The Raven' s Blog, Web Log of Eric Ferguson: First Half of August 2005 Archive

August 13
Perhaps the publicity from driving past Cindy Sheehan on his way to a GOP fundraiser was too much, so next time he left the ranch Bush took a helicopter. I wonder if he got close enough to see that the protestors now number in three figures.

I'm not necessarily endorsing the call for immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, because there's actually a lot of sense in the notion that such a withdrawal will make things worse. However, the Bush Administration has shown itself hopelessly incompetent and corrupt, and some good result in Iraq would seem to hinge upon the replacement of this hopeless administration, whether the policy is withdrawal, the current course, or anything else. If the practical need for new management isn't enough to impeach Bush, then when we look at the lies Bush has been caught telling, a simple sense of justice requires his removal. It looks hopeless while the Republican majority in Congress is so corrupt itself and refuses to investigate anything, but at some point even that crooked bunch must act. Though there is clearly enough for any honest Congress to be fully engaged in investigations right now, perhaps they are waiting for evidence Bush knew about the Plame leak while he was denying knowing, perhaps even in advance. Even DeLay, Frist, and Co. will have to act then, and if they don't, they'll need every touchscreen voting machine they can foist on voters in order to keep a majority.

While we're thinking of crooked congressmen, Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-MN, has been caught altering news articles he posted on his web site. Every politician selects favorable quotes and if the quotes aren't altered or taken out of context, that's fine. However, Kennedy routinely pretended he was posting the entire article, though he only used selected passages and thereby changed the meaning of the articles. He's going to start linking to full texts, but two of Kennedy's Democratic opponents, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, and child welfare advocate and Kennedy's 2004 opponent Patty Wetterling, were already doing so. So just a reminder, when you elect Republicans to the US House, you put the likes of Kennedy in the majority.

So long as I've mentioned Patty Wetterling, I appeal to her to consider dropping the Senate campaign and running again for the 6th district seat. She'd probably make a decent senator and she would have a shot against Kennedy, but as close as she came against an incumbent in a Republican district, I wonder if the combination of one campaign's experience and an open seat wouldn't give her a good chance of capturing that seat. She would be the strongest DFL candidate, and probably the only one with a good chance of winning. There's a chance next year for a big turnover in the House, between the history that says the president's party does badly in his second term midterm election, the disillusionment with the acting president, and the rampant Republican scandals. 911 whistleblower Colleen Rowley is challenging a Republican incumbent in the 2nd district, and Iraq and Afghan wars veteran Tim Walz is doing the same in the 1st. I hope all the candidates have learned from Paul Hackett's campaign that forthrightly getting after the acting president can work.

August 12
If you want to see a pretty direct connection between lobbying and results, look at the new laws regarding ATVs (all terrain vehicles) passed in the deal to end the state government shutdown. ATVs, which are accused of tearing up wild areas, especially in the northern part of Minnesota, are almost unrestricted north of US Highway 2, which includes two-thirds of state-owned land. They're supposed to be restricted to certain trails, but now they can go anywhere that's not explicitly posted saying they can't. Pull out a map and look at the size of the area. How likely is it prohibited areas can be posted? That's the strength of the ATV lobby. Just to make the connection, last spring Polaris, one of the big manufacturers, lent Gov. Gambling (that's Tim Pawlenty, for those of you not from Minnesota) an ATV to use. He caused $2500 worth of damage in an accident, but what do you know, Polaris repaired it for free, essentially handing a gift to the governor. If they had just handed Pawlenty the same amount in cash, that would be called a bribe. But since they didn't make him pay for the damage he caused like any of the rest of us would have to do if we damaged a borrowed vehicle, it's no big deal. Unless, that is, if you're hoping for favorable treatment from someone with influence over state government, like a governor.

In case you thought that was all the largesse Polaris received, they got to participate in Gov. Gambling's JOBZ program, by which this profitable company gets a bunch of government money as a bribe to not leave the state. In today's news, it turns out Polaris competitor Arctic Cat is getting state money too. I'd like to know what the effect would be of putting that money into schools or into loans to small business instead of a big corporation which doesn't need it.

August 10
Go ahead Republicans, conservatives, neo-cons, and propagandizing pundits. Keep smearing Cindy Sheehan. The more you tell lies about a gold star mother, the more the people you've been fooling will realize what you are. The smear about Sheehan changing her story started with Matt Drudge taking some quotes out of context and twisting them. Media Matters traced how it was then picked up by more of the right wing media. That article included a link to the original story being misquoted, so you can see for yourself how these conscienceless crooks operate.

An argument I heard tonight for why the acting president shouldn't meet with her is then he would have to meet with everyone who has lost someone in Iraq. The two thoughts that jump to mind are first, that wasn't an issue when the meeting was meant to make Bush look good; second, maybe if national leaders had to meet with every immediate family of every soldier killed in the wars they start, they would think harder about starting them. It's one thing when other people bear the sacrifices, quite another when you might have to spend your time (vacation or otherwise) with them. How about we put this requirement only on those who start wars, and then the shear impracticality of meeting every grieving mother, wife, etc. will make starting wars unappealing.

