The Local Crank

We're Outta Here!

2008-09-22T17:20:00.003-05:00

Okay, the gradual transition took less time than I thought. Update your links. Our new home is at WordPress. I have successfully transferred all the archives (some of them I liked so much, I transferred them twice!) but I will maintain this site as a place-holder.

Movin' On Up

2008-09-21T14:37:00.002-05:00

I am slowly but surely moving this blog over to WordPress, which is an overall better setup. For the time being, you can visit it here, but please excuse the mess. It will be awhile yet before I'm fully transferred over. Updates to follow.

Column for 21 September, 2008

2008-09-20T09:33:00.000-05:00

I Deny Your Reality and Substitute My Own

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.”
--Romans 1:25

I don’t really argue politics that much anymore. No, really. As the Republic Party continues to shrink into a smaller and more fanatical core, it’s getting harder and harder to have any kind of realistic political discussion with them. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously observed that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but everyone is not entitled to their own facts. But the remnant of the conservative movement has retreated into some kind of bizarre alternate reality, utterly impenetrable to facts, logic or the truth. I first noticed this trend in the 1990’s, when Bill Clinton-haters (and I mean haters, not people who disapproved of his policies, but those who loathed the very mention of his name) insisted that he was guilty of everything from drug-running to murder. There was absolutely no evidence whatsoever to back up these ludicrous fantasies, but it didn’t matter. Republicans would tell me with a straight face, “You can’t prove he didn’t kill all those people!” leaving me to sputter incoherently about logic and not being able to prove a negative. And these weren’t just some fringe weirdoes wearing tin-foil hats, either; Congressman Sam Johnson took to the floor of the House to proclaim that Clinton was a KGB agent because he “felt it in his gut.” At the same time, it became accepted Republican gospel that Ronald Reagan had cut taxes but increased government revenues. You still hear Republicans chanting this mantra, but it simply isn’t true. The numbers do not lie. When Reagan cut the top marginal tax rates, revenues plummeted, causing the deficit to explode. The rapid expansion of Right Wing talk radio, and the utter domination of cable news punditry by ultra-conservatives, has fed this monastic trend, allowing the faithful to live in a hermetically-sealed environment where the only voices they hear are those that reinforce their beliefs. The culmination of Spiro Agnew’s crusade against the “liberal media” also helps, since any news that strays from the latest propaganda bulletins can be dismissed as “biased.” The propaganda ministry regularly cranks out pre-fabricated talking points to be faithfully regurgitated by the Right Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus. Religious propaganda is handled by the Sanhedrin of tele-Pharisees, Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson, the late unlamented Jerry Falwell and others, preying on fears of evil secularists, homosexuals, pro-choice activists and feminists. On the international front, the neo-Conservatives (really just old-fashion priggish Victorian imperialists) could take the (wholly justified) public fear of radical Islamic terrorism to justify an invasion of Iraq based on completely fraudulent grounds. With the rhetorical foundation now in place for ignoring the real world, John McCain and Sarah Palin feel comfortable in running a campaign based pretty much exclusively on lying through the teeth. Palin in particularly lies so much, I’m beginning to wonder if that is in fact her real name. Day in and day out, the Governor repeats the long-since discredited claim that she “told Congress no thank you” on the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, she campaigned for the Bridge. Republicans decry any criticism of her whatsoever as sexist and have the unmitigated gall to complain that Democrats are launching personal attacks, this from the same crew that continues to promote transparently nasty attacks on Barack Obama’s religious faith, patriotism and loyalty. The McCain campaign states with a straight face that Palin never asked for earmarks, when in fact she sought hundreds of millions in earmarks both as Governor and Mayor. McCain has gotten to the point where he even lies to himself. His public response to the ongoing financial melt-down on Wall Street, the most serious since the Great Depression, is to call for the creation of a “blue-ribbon panel” as though the source of the problem were some unfathomable mystery akin to discovering the Unified Field Theory, as he blasts Wall Street’s “greed.” In reality, of course, we know exactly what happened; McCain, along with that old troglodyte Phil Gramm deregulated the banking industry in 1999 and again in 2000. The result was what always happens when industries are de-regulated—an orgy of fraud and corruption with the taxpayers left holding the bag. He claims he warned about problems with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when just ten months earlier he claimed no one could have anticipated the sub-prime mortgage crisis. McCain blasts lobbyists when his campaign is run by some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington. He promises to “shake up Washington” as though it was some other John McCain (perhaps an evil twin) who has been comfortably ensconced on the Potomac for the last 25 years. Under those circumstances, where the truth is discarded so casually, how exactly am I going to have a meaningful political discussion with a Republican? Frankly, it’s not my idea of a good time to debate people whose only response is to stick their fingers in their ears and shout “I can’t hear you!” over and over again. To be sure, I am eternally grateful for the Republicans I know who can have a calm and reasoned discussion on the issues of the day, but at this stage in my life, I no longer have the energy or the patience to argue with a fencepost over how deep in the ground it is.

Obamentum?

2008-09-18T19:34:00.002-05:00

McCain's post-convention Palin bounce appears to have vanished, thanks in part to Palin's crashing popularity numbers. The trend is now towards Obama, who has once again pulled into the lead in the electoral vote count.

Palin & White Privilege

2008-09-17T12:44:00.002-05:00

Excellent article.

H/T Rob at Newspaper Rock

Good Advice

2008-09-16T22:06:00.004-05:00

First of all, don't panic. Second of all, get pissed off. It's what Molly would've done.

Why This Election Matters...

2008-09-15T12:26:00.005-05:00

Just in case you wondering if there are any depths to which McCain/Palin would not sink in order to win this election?

The answer is no. No, there most certainly is not.

God Help Us All...

2008-09-14T15:13:00.002-05:00

...when even a milquetoast apple-polisher like Charlie Gibson can expose Sarah Palin for the shallow, intellectually vapid, Right-Wing tool she really is.

Column for 14 September, 2008

2008-09-13T16:05:00.001-05:00

“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.”
--Psalm 32:9

When John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, my first thought was that he had taken a big gamble that wasn’t likely to pay off; namely, that Hillary Clinton voters would abandon just about every stand Clinton has ever taken on any issue just because another woman says to. My opinion has evolved, or maybe become intelligently designed, over time. Yes, it seems clear that Palin, someone McCain had only met twice briefly, was a last-minute pick. And yes, media coverage at that time was pretty much obsessed with the idea of disgruntled Hillary supporters who would supposedly refuse to support Obama. But why Palin? She is certainly not the most experienced or well-known of Republican women leaders. One simple reason: all of the other Republican women, including Kay Bailey Hutchison, are pro-choice. The GOP would never have tolerated a pro-choice candidate; it is only slightly less likely that a pro-life candidate would ever receive the blessing of a Democratic Convention. And if McCain was going to pick a pro-choice running mate, he would’ve gone with Tom Ridge or his real favorite Joe Lieberman. Thus, Palin; as far to the right as it is possible to be on social issues, which are the only issues that matter to the increasingly dwindling GOP base. Despite all the fluff and hot air, she was never intended to appeal to Hillary voters or Democrats or Independents; Palin’s function is to energize the social conservatives who have, at least until now, been tepid at best in their support of McCain. Energizing the base is the only hope McCain has, because his campaign at least recognizes something that Obama is only just now learning: the electoral map for 2008 will be just about the same as it was in 2004. Put aside all the giddy talk of Obama taking Mississippi; it’s not going to happen, increased African-American turnout or not. If black voter registration and turnout were both at 100%, it wouldn’t shift a single state in the now Republican Solid Deep South. Obama will almost certainly get every electoral vote John Kerry did four years ago (252); he seems likely to pick up Iowa and New Mexico, which brings him up to 264 electoral votes. To win he has to pick off just one of the 2004 battle-ground states, Colorado, Florida, or Ohio, or the only new battleground state Virginia. There are some variables, of course. Ron Paul has qualified for the ballot in Montana on the Constitutional Party line; that could be enough to throw the state to Obama and take him to 267, just three electoral votes shy. It’s also possible that Obama could win Nevada’s five electoral votes. If that’s all he won over Kerry’s total, the result would be a 269 to 269 tie, but such a scenario seems pretty unlikely. Of the battleground states, I would personally rank them in terms of Obama’s chances, from most likely to least likely, as 1) Colorado; 2) Ohio; 3) Florida and 4) Virginia. McCain’s job, therefore, is to prevent Obama from carrying any of these states, a tough job to be sure, but one that would be utterly and completely impossible without the assistance of the religious conservatives who are apparently besotted with Palin. Since the polling margins in all four of these states are tight and they have flopped back and forth several times, a relatively small number of additional voters could be the difference between winning and losing. And so, tossing aside old “reach across the aisle” rhetoric, McCain has sharpened his tongue, attacking the “liberal media” in a shockingly cynical example of biting the hand that feeds. If there’s one thing that can get Republicans all riled up, it’s a good rant about the “liberal” media, a line of attack that dates back to Spiro Agnew and his condemnation of “nattering nabobs of negativism.” Since reality has a well-known liberal bias, any news that contradicts the party line can then be dismissed out of hand as “biased.” This bashing of the media has had the additional strategic benefit of shielding Palin from press scrutiny. Evidently, the governor who has the experience to be commander-in-chief on day one can only handle live questions from a milquetoast apple-polisher like Charlie Gibson. Unfortunately, all this means yet another Culture War campaign, where important issues like America’s long-term environmental and economic health will be pushed off to the sidelines. Republicans will continue to smear Obama’s patriotism. Nitwits like Cong. Lynn Westmoreland will continue to drop thinly-veiled racist code words like “uppity.” Fortunately for the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not in fact want four more years of George W. Bush (only this time less competent), Obama seems to have learned a lesson from his long intense war with Hillary Clinton for the nomination and from John Kerry’s failure: fight back.

One Day More...

2008-09-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

Today in History...

2008-09-11T21:21:00.002-05:00

(2001)

Total Bastard Theatre

2008-09-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

Michigan Republicans are planning to challenge voters who have received notices of foreclosure;
As Mayor of Greater Wasilla, Sarah Palin proposed to charge rape victims for the rape kits used to investigate their cases;
As part of his effort to get away from nasty partisan attacks, John McCain accuses Obama of favoring sex education for kindergartners;
Getcher oil for nothin' and yer chicks fer free, and most repulsively;
The GOP's shameless branding of 9/11.

Why This Election Matters...

2008-09-08T16:44:00.004-05:00

Sarah Palin doesn't understand how Federal housing policy works, either. Nor property rights. But that's okay, because you can't expect running mates to display complimentary ignorance on every single issue.

Bounce?

2008-09-08T11:09:00.003-05:00

Gallup notwithstanding, the GOP Convention appears to have had a lukewarm effect at best. My completely uneducated guess is that most of it can be attributed to increased enthusiasm among the Republican social conservative base over Sarah Palin, though there is scant evidence that they will turn out in numbers anywhere near what George W. Bush got in 2004. To the contrary, there is much to suggest a heavy turnout for Democrats in the fall, particularly in some key states.

About that Magical "Executive" Experience...

