Crooks and Liars has a clip from The Daily Show that is pretty funny — it’s great to see Jon Stewart and TDS crew back. Especially when they say things like this:
George W. Bush in the right man to lead us in the era of post-whatever horrible calamity he leads us into next.
Yesterday, Keith Olbermann really lit into the Bush Administration in his commentary — if you haven’t seen it, you should. He really brought some heat. (MyDD reports that Olbermann’s ratings have surged past his CNN competitors. It’s no wonder.)
Eugene Robinson parses the phrasing brought to us by the "war on terror." Orwell would be proud.
(Speaking of Orwell, the Administration has apparently wrangled concessions out of McCain, Warner and Graham on the Hamdan decision clean-up bills. If Democrats were waiting for the Three Stooges to have a spine for them in these negotiations, they bet on the wrong men. I don’t have time this morning to get into this article — but LHP sent me an e-mail about it, and I think it is worth a mention and some discussion. And I wanted to throw it out there for everyone to think about and call about until I can grab the time to do a more in depth discussion. This is important.
And while we are at it, anyone understand what in the hell this is? [PDF] Since when does the Pentagon ask for public comments on torture/non-torture rules? What’s up? And is it me, or did everyone else just feel a tremor in the Mary force?)
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Jon Stewart! Keith!
woohoo, go Jon and Keith!
Thanks Christy! Keith, Jon and Colbert were all on fire last nite. I haven’t gone to bed that giddy since forever ago…
Agree, we need to support Keith with everything we can. E-mails, watch the show, check out the web site.
His immediate boss is Abrams, dabrams@msnbc.com
Send an E-mail of support!!!
To Do: November, vote; January, impeach!
And if anyone ever has any doubts about trying to take out “moderate” Republicans:
There are no moderate Republicans.
It is worth thinking about how best to avoid the trap that Bush is laying, in which Democrats have to vote for his immunity-from-Geneva-Conventions military commissions bill or face Rovian attacks in their elections this fall on the terror issue.
What should be the politically survivable tactic that D’s should take?
Christy! lhp! Mary!
I was especially glad to see Stephen Colbert hitting on George Allen’s juvenile amendment-stealing, since that’s less likely to get coverage elsewhere than “macaca.”
Absolutely nothing the Bush Administration has said about the ME in general, and Syria in particular, could have prepared us for this:
Of course, he then reverted to form by adding this:
Condi then added:
The cognitive dissonance in the WH this morning must be mind blowing.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..syria_dc_8
EPU’ed
Great Olbermann article!
Sept. 11, 2006 | MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been building ratings for his nightly show, “Countdown,” and has become a darling of the liberal half of the Internet, by tacking to the left while most of cable’s chattering class veers right. His 3-year-old show continues to add viewers, especially the young ones that advertisers crave; the numbers for such conservative warhorses as Bill O’Reilly, with whom Olbermann has pursued a long-running feud, are down, as are the ratings for the Fox News Channel generally.
Olbermann closes each broadcast with a personal, often acerbic, commentary. In the past two weeks, as the Bush administration launched its pre-election anti-terror public relations blitz, Olbermann upped the ante and cemented his hero status in Left Blogistan with two especially acid speeches. On Aug. 30, he blistered Donald Rumsfeld with a breathtaking on-air screed that called the defense secretary a quack, explicitly compared him to Neville Chamberlain, and implicitly accused him of fascism and McCarthyism. President Bush himself for an “awful,” “cynical” and “un-American” equation of dissent and disloyalty. Olbermann, who usually ends his commentaries with a quote that pays tribute to Edward R. Murrow — “Good night and good luck” — instead closed with a different, and much angrier, echo of the McCarthy era. He asked the president, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”
Now in his second tour with MSNBC, Olbermann first came to prominence as one of the anchors of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” He’s since been a host for the Fox Sports Network, a radio reporter and (full disclosure) a columnist for Salon. His latest book, “The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders,” will be released Sept. 15.
http://www.salon.com/news/feat…..source=rss
FYI – Here is the latest email from Joe Lieberman’s team.
Please note how scared they are that voters will not look down the ballot to find Lieberman’s name in FIFTH PLACE.
Also note that they want Lieberman supporters at every poll “educating” voters about where to find his name.
Lieberman’s campaign had better be extremely careful about advocating such behavior, because, as I understand it, poll watchers are not allowed to try to influence voters or approach them before they vote.
Based on what I have read about the primary, the law is clear on this point. Lieberman’s supporters should be watched closely to ensure that they do not overstep the bounds of appropriate legal behavior at the polls in November.
Based on the unscrupulous behavior of Gerstein and Lieberman’s campaign team thus far, they cannot be trusted to comply with the rules.
Anyway, here’s the email:
Dear [ ],
For the last 18 years, Senator Joe Lieberman has delivered for Connecticut, standing up for what he believes is right and working across party lines to get things done for our state.
Now that he is in tough fight for reelection, against an opponent willing to spend millions of his own dollars to tear him down, many of you have been asking how you can deliver for Joe.
Well, if you live in Connecticut and you’d like to help Joe win, here are some easy ways you can make a difference:
Adopt a Polling Place – Due to Joe’s unusual placement on the November ballot, we need to make sure every voter knows where to find his name. That’s why it is extremely important that we have a Joe supporter outside of every polling place in Connecticut on November 7th educating every voter about where they can find the Senator’s name. Would you take a polling place and commit to finding people to monitor that spot from 6am to 8pm? This is a great friends and family project and you have more than 60 days to plan!
Don’t just tell us – tell them! – So many of you have called to tell us why you are supporting the Senator. We couldn’t say it better. Send those kind thoughts and supporting words to the editor of your local paper to include in the Letters to the Editor column. You can do it all through an easy-to-follow form on our website — http://www.Joe2006.com. Then, call five friends or family members and tell them why you’re voting for Joe. YOUR opinion has a forceful effect on your neighbors. Let ‘em know you are sticking with Joe!
Network – Are you a part of an organization that is Joe-friendly? Do you have friend or family members who may also be willing to help out? Let us know about supporters in your community and others who may want to be actively involved in the campaign.
You can be Joe! – When Joe is working in Washington on our behalf, there will be meetings and events here in Connecticut that he will have to miss. While he is doing his job for us, YOU can be his stand in. If you are interested in doing some public speaking for Joe, let us know and we can help steer you in the right direction.
Seniors – Joe has long been a strong advocate for seniors on issues that they care about and they appreciate it! We need to help them exercise their right to vote by providing access to the polls or informing them about how to vote absentee. Do you have a friend in one of the local senior housing projects? We will make them part of Joe’s “Seniors Vote!” Project. Send their names along to us.
Join Joe’s Door-to-Door Corps – The best way to spread the word about Joe is from neighbor to neighbor and door to door! We have a lot of ground to cover in the next nine weeks and we need as many hands as we can get to knock on doors in every part of the state. For more information, take a look at our website at http://www.joe2006.com or contact me directly.
