The WAWG Blog

Terrorists Plant Bombs in New York City: What Can We Learn? – Four men arrested for planting bombs at a New York synagogue and Jewish community center also wanted to use surface-to-air missiles to fire at U.S. military planes, said a criminal complaint filed this week in White Plains, New York. The charges are based on information from an FBI informant, with whom the men met as they plotted to carry out their attacks, authorities said. The bombs had been made by FBI technicians. They were totally inert; no one was ever at risk or in danger of being injured. Three of them are U.S. citizens and one is a Haitian, the FBI said. One of the suspects allegedly said his parents live in Afghanistan, that he was angry over the U.S. war there, and that he was interested “doing something to America.”

Let’s review. In this actual case of an attempted terrorist act:

• Three of the suspects were American citizens (They didn’t sneak in to our country).
• At least one was motivated to commit a terrorist act because of U.S. actions.
• They were apprehended using law enforcement techniques (not military).
• No torture or abuse was needed to obtain information.
• The Obama administration’s FBI kept us safe.

Alberto Gonzales Approved ‘Borderline Torture’ Months Before ‘Torture Memos’ Were Issued: Report – Months before the first “torture memo” was issued by Bush administration lawyers in 2002, Alberto Gonzales – then White House counsel – personally approved “borderline torture” techniques used on Abu Zubaydah, according to a new report.

An anonymous source told NPR that in April and May of 2002 CIA contractor James Mitchell sought approval on a daily basis for so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” via top-secret cables to the CIA’s counterterrorism center. The CIA forwarded those cables to the White House, and Gonzales would approve the technique.

Oil and Gasoline Supply Up, Demand Down, But Prices Up: What Gives? – Oil and gasoline prices are rising fast as Memorial Day weekend approaches, but not because supplies are tight or demand is high. U.S. crude oil inventories are at their highest levels in almost two decades, and demand has fallen to a 10-year low, but crude oil prices have climbed more than 70 percent since mid-January to a six-month high of $62.04 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, although refiners are operating at less than 85 percent of capacity, leaving them plenty of room to churn out more gasoline if demand rises during the summer driving season, the price of gasoline at the pump has climbed 28 cents a gallon from a month earlier to $2.33.

This time, Wall Street speculators – some of them recipients of billions of dollars in taxpayers’ bailout money – may be to blame. Big Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley and others are able to sidestep the regulations that limit investments in commodities such as oil, and they’re investing on behalf of pension funds, endowments, hedge funds and other big institutional investors, in part as a hedge against rising inflation.

John Boehner Admits the CIA Lied to Pete Hoekstra – On The Situation Room John Boehner again calls for Nancy Pelosi to apologize for her statement that the CIA lied to her. When Boehner is asked about Pete Hoekstra’s similar claims that the CIA lied to him, he says it’s true, but somehow it’s different. What’s different? Oh, yes, Hoekstra’s a Republican. That makes it ok.

Banks Using Life Insurance Policies on Low-Level Employees to Fund Executive Bonuses – Banks are using a little-known tactic to help pay bonuses, deferred pay and pensions they owe executives: They’re holding life-insurance policies on hundreds of thousands of their workers, with themselves as the beneficiaries. Banks took out much of this life insurance during the mortgage bubble, when executives’ pay — and the IOUs for their deferred compensation — surged, and banking regulators affirmed the use of life insurance as a way to finance executive pay and benefits.

The Rich Give to Charity at Only Half the Rate as the Poor – The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest survey of consumer expenditure found that the poorest fifth of America’s households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations in 2007. The richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent.

tePolice Asset Forfeiture Programs Breed Corruptionxt – Under civil asset forfeiture, police can seize money or property upon “probable cause” that it was connected to a crime. The onus then falls on the owner to prove innocence. Police departments use the proceeds to help fund their budgets.

“Probable cause” can include the mere fact of carrying a large amount of cash, or a police dog’s sniff of drug residue on your property. One may have a legitimate reason for carrying the cash, and the residue may have been left over from the previous owner. It doesn’t matter. The police can seize your property to enrich their departments, and it’s often too risky and expensive for you to fight for its return.

Civil asset forfeiture breeds corruption. Last month, a South Tucson, AZ, cop who ran his department’s asset forfeiture program was convicted of stealing over $560,000 from it.

This month, the cop who handles asset forfeiture funds in Spring Lake, NC, was arrested for stealing $2,900. Another cop was arrested for having seized the money in a hotel room under false pretenses.

Regards,

Jim

Mr. President,

There was an exclusive news report on MSNBC tonight. The main point was that instead of reemphasizing what you have said in public about letting the Justice Department decide about prosecuting wrong doings of the previous administration, you instead said, in a private meeting today, that this issue is settled. You did not repeat that it’s up to your Attorney General. This, and other Bush leaning actions worry me and here’s why.

The Lucifer Effect documents how “bad barrels” produce “bad apples.” How one’s environment changes who you are. How good people come to do bad things. (Think Abu Ghraib and The Stanford Prison Experiment.)

I think that “inside the beltway” represents the bad barrel of the country and that the longer one is inside that beltway, the greater the chance that a good man will be adversely affected.