2008-09-07T19:22:00.005-05:00

...if your claim to fame is being mayor a city with 7,000 people, would it be too much to ask that you not have screwed it up? And the tough-talking Governor can't bear to face the Evil Liberal Media unless they show her proper "deference"? Also, apparently it's okay to dare to question the Sacred Surge What Has Absolutely Succeeded...if you are John McCain.

So Much for Bi-Partisanship

2008-09-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

James Inhofe: asshole. I met his opponent, Andrew Rice, in Tahlequah over Labor Day Weekend. Donate to him if this kind of crap (not to mention Grand Theft Flag) pisses you the hell off.

Column for 7 September, 2008

2008-09-06T21:17:00.001-05:00

“But our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
--Ephesians 6:12

The only thing worse than a bunch of whiny liberals is a bunch of whiny conservatives acting like whiny liberals. In recent years, I’ve noticed the annoying trend of conservatives adopting one of the liberals’ least-appealing characteristics; an overblown sense of victimization. So, for example, after eight years of accusing Bill Clinton of everything up to and including being a drug dealer and a murderer, Republicans complained with a straight face that critics of George W. Bush were “deranged” and “haters.” Perhaps we were supposed to imagine President Bush crying himself to sleep each night because the mean people said nasty things about him. John McCain got into the act, as virtually any criticism of him was loudly denounced as an insult to all veterans. When tweaked for not remembering how many houses he owns, was it really a valid response to refer to his time as a POW? And now, any suggestion that Sarah Palin’s micron-thin resume might not necessarily qualify her to be one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency is “degrading to women?” Please. The slightest hint by Barack Obama supporters than some of the attacks on him were racist (even the ones that pretty obviously were) have been loudly and derisively hooted down by the Right Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus. Of course, it is sad to see Governor Palin’s children drug into the mess and to be forced to endure self-righteous idiots from both sides of the political spectrum pontificating on whether she is making the “right choices” in how she chooses to care for her infant son. That is sexist; no male candidate would ever be subjected to that kind of questioning. If anything, the father of a special needs child who chose to stay on the campaign trail would likely be praised for his “courage,” much as John Edwards was (generally) praised for continuing to campaign (among other things, as it later turned out) while his wife was undergoing cancer treatment. Palin, governor of an under-populated and remote state might be forgiven for underestimating the level of scrutiny she would face; McCain’s people should certainly have known better or learned better during their perfunctory vetting process. Being surprised that the media is vicious and intrusive is like being surprised that wild dogs will bite you if you rub yourself with pork chops. And, obviously, the GOP would be singing a completely different tune if we were talking about a female Democratic candidate. With all that out of the way, though, picking Sarah Palin represents a pretty gutsy gamble on McCain’s part; trading away his most effective argument against Obama (experience) on the hope that disaffected Hillary Clinton voters will be induced to support positions 180 degrees opposite of hers just because they are presented by a woman (a strategy which, at least so far, appears to be an epic failure). And let’s be honest; the experience debate is over. When your number two candidate admits on live television that she doesn’t really know what the Vice President does and that she doesn’t follow the news in Iraq (which at least gives her something in common with her running mate), and when you are reduced to claiming she has foreign policy experience (despite never having left the country until last year) because “Alaska is right next to Russia,” then yeah, the debate is over. Not even the professional Republican punditocracy can put a happy face on this; despite writing a column promoting the party line that liberals are “scared” of Palin, Peggy Noonan was caught on an open mike proclaiming “it’s over.” And it’s not sexist to point out, experience notwithstanding, Palin’s narrative is a little, to be charitable, inconsistent. McCain touted her opposition to earmarks as a reason for choosing her, but she seemed to have liked them well enough as mayor and McCain himself denounced some of her earmarks in at least three of his annual lists of outrageous pork. It’s not sexist to point out that she did not, in fact, say “no thanks” to Senator Ted Stevens’ infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” She campaigned for it, and only turned against it months after Congress had already cut the funding. It’s not sexist discuss her atrocious environmental record, something that should concern hunters more than her bag limit of moose, including a belief in the outrageous political fiction that the climate change that threatens her state more than many others is apparently caused by gremlins, not pollution. It’s not sexist to wonder why an ostensibly mainstream politician would as governor lend her voice to a radical fringe group dedicated to the secession of Alaska from the Union and founded by a man who stated, “I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.” If Obama is to be pilloried for Jeremiah Wright, then surely Palin at least owes us an explanation for collaborating with the Alaskan Independence Party? So let’s have an election. Let’s have a debate, let’s have a bench-clearing political brawl. But enough with the politics of feigned moral outrage. You can dislike McCain without hating veterans or denigrating POWs. You can vote against Barack Obama and not be a racist knuckle-dragger. And you can decide that Sarah Palin is just not up to the task and not be a sexist.

More Convention Fun!

2008-09-04T22:21:00.002-05:00

Obama knows how to defend community organizers!
Paging the commander in chief of the Alaskan National Guard!
Lindsey Graham occasionally gives the appearance of having a soul. Nice to have him confirm that he's still the same old vicious lying little turd;
Jon Stewart dissects the Palin Hypocrisy as only he can;
Yeah, media? John McCain? He's just not all that into you anymore. Sorry;
Nice to see them finally abandoning all pretense;
Would you buy a used moose from this woman?

Experience and Double Standards

2008-09-02T13:34:00.003-05:00

EJ Dionne has an excellent piece on why the same conservatives who embrace Sarah Palin and her paper-thin resume denounced Harriet Miers for lacking the experience to be a Supreme Court Justice. And while we're at it, what mainstream political figure gives an (albeit recorded) address to a bunch of lunatic-fringe secessionists? This is good judgment?

Column for 31 August, 2008

2008-08-30T23:47:00.002-05:00

“Then the Lord said to me. ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.’”
--Jeremiah 14:14

Despite the best efforts of John McCain’s swooning cheerleaders in the mainstream media, the Democrats have managed not to screw it up at their convention (of course, they’ve only gotten as far as Joe Biden’s excellent acceptance speech as I type this, so there’s still time). The broadcast and cable network coverage of Denver has consisted pretty much exclusively of trotting out an endless stream of pre-packaged GOP talking points to toss underhand back and forth between insipid “journalists.” What’s the likelihood that liberal pundits will be called upon by CNN and MSNBC (much less FOX) to dissect the Republican convention in Minneapolis? Yeah, I got a full-color, glossy, laser-quality picture of that happening. Hillary Clinton is going to wreck the convention, they breathlessly announced. Then she gave a heartfelt speech endorsing Barack Obama and they said she secretly hated him because of their expert analysis of her “body language.” She personally made the motion to nominate Obama by acclamation and all the punditocracy could chatter about was a handful of embittered delegates whose sense of personal insult is so great they have forgotten their candidate, let alone the issues she champions. I haven’t yet seen the parsing of Bill Clinton’s rip-roaring address, but no doubt the Mainstream Media has secret telepathic evidence that he really wants Obama to lose so he, Michael Moore and Osama bin Laden can seize the White House in 2012. The Media’s fawning obeisance to John McCain has grown to such an astonishing, embarrassing degree that “the Maverick” and his surrogates now feel emboldened to simply lie with impunity, secure in the knowledge that he will never be called on it. “Not a single drop of oil was spilled after Hurricane Katrina,” went one blurb. A lie. Millions of gallons were spilled. Has he been called on it? No. “The troop surge led to the Anbar Awakening,” the McCain Campaign continues to trumpet. No, it did not. The Awakening, a true success story in Iraq, happened months before the surge. McCain is lying. Again, he is not called on it. The media continue to slather McCain with glorious accolades for his “straight talk” and his alleged refusal to change in response to politics, ignoring his wholesale abandonment of virtually every position he held on virtually all issues before he started running for President. McCain went from voting with George W. Bush only 77% of the time in 2005, to a slavish 95% a mere two years later. When Democrats do that, they are called “flip floppers.” McCain has said Obama wants to increase the size of the government by 23%. A lie. He stated that Obama opposes nuclear power and electric cars. Lie. He claimed Obama called for bombing Pakistan. Lie. He stated to Katie Couric that Joe Biden wanted to break Iraq up “into three different countries.” Another lie, and of course Couric failed to call him on it. McCain has said that lobbyists don’t come to his office, when his campaign is run almost exclusively by lobbyists, including a former lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia who opposed efforts to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. McCain stated that Obama tried to prevent funding for the troops, or funding for the Surge. Both statements are lies. McCain claimed that Obama called Iran a “tiny country” that “doesn’t pose a serious threat.” Another lie. McCain claimed that Obama would raise taxes on “everyone earning more than $42,000 a year.” Lie. I could go on and on. The fact is, the Republic Party is now so morally bankrupt, so devoid of ideas, their strategy to defeat Obama consists of attacking him for being a “celebrity” in Europe—as though it is now somehow un-American to want our allies to like us—and screaming “communist!” and “Muslim!” at every opportunity. It’s gotten so bad, the standard attack talking points, regurgitated in this very newspaper, consist of despicable, cowardly contemptible slanders against Obama’s deceased mother. Is this really what has become of the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan? Pathetic. And it’s only going to go deeper into the gutter from here. The only thing worse than Republicans when they are winning is Republicans when they are losing. McCain would be much better off, at least in terms of preserving what’s left of his dignity, by sticking with the “lack of experience” line, and hope people don’t realize that if “experience” was the criteria, Al Gore would be President.

On the Pow Wow Highway

2008-08-30T20:27:00.002-05:00

The boys and I are in Tahlequah, Indian Territory for the Cherokee National Holiday. Apparently, there's been some news...McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin strikes me as a huge gamble, trading his best argument against Obama (experience or the lack thereof) for the hope that disgruntled Hillary voters are A) still disgruntled; and B) are disgruntled enough to vote for ANY woman, even one who is Hillary's complete polar opposite on nearly all issues. So, far, seems not to be working too well. I'm not the only one who thinks Palin was picked because every other viable Republican woman was unavailable or uninterested in deck chair duty on the Titanic. Interestingly, one of my most trusted political pundits (who has been EXTREMELY pessimistic about Obama) had this first impression: "McCain just lost."

OBAMAPALOOZA!

2008-08-28T22:32:00.002-05:00

It was a good speech. Not a soaring or flowery speech, but then it wasn't intended to be. Obama has shown one of the most important characteristics for a successful candidate: flexibility. Realizing that he hasn't polled well with working-class whites whose primary concern is the economy, he re-tooled his message to focus on precisely those issues. Having a number of working-class white delegates warm-up the crowd was a great touch. Barney Smith for Secretary of Labor! Obama systematically hit every single one of the criticisms that the Republicans have levelled at him--that he's elitist, that he's a celebrity, that he's not "one of us." He hit McCain, though it could be argued not hard enough, while careful to pay tribute to his war hero status, a courtesy certainly not afforded John Kerry by the GOP in 2004. Overall, I was impressed, as I have continued to be impressed (and surprised) by Obama since he first entered the race. I feel much better about November 4 than I did just a few days ago.

Today in History...

2008-08-28T20:54:00.001-05:00

(1963)

Good One, Bill

2008-08-27T21:23:00.003-05:00

Excellent speech by Bill, seemingly made point-for-point to refute hyper-technical criticism by the GOP and their lapdogs in the MSM.