For our friends outside of Connecticut, here are some more ways you can help Joe:
Visit http://www.joe2006.com – Take a moment to ‘Endorse Joe’ and read Joe’s Blog, a real-time digest of what our campaign is doing and saying. You can also take a look at where Joe stands on the issues and see photos of Joe in action along the campaign trail.
Contribute – Our opponent is a wealthy man who has already donated $4 million to his own campaign and we expect that he will spend a lot more in the weeks ahead. To contribute, and help us get Joe’s message out about putting people ahead of politics, you can click here and enter your credit card information online.
Please respond to this email if you would like to help out in any of the above ways. As the Volunteer Coordinator for the campaign, I am here to assist you and direct your efforts. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. We are excited to have you be part of Team Connecticut. Joe needs your help now more than ever!
Thank you for your support.
Crystal Cook
Volunteer Coordinator
Friends of Joe Lieberman
Redshift @ 9
Me too!
OT
Bad headline for women-in-biz:
Embattled H.P. Chairwoman to Step Down
Prof @ 6
How about “once again, the President is trying to blame other people for a problem he created”?
Bush originally promoted his kangaroo-court “military commissions” by claiming a need to act quickly. It’s been five years and none of the Guantanamo detainees or secret prisoners have been tried, because they tried to make up judicial procedures in crayon on the back of an envelope. Now he’s trying to blame everyone else for “delaying justice.” If he’d just used courts martial or ordinary courts (which are perfectly capable of handling these things, unless you’re trying to use them as an excuse to grab absolute power), they’d have long since been tried and convicted.
OK, the torture bills look they will now go like all other bits of the worst of the Bush administration’s legislation.
The House will pass a version almost identical to the President’s Bill. The Senate will pass the McCain/Warner/Graham piece of shit. It will go to conference where the House version will be reported out unchanged.
The Senate and House will happily pass it without any debate and the President will sign torture into law for the first time in this nation’s history.
I have no idea how we will recover from this act.
Still that same old polarization. Is it just possible that Olbermann has gained such popularity, not even by running to the left as such, but simply by not mincing words or cynically covering ass for a failed and increasingly unpopular president?
Not to say that Olbermann isn’t to the left of many of his peers, but is that really the reason for his recent success?
Off topic, but I suspect this will be a hot topic on FDL and other political blogs on all points of the spectrum soon.
Effective this month the IRS began subcontracting collections of smaller debts to outside agencies, and it hasn’t taken long for the predictable nastiness to strike disturbing close to home. According to IRS announcements referred cases were going to be limited to only tax debts that were uncontested. Last evening our friend J stopped by for a glass of wine after a workout at the health club and told a tale of woe about her son, whom they are going after for alleged VA over-payments that are being contested, at least to the point of getting specific information about them. Here’s the story:
http://stridentcentrist.com/sc/?p=54
OT -But if the Bush admin has not been counting the Iraqis killed in bombings etc. in its tallies, doesn’t this mean that (given the real numbers) Iraq really is in Civil War?
And, on not counting more generally: Isn’t this what the Bush administration also did on the unemployment figures (people who have given up looking for a job), the war costs, tax relief etc. Maybe we should insist that the “No Child Left Behind” Act start with required math lessons (and requisite tests) for those now in the administration.
OT but I guess Howard Kurtz is in tighter than even I thought. From the politics chat today at wapo:
hmmmmm.
OK, Christy, I’ll bite.
Mary Force?
Nothing on Google.Could you please clue me in?
Thanks.
Bustednuckles @ 20
I think she’s talking about our own intrepid Mary and her passion for treating our prisoners humanely.
xyz (#12):
What I want to know is “Can I Be Joe?” Can I, Can I, Huh?
Prof @ 6
And more important, they need to realize that giving in isn’t a survival tactic. (They damn well better have learned that from the Homeland Security debacle.) The time people see the Dems as weak is when they won’t even fight for their own beliefs, not when they’re refusing to be as authoritarian as Bush.
Start with the knowledge that giving Bush what he wants, even completely, will not diminish Rovian attacks on the terror issue one bit, it will only change the details of what they contain. Then do what’s right for the country, and start talking about how Bush and his cronies are willing to throw away everything this country stands for on a false claim that it makes us safer, but we Americans are better than that.
Bustednuckles @ 21
Busted, hold that thought for a few minutes, and I betcha Mary will come along to clue us all in.
Prof @ 7
I suppose that not enough Americans have heard of Nuremburg to make that a viable line of attack…”Let’s try them like we tried the Nazis”.
Thanks Angie.
Busted – Mary, as in Mary4, Maryfornow, and her advanced legal/deconstructionist skills.
Prof @
7
Plainly tell the truth about what Dems believe:
We believe that the Geneva Convention works.
We do not believe in torture.
We believe in accountability and the rule of law.
We do not believe in secret prisons.
We believe that our morality is not dependent upon the morality of others.
We do not believe in giving up our moral stature in times of war.
We believe that no one is above the law – not the president, not the CIA, not the Justice Department, not the Congress, not the courts, not corporations, not unions, not lobbyists.
We believe that no one is beneath the law – not the poor, not the non-English speakers, not the immigrant (legal or not), not the ill, not the outcasts of our society.
We believe that the military and the officers of the intelligence communuity are safer with the Geneva Conventions in place.
We do not believe in cutting and running from the protections of Geneva.
We believe in three branches of government that hold each other accountable as they do the people’s business.
We do not believe in King George. Not in 1776, and not in 2006.
Evil Parallel Universe @ 26
God bless her, every one.
fahrender @ 22
Yes you may, if the price is right.
It has been that way for a long time.
Bustednuckles @ 20
The Mary4 force is one of the secret military projects that is described in great detail by some posters here at FDL. In fact, there have been some witnesses who have had personal experiences with the effects of the force and reporters suggest that it is both awesome to behold and has an amazing potential for serious damaging effect on its target. Although the military kept this new force/weapon under wraps, it seems that it has been misplaced. Unfortunately, it is independently intelligent and therefore not easily controlled. Last known location was somewhere in Kentucky. The DOD, it is rumored, dispatched five guys with yellow ties to the heartland to find and retrieve the Mary4 Force. All five have been recently listed as MIA in Afghanistan.
Currently in the process of mass caffeine absorbtion.
Gonna be a few minutes.
Everytime the Clusterfuckers use the word “terrorists”, they should be required to replace the word with the specific group they are referring to.
For example, in the sentence “If we don’t defeat the terrorists there, they will follow us here” should be rephrased as “If we don’t defeat the Sunni insurgents in Iraq- the sunni insurgents in Iraq will come to the United States and perform terrorist acts”. That doesn’t make any sense does it? The generalizing and equivicating that the people of the United States allow their govt is criminal.
Standing O for Peterr’s 29.
Thank you.
