I thought we were better than this

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Friday January 02, 2004 · 2:02 PM PST

2004/01/02 · 14:02

The AP reports:

Soldiers in Samarra also blew up the house of Talab Saleh, who is accused of orchestrating attacks against U.S. troops, witnesses said. They said the troops arrested Saleh's wife and brother and said they would not be released until Saleh surrenders. The military had no immediate comment.

I'm pretty sure we're bound by the Geneva Convention (Article 1):

Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

I'm sure some military genius running the show in Iraq thinks the arrests are helping us secure Iraq, but the law stands above even mighty U.S. military, no matter how much it hurts. We don't treat the families of even the worst murderers in the U.S. this way. It should be no different in Iraq.

The U.S. is better than this. No wonder the rest of the world has been chafing mightily as we are misled by Bush, who seems to hold even the most basic laws in contempt.

GOP Bush opposition in NH

second city scientist

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Tuesday December 30, 2003 · 1:30 PM PST

2003/12/30 · 13:30

WaPo today runs an interesting story on Republicans running against Bush in the NH primary. These guys are the longest of long shots. Some of them are Christianofascists, some are nut case conspiracists, but some of them actually talk sense: Read More

The AP is outrageous. So is Kerry.

second city scientist

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Saturday December 27, 2003 · 3:01 PM PST

2003/12/27 · 15:01

The AP reports that Kerry says Dean has no chance against Bush:

Kerry Says Dean Has No Chance Vs. Bush

With a month to go before the New Hampshire primary, John Kerry says voters must choose between Democratic front-runner Howard Dean or a more centrist candidate like himself.

The Massachusetts senator said he would fare better than Dean against President Bush in November.

Ummm. Kerry says he would fare better than Dean against Bush, not that Dean has no chance. But what the heck, headlines don't mean much do they? I find nothing wrong with Kerry saying he thinks he'd do better - what is he supposed to say if he wants to distinguish himself over Dean?

Of course, Kerry did see fit to distort Howard Dean's stances, and that's reprehensible:

"Two roads have diverged in the New Hampshire woods,'' Kerry said in a speech prepared for delivery Saturday in Manchester. "One of them takes us toward retreat from our responsibility in the world, our responsibility to working families, our responsibility to talk straight to the American people -- and our obligation to win their confidence and their votes next November.''

Kerry was critical of Dean for what Kerry called "a soft and vacillating isolationism'' and Dean's desire to roll back all of the Bush tax cuts.

....

"New Hampshire has a choice ahead,'' Kerry said, "between a candidate who will stand up for the middle class people who built America and who have suffered enough under George Bush, and a candidate who thinks the way to balance our budget is at the expense of families who are struggling to balance theirs.''

No pity for O'Reilly at Amazon.com

second city scientist

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Friday December 26, 2003 · 7:59 PM PST

2003/12/26 · 19:59

It's heartwarming to know that Bill O'Reilly's "Who's Looking Out For You?" (#79) is currently being outsold at Amazon.com by the likes of:

#78 - "The Lucky Shopping Manual"
#76 - "Final Fantasy X Official Strategy Guide"
#75 - "Fast Food Nation"
#73 - "Hegemony or Survival" by Noam Chomsky
#56 - Bob Rubin
#55 - "Bushwhacked"
#18 - Mike Moore

Merry Christmas O'Reilly. I'm sure you'll find a way to lie yourself out of these numbers.

The DC Circuit Court gives America a holiday present

second city scientist

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Wednesday December 24, 2003 · 3:35 PM PST

2003/12/24 · 15:35

Happy Holidays from the DC Circuit.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked new Bush administration changes to the Clean Air Act from going into effect the next day, in a challenge from state attorneys general and cities that argued they would harm the environment and public health.

The Environmental Protection Agency rule would have made it easier for utilities, refineries and other industrial facilities to make repairs in the name of ``routine maintenance'' without installing additional pollution controls.

....

The court's decision blocks at least temporarily one of the Bush administration's major environmental decisions. The court's justices said the challengers ``demonstrated the irreparable harm and likelihood of success'' of their case, which are required to stop the rule from taking effect.

EPA proposed the rule in December, the then-acting administrator signed it in August and it was made final in October. It was due to have gone into effect this week.

The so-called "Clear Skies Initiative" is among the worst of many terrible Bush policies. Its blockage is great news. The hearings will take months, which is also good news.

This is a clear example of the importance of the DC Circuit Court and why the Senate filibuster of ideologically far-right wing nominees like Miguel Estrada and Janice Rogers Brown to this court are significant.