PUMA Overload

2008-08-26T20:36:00.005-05:00

It's becoming increasingly clear that the "Angry Hillary Supporter" meme is being overhyped and driven primarily by the MSM and the McCain Campaign, as clearly demonstrated by Our Man in Denver, Hilzoy.

UPDATE: Damn good speech, damn good. Of course, the punditocracy is already on about how she didn't go far enough, with one idiot I watched on PBS even saying she should have explicitly taken back everything negative she ever said about Obama. Please. You couldn't ask for a more unequivocal endorsement. If it's not good enough for the MSM, screw 'em. Nothing that might be positive for Democrats will ever be good enough for the corporate MSM. And if it wasn't good enough for the PUMAs, then they were never really Hillary supporters and they aren't really Democrats and to hell with them, too.

Obama Thoughts, Part 3

2008-08-25T21:51:00.003-05:00

Good piece on Obama's tax policy in particular and how he is hard to pigeon-hole generally.
Democrats are apparently planning to fight this time. Good.
Good on Hillary.
McCain's lobbyist/campaign staffers are scary. If this isn't an issue, it needs to become one. And fast.

Obama Thoughts, Part 2

2008-08-22T13:26:00.002-05:00

EJ Dionne says the worst of it is over for Obama, and the "Guess how many houses the Maverick owns" issue may be getting some traction.

Obama Thoughts

2008-08-21T20:39:00.005-05:00

Should Obama be less technocrat and more populist? Obviously, I agree (and there is some evidence he is starting to do so); it may be the only way for him to broaden his appeal to working-class whites. Meanwhile, the Georgia Crisis may not be the incredible boost to McCain the MSM seems to think. And, of course, Dubya the Lame Duck continues to screw the environment. And adopt Barack Obama's plan for Iraq. Some legacy.

News Round-Up

2008-08-19T23:03:00.002-05:00

Alert WV Bonds! The Middle-Class has gone commie!
As expected, the Great El Dorado Polygamist Fiasco leads to very few actual cases of abuse;
John McCain: Foreign Policy Sooper Genius!
Texas: Bluer than you might think;
John McCain and...Ralph Reed (Abramoff's old pal. Remember him?);
More commentary on the horrific San Francisco Peaks case. If someone poured massive amounts of urine on a white Christian church, would the "...only effect..." be on the parishioners' "....subjective, emotional religious experience" and therefore unworthy of court protection?

Column for 17 August, 2008

2008-08-16T16:36:00.002-05:00

National Insecurity

“Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. Vindicate me in your righteousness, O Lord my God; do not let them gloat over me.”
--Psalm 35:23-24

It’s difficult if not impossible to exaggerate just how badly George W. Bush and America have been humiliated by Russia’s intervention in Georgia. An American ally, with an American-trained army and an American-educated democratically-elected president, has been blatantly invaded and forced to accept a permanent Russian military presence within their internationally-recognized borders. Russia’s thuggish strongman, Vladimir Putin, chose to deliberately embarrass Bush by launching an operation that had to have been planned weeks or months in advance, while they were both publicly schmoozing at the Olympics, held in the capital of another brutally repressive regime that Bush unaccountably has chosen to grace with his presence. Georgia, you may recall, is so devoted to President Bush they committed 2,000 troops (out of only 42,000 active duty personnel) to his “catastrophic success” in Iraq. In one of the weirdest utterances of a President who often seems to think he is a Saturday Night Live cast member lampooning the President, Bush famously described how he had looked into Putin’s eyes and seen his soul. Perhaps he didn’t recognize Joseph Stalin staring back at him. In any event, Putin’s soul got exactly what it wanted: a message. Georgia was only the instrument of that message; its’ intended recipients were first and foremost the former Soviet Republics Russia refers to ominously as the “Near Abroad,” especially Ukraine. See, Putin is saying, no one can protect you. It doesn’t matter what deals you may have made with the Americans. We can invade you anytime we want and all the US President will do is stand by impotently and sputter. So watch your step! To America and Europe, the message is: hands off! The Near Abroad is ours; we’ll do whatever we want with them whenever we want. Reasonable minds may differ on whether it was ever a good idea to invite Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, an organization that might have become a true permanent international peacekeeping force but has since been doomed to irrelevancy by the Bush Administration’s sheer bone headedness. It hardly matters now; the future of NATO will be dictated in Moscow, not Brussels and certainly not in Washington, DC. If the abject surrender of Georgia doesn’t make that clear enough, the next crisis, when Russia forces Ukraine to cede the Crimea, will.
Which brings me to my second point; just why is “national security” seen as a winning issue for John McCain? Oh, sure, it’s the only issue where McCain currently and consistently outpolls Barack Obama, but why? Obviously, the mainstream media’s unrequited man-crush on McCain goes a long way towards an explanation. It is also likely that McCain’s years of occupancy in Congress are seen as roughly equivalent to competency. After all, surely he must have learned something relevant after twenty-five years? And yet, for starters, McCain has enthusiastically endorsed America’s greatest foreign policy debacle in the last forty years, Bush’s war in Iraq. Not only has he endorsed it, he’s vowed to continue the quagmire for another century. Much more troubling, however, is the fact that nearly every single time McCain has opened his mouth on foreign policy or national security, he’s been dead wrong, the kind of spectacular wrong that makes you seriously wonder if he has any idea what he’s talking about at all. He doesn’t know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, a distinction critical to understanding Iraq, even after being repeatedly and publicly corrected. He either doesn’t know that the so-called Anbar Awakening (Sunni sheiks in Anbar Province turning against Al Qaeda) started before the Surge, or he’s just continuing to lie about it because he thinks it sounds better that way (reality having a well-known liberal bias). He thinks the Iranians are training members of Al Qaeda in Iraq (an organization, by the way, that did not exist before the US invasion). Demonstrating that geography, too, has a liberal bias, McCain has stated that Iraq and Pakistan share a border, that Darfur is in Somalia and that there is still such a country as Czechoslovakia. With regard to Georgia, McCain was reducing to plagiarizing Wikipedia, a sort of digital MadLib, and clearly fails to grasp that America failed at this crisis before it even began; our credibility is so dissipated after years of Bush’s incompetence that Russia is not even in the slightest deterred by the prospect of angering us. McCain, with his foreign policy advisor and Georgian lobbyist Randy Scheunemann, then went on to blunder right into the problem with increasingly hysterical public pronouncements, accusing Putin of wanting to restore the Czarist empire (Putin wants Alaska?), calling for kicking Russia out of the G-8 (an idea denounced as “impossible” and “dumb” by even the Bush Administration) and restating his loopy plan for a “League of Democracies.” Perhaps Czechoslovakia could be invited to join, along with Siam and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Given all this, I would respectfully suggest that Barack Obama borrow a page from Karl Rove’s playbook and hit his opponent precisely where he is supposedly the strongest. If Rove can attack a decorated war hero on his war record on behalf of a draft-dodger, then surely Obama can remind the electorate that McCain’s foreign policy is Bush’s foreign policy, only not as smart.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

2008-08-15T15:09:00.003-05:00

Now, they're threatening to nuke Poland. You're doing a heckuva job, Dubya!

The Skinny

2008-08-13T10:13:00.003-05:00

From Wampum (new and improved!), a debunking of the myth that the Cobell plaintiffs were offered $7 billion to settle the case and rejected it, the implication being they got what they deserved for being greedy. Never happened. The government never offered a dime to resolve the Cobell suit. And now you know. Also, Cobell is definitely appealing. I wish them luck, of course, but unless Obama wins and appoints one or two new justices before this hits the Supreme Court, I won't be holding my breath.

Not A Bad Idea, Actually

2008-08-12T12:55:00.005-05:00

Arianna Huffington suggests Obama turn up the heat on McCain...on national security. She makes a convincing case. National security is the only area where McCain currently and consistently outpolls Obama, yet his pronouncements on the subject have been nothing but one long string of gaffes and misstatements (including most recently plagiarizing from Wikipedia and accusing Putin of wanting to restore the Czarist empire). The only reason McCain has gotten a pass is the MSM's man-crush on him. Obama should call McCain on it. It's a Rovian strategy, hitting your opponent where he's strongest. Maybe it can work for good instead of evil this time.

UPDATE: MSM continues to carry McCain's water on the Russo-Georgian conflict, even as it becomes more and more apparent that he has no idea what he's talking about.

Everyone Loves Chet!

2008-08-11T17:04:00.002-05:00

Yes, everyone! I still think he's a long shot for Vice President (especially given that he is the only living Democrat who could hold this district), but still, it's nice to be courted.

Great Moments in American Foreign Policy

2008-08-10T15:02:00.005-05:00

Russia (headed by the thuggish dictator with the soul-transparent eyes) invades and beats up on a small neighboring country that happens to be a valuable US ally. Using all of his diplomatic skill, President Bush...uhm, gives Putin another big hug. Sigh. Is there anything else that can go wrong between now and January 20, 2009? Will Dubya get us into a war with China through some maladroit bungling in Beijing? Has Canada invaded yet?

UPDATE: As Georgia desperately tries to surrender, it becomes more and more apparent that the whole invasion was in reality Putin's clumsy warning against NATO expansion.

UPDATE 2: Never fear! Dubya is on the case!

The More Things Change...

2008-08-08T21:38:00.004-05:00

Judge James Robertson awarded the paltry sum of $455.6 million to the Cobell plaintiffs for a century of mismanagement of Indian trust funds by the Federal government. The legal equivalent of a penny tip, as noted by Wampum. Discussion at John Cornsilk's Place. An appeal will surely follow, but given the anti-Indian attitude of the current Supreme Court, this case could very well end up being yet another example of the one overriding principle of Indian Law: Indians always lose.

In a related story, the 9th Circuit has ruled that pouring massive amounts of urine on the sacred San Francisco Peaks does not violate the religious freedoms of the Navajo. I won't hold my breath waiting for the same sort of outrage that erupted at Andres Serrano's famous work in the same medium.