That awful Ned Lamont! Spending his own MONEY to beat poor Joe. It’s just not the American way!
*xyz @ 29
Just click your heel together three times and say “There’s no guy like Joe.”
Peterr — damn, that was GREAT!!! You rock!!!
A progressive manifesto!!
‘Public comment’? As if public opinion about torture are the criteria: the U.S. has signed various treaties which settle the issue. Also the long-standing custom of the U.S. not to torture (at least officially) used to have almost the character of common law among the populace until Mr. Bush turned up.
Obviously the Pentagon wants the comments to influence congress in the upcoming vote about the treatment of prisoners. Of course the public will come down on the side of harsh treatment=torture because the Pentagon has control over the whole process. Who will ever know if perahps 99% of the respondants were against torture. Recently Andrew Sullivan (yes, that drip!) wrote in the Times of London that the White House is planning ‘to display publically’ the families of 9/11 victims in a push to influence the congressional vote: We Want Justice Now!
P.S. Shh, right before the election.
imm — shhh! We gots to sneak up on ‘em with that thang. They won’t know they been sliced until they heads fall off.
Peterr @ 34
and, and, will Mr. Gerstein show me how?!
what is with you lefties choking me up all the time ?!?!?*g*
go over to C&L and watch the other Jon Stewart clip – if you haven’t seen it yet, it was TDS first broadcast after the attacks –
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..aily-show/
and for those who haven’t seen this yet – Jebby and the Mouse (via Corrente)
http://www.correntewire.com/wh….._in_a_vice
And this statement needs to be on the bathroom mirror of every Democratic politician, staffer and yes, even consultant, in 18-point bold-face type so that when they gaze into their own reflections (apparently one of their favorite pastimes), they’ll have some chance at internalizing this wisdom.
If this comment places me on the Redshift for President in 2008 bandwagon, so be it. We could do, and already have done, a whole lot worse.
Redshift @ 14
We pull up our favorite quotes from the Neuremburg trials. And we flog them to death with it.
There are some lovely bits from Justice Jackson.
You know, speaking of mini series, there was a mini series a couple years ago … had Alec Baldwin and the first woman prosecutor from Law & Order…name??? Jill Hennesy?
I wonder if it’s out in video or something? Maybe a few houseparty screenings as an act of protest? Is it too long to put up onthe web? What if in evey Congressional District someone hosted a houseparty/screening (or even the orginal “judgement at neurenburg” with Spencer Tracy) and invited the Congressperson and Senators to attend.
The invitation could say something like, “we are watching this movie on X night to remember what it was like when the US was opposed to war crimes, when the US showed the rest of the world that war crimes wil not be tolerated, when the US was a beacon of cicilization and hope for the world. We hope you will join us for an evening of rememberance and prayer and hope that the US Congress will not destroy that legacy and will vote down (put in both the senat and house bill #s )”
Send that invitaiton as part of a press release saying which Senators and Congresion Reprsentaitves you have invited.
If we did that all over the country, in a single week, Somebody might notice. Especailly, if Hillary doesn’t get more than 80%.
I really believe the press is sniffing the wind to see of there really has been a seachange in the attitudes of regular Americans. That’s what I think the Mega church article was about.
Dru in the last thread – apologies change to hooligans.
Peterr!!
Imm–LOL
Quentin, Most military folk I know are very much against torture because what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and they don’t want anyone to torture our soldiers.
Lieberman hasn’t been showing up to vote on important bills regarding the war in Iraq. Words fail me.
The link is below. Please read.
I’m hoping Jane, Christy or someone else does a post on this here at FDL so we can spotlight it from here to eternity.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/12/12827/2352
Pade- thanks! I have a friend whose pupster was named Hooligan…he was a great dog.
Peterr
at 28
I just loved that!
Really good.
By the way- here’s the current scorecard in the senate races:
Dems need to win six out of these seven races without losing any current seats to take control:
Montana dems up 3
Missouri goopers up 4
Tenn goopers up 3
Virginia goopers up 4
Penn dems up 4
Ohio dems up 4
Rhode Island dems up 2
Bottom line is that these seven races are about evenly divided and one would expect the dems to win perhaps four of them unless something happens to change the lay of the land- leaving em two seats short.
Dems are the challengers in all of these races but one- and last minute changes tend to go to the challenger– but it’s not looking like a landslide victory at this point.
angie @ 20
More crazy talk from Wapo coming up…a new op ed columnist, fresh from the White House!
http://www.editorandpublisher……1003120055
“Hiatt told Kurtz that Gerson, 41, has “a really interesting mind” and being “a different kind of conservative from the other conservatives on our page. . . . He’s been part of this White House, but I expect he will be an independent voice.”
snip
Gerson, a member of the White House Iraq Group, has been credited with several memorable Bush phrases, including “axis of evil.” He has been active in the religious community, and in its February 1, 2005 issue, Time Magazine called him the nation’s 9th most influential evangelical, labeling him “The President’s Spiritual Scribe.” It said, “The former journalist shares Bush’s devout Christian faith and his view that the role of Providence in human affairs should be reaffirmed in the public square.”
Gerson’s previous jobs included working for Charle Colson, as a senior editor at U.S. News and World Report, and at the Heritage Foundation.”
Redshift and Peterr:
Yee hah!
(That’s what we need them to do, now how do we get them to do it?)
rwcole — best to wait on the Rhode Island numbers until that State picks a republican candidate. Last I saw, the number you have up is assuming a Chaffey primary win which does not really look all that certain right now.
By the By, A hopeful sign
When I went to vote today–got to the polls around 10:30–I was the next to last person to sign on my page in the registration book.
In other words, every other person, in my election district (except one) who’s name started with the same letter as mine, had ALREADY VOTED.
Turnout is really heavy in my town today.
And my town, is overwhelmingly Dem.
I think PT9-11 and the Shrub’s speech may have had a big effect indeed, just maybe not the one they were hoping for.
Great idea, lhp!
Okay, folks, feast your minds on Justice Jackson’s summation at Nuremberg.
al-Scooter @43
*blush*
Peterr, you rock!
Dru @ 47– omg– the “axis of evil” author himself? Quite probably the most destructive thing to ever come out of the preznit’s mouth (and that is saying a lot!) I betcha he also put the “crusades” into w’s speech. Gerson– a WHIG!
aargh!
looseheadprop @ 54
It’s possible. The Bushistas’ biggest PR gaffe, I think, is that they don’t recognize the desensitizing effect that repeated exposure to fear stimuli can have. They think they can keep pushing the same buttons forever, and they haven’t made much adjustment even when the returns are clearly diminishing. It could well be that many Americans are just past the saturation point and starting to reject the source of the stimulus.
rwcole @
34
Bulls-eye.
Dru 49 — Ugh. More Heritage Foundation spawn.
Every time I see that organization mentioned, I want to hurl. They are the Borg.
