Senator Russell Feingold Makes His Move

Sen. Feingold of Wisconsin has made his Iowa move according to the Washington Post's The Fix via Taegan Goddard's Political Wire. Chris Cillizza pointa out that he's also hired former Gore 2000 consultant Paul Tewes, who has Iowa ties. A reader/commenter points out the obvious questions for Feingold as he begins this long process: does a thrice divorced jewish guy have a real chance at the nomination? I like Feingold a lot and I'm giving him very close consideration as my guy in 2008 along with Wesley Clark and Al Gore. If Gore doesn't run then my choice would be one of these two.

There is already a couple of Feingold for President sites with the most prominent one here: RussForPresident.com. I"ll post more later, but I've been expecting this as has others waiting to see what his intentions were at this point. His lone stand against the Patriot Act and his anti war stance gives him a tacking angle against HRC to her left and might make her vulnerable in the end on those issues al la Howard Dean in 2004. As I said, more about this later.

Recommended Podcast of the Week

This is a pleasure to recommend. Marc Maron is back on Air America Radio. As much as I like Al Franken and Jeanine Garofalo, to me Marc Maron is the reason I really listen regularly. If you haven't had a chance to check Marc out I highly recommend it. And the only way to listen is through podcasting. The coolest part is he's funnier than Al Franken.

Speaking of Al Franken, he has journalist John Dickerson on his show tomorrow. As I'm at work during the broadcast here's urging anyone to call the show and tell Al that Dickerson is a worthless guest. The WH shill isn't worth the time.

Gallup: Adam& Eve Hands Down

As I looked over the latest Gallup poll showing that most Americans reject Darwin's theory of evolution I could not help thinking about Galileo. In 1616 he stood before an inquisition while being told the Copernican theory he was advocating was not only philosophically wrong but theologically erroneous. He was expected to recant these heretical views despite what his research showed him. By 1633 his views were considered heretical and Pope Urban VIII puts him under house arrest in Sienna where he remains until his death in 1642.

Despite this he publishes his final two works: Dialogue Concerning The Two Chief World Systems & Discourse on Two New Sciences. As I think back about my readings on Galileo in my college days I can't help but wonder about organized religion's record regarding its opposition to science whenever it finds its theological underpinnings threatened by the empircal data of science. Of course the church did eventually come around on Galileo's findings: they finally accepted the fact he might be right in 1986. Better late than never I guess.

The state of denial most Americans live in regarding this "issue," if it can be called that, has a disturbing aspect to it. Let's look at Gallup's actual poll results via Editior & Publisher:

NEW YORK A Gallup report
released today reveals that more than half of all Americans, rejecting evolution
theory and scientific evidence, agree with the statement, "God created man
exactly how Bible describes it." Another 31% says that man did evolve, but "God
guided." Only 12% back evolution and say "God had no part."Gallup summarized it
this way: "Surveys repeatedly show that a substantial portion of Americans do
not believe that the theory of evolution best explains where life came from."

They are "not so quick to agree with the preponderance of scientific
evidence." The report was written by the director of the The Gallup Poll,
Frank Newport. Breaking down the numbers, Gallup finds that Republican backing
for what it calls "God created human beings in present form" stands at 57% with
Democrats at 44%. Support for this Bible view rises steadily with age: from
43% for those 18 to 29, to 59% for those 65 and older. It declines steadily with
education, dropping from 58% for those with high school degrees to a
still-substantial 25% with postgraduate degrees.

Alright. That exlains the 34% that still support the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The 'missle gap' JFK talked of in his 1960 Presidential campaign had now turned into a very real academic gap with respect to other countries in Europe and Asia. I just wonder at what point this cultural and religious denial starts to eviserate? If ever? When we rank near the bottom clutching our bibles?

MEET THE PRESS' ELEPHANT PARADE

Today over at The Huffington Post, Arianna’s Russert Watch is a must read. Timmy had an all GOP show today without one iota of opposition. I really loved the rose colored glasses everyone was sporting regarding Iraq as if though the last five days have been a bed of roses for our Arab wards. And oh yeah, the fact the last few days have been troublesome for our occupied friends the Dick Cheney excuse was given – it’s their fault. They just can’t seem to get their acts together and they need to get on the ball according to the elephant parade Timmy was hosting.

Arianna’s last paragraph on Gov. Ahnuld’s appearance is absolutely priceless:

“Last time Arnold was on Meet the Press, he was quite effusive, reminding Tim how long he's known him, telling him he loves him, and praising his physique: "I mean, look at your deltoids and your six-pack. It's amazing, so congratulations on that."
This is apparently some kind of theme between the two of them. This is from today's show:
SCHWARZENEGGER: By the way, you look nice and trim. Your abs look good. Keep up the good work.
In the words of a character from a certain Oscar-nominated film, Tim and Arnold don't know how to quit each other.
If there's one thing that can distract from the travesty of journalism Meet the Press was today, it's being forced to think about Tim's abs. I wish I knew how to quit that image.”

