Fitz!

Morning, Christy! Morning all! Very nice photo. There are a few Bluejays fluttering around the birdfeeders here in Northern VA. this AM.

You’re right, Christy. Another sad lineup on the TV this morning. This is beyond discouraging.

In addition to TV’s talking heads, there are the following “talking mouths” on FM and Internet.

Ian Masters’ Background Briefing
KPFK 90.7fm Los Angeles
Live stream at http://www.kpfk.org
Archives at http://www.ianmasters.org
produced by Louis Vandenberg

March 4, 2007 Confirmed Guest lineup

11am PT (2pm ET):

Seymour Hersh on the Bush administration plans to attack Iran.

David Albright, former UN weapons inspector, just back from North Korea, on their nuclear weapons program.

Andrew Cockburn, on his devastating biography of Donald Rumsfeld.

12 noon PT (3pm ET):

Geoffrey Perret on his book “Commander in Chief: how Truman, Johnson and Bush turned Presidential Power into a Threat to America’s Future.”

William Stevenson on his book “Spymistress: the Life of Vera Atkins, the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II.”

(Guest line-up subject to change.)

Morning all — I forgot to include the C-Span line-up this morning:

7:45am – David Keene, American Conservative Union, Chairman
8:30am – Phoner From Baghdad: Liz Sly, Chicago Tribune, Baghdad Correspondent
9am – Amin Tarzi, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Afghanistan Analyst
9:30am – Daniel Serwer, U.S. Institute of Peace – Peace & Stability Operations, V.P. & Iraq Study Group, Former Executive Director

Christy Hardin Smith @ 4

7:45am – David Keene, American Conservative Union, Chairman

David Keene is wearing a snappy jacket.

Good morning everyone, back in the land of the living (and healthy)

Twisted at 6 — Glad you are feeling better. :)

Thanks Christy, sat in bed yesterday and watched 2 James Bond movies and Backdraft, wasn’t so bad. My daughter made me 3 get well cards too.

oh my– Scott Ritter eviscerates Hill.

Let there be no doubt that Hillary Clinton is about as slippery a species of politician that exists, one who has demonstrated an ability to morph facts into a nebulous blob which blurs the record and distorts the truth. While she has demonstrated this less than flattering ability on a number of issues, nowhere is it so blatant as when dealing with the issue of the ongoing war in Iraq and Hillary Clinton’s vote in favor of this war.

This issue won’t be resolved even if Hillary Clinton apologizes for her Iraq vote, as other politicians have done, blaming their decision on faulty intelligence on Iraq’s WMD capabilities. This is because, like many other Washington politicians at the time, including those now running for president, she had been witness to lies about Iraq’s weapons programs to justify attacks on that country by her husband President Bill Clinton and his administration.

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0303-23.htm

Mornin’ Christy.

Good morning, everyone! I haven’t been around the comment threads very much lately so I apologize if someone else has already suggested this, but … given the Bush administration’s bellicose, hyper-aggressive approach to foreign policy, I think we should stop calling it the “Department of Defense” and go back to calling it the “War Department”. Somebody (the General?) could do a really good post on this, don’t you think?

Yes, the guest list on the morning shows does make you want to crawl back into bed. As an antidote, here’s some put-a-smile-on-your-face music from Tilly and the Wall: http://www.j-four.com/videos/Rainbows.mov

twolf1 @ 5

Christy Hardin Smith @ 4

7:45am – David Keene, American Conservative Union, Chairman

David Keene is wearing a snappy jacket.

twolf – Did you see the comments I made in the last thread re. the jacket? Fellow pups, it had to be seen to be believed………and truth to tell, I thought I’d seen pretty much close to *everything* after 30 years in the apparel field!

Nice quiet start to Sunday here, well except for the angry Cardinal since there was no food out. I love the way the light changes as we approach spring. Makes we want to start gardening so it can illuminate some color.

Christy -

Wished for a Christy fix yesterday morning, got another load of numbing news instead. So this (snowy) morning going to take a break from it all and do a piece on a fabulous book “Gathering Moss” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I got it in a clutch of moss reference books, found it offered much more than info on mosses. It’s about the whole of life, really. How everything fits in, the survival of the fittest, cooperation, battle to the death, families, nations, tribes, the principles of survival. (Did I say I was going to take a break?!)”Holistic” is such a buzz word, but this book by a native American Indian PhD is a wise-eye view of how everything fits together. It’s funny, it’s engaging, and a total surprise. It’s certainly affords respite from the stuff out here. Anybody out there know it?

Now that is some television that would be worth watching, isn’t it? Although, to be fair to Graham, I suspect that he’s fairly disgusted by the Walter Reed mess as well — would that blame would be placed on the shoulders of the person who has been commander in chief these last six years, the man who is ultimately responsible for this and for his failure of a Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who couldn’t have cared less about checking up on the treatment of America’s wounded. But that’s probably asking a bit much of Huckleberry to go beyond scapegoating the Army brass, isn’t it? Guess we’ll see…

It seems to me that there are grounds for a criminal-negligence suit against Bush and/or Rumsfeld. Even Rumsfeld’s wife knew exactly what was going on there.

Last October, Joyce Rumsfeld, the wife of then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, was taken to Walter Reed by a friend concerned about outpatient treatment. She attended a weekly meeting, called Girls Time Out, at which wives, girlfriends and mothers of soldiers exchange stories and offer support.

According to three people who attended the gathering, Rumsfeld listened quietly. Some of the women did not know who she was. At the end of the meeting, Rumsfeld asked one of the staff members whether she thought that the soldiers her husband was meeting on his visits had been handpicked to paint a rosy picture of their time there. The answer was yes.

When Walter Reed officials found out that Rumsfeld had visited, they told the friend who brought her — a woman who had volunteered there many times — that she was no longer welcome on the grounds.

We got a light dusting of snow last night. It’s cold here this morning, and thankfully for the birdies, I managed to refill the feeders yesterday before the rain switched over to snow. I have some grateful doves and sparrows and titmice and chickadees on there at the moment.

Aiee, layover in FL & slightly online today, but we’re headin’ outta the USA until the 19th tonite. PLEASE have Libby in at least the Club Fed by the time I get back, eh? TYVM.

OBTW Mods, it appears to me that the search function, she is gebroken. Izzis true?

All together now… GUILTY!!

wigwam at 16 — Do you have a link for that?

CBS’ “Face the Nation” _ Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

What’s the deal, is Joe-Mentum now, after giving the democratic response to Idiot Boy’s radio message, gonna give the ReThuglican response to Carl Levin? Joe can take any position, except for the correct one!

The Sunday Talking Head thread should just be renamed “Read It and Weep”. I haven’t seen much worth watching since the summer of ‘06, MTP with Dana Priest & Bill Bennett. Now that was worth getting out of bed to see.

Good Morning, all…

The coffee is ready!

Christy Hardin Smith @ 17

We got a light dusting of snow last night. It’s cold here this morning, and thankfully for the birdies, I managed to refill the feeders yesterday before the rain switched over to snow. I have some grateful doves and sparrows and titmice and chickadees on there at the moment.

Filled the birdfeeders yesterday. The cardinals are very pleased.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 19

wigwam at 16 — Do you have a link for that?

It’s quoted at http://www.democrats.org/a/200…..ubling.php

I jokingly said to my husband (who faithfully watches the Sunday lineup no matter what, poor fellow)…”I wonder if Lieberman will be on one of the shows this am, and guess what? Son of a gun..there he is with Carl Levin who just last week referred to Joe as a Democrat. I wrote Senator Levin to set the record straight, once again. And yet, here we are having to be subjected to Holy Joe against our will. When does this man of little principle finally get marginalized?

Sounds like we all have a pushy cardinal who monitors the food levels at our houses. LOL We have a male that perches on the hood of my car and reads me the riot act when there is insufficient seed in our feeders. Glad to know I’m not the only one…

Another beautiful sunny morning here in south Louisiana. I spent most of yesterday making the garden pretty again … put in petunias (red and “blue” although the blue looks purple to me), dwarf marigolds, lobelia, viola, and some Louisiana phlox. The azaleas and salvias are happy, although the trees (bald cypress, mimosa, water oak, and goldenrain) have yet to show any leaves. Lots of robins around this spring.

Waccamaw – yep, I saw your comment. Sorry it took me so long to reply, I am just now coming out of a Keene’s jacket induced trance. ;)

hesikastor @
15

Christy -

Wished for a Christy fix yesterday morning, got another load of numbing news instead. So this (snowy) morning going to take a break from it all and do a piece on a fabulous book “Gathering Moss” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I got it in a clutch of moss reference books, found it offered much more than info on mosses. It’s about the whole of life, really. How everything fits in, the survival of the fittest, cooperation, battle to the death, families, nations, tribes, the principles of survival. (Did I say I was going to take a break?!)”Holistic” is such a buzz word, but this book by a native American Indian PhD is a wise-eye view of how everything fits together. It’s funny, it’s engaging, and a total surprise. It’s certainly affords respite from the stuff out here. Anybody out there know it?

I haven’t heard of that one, but I can really get taken in by holistic thinking. I remember when I read The Lives of a Cell and I felt like shouting out the window to tell everyone to read it.

I think Rumsfield is particularly open to blame for the situation with outpatients at Walter Reed because I read where his wife was encouraged to go to a rap session with some of the families of these people. She got an earful and started asking questions and the person that brought her got blackballed, essentially uninvited to further sessions. Outrageous.

I have the most gorgeous male cardinal on the feeder this morning. Wish you guys could see him.

OldCoastie @ 22

Good Morning, all…

The coffee is ready!

Yayy! Two creams, one sugar… and heavy on the caffeine, please!! Thanks!! :)

Christy Hardin Smith @ 19

wigwam at 16 — Do you have a link for that?

Here it is. It’s from a 3/1/07 WaPo story by Anne Hull and Dana Priest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01954.html

That story shows that a lot of high-ranking people knew what was going on. Can government officials be prosecuted for criminal neglence?

Ann in AZ @ 30

I think Rumsfield is particularly open to blame for the situation with outpatients at Walter Reed because I read where his wife was encouraged to go to a rap session with some of the families of these people. She got an earful and started asking questions and the person that brought her got blackballed, essentially uninvited to further sessions. Outrageous.

Things may be a bit tense in the Rumsfeld home these days!

wigwam @ 33

Christy Hardin Smith @ 19

wigwam at 16 — Do you have a link for that?

Here it is. It’s from a 3/1/07 WaPo story by Anne Hull and Dana Priest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01954.html

That story shows that a lot of high-ranking people knew what was going on. Can government officials be prosecuted for criminal neglence?

I think it’s called “malfeasance”? Lawyers?

Graham, I suspect that he’s fairly disgusted by the Walter Reed mess as well — would that blame would be placed on the shoulders of the person who has been commander in chief these last six years, the man who is ultimately responsible for this and for his failure of a Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who couldn’t have cared less . . But that’s probably asking a bit much of Huckleberry to go beyond scapegoating the Army brass, isn’t it? Guess we’ll see…

Redd,
It apparently is a bit too much to ask of Harry Reid either. I read Holy Joe’s “me to” apology on behalf of the Democratic congress (as if he spoke for them) for the Walter Reed conditions.

Enough said already about (another) of Reid’s tactical Lieberman clusterf&*cks. Were there any example of what the GOP Kleptocrats think of our service people, Walter Reed is example number one. Thankfully for Mister Bush, Harry Reid unleashed Holy Joe to accept the congressional blame for the problem and ignore the true culprits here.

It’s as if Reid plays “duck-duck-goose” with the Democratic caucus and only taps a “goose” who won’t call out the president for dishonoring our troops. And if he can’t find a goose in his caucus, he plucks Holy Joe.