Until this past week’s disclosure that Miami Herald journalists were on the take from the feds, every known payola-recipient had ties with Heritage. (I’m still looking for links between the Miami journos and Heritage; think they had a symbiotic relationship, with Alfonso being a cut-out for them and for John Bolton.)
At least Gerson is out. We know with certainty he’s been on our dime, just need to watch to see if he continues to be on our dime.
*xyz @ 47
Heh. Well, let’s see, he had three choices:
Vote with the R’s and be “principled” but add fuel to the antiwar fire.
Vote against them and follow the will of constituents, but look like a craven flip-flopper.
Not show up and hope nobody notices.
For two of these, he could make a case that he was honestly doing what he thought best for the country, and the third is what’s best for Joe.
Guess which one he chose?
lotus @ 55
Thanks rw for your 50.
Last night, after watching the Bush “deer in the headlights” impression, I dug out the Declaration of Independence again. I needed some solace and comfort from a president who knew how to write and speak.
The key to replying to the Bush nonsense – on Geneva or anything else – is to do what Jefferson did. He took on King George’s basic assumptions, in basic ordinary language that everyone can understand. He didn’t get caught up in arguing about the little pieces around the edges (at least not in the Declaration, designed for mass public consumption), but went after the fundamental building blocks of his theory of governing.
What worked against one King George is worth trying against another.
“We believe” puts everyone on notice that these are basic assumptions that we’re talking about. It conjures up religious language, in the sense of referring to our society’s basic beliefs that ought to motivate our behavior. It battles back against the notion that Republicans are the only folks who “believe” in anything.
A Roving, a roving,
since Roving’s been my ruin,
I’ll go no more a-Roving
with you, fair maid
LHP @ 51: What state are you in? Or should I say “live in?” ;-)
Hey Christy (and emptywheel, if you’re checking in) — do you think Gerson is on board to help with the spin pre-trial?
Or pre-indictment?
Heh. I better check the popcorn inventory level.
Beloved lhp, if you knew exactly where to point that cursor alla time, you wouldn’t be as much fun to read — just as smart, but a tidge less fun.
*smoochies*
Kudos to Peterr @ 29–
We should send this to every Dem in or running for Congress.
just an fyi– Robert Kaiser did a chat today at wapo and there was some fascinating discussion, imo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01052.html
I can finally tell!
The Charlie Brown poll results are released, and it is amazing. As we know, Charlie Brown is running in CA-04 against John Doolittle. Everyone knows Doolittle is the worst, and Charlie Brown is a great candidate. BUT the district is red, red, red. The numbers:
Name recognition: Brown 33 percent, Doolittle 86 percent.
Cold call: A dead heat! Doolittle 41 percent/Brown 39 percent. And the margin of error is 4.9 percent.
After positives are read about both candidates, Charlie Brown has a 9 point lead! — 47/38 percent. After positives and negatives are read about both candidates, respondents prefer Charlie by 7 points — 45/38.
It’s a race!
lotus @ 14
Ummm, Lotus-blossom,
Could you ’splain me exackly why this is bad news for women in bidness? From what I’ve read of the controversy, she was responsible for authorizing PI’s to spy on people in legally questionable ways.
BC
Redshift @
62
will they let me be Joe in the Senate vote??
Peterr @ 29
Great stuff, and also make clear — the only reason we opposed Bush’s kangaroo courts is that he stubbornly insisted on including procedures that are patently Un-American. All he had to do was accept that he isn’t always right, but after all his failures, he insisted on “my way or the highway.”
Honestly, we really ought to get out in front on this, not play defense. Before the Rove “weak on security” ad appears, we need to have one prepped that says “Why has the President failed to prosecute any of these detainees for five years? He claimes that our courts somehow aren’t good enough, but America has the finest system of justice in the world. End the excuses and demands for more power, and just put them on trial.”
I’m gonna go write to MoveOn…
LindaR @ 71
Woo and hoo, LindaR — thank you for this news!
Peterr @
65
This apropos excerpt about H.L. Mencken’s The American Language and the excerpt of the translation contained therein of the Declaration of Independence into American English from this morning’s The Writer’s Almanac might be of interest to you:
angie @ 58
Yup. Painful, isn’t it?
Maybe Wapo can add a little something to their masthead, just in case anyone is unclear on how they are leaning and wrt crusades…courtesy of the noble watertiger
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3…..241167910/
Oh but y’all just gotta read Eugene Robinson’s column this morning! It is right in line with George Lakoff’s article @ HuffPo from yesterday that dru linked to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00883.html
The answer to the torture bill that Pres. Monkeypants wants is simple. Democrats should not answer any of Rove’s barbs.
Just repeat after me: “Sen. McCain’s bill will get American soldiers tortured. President Bush sent our troops to Iraq without body armor, and now he wants the troops to face torture.”
It’s our troops, stupid. the deal is, they fight and die for us, and we’re supposed to protect them.
Minnesotachuck @ 66
New York
Another truth to tell: I heard on the radio news this morning Tony Snow said that Bush “took great pains to be bipartisan” on 9/11. The reaction to that should be, Finally! A true statement from this Administration. It does pain Bush to be bipartisan — and this president doesn’t do anything that causes him discomfort, let alone pain.
Thanks to the beautiful flower, a little selction fro Justice Jackson for your viewing pleasure”
Thanks lotus for Justice Jackson’s summation at Nuremberg.
Agreed BC at 72 — from everything I read, Dunn had this coming. It just so often seems that the time women executives lede the NYT is when one of them — all too often recently, H-P’s — is making bad news.
John Casper @ 81
I’ll second the vote of thanks. It’s not too readable there, but I’ve imported it into WordPro. Great stuff … pity they don’t seem to be making Supreme Court Justices like Messrs. Justice Jackson and Chief Justice Warren anymore.
BC
angie – if you can still edit your post 76 at 9:42 am, you apparently have an open italics tag.
looseheadprop @ 80
Wow lhp.
That works.
I Hear America Voting
. . . Voting, with open minds, their strong melodious voice. . .
am sure Whitman would forgive me
Stephen Parrish, CPA @
83
Funny, I did not use italics there!
Another good example of laying out what progressives believe, in contrast to their opponents: Harry Truman’s 1948 acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. A taste . . .
Simple, direct, and to the point. Dems ought not be afraid of going back to such direct rhetoric, claiming their heritage of being the party of “we, the people.”
OT
and I really hate to do anything to increase her traffic, but Coultergeist is going after our boy Fitz
http://www.freerepublic.com/fo…..9500/posts
Just so you know, and I will have figures later today or tomorrow (I just have to go finish a brief before I can wip out my calcuator and crunch the numbers from the GAO) But there is no $20 million in investigation costs.
Katie Couric is talking through her hat. And I my need to point it out to her.
Oh, and Pat does not get paid one thin dime extra for having a second full time job as Specail Prosecutor.
