America, Benen? Why do you give all the credit to Egypt and none to Condi? She’s been working her butt off these past couple of weeks.

    * Note to CNN: Obama offered McCain five debates, not one. — CB

    The three official debates, planned long ago, don’t count. Of the two extras that Obama said he might agree to, one was to be on his terms — Douglas/Lincoln type of debate, not a townhall type — so that doesn’t count, either. Ergo, Obama offered only one debate (of the type that McCain wanted ten of). QED. Didn’t the primaries and the Clinton Spreadsheet of Counting States teach you *anything*???

    * And finally, GOP activists attending the Texas Republican Convention this week can pick up a button that reads, “If Obama Is President … Will We Still Call It The White House?” — CB

    Of course not; it’ll be called “The Checkerboard House” or, possibly, “The Houndstooth House”. And Dems will change their mascot from a donkey to a zebra. And all the prison uniforms will be changed back from orange jumpsuits to black-and-white striped pajamas, the better to suit the Repubs’ complexions.

    Sigh… I still think that Mary, Mother of Odd, when writing as Insane Fake Professor came up with the *best, ever* colour (or should I say off-colour?) joke, when she called Obama “Mr Ebony Tower” (though “Mr Prince Smarming” was a close runner up IMO). Repubs will *never* catch up with her, either in imagination or in the sense of humour.

  • I lack the words to sufficiently mock Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for his truly ridiculous new web video. It’s literally jaw-dropping. – Mr. CB

    It’s a good ad for Texas. Texans love their icons. I’ll start at the beginning without any sound: Wide open spaces, barbed wire, horses running, windmill, saddles, hat(s), capitol dome, more hat(s), the word BIG, (luuvvv the word BIG), leather jackets with fringe, waving flags, more jackets with fringe, more hat(s). And having seen it with sound already, I know that the word “brew”, (as in beer), gets worked in. Any man who drinks a beer is a man worth following. Fer shure.

    That ad works in Texas even if you are deaf. Even out of staters who move there from parts north see those symbolic images and think those are the things that a rational world is made of. It asks nothing intellectually. It’s an appeal to knee jerk Tejas nostalgia and unthinking allegiance to base of the brain stem us aginst them comradeship.

    It’s hokey and jingoistic but it’s also purty and slick and doesn’t ask anything of anybody except to Love Texas and vote for that Good ol’ Boy in his Big White Hat, Big John Cornyn.

    Demographically, Texas ain’t what it used to be. Cornyn may be overestimating his audience. But it’s an effective ad for speaking directly to the folks he thinks are going to keep him in office.

  • The FISA “compromise” won’t face too much resistance in the Senate.

    Nice to see that Steny Spineless and Jay Rocksinhishead are still a pair of empty suits. Just stop!!!! You idiots!!!!!!!

    Conservatives continue to insist, reality be damned, that China got drilling rights from Cuba (Mary Matalin repeated the lie last night on national television).

    How in the name of anything does Carville stay married to her? It can’t be fore the sex – Republican women don’t believe in it and only do the missionary position once a month “for the sake of their responsibility to the marriage.” Oh, right, I forgot – it’s Snakehead we’re talking about.

    I’m delighted to know that Paul Krugman likes Doctor Who.

    Yeah, but does he like the stupid bugs? Agatha Christie was great last week – the “alien” was such a huge drag that of 50 people I know who are Dr. Who fans, 25 of them turned it off when the wasp appeared. I didn’t, but in retrospect, it’s not an episode I’ll watch, and that’s sad because the idea was totally great.

    (BTW: the “nuked Earth” at the end of BSG is the “Earth” they know – not the Earth we live on)

  • I long for the days of Laurence E. Spivak, and when the program really was what the title said.

  • Ohhhhhh! Noooooo!!!!! Russell T. Davies is leaving “Doctor Who” at the end of the 2009 series!!!! Good news: the other good writer in the show is replacing him.

  • More on the Obama/White House button… It appears that the company producing it makes things which are Patriotic *and* Republican. Is it possible that the company is well enough grounded in reality to realize that the two terms are mutually exclusive, requiring an “and” rather than a comma between them?
    http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6081

  • Sigh… I still think that Mary, Mother of Odd, when writing as Insane Fake Professor came up with the *best, ever* colour (or should I say off-colour?) joke, when she called Obama “Mr Ebony Tower” (though “Mr Prince Smarming” was a close runner up IMO). Repubs will *never* catch up with her, either in imagination or in the sense of humour.

    Thanks, libra. I’ve always been a big fan of your posts, too.

    Re the Cornyn video, y’all watch this; you’ll howl with laughter.

  • Speaking of howling with laughter, tears are running down my face at aristedes’ vid at 28.

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