Mind you. Congress is also to blame. But we voted out that blameworthy congress last fall. Only one guilty party is still in power. You would not know it from the “Democratic response” given by a Saturday morning CFL stand-in, however.

slainte,
cl

btw, I realize the radio address was recorded on Friday before sundown (at least that was my understanding) but was that another off-kilter joke by Reid, having Lieberman speaking for the Dems on a Saturday?
cl

For all you historians and patriots……today, March 4th, used to be Inauguration Day.

Also, on this date in 1789, what’s left of our Constitution took effect as the 1st Congress met in NYC.

Oh, I don’t want to diss McYachts.

I’m planning on selling my house to get one of these eventually:

http://www.cata-lagoon.com/420_pres_uk.php?type=i

AirportCat @ 35
I think it’s called “malfeasance”? Lawyers?

Dereliction of duty.

OldCoastie @ 22

Good Morning, all…

The coffee is ready!

dammit, and here I am, sucking down darjeeling like a disillusioned Buzz Lightyear!

Mason at 38 — Nothing wrong with a McYacht if you have a perspective that allows you to see the whole of things. It’s the folks who see only their own social strata and have no concept of how things are for others that tick me off — and I’ve had that conversation with enough folks to know the difference. *g* But that’s a lovely choice — looks quite relaxing. (In fact, warm seas are calling to me this cold morning, so thanks for the glimpse.)

John Murtha is way more polite to DickHead Cheney than that black hole of evil deserves.

coffee – the elixer of life!

is it me or do things seem quite discouraging this week? I really coulda used a verdict on Friday just to make my weekend more cheery….

Christie,

Almost spit my tea onto my monitor. “Huckleberry” indeed!!!! That is a moniker that will stay with him everytime I see him now.

Thanks for the early morning chuckle.

OldCoastie at 43 — I could have used a verdict on Friday, myself. The holding pattern in waiting for a jury is exhausting — always is. But I’ve spent some time going through Judge WAlton’s 48-page memorandum opinion this weekend, and EW and I should have some thoughts on it for everyone later today. Interesting stuff.

I suspect Mrs. Rumsfeld is a Stepford wife since it appears likely nothing changed after her visit to Walter Reed. Think how stoopid Laura is, or pretends to be, about her husband’s war.

CHS–is there a link to Walton’s memo although I’d much rather read your breakdown than the whole thing. I know sometimes Jeralyn puts them up at her site.

Jane S. at 47 – RawStory had a PDF of the opinion up yesterday. I don’t have the link handy, but I can look for it if you can’t find it.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 48

Jane S. at 47 – RawStory had a PDF of the opinion up yesterday. I don’t have the link handy, but I can look for it if you can’t find it.

No worries; I’ve got RawStory bookmarked.

I look forward to your and Marcy’s thoughts on the memo. You guys make “legaleze” more palatable.

Redd – I’m usually a very patient person, but this waiting game (along with a lot of strange dealings with OldMother’s doctors this past week) has worn my patience down to a little tiny nub…

and with the Hearty Dose of Extra Stupid from all the other quarters of the gov’t, I’m very, very grumpy.

good thing there’s coffee…

Jane S. — Here you go — PDF of Walton Opinion.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 52

Jane S. — Here you go —
“>PDF of Walton Opinion.

Thank you Christy. You’re the best!

Christy Hardin Smith @ 52

Jane S. — Here you go — PDF of Walton Opinion.

i removed a br in the link

Oops–Christy @ 52, just trying to say, thanks a million!

thanks mod, for killing my 53. 52 has a br in the link that is breaking it.

Lindsey “Huck” Graham as part of disparaging the idea of Congress “micro-managing” the war sez:

“That’s why there can only be “one Commander in Chief”

Is he referring to W or Darth and is there (or should there be) a requirement the the C of C has a brain?

If everyone will refresh their screens, I’ve fixed the link. WordPress added in a space that I didn’t type — weird — but I’ve gone back in and fixed the link for everyone.

Good morning, all.

Looks like those of us in the Detroit tv market will not get MTP today. The local news is covering a massive manhunt that just finished. A woman disappeared a few weeks ago, and her husband had given numerous teary interviews over the past few weeks. Investigators found part of her body Saturday night, and the husband disappeared. He was just caught after hiding out in the snowy northern MI woods all night. I won’t link you to the story, as it’s pretty graphic story.

I awoke to this story, along with the latest bombing in Afghanistan and the news that our military men & women are now doing a door-to-door assault in Baghdad with a small number of Iraqi forces. They’re going to try and remove weapons, and supposedly the “new strategy” is to do this EVERYWHERE in Iraq.

Talk about wanting to pull the covers over your head.

I was kind of looking forward to seeing how Murtha and Graham debate the status of the wars, and what we should do. I want to hear Murtha’s take on the “new strategy” and how Graham tries to apologize for it. Also, Gen. Petraeus even says the “surge” only has about a 25% chance of even succeeding, according to a Republican Senator.

Who is covering the trial on Monday? Is EW coming back?

MasonMcD @ 38

Oh, I don’t want to diss McYachts.

I’m planning on selling my house to get one of these eventually:

http://www.cata-lagoon.com/420_pres_uk.php?type=i

That looks pretty nice, but I think Yves Rossy’s jetcat looks like more fun.

Lindsey keeps saying “plan for the worst,” with this Preznit that is good advice.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 58

If everyone will refresh their screens, I’ve fixed the link. WordPress added in a space that I didn’t type — weird — but I’ve gone back in and fixed the link for everyone.

The machines are taking over. This is only the beginning :)

all your pdf links are belong to us

this has got me extremely pissed. in the long run, people are gonna die because of this decision – all to help an industry make more money in the short run.

here are the first few paragraphs:

Will FDA put humans at risk with cow drug?

The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonialike disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency’s own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people.

The drug, cefquinome, belongs to a class of potent antibiotics that are among medicine’s last defense against several serious human infections. No drug from that class has been approved in the United States for use in animals.

The American Medical Association and about 12 other health groups warned the Food and Drug Administration that giving cefquinome to animals probably would speed the emergence of microbes resistant to that important class of antibiotic, as has happened with other drugs. Those supermicrobes could then spread to people.

Echoing those concerns, the FDA’s advisory board last fall voted to reject the request by Intervet of Millsboro, Del., to market the drug for cattle.

Yet by all indications, the FDA will approve cefquinome this spring. That outcome is all but required, officials said, by a recently implemented “guidance document” that codifies how to weigh threats to human health posed by proposed new animal drugs.

The wording of “Guidance for Industry 152″ was crafted within the FDA after a long struggle. In the end, the agency adopted language that, for drugs such as cefquinome, is more deferential to pharmaceutical companies than is recommended by the World Health Organization.

can we please put both the “public” and “health” back in “public health”?

Riesz Fischer @
29
hesikastor @
15
In Germany we can get Holistic and alternative medicine treatment paid for by our Insurers (Krankenkasse). Can you get the same over there?

I knew I could find some happy news somewhere: hat tip to CBC.ca for telling us that Stephen Colbert has won the “Person of the Year Award” by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.

And, Colbert is apparently coming out with a book.

Details in this link.

selise at 65 — Well if we weren’t already buying organic milk, we would be now. Good lord.

Daughter in Ohio is singing with the children’s choir this morning–first Sunday of the month–which usually means missing services at my usual liberal, inclusive Episcopal church. Last night I realized that this just wasn’t a good time to give up that opportunity to be with like-minded individuals. So my husband has graciously agreed to give up his morning services at the Church of the Restful Sabbath in order to take our daughter to her church. And Son in Ohio, an unbeliever for pretty much all of his 13 1/2 years, is coming to church with me.

I’m sure there’s a meta post in there somewhere about unity through diversity, and learning to make compromises, but I’ll have to explore that later. In the meantime, there are a few new posts at the Independent Bloggers’ Alliance.

I will not vote for any candidates who are wholly owned susidiaries of the DLC or AIPAC.

Delurking, first-time poster here. Found your site via Huffpo several weeks ago. I’m fascinated by the live-blogging of the Libby Trial and all of your brilliant minds. I ordered Marcy’s book yesterday.

I’m frosted this morning not about the talking heads but rather Walter Scott’s Personality Parade.

Anybody else?

“Q: I’m tired of heaing about the President’s low poll ratings. What’s the difference, as long as he does his job? David Greenberg, Miami, FL

“A: When a President’s approval rating falls below 30%–as Bush’s has–he can lose the support of his own party, threatening the collapse of his political power. Such Presidential paralysis emboldens our foreign adversaries to challenge us more aggressively.”

I want Lieberman and Reid defeated. A few other Dems too. As to Lieberman, I just wish he’d leave my party.

Roninstia @ 71

Delurking, first-time poster here. Found your site via Huffpo several weeks ago. I’m fascinated by the live-blogging of the Libby Trial and all of your brilliant minds. I ordered Marcy’s book yesterday.

I’m frosted this morning not about the talking heads but rather Walter Scott’s Personality Parade.

Anybody else?

“Q: I’m tired of heaing about the President’s low poll ratings. What’s the difference, as long as he does his job? David Greenberg, Miami, FL

“A: When a President’s approval rating falls below 30%–as Bush’s has–he can lose the support of his own party, threatening the collapse of his political power. Such Presidential paralysis emboldens our foreign adversaries to challenge us more aggressively.”

Jeeze, did Rove write that?!

JeffinBerlin @ 66

Riesz Fischer @
29
hesikastor @
15
In Germany we can get Holistic and alternative medicine treatment paid for by our Insurers (Krankenkasse). Can you get the same over there?

I don’t know exactly what “holistic medicine” is, but I doubt most of our insurers cover it. In America the insurance industry has a high degree of control over the government (they get what they pay for!) so it’s hard to pass laws that require insurance coverage of alternative treatments.

Good morning! It’s my first Sunday morning here at the lake. I’ve spent many days here during the week but now find myself looking forward to reading Christy/Jane/Marcy/Peterr, oh I could go on!

Christy, I go through a lot of material during a day and there are certain things that just “jerk” my chain..things I can’t let go of. It hasn’t failed yet that when I get here to the lake, someone has taken THAT topic and layed it all out! I find myself saying YES! outloud, and often, when the words are precisely expressing my sentiments. I very much like the people here and what they stand for (and what they don’t).

As for this Sunday morning talk-show guests: I’m wondering whom the person is that decides to have these D’s speak? I want Webb, I want Clark, I want Dean, I want Kennedy, I want Waxman, I want Conyers! I want those who have knowledge AND heart in these issues and not the ones who seem numb to all things corrupt and outrageous. Is this Reid’s decision again, or is it the media’s?

Oh and I can’t get started on Reid, it’s way too early (and sunny out) to go there at the moment.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 70

I will not vote for any candidates who are wholly owned susidiaries of the DLC or AIPAC.

The way it seems from here, I guess you are saying that you are going to either boycott the election or write in a candidate. It is sickening, when did Israel become not just a state but the most important state in the whole goddamn 51?

LandOfTheFree @ 59

… our military men & women are now doing a door-to-door assault in Baghdad with a small number of Iraqi forces. They’re going to try and remove weapons, and supposedly the “new strategy” is to do this EVERYWHERE in Iraq.

Now what do you suppose the reaction of the average NRA supporter would be to this? Seeing as how you can’t be a free citizen if the government comes and takes away your weapons?

I would suggest that everyone take a step back on the AIPAC/Israel angle and realize that all folks who live in Israel — or supporters thereof are not some monolithic politial entity. Any more that the Democratic party is — or the African American community — or any number of other interest conglomerates. To lump everyone together as a whole, without distinguing the fact that there are a LOT of differing opinions in Israel is short-sighted and inaccurate. And dismisses the significant liberal components within Isreal who have been fighting to be heard by stereotyping them out of existence. Not fair, and patently offensive to the folks in those factions who read here.