Column for 10 August, 2008

2008-08-08T19:39:00.002-05:00

Beer and Presidents

“Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago.”
--Micah 8:14

America has always had a deep anti-intellectual streak. Maybe it’s a product of our revolutionary origins, a reaction against the idea of rule by our “betters.” Maybe it has something to do with America’s Protestant religious heritage. Even today, you can find conservative commentators who sneer at the Enlightenment. Or it could be a function of the cherished national myth that ours is a “classless society” where anyone can rise to greatness based solely on the content of their character. Of course, there’s a fine line between anti-intellectualism and the worship of outright ignorance, and naturally that line tends to get pole-vaulted over in politics. The repulsive Andrew Jackson, despite his fortune made on slaves and stolen Indian land, nevertheless portrayed himself as the hero of the common frontiersman, in contrast to the “stuffed shirt” image of John Quincy Adams. Later, William Henry Harrison, a Virginia aristocrat, used the same tactic against Jackson’s Vice President, Martin Van Buren. While some Presidents like Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were admired for their intelligence, the 1950’s saw Adlai Stevenson vilified (though, to be fair, he tended to bring it on himself) as an “egghead” and by the late ‘sixties and early ‘seventies, the poster-child for ignorance Spiro Agnew could rail against “pointy-headed liberals” and “East Coast intellectuals” while Richard Nixon smirked beneath a hardhat. The same election that inflicted Nixon upon a hapless nation saw the rise of George Wallace who firmly cemented populism, exuberant ignorance and racism. In 1988, the dour colorless Michael Dukakis was excoriated by the geeky aristocrat George H.W. Bush for advocating a farm plan that called for planting Belgian endive, in contrast one supposes to more mainly crops such as corn or wheat. Of course, none of this is new to Texas, where stupidity has always been trumpeted as a political virtue. Maybe it’s not surprising then that Texas gave the nation (sorry, nation!), George W. Bush, a wealthy son of privilege with an intellect a mile-wide and an inch deep, nevertheless portrayed as a “guy you could have a beer with,” which I suppose is ironic given Dubya’s abstemiousness. Thus, the 2000 election was reduced to a student council race between the captain of the football team and the president of the chess club. Al Gore came across as prissy and nerdy; Bush wore his monumental ignorance on his sleeve. We now know from that little experiment that the guys you drink beer with will, if given half a chance, wreck the economy, trash the Constitution, and embroil the country in a grinding war of attrition based upon half-truths and outright lies. Who knew? Four years later, a decorated war hero with frankly middle class roots was portrayed as a rich, cowardly elitist by a man who used his millionaire family’s political connections to avoid combat service in Vietnam. Al Gore and John Kerry both contributed to their own character assassination by inexplicably refusing to defend themselves until it was too late. Small wonder then that John McCain is using the same tactic against Barack Obama. McCain, who is rich for precisely the same reason John Kerry is rich (marriage), a man with five houses and a private jet considered indispensable for getting around the evidently unpaved wilds of Arizona by his second wife, is trying to paint Obama as Michael Dukakis with a better speaking voice. When Obama made the point that offshore drilling (a position, like many, only recently embraced by McCain) would generate less oil than would be saved by all Americans keeping their cars serviced and their tires properly inflated, the McCain campaign, in a frankly brilliant piece of political judo, turned it into a riff on how dorky Obama is. Real Americans don’t inflate their tires! McCain’s descent into desperate pandering may have reached rock bottom (though that is probably too much to ask) with his recent appearance at the infamous Sturgis, South Dakota motorcycle rally where he (one hopes jokingly) offered his wife in a beauty contest which ESPN genteelly noted is “topless and frequently bottomless.” What’s next? A guest-shot on pro-wrestling? The danger to Obama, of course, is that while he is relatively unknown at the national level, the general public’s residual memories of John McCain are “war hero” and “maverick.” If, as polling suggests, voters are primarily interested in Obama’s qualifications, he cannot afford to allow himself to be indelibly branded as an earnest yet naïve dork. At the same time, McCain can tap into a rich vein of racially-charged subtext that Obama is “uppity.” And such attacks are hard to fight back against. Americans can spot a phony; Obama bowling and Hillary Clinton downing shots looked exactly like what they were—contrived, condescending pandering photo ops. Obama is clearly a very smart guy; he shouldn’t play dumb. He needs to realize that most Americans don’t know him and aren’t likely to read his books. Without claiming he was born in a log cabin on the prairie, he should emphasize his humble roots, growing up with a single mother. Americans do not, I think, insist on having a president who isn’t smarter than them; they do, however, prefer presidents who can relate to their problems. Obama won’t do that by riding in NASCAR. He seems to do well in town-hall settings; he needs more of those to be seen talking to ordinary Americans about the issues actually on their minds-gas prices, mortgages, the economy. And above all, he needs to fight back. While defining himself, he also needs to remind Americans that the “maverick” of 2000 is, in fact, a Republican and has completely subordinated himself to Bush’s agenda, in some instances taking positions that are even more extreme than Bush’s. If as it seems apparent this is Obama’s race to lose, he cannot afford to fight it on McCain’s turf. Or to put it another way, never wrassle a pig. You only get muddy and the pig enjoys it.

Wanted: Arabic Speakers!

2008-08-07T17:11:00.002-05:00

...unless you're teh gay. This is just so stupid it pains me to read it. So when Al Qaeda detonates a dirty bomb in Los Angeles harbor, I can rest easy knowing my government didn't allow any homos to translate the vital clue that might have prevented the whole thing. Because, you know, they might get teh gay all over it. Or something. Idiots.

Today in History...

2008-08-06T12:48:00.002-05:00

(1945)

Defining Obama

2008-08-06T12:21:00.004-05:00

Some excellent articles on how voters don't know Obama that well (thereby making the election solely about his competence) and the serious danger that McCain will indelibly mark him as a Michael Dukakis/John Kerry elitist early on, with the added bonus of playing into racially-loaded code-memes for "uppity negro." I agree that Obama needs to go on the offensive, and the sooner the better, especially in linking McCain (who still has a residual public image as a "maverick") with the Bush Administration train wreck. He should resist urges to make him look more like a "regular guy." Obama trying to bowl looked exactly like Hillary downing shots: contrived and insincere. Obama is smart; he shouldn't play dumb. The voters can smell a phony coming from a long ways off.

UPDATE: Speaking of "racially-loaded code-memes," Ezra Klein has a great piece on white privilege and white resentment.

John McCain vs. Indian Country

2008-08-05T13:16:00.004-05:00

John McCain blows off meeting with Indians to hit the real cultural highlight of South Dakota--Sturgis. Pretty sad, really, given that McCain has had a decent record on Indian issues in the Senate, but evidently hundreds of yuppies pretending to be Hell's Angels is more important. That and the topless women.

UPDATE: Does McCain's willingness to enter his wife in a topless (and frequently bottomless) drunken "Beauty pageant" at a biker bar indicate A) he has no idea what goes on at these things and is therefore a latte-sipping elitist; or B) he does know and is just a sexist jerk? For extra bonus points, what do you think the MSM would be doing if Obama had made the same comments in the same venue?

Changing the Game

2008-08-04T17:20:00.002-05:00

If 2008 is to be the kind of transformative, watershed election the most fervent Obamaphiles promise, the key lies with low-wage workers (currently for him by a 2-1 margin) and the 83 million eligible voters who stayed home in 2004 despite the enormous turnout. And to do that, Obama must make these voters aware that not only is John McCain a Republican, he is a George W. Bush Republican.

Anthrax Leprosy Mu

2008-08-03T10:25:00.003-05:00

Glenn Greenwald has up a superbly-researched post about the Bush Administration's suspicious and misleading actions surrounding the still-mysterious anthrax attacks and the MSM's complicity in pushing government propaganda. When did the Bush Administration know about the risk of loose weaponized anthrax? Did they deliberately leak false details in order to implicate Iraq?

The War At Home

2008-08-02T14:01:00.003-05:00

Obviously, not all (or even most) conservatives are violent, murderous lunatics. However, imagine for just one second what the Right Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus would've done if this attack had been a Muslim (or an atheist or even just someone non-religious) going after a conservative church because of their politics. We'd be getting wall-to-wall coverage. And what are we to make of the constant barrage of violent rhetoric from the RWHMMC? Can we seriously doubt it was a contributing factor?

What If Bill Clinton...

2008-07-31T20:25:00.003-05:00

...was found to have been holding fundraisers at a strip club in Vegas? Why, that would be perfectly okay because it was really just "burlesque" and there was "no nudity."

Freedmen Decision

2008-07-30T21:19:00.004-05:00

The DC Court of Appeals has ruled that the Cherokee Nation cannot be sued without its consent. However, the decision leaves open the possibility that individual tribal officials can be sued for violating the 1866 Treaty. Discussion of the issue at John Cornsilk's Place. Links to the briefs at Turtle Talk.
Based on a very limited analysis of the decision, it seems to me that if the trial court (which, remember, ruled that CN had waived sovereign immunity) allows suit against the Principal Chief and the Tribal Council individually, then not much will have changed, though I'm curious as to what the Freedmen's remedy would be if they prevail under those conditions.

UPDATE: More on the story from Indian Country Today.

News Round-Up

2008-07-30T21:08:00.003-05:00

Stupidity on Parade

Republicans call for appointing Fox to guard Henhouse;
Toby Keith has his pudgy finger on the pulse of "the Black Society";
That little popping sound you heard? That was the last little bit of John McCain's soul dying;
Turns out I was right. Who'da thunkit?
Something else we're importing from China.

Today in History...

2008-07-27T13:35:00.002-05:00

..the "forgotten war" in Korea ends with an armistice that remains in effect 55 years later (1953)

Column for 27 July, 2008

2008-07-26T14:53:00.001-05:00

“Be strong and be courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”
--Joshua 1:6

It is rapidly becoming evident that John McCain is the albatross leading the GOP to what may well be a historic electoral whooping, in spite of the obsequious fawning of the Mainstream Media, which grants him a pass on every misstatement or flat-out lie. When McCain confused Sunnis and Shiites (several times), when he falsely stated that Hurricane Katrina spilled “not one drop” of oil, when he claimed the so-called “Anbar Awakening” was the result of the Surge (it actually began half a year before the Surge), when he forgot that the “Iraq-Pakistan border” is called Iran; in every instance, the supposedly liberal media scurried to cover McCain’s back. CBS even edited its own footage of McCain to cover his Anbar gaffe. To some extent, this media boot-licking is a function of the “man bites dog” meme; to the media, an election isn’t newsworthy unless it’s a horse race. Recent state-by-state polls have given Obama 300+ electoral votes, but the coverage is all about “voter doubts” over Obama. Additionally, the Mainstream Media remains cowed by a systematic and highly successful twenty-five year long conservative campaign to vilify them as “biased liberal elitists.” McCain has tried recently to plug into that tired trope, grousing that the media is spending too much time covering Obama’s triumphal tour through Europe and the Middle East, even though the only reason Obama went in the first place was because McCain taunted him for not going to Iraq. In fact, the Obama World Tour couldn’t have been worse for McCain; first President Bush endorses a “time horizon” for withdrawing troops, thereby undercutting McCain’s position of slavish devotion to a never-ending war, then the wily Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly supports Obama’s plan for a 16 month withdrawal. Obama looked like a world leader and his erstwhile opponent was left to grumble, “It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” Clearly, the Straight Talk Express is running on flat tires; while the Obama campaign is confidently opening twenty campaign offices in Virginia, Republican congressional candidates like Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) are reduced to lamely claiming that they are Obama’s pals. And, sadly, Republicans are now adopting what may be the most annoying tendency of liberals: thin-skinned whining. Republicans in 2004 openly derided John Kerry’s war record, even mocking the Purple Heart on the floor of their National Convention. Just the other day, I saw one of those “Hanoi John Kerry” bumper stickers on the car of someone who clearly hasn’t read the news in the last eight years. Yet when Wesley Clark, after fulsomely praising McCain as a war hero, made the rather obvious remark that being a war hero doesn’t automatically qualify someone to be president, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Right Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus that he had smeared all veterans and denigrated McCain. Of course, Obama is susceptible too; the better response to that tacky New Yorker cartoon would’ve been silence or better yet humor. And moving some Muslim women out of the background for a campaign photo was clumsy and stupid; at least he had the good taste to apologize for that one. You cannot help but wonder what’s going on with McCain; he nearly unseated the clear establishment candidate, George W. Bush, in 2000, and he brought his 2008 campaign literally back from the brink of catastrophe. Having secured the nomination, however, it’s been nothing but gaffes, missteps and flailing ever since. Part of it, of course, is beyond McCain’s control. The Republican brand is hopelessly tarnished after years of corruption and incompetence. It is worth noting that despite Congress’ overall single-digit approval ratings, Democrats lead the generic ballot by a staggering 15 percentage points, with the possibility of 239 House members and just shy of 60 Senators. In order to secure the nomination, McCain had to graft himself to a President only slightly more popular than Bird Flu and a war the public has long since wearied of. Still, McCain is also suffering from several self-inflicted wounds. He surrounded himself with troglodytes like Phil Gramm, only to be embarrassed when the Mouth That Roared acted like, well, like Phil Gramm. As the suburban middle class (who will decide this election) grows more and more anxious, calling them “whiners” and having your nominee admit that he doesn’t know much about economics is probably not a very effective strategy. McCain likewise eagerly sought the endorsement of loathsome tele-Pharisees like John Hagee and Rod Paisley, only to backtrack when some of their more repulsive utterances surfaced (finally) in the wake of Obama’s Jeremiah Wright kerfuffle. The ever-shrinking Republican base seems singularly unexcited; on an anecdotal level, I have to meet a Republican who even likes John McCain, much less is committed to his victory. I’m not yet prepared to make hotel reservations for the Obama Inauguration (assuming, of course, I even get invited), but more and more, slowly but surely, the question of this campaign is becoming not whether Obama will win but by how much.