August 4
I want all of you who blithely blow off the lies that got us into Iraq while having nothing personal at stake to read this moving article in the August 4th Cleveland Plain Dealer. Likewise all of you who claim to support the war while finding excuses for letting other people fight it. Likewise those who think wars are abstract matters of policy. Likewise those who think you have to back the president in wartime no matter what. Maybe especially, those who think your bit of patriotism lets you uncritically accept a bunch of crap about spreading freedom and democracy need to read about the real cost of what you've supported --- a cost borne by other people.

I won't suggest for a moment the sad story of how a mother begged her son not to go only to see the nightmare fulfilled will instantly change your mind about anything. I just ask you to ask yourself if you've believed things without thinking them through, if you've trusted leaders who have not earned your trust, and respected leaders who deserve no respect. When you read Paul Schroeder, suddenly turned into a gold star father, say, "To honor him, I no longer can sit still, just keeping quiet and being politically correct," ask whether simplistic patriotism isn't a particularly pernicious form of political correctness.

Anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church demonstrators at Sgt. Bryan Opskar's funeral -- he was killed by an IED Following up from July 31st, I hope the people I addessed the predeeding paragraphs to are more capable of reasoning than the lunatics who picketed Bryan Opskar's memorial service in my wife's hometown of Princeton. They managed to miss the funeral in Moorhead, but greeted those attending the memorial in Princeton with signs saying "Thank God for IEDs". Opskar was killed by an IED.

August 3
Winning is better of course, but coming close can sometimes feel good. Specifically I refer to Paul Hackett coming shockingly close in yesterday's special election to fill a US House seat in a safe Republican district. Some lessons to learn from it:

Speculation about whether large scale help from the national Democratic party would have meant more if it came early on shows that such an effort in these special elections has to be made just so we don't wonder if something was left untried. Maybe it wouldn't have helped, but now we'll never know. Might as well try. After all, ever since Kerry "lost", we've been wondering what would have happened if he had used every tool in the box, like Bush reading "The Pet Goat" and what was already known about the Plame leak.
The first point leads to the second. Hackett hit Bush hard rhetorically, and drew flak for it, but it looks like it at worst didn't hurt, and maybe helped. The grassroots Democrats have been saying since at least the 2000 campaign our candidates need to stop playing patsy and say what needs saying. Hackett's comment about his tough talk, "Meant it, said it, stand by it," should be the guideline. You can speak the blunt truth and it helps.
Ohio's Republicans have had serious ethics problems which isn't the case in all states, but it is in some, and very much so on the federal level. This works as an issue. Don't leave this tool in the box.
Jean Schmidt was regarded by some as a weak candidate, but she was spewing the same crud as other Republicans. Most are just repeating the propaganda, not coming up with it. Hitting back like Hackett did works.
Maybe it takes extraordinary circumstances for safe districts to vote for the other party, but it happens, and we can't miss the opportunities. I refer not only to any other special elections that might happen, but 2006 is a midterm election in a president's second term, which has always been awful for the president's party except in 1998. Add in the scandals embroiling both the White House and Congress, and there's a chance to win some red areas.
Think long term. Some people who reflexively vote Republican must have switched, and more must be thinking about it. If Democrats are as willing to engage as Hackett was, we might move voters for a long time to come.

Fellow liberals, stop harping an Bush's ample vacation time. We don't want this guy working hard. Negligence in pursuit of bad policy is no vice.

The acting president's remarks on intelligent design have put the issue back in the news for a while. I generally don't link to other blogs as a credibility thing: blogs linking to each other as sources gets rather circular. I'm making an exception here because a blogger on Daily Kos has explained how intelligent design promoters debate and how to counter it, tactics as well as facts. I'm not so sure about calling them "flat-earthers" as a name, but I can see saying, "You keep calling us atheists, secularists, ... What if I described you as flat-earthers, even if that's not what you believe, just to characterize your aversion to science?"

See the archives for earlier entries.

"You don't care about me."
16 year old Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr, when he realized the Canadian agent he thought had come to take him out of Hell and home to Canada was just another interrogator.

"Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at his pleasure. Study to see if you can fix any limit to his power in this respect, after having given him so much as you propose."
Abraham Lincoln in 1848, during the Mexican War, expressing why allowing a president sole discretion to decide when to invade another country is dangerous to the liberty of his own country.

"The OPR [the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility]also has been far behind in producing required annual public reports summarizing its activities. Last month, it released its report covering fiscal year 2005. That means many investigations undertaken during the tenure of former Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales remain under wraps."
LA Times reporter Richard B. Schmit, in an article written in July 2008, on how the OPR is hiding the results of investigations --- assuming they actually are investigating.