You might want to keep that in mind before tossing out stereotypes next time…

Christy Hardin Smith @ 68

selise at 65 — Well if we weren’t already buying organic milk, we would be now. Good lord.

You probably already know this, but just to clarify– even if you don’t drink milk from cattle that have had that antibiotic administered, this policy still puts your family at risk because the problem is that the widespread use of the drug makes it much more likely that strains of deadly bacteria will develop an immunity to it.

Related legal question: Isn’t it true that it is illegal for corporations to implement any policies that don’t maximize their profits? I heard that somewhere, and I’m under the impression that it explains why corporations are amoral. They are actually legally proscribed from being responsible citizens if that in any way reduces their profits. Christy or any other lawyers, is this true?

Riesz at 79 — Yes, there are legal requiremens that impose a maximization of profit by boards of directors as a priority for corporations. Corporate law was not my specialtym however, so perhaps some of our corporate readership can chime in on specifics on this if anyone is reading this morning. This hasn’t always been the case, btw, it’s a modern imposition of duty to maximize shareholder profit, among other things, as I recall.

Don’t let anyone in (Old) Europe get on their high-horse about organic and natural food and medicine. We don’t want genetically engineered food, cattle fed with growth hormones, etc. – thank you very much. We had enough with mad cow disease (BSE), probably caused by feeding cattle with animal-based protein. Please leave Mother Nature alone!

selise @ 65

this has got me extremely pissed. in the long run, people are gonna die because of this decision – all to help an industry make more money in the short run.

here are the first few paragraphs:

Will FDA put humans at risk with cow drug?

The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonialike disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency’s own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people.

The drug, cefquinome, belongs to a class of potent antibiotics that are among medicine’s last defense against several serious human infections. No drug from that class has been approved in the United States for use in animals.

The American Medical Association and about 12 other health groups warned the Food and Drug Administration that giving cefquinome to animals probably would speed the emergence of microbes resistant to that important class of antibiotic, as has happened with other drugs. Those supermicrobes could then spread to people.

Echoing those concerns, the FDA’s advisory board last fall voted to reject the request by Intervet of Millsboro, Del., to market the drug for cattle.

Yet by all indications, the FDA will approve cefquinome this spring. That outcome is all but required, officials said, by a recently implemented “guidance document” that codifies how to weigh threats to human health posed by proposed new animal drugs.

The wording of “Guidance for Industry 152″ was crafted within the FDA after a long struggle. In the end, the agency adopted language that, for drugs such as cefquinome, is more deferential to pharmaceutical companies than is recommended by the World Health Organization.

can we please put both the “public” and “health” back in “public health”?

Not to fear. The unseen hand and the miracle of free enterprise infallibly protects one and all, optimizing their welfare. Ronald Reagan said it. I believe it. And that settles it. ;-)

Christy @ 45,
I wanted to ask a question of you yesterday about Judge Walton’s paperwork but I did not want to interrupt the “Pull Up A Chair” post with an off topic question.
I was alarmed about Judge Walton writing that document before the jury has rendered it’s verdict. IANAl, but my alarm bells started ringing on the following matters.
1. The jury is not sequestered, so they have
access to this information however
inadvertently they “see” it.
2. How did CNN get a copy of this? Was it an
attempt to sabotage the trial? After all,
Anna Nicole Smith was the major topic all
week.
3. Is this common practice for a judge to
release this kind of information before
the jury renders it’s verdict?
4. Frank Probst listed a very good summary
that eased my concern a bit in a previous
thread, but I have to admit I do not want
to see this screwed up by anyone before a
verdict is rendered.
5 Thank you for covering this later in the
day. I cannot begin to tell you how much
you are appreciated Christy, along with
Jane, Emptywheel, Swopa, Pach and all the
others who have worked so hard to make
FDL my favorite community.
Sorry if this has been too long a post for this Sunday morning.

Since I already mentioned my progressive Episcopal church, I thought I’d go ahead and pass along this link for anyone who might be interested but hadn’t discovered it before. An Inch at a Time is the blog of Susan Russell, who is the President of Integrity, the national Episcopalin GLBT organization. Given that there is “schism talk” again, the site offers an interesting perspective that we don’t get elsewhere.

Roninstia @ 71

Delurking, first-time poster here. Found your site via Huffpo several weeks ago. I’m fascinated by the live-blogging of the Libby Trial and all of your brilliant minds. I ordered Marcy’s book yesterday.

I’m frosted this morning not about the talking heads but rather Walter Scott’s Personality Parade.

Anybody else?

“Q: I’m tired of heaing about the President’s low poll ratings. What’s the difference, as long as he does his job? David Greenberg, Miami, FL

“A: When a President’s approval rating falls below 30%–as Bush’s has–he can lose the support of his own party, threatening the collapse of his political power. Such Presidential paralysis emboldens our foreign adversaries to challenge us more aggressively.”

Ahhh, Parade Magazine. Just another of the many, many, many reasons that we stopped subscribing to the WaPost.

Morning Christy. Putting out a new thistle feeder this morning for the goldfinches; I’m glad to say I get a lot of them — they’re still grayish-yellow, but their color should come back soon.

With the FDA in big Pharma’s backpocket, all the world is their petri dish.

Maybe Trent Lott will talk about how the insurance companies in Mississippi will not pay for the Katrina damages, like to his house, which is apparently not being built, not even the porch. With insurance money, that is.

Oh low, the mighty have fallen. Like regular folks.

I think, instead of watching any of the fuckheads on the blather shows (not a single person who even deserves a bullet), I’ll listen to “These Days” by Vince Gill and revel in the musical genius, make a nice sausage and eggs breakfast for J and me, finish up my Fender Super amp project and later, take a ride out to the Corralitos Sausage and Meat company for some hot link I can smoke the next time I do some ribs.

Doesn’t that sound like more fun than listening to Joe “I Don’t Even Deserve A Bullet” Lieberman?

Y’all tell me.

Just read via HuffPo the NYT Editorial giving a list of things that Bush and Cheney must do to restore their lawlesss policies.

Riesz Fischer @ 79

Christy Hardin Smith @ 68

selise at 65 — Well if we weren’t already buying organic milk, we would be now. Good lord.

You probably already know this, but just to clarify– even if you don’t drink milk from cattle that have had that antibiotic administered, this policy still puts your family at risk because the problem is that the widespread use of the drug makes it much more likely that strains of deadly bacteria will develop an immunity to it.

Related legal question: Isn’t it true that it is illegal for corporations to implement any policies that don’t maximize their profits? I heard that somewhere, and I’m under the impression that it explains why corporations are amoral. They are actually legally proscribed from being responsible citizens if that in any way reduces their profits. Christy or any other lawyers, is this true?

thanks for making it clear that, once bacteria become resistant, this will put at risk EVERYONE who, at some future point, become infected with the resistant bacteria. the rest of the article give more details.

this is just so very STUPID.

and just a further (and perhaps picky) clarification…. bacteria develop resistance (not immunity) to drugs.

[i have no idea about the legal issues involved]

Morning everyone.

Love the bluebird! Ours visit off & on all winter (ne OH). Really brightens the dreariest day. I wonder if your guy in the picture eats some of the goodies there. Isn’t that sumac? Who else from the Lake has made sumac tea in the summer?

Thanks for the warning in re talkies today Christy. The telly stays dormant in this household today. I’ll take the tip & enjoy my mind’s-eye view of that Murtha & Hucklephobe greenroom kerfuffle.

We’re gonna grow old in a hurry, waiting for any mainstream repugs to come clean about their real feelings. I’ve been tracking my way thru the wilderness almost 7 yrs now, simply following the crumb trail of roverian talking points. You’d think they’d be dreadfully, mortally ashamed. Moribund, maybe, but never admitting their complicity in perpetrating this awful mess.

Oh, that “Gathering Moss” book does sound wonderful. Check it out. Amazon has some customer reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Gatherin…..amp;sr=1-1

Oklahoma kiddo @ 70

I will not vote for any candidates who are wholly owned susidiaries of the DLC or AIPAC.

Obama was trailing in the Israel Factor. But last week, per a Chicago Tribune article, he got it together with AIPAC:

Seeking to woo Jewish votes and contributions, Sen. Barack Obama told an audience in Chicago on Friday that he considers Iran “one of the greatest threats to the United States, Israel and world peace” and pledged he would try to end Tehran’s uranium-enrichment program.

As he criticized the Bush administration’s Iraq policies, the Democratic presidential candidate suggested that the danger posed by neighboring Iran has grown in recent years because of U.S. policy in the Middle East.

“One of the most profound consequences of the administration’s failed strategy in Iraq has been to strengthen Iran’s strategic position, reduce U.S. credibility and influence in the region, and place Israel and other nations friendly to the United States in greater peril,” Obama (D-Ill.) said at a regional gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israel lobbying group.

[…]

In advance of the group’s national conference later this month in Washington, where Obama will court donors one-on-one, his campaign had been looking for a friendly audience to make a major policy speech on U.S.-Israel policy.

Christy Hardin Smith @
26

Sounds like we all have a pushy cardinal who monitors the food levels at our houses. LOL We have a male that perches on the hood of my car and reads me the riot act when there is insufficient seed in our feeders. Glad to know I’m not the only one…

I returned home late Tuesday after tucking hubby in bed in our local hospital :-(, to face an angry male cardinal. He swooped in from the bushes, scooted and hovered between my head and the front porch ceiling and gave me heck!! At least he didn’t dive poop me. Geesh, we all have problems fella, can I give you the address of the Naval Observatory?

It was so nice out yesterday that I went to 4 museums on the Mall. I was on my way to the Botanic Garden (spittin’ distance from the Capitol, very close to Prettyman) and overheard two tourist couples in front of me, talking in mild twang accents I couldn’t quite place (Texas? I think) [paraphase]:

Older man [pointing]: that’s where the Libby thing is.
Woman: What?
Man: Scooter Libby. That’s where he’s on trial. [pause]
Man: I think he’s goin’ down. He knew. And I think Cheney knew that he knew.
Woman (to other woman): Oh yes, Cheney, he’s behind it all. I’ve learned a lot about him in the past two years — about Cheney. Ugh [derisive tone]…I think he’s a military [something…couldn’t catch it, but i think it was related to military-industrial complex]
Woman again: And that Bush is as STUBBORN as anything. I used to like him, a lot, but now, blah, I’d never vote for him.
Other woman: It’s the war…
Woman: oh yes, it’s the war all right..

Then they went out of earshot. I’m not sure they fully understood this was perjury, and not the leak crime (it seems only us Plameaholics have it straight), but the fact that Cheney is involved has rung loud and clear with the general public. Now, their first thought is, Cheney’s behind everything.

AirportCat @ 35

wigwam @ 33
Here it is. It’s from a 3/1/07 WaPo story by Anne Hull and Dana Priest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01954.html

That story shows that a lot of high-ranking people knew what was going on. Can government officials be prosecuted for criminal neglence?

I think it’s called “malfeasance”? Lawyers?

Or if you want the ones who are really in charge, “impeachment”.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 72

I want Lieberman and Reid defeated. A few other Dems too. As to Lieberman, I just wish he’d leave my party.

DANG! He DID! Whu’ th’ H????! That scum back again? He can’t have it both ways. What’s wrong with Reid? I kept holding out hope for his soul, but he’s finally lost me, totally!