Obamccain?

2008-07-24T20:26:00.003-05:00

First al-Maliki now McCain? How desperate is your campaign when your friends are trying to claim your Iraq policy is almost kinda like your opponent's?

A Little Good News

2008-07-24T11:00:00.003-05:00

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) has introduced a bill to address the epidemic of white-on-Indian crime in Indian Country. While far short of a full restoration of sovereignty, it does strengthen the power of tribal courts and tribal police and force some measure of accountability on the Department of Justice. It's a good start, but Congress needs to go further and repeal the odious Major Crimes Act outright and explicate overturn the Oliphant decision (which they can do since the case was based on a transparently false reading of Congressional intent or rather the lack thereof).

Just Because You're Paranoid...

2008-07-23T16:00:00.002-05:00

That whole domestic spying thing? The one where Congress just totally abjectly caved to the White House? Yeah, turns out it's worse than we thought. Way worse. Senator Obama, is this "egregious" enough for you?

John McCain's Latest Super-power?

2008-07-21T10:18:00.002-05:00

Telepathy. Or arrogant neo-colonialist condescension. Whichever.
Though not, evidently, precognition. Or memory. Or consistency. Or whatever.

"Winning" the War

2008-07-20T11:40:00.003-05:00

How to keep the disaster in Iraq from destroying the GOP? Can't let Obama in the White House; Lord knows what he might find if he goes snooping around. I have it!

Announce a "time horizon" for pulling out troops. That's vague enough it sounds like something Steven Hawking would come up with. Plus, when you think about it, you can never really reach the horizon, now can you?
Next, trot out a general to dutifully claim with a straight face that "time horizons" = democracy, sunshine, ponies & gumdrops whereas "time lines" = surrender;
Wait, crap! That nitwit al-Maliki told some German magazine he wants us out in 16 months!
Okay, plan B: bomb Iran.

News Round-Up

2008-07-18T15:20:00.002-05:00

MSM still pimping for McCain, or at least the "OMFG!1! Teh race is close!!" meme;
Bush decides to totally bend the knee to the Mooslum hordes;
Attorney-client privilege, schmivilege! Welcome to Texas!
Start countdown for Tele-Pharisees to shift argument from "evil unelected librul judges" to "Californication will fall off into the ocean!"
"America has the greatest health care delivery system in teh world!"

Why This Election Matters...

2008-07-17T13:44:00.002-05:00

...George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain all believe that the President of the United States can arrest US Citizens on US soil and lock them up forever without charges, a trial or a lawyer, solely on the President's say-so and that this decision can never be limited by Congress or reviewed by the Courts.

Today in History...

2008-07-16T10:00:00.003-05:00

The Prophet Muhammad begins his Hijra from Mecca to Medina (622);
First Franciscan Mission established in what is now California (1769);
Duwali (Chief Bowles), the eighty-year-old leader of a band of Cherokee and other affiliated tribes, is run down and killed by Texas Militia acting on orders of President Mirabeau Lamar, who despises the Cherokee as Sam Houston's "pet Indians" (1839);
Trinity, the first successful detonation of an atomic bomb, occurs at Alamogordo, New Mexico (1945);
Saddam Hussein becomes President of Iraq (1979)

MSM Coddles McCain!

2008-07-14T19:12:00.002-05:00

Film at eleven! Also, gravity still makes things fall when you drop them!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T13:50:00.003-05:00

I'll be out of town next week (and off the grid), so talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: Barack Obama is neither as liberal nor John McCain as moderate as the MSM would have you believe. Discuss!

Conservative Hypocrisy Watch

2008-07-02T19:34:00.003-05:00

Attacking decorated, wounded Vietnam War hero John Kerry and mocking the Order of the Purple Heart on the floor of the Republican National Convention?

Hey, them's just politics.

Mildly suggesting that being a decorated, wounded Vietnam War hero does not automatically qualify John McCain to be President?

It's. A. Moral. Outrage! Wailing! Gnashing of teeth!

Wow, Never Saw THAT Coming!

2008-06-29T20:25:00.006-05:00

SCOTUS, continuing a 200 year-long trend, again limits tribal jurisdiction. As Justice Ginsburg noted in dissent, "Resolving this case on a ground neither argued nor addressed below, the court holds that a tribe may not impose any regulation -- not even a nondiscrimination requirement -- on a bank's dealings with tribal members regarding on-reservation fee lands." Or, as Turtle Talk succinctly puts it, "The Supreme Court has essentially declared Indian tribes to be nothing more than glorified country clubs, with their authority 'confined to managing tribal land, protect[ing] tribal self-government, and control[ling] internal relations.' Just like your local country club, tribes can only determine who can come on the property, who can be a member, and who can be in charge." As I have often said, if there's one constant in American Indian Law, it's that Indians always lose; precedent, logic, history and the Constitution be damned.

Now, let's wait for the howls of outrage from the major presidential candidates...

(cue chirping crickets)

Today in History...

2008-06-26T19:31:00.002-05:00

...the Battle of the Greasy Grass, where George Armstrong Custer got what was coming to him, ends when the victorious alliance of Northern Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho withdraw on the approach of General Alfred Terry's column (1876).

Supreme Court Does...Something?

2008-06-24T16:59:00.004-05:00

The US Supreme Court may or may not have held, in a case arising in Texas, that persons who are arrested have the right to an attorney at their bond hearing (known as an Article 15.17 hearing). Having only skimmed the ruling itself and discussed it with several other lawyers and judges, we have no idea what the hell it means or what effect, if any, it will have on the way things are currently done. Thanks, Souter! Right now, in Johnson County anyway, arrestees are advised by the magistrate judge that they have the right to an attorney and one is appointed as soon as they ask for one. In other counties, including apparently Gillespie, the county in the Supreme Court case, lawyers aren't appointed until indictment. Further updates as events warrant.

UPDATE: More on Rothgery, again from Grits.

In Memorium (NSFW)

2008-06-23T23:19:00.001-05:00

Thanks, George.

CAVE-IN!

2008-06-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

Congressional Democrats have, for all intents and purposes, completely capitulated to Bush's demands on FISA--his unfettered power to spy on American citizens. The "compromise" not only blesses the President's illegal actions, but also exempts the tele-com Quislings from the inconvenience of having to answer for their actions in court--the ONLY avenue by which the American public could ever have learned who in the government authorized this lawless action in the first place. I suspect, as other commenters have noted, that Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were motivated by a combination of lust for tele-com campaign contributions and fear that another terrorist attack would be blamed on them; how else to account for abasing themselves to a wildly unpopular lame-duck President in an election year? Even more disappointing is that Barack Obama has signed off on this instrument of surrender.

In an Odd Bit of Synergistic Irony...

2008-06-18T12:26:00.003-05:00

...the talk is now about Barack Obama running with Republican Chuck Hagel and John McCain running with (kinda sorta) Democrat Joe Lieberman. There's a certain amount of logic to both choices, in that they would boost each candidate's preferred brand image, Obama as a post-partisan agent of change and McCain as a "maverick" willing to buck the party line. Neither would likely directly affect the electoral landscape in the traditional sense; Nebraska is still likely to go red and Connecticut blue. And there's the risk to both men at the top of the ticket alienating their bases with ideologically "impure" running mates, though this seems less of a risk with Lieberman who is Republican in the only way that counts these days: slavish devotion to George W. Bush and the Iraq War.

Should He or Shouldn't He?

2008-06-16T18:01:00.005-05:00

The case for and the case against an Obama/Clinton ticket. I continue to believe that Hillary will not be on the ticket for the simple reason that there is no compelling reason why she would want to be. Far better to serve as Majority Leader while waiting for John Paul Stevens to retire. And if Hillary isn't on the ticket, I don't think Obama will pick another woman. The only unanswered question is whether or not significant numbers of Hillary primary voters will stay home or (far less likely in my opinion) defect to McBush without her on the ticket. Almost certainly, Obama's people are furiously polling that very question as we speak, particularly in places like Florida and Ohio (which, signficantly, Obama's people now say he doesn't need to get to 270. You can play with a cool map here to see if you agree). If Hillary does end up on the ticket, you'll know the results of those polls.

Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry

2008-06-15T21:26:00.003-05:00

A story I neglected to cover at the time. The government of Canada has officially apologized for its' dreadful, racist Indian residential schools policy. This policy, incidentally, was virtually identical to that of the United States ("kill the Indian; save the Man"). The United States, to date, has never once apologized for any of its policies designed to exterminate the indigenous population of this nation; policies which continue, in a more genteel form, to this very day.