Please recognize the threat of the bad barrel and keep true to your heart and we the people. Keep empathy in the fore and help the country relearn that the government is here to protect and empower all of us – not just the mega rich.

By the way, it also sounds like we are losing the healthcare battle in the Senate to profit.

Thank you for taking on this tough job in these bad times!

Don McLeroy Nominated as Chair of the Texas State Board of Education – Earlier today at a surprise meeting, the Senate Nominations Committee voted to send the nomination of Don McLeroy, R-College Station, to the full Senate for confirmation as State Board of Education (SBOE) chair. This sets up a major showdown on the floor of the Texas Senate, likely next Monday or Tuesday.

Gov. Perry appointed McLeroy board chairman in July 2007. Since then, the board has turned debates over language arts and science curriculum standards into “culture war” battlegrounds. Chairman McLeroy has also endorsed a book that says parents who want to teach children about evolution are “monsters” and call clergy who see no conflict between faith and science “morons.” This spring McLeroy led other creationists on the state board in adopting new science curriculum standards that call the scientific consensus on evolution into question and even drop references to the age of the universe.

And if you need another reason why McLeroy is unqualified to be board chair, click here to watch this short video of McLeroy wildly declaring, “I disagree with all these experts! Somebody has to stand up to these experts!”

Please take a moment to contact your senator and tell him or her to vote against Don McLeroy as SBOE chair. (Click here to find your senator.)

Though numerous news outlets reported that McLeroy’s nomination was blocked after an embarrassing hearing before the Senate committee last month, it appears a flurry of calls from religious-right pressure groups has reinvigorated McLeroy’s nomination. Many of these groups are claiming that McLeroy is a victim of religious persecution:

“It is hard to believe that in the United States of America, religious discrimination at the level of the Texas Legislature has occurred. Dr. McLeroy is being vilified and condemned because he is a Christian and holds a Biblical worldview of creation.” — E-mail alert dated May 19, 2009

That kind of accusation is both ridiculous and offensive. McLeroy’s nomination is in trouble because the board under his chairmanship has made Texas a national laughingstock. The decision to confirm or deny McLeroy’s appointment is a clear referendum on the outrageous antics of the State Board of Education.

It requires just 11 senators to reject a confirmation. But we need your help to find 11 reasonable senators who believe education policy should not be held hostage to the personal and political agendas of extremists on the state board.

The religious right recognizes the importance of having McLeroy as board chair. If we don’t match their passion and determination, we can expect two more years of “culture war” battles fought on the backs of Texas schoolchildren.

Regards,

Jim

Republican Health Care Plan Lets Patients Choose To Spend Their Own Money – The Republican Party has a deal for you: Under the health care proposal the GOP released Wednesday, you are fully entitled to spend your own money in the free market to purchase health insurance, a chief backer of the plan, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), said Wednesday.

Under the rubric of choice, the plan treats employer-based health insurance as income and taxes a worker’s benefits. If it costs an employer $12,000 to cover your health care, for instance, you’d be responsible to pay taxes on that $12,000 as if it were paid out to you.

To offset the tax, the plan provides a $5,700 tax credit. If a family doesn’t have insurance, that money can be used to buy it. But Burr acknowledged that the credit would be far less than the roughly $12,000 cost of health insurance.

Waterboarding is ‘tip of the iceberg’ According to Military Attorney – A military attorney who represented a now-freed Guantanamo detainee told CNN on Wednesday that waterboarding is only “the tip of the iceberg.” Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Yvonne Bradley said that when her client was first held at a CIA prison in Morocco, “They started this monthly treatment where they would come in with a scalpel or a razor type of instrument and they would slash his genitals, just with small cuts.”

Air Force Fires a 25 Million Dollar Hero Pilot (He’s Gay) – Lieutenant Colonel Victor J. Fehrenbach, a fighter weapons systems officer, has been flying the F-15E Strike Eagle since 1998. He has flown numerous missions against Taliban and al-Qaida targets, including the longest combat mission in his squadron’s history. On that infamous September 11, 2001, Lt. Col. Fehrenbach was handpicked to fly sorties above the nation’s capital. Later he flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has received at least 30 awards and decorations including nine air medals, one of them for heroism, as well as campaign medals for Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He is now a flight instructor in Idaho, where he has passed on his skills to more than 300 future Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force weapons systems officers.

Since 1987, when Fehrenbach entered Notre Dame on a full Air Force ROTC scholarship, the government has invested twenty-five million dollars in training and equipping him to serve his country, which he has done with what anyone would agree was great distinction. He comes from a military family. His father was a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, his mother an Air Force nurse and captain. Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has honored that tradition.

And the Air Force is about to discharge this guy, a virtual poster boy for Air Force recruiting, because he is gay? Someone has to be kidding. This is sheer madness.

Texas Rep. Barton: We Shouldn’t Regulate CO2 Because ‘It’s In Your Coca-Cola’ And ‘You Can’t Regulate God’ – Discussing the bill on C-Span’s Washington Journal this morning, Rep. “Smokey Joe” Barton (R-TX) defended his head-in-the-sand approach to climate change by fundamentally misunderstanding the science, misstating the reality of carbon dioxide emissions, and mocking fuel-efficient cars. Some highlights:

I would also point out that CO2, carbon dioxide, is not a pollutant in any normal definition of the term. … I am creating it as I talk to you. It’s in your Coca-Cola, you’re Dr. Pepper, your Perrier water. It is necessary for human life. It is odorless, colorless, tasteless, does not cause cancer, does not cause asthma.