Keep up the good fight OKK. Will do here also.
Gettin’ mighty weary of this….
Mighty shy of heroes among the powerful.
SHAME.ON.THEM
over&over&over
Never give up.
SHAME.ON.THEM

Christy Hardin Smith @ 78

I would suggest that everyone take a step back on the AIPAC/Israel angle and realize that all folks who live in Israel — or supporters thereof are not some monolithic politial entity. Any more that the Democratic party is — or the African American community — or any number of other interest conglomerates. To lump everyone together as a whole, without distinguing the fact that there are a LOT of differing opinions in Israel is short-sighted and inaccurate. And dismisses the significant liberal components within Isreal who have been fighting to be heard by stereotyping them out of existence. Not fair, and patently offensive to the folks in those factions who read here.

You might want to keep that in mind before tossing out stereotypes next time…

thanks christy – i’ve seen israelis standing with palestinians during nonviolent (on the part of the protesters) demonstrations against the building of the wall and destruction of olive groves. israelis routinely join palestinians during the olive harvest – to protect them from other israelis (primarily settlers and soldiers). there are amazing people i want to support (on both sides) who are committed to the universality of human rights. demonizing israelis is just as wrong as demonizing arabs. i hope we can get past that. we need to get past that.

that said, i pretty much despise AIPAC (in the same way i despise the AEI). imo, AIPAC represents israeli interests about as well as AEI represents USA interests – not at all. in my more cynical moods, i think that they both really represent the arms industry.

Good morning, litter mates! I’ve been hearing bird songs this last week! Just saw a wood duck pair paddling down the mini-river out back and yesterday saw an otter! Haven’t seen one since 4 years ago! i took pictures of tracks – rather poor photo – still sorta dark still at 9:30 am!
Otter tracks

oxide at 94

Thanks. Maybe you can understand that, in an odd way, your story cheers my heart.

I know it’s evil and wasted effort on my part, but I want cheeknee to be hated, thoroughly & totally hated.

oh, and impeached of course, along with that lil’ brat he dragged in.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 78

I would suggest that everyone take a step back on the AIPAC/Israel angle and realize that all folks who live in Israel — or supporters thereof are not some monolithic politial entity. Any more that the Democratic party is — or the African American community — or any number of other interest conglomerates. To lump everyone together as a whole, without distinguing the fact that there are a LOT of differing opinions in Israel is short-sighted and inaccurate. And dismisses the significant liberal components within Isreal who have been fighting to be heard by stereotyping them out of existence. Not fair, and patently offensive to the folks in those factions who read here.

You might want to keep that in mind before tossing out stereotypes next time…

Right on! It should be noted that one will find open discussions of all sides of Israeli policies in the Israeli press that would never be published in the American media.

Several serious questions…

What will happen when Cheney, Abu, Bush, etc. simply refuse to respond to congressional subpoenas? The Law and the Constitution are on the side of Congress but I can safely bet they will refuse, stonewall, delay, move the goal posts, write new laws, anything to avoid testifying.

And what happens if they are found guilty of lying to Congress? Can they be imprisoned on the spot?

What if they refuse arrest for failing to respond to a subpoena? I think this is what they will, to the crook, do. Just thumb their nose and ignore.

I see an inevitable constitutional crisis looming very soon, and I would like to know what could happen….

Christy,
My #5 in comment #83 came off kind of stupid.
Thanking you, Jane, Emptywheel, Pach, Swopa “and all the others for working so hard to make FDL my favorite community”
I did not mean it to come off that way as you working so hard to please me, just me.
After lurking for about six months back in 2005, I finally got the courage up to make a comment on Christmas Day.
What I really meant to say was just how much FDL has been my favorite community because of all the caring, compassionate, thoughtful members who contribute to the posts and the comments. Thank you for all you are doing for us.

We had a bunch of stuff get stuck in Mod at once — they’ve been freed. Please refresh your screens. Thanks!

wigwam @ 99

Christy Hardin Smith @ 78

I would suggest that everyone take a step back on the AIPAC/Israel angle and realize that all folks who live in Israel — or supporters thereof are not some monolithic politial entity. Any more that the Democratic party is — or the African American community — or any number of other interest conglomerates. To lump everyone together as a whole, without distinguing the fact that there are a LOT of differing opinions in Israel is short-sighted and inaccurate. And dismisses the significant liberal components within Isreal who have been fighting to be heard by stereotyping them out of existence. Not fair, and patently offensive to the folks in those factions who read here.

You might want to keep that in mind before tossing out stereotypes next time…

Right on! It should be noted that one will find open discussions of all sides of Israeli policies in the Israeli press that would never be published in the American media.

Thank you! Beautifully said!

Perhaps the Congress starts with the low-hanging fruit, then brick by brick (sorry, mixed metaphor), they build the case so that it will not be possible for the “top administration officials” to evade the public clamoring for justice.

I think I’ve heard this before: “A girl can dream.”

I regularly read The Coastal Post (Marin, CA online publication) and there are 2 stories having to do with something that may disappear. One is about frogs, the other is about our e-mails and instant messages. Both are disturbing, to say the least. There is contact information at the end of the e-mail story; I know what I’ll be doing this week. Does the malfeasance of this corporate government never end??

Good Mornin’ Christy and Firedogs

Wigwam waaay upthread – thanks so much for that link, I didn’t even know this guy was still alive – wow

William Stevenson

had lots of trouble with my pc this morning, so best catch up on the comments

Kathryn in MA @
99

Good morning, litter mates! I’ve been hearing bird songs this last week! Just saw a wood duck pair paddling down the mini-river out back and yesterday saw an otter! Haven’t seen one since 4 years ago! i took pictures of tracks – rather poor photo – still sorta dark still at 9:30 am!
Otter tracks

that’s out your back yard? it’s so beautiful… i hope the otters stick around for your entertainment.

Apple Canyon 2 @ 102

Christy,
My #5 in comment #83 came off kind of stupid.
Thanking you, Jane, Emptywheel, Pach, Swopa “and all the others for working so hard to make FDL my favorite community”
I did not mean it to come off that way as you working so hard to please me, just me.
After lurking for about six months back in 2005, I finally got the courage up to make a comment on Christmas Day.
What I really meant to say was just how much FDL has been my favorite community because of all the caring, compassionate, thoughtful members who contribute to the posts and the comments. Thank you for all you are doing for us.

Somebody needs to say it: Don’t just stick your toe in, just jump in and relax! The water’s fine.

Your earlier post was not too long at all, it was very succinct and to the point. And as far as being OT in “pull up a chair”, that’s the perfect time to raise topics!

Hell, if they put up with me they’ll put up with anyone! :-)

New York Times editorial:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03…..ref=slogin

The Must-Do List
Published: March 4, 2007

The Bush administration’s assault on some of the founding principles of American democracy marches onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections. The new Democratic majorities in Congress can block the sort of noxious measures that the Republican majority rubber-stamped. But preventing new assaults on civil liberties is not nearly enough.

Five years of presidential overreaching and Congressional collaboration continue to exact a high toll in human lives, America’s global reputation and the architecture of democracy. Brutality toward prisoners, and the denial of their human rights, have been institutionalized; unlawful spying on Americans continues; and the courts are being closed to legal challenges of these practices.

(snip)

Christy,

I was wondering if you what you thought of Judge Walton’s memorandum the other day?

AirportCat @ 77

LandOfTheFree @ 59

… our military men & women are now doing a door-to-door assault in Baghdad with a small number of Iraqi forces. They’re going to try and remove weapons, and supposedly the “new strategy” is to do this EVERYWHERE in Iraq.

Now what do you suppose the reaction of the average NRA supporter would be to this? Seeing as how you can’t be a free citizen if the government comes and takes away your weapons?

Great point. Yep, we’re just spreading freedom, aren’t we?

When I talk with some supporters of the war who say ridiculous things like “these are terrorists”, I remind them that WE invaded THEIR country, dismantled their military and police. If that happened to us, and we tried to fight the occupying force that has arrested our neighbors and friends under “suspicion”, tortured them, shipped them around the world and someone disappeared, would you consider yoruself a terrorist for trying to fight for your home and your family’s safety?

I am astonished how many Americans support the idea of sending small numbers of under-equipped American soldiers to try and disarm an entire country door-by-door, and try to say this is “spreading democracy”.

It’s especially astonishing to understand that the tiny number of Iraqi miltary people accompanying them are Kurds who don’t even speak the local language.

Murtha and Huckleberry are on MTP in my market now. I’m eager to hear what Murtha says about this… he has already used the word “unconscionable” while I typed this rant.

Apple Canyon 2 @ 103

Christy,
My #5 in comment #83 came off kind of stupid.
Thanking you, Jane, Emptywheel, Pach, Swopa “and all the others for working so hard to make FDL my favorite community”
I did not mean it to come off that way as you working so hard to please me, just me.
After lurking for about six months back in 2005, I finally got the courage up to make a comment on Christmas Day.
What I really meant to say was just how much FDL has been my favorite community because of all the caring, compassionate, thoughtful members who contribute to the posts and the comments. Thank you for all you are doing for us.

We remember you. You wrote something incredibly poetic last year. Please write more.

selise @
65

this has got me extremely pissed. in the long run, people are gonna die because of this decision – all to help an industry make more money in the short run.

selise, I saw that, too, this morning, and I damned near vomited. If they approve this, it won’t be the long run — it will be less than two years before it costs lives and limbs.

There are so many people already struggling with MRSA infections, for which we simply do not have a large enough arsenal of antibiotics to treat. Many of the new cases are related to treating vets coming from Iraq with infectious agents we don’t commonly find here.

We’re going to have to go organic on meat, or skip eating it altogether if this gets FDA approval. We’re already organic on dairy products and vegetables. But the military doesn’t buy organic; those troops getting exposed to MRSA infections are going to be eating commercially-produced meat with this antibiotic in it.

It’s a national security risk.

“We have lost our strategic reserve… we have NO active reserve to defend our country.” – John Murtha.

If this isn’t ringing alarm bells to the chickenhawks, I don’t know what will.

Good morning. Final day before heading to Texas for some warm(er) weather, some horseback riding for the first time in 15 years, and some volunteering at the local zoo.

As for Israel, I have in the past wrongly lumped “Israel” with the AIPAC. But that is so wrong because I DEFINITELY do not want to be lumped with Bush/Cheney.

We should read more stories from the newspapers in Israel if they are, indeed, reporting more fairly than our own local miscreant media.

Riesz Fischer @109,
Thanks, much appreciated.

selise@91: and just a further (and perhaps picky) clarification…. bacteria develop resistance (not immunity) to drugs.

Yeah, thanks! I was a math major– I’m not strong on verbal skills in general, and biology in particular!

JeffinBerlin @
66

Riesz Fischer @
29
hesikastor @
15
In Germany we can get Holistic and alternative medicine treatment paid for by our Insurers (Krankenkasse). Can you get the same over there?

Regretfully, no. I must share with you: I damaged my thumb, continued to abuse it (chipping leaves last fall). The doc told me I have the universal catchall malady, arthritis. Recommended surgery, bah.I went online, diagnosed tendinitis, researched for myself and came up with far infrared. Bought gloves. My hand is almost healed within a month. My doctor has never heard of far infrared, let alone inclined to prescribe it. Neither the remedy nor its cost is in the lexicon. Chiropractic is all I know of, and that took years and much clamor to render “respectable.” Also acupuncture. That’s it. Polarity therapy, nah. You have to look out for yourself here, and pay for it, too.

Saw the question earlier, but didn’t see an answer…

Does anyone know who’s gonna be at plame house next week? We’re with you in spirit, guys & gals!

LandOfTheFree @ 116

“We have lost our strategic reserve… we have NO active reserve to defend our country.” – John Murtha.

If this isn’t ringing alarm bells to the chickenhawks, I don’t know what will.

I’m afraid all the alarm bells have been disconnected. And we’re sending untrained troups into combat? WTF?