Meet The Press lost it's journalistic credentials sometime ago, but this past Sunday was enough to make Edward R. Murrow glad he was gone. Jesus.

So long, Barney Fife...

Don Knotts
1924 - 2006

Today when I heard Don Knotts had passed away I could only think about how much laughter and joy he gave me over the years. I don't think he was appreciated enough for his talent. Sometimes it comes posthumously. Here's hoping it now comes here in waves.

Don Knotts, star of "The Andy Griffith Show," dead at 81
Knotts, who lived in West Los Angeles, died Friday night of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Los Angeles Times
By Scott Collins, Times Staff Writer

Don Knotts, the saucer-eyed, scarecrow-thin comic actor best known for his roles as the high-strung small-town deputy Barney Fife on the 1960s CBS series "The Andy Griffith Show" and the leisure-suit-clad landlord Ralph Furley on ABC's '70s sitcom "Three's Company," has died. He was 81. (7-21-24)

"Fair & Balanced" Reporting

I picked up this little gem via First-Draft where Athenae found a Ft. Lauderdale publication fingering the Orlando Sun Sentinel’s true corporate colors. Tsk-tsk-tak:

The Lauderdale Beach Republican Club had a problem: There was a Democrat in the house.

Or in the resort, to be specific. The Clarion Beach Resort in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Club founder Bob Wolfe invited Sun-Sentinel political reporter Buddy Nevins to address the flock at its monthly meeting on February 6 at Damon's Grill, a restaurant in the resort. But other club leaders balked. Nevins was a Democrat, they claimed, and GOP bylaws forbid anybody but Republicans from speaking at their meetings.
To make things kosher, Wolfe decided not to officially start the meeting until Nevins had finished speaking. After 30 minutes of idle chat, hors d'oeuvres, and cocktails, Nevins walked up to the little podium at Damon's Grill. Then he made several remarks that should end his career as a political reporter.
First, he held up a piece of paper to the 40-or-so attendees in the room and told them it was from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office. He had changed political parties.
"I'm a Republican," Nevins announced to the partisan crowd. "It's official."
An uncomfortable, slightly stunned silence filled the room before Margaret Hostetter, a former congressional candidate and current vice president of the Davie's GOP club, stood up and began applauding. Others followed Hostetter's lead until Nevins was awash in cheers and a standing ovation.
Nevins' announcement by itself was a highly questionable act by a supposedly unbiased reporter. Unprofessional and reckless are two words to describe it. But Nevins, a longtime player in the political scene who began his reporting career in South Florida 31 years ago at the old Fort Lauderdale News, was just getting warmed up. Several witnesses tell me that when a club member asked him why he left the Democratic Party, he responded, "To vote for Charlie Crist in the Republican primary."
OK, hold up. Nevins covers the governor's race. Now he has endorsed a candidate and proven he's no buddy to Republican challenger Tom Gallagher or the Democratic hopefuls.
And he still wasn't finished. As he stood up there basking in the glow of his new political brethren, he began trashing the Democratic Party, says Hostetter, who took notes during Nevins' talk.
"He said that the Democratic Party isn't his grandfather's party," says Hostetter, a massively active Republican activist. "He said it was the party of 'no.' No ideas. No leadership. Just more taxes. And he said that Broward County is bought and controlled by the Democratic Party and its corruption."

I went over to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel’s web site and did a little snooping around and found a couple of interesting data points in their archive search engine. First, Mr. Nevins has contributed 25 articles to the Sun-Sentinel since January 1st of this year. All the articles he’s contributed specifically about party news in general, with the exception of one, was about the GOP. Two of the articles concerned Mr. Nevins covering the dust up in Broward County’s GOP ranks where a Crist endorsement seems to have rankled a few feathers:

“The Broward party is alleged to have violated guidelines that call for 10 days' notice to party committee members before an endorsement is voted on and that require inviting candidates to speak at the meeting.
The move to give the party's endorsement to Crist was introduced without prior announcement at a January meeting. After the vote, supporters of gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher accused a handful of Crist backers in key party positions of steamrolling the endorsement. One of them, general counsel Levi Williams, had advised the vote was legal."It was done very quickly. We didn't know it was coming, and we were not prepared," said Barbara Collier, chairwoman of the Gallagher campaign in Broward, who filed one grievance."The unannounced voice vote clearly violated the rules," said state Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican representing southwest Broward who filed another grievance."