Column for 15 June, 2008

2008-06-15T13:05:00.001-05:00

“Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
--2 Chronicles 1:10

Every two years, the bizarre, unwieldy, contradictory barking mess that is the Texas Democratic Party comes together for a weekend of barely-controlled chaos that is referred to rather hopefully as a “convention.” This year, buoyed by the unprecedented turnout for the presidential primary, some 14,000 delegates, alternates and guests descended on Austin’s Convention Center, which let me just begin by saying is absolutely the worst venue I have ever endured. It’s gigantic, the size of a zeppelin hangar, but laid out in a weird labyrinth color-coded maze of the sort that normally features cheese at the end. There are several banks of elevators, but none of them go to all the floors. Unaccountably, some genius had switched off the escalators, forcing hundreds of delegates to gingerly clamber up and down like an assault on Mount Everest. In order to get to the Native American Caucus, I literally had to climb up the fire escape; I was afraid I would have to rappel down. Only a couple of small double-door entrances were available to the main hall, so getting people in and out was reminiscent of stampeding for the lifeboats on the Titanic. Because of the huge number of people, entrance to the floor had to be strictly limited to those with credentials; otherwise the fire marshal would’ve shut the place down. Ironically, on Saturday just before the voting got underway in earnest, someone pulled a fire alarm and the entire building had to be evacuated. We all jammed the sidewalks, sweltering in the heat and rubbing elbows with the omnipresent Ron Paul and Lyndon LaRouche followers passing out flyers emblazoned with their preferred candidate’s favorite brand of paranoia. By the time everyone got out, the all-clear was given and we dutifully trooped back in. Several people asked if Tom DeLay had an alibi, a joke that is less funny in retrospect after fire gutted the magnificent old mansion that has housed Governors both great (Sam Houston) and pathetic (Rick Perry) for a century-and-a-half. For reasons still unclear to me, I was unanimously elected as chair of our senate district caucus, the kind of thankless job often bestowed on the gullible or those foolish enough to miss a meeting. Senate District 22 was divided almost exactly evenly between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton delegates, but for the most part, things went relatively smoothly. Well, smoothly for Democrats, anyway. Democrats are a lot like Southern Baptists; you can’t put more than two of them in the same room together without them splitting into at least three factions. So, of course, we did have some “drama,” as the kids say, but compared to most of the other senate districts (some of whom were at it past three in the morning), we were a machine of efficiency. Overall, I detected little of the bitterness and rancor the mainstream media has insisted exists between the Obama and Clinton camps. The Clinton delegates were, understandably, heartbroken, and this was only exacerbated by the technical gremlins that kept disrupting the satellite feed of Senator Clinton’s thoughtful and gracious concession speech. There was one delegate, described by a commenter on my blog as a “modern day Jeremiah,” carrying a sign that read, “Religious, gun-owning rural Democrat still bitter over Obama.” And it would be fair to say that several Clinton delegates grumbled that the Obama camp was too enthusiastic in their victory. Anytime you have a situation that requires one side to be generous winners and the other side to be gracious losers, it’s certain that there will be hurt feelings and bruised egos. This was amplified by the huge number of first-time convention-goers and a lack of organization and foresight by the two Presidential campaigns. Once it was clear there wasn’t going to be a fight, it seemed as though both campaigns, but particularly Obama’s, just wrote the whole event off. Senator Clinton sent Chelsea, who was wildly and enthusiastically received; Obama sent Tim Kaine, a governor virtually no one had ever heard of who delivered a speech about as exciting as cooling oatmeal. Of course, at the time the convention was being organized, no one had any way of knowing that it would occur literally at the same time the Democratic presidential race was ending; still, a little effort could’ve gone a long way to promoting the sense of unity that both Clinton and Obama are calling for. For example, if I was in charge of the Obama delegates, I would’ve arranged for a sustained demonstration saluting Hillary Clinton. I think that would’ve been very well received as a gesture of affection and respect. Water under the bridge now. It is possible, though unlikely, that by the time you read this Barack Obama will have announced his running mate. I will predict that whoever it is, it will not be Hillary Clinton, for a couple of reasons, the most important of which being that Hillary Clinton would have to give up far too much power to be vice president. It’s far more likely that she will become Senate Majority Leader, a welcome change from the often feckless Harry Reid. It also seems likely that a President Obama would name her to the first vacancy on the Supreme Court. As for Texas, I think it’s also likely that Obama will campaign here, not because he’s too terribly likely to actually carry the state, but to boost the chances of Democrats like senate candidate Rick Noriega (who is either breathing down John Cornyn’s neck or way behind depending on which Rasmussen poll you believe) and to make the morally and fiscally bankrupt Republicans sweat and spend money here that they would otherwise use in battleground states like Ohio and Michigan. So, are the Democrats “unified”? Well, sure; I mean, for Democrats. You have to keep in mind that Democrats have never and will never achieve the sort of ideological rigidity that has reduced the Republic Party to the sort of brainless cheering minions one often sees at rallies for Robert Mugabe or Hugo Chavez. If the GOP is a group of disparate interests united by fear (of communists, uppity women, brown people, homosexuals and the Enlightenment), then the Democratic Party is best understood as a (very) loose coalition of wildly divergent interests only vaguely united by a sense of outrage, less a electoral guided missile than a stampede or an avalanche; powerful only when pointed in the right direction, an often impossible task. If Barack Obama can use his undeniable powers of charm and persuasion to hold together his own party, then he will be the next President of the United States.

Supreme Court Accidentally Upholds Constitution

2008-06-13T18:24:00.003-05:00

Apparently, there really is such a thing as habeas corpus after all. The talking heads seem happy, but I am left to ponder: is it really something to cheer about that the highest court in the land, by a 5-4 vote no less, has only grudgingly upheld what has been the fundamental basis of the rule of law since the Magna Carta? Is the bar really set that low now?
And to any Hillary Clinton supporters out there still contemplating either sitting this one out or supporting McBush, a point to consider: FIVE to FOUR.

My Big Fat Democratic Convention

2008-06-09T23:04:00.003-05:00

For reasons unclear to me, I was unanimously elected chair of the Senate District 22 caucus, divided almost exactly evenly between Clinton and Obama delegates. The two camps tried to cobble together a deal to divide the available committee positions between them, but it nearly foundered as many of the first-time delegates (probably a majority of the total) were understandably suspicious of "back room deals." In spite of that, and a brief bit of childish public tantrum-throwing by a delegate who didn't get what he thought he deserved, we actually finished far ahead of the other senate districts, some of which were at it all night long and well into the morning. I attended a hastily-organized Native American caucus and we elected a Navajo man and a Blackfoot/Lakota woman (I'm sorry, but I've blanked on their names) as our choices for at-large Native American delegate to the national convention. We also passed a resolution I authored calling for the repeal of the Major Crimes Act and reversal of Oliphant, though I never learned what happened to it after that. There was little actual drama on the convention floor compared to prior years; Boyd Ritchie was easily re-elected. The question of abolishing the "Texas Two-Step" Primary was fobbed off on a task force. The biggest excitement came when we had to evacuate the Austin Convention Center (which is easily the worst venue I have ever been trapped in; we practically had to rappel up the side of the building to get to some of the meeting rooms and the escalators were unaccountably turned off) due to a fire alarm. I heard but didn't get to see Chelsea Clinton's speech, and the entire convention was annoyed by the technical glitches that kept interrupting Hillary Clinton's concession speech. As for the much-hyped tension between Clinton & Obama supporters, I think there were actually more people worried about it than there were people who legitimately intend to vote for McCain unless Clinton is put on the ticket. Overall, my impression was that the Obama supporters could have been more gracious winners and the Clinton supporters could have been better losers. A few small symbolic gestures by either side would've gone a long way. For example, if I was in charge of the Obama delegates, I would have arranged for a "spontaneous" pro-Hillary demonstration after her speech. It would have cost the Obama side nothing, but would've helped mend fences. Actually, Texas would've been the perfect setting for a joint appearance, considering the huge turnout and the fact that Clinton won the primary while Obama won the caucus. Hopefully, the Texas Democratic Party will capitalize on the huge primary turnout and work to make sure that all the new people in the process stay excited and involved all the way to November and beyond.

Post Convention Stress Disorder

2008-06-08T23:49:00.003-05:00

Still recovering from the Democratic State Convention. Longer post to come. While it's true that the Convention was interrupted by a fire alarm (and then, bizarrely, someone tried to burn down the Governor's Mansion), as I have often said, any Democratic meeting where no shots are fired, no blood is spilled and no police are called is a good meeting.

The Candidate

2008-06-04T23:45:00.002-05:00

Congratulations, Senator! Now the hard part begins. As for me, I'll be at the State Democratic Convention in Austin tomorrow through Saturday. I will attempt to post from there, but we all know how well technology and I get along.

It Gets Weirder

2008-06-01T23:15:00.003-05:00

I, like nearly all lawyers, have had cases where judges made bad rulings. Bizarre rulings. Incomprehensible rulings. Rulings completely unmoored from either the facts or the law. But I can safely say that in nearly ten years of practice, I have never seen a judge stomp out of the courtroom and flat-out refuse to rule, as Judge Barbara Walther did Friday in the increasingly unhinged FLDS case. If you don't want to make the hard calls, especially when the heat is on, then don't run for judge. More from the Common Room.

Supremes Uphold Overturning of YFZ Removal Order

2008-05-29T21:35:00.004-05:00

Grits, as always, has the full story. It is not, however, the end by any stretch of the imagination. The DFPS suit continues, the agency can and no doubt will proceed on their safety plans, and they can still seek termination though the likelihood of that being granting without removal is pretty remote. Nor does this foreclose the possibility of criminal prosecutions, even with the investigation in a shambles and the evidence hopelessly contaminated. FLDS lawyers should make sure their clients are aware that DFPS will be watching them like a hawk, and can still try to remove the children if they are exposed to "alleged abusers," even though no such abusers have been positively identified to date.

YFZ = NDN?

2008-05-28T23:45:00.003-05:00

I initially resisted comparisons between what the YFZ families are going through and the Indian experience of the last two centuries. Tim Giago's column makes a good case, particularly in the context of Indian boarding schools, however I still think the comparison is a strained one. An argument can be made that both the FLDS and Indians were targeted by the government due to their religion and culture, true, but one raid, however mismanaged and ham-fisted, hardly compares to 200 years of cultural genocide. The FLDS lived on that ranch because they wanted to, not because the Federal government seized their homes and herded them there. The FLDS are considered human beings under the law, a distinction not bestowed on Indians until 1879. Family members who objected to the removal of their children were not indiscriminately mowed down by Army howitzers. So, while I continue to believe the FLDS families have been treated badly by the State of Texas, I cannot concede that their level of suffering has approached anything like that which Indians have endured since the founding of America.

This Just In!

2008-05-27T22:09:00.003-05:00

Rest of the nation astonished to learn that Phil Gramm has no morals, no scruples, and no reflection! Film at eleven!
In other news, John McCain is totally a maverick and not a low-rent George W. Bush clone.

"Military Dictatorship" Is Such An Ugly Phrase...

2008-05-26T21:48:00.003-05:00

...I prefer "Unitary Executive." Bush Administration lawyerbots claim the President has the unfettered authority to send in the military to arrest US Citizens on US soil and lock them up forever without charges, much less a trial. And of course, none of this reviewable by any court. Now, here's the challenge: I challenge Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to publicly declare that they denounce this position and will never assert it in court. Get cracking, you two!

News Round-Up

2008-05-25T23:24:00.002-05:00

Reaganism is dead, and Dubya killed it;
Do white people have a problem with Obama? Or just Appalachian white people?
McCain's campaign "organization" is starting to scare an already-jittery GOP;
And speaking of John McCain, he can't even be bothered to vote on a GI Bill he opposes;
Obama took note of this;
Fortunately, John Cornyn was available to wallow in his own crapulence;
But Saint McCain drove the tele-Pharisees from the Straight-Talk Express!
Handicapping the Veepstakes;
New York Governor concerned that allowing the Oneida to get a small portion of their stolen land back will work a hardship...on those who benefitted from stealing it;
And, lastly, where has the ACLU been during the YFZ fiasco? Inquiring minds want to know!