GrandmaJ and horse riding!!!

We want to hear all about it as soon as you get off the horse.

For those who missed the back story, GrandmaJ lost 100 pounds so that she could ride horses ever again. The big day is coming up.

egregious @ 123

GrandmaJ and horse riding!!!

We want to hear all about it as soon as you get off the horse.

For those who missed the back story, GrandmaJ lost 100 pounds so that she could ride horses ever again. The big day is coming up.

GrandmaJ: Have a glorious time! I’m jealous ;->

Rayne @ 115

in this case, i don’t think eating organic is going to protect you.

the problem is that with widespread use of this antibiotic in the cattle industry – bacteria in cows will develop resistance… and that resistance will spread to other strains of bacteria… which will infect humans… who will then not have an effective treatment.

this is truely a public health issue – the only way to protect yourself is to provide protection to your neighbors too (even those on the other side of the planet).

GrandmaJ in case you can’t tell, I find your horse dream incredibly inspiring. I think about you when facing my own choices.

Lindsay THE WHINER Graham…just dronnnnnnnnned
on to pumpkin head……about the terruhrists follwin us here…..They never will give that BOGUS line up will they?

TPM Reader FF just flagged this article in today’s Oregonian. According to the article, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) was at a Republican conference defending his changed position on Iraq and specifically his opposition to the ’surge’. And in the course of defending himself he said that even Gen. Patraeus says the plan has only a one in four chance of success.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..012771.php

next?

FRanco @ 126

Lindsay THE WHINER Graham…just dronnnnnnnnned
on to pumpkin head……about the terruhrists follwin us here…..They never will give that BOGUS line up will they?

He also just summed up Americans’ dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq, the Iraqis just aren’t doing their part.

Riesz Fischer @ 119

I was a math major– I’m not strong on verbal skills in general, and biology in particular!

gotta laugh, ‘cuz i suck on the verbal skills too – but i do have a bit of clue about immunology and genetics.

FRanco @ 126

Lindsay THE WHINER Graham…just dronnnnnnnnned
on to pumpkin head……about the terruhrists follwin us here…..They never will give that BOGUS line up will they?

Yeah, that cracked me up when I heard John Boner say it on CSPAN. Like the dang tuhrists can’t read maps, they won’t be able to find Ameruhkuh unless they follow the troops back from Eye-rack!

I wonder who the 19 tuhrists on 9/11 followed to find their way here!

Stephen Parrish, CPA @
111

New York Times editorial:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03…..ref=slogin

The Must-Do List
Published: March 4, 2007

The Bush administration’s assault on some of the founding principles of American democracy marches onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections. The new Democratic majorities in Congress can block the sort of noxious measures that the Republican majority rubber-stamped. But preventing new assaults on civil liberties is not nearly enough.

Five years of presidential overreaching and Congressional collaboration continue to exact a high toll in human lives, America’s global reputation and the architecture of democracy. Brutality toward prisoners, and the denial of their human rights, have been institutionalized; unlawful spying on Americans continues; and the courts are being closed to legal challenges of these practices.

(snip)

To anyone who still believes any of the following myths
* That detainees in the war on terror have necessarily committed violence against the United States.
* That the torture of detainees is committed only by a few bad apples and against the President’s orders.
* That the nature of the torture amounts to “nothing worse than a late lunch,” to use the words of our local newspaper.
I offer the case of German citizen Khaled El Masri:
* http://www.latimes.com/news/op…..ion-center
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_El-Masri
I am appalled at the majority of Republicans, who refuse the acknowledge the simple fact that the United States of American has a presidentially ordered program of Crimes Against Humanity. I am even more appalled at the leadership of the Democratic party, which was elected to a majority in Congress to clean up the Republican-created mess in this nation and has so far refused to stop the war and has taken impeachment off the table.

selise @ 123

Rayne @ 115

in this case, i don’t think eating organic is going to protect you.

Oh, I agree; I think going organic only buys me a year or two, as long as no one in the family ends up in the hospital where they are more likely to end up exposed to a MRSA.

But going organic or boycotting meat altogether sends a market signal to the corporate cattle farms that their product is not acceptable. It might actually be faster to start such an effort than get the corporate-whores at FDA to change their minds.

edit: You know, this is the stupid part of this equation; if we boycott meat, it’s going to hurt cattle farms a LOT more than simply putting cattle down that have pneumonia and disposing of their carcasses.

Riesz Fischer @
74

JeffinBerlin @ 66

Riesz Fischer @
29
hesikastor @
15
In Germany we can get Holistic and alternative medicine treatment paid for by our Insurers (Krankenkasse). Can you get the same over there?

I don’t know exactly what “holistic medicine” is, but I doubt most of our insurers cover it. In America the insurance industry has a high degree of control over the government (they get what they pay for!) so it’s hard to pass laws that require insurance coverage of alternative treatments.

Holistic refers to an integrated discipline, which embraces a variety of knowledge fields. Chambers defines holism as the theory that the fundamental principle of the universe is the creation of wholes, i.e. complete and self-contained systems from the atom and the cell by evolution to the most complex forms of life and mind. Those guys who “did” science back in the 18 and 19 centuries did a good job but in a way, they did what Bach did to music: they forced it into a strait-jacket! Belay that – a bunch of narrow and separate strait-jackets!

egregious @113,
Thank you. I do feel comfortable as a member of the community.
I have followed the trial every day, but as a high school teacher, I can only catch a little during the day and then read every post and comment in the evening. Much too late to ask questions or comment when the thread has move on five or six times by the time I get home from school.
Again, thank you for your generous comment along with Riesz Fischer’s.

Huckleberry has jumped the shark.

This is World War III, he says. If we let Iraq “fall” (to whom isn’t clear, since the battle is among, well, Iraqis) “the Gulf States are next.” Russert Potato challenges him (mildly) and the Houndster says “it’s not me saying that, it’s them.”

Missed that. The part where “they” say “y,know, this is World War III and as soon as we’re done here, it’s on to Saudi Arabia and let’s win there!” Link, please, Mr. Senator.

Murtha was really on to something I hadn’t heard argues as well before: that the best way to defeat the 2,000 AQ members in Iraq (1,998 more than when we invaded, if you’re keepping track at home) is to let the
IRAQIS weed them out. Neither the Sunnis or Shi’ia want any part of AQ.

Let’s start talking more–as Murtha started today– about the way we WIN: diplomatically, from the periphery, while the Iraqis eradicate AQ.

selise @
130

Riesz Fischer @ 119

I was a math major– I’m not strong on verbal skills in general, and biology in particular!

gotta laugh, ‘cuz i suck on the verbal skills too – but i do have a bit of clue about immunology and genetics.

Just a bit of a clue – selise is a post-doc on the subject!

angie @
128

TPM Reader FF just flagged this article in today’s Oregonian. According to the article, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) was at a Republican conference defending his changed position on Iraq and specifically his opposition to the ’surge’. And in the course of defending himself he said that even Gen. Patraeus says the plan has only a one in four chance of success.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..012771.php

next?

Among the items that could be next, how about this?
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/…..w-orleans/

gah!

WASHINGTON – In a move that has surprised many foreign policy analysts here, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed a prominent neo-conservative hawk and leading champion of the Iraq war to the post of State Department Counselor.

Eliot A. Cohen, who teaches military history at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) here and has also served on the Pentagon’s Defence Policy Board (DPB) since 2001, will take up the position next month that was left vacant late last year by Rice’s long-time confidant and “realist” thinker, Philip Zelikow.

A close friend and protege of former Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz and advisory board member of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Cohen most recently led the harsh neo-conservative attack on the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG), co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton.

Like his fellow-neo-cons, he was particularly scathing about its recommendations for Washington to directly engage Syria and Iran and revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process — recommendations which Rice herself has explicitly endorsed in the last few weeks.

http://www.commondreams.org/he…..303-02.htm

Argh, Stephen Parrish!

Good Morning to Everyone! Just coming out of my usual lurk mode for a few minutes to tell you all that you are a fabulous, brilliant, group of people, bloggers and commenters, all. And, Christy, thank you for the wonderful bluebird photo. A promise of spring on a crystal cold,sunny day (crystal cold is when the sun reflects off the snow and makes the sky seem more blue).

Here’s one thing on my mind today: I just read this:
http://news.com.com/Justice Department takes aim at image-sharing sites/2100-1028_3-6163679.html?tag=nefd.lede Apparently the DOJ wants two years worth of data from all image sites to help track child porn and terrorists. Our hardworking AG has been so busy lobbying congress for mandatory data retention that he hasn’t had time to stop in to answer some questions about why he fired competent prosecutors who were doing their jobs. That’s our AG, working hard for the American people. Aaaarrrrggghhh! No. He. Cannot. Have. This. Power. Or can he?

“And last month, Republicans introduced a mandatory data retention bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would let the attorney general dictate what must be stored and for how long.” No D and no R with a conscience could possibly support this legislation, yes? We have more work to do.

I recommend the article. And I wish everyone a great day!

FRanco @ 127

Lindsay THE WHINER Graham…just dronnnnnnnnned
on to pumpkin head……about the terruhrists follwin us here…..They never will give that BOGUS line up will they?

How exactly are people fighting for control of their country in a civil war on the other side of the world going to come over here after us? Don’t they have more pressing things to do then chase us over here?

And, dear Lindsey Graham, why is it better for us to inject over 150,000 American troops in the middle of the Iraqi civil war (which we basically allowed to happen) than to leave? Are you saying it’s better to put our under-equipped military in harm’s way than to protect our homeland at HOME? Graham, the Bush policy is “put our soldiers in danger there, so we can leave our people unprotected here.”

wrote the beef board this morning – not only time to howl to the congress critters, but the cattlmen need to know this decision on the antibiotics is completely unacceptable…

what a bunch of nitwits…

Adie @
92

Morning everyone.

Love the bluebird! Ours visit off & on all winter (ne OH). Really brightens the dreariest day. I wonder if your guy in the picture eats some of the goodies there. Isn’t that sumac? Who else from the Lake has made sumac tea in the summer?

Thanks for the warning in re talkies today Christy. The telly stays dormant in this household today. I’ll take the tip & enjoy my mind’s-eye view of that Murtha & Hucklephobe greenroom kerfuffle.

We’re gonna grow old in a hurry, waiting for any mainstream repugs to come clean about their real feelings. I’ve been tracking my way thru the wilderness almost 7 yrs now, simply following the crumb trail of roverian talking points. You’d think they’d be dreadfully, mortally ashamed. Moribund, maybe, but never admitting their complicity in perpetrating this awful mess.

Oh, that “Gathering Moss” book does sound wonderful. Check it out. Amazon has some customer reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Gatherin…..amp;sr=1-1

Adie: glad you picked it up. I’m reviewing it for my website even as I speak and will have it posted by noon. I post my website just this once for you to refer to, (feralpessinc.com) if you want another review! :)

selisse – the mini-river is a joy, tho tends to flood in the spring.

hesikastor @ 133

Holistic refers to an integrated discipline, which embraces a variety of knowledge fields. Chambers defines holism as the theory that the fundamental principle of the universe is the creation of wholes, i.e. complete and self-contained systems from the atom and the cell by evolution to the most complex forms of life and mind. Those guys who “did” science back in the 18 and 19 centuries did a good job but in a way, they did what Bach did to music: they forced it into a strait-jacket! Belay that – a bunch of narrow and separate strait-jackets!

Yeah, I’m familiar with the general concept of holism, in fact as I commented earlier I’m fascinated by it. I just didn’t know specifically how it applies to medicine in regards to jeff’s question. But I saw your response to him.