There have been little bits and pieces in the press ever since this Armitage thingy. As Emptywheel so correctly pointed out, Ashcroft knew it was Armitage BEFORE he made the decision to aapoint a Sp. Pros.
Clearly there is some other evidence that prompted ASHCROFT to believe a Sp. Pros. was needed.
Bless you Marcy.
Egregious’ political platform–
Domestic policy: the Constitution
Foreign policy: Geneva Conventions.
Really, it covers everything except for my airborne mascara :)
On Sunday, Dick Cheney said the reason there have been no attacks in five years is that the administration has done a good job on “homeland security, in terms of the terrorist surveillance program we’ve put in place, in terms of the financial tracking we put in place, and because of our detainee policy.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…../11/AR2006 091100883.html
so, using this logic, prior to 9/11 we did a good job because no attacks??
General Election all 50 States:
1 month, 25 days, 6 hours, 5 minutes, and 30 seconds
There is a different and very interesting take on the ABC/Disney fiasco and its connection with the Bushes on C & L Mike’s Blog Round Up today. The post comes from Corrente Wire: Why Jebbie has Micky Rat’s nuts in a vise. The author points out Disney’s close ties with the state of Florida, e.g., how much of the state pension fund is invested in Disney. And I loved this quote from GW Bush a few days after the 9/11 attack: Go down to Disney World in Florida. Take your family and enjoy life.
LindaR @ 70
Excellent! LindaR, where’s your diary so we can recommend it?
EvilDrPuma @
59
I’m thinking and hoping that you’ve nailed this one. At the risk of being repetitious, they’re making moves that are classical signs of a marketing campaign for a bad product that the CEO can’t bring himself to admit is a loser. So that play the only card they can, pull back in some places to shore up others and pray that if they get just the right shade of lipstick on the pig, they can squeak by making plan for one more cycle before the roof caves in.
Wow. I didn’t think I’d been moved to tears, having read that summation from Nuremburg, just kept reading along and then on to the next page.
But a big old tear just rolled down my cheek and onto the keyboard. Apparently the body is not yet numb if the mind already is.
Thanks, lotus.
I’ve got the Jackson summation in a wonderful book, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law.
Jackson-at-Nuremberg is the first of ten chapters that also include Darrow on self-defense, the Chicago Seven, Silkwood, Leopold and Loeb, Manson, Medgar Evers’ murder, DeLorean, and My Lai. Anybody interested in good lawyering will enjoy this read.
Peterr, thank you for your 29. It is, indeed, simple to stand up and say what we believe in. I do not understand why so many of our elected officials seem to find it so hard.
I still say, the biggest message, we in the Empire State can send, is if we push Tasini over 20%
Look, we allknow Hillary will win, but if we embarass her for her rubber stampiness, all of capital hill will notice
Tasini is endorsed by several grass groots organizations, inlcuding DFA.
This is one we can win, merely by doing just a little better than expected, and unlike a lot of other races, this one will have a profound effect.
The Hill and the press are trying to figure out if the Ned thing is a one off fluke.
Leiberman THOUGHT he was going to run for President in 2008, now he may lose his Senate seat–why? cause he is an admin. shill.
Hillary wants to run for President in 2008 nad thought that being a WH collaborater was the way to get there. Sorry, Vichy Dems do not get rewarded for sabotaging our party.
looseheadprop @ 54
I hope your last name is not Xavier.
ruffian #90,
Glenn Greenwald has talked about the meme that everything is always good for Republicans. If there is no attack, then they’ve done their job. If there is an attack, then we need the Republicans because they are strong on security.
OTOH, if there was no attack when Democrats were in office, that’s luck and if there is an attack, then it happened because they were unprepared and weak on security.
What is sad is how the MSM parrots these talking points uncritically. Chris Matthews a few days ago said that the Democrats don’t stand for anything but everyone knows what Bush stands for. Naturally, Matthews did not go on to point out that everything that Bush stands for has been a fiasco. No, the message was Bush stands for something and the Democrats don’t.
OT
Countdown
126 days ’til the Libby Trial…
It starts Tuesday January 16, 2007.
No delays, pleeeeze.
Watch the spin accelerate…
Jack
OT, but important story going on in Maryland’s primaries (all Diebold, all the time):
Sep 12, 2006 8:20 am US/Eastern
Late Openings, Other Problems Reported At Polls
(AP) The legal counsel to the Baltimore City Board of Elections says the board is working to open some polling places in the city that did not open on time at 7 a-m.
Attorney Bill Varga says “a few” were not open as of 8 a-m. He said he did not have time to identify them.
In explaining the problems, Varga said sometimes judges don’t show up on time and sometimes there are problems getting into facilities. He added that judges are using new machines for the first time.
Montgomery County urged voters to wait until after 8 a-m to vote because access cards to run the electronic polling machines were not delivered in time to start voting at 7 a-m Tuesday.
County spokeswoman Donna Bigler says voters are being asked to come back later or are voting on provisional paper ballots.
In Silver Spring voter reported being turned away Tuesday morning. Alyson Chadwick, a spokeswoman for the Josh Rales U-S Senate campaign, says they’re asking the county to extend voting Tuesday evening to make up for the lost time.
Voting rights activists in Maryland also say about 85-hundred people in the state who were notified recently that their voting registrations aren’t valid can still cast ballots during Tuesday’s primary.
The letters from the State Board of Elections told the would-be voters that their driver’s license or Social Security numbers could not be verified. But the Washington-based Advancement Project says the recipients also should have been advised of their right to cast a provisional ballot Tuesday.
The votes will be counted if the voters can supply a utility bill or other proof of identification and address before next Monday.
State elections officials say future mailings will include that information.
http://wjz.com/topstories/loca…..82503.html
Guys….what can we do about the disney 911 propaganda film? I am worried that this story will die. We need to keep the blog community on top of this –otherwise, disney will get away with it and this kind of partisan propaganda will become the norm.
These disney creeps must be held responsible (lawsuits – class action suit defaming democrats?, license challenges, boycotts?
Any ideas?
Hello.
Primary day here in NY. I am working my local poll as a republican witness. Needless to say, I am about as useful as bicycle to a fish today. Very low turnout and thi neigborhood is about 99.9% dem.
Thought I’d check in on my lunch, anyone else voting today?
imman–true- and today’s the day we find out who’s running. Only a few primaries left after today.
op99 @ 98
No, there were over a dozen names on my page, so at least 10 out of 12 people (it might have been more) voted before I got there. How freakin cool is that?
You know what trips me out? Watching CNBC after going on a hiatus from financial news. Had been overdoing it for a while, too wrapped up in financial data — to the point where I offered to put the money in the market instead of buying much needed furniture for the house when the spouse offered to pony up cash from savings. Jeepers. I have an 18-year-old handmedown couch and I’m playing the stock market instead? I had to give it a rest.