Column for 25 May, 2008

2008-05-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.”
--Psalm 103:13-14

On an occasion such as Memorial Day, I usually find my own meager words inadequate. Others with far more talent have eloquently captured the spirit of this day, and of the sacrifice of those we remember on this day.
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Abraham Lincoln, 1863). Perhaps the most famous and familiar American words on the sacrifice of veterans, Lincoln succinctly invoked humility, pride, and inspiration.
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow; Between the crosses, row on row; That mark our place; and in the sky; The larks, still bravely singing, fly; Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago; We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie; In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throw; The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow; In Flanders fields.” (John McCrae, 1915). McCrae, a surgeon with Canadian forces during World War One, never returned home from his war; he died of pneumonia in France in 1918.
“They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Lest we forget.” (Laurence Binyon, 1914).

“Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo, Shovel them under and let me work--I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysburg; And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work.” (Carl Sandburg, 1918). One of America’s greatest poets and authors wrote these words, somewhat bitter and perhaps cynical, at the end of what was then grandiosely titled “The Great War to Save Mankind,” a phrase inscribed on a medal presented to my paternal grandfather, Ross Edward Barkman, for his service in that conflict. There is an old photograph of him from that time, wearing his high-collar Army uniform, peering out at me, his features uncannily reflected in the face of my oldest son, the great-grandson he never met. Another portrait, this one in my maternal grandmother’s house in Midland shows my other grandfather in the Navy uniform he wore during World War Two. He preferred not to talk about the things he saw during that time. Now we are engaged in another war, one which has already lasted longer than either of the two world wars my grandfathers fought in. More than 4,000 young men and women have died to date, with some 30,000 officially acknowledged as wounded to varying degrees. In the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, “No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.” Reasonable minds may differ about the necessity or rightness of this war, though most of them do so from the comfort and safety of their air-conditioned homes or studios; surely, though, everyone can agree that we owe more to the veterans, living and dead, and their families, than magnetic yellow ribbons mass-produced in China and sold without irony at gas stations to be affixed to monstrous gas-guzzling SUVs. Surely, if young people are willing to put on uniforms, take up arms, and travel halfway across the world to risk their lives, we at the very least can guarantee to them the best health care in the world for the rest of their lives and the chance for a college education upon their return? Isn’t that the absolute minimum we who have sacrificed virtually nothing can do to honor the memory of those who “gave the last full measure of devotion”?

Eldorado Removal Order Reversed

2008-05-22T14:56:00.005-05:00

In an amazing development, the Third Court of Appeals has reversed the trial court's decision to remove children from the YFZ Ranch near Eldorado. What makes it remarkable is that the appeal was reviewed on an "abuse of discretion" standard, the standard most favorable to the trial court.

UPDATE: More cogent analysis from my Right Honourable Colleague Guy Murray over at the Messenger & Advocate. And from Grits as well.

UPDATE 2: The latest on the legal manueverings in the YFZ case from the Common Room.

Stupid White Man of the Week: Kathleen Parker

2008-05-19T22:04:00.005-05:00

...for her stirring defense of ignorant crackers who can't vote for Obama because they prefer to have a "full-blooded American" as President. By "full-blooded American" I naturally assumed Ms. Parker was referring to Ben Nighthorse Campbell or (God help us all) Tom Cole; but no. Evidently, being a "full-blooded American" is no mere accident of DNA, no. Not only must you arrange for both your parents to have been born in America, you must also hate/fear immigrants and love guns and Jesus. But it has nothing to do with race. Ms. Parker says so.

Supporting the Troops?

2008-05-18T22:19:00.005-05:00

McCain and Dubya continue to work against a new GI Bill for veterans of the War on Terror.

Sorry, I was just waiting for all the Right Wing Outrage. Carry on.

In the Immortal Words of Pogo...

2008-05-17T23:52:00.002-05:00

..."We has met th' enemy and they is us." Excellent opinion piece from Indian Country Today on the moral (as opposed to merely legal) wrong of the Freedmen disenfranchisement. EBW at Wampum uses the article as the jumping-off point for a wider discussion of internalized self-colonialism, a sort of Stockholm Syndrome whereby the victims become victimizers themselves.

Column for 17 May, 2008

2008-05-17T10:01:00.001-05:00

“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”
--Proverbs 29:11

Barring a miracle (or a catastrophe, depending on your point of view), the November presidential election will be between Barack Obama and John McCain. There will be some excitement, at least among the talking heads, over vice presidential picks, but keep two things in mind: first, vice presidential candidates have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the election. Don’t believe me? Two words: Dan Quayle. Second, both candidates’ choices will be driven by internal party politics. McCain will pick a running mate acceptable to the tele-Pharisees, Flat Earth Society members and tin-foil hat-wearing conspiracy-theorists that comprise the shattered remnants of the Republic Party. Mike Huckabee? Maybe, though the Huck seems to be planning ahead for 2012 with the apocalyptic fringe that, according to Robert Novak, are resigned to an Obama presidency as God’s inevitable vengeance on a fallen nation. Yeah, drama much? Obama will pick someone acceptable to the Clinton wing of the party, though very likely not Hillary Clinton. Wesley Clark is a name that springs to mind. Obama may feel pressure to select a running mate with alleged appeal to ethnic Catholic and white rural Rust Belt voters, a constituency where he is notably weak. But, again: Dan Quayle. When Michael Dukakis selected Lloyd Bentsen in a bid for Southern votes, it was remarked that he could be running with Robert E. Lee and still lose everything south of the Mason-Dixon Line. As the real election season heats up, John McCain, who has done everything short of being adopted by George W. Bush in order to secure the nomination, will suddenly be stricken with a form of selective amnesia that obliterates any memory of the man who has been president for the last seven years. Instead, McCain will make a mad dash to the Left, or at least the Center, trying desperately to rekindle his largely media-fabricated image as a “maverick,” while Democrats attempt to hang the politically-toxic Bush around his neck like the proverbial albatross. We’re already seeing the first stages of this makeover, such as McCain’s condescending “whistle stop” tour through “poor America” and his rhetorical, if not actual, discovery of environmentalism. Be prepared for even more fawning, sycophantic “coverage” by the Mainstream Media claiming that McCain is “breaking with the Bush Administration.” Also, be prepared for this election to get real ugly, real fast. Your inboxes will be jammed to overflowing with anonymous emails claiming that Barack Obama is a Muslim or a communist or a homosexual or all of the above. Protestant Evangelical churches will be dutifully flooded with propaganda from James Dobson or other similar troglodytes, “non-partisan” “voting guides” that show in a “non-partisan” manner that Obama is a Muslim, communist homosexual. And also possibly French. Be prepared for repeated instances of minor Republican flunkies making outrageously offensive public pronouncements, only to provide McCain with the opportunity to righteously denounce them. No attempt will be spared to appeal to that nasty, hidden underground strain of our national life that equates “American” with “white.” Rush Limbaugh singing “Barack the Magic Negro” will seem subtle and understated by comparison. Trying to frighten voters with Obama and/or the feckless self-aggrandizing blowhard Jeremiah Wright has failed spectacularly in several recent special Congressional elections, but no matter. And woe be unto anyone who claims that such tactics are “racist”; they will be lambasted and denounced for their “divisiveness” from every television screen, computer and radio in the land, since in Bizarro world it is a far worse sin to accuse someone of racism than to actually be racist. Also, there’s no such thing as racism anymore. And it’s the blacks who are racist anyway. That’s what’s going to pass for political dialogue. That and seeing John McCain covered head-to-toe in American flag lapel pins at every photo op. The Democrats, meanwhile, in addition to pointing out that a McCain Presidency would be like a third term for George W. Bush only without the restraint or competence, will try to subtly suggest that McCain is as old as Methuselah or Dick Clark with the disposition of a cranky rhinoceros in the national china Shoppe. Obama enthusiasts have pushed the case that their man changes the entire electoral landscape, putting states like Virginia or even Texas in play. I remain respectfully skeptical. It could be potentially disastrous for Obama to spend time fighting for Red states in which he has polled reasonably well, such as North and South Carolina, Virginia and Nebraska, to the exclusion of more reliably blue states like Michigan and Wisconsin. Polling in Ohio is incredibly contradictory, with Obama tying McCain but Clinton trouncing him by ten percentage points. Given the fact that nearly every single Republican elected official in Ohio is currently under indictment, I have a hard time seeing those figures as too reliable. In Texas, two recent polls have put Democratic Senate candidate Rick Noriega within striking distance of John Cornyn, who remains only marginally more popular than heat rash. The Rasmussen poll (which tends to skew Republican) shows Obama within five percentage points of McCain. Does this mean Obama could be the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter to carry the state? Probably not, but the mere threat of it could force McCain to expend scarce resources here. I hate to make a habit of agreeing with Karl Rove, if only because his crystal ball has been seriously cracked since 2006, but I tend to think he’s right that the 2008 election will be fought mostly in the same battleground states as 2000 and 2004 (Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa) with a possible expansion into Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Now all we have to do is wait and see just how wrong I turn out to be.

The Magic Number

2008-05-16T23:50:00.004-05:00

A hard-nosed and sober analysis of Obama's electoral chances from Slate. Bottom line: Ohio may decide it again; mostly the same battleground states as in 2000 and 2004, with a couple of others (North Carolina, Virginia) that Obama could bring into play.

UPDATE: An analysis of Republican weakness throughout the country from the Great and Powerful Kos.

And So It Begins...

2008-05-15T23:10:00.007-05:00

From the Right Wing Howler Monkey Media Chorus that brought you "Aaaiieee!! It's Barack Obama's Scary Black Preacher Who Is Black and Racist and Hates America!" it's "Michelle Obama: Traitor or America-Hater?" The Republicans HAVE to make the campaign about Barack Obama being a Muslim, a communist a homosexual or possibly all three and French to boot, because if it's about the issues, they're toast.

UPDATE: Peggy Noonan (of all people) writes the GOP's obituary. I have to say, "butts in the butter" is one of the better faux home-spun analogies I've read this year.

UPDATE 2: Mike Huckabee is an asshole. Film at eleven.

UPDATE 3: And Cong. Tom Davis is an idiot.

UPDATE 4: And Michael Medved is a moron of cosmic proportions. Also, a racist, pandering tool.

Watson on Obama on the Freedmen

2008-05-14T22:04:00.003-05:00

From my Right Honorable Colleague, Wampum: Cong. Diane Watson responds to Barack Obama's recent dodge on the Freedmen case. While I generally agree with her comments, I wish she had mentioned that the Cherokee National Council actually abolished slavery before the 1866 Treaty, in fact before the Emancipation Proclamation. This should be a matter of historical pride for the Nation; instead, the whole Freedmen debacle has exposed a nasty, virulent strain of racism among (primarily thin-blood) Cherokee.