I agree that traditionally science has been dominated by analysis, and only recently has synthesis played a more important role. Some of the holistic science books I’ve read are The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas, The Ages of Gaia by James Lovelock and The Symbiotic Universe by George Greenstein.

LandOfTheFree @ 141
How exactly are people fighting for control of their country in a civil war on the other side of the world going to come over here after us? Don’t they have more pressing things to do then chase us over here?

And, dear Lindsey Graham, why is it better for us to inject over 150,000 American troops in the middle of the Iraqi civil war (which we basically allowed to happen) than to leave? Are you saying it’s better to put our under-equipped military in harm’s way than to protect our homeland at HOME? Graham, the Bush policy is “put our soldiers in danger there, so we can leave our people unprotected here.”

Brilliant – that should be our meme.

Rayne @ 133

i agree there are lots of reasons to go organic where possible. including the market signals it sends.

but not in this case. a market for high priced organic beef isn’t going to stop the mass market from using the antibiotic – and that is what will cause the public health risk.

i think it is really important for people to understand that in this case organic won’t protect us. if we understand the public health nature of this issue, we will understand the need for proper regulation – and have a hope for generating the public pressure that might support the political will to do the right thing.

so long as people think they can protect themselves – they are less likely to push for sane public policy.

and this appears to be a common misperception – i see laura rozen (very smart and well informed) is making the same assumption (that buying organic can protect you).

i wish i was better at explaining it… that whole lack of verbal skills thing again. i’ll keep trying…

The feeling here is that most Americans of Jewish faith and or ancestry in the U.S., and the Israeli people want peace in the Middle East. But the government of Israel, AIPAC and the U.S. government are entirely different matters. Perhaps with different agends, but peace is far from paramount for these guys.

I just realized, I had 3 tabs on my browser with FDL. For a slight moment, I heard Monty Hall asking “Tab #1, Tab #2, or (slight pause) Tab #3″

waving to Apple Canyon2 - good to see you delurking in time for a certain college sporting event,;) can’t recall, are you rooting for those Buckeyes ??
-

“In a move that has surprised many foreign policy analysts here,”

really ? now just who would that be as I was unaware there were “many” in a permanent vegetative state – sweet jeebus !

This just in Domenici apologizes:

Domenici: “I Regret Making That Call and I Apologize”
By Paul Kiel – March 4, 2007, 10:31 AM
A statement just out from Sen. Pete Domenici’s (R-NM) office:

I take this opportunity to comment directly on media statements by former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, David Iglesias.
Since my knowledge of his remarks stems only from a variety of media accounts, I have hesitated to respond. Nevertheless, in light of substantial public interest, I have decided to comment.

I called Mr. Iglesias late last year. My call had been preceded by months of extensive media reports about acknowledged investigations into courthouse construction, including public comments from the FBI that it had completed its work months earlier, and a growing number of inquiries from constituents. I asked Mr. Iglesias if he could tell me what was going on in that investigation and give me an idea of what timeframe we were looking at. It was a very brief conversation, which concluded when I was told that the courthouse investigation would be continuing for a lengthy period.

In retrospect, I regret making that call and I apologize. However, at no time in that conversation or any other conversation with Mr. Iglesias did I ever tell him what course of action I thought he should take on any legal matter. I have never pressured him nor threatened him in any way.

I was pleased to recommend to the President of the United States in early 2001 that he nominate Mr. Iglesias as U.S. Attorney for New Mexico. I knew from many discussions with federal law enforcement and judicial officials that the caseload had become extremely heavy within our state.

During the course of the last six years, that already heavy caseload in our state has been swamped by unresolved new federal cases, especially in the areas of immigration and illegal drugs. I have asked, and my staff has asked, on many occasions whether the federal prosecutors and federal judiciary within our state had enough resources. I have been repeatedly told that we needed more resources. As a result I have introduced a variety of legislative measures, including new courthouse construction monies, to help alleviate the situation.

My conversations with Mr. Iglesias over the years have been almost exclusively about this resource problem and complaints by constituents. He consistently told me that he needed more help, as have many other New Mexicans within the legal community.

My frustration with the U.S. Attorney’s office mounted as we tried to get more resources for it, but public accounts indicated an inability within the office to move more quickly on cases. Indeed, in 2004 and 2005 my staff and I expressed my frustration with the U.S. Attorney’s office to the Justice Department and asked the Department to see if the New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s office needed more help, including perhaps an infusion of professionals from other districts.

This ongoing dialogue and experience led me, several months before my call with Mr. Iglesias, to conclude and recommend to the Department of Justice that New Mexico needed a new United States Attorney.

BTW, Sen. Domenici has admitted his call to Iglesias, but denies it was related to the firing. He is claiming he wanted Iglesias to be canned BEFORE the phone call.

Morning impressions on the fly:

Shorter Lindsay Graham: we must destroy America’s infrastructure, institutions and global integrity to save Iraq….

The Picasso-faced Blanquita Callum on Reliable Sources as apologist for Ann Coulter’s now becoming the Michael Richards of the right. And using the logic she applies to Al Gore’s environmental standards, I’m lookin’ for Dick and Dubya on the front lines in Iraq real soon.

And where is Lynne Cheney’s moral outrage?

Happy Sunday, pups.

Domenici is TOAST…Good Riddance, what a loser!

OldCoastie @
142

wrote the beef board this morning…

OldCoastie — do you live in an area where they raise cattle? If so, write a letter to the editor on this subject. It’ll get to the cattle producers faster.

And be sure to tell them I’m ready to cut out meat. Cholesterol, existing antibiotics and hormones are already reason enough to stop eating meat.

That’s another point of stupidity, this time on the part of Big Pharma. They make nice money selling statins to people whose cholesterol levels are borderline; maybe if those people stopped eating meat, they wouldn’t need the statins. And there are a LOT more statin sales in this portion of the market than there are overall potential sales of lower-margin veterinary antibiotics…

Here’s a link on Domenici
Domineci statement

I pose the question: If it was right to grant Israel a homeland in May, 1948, why is it not right to do the same for the Palestinians now?

egregious @
114

Apple Canyon 2 @ 103

Christy,
My #5 in comment #83 came off kind of stupid.
Thanking you, Jane, Emptywheel, Pach, Swopa “and all the others for working so hard to make FDL my favorite community”
I did not mean it to come off that way as you working so hard to please me, just me.
After lurking for about six months back in 2005, I finally got the courage up to make a comment on Christmas Day.
What I really meant to say was just how much FDL has been my favorite community because of all the caring, compassionate, thoughtful members who contribute to the posts and the comments. Thank you for all you are doing for us.

We remember you. You wrote something incredibly poetic last year. Please write more.

Oh boy, can I relate! My first comment was around the start of THE trial. I made the most stupid misnomer you can imagine. My only comfort was that it was water under the bridge, and lost in the archives. Imagine my horror when a friend asked what Hesikastor meant. Unable to remember my source, I referred them to Google. Every stupid lame comment I’ve made since then lives forever, in glorious html! I resolved not to make another comment, my vow lasted for a whole 10 minutes! And I’m still making them. I just can’t quit!

angie @ 7:56 am -

“Argh!”

Was that your reaction to the ThinkProgress story about New Orleans? *g*

selise @ 146

Rayne @ 133

i agree there are lots of reasons to go organic where possible. including the market signals it sends.

but not in this case. a market for high priced organic beef isn’t going to stop the mass market from using the antibiotic – and that is what will cause the public health risk.

i think it is really important for people to understand that in this case organic won’t protect us. if we understand the public health nature of this issue, we will understand the need for proper regulation – and have a hope for generating the public pressure that might support the political will to do the right thing.

so long as people think they can protect themselves – they are less likely to push for sane public policy.

and this appears to be a common misperception – i see laura rozen (very smart and well informed) is making the same assumption (that buying organic can protect you).

i wish i was better at explaining it… that whole lack of verbal skills thing again. i’ll keep trying…

selise, good luck explaining this to Rayne. I went round and round with her on a similar issue. I tried to explain to her that her personal boycott of walmart would not be effective, that it would have to be part of a large movement that would organize a boycott or better yet to pressure legislators to pass fair trade laws. (Full disclosure– I love her, but she can be hard headed and she’s wrong about this.) :-)

This is part of a more general problem I have with the Left– the tendency to take small symbolic steps that untimately are not very effective.

We need to get our country back from these greedy corporations to stop this kind of thing.

Re: Ann Coulter’s “faggot” reference to John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference

I hope the Republicans continue to give Coulter a platform and she keeps coming up with vintage bigotry of the type seen at the recent CPAC, especially with so many high profile Republicans present both before and after she spoke.
Problem – her remarks have still not been picked up by the MSM which is a pity; there are a number of clips at YouTube; maybe Howard Kurtz will pick it up on Reliable Sources!

I guess St. Pete is gonna have a hard time ’splainin’ how he begged Iglesias to accept piles of money and resources, and Iglesias just kept saying “I have enough. Really. I mean it. We don’t need anything. But thanks for your offer.”

Kathryn in MA @ 144

selisse – the mini-river is a joy, tho tends to flood in the spring.

holy cow!

Oklahoma kiddo @ 157

I pose the question: If it was right to grant Israel a homeland in May, 1948, why is it not right to do the same for the Palestinians now?

silly you, GOD doesn’t want the Palestinians to have that land.

Rayne – I do not live in a beef area but I figured starting a campaign with the beef producers is a good start… I was quite pointed in saying that I was aware that not eating beef would not protect me, but that we would stop eating it anyway… (which we do still eat beef)

I do think pharma is the problem, but the beef producers, with enough pressure, might realize that using the antibiotic is going to cause them financial problems – well, there’s yer bottom line, eh?

Oklahoma kiddo @ 157

I pose the question: If it was right to grant Israel a homeland in May, 1948, why is it not right to do the same for the Palestinians now?

Because, where there is chaos, there is opportunity. And settling the matter would eliminate the chaos. ;-)

Brehz @ 161

Re: Ann Coulter’s “faggot” reference to John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference

I hope the Republicans continue to give Coulter a platform and she keeps coming up with vintage bigotry of the type seen at the recent CPAC, especially with so many high profile Republicans present both before and after she spoke.
Problem – her remarks have still not been picked up by the MSM which is a pity; there are a number of clips at YouTube; maybe Howard Kurtz will pick it up on Reliable Sources!

Howard did indeed. I have mixed feelings about this – on the one hand, I wish the media had reported it to so easily discredit her; on the other, why give her the attention. She is way, way beyond disgusting and the way to get rid of a troll, as we all know, is to ignore it. This horrid creature meets the troll definition up one side and down the other – it deserves not to be fed, I think.

Yep, Stephen.

This nation is going to hell in a handbasket under these thugs.

The only language I can muster at times is cavewoman speak.

If Domenici ever had a fastball, he has lost
it.
Not too long ago he was on Imus and told the same anecdote twice. Since then I have seen him interviewed on several occassions and he was Strommy.

Petey used to vote in my precinct. A couple of years ago, someone (a poll worker) had to go into the booth to help him vote. This is true.

I am out in Seattle doing some preliminary house-hunting, and this Tennessee boy has gotten a serious case of sticker shock. The economy has a lot of weaknesses, but Seattle housing isn’t one of them.

Brehz – actually saw Big Lipped Blonde™ Alex Twit run with it for about 5 min this morning – slow news day and all

My thought on the Coulter situation… if instead of Edwards and the “faggot” comment, it had been Obama and a racial slur (with the cheering crowd behind that comment)… would that have been reported? I’d bet it would have been…

the silence from the media, in and of itself, is its own form of homophobia…

If we didn’t leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind us the terrorists would never follow us here.