And something that the Democrat sponsors do not point out, a lot of the CO2 that is created in the United States is naturally created. You can’t regulate God. Not even the Democratic majority in the US Congress can regulate God.

Regards,

Jim

Former Democratic Fund-Raiser Guilty of Campaign Fraud – A former Democratic fund-raiser who contributed to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has been convicted in federal court on four counts of campaign fraud — one for each year from 2004 to 2007. Lev Dassin, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Hsu not only swindled investors out of at least $20 million but, according to the indictment, also told some investors to make campaign contributions to the candidates he supported, and suggested that their investments could be jeopardized if they didn’t do as he asked.
He “also asked victims to contribute to specific candidates for federal office, and then directly reimbursed the victims for their contributions from his fraud proceeds, in violation of federal campaign finance laws,” the indictment said.

When Hsu’s activities came to light, the campaigns of Obama and Clinton — as well as others — either returned his donations or gave them to charity.

More Errors in CIA Records of Briefings – Congressman David Obey (D-WI) has become the latest lawmaker to highlight erroneous information in CIA records. Rep. Obey sent the following letter to CIA Director Leon Panetta on Tuesday:

Dear Director Panetta:

In light of current controversy about CIA briefing practices, I was surprised to learn that the agency erroneously listed an appropriations staffer as being in a key briefing on September 19, 2006, when in fact he was not. The list the agency released entitled “Member Briefings on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs)”, shows that House Appropriations Committee defense appropriations staffer Paul Juola was in that briefing on that date. In fact, Mr. Juola recollects that he walked members to the briefing room, met General Hayden and Mr.Walker, who were the briefers, and was told that he could not attend the briefing. We request that you immediately correct this record.

Sincerely,
David R. Obey

Newt Gingrich Makes False Accusations About Uighurs – Chinese Muslims known as Uighurs, have been detained for more than six years at the American prison at Guantanamo Bay. The Uighurs were picked up by bounty hunters in Afghanistan who sold them to the U.S. military.

Newt Gingrich stated in an op-ed, that ‘[b]y their own admission, Uighurs being held at Guantanamo Bay are members of or associated with the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an al Qaeda-affiliated group designated as a terrorist organization under U.S law.”

No, they have never admitted that, says Abbas, adding that the Uighurs call the claim “baseless, factless slander against them.” Abbas returned from Guantanamo Monday. She now works with the Uighurs’ defense attorneys.

“Why does he hate us so much and say those kinds of things? He doesn’t know us. He should talk to our attorneys if he’s curious about our background,” Abbas relates. “How could he speak in such major media with nothing based in fact? They were very disappointed how Newt Gingrich was linking them to ETIM which they never even heard of the name ETIM until they came to Guantanamo Bay.”

Regards,

Jim

Rumsfeld Sent Bush Top Secret Wartime Memos With Cover Sheets That Mixed Bible Scripture and Battle Photos – Top secret military intelligence briefings prepared by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and often hand-delivered to George W. Bush featured Crusades-like Bible quotes above triumphant photos of the U.S. military effort in Iraq. These cover sheets were the brainchild of Major General Glen Shaffer, a director for intelligence serving both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense.

Many inside the Pentagon, including one Muslim analyst, were offended by the biblical quotes, while others worried that the briefing cover sheets, if leaked, would do serious damage as the U.S. and its allied coalition of mostly Western troops prosecuted a war in an Islamic nation. The Bible quotes adorned the reports in part because Rumsfeld wanted to forge a connection with his boss, George W. Bush. Rumsfeld likely saw the Scriptures as a way of making a personal connection with a president who frequently quoted the Bible.

Additional images of “Worldwide Intelligence Update” cover sheets can be found in the slideshow at the link.

Palin’s Lies to Nowhere About Obama’s Recovery Package – Alaska governor Sarah Palin indicated that she was initially going to veto more than 30 percent–or $288 million–of the stimulus package. Her reasoning was that it “would grow government” and leave the State of Alaska holding the bag for expanded programs two years down the line when the funds ran out. She then floated a proposal to accept the stimulus funding if the legislature agreed to cut state spending, primarily for education, and use the federal money instead–a proposal that was summarily rejected by the Republican leadership in the legislature.

And when push came to shove to fight the stimulus, Palin was nowhere to be seen. The Alaska legislature held 20 public hearings on the recovery bill and discovered that the strings Palin and her economic advisers claimed were attached to the funding were nonexistent. There were no “unfunded mandates.”

Palin also bailed on a scheduled meeting with state lawmakers, and then blamed them for the cancellation, leading Gary Stevens, the state’s Republican Senate President, to essentially call Palin a liar. He vehemently characterized Palin’s account of events surrounding the cancellation as “absolutely false.” Indeed he was so emphatic about it that he used the phrase “absolutely false” twice.