Another One Bites the Dust

2008-05-13T21:46:00.003-05:00

Yet another heavily Republican Congressional District, this one in Mississippi of all places, is won by a Democrat, thanks to very heavy turnout in a special election. Meanwhile, Obama's polling lead over McCain continues to expand. A look at the cross-tabs shows heavy Democratic advantages on nearly all issues, with the notable exception of "combating terrorism." Obviously, it's still WAY too early to draw too many conclusions from this, but it's probably safe to say that the GOP is at the very least looking at a serious drubbing at the Congressional level. And if, as opined by Robert Novak(!), the trend on the Political Christian Right is seeing an Obama Presidency as an inevitability, that could flatten the last tire on the Straight Talk Express. Don't let it go to your head, Barack; the Christianists also consider you in the nature of a Biblical plague.

It Became Necessary to Destroy the Children...

2008-05-12T22:02:00.004-05:00

...in order to save them. The Common Room on several MHMR worker's scathing criticism of DFPS in the YFZ Ranch case. I can't ever recall a time I've seen MHMR caseworkers level this kind of accusation at any other agency, even DFPS. Or vice versa.

UPDATE: Grits has the actual statements from Hill Country MHMR. It is some of the most wrenching testimony I have ever read and is a damning indictment of the State of Texas. One worker's commentary stands out: "I have worked in Domestic Violence/Sexual Abuse programming for over 20 years and have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner. It makes us all wonder how safe anyone is who has children."

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T10:47:00.003-05:00

The US Military has been carrying on an illegal, covert, and widespread system of deliberate propaganda in support of the war (and of course torture) for years now. Oh, and the MSM refuses to so much as breathe a word about it now that the story has broken.
Yawn...oh what? Sorry, were you talking? I was busy reading about Obama's bowling score and his really scary black preacher who hates America.

UPDATE: Reid promises hearings, bless his little heart.

Republicans Against Motherhood

2008-05-10T23:27:00.003-05:00

Minority Leader John Boehner pledges future votes against apple pie, puppies, kittens, and little girls eating ice cream cones in the park.

Freedmen Case Before DC Circuit Court of Appeals

2008-05-08T22:20:00.006-05:00

From Indianz.com, via Wampum who caught it before I did. I tend to agree with Judge Steven Russell (who comes from a long line of Cherokee Judges) that the panels' questions indicate they don't necessarily believe the Cherokee Nation has to be sued by the Freedmen in order for the Federal Gov't to enforce the Treaty of 1866. So, if that's really what the panel is thinking, does that mean the BIA would disallow the 2003 Constitution? Sever the government-to-government relationship with CN until the Freedmen are guaranteed citizenship? Both of the above? And, of course, we shouldn't get too excited that this will all be resolved anytime soon; whoever is on the losing end of the three judge panel's decision will move for a rehearing en banc (before the entire Court, including the virulently anti-Indian Judge Janice Rogers Brown); whoever loses that will likely appeal to the US Supreme Court. And if it gets into the hands of this Supreme Court, God help us all. If there's anyway for the Freedmen, CN AND tribal sovereignty to ALL lose, this Supreme Court will find it.

UPDATE: And speaking of threats to tribal sovereignty, the Smith Administration has succeeded in having the Delaware Tribe stripped of its Federal recognition (and funding), the first time this has happened since the end of the Termination Era.

John McCain's Greatest Hits

2008-05-07T23:21:00.004-05:00

From Crooks & Liars, a rundown of McCain's top ten most bizarre public utterances. I'd also add this from his foreward to David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest: "No other national endeavor requires as much unshakable resolve as war. If the nation and the government lack that resolve, it is criminal to expect men in the field to carry it alone." That's not bizarre, of course; it actually makes a lot of sense. what's bizarre is that McCain has abandoned his own common sense in order to remake himself into a clone of George W. Bush.

What's the Matter with Texas?

2008-05-06T22:48:00.004-05:00

Dubya's popularity is a scant 39%, though that still makes him more popular than Landslide Perry who is now hovering at 34%. And Cornyn holds only a four point lead on Rick Noriega. And both Obama and Clinton are polling at 43%, to McCain's 48% (against Obama) and 49% (against Clinton). Given that Rasmussen has always had a tendency to skew Republican, this is potentially very explosive stuff. Texas hasn't really been in play in a Presidential election since 1976, though the potential was there in 1996 had Bill Clinton not blown the state off. If even Texas is looking a little purple, then McCain is in serious, serious trouble.

UPDATE: A Research 2000 poll seems to confirm the Rasmussen results. So what gives? Neither Cornyn nor Kay Bailey Hutchinson have gotten just huge amounts of coverage lately, yet her approval ratings leave his in the dust, so it's hard to write this off as the Dubya anchor dragging down all GOP boats. Could it be that after a decade-long deathgrip on statewide office and the Legislature, the Republican brand name has fallen so far that it's Hutchinson who's the exception and Perry and Dubya the rule?

Today in History...

2008-05-05T22:59:00.003-05:00

...a poorly-armed Mexican militia force, comprised primarily of Indian peasants loyal to the President of Mexico Benito Juarez (himself a Zapotec Indian), defeated a much larger Imperial French Army at the Battle of Puebla (1862). Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Viva Mexico!

Obama Punts on Freedmen Issue

2008-05-05T22:12:00.003-05:00

Shorter Obama: let the courts decide (so I don't have to).

H/T to John Cornsilk

The Wright Stuff?

2008-05-04T20:45:00.002-05:00

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's narcissistic, self-absorbed media rant seems to have had the opposite of its intended effect, giving Obama a "Sister Souljah Moment." He and Hillary have now opened up double-digit leads in the national popular vote against John McCain, though obviously the electoral college picture is different. And, of course, there are still several million years between now and November. Still, it seems amazing to me that after months and months of hagiographic coverage of McCain on the one hand and Obama and Clinton pounding each other on the other, McCain is actually losing ground. This, combined with yet another Democratic pickup of a very Republican House seat, suggests that things are only getting worse for the GOP.

Column for 4 May, 2008

2008-05-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all My decrees, he will surely live.”

--Ezekiel 18:19

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (or FLDS) is a splinter faction of the mainstream Mormon faith, that broke off over the issue of polygamy (actually, technically, polygyny, since only men are allowed to have multiple spouses), a practice that was abolished by the Mormon church in 1890. The FLDS retreated to the margins, living in self-sufficient communities along the Utah-Arizona border. For the most part, authorities left the FLDS alone, with the spectacular exception of a botched raid in 1954 that was roundly condemned across the country for its ham-handedness. In recent years, however, the FLDS came under the leadership of the thoroughly despicable Warren Jeffs, a classic cult-leader in every sense of the word. Ruling as an absolute dictator, with the power to condemn his enemies to eternal damnation, Jeffs decided who got married to whom and when. He even reserved the right to punish men by “reassigning” their wives and children to others. Taking advantage of the traditional communalistic lifestyle, Jeffs looted money from the faithful and used church ownership of all real property to threaten dissenters with instant homelessness. He also apparently, astonishingly, managed to wrangle a multi-million dollar, no-bid defense contract with the United States government. The self-proclaimed “President and Prophet, Seer and Revelator, President of the Priesthood” also presided over “spiritual marriages” of girls as young as 14, and was accused by his own family of sexually assaulting young girls and boys, and of running off teenage boys from the community to reduce competition for extra wives. On November 20, 2007, he was sentenced to ten years to life in prison by a Utah court for being an accomplice to two rapes. Before then, however, his followers purchased a 1,700 acre ranch near Eldorado in Schleicher County, Texas, where a new temple was built and a community established, “Yearning for Zion” or YFZ. As a direct result of the appearance of the FLDS, the Texas Legislature raised the legal age for marriage with parental consent from 14 to 16. Beyond these few established facts, things get rather murky. On March 30, 2008, authorities received a number of hoax telephone calls from a mentally-disturbed woman in Colorado, who claimed to be a sixteen year old girl named “Sarah” living at the YFZ Ranch and abused by her 50-year-old husband, Dale Barlow. Some court testimony and statements by law enforcement suggest that authorities were aware that “Sarah” was a hoax and that Dale Barlow was actually in Arizona. Nevertheless, on April 3, 2008, four days after the authorities were notified of the supposed “emergency,” a search warrant for Dale Barlow was executed by a massive contingent of law-enforcement officers, including armored personnel carriers from the Midland Police Department. In a bizarre reversal of normal Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS) policy, caseworkers did not remove the alleged abusers (a relatively small number of adult men) but instead removed the victims, some 450 or more children. The exact number varies, as DFPS contends that some of the girls who are claiming to be adults are actually children. In another strange departure, DFPS allowed some of the mothers to go with the children when they were removed. Normally, a child is not removed from the home at all unless it is shown that being around the parents would endanger the child’s physical or emotional health. The women and children were warehoused in Fort Concho, a 140 year old cavalry fort. They were then shuffled off to a football stadium. Then, the mother’s cell phones were seized, allegedly because of fears the women were communicating with their husbands. I have yet to find any authority cited for this government seizure of the private property of private citizens who aren’t even under arrest. Continuing with the confusion, the mothers (at least some of them) were then separated from their children, in what eyewitnesses described as a heart-wrenching scene of hysterical children and nursing infants physically removed from their mothers. Now, DFPS has decided that some nursing mothers may stay with their children, provided the children are no more than 12 months old. Evidently, the State of Texas will now dictate the age at which babies must be weaned. A batallion of volunteer lawyers from all across the state descended on San Angelo, the nearest large city, for a removal hearing that can be charitably described as a farce. The courtroom couldn’t accommodate even most of the attorneys that state law says must be appointed to represent removed children. Hundreds had to watch the proceedings through an impenetrable and often inaudible closed-circuit television link. Rather than addressing the individual situations of the children, or even of discreet categories of children, the judge decided the whole thing en masse. The testimony was confusing, contradictory and at times incoherent. The state’s expert witness admitted under cross examination that all he knew about FLDS was what he had learned through the media. Unsuprisingly, the removal was granted and the children, some of whom seem to be suffering ill-health from their trauma, are being dispersed all across the state. In several instances, the children’s attorneys have no idea where their clients are and have been prevented from seeing them or speaking with them. Press releases from the state now claim that some of the children between the ages of 14 and 17 are either pregnant or have had children themselves. At least one girl, age 18, has given birth since being removed. Again, no legal authority has been cited for allowing the state to detain adults who have not even been accused of a crime, much less arrested. As someone who has represented children and parents in such cases over the last ten years, I have to say I am appalled by how badly the state has bungled this operation from the very start, particularly in terms of the flagrant violation of the constitutional rights of the children. However, the information we have so far indicates to me that DFPS should not shoulder all the blame. This has the look of a law enforcement operation, evidently planned well in advance of the hoax telephone tip according to the Schleicher County Sheriff, and DFPS (which does not have the kind of clout it takes to summon such an army of police) was left to scramble in the aftermath. As a result, adults who may have very well preyed on children could go unpunished while the children suffer the consequences.

Send Your Tax Dollars to Red China!

2008-05-02T22:10:00.003-05:00

Spend them at Wal-Mart, the focus of evil in the modern world. Actually, as I think Bill Maher put it, the only way to help the American economy with your tax rebate check would be to spend it on hookers, meth, or Indian Casinos.