But flipping back to CNBC and it’s like watching an entirely different country…scandals, yes, but no politics.
WTF???
I think we’re going to have to burst through here with regard to ABC-Disney and propaganda. Until we show up in CNBC, that upper 10-15 percentiles won’t clue in that we have a constitutional crisis underway in this country, and that it shows up in ABC programming.
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around so many happenings from the past week. Glad yesterday is over! Thank you KO! Watched 9/11: Press for Truth. Nothing really new in it for me, but for the less-informed it was well-documented and easy to follow. Should make those people go hmmmmmmmm. Have a great respect for the defamed 9/11 widows who refuse to sit down and be quiet! Plenty of (painful to watch) Bushisms like his trying to explain why him and Dick had to meet the 9/11 commission together. I just don’t get how anyone, let alone 40% of this country, can watch him for 2 seconds and believe a word he says.
The above post that outlines how close all those Senate races are shows exactly where our energy needs to go in the next 56 days. With polls that close, you know the confidence of Bush and Cheney this week in retaining both houses of Congress is that they are in on the upcoming theft. We need a major response to that BEFORE it happens! They’ve done it twice already, have we learned? What is the strategy? I truly believe the Dems have the votes to win, but I’m extremely fearful they won’t be counted that way.
As for the message: Fear. Call them on their fear-mongering. Why are you selling fear? How does promoting fear across this great country help us? Do you not believe in America’s ability to respond like we always have? Fear is not American. Give us the honest facts and we will do what is necessary, but pretending that only your Administration can protect us defames our intelligence our courage and our history. We must call them on their talking points, take the offense against the Rovian tactics, AND man the voting booths, or we will lose again.
looseheadprop @ 108
Wow. We have hardly 20% right now. I don’t think people here are all that jazzed about Tasini, they hate Mark green and they assume Spitzer will win.
Commanders privately express needing 3X more troops in Iraq
(and who knows how many more in Afghanistan?)
Did you all know that Chris Dodd’s dad worked with Justice Jackson on the Nuremberg trials?
Maybe Chris would like to walk in his father’s shoes and free up some time for this gang… :)
cbl @ 86
This is so true. Once the “scales fall” from the eyes, perception changes.
FS # 102,
We have the net to remind us. Whenever a story involving Disney comes up, it should be brought up.
We can also pass it into our everyday language: “Yeah, they pulled a Disney” in the sense of a corporation shamelessly shilling for political masters or sloppy production with little oversight or repeating what one knows to be a lie (similar to a Cheney) or just generically for hypocrisy.
UptownNYChick @ 103
They had to cross swear you as a Rep, b/c they didn’t have enough Reps? or are you a Rep?
When you say turn out is low, do you have a %?
Turnout by me is huge. An I live in a Dem area.
Also, are you guys keeping sheets by party affiliation? You can check the total # of Reps who have voted against the total Reps registered to your ED (should be on ht elat page of the book) and like wise the Dems to figure your %s.
It’s realy only the %s you care about. I would really like to know, if you get a chance to post the #s.
HP’s Dunn is done for spying.
The President should be the next resignation…
Jack
Rayne – You need to watch Kudlow and his Gordon Gecko impersonation for the “politics:” Repug:GOOD. Dem:BAAAAAAD. Doesn’t matter the topic (from taxes to the War on Terra). And he has been having Coulter on a lot too, as an “expert” on what biz/finance/economy issue I don’t know, but she is there.
Can’t tell what the Clusterfuckers are up to- but probably they are concentrating on getting goopers back on their side and energized for the upcoming campaign. Goopers are used to being emotionally blackmailed with 9/11 so the Clusterfuckers figure that all they have to do is ring the pavlovian bell- and the drooling will begin. They may be right. Goopers seem to be coming home to Clusterfuck lately- leading to a 42% JAR recently. Not great but a hell of a lot better than the 33% he was pulling earlier in the year.
One should probably expect goopers to come back home on election day- they may grouse, bitch, and complain, but most of em will stay loyal to the party in the end.
UptownNYChick @ 108
20% total voter turnout? That’s not bad for the AM on a primary day. You get a small rush at lunchtime when the momies with kids in 1/2 day school come to vote, and then the big ruch starts around 4:30-5 PM.
Do you know your breakdown of Dem/Rep turnout %?
That’s what counts. If let’s say by lunch your total turnout Dems, is 18% of all dems in your district and total Reps is 2%—That tells you all you need to know about which voting base is energized.
if your state has a primary today
even if the outcome is not in question
the more democrats that vote today the more worried the right will be about turnout in nov
so its up to you to do your part..go forth and
looseheadprop @ 115
They had to cross swear me, because there are hardly any Republicans (gotta be nice today as I am representing them — wore my pearls) here (Harlem) or volunteering to work.
Right now, it looks like about 20%. The veterans here said it was weird because the older people in the neighborhood always vote very, very early.
I don’t have total numbers at the moment.
Rayne @ 103
The story did make in on to CNBC a couple of days ago – Friday, maybe? – in one of their brief “what companies are in the news today?” segments. They’re aware of the issue, but unless Disney’s stock starts to move (up or down) they aren’t going to cover it. It didn’t move much that day or Monday, so no followup story.
Of course, if American Airlines files suit against Disney (or Clinton/Albright/Berger/etc.), the money that would have to be set aside for discovery, trial, and/or settlements would have an impact on the MouseHouse’s bottom line, and that would definitely get CNBC’s attention.
Among Goopers I can’t stand to watch, we do find Larry Bloviatin’-Blow-Hole Kudlow.
looseheadprop @ 119
The ladies working here said that they thought it was low, because we have a lot of elderly in the neighborhood and not a lot of young families, but a lot of young singles. So, they said there may be a rush around 6 to 7 p.m.
It’s been interesting. I have never done this before.
Goopers are spending millions on opposition research- digging out every last stinking turd they can find to throw at dem opponents. Hope dems are doin the same. Would hate to get saddled with a stinkin turd deficit.
If you own stock in the MouseHouse or in American Airlines, Shareholders suits could be an option –
Amer. Airl. Shareholders would first press investor relations to sue ABC for damaging their brand. If AA won’t sue, then you bring a shareholder’s action for mandamus to compellthem to sue.
Disney, you just sue as a shareholder.
You would sue management and any employee who has culbability. It’s called shareholder’s derivative suit. The shareholder’s stand in the shoes of management and sue on behalf of the company.
The pdf Christty referenced in her essay at the top of the thread is interesting. It is in read only format, so I can’t extract quotes – don’t have time to copy verbatim. It appears, though, that the Secretary of Defense and DoD Undersecretary for Intelligence failed to cooperate in the DoD IG’s investigation.
Hey, all, I just learned that Deadeye Dick Cheney is doing a fundraiser for our local Republican (Randy Kuhl) right here in downtown Rochester (where I live). The city itself is quite Democratic, so we should be able to muster quite a protest.