Palin has continued to slide down the slippery slope of hypocrisy. Her last bastion of opposition to the stimulus package is $28.6 million in State Energy Program funding. Palin claims that “Alaska’s vast expanse and differing conditions are not conducive to a federally mandated, universal energy code” and that “one size does not fit all.”

This past week, two state senators–Anchorage Republican Lesil McGuire and Anchorage Democrat Bill Wielechowski–have formally confronted Palin on her position. So has freshman U.S. Senator Mark Begich (the former Democratic mayor of Anchorage) and a host of other community activists from all across the political spectrum.

Several have pointed out that Palin has exaggerated and distorted the federal requirements attached to the energy funding, noting that virtually all Alaska municipal codes already meet federal guidelines and that rural communities with populations of less than 2,500 are exempt. Wielechowski and McGuire asserted in a letter to Palin that “Alaska can meet the requirements for receipt of $28.6 million in State Energy Program stimulus funds through adoption of local energy standards, rather than a statewide energy code.” All 49 other states have accepted the funds.

So much for Palin’s argument of “one size” needing to fit all. It’s yet another of her lies to nowhere.

Obama’s Military Commission Disaster – Candidate Obama told us “[a]s President, I will close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, and adhere to the Geneva Conventions.” But now, President Obama has announced that we are now about to embark on our third attempt at trying terrorism suspects in military commissions–a forum that has been proven not to work at delivering justice that is either swift or fair. Today’s mindboggling announcement promised that the system created by one of the last acts of the 2006 Republican congress–the Military Commissions Act (or MCA)–would be revised by Congress to add procedural safeguards before any trials moved forward.

James Dobson Lies About the Hate-Crimes Bill – James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, said about the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009:

The dangerous bill, awaiting Senate consideration, would create a new class of crimes based on the victim’s “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Those who speak out against homosexuality, including pastors, could face prosecution for “inciting” violence against gay individuals.

No, they wouldn’t. That’s a flat-out lie. Here’s what the bill says:

Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by, the Constitution.

The only “right” that this bill infringes upon is the “right” of violent yahoos to seek out victims based on their perceived status as a member of a minority group and commit criminal acts against them. That’s the right Dobson is defending here.

You also said this about the bill:

Even more concerning, the legislation could create special protection for pedophiles. Democrats voted down an amendment to the bill that would have excluded pedophilia from the definition of “sexual orientation.”

That’s a lie too.

There’s nothing in either the federal legislation, or in any state law, that could credibly be construed as offering protection to pedophiles. In fact, the entire construct — that these laws create “protected classes” — is false to begin with.

But [this] argument appears predicated on the wholly fabricated notion that pedophilia might somehow legally qualify as a “sexual orientation” — which is to say, it rests on the assumption that homosexuality is somehow akin to pedophilia.

We understand it when right-wing politicians and pundits lie about this bill. We’re accustomed to it. It’s what they do.

Regards,

Jim

The title says a lot about where we were going during the few last decades of rule by conservatives without conscience (CWC). It also suggests there is something we can do about it.

What is it about the CWCs that brought us to this point where fixing a wrong is not an option?

These CWCs are more about “me” than “we the people.” If you’re not like them, “you’re on your own.” They love labels and label all those not like them as an enemy. They have so many enemies, they need unrestricted wiretapping to keep an eye on them.

They made the rich the mega rich. They see not just progressive taxes but ANY taxes as evil instead of the foundation for the common good of the nation. They are so into ‘me’ and individual responsibility, they see taxes as theft. It’s mine. How dare your take it for protecting and empowering everyone?

They approved torture but when torture came to light they hid behind those they had put in the “bad barrel” called Abu Ghraib. They’ve lied so many times, and continue to do so, we’ve given up counting.

They are all about staying the course regardless of any evidence to the contrary.

They contribute to or are members of some of the most powerful lobbying groups, such as the NRA, yet they insist that lobbyists have no effect on our ‘individual’ congressmen. They also claim that government makes businesses do stupid things – yeah, like creating credit default swaps.

They need wars and a broken public education system to control the masses. They don’t listen, they tell you what you need to understand and will repeat it as often as necessary. The Noble Lie is a favorite tool. Dick Cheney has finally come out of his undisclosed location to defend the indefensible – over and over.

They have had the empathy beaten out of them by strict fathers and believe unquestioningly in the purity of profit. They are so intent on individual responsibility and discipline, so you’re on your own, and so devoid of empathy, they can’t comprehend that they are affected by many outside forces. For them, systemic causation doesn’t exist.

Some want their religion for all – regardless of freedom of choice. They hold science in low esteem, especially when it conflicts with their beliefs.

They believe in corporate welfare and that they too will become rich, but ‘you deserve what you get’ since you’re not like them. They are not their brother’s keeper. They deplore checks and balances on getting rich, abusing power, rewarding their friends, or limiting ‘their’ individual freedoms like owning guns to protect themselves from those not like them.

They create issues that aren’t: CO2 is not a pollutant. Who said it was? It is, and always has been, a greenhouse gas. Obama’s supreme court nominee is too insert-your-favorite-descriptor. But there is no nominee. Senator Obama “is a Moslem.” How many times does he have to disprove that?

They consider empathy a four-letter-word. But that shouldn’t be a surprise since those without a conscience lack the ability to empathize. Their strict father upbringing ‘beat’ it out of them.