Karthryn in MA 146: thanks. I actually don’t believe we’re in terrible danger here in the US at all. I guess maybe a better way of wording it would be: the Bush administration’s policy is to put our soldiers in danger there, so we can leave our borders unprotected here. That is definitely a true statement – the 9/11 commission showed that our borders are seriously undermanned and underprotected. We are vulnerable in the event of an attack, and I wouldn’t believe in a minute that people with a rifle in their Baghdad home are going to jump on a plane and attack us here.

I’m starting to get really spittin’ mad as I listen to Graham blather on. He says “how long did it take to win World War 2?” (um, we were involved in it for a shorter period of time than we have been in Iraq, and you are comparing a serious world war with many countries with large armies fighting each other with our occupation of a single nation – apples & oranges, buddy). Then, he has the gall to say that those who want to end the Iraq war are responding to polls and are responding to the politically expedient thing to do at the moment. Um – you don’t think there are political reasons for people sticking with a war strategy that is proven to not work? You actually want us to believe that you and your other colleagues who cheerlead for this ill-planned, horrifically managed war that is getting more people killed every day are not mostly concerned about saving face?

We know you are such cowards that you do not want to admit you have supported a President who created a war out of false pretenses, pretended it was going swimmingly, lied while they decimated the constitution/violated international law/committed human atrocities, and indeed created an ignition for anti-American terrorism around the world. We know you, Senator Graham, and other Republican leaders like you are cowards because you’d rather sacrifice more lives than admit you were wrong – you were dead wrong, time and again. That is the most self-serving, unpatriotic, inhumane and politically motivated excuse for continuing this madness. The word “pathetic” doesn’t even come close to describing you.

I’m going out for a cappuccino before I start throwing things at the teevee.

angie @ 168

Yep, Stephen.

This nation is going to hell in a handbasket under these thugs.

The only language I can muster at times is cavewoman speak.

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer testimony before the Judiciary Committee:

“I do not know of this “Unitary Exectutive theory”. All I know is this administration is GUILY!”

Riesz Fischer @ 160

selise @ 146

Rayne @ 133

i agree there are lots of reasons to go organic where possible. including the market signals it sends.

but not in this case. a market for high priced organic beef isn’t going to stop the mass market from using the antibiotic – and that is what will cause the public health risk.

i think it is really important for people to understand that in this case organic won’t protect us. if we understand the public health nature of this issue, we will understand the need for proper regulation – and have a hope for generating the public pressure that might support the political will to do the right thing.

so long as people think they can protect themselves – they are less likely to push for sane public policy.

and this appears to be a common misperception – i see laura rozen (very smart and well informed) is making the same assumption (that buying organic can protect you).

i wish i was better at explaining it… that whole lack of verbal skills thing again. i’ll keep trying…

selise, good luck explaining this to Rayne. I went round and round with her on a similar issue. I tried to explain to her that her personal boycott of walmart would not be effective, that it would have to be part of a large movement that would organize a boycott or better yet to pressure legislators to pass fair trade laws. (Full disclosure– I love her, but she can be hard headed and she’s wrong about this.) :-)

This is part of a more general problem I have with the Left– the tendency to take small symbolic steps that untimately are not very effective.

We need to get our country back from these greedy corporations to stop this kind of thing.

Are you saying that we can’t simply “vote with our pocketbooks”, unleashing the miracle of free enterprise, and trust the unseen hand to protect us? Are you really calling for governmental interference in the free market? What are you, some kind of liberal?

I’m going out for a cappuccino before I start throwing things at the teevee

oh but then you’ll miss Pumpkinhead pressing Huckleberry about submitting false statements to SCOTUS, removing Habeus Corpus, approving torture, defining “winning” – oh wait, hold on, I’ll have a caramel macchiatto!

selise @ 147

Rayne @ 133i agree there are lots of reasons to go organic where possible. including the market signals it sends.

Oh, I agree with you, I don’t think I made that clear enough; as I indicated before, the first line of risk will be entering the hospital, where the risk of getting MRSA infections is already quite high.

But our immediate family’s risk of going to the hospital for treatment is relatively low right now (knock on wood). Keeping them from being exposed to the antibiotic in question means that for a short period (and I’m aware it’s very short) we may be able to defer the risk of MRSA exposure, reducing it to “background” levels until the rest of the environment has become contaminated with the new strain of more resistant bacteria. It allows my family to have one more weapon in the antibiotic arsenal of treatment for a short period of time (there’s less than 4 or 5 drug therapies right now for treatment, aren’t there? I’d like to stay closer to 5 for as long as we can, even if it’s only a year).

I think OldCoastie has made the right first move, that we need to get to meat producers and tell them this is an economically bad move for them, to keep them from seeking the drug to begin with. Going organic immediately sends a financial signal that reinforces our message.

We need to get to large animal vets to tell them they need to serve the public interest by not prescribing the drug if it is approved, or by encouraging them to adopt a professional position that this drug will not be prescribed.

And we need to go to war on the FDA at the same time.

Believe me, I’m already up in arms right now about the CDC and Gardasil; I’m ready to take it to the FDA, too.

You know, selise, this might be a topic you could write about for FDL…

I have seen coverage of Ann’s remarks on CNN & MSNBS. Sen.Graham is so yesterday even my Bush & FOX loving neighbor has a DUMP THE GOOBER w/ pic on his truck.

“Yep, just another morning with a lot of folks who live in the Beltway Bubble. How is your Sunday going?”

LOL. well 90% of the people in my company still have their jobs (though now with pay cuts). I am among the 10% that got RIF’d Thursday (with one day’s notice) because of Medicare contract funding cutbacks. My wife is having to lay off perhaps 10% of her staff too, as part of a ~10% RIF in her company because of federal contract cutbacks (environmental remediation). Those McYachts owners will just have to put up with sailing through increasingly dirty and smelly water, I guess.
_

Prairie Sunshine @ 152

Morning impressions on the fly:

Shorter Lindsay Graham: we must destroy America’s infrastructure, institutions and global integrity to save Iraq….

Well said… especially when you see the latest local NOLA assessment (see Thinkprogress today).

We’re sending our under-armed soldiers there so we can leave our borders unprotected here.

We’re sending hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars there, so we can let our people languish in FEMA trailers here.

Rayne – I also think getting a hold of the meat buyers for stores like Kroeger and pointing out this problem might not hurt either…

OT Elizabeth Edwards has made a comment on Ann’s remarks, on their web site. Very dignified Lady

cbl – good morning! I did stay around to the end of the show. Grrrr.

I think I’ll get a caramel macchiato for both of us. Maybe with an extra shot. I’m feeling mighty spunky today… sounds like a letters to Levin, Stabenow and Knollenberg will be pouring out of my keyboard this afternoon!

Riesz Fischer @ 160

selise, good luck explaining this to Rayne. I went round and round with her on a similar issue. I tried to explain to her that her personal boycott of walmart would not be effective, that it would have to be part of a large movement that would organize a boycott or better yet to pressure legislators to pass fair trade laws. (Full disclosure– I love her, but she can be hard headed and she’s wrong about this.) :-)

This is part of a more general problem I have with the Left– the tendency to take small symbolic steps that untimately are not very effective.

We need to get our country back from these greedy corporations to stop this kind of thing.

i might have missed the walmart discussion – but if i understand it correctly, i agree with BOTH of you.

a few individuals boycotting walmart are not going to change walmart’s behavior. but, if we spend that money someplace that does treat it’s workers decently – then we’ve helped (a very little bit) support those workers and more reasonable business model.

while i agree that your suggestions for alternative, more effective actions would be preferable (especially rethinking our definition of what is a corporation)… in the mean time, i’m going to try to avoid walmart and spend what little money i have elsewhere. ;-)

Far too many politicians (in both parties) are owned by certain lobbyists. It would seem, until this issue is forthrightly resolved, we cannot expect, generally speaking, ‘good government’. Whatever that is.

cbl,
Good morning and so nice to “see” you too.
Actually, I live in Ill. just 6 miles from the Wisconsin line. Wisconsin is my favorite having done a lot of graduate work in that state.
Bo Ryan, the coach led UW-Platteville to three national titles in Div. III, before moving on to UW-Madison.
Coached Varsity Basketball for 14 years before I got smart enough to sit back and just enjoy watching the game from a spectator perspective.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 187

Far too many politicians (in both parties) are owned by certain lobbyists. It would seem, until this issue is forthrightly resolved, we cannot expect, generally speaking, ‘good government’. Whatever that is.

yep.

and for more on the odious FDA and bushco:

WASHINGTON – The federal agency that’s been front and center in warning the public about tainted spinach and contaminated peanut butter is conducting just half the food safety inspections it did three years ago.

The cuts by the Food and Drug Administration come despite a barrage of high-profile food recalls.

“We have a food safety crisis on the horizon,” said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.

Between 2003 and 2006, FDA food safety inspections dropped 47 percent, according to a database analysis of federal records by the Associated Press.

That’s not all that’s dropping at the FDA in terms of food safety. The analysis also shows there are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.

And safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency’s own statistics.

http://www.heraldnet.com/stori…..ood001.cfm

AppleCanyon2 – Go Badgers! am thinking we can multi task during the men’s Tournament with our new Gabbly toy – stay tuned ;)

Riesz Fischer @ 160

Riesz, I am hard-headed, I admit that. But I never advocated a single approach to Walmart.

The best way to deal at a personal level with Walmart is not to shop there, and be vocal about it. Their financials show that it does hurt. The average American who is not already a hard-core activist has to start somewhere.

The next best way is to encourage development of small businesses while discouraging big box retailers as part of local communtiy development boards. Again, it shows in the financials; they can’t expand their earnings potential.

The next best way to deal with Walmart — and every single corporation like them — is to ensure that a government is elected that truly represents the interests of the people, from legislators who create laws protecting the public, to judiciary that do not interpret the rights of corporations as being greater than citizens (who can actually vote), to the executive office where policy is established that should represent the interests of the people.

And then demanding prosecution of violations of the law to the fullest extent possible, suing them where necessary. It will be showing up in their financials, provided that suits like the female employees’ class action against Walmart is successful — but that depends a lot on the judiciary.

There is no one solution. Just as there will be no one solution to the mess with the FDA.

The FDA will NOT be fixed until we elect a president who makes strong and highly qualified appointments to that department, until we elect a Senate that will approve only the best appointments.

And there is one more item that underlies all these problems, whether Walmart’s overreach or FDA’s malignancy: campaign reform. Corporate monies should be removed from the election process altogether. We may have to replace more than half of Congress to effect this change; it’s simply not going to happen fast enough.

Rayne @ 179

Keeping them from being exposed to the antibiotic in question means that for a short period (and I’m aware it’s very short) we may be able to defer the risk of MRSA exposure, reducing it to “background” levels until the rest of the environment has become contaminated with the new strain of more resistant bacteria. It allows my family to have one more weapon in the antibiotic arsenal of treatment for a short period of time

this might be where we are talking past eachother. i don’t think that avoiding personal exposure to the antibiotic via beef consumption (if indeed that happens?) is, in any way, going to defer the risk of exposure to a resistant bacteria. are you possibly talking about exposure to resistant bacteria via beef consumption?

You know, selise, this might be a topic you could write about for FDL…

hah! i’d have to learn to write first!

Rayne @
179

Oh, I agree with you, I don’t think I made that clear enough; as I indicated before, the first line of risk will be entering the hospital, where the risk of getting MRSA infections is already quite high.

But our immediate family’s risk of going to the hospital for treatment is relatively low right now (knock on wood). Keeping them from being exposed to the antibiotic in question means that for a short period (and I’m aware it’s very short) we may be able to defer the risk of MRSA exposure, reducing it to “background” levels until the rest of the environment has become contaminated with the new strain of more resistant bacteria. It allows my family to have one more weapon in the antibiotic arsenal of treatment for a short period of time (there’s less than 4 or 5 drug therapies right now for treatment, aren’t there? I’d like to stay closer to 5 for as long as we can, even if it’s only a year).