My, my how that medicine the GOP is always trying to ram Democrats’ throat taste just as bad when their own is forced to ingest it. Nothing like watching political castor oil go down without any sugar at all. Gotta love those GOP values.

Iraq: Still Not "Getting It"

Now that the pyramid of powder kegs Bush’s Iraqi adventure has built (symbolizing nicely the Sunni Triange) is sitting with their fuses fully exposed ready to be lit, the American electorate is left to wonder what the final act will be to ignite them precipitating the civil war most students of Iraqi history knew would be likely as the outcome of our subsequent invasion/occupation. As Daily Kos’ SusanG points out this morning, the Pentagon has downgraded all Iraqi battalions to non-ready status leaving the entire mess in the lap of the American military.

While Bush still sings harmonies to his Dulcinea of Iraqi Jeffersonian Democracy, John Murtha’s role of Cassandra channeling the Pentagon’s Iraqi theatre brass goes unheeded. What is even more troubling is the conservative intelligencia, who ably played the part of Pancho Sanchez, and their most recent sudden realization of the folly of Bush’s Quixotian mission. Now that William F. Buckley, Jr. finds himself in the latest exodus heading off the WH reservation we find Senor Fellow and former advisor to the Coalition government Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institute and author of “Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq” giving a formidable demonstration of how the American conservative movement still does not “get it.”

Atrios over at Eschaton recently had a post that excerpted an article by Mr. Diamond in the San Jose Mercury News:

[…]
One young political appointee (a 24-year-old Ivy League graduate) argued that Iraq should not enshrine judicial review in its constitution because it might lead to the legalization of abortion. A much more senior Iraqi interlocutor (a widely experienced Iraqi-American lawyer) became so exasperated with the young man's audacity that he finally challenged him:``You must have thoroughly studied the history of the British occupation of Iraq.''

``Yes, I did,'' the young American replied proudly.

``I thought so,'' said the Iraqi, ``because you seem determined to repeat every one of their mistakes.

Unfortunately Mr. Diamond’s article, though astutely pointing out in telling detail with this little exchange the arrogance and hubris of the American occupation, demonstrates his inability to understand the crux of the Iraqi population’s hatred for it’s occupiers when one examines his article a little closer. First, he points out his understanding of the main problem,

“Even though the Bush administration now is trying to dig out, most notably by supporting the incorporation of Sunnis into the political process, it will take years to terminate the violence and build a viable democracy. Moreover, if America is to regain the trust of Iraqis and cultivate a true partnership, we must demonstrate that it really is democracy we care about in Iraq -- not permanent American military bases."

Then, after reminding us of some of the “gains,” such as a new interim constitution, elections, a jailed Saddam and new currency he gives a quick outline of the consequences of this mistrust of American policy,

[...]
"From the moment that Baghdad fell in April 2003 and much of the public infrastructure was systematically destroyed, the United States failed to fulfill the first overriding obligation of an occupying power: to establish and maintain order. Coalition (mainly American) forces failed to secure Iraq's cities, roads, electricity grids, oil pipelines and borders. The tenacious insurgency, fed and emboldened by an escalating influx of foreign jihadist terrorists, sabotaged roads and crucial facilities as rapidly as they were repaired.”

Then he fools us into thinking maybe he DOES get it:

“We never had nearly enough translators and interpreters, nor enough civilians who knew Iraq's culture, history and language.
[…]
But America occupied anyway, in a way that was often filled with an ill-informed hubris, leading it for many months to misread the importance of Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani; to underestimate the depth of Iraqi resentment of American military and political dominance; to marginalize the United Nations' mission in postwar Iraq, despite its considerable knowledge and expertise; and to impose 100 colonial-like decrees.” [emphasis mine].

He was almost there. Almost. Then he quickly reverts back to the paternal benevolence of the conservative movements view of the Mid East and how they simply misunderstand the guiding hand of those with superior wisdom and the benefit of governing experience:

[…]
Clearly, if Iraq is going to become a democracy, or even a reasonably stable and effective state, it must get control of the insurgency, which is based largely among Iraq's Sunnis. Defeating it will require a sophisticated, patient and incremental effort for many years, combining military, intelligence, policing and political efforts.

There is no magic solution, because the insurgency consists of multiple social strands, and some of these -- especially the foreign fighters (such as Al-Qaida) and the surviving Saddam loyalists -- can only be defeated and killed in combat, arrested, or expelled.