"Mr. Chairman, I think the number's actually higher than that now. Last time I checked it was 108, and the total number that were declared homicides by the military services, or by the CIA, or others doing investigations, CID, and so forth � was 25, 26, 27."
Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, on the number of detainees killed in Bush's prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, and locations still secret.

"Democracy works, but sometimes churns slowly. Time is short. The 2008 election is critical for the planet. If Americans turn out to pasture the most brontosaurian congressmen, if Washington adapts to address climate change, our children and grandchildren can still hold great expectations."
James Hansen, on the 20th anniversary of his testimony before Congress where he informed them global warming was now certain, and how little time remains to prevent catastrophes.

"Who will chair the commission investigating the secrets of warrantless spying, years from today? Will it be a young senator in this body today? Will it be someone not yet elected? What will that senator say when he or she comes to our actions, reads in the records how we let outrage after outrage after outrage slide, with nothing more than a promise to stop the next one? I imagine that senator will ask of us, 'Why didn't they do anything? Why didn't they fight back? In June 2008, when no one could doubt anymore what the administration was doing---why did they sit on their hands?'"
Sen. Chris Dodd, in his speech on the Senate floor opposing the FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

"We had the worst natural disaster in the history of this country Katrina, and there wasn't a drop of oil spilled."
Sen. Norm Coleman, proposing more offshore oil drilling. There was actually enough oil spilled to match the Exxon Valdez. Whether Coleman is lying, or ignorantly repeating Republican talking points, is unknown.

"I'll go back to square one on this: We squandered a lot of gifts. Human beings were given a lot of great gifts. We were given the ability to reason, this extra-large brain, walking erect, having binocular vision and the opposable thumb, and all of these things, and we had such promise, but we squandered it on goods and superstition. We gave ourselves over to the high priests and the traders, and they are the ones we allow to control us."
George Carlin, in an interview with Salon, on how he became a disappointed idealist.

"To date, seven long years after we scooped up our first detainees in Afghanistan, not a single one of them has faced evidence, his accusers, or anything remotely resembling a legal court hearing on his guilt or innocence."
Joseph Galloway, military correspondent for McClatchy, on how responsibility for war crimes goes right to the top, despite efforts to confine consequences to the bottom, in light of the recent McClatchy series on detainees.

"As I was leaving the UN food distribution center in Damascus, Layla Atiya, the widow with seven children, touched my arm. 'Can you tell me one thing?,' she pleaded. 'Why did America do this to us? What did we do to America to make her hate us so?'"
Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Code Pink, writing about her visit to Iraqi refugee camps.

"So we're sitting here and, for example, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who said that he wanted to be a martyr on 9/11, make no mistake about it --- he said that he just couldn't get a visa --- launched into a description of what kind of psychotropic drugs he's taking here at the prison camp, or being given here at the prison camp. And the media monitors hit the white noise button. We didn't get to hear what exactly he's being given and we didn't exactly hear his explanation about why he's on medication.

And one of the escorts here explained that this was HIPAA protection, the Health and Information Protection Act on a place where the Bush Administration says the Constitution doesn't apply."
Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg, on the restrictions placed on the press and mistreatment of detainees.

"If the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court was really concerned about fairness, it could have simply asked the Florida Supreme Court to devise a universal standard, appoint a judge to enforce it, and then extend the state's meaningless 'safe harbor' deadline to make it possible to complete the recount. It did not do so because it was not interested in counting the votes. It wanted George W. Bush to win."
Gary Kamiya, Salon writer at large, in a review of the HBO's "Recount", on how the Supreme Court stole the election for Bush.

"Convicting and imprisoning Paul Minor on corruption charges could be a powerful way to curtail contributions to the local Democratic Party."
U.S. House Judiciary Committee report on political prosecutions by the Bush DOJ. Minor was a vital contributor to the Mississippi Democratic Party.

"Where does the madness end? Where do words lose their meaning? Al-Qa'ida is not being defeated. Hizbollah has just won a domestic war in Lebanon, as total as Hamas's war in Gaza. Afghanistan and Iraq and Lebanon and Gaza are hell disasters � I need no apology to quote Churchill's description of 1948 Palestine yet again � and this foolish, stupid, vicious man is lying to the world yet again."
Robert Fisk, columnist and resident of Lebanon, responding to remarks by Bush that show he hasn't the least understanding of the region he's mucking up.

"The short version: Republicans in Congress, McCain included, have slashed the United States budget for wind energy since Carter was president, which is why McCain has to speak at a Danish turbine manufacturer instead of an American one."
Mother Jones reporter/blogger Jonathan Stein, noting that McCain made his climate change speech in a Danish wind turbine factory after repeatedly cutting funding for wind development here.

"We get off on warfare."
Rev. Rod Parsley, McCain's spiritual advisor, who calls for mass murder, in a snippet of a sermon in a video by Mother Jones and Brave New Films. That line of Christian charity comes about 1:25 into the video.

Quotes Archives