It’s not just in hospitals any more. The CDC has a FAQ on “Community-Associated MRSA”:

Community-Associated MRSA Information for the Public

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received inquiries about infections with antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]) among persons who have no apparent contact with the healthcare system. This fact sheet addresses some of the most frequently asked questions.

Rayne@191: And there is one more item that underlies all these problems, whether Walmart’s overreach or FDA’s malignancy: campaign reform. Corporate monies should be removed from the election process altogether. We may have to replace more than half of Congress to effect this change; it’s simply not going to happen fast enough.

Yeah, that’s the crux of the issue. And I have to admit I feel pretty pessimistic about campaign finance reform. I keep hoping that if the Republic Party screws things up bad enough we’ll see a big swing to the left, like in the 60s.

Well, I have to go for a run. Later all.

And safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency’s own statistics.

probably worse than that in that I’ve long worried that this may contain language protecting the food industry from liabilities other than obesity -

The Cheeseburger Bill

OldCoastie @
173

My thought on the Coulter situation… if instead of Edwards and the “faggot” comment, it had been Obama and a racial slur (with the cheering crowd behind that comment)… would that have been reported? I’d bet it would have been…

the silence from the media, in and of itself, is its own form of homophobia…

I understand what you are saying, but a racial slur directed toward Obama would be an outrageous insult toward Obama’s reality. Someone who would do that needs to have his/her ass burned.

There is no reason to assume Edwards is a homosexual, so to use the slur she used against him is an exercise in insulting an imaginary specter for no other purpose than gaining attention/headlines.

I agree the former would deserve wide attention. I’m not so sure about the latter; it still seems to me to be feeding a troll.

That said, Ann Coulter is a disgusting thing, not even human. She is the lowest form of public figure/troll that I can imagine. And she/it only got that way because the media – and the public – fed her/it.

selise @ 192

…are you possibly talking about exposure to resistant bacteria via beef consumption?

Yes. As soon as the drug is used, the bacteria will become resistent. It will take some time for the resistent bacteria to become distributed in the environment as well. It’s this time lag between the point where the new strain of bacteria enters the commercial food chain and the point at which the bacteria becomes widespread in the environment where I have to do what is in the best interest of my family.

If my family is exposed to the resistent bacteria through eating the meat — perhaps as soon as a month after the approval by the FDA — we’ve lost that same antibiotic as a therapy at that point.

If my family can avoid the resistent bacteria until it is more common in the environment, we’ll have that one drug in the arsenal for that period of time, even if it is only a matter of months.

But this is a decision that I have to make for my family; it is not an adequate long-term solution for all of the U.S. There is simply not enough organic meat production, and once the antibiotic is approved, even organic meat is compromised by environmental exposure over time. And that is the point you are trying to make — that eventually the whole environment is exposed to this resistent bacteria.

Maybe a scare campaign about flesh eating bacteria that cannot be stopped by any drug would be effective right about now…it’s not as if these infections aren’t already out there, but they could become even more commonplace.

A novel I read once, Regrets Only, was remarkable for the exposure of Washington elite culture, admittedly Regan era. Totally gossip and appearances.
The panelists such as Mara Liasson (NPR- P for ‘public’) shock and disaapoint at every show. Today was the statement that the CIA has lost credibility due to the faulty WMD intel on Iraq. Now how can she be so clueless?
I’ve concluded their sources are (1) gossip, (2) more gossip, and (3) other columnists who rely on gossip. I don’t think these people ever read a book unless it’s by one of their close cronies.
What do you all think?
Sorry I didn’t read all of the prior thread- forgive me for going off topic?

I’m telling ya’ – write you beef buyer at your local grocery – one of them has more influence than 10,000 of us…

If we leave Iraq, the terrorists will follow us to America.

Apparently they lost the directions they used on 9/11.

-GSD

PatVa – the offense is equal – doesn’t matter if Edwards is homosexual or not…

flip those words around and that’s just how shocking it is…

You can have your bluebirds, Christy – I can’t wait to see indigo buntings again!

hesikastor at 143

just caught up with your website (left 1st to pretend to be a good girl & xrcise a bit, heh).

spent some lovely minutes travelling around your lovely site, & plan to revisit. Thanks!

had to laugh at some things. You remember where Manhasset is, from your earlier years before you found that beautiful NC mt-top? Grew up there. Fraid I couldn’t stand the place. whole family of happy suburbanites, cept me. I kept running away to the nearest woods, just to be me.

another chuckle from your review of the moss-lady standing in her river talking to the rocks. That’s us, ‘cept that it was furred & feathered critters that drew most attn. call us crazy. but my honey has launched a whole new generation of rabid birders upon this earth. That’s a good thing, especially knowing we do our best to promote respect for the land & other species & folk along the way.

My honey & I inhabit a little spot of relatively undisturbed space (thanks to our conservation easement – quiet enuf to host nesting Cooper’s Hawks, Barred Owls & the like, along w/ the usual peeps) right in the midst of bustling burbia of OH, sigh. But we escape even from that, when we can. Envy you your mt. retreat.

Do you still dance? How wonderful. We have lotsa music in our world (even hatched a pro oboe & serious tuba/composer-type); also enjoy dance, but from a safe distance, lest we tangle our feet unduly in the process.

Thanks for the visit. You brightened my day considerably! ;->

RT @ 202

You can have your bluebirds, Christy – I can’t wait to see indigo buntings again!

call me greedy. I’ll have a healthy dose of BOTH thanks! ;->

RT,

I’ll see your Indigo,and raise you two painteds !

Adie @
203

hesikastor at 143

just caught up with your website (left 1st to pretend to be a good girl & xrcise a bit, heh).

spent some lovely minutes travelling around your lovely site, & plan to revisit. Thanks!

had to laugh at some things. You remember where Manhasset is, from your earlier years before you found that beautiful NC mt-top? Grew up there. Fraid I couldn’t stand the place. whole family of happy suburbanites, cept me. I kept running away to the nearest woods, just to be me.

another chuckle from your review of the moss-lady standing in her river talking to the rocks. That’s us, ‘cept that it was furred & feathered critters that drew most attn. call us crazy. but my honey has launched a whole new generation of rabid birders upon this earth. That’s a good thing, especially knowing we do our best to promote respect for the land & other species & folk along the way.

My honey & I inhabit a little spot of relatively undisturbed space (thanks to our conservation easement – quiet enuf to host nesting Cooper’s Hawks, Barred Owls & the like, along w/ the usual peeps) right in the midst of bustling burbia of OH, sigh. But we escape even from that, when we can. Envy you your mt. retreat.

Do you still dance? How wonderful. We have lotsa music in our world (even hatched a pro oboe & serious tuba/composer-type); also enjoy dance, but from a safe distance, lest we tangle our feet unduly in the process.

Thanks for the visit. You brightened my day considerably! ;->

Adie – We were in Glen Cove. It was hell. I built 2 ponds. Birds? Name ‘em. Plus racoons, back several generations. Glad you found your Windy Mountain. Stay in touch!

This about sums up our problem here in the good ol’ US of A

The clocks are disappearing from the nation’s post offices.

It’s no conspiracy or science fiction-inspired mystery, but a quietly executed program by the U.S. Postal Service to take down all timepieces from retail areas of the country’s 37,000 post offices.

“Well, they’ve been removed,” confirmed Stephen Seewoester, a Dallas spokesman for the Postal Service, which is an independent agency of the federal government’s executive branch. “We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock.”
there’s more

Post offices hide their clocks

This is NOT effective problem solving.

This thread is probably done but what a Sunday morning! 5 a.m-ish and Christy opens the doors. Give all these entries audible voice and what a wonderful gathering in the room of different people all talking about so many different things!

You gotta love it.

Marcy has a Judge Walton Memo thread going just in case you are interested.
http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..n/#respond

Riesz Fischer @ 194

I’m going to point out, Riesz, hoping that you’re going to check in here later, that I don’t rely solely on boycotting Walmart. I spent an average of 30 hours a week last year working on getting progressives elected to office, the kind of folks who see Walmart our way. But not everybody can do that; they have to start where they are.

wigwam @ 193

The average American is more likely to get exposed to a drug-resistent MRSA infection in the hospital than anywhere else. That statistic is changing, but for now, I’d rather avoid the hospital. (Community-acquired MRSA’s are different from hospital-acquired MRSA’s; the community-type are those that have largely developed in response to antibacterial products used in the home, while hospital-acquired are those that are more likely antibiotic resistent. Give me the former over the latter if I have to have one…)

My mother is an ER nurse, has been in the healthcare profession for more than 40-plus years. She is terrified of hospital-acquired MRSA’s and knows the odds of getting one there are incredibly high. Cripes, we’ve had a conversation about this very topic within the last month when she was indulging in shop talk-venting especially about the new strains showing up in vets from Iraq.

It’s this kind of stuff that makes me wonder if the FDA and the CDC ever talk at all about shared goals.

OldCoastie @ 201

PatVa – the offense is equal – doesn’t matter if Edwards is homosexual or not…

flip those words around and that’s just how shocking it is…

As I said, I don’t disagree with you and I did flip those words around to get to where I got.

My point is that Ann Coulter is looking for attention/headlines and when she goes waaay outside of the world of reality, maybe she should be ignored.

If Edwards were gay, in no way would I say ignore this. Just as if she insulted Obama regarding his heritage, I would say go after it, full-speed ahead.

The only point I am trying to make is that this Coulter-creature wasn’t saying anything that was the slightest bit credible to ANYONE about Edwards, she was saying “look at me, I’m important and can make headlines by being ridiculously outrageous” yet again, and as long as we fall for that, troll that she is, she won’t go away.

I do understand, Pat and I do agree that she is seeking attention… I think it is just very easy to dismiss the offense because we are rather immune to the insult…

applying the same concept, imagine the uproar if she had used some similarly offensive term for female and Hillary (and she will), it’s beyond crass – for some reason, I think we can see that more clearly in the Obama example.

christy, you wrote:

…to be fair to Graham

no reason to be fair to the constitutional traitor who rewrote the military authorization bill allowing bush to use habeas for toilet paper.

why, it’s even called the graham amendment.

Rayne @
210

Riesz Fischer @ 194

I’m going to point out, Riesz, hoping that you’re going to check in here later, that I don’t rely solely on boycotting Walmart. I spent an average of 30 hours a week last year working on getting progressives elected to office, the kind of folks who see Walmart our way. But not everybody can do that; they have to start where they are.

That’s what it takes. BTW, when I said you’re hard headed I meant it as a compliment. :-)

EPU’d Christy – I don’t know what to make of it but my valley has been full of bluebirds this winter. Such a beautiful bird and they must be fairly smart because I don’t think my cat has caught one yet.

Thanks for walking through the mud with the Sunday lineup. It’s so important to keep an eye on this weekly travesty. I have not been able to do it since Russert testified.

bookwoman @ 25

I jokingly said to my husband (who faithfully watches the Sunday lineup no matter what, poor fellow)…”I wonder if Lieberman will be on one of the shows this am, and guess what? Son of a gun..there he is with Carl Levin who just last week referred to Joe as a Democrat. I wrote Senator Levin to set the record straight, once again. And yet, here we are having to be subjected to Holy Joe against our will. When does this man of little principle finally get marginalized?

I’m an newbie commenter. Also have cranky cardinals that keep me in line. I get really honked when Joe is on the news taking the place of a real Democrat, forcing me to change channels. It’s hard enough living in Texas now that Ann and Molly and the relief they brought are gone, without seeing Joe in Demcratic Drag on TV!!