What an insult to the average Iraqi on the street. Even the most unsophisticated and uneducated Iraqi citizen understands this and they don’t need people like Larry Diamond telling them. Then Mr. Diamond insults the American electorate’s intelligence playing the interlocutor of the profound:

“To achieve lasting peace in Iraq, America will have to make concessions, including an explicit commitment not to seek permanent military bases in Iraq. Perhaps no issue in the coming years will more clearly expose the real purpose of the Bush administration's postwar mission in Iraq: to build democracy or to obtain a new, regional military platform in the heart of the Arab world.

Make no mistake about it: While Iraqis are glad to be rid of Saddam, they also want their country back. Only if we make it clear that we will withdraw our military forces when Iraq is stable will we create the political context in which Iraq can once again become secure. The alternative would leave us mired indefinitely in a violent quagmire in Iraq.”

Gee thanks, Larry. I’m glad you are here to inform the busy soccer mom who doesn’t have the time to think these things through during her busy day and the short attention span hampered NASCAR dad worrying about what corporate sponsor will pick up his favorite driver what the relevant issues are and what we need to do.

Well, for Mr. Diamond and the rest of his conservative movement friends I have a bit of profundity for him. The crux of Iraqi hated of their occupiers comes down to one simple raw emotion regarding the Iraqi citizen and their view of American ‘values’ as presented to them by their occupiers: equality as human beings with those of westerners. It’s that simple. As David Fromkin points out in his “A Peace To End All Peace” in 1914 the Ottoman Empire, which included today’s Iraq despised what they called “the Capitulations.” This was a common colonial law said local and Ottoman authority was not recognized to have any authority over westerners, especially American and British citizens. The only authority that was recognized to deal with them was through their respective consulates. This only served to fuel unbounded enmity and hatred among the local citizens for western governments and their citizens. Bremer and the coalition government initiating the very same decrees only reinforced those memories and prejudices and sealed the doom of any foreign intervention no matter how benevolent. This is even more heavily reinforced through the WH’s treatment of American casualties vs. those of Iraqi casualties. Our mainstream media and the American government hardly ever brings up the issue of Iraqi casualties while the main concern always seems to be centered on “coalition force” casualties. Somehow the Iraqi dead and wounded just aren’t worthy as human beings on the same level to be considered.

All the other issues Mr. Diamond wrung hands over are minor compared to this basic, raw emotional feeling. Until the conservative movement understands this, Iraq will continue to remain an elusive, uncomprehending, and bewildering issue for them. For the liberal and progressives among us, it couldn’t be simpler.

Find The Liberal

I love bloviating right wingers when they try to pull the race card. Via Seeing the Forest, your favorite hillbilly heroin addict of the airwaves Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday morning:

“This is the first time in four years that I can recall a Democrat seriously being concerned about this group of people, and this is racism. This is racism. We are concluding that all Arabs are terrorists. We are concluding that every damn one of them -- be they a sheik, an emir -- they are all terrorists. They all have ties to terrorists and they all seek our utter, total destruction, and we can't risk an exception to that. They're all that way -- and welcome to racism Democrats, because the Democrats are leading the show on this just as well as a lot of conservatives are. So when Democrats are illustrating their racism, their xenophobia, they're also demonstrating that they fully acknowledge we have an enemy. Well, this is a tenuous position for them to take because their kook base doesn't believe any of this.”

Hmmmm. Ok, Rush and the like minded. Let's play find the liberal. Look at this picture and point them out:

Any questions? I didn't think so. Now if you want to play find the conservative......

Gov. Mark Warner's Holistic Politics


I just had my first look at former Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia via C-Span’s “Road To The White House” where they covered a recent visit to New Hampshire. I found his speech to the New Hampshire Democratic Party's 100 Club Dinner in Manchester last week to be more interesting for what was not mentioned as opposed to the actual content. He basically gave the same speech he delivered to the 2005 DLC National Conversation this past July. First, let’s take a look at, for me, the main point of his speech. After first setting himself up as a Democratic Governor of a red state, he then set the tone at the beginning of his speech reflecting his basic electoral philosophy:

“In today's Washington, you know, for the most part it's all about the issues that divide us and about settling the scores of the past. And while many of you have visited my state, Virginia, and you know that we're only a couple of hundred yards across the Potomac River away from D.C., in so many ways we couldn't be further apart because in Virginia -- and for that matter, all around America, in the heartland -- folks are looking for something else, what I call the sensible center. The sensible center is wide open in this country for any Democrat who can credibly make the case.”

You know Al From is sitting somewhere grinning like a Cheshire cat whenever he hears those words uttered. As one listens to his speech there is no doubt his reference to the ‘sensible center,’ as he called it, are his code words for America’s heartland. Then he ties it in with what most assuredly will be the main instrument to reach that “heartland:”

"In Virginia, we have worked to put down 700 miles of broadband in our rural communities so folks don't have to leave home to find a good quality job. In Virginia, where our economy is booming, we still