They have Fox Noise, Talk Radio, Christian based law schools, and Rupert Murdoch’s mega media machine to promote their cognitive policy. They know and repeat the daily ‘talking points.’ They love to spread fear with television and emails because they know fearful people will do stupid things – like believe their lies. (These tools of fear, and other high tech tools, were not around in November 1963. What might these tools contribute to now or in the future? See table below.)

And, they are not going away. They were the Loyalists during the American Revolution. They fought to keep slaves during our civil war. Later they wore white robs as they lynched those not like them. Now, a few wear suits in our Congress and governor’s mansions, or claim to be a rich plumber.

John Dean described them this way in Conservatives Without Conscience:

Probably about 20 to 25 percent of the adult American population is so right-wing authoritarian, so scared, so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds. They would march America into a dictatorship and probably feel that things had improved as a result. … And they are so submissive to their leaders that they will believe and do virtually anything they are told. They are not going to let up and they are not going away.

They are a seething threat upon which we must keep a very alert eye. They still have a well established, but floundering, conservative worldview music box that will continue playing their tune. Like a pied piper, they intend to recapture the minds of those who have strayed and add others who have yet to hear their siren.

What to do?

Here’s how George Lakoff puts it in The Political Mind:

Progressives have a lot of tilling to do – and maybe some heavy-duty roto-tilling in conservative soil [soil that has taken over 35 years to prepare.]. It will take time and concerted effort.

Lakoff also provides these suggestions for getting started:

What ever the topic is, bring in the progressive moral vision and what the role of government is. American is about empathy and responsibility: people caring both for themselves and for one another, and acting responsibly on that sense of care Government has two roles: protection and empowerment for all its citizens. Nobody makes it on his own …. And then frame whatever the issue is in these terms. Taxes pay for continued protection and empowerment …

If progressives can stick to these basics, activate empathy in our fellow citizens, and frame issues so that they notice all the protection and empowerment that government affords in their every day lives, then we have a fighting chance that the minds and brains of our countrymen will align once more with the fundamental values and goals of American democracy. We need to say over and over that this is what true patriotism is.

Here are some frames Lakoff suggests to emphasize how the progressive worldview is constructive to our democracy:

America says we are all in the same boat.

America makes the least of us secure.

America says you are safe from government oppression.

America says your personal life is your own.

American stands for liberty.

Until progressives quickly learn that conservatives have perfected their cognitive policy over the previous 40 years, we, as empathetic and responsible citizens, can’t relax and wait for the next election.

Progressives need to develop and promote a progressive cognitive policy to erase the neural connections of the conservative, strict father, conscienceless worldview and reinforce the weakened connections for responsible and empathetic progressive concepts like common wealth for the common good.

Progressives need to emphasize that we are each not just responsible for ourselves but for others – there is no place for “me” in “we the people.” We need to reframe the discussion from government that is big, expensive and wasteful into a discussion of how our government should be protecting and empowering (the common good) all of its citizens – not just the mega rich. We should be emphasizing the need for progressive taxes to build the common wealth and fund the national programs that will protect and empower us: checks and balances, education, Internet, energy independence, reversing climate change caused by consuming fossil fuels and other national infrastructure. We don’t need more tax breaks for the Paris Hilton’s of the world?

How would would we recognize the success of a new progressive cognitive policy?

Here are some guidelines from the last chapter of The Political Mind:

We would understand that our brains evolved for empathy, for cooperation, for connection to each other and to the earth.

We would embrace the fact that empathy is at the heart of American democracy.

We would see how empathy is also at the heart of ecological consciousness.

We would recognize that the two major American modes of political thought – strict and nurturant – exist, but in nonintersecting realms.

Progressive thought would be understood as having as its moral base the politics of empathy, with the responsibility and strength to act on that empathy. The role of government would be seen as protection and empowerment.

Conservative politics would be recognized as being the politics of authority, discipline and obedience: …

It would be understood that conservatives are not going to go away, … The question of whether American politics should be based on empathy or authority will not disappear.

The vital importance of childrearing would be recognized. … Advocates of strict father upbringing – like James Dobson and Dr. Laura – would be recognized as harmful to children.

Privateering would be a recognizable conservative strategy. … Deregulation and privatization would be understood not as the elimination of government, but as a shift from a government with accountability to the public to a government without accountability to the public, from public government with a moral mission (protection and empowerment) to private government with only the mission of maximizing profits.

Health would be seen as a matter of protection, not insurance.

Education would be seen as a matter of empowerment … Teaching to the test would be abandoned, replaced by the teaching to think on one’s own.

The immorality of the vast divide between the ultra-wealthy and the middle and lower classes would be manifest.

For more on what to do, checkout The Rockridge Institute and Cognitive Policy Works. You and also google for other articles by George Lakoff and watch his videos on YouTube.

Cheney First Approved Torture to Tie Iraq, al Qaeda According to Powell Aide – The chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell says that the Bush Administration authorized torture of detainees before even rendering a legal opinion on the practice — and that they sought to torture detainees in an effort to produce intelligence tying Iraq to al Qaeda.