Any thoughts/ideas on how to do this in a way that attracts attention and amuses people?
EPU — heh. Kudlow looks and acts like one of those Animatronic devices at Disney – waxen, stiff, saying things that don’t appear to fit the situation. As one ‘winger I know put it, Kudlow is such an old-fashioned conservative he’d support slavery if it were politically viable. Gah. Says it all that he tolerates Ghoultergeist.
Peterr — there’s a potential upside here in the financial news today. Apple is going to make video streaming available; wonder if Jobs, in spite of his stake at Disney, can bypass ABC and become a content provider? Might be one of the very few entities that could swamp the MouseHouse.
Well happy voting everyone, I am back to the polls!
Oh, BTW, Joe sent out an email asking for volunteers. Sounds like they need a lot.
Exile on Ericsson St.
I’d dig out some flame orange hunting gear and get some birdcalls just for a start. Ought to be plenty of those things in upstate NY just like here in NH.
tis the season, after all!
New Clusterfuck poll out from Gallup- shows the Clusterfucker in Chief at 39% JAR–down three points- go figure! Data collected through sunday.
Exile on Ericsson St. @ 129
What time, I’ll be there. BTW, RT has been loading glacially lately, what’s up widdat?
Randy Kuhl ain’t cool according to Raw Story- ain’t he the fellow who assaulted his ex wife with two shotguns? No wonder dicky poo loves him.
Ed*ard Teller @ 123
Yes it does. And as I said in my Email to Christy, the procedure here seems unusual. SOP is for the IG to do his draft report, send it over for comment. Soemtimes based onthe comment, the IG will revise the report (which is why the first version is not usually published–IG does not want egg on face in case the report is not perfect).
If IG disagrees with the comments, usually the report is published in it’s first version and either the IG or the Agency publish the comments either as an appendix to the report, or as a sperate, but linked document.
Something about this seems odd. It reminds me of the public squareing off that kept happening between Chertoff and his IG, right before that very angry IG quit.
Something is going on here, but I have no idea what
angie @ 132
Interestingly, the Dem Eric Massa is running on pro-2nd amendment, which I think is smart and right.
Why don’t you Rochesterians show up with toy shotguns!
rwcole @ 135
There’s your theme, Exile.
Does the NRA support the right to bear arms at campaign events? Just wondering.
op99 @ 129
Call/email the “backbone project” see if they will send you “the chain gang” it’s kinda like “the Kiss” float.
You will love it. deadeye won’t
angie @
89
Belated reply – it’s good to see that it has been fixed, no matter what caused it. (g)
rwcole @ 138
I don’t want the secret service to have me thrown in the clink for 48 hours. Maybe pictures of shotguns.
actually
That might be “backbone campaign”
I get these blast emails from Bill Moyers.
Anybody else know what I am trying to remember?
breaking – tony snow is an ass
now back to your regularly scheduled thread
Trade gap widens to record
rwcole @ 130
A fun idea, but in all seriousness, I wouldn’t bring anything that looked even remotely like a firearm anywhere close to where Cheney will be.
The Secret Service, bless their hearts, doesn’t take kindly to those sorts of things – toys or otherwise. Their job is hard enough as it is; don’t make it any harder.
(But maybe a flock of faux Secret Service types in bright orange hunter’s garb, with sunglasses and earpieces, talking into their lapel mics about clearing the area of “targets” like lawyers might get a few grins from the real agents . . .)
*xyz @
47
You can Spotlight posts on DailyKos (and a number of other blogs that don’t yet include Spotlight links) by going to http://www.thespotlightproject.org/spotlight.php and entering the post’s permalink.
op99 @ 138
I like Massa and I have no prob with any of our amendments– I like em all! He is smart and right.
PS– I am not fond of assault rifles, etc though.
new thread
rwcole — you’d be very, VERY surprised at what Dems are doing about opporesearch. I have been tickled pink at the efforts, not to mention the incredible amount of DIRT they’ve pulled up. Challenge will be on execution; will they follow through? Oh, I sure do hope so; some of the dirt is reality-television meets Desperate Housewives kind of stuff, really fun and juicy. Heh.
Exile — boy-howdy, wish I’d heard this yesterday!! First, get as many peeps as possible in sync, make sure you have them in your cell phone as a distlist or enlist others to help. Then set up instructions for a “flashmob” event; read up at Wikipedia, then sign up. Use your local DFA and other progressive Meetup sites, post info to their message boards and enlist an organizer from each group, put up the details and email to entire Meetup distlist. Be sure to check out local enviro groups too, like Sierra Club; they’ve been great about rapid mobilization, and they have a big beef with Darth Cheney.
You could ask all attending flashmobbers to 1) say nothing, and show up for 30 min only; 2) wear all black, as an example.
Be sure to copy media outlets with info about your intended flashmob – fax/email them, use contact info from media list at Congress.org. Also make sure that folks bring their camera phones and videocams, record the event and post to YouTube ASAP. And copy DailyKos and Democratic Underground once YouTubed.
Go for it!!! Hope you can pull it off!
looseheadprop @ 137
Yeah, something going on here indeed. There’s more of a trail from Abu Graib to Rummy and his intel people IN WRITING than we know yet, and the IG probably is on the verge of quitting over how it has been handled. My 2 cents, at least…..
outta here.
Exile/angie/rwcole…
And the halloween stuff is in stores. Maybe a few prosthetic face wounds could be arranged.
OK OK– the toy shotguns were a bad idea– what about pea shooters–force the fuckin secret service to arrest people for carrying pea shooters- that oughta get a rise out of the NRA—(from my cold dead fingers).
Prof @
7
Hi Prof, funny you should ask just now. I woke up with this in my head:
In an ideal world, a parley of Dems would get together, could be just a few or even one if strong enough, and say this to *all* Americans.
“The problem is, we don’t really know what is going on in America. We don’t know because George Bush’s administration is not telling us the truth, and without the truth no one can make right decisions.
“But, if you elect us, even if it means holding your nose and voting for Democrats for the first time in your life, we promise you that we will immediately set up fair, energetic and speedy enquiries. We will talk to America’s experts in the military, in the State department, in the CIA and our intelligence organizations, the EPA and everywhere we can find expertise, and we will listen to what they say. We will consult with our friends and allies in other countries. We will get facts and answers and the process will be open for everyone to see.
“And as your elected representatives we will bring these facts and answers back to you and together we will determine how best our country should move to heal the wounds inflicted on Americans and on the people of other countries, and we will work with you to make it so. On this you have our oath.”
That’s the dream, but I think it won’t happen. Don’t know which is the bigger fear, Repubs keep their majorities, or Dems get in but business as usual.
I’m sorta amusin myself with the idea of Ticky Dicky getting pelted with peas while at the podium and hollerin out “Hey- ya could hurt someone’s FACE with those damned things”.
you funny, rwcole! LOL
RT has been loading glacially lately, what’s up widdat?