Fun with captions

second city scientist

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Monday December 22, 2003 · 5:18 PM PST

2003/12/22 · 17:18

Because of me, your future's screwed!

A state Dean can win that Gore didn't

second city scientist

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Monday December 22, 2003 · 4:59 PM PST

2003/12/22 · 16:59

West Virginia's Democratic Congressmen have endorsed Dean:

In a dual endorsement in an important general election state, West Virginia's two Democratic congressmen have endorsed Governor Howard Dean. U.S. Representatives Nick Rahall and Alan Mollohan made the announcement today, citing Governor Dean's strength of character and his commitment to working families and the communities in which they live.

Dean has 2/3 of WV's U.S. House members' endorsements. That oughtta help him in a bid to win electoral votes Gore didn't in 2000.

More evidence that Dean is unelectable.

Poor, poor NRA

second city scientist

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Saturday December 20, 2003 · 4:24 PM PST

2003/12/20 · 16:24

I don't have much to say about this except that it's hard to feel much sympathy for the NRA:

Costly legal, legislative and political battles in the last decade have left the National Rifle Association with a $100 million deficit, reopening a bitter debate within the group about how it manages its money.

In the past decade the group's efforts have helped Republicans win the White House and Congress and led to laws in more than 30 states banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers. In the last year the N.R.A. helped pay for a losing legal battle against campaign finance legislation, which the Supreme Court upheld this month.

But through many of those years, according to Internal Revenue Service and N.R.A. records, the organization spent more than it took in.

Even in 2000, when gun owners helped elect George W. Bush as president, pushing N.R.A. membership to a 10-year high, expenses outstripped revenues by $20.4 million, according to I.R.S. filings.

Self-correction - someone in the press cares about the poor

second city scientist

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Friday December 19, 2003 · 3:09 PM PST

2003/12/19 · 15:09

Yesterday, I wrote:

... the Bush tax cuts are helping the rich get richer... What won't get blaring headlines are stories of those who have been pounded by Bush's magical economy. You know, like the new homeless.

At least Bob Herbert felt that the newly reported, distressing news about all-time homeless numbers is significant: Read More

Yet another smart move by Dean

second city scientist

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Friday December 19, 2003 · 3:00 AM PST

2003/12/19 · 03:00

In a smart move intended to diffuse a torrent of negative press stories, likely inspired by off the record "background" supplied by the Kerry and other anti-Dean campaigns, Dean has responded brilliantly:

At a news conference after his speech, Dean was asked repeatedly about a Washington Post report that detailed instances in which his comments on a variety of subjects proved to be untrue or misleading. Dean did not address the article's specifics, but said voters can believe him "or they can believe The Washington Post."

Dean's supporters know just how bad political and other reporting is these days; most other people don't trust the media very much either. Instead of fisking the WaPo, Dean's decision to allow voters to decide between him or a couple of lazy Washington correspondents, Dean stays above the fray and deflects much of the blows.

This is why the guy can win and continues to lead among Democrats in many states.

Reality of the Bush economy

second city scientist

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Thursday December 18, 2003 · 7:21 PM PST

2003/12/18 · 19:21

The reality is that the media will no doubt breathlessly report "good news" like this:

A trio of positive economic reports -- from jobless claims to manufacturing -- boosted Wall Street Thursday as investors grew more confident that the economic recovery was firmly under way. The Dow Jones industrials climbed nearly 100 points.

Terrific. As predicted by many economists, the Bush tax cuts are helping the rich get richer. As for the kinds of jobs people are finding, I suppose we ought to be ecstatic that Americans are beginning rewarding careers at restaurants like Chili's, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.

What won't get blaring headlines are stories of those who have been pounded by Bush's magical economy. You know, like the new homeless:

Hunger and homelessness increased in many of America's largest cities this year, with growing demand for emergency food supplies for families with children, the elderly and even people with jobs, a survey by U.S. mayors finds.

The report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, released Thursday, found that requests for emergency food assistance rose 17 percent overall from last year in the survey of 25 large cities. Requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by 13 percent, the report showed.

Most of the cities expected that requests for emergency food assistance and shelter would rise again over the coming year, the study said.

But let's let Wall Street spread the great news:

"The numbers show that the jobs situation might be better than people expected all along ... and the economy is actually going well," said Tim Smalls, trader at SG Cowen Securities. [LINK]

Indeed.

WaPo's "Beyond the Mainstream" is beyond the pale

second city scientist

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