“What I have learned is that as the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April and May of 2002–well before the Justice Department had rendered any legal opinion–its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at pre-empting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qa’ida,” former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson wrote Wednesday evening.

“So furious was this effort that on one particular detainee, even when the interrogation team had reported to Cheney’s office that their detainee “was compliant” (meaning the team recommended no more torture), the VP’s office ordered them to continue the enhanced methods,” Wilkerson added. “The detainee had not revealed any al-Qa’ida-Baghdad contacts yet. This ceased only after Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, under waterboarding in Egypt, “revealed” such contacts. Of course later we learned that al-Libi revealed these contacts only to get the torture to stop.”

“There in fact were no such contacts,” he continued.

The Truth About Richard Bruce Cheney

CIA Admitted Making up Dates of Torture Briefings According to Senator – The former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham, says that the Central Intelligence Agency told him that they had briefed him on the Bush administration’s torture techniques on two dates he was never briefed. Graham’s pronouncement is startling in light of claims by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi contesting the accuracy of the CIA report, and may call into question the veracity of the report as a whole.

“When I asked the CIA what dates was I briefed, they gave me four dates, two in April, two in September of ‘02,” Graham said. “On three of the four occasions, when I consulted my schedule and my notes, it was clear that no briefing took place on that date, and the CIA eventually concurred in that. So their record keeping is a little bit suspect.

“I have no recollection during the briefing that I did receive on September 27 of ‘02 that the issue of waterboarding Zubaydah or other extreme interrogation techniques was discussed,” Graham added, referring to one of the Bush administration’s al Qaeda detainees. “I think I have a pretty good memory and if something as dramatic as that had been discussed at any level of specificity I would not only have remembered it but would have been motivated to do something about it.

Gingrich Calls Pelosi ‘Despicable, Dishonest, Trivial, Dishonorable, Loser, Incompetent’ – In a screed on ABC News Radio Friday, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — or her activities — variations on “liar, despicable, dishonest, vicious, trivial, dishonorable, a loser and incompetent.”

Gingrich said Pelosi “lied to the House” in claiming she wasn’t briefed on the CIA’s harsh interrogation tactics.

No facts to back any of this, just name-calling.

Conservative Talk Show Host Calls Perez Hilton ‘Vile Sodomite’ – Conservative Sirius radio host who was guest hosting for the popular right-wing radio program the “Mark Levin Show” opened a wide-ranging attack Tuesday night on popular blogger Perez Hilton and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. It was a particularly malicious tirade even as tirades go.

Perez Hilton, who I am now terming a vile sodomite . . . yeah, Perez, you’re a vile sodomite – doesn’t that word have a ring to it – sodomite — and vile – vile sodomite – it just sounds so good to hear in my headphones – vile sodomite . . . . I’m not sure whose idea it was to have an overweight homosexual . . . What do gays constitute? They could announce the cure for AIDS on Logo and nobody would know for two weeks . . . And again, Perez Hilton, you’re a vile sodomite . . . and then this vile sodomite . . .

You, the idiot taxpayer, are paying the salary of that nice little boy, Rachel Maddow . . . Keith Olbermann’s nephew, Rachel Maddow . . . .

No facts to back any of this, just name-calling.

Congressional Leaders Inadvertently Expose Israeli Lobbyists Behind Letter to Obama – GOP House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) circulated a letter to colleagues this week urging President Obama to support Israel when moving forward with any Israeli peace process.

Trouble is, they forgot to delete the name of the lobbying group involved in the letter from the document. Attached to the email message they circulated when seeking signatures from other members of Congress was the document, titled, “AIPAC Letter Hoyer Cantor May 2009.pdf.” AIPAC stands for the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a powerful bipartisan pro-Israel lobbying group.

Regards,

Jim

The Boy Scouts of America Have Moved On From Helping Little Old Ladies Cross the Street – The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence. “This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy here in Imperial County. “It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.”

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”

Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. “I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!” as she moved to handcuff her suspect.

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?”

Dick Cheney, Conspiracy Theorist – Former Vice President Dick Cheney swung through New York City Tuesday night to watch his daughter, Elizabeth, a former State Department official, argue the conservative side in a debate over American policy toward Iran. “Everybody’s in a giant conspiracy to achieve a different objective than the one we want to achieve,” Cheney said.

Tea Party Organizer Amassed Nearly $150,000 in State and Federal Tax Liens, Small Claims Court Judgments and Civil Suits – Well no wonder he doesn’t like taxes very much. According to documents obtained by Teablogging by running a simple Nexis search on the internets, national Tea Party organizer, Top Conservatives on Twitter cofounder and TCOTReport.com publisher Michael P. Leahy has, over the past 16 years, amassed nearly $150,000 in state and federal tax liens, small claims court judgments and civil suits. Take a look at the source docs here (pdf).

Republican National Committee to Rebrand Democrats as ‘Socialists’ – A member of the Republican National Committee said Tuesday that when the RNC meets in an extraordinary special session next week, it will approve a resolution rebranding Democrats as the “Democrat Socialist Party.” When asked if such a resolution would force RNC Chairman Michael Steele to use that label when talking about Democrats in all his speeches and press releases, the RNC member replied: “Who cares?” That pretty much sums up the attitude some members of the RNC have toward their chairman these days.

Republican Congressman Defends Keeping Guantanamo Open, Citing ‘Tropical Breezes’ – Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) today defended the continued detention of al-Qaeda prisoners at the military facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, calling it a “logical” site that also provides inmates with “tropical breezes.” “They wouldn’t be treated any better in the United States, and they wouldn’t have the tropical breezes blowing through,” Sessions said.

Bush Administration Saw Law as a “Unaffordable Nicety,” According to Republican Senator – During a hearing on the interrogation of detainees, Senator Lindsey Graham said that the Bush administration did not commit any crimes, but that they “saw the law as a nicety we could not afford.”

Image from Phawker.

Republicans Vote Against Protecting Americans From Crazy-High Credit Card Rates – Check the vote on the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 to establish a national consumer credit usury rate. Remember that Republicans want lower taxes, but high credit-card rates are just fine.

Army Doctor Forged Study, Got Money From Medical Company – A former surgeon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who is a paid consultant for a medical company, published a study that made false claims and overstated the benefits of the company’s product in treating soldiers severely injured in Iraq, the hospital’s commander said Tuesday.

An investigation by Walter Reed found that the study cited higher numbers of patients and injuries than the hospital could account for, said the commander, Col. Norvell V. Coots.

The former Army surgeon, Dr. Timothy R. Kuklo, reported that a bone-growth product sold by Medtronic Inc. had much higher success in healing the shattered legs of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed than other doctors there had experienced, according to Colonel Coots and a summary of an Army investigation of the matter.

Army investigators found that Dr. Kuklo forged the signatures of four Walter Reed doctors on the article before submitting it last year to a British medical journal, falsely claiming them as co-authors. He also did not obtain the Army’s required permission to conduct the study.

A Medtronic spokeswoman, Marybeth Thorsgaard, confirmed that Dr. Kuklo was a paid consultant to the company and that the company financially supported some of his research at Walter Reed, through a foundation affiliated with the hospital.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Nominates Totally Unqualified Person to State Board of Pardons and Parole – In a rare rebuke of a governor’s appointment powers, the Texas Senate voted Wednesday to block one of Gov. Rick Perry’s nominees to the state Board of Pardons and Parole over concerns she is unqualified. The 27-4 vote against Shanda Perkins of Burleson was a resounding bipartisan rejection of the former banker. Unlike the occasional high-profile debates over presidential nominees, the Texas Senate rarely votes against a governor’s appointment.

Critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, had assailed Perkins’ nomination, noting she has no college degree and had no criminal justice background before Perry selected her for a board with the power to grant parole and recommend clemency in a death penalty case.

This person is unqualified,” said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who led the charge against Perkins’ confirmation. “This is not a partisan issue.” Fifteen Republicans joined the 12 Democrats voting against Perkins.

Why would Perry nominate her? In February, Perkins distributed fliers linking U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to President Barack Obama and abortion rights. Perry, who is running for re-election, is expected to face a tough battle with Hutchison in the Republican primary. Perkins was also notable for her role in stopping the sale of sex toys in Burleson, Tx in 2004.

Sean Hannity’s Hypocrisy About the “B” Word – On the May 12 edition of his Fox News show, discussing his earlier interview with Miss California Carrie Prejean, Sean Hannity said: “[Blogger Perez Hilton] called her ‘a dumb ‘B.’ I mean, how dare — and not only that, he said he would’ve violently ripped off the crown off her head. I love Donald [Trump]; he’s a friend of mine. I’m not sure why he said he would want [Hilton] back, or allow him back.” Hannity added: “I would think that you wouldn’t want somebody that calls a woman — any woman — a dumb ‘b’ ever on your show.”

However, on August 24, 2007, Hannity aired concert footage of rock musician and right-wing activist Ted Nugent holding up what appears to be two assault rifles, and saying, “Obama, he’s a piece of sh#t, and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” He also says, “Hey, Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch.” After airing the clip, Hannity stated: “That was friend and frequent guest on the program Ted Nugent.” Then, Hannity had Nugent back on his show again on October 13, 2008.

Bill Donahue and Fox News Stir Up Controversy That Does Not Exist – Bill Donahue, head of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Liberties, was the guest on Fox News Fox&Friends on May 11, 2009, to complain about the movie Angels&Demons, which Bill sees as anti-Catholic, even though he hasn’t actually seen it, yet. Steeve Doocy introduced the segment by stating that there is a “new film stirring up controversy. Tom Hanks says that there is nothing controversial about it; but Catholics disagree.” (Uh, other than Bill Donahue and his merry inquisitors and Fox News, who cares – but Fox is defining it as a controversy so it must be so!).

Donahue said that comments from the film’s producer, Ron Howard about Donahue’s criticism were “silly and mean spirited.” In a moment of sheer lunacy, Donahue said (regarding Howard), “I’m very specific, he rants.”

You be the judge. Here are the comments from Ron Howard:

I guess Mr. Donohue and I do have one thing in common: we both like to create fictional tales, as he has done with his silly and mean-spirited work of propaganda.

Mr. Donohue’s op-ed and booklet also suggest that we paint the Church as “anti-reason.” There is plenty of debate over what the Church did or didn’t do with Galileo, but I for one do recognize that the Church did much throughout the ages to encourage and preserve education, the arts and the sciences.

Had Mr. Donohue and his allies waited to see Angels & Demons before criticizing it, they would have seen references to struggles within the Church between faith and science, but they would also have seen clear signs of support for the pursuit of science at the highest levels of the Vatican. Indeed, one of the first scenes of the movie depicts a scientist at the high-tech CERN laboratory…and he is a priest.”

In contrast to the comments by Mr. Donohue and Fox News, the Vatican says that the film is “more than two hours of harmless entertainment, which hardly affects the genius and mystery of Christianity.

One more thing… During the ranting, one of the Fox&Friends hosts said in regard to the Church’s treatment of Galileo, who lived under Vatican house arrest because he dared say that the Earth was not the center of the solar system, “Galileo would have died eventually.” (Oh, I guess that makes it ok.)

Regards,

Jim

Ousted Ex-Hospital CEO Battles Health-Care Reform Effort – Rick Scott is the millionaire Republican who is heading up Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR), a new group that plans to spend around $20 million to kill President Obama’s efforts at healthcare reform. Having Scott lead the charge against healthcare reform is like tapping Bernie Madoff to campaign against tighter securities regulation. He promised to put nonprofit hospitals out of business and touted his company’s single-minded pursuit of profit as a model for the nation’s entire healthcare system.

Scott’s company, Columbia/HCA, fudged the costs on their Medicare expense reports, recalls John Schilling, who worked for Columbia/HCA in the 1990s. They were “basically keeping two sets of books,” says Schilling. The company would maintain an internal expense report, what it called a “reserve” report, which accurately tallied its expenses. “And then they would have a second report, which…they would file with the government, which was more aggressive.” That report would “include inflated costs and expenses they knew weren’t allowable or reimbursable. The one they filed with government might claim $5 million and the reserve would claim $4.5.” Columbia/HCA would pocket the difference.

Former Republican Presidential Candidate Believes to Follow Jesus, We Don’t Really Have to Follow Jesus – Gary Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate affiliated with several Christian right groups over the years, said the discussion should not come down to “Would Jesus torture? There are a lot of things Jesus wouldn’t do because he’s the son of God,” he said. “I can’t imagine Jesus being a Marine or a policeman or a bank president, for that matter. The more appropriate question is, ‘What is a follower of Jesus permitted to do?'”

“There is a version of Christianity in America that I think is not adequately committed to the Bible’s teachings about the sacredness of every human life, including the lives of our enemies,” said David Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University in Atlanta and president of Evangelicals for Human Rights. “It’s also insufficiently committed to the peacemaking teachings of Jesus and the example of Jesus as one who did not resort to violence or cruelty to accomplish any of his goals and instead suffered violence instead of inflicting it.”

Republicans Block Obama Pick for Interior No. 2 Post – Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department on Wednesday in a dispute over oil and gas development on federal lands, but Democrats vowed they would soon make a second attempt to win confirmation. The 57-39 vote was three short of the 60 needed to advance David Hayes past Republican objections.

Senate Democrats, who were joined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at the Capitol on Wednesday, said the move was an effort to stall the new administration from carrying out its agenda. Near the top of the list is cleaning up a department that in recent years has been embroiled in scandals that included contract rigging and instances of employees having romantic relationships with workers at oil companies doing business with the government.

“It may be uncomfortable for some to watch us have to clean up mess after mess – from corruption to lawbreaking – that is the previous administration’s legacy at Interior, but to cast a vote against such a qualified and fine person is the height of cynicism,” Salazar said in a statement following the vote.

The End of The Internet As You Know It – Cable companies Time Warner and Comcast, and phone giants AT&T and Verizon sell the vast majority of high-speed Internet service in the United States. Phone and cable companies like these have no other competition in 97% of US markets, thanks to corrupt policies passed by the Bush Administration at the companies’ behest.

These duopolies are betting on the future of their “triple-play” phone-Internet-TV service, so that you’ll pay them more than $100 per month and they can keep earning record profits. They know that if you start downloading video from online innovators like Hulu.com and Roku.com, eventually you won’t need their expensive, advertising-ridden television service. If you decide to use online phone providers like Skype, you won’t need their expensive phone service. The answer? Jack up the cost of Internet, and once again eliminate the competition. This is exhibit A for when we need government to establish and enforce consumer protections; the same brand of policies we needed to prevent the financial meltdown and protect New Orleans.

Get informed. Get involved.

FreePress.net

Save the Internet

Loss of Coral Region Could Displace 100 Million People – The world’s most important coral region is in danger of being wiped out by the end of this century unless fast action is taken, says a new report. The international conservation group WWF warns that 40% of reefs in the Coral Triangle have already been lost. The area is shared between Indonesia and five other South East Asian nations and is thought to contain 75% of the world’s coral species. If the world’s richest coral reef is destroyed, the fish that people rely on for food could be gone. By the end of the century, 100 million people across South East Asia could be on the march, looking for something to eat. Communities might be breaking down and economies destroyed. “We’ve fundamentally changed the way the planet works in terms of currents and this is only with a 0.7 degree change in terms of temperature,” said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg.

Regards,
Jim