Not sure. It seems to be working better now.
Thanks for the suggestions guys!
It’s a mistake for dems in most races to advocate anything specific about Iraq. The way to win is “We need a fresh approach” “We need congressional hearings” “We need to have fresh eyes” “We need to hear from our retired military who can speak openly”, etc.
Dems can take advantage of the Clusterfucker’s mess while staying wise and restrained. Best- it will drive the goopers fuckin crazy.
Grandma Jo @
4
My own email to him:
I heartily approve, finally we have someone who will say on the air what so many other talking heads can only bring themselves to allude to. I’m also pleased to see his ratings improve. Will you have the balls to keep him? I wonder what Phil would say.
Exile on Ericsson St. @
159
I’d also get some orange jumpsuits, shackles and black hoods out there.
OT: Steve Irwin is still dead… developing…
:-)
Dem Candidate:
“I don’t know the best way out of the mess this president has gotten us into in Iraq- I wouldn’t recommend a course of action without intense study and investigation- after all- shooting from the hip is what got us where we are with this mess. I HAVE learned what NOT to do though- we should definately NOT do what we ARE doing- the president has PROVEN that it doesn’t work.”
I offer this to each and every dem candidate- seems bulletproof to me.
rwcole @ 157
…and finish up with something like this
My simple theme for this election season home stretch:
Osama bin Laden’s Winning Hand Four Aces Terrorism Allies:
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condoleezza Rice.
_
Flash!!looseheadprop @ 128
Flash!!
There’s a post up on HuffPo attaching an E&P story about AA thinking lawsuit. Also mentioned there: a follow-up lawyer’s letter from Bruce Lindsey saying the edits to Part I didn’t cut the mustard.
I’d be shocked if ABC doesn’t end its horror by issuing a high-profile retraction. Defamation lawyers nationwide must be saying they’ll eat their tassles if no draft complaint is shot across ABC’s bow, if not filed in court.
What we’re seeing is confirmation of Matt Stoller’s theory of a corporate screw-up, further supported by Max Blumenthal in The Nation.
We often suspect perfect conspiracies behind outrages like PT9/11, forgetting the incompetence factor. But what Mayberry Machiavellian would have gotten it wrong about American Airlines?
I offer, in half-jest, the guess that the advance libel-vetting for this project was contracted out to John Yoo, whose only contact with defamation law is through a fawning familiarity with the Alien and Sedition Act, which he thinks Bush can make the law of the land by fiat pursuant to his Commander-in-Chief power.
Bargain Countertenor @
85
It’s not enough to make them, somebody has to appoint them.
I emailed our local tv columnist Sunday to complain politely about her citing the Clinton-had-OBL-and-wouldn’t-take-him-down scene as a “shocking revelation.” Discovered today she has a “blog”–she has gotten lots of nasty mail, it seems, but what got to me: she referred to the complaints as “largely from Clinton administration people.” !!! and !!! and Aaaargh!
I’m at work, so can’t email her (no comments on her “blog”), but I will be doing so when I get him. She did say she plans to revisit the film after viewing it – so that was written before Sun. eve, I guess.
Of course, she says she knew it was not a documentary, that there were fictionalized parts. But she wrote a whole paragraph treating that horrendous never-happened scene as revealing new facts. She’s never been especially bright, but this is a new low. I may be writing the paper’s newish “public editor” too–he seems like a reasonable guy, who was a reporter (a real one) here for years.
Creeping Truth – The most a shareholder could do, in either situation, is bring a derivative suit, if, after making demand of the Company, the company will not sue. It is not an easy thing to do b/c a court can dismiss the derivative suit if they believe it is frivolous or not in the best interest of the company AND b/c if the derivative shareholder’s lose, they can be personally held liable for attorneys’ fees and damages.
With respect to AA, it would be for defamation – harm to business reputation.
With respect to Disney it would be most likely for wasting of corporate assets (perhaps even fraud depending on where the money trail leads) – i.e. $43 million was spent for the personal benefit of directors/officers/and or employees, NOT the corporations benefit.
Mandamus doesn’t apply to shareholders seeking to enforce what the believe are a company’s rights. You can read up on mandamus here:
Wikipedia – Mandamus
PS – The AA agents portrayed in the film, and any other person portrayed in the film, can personally sue for defamation.
a propos of nothing above, a bumper sticker:
Want more?
More death?
More threat?
More fraud?
More debt?
Vote Republican
Evil Parallel Universe @ 170
EPU – Thanks. I’m aware of the difference and didn’t mean to blur it by keying to your comment. I agree with what you point out, and it’s an important difference.
My hunch since Bruce Lindsey’s 9/1/06 letter to ABC was published is that one or more defamation suits are brewing. The Clinton administration figures are potential plaintiffs — Lindsey’s latest letter underscores that possibility again. I’d be surprised if nothing’s in the works.
But consider a corporate plaintiff such as AA — or, as you point out, its employees. That would help the cause: deep pockets, no political motive by the plaintiff, and no room for the defendant to plead “difference of political opinion,” which first amendment law (under NY Times v. Sullivan) bends over backward to protect.
I do hope, though, that the shareholders get up in arms. According to Max B, Iger is launching an investigation. A derivative action would ensure one through discovery.
Speaking of funny, forgive me if this has already been posted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs4NbmMNRZs
Title: Keith Olbermann Speaks For Me!!
Dear Mr. Abrams,
Just a short note to tell you how VERY MUCH I appreciate Keith speaking Truth to Power.
My friends and I are worried he’s just letting out all the stops because he’s been told he’s soon to be fired. I truly hope that is NOT the case.
Seriously. You should run KO all day long! You’d get much better ratings than with all that STUPID JonBenet Ramsay crapola.
Thanks for listening. I SUPPORT Keith’s show and watch faithfully, every day!
(Jacqrat, town, phone)
PS: Yes, I joined your little news survey club.
Grandma Jo @
4
Speaking of Disney, my dental hygienist has Disney posters on her ceiling for the kidlets. I mentioned the PT911 and offered to replace them, and she said “even Snow White?” I said yes, and she said okay. So I’m going to try to find something else kids might relate to that is non-Disney oriented. Any suggestions? (No kids in my life at present.) TIA
Just tell everyone to show up wearing bright orange hunting vests and hats.
op99 @
144
Mark Steckel @
149
Mark, you rock!
Old Sow says:
September 12th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Animals? Castles (real ones)? Yellowstone and Yosemite posters? Railroad trains (steam locomotives work best)?
Has this been noted before. Jane and Christy at a luncheon with former President Clinton. See AMERICAblog. Hooray!
Sally—come join us in the next thread.
Big Dawg meeting comments start around #215.
Ummm–
if anybody read my post at 1169 – that “when I get him” is supposed to be “when I get home”. Sorry — it’s hard to keep up at work.
P J Evans @
178
Thanks PJ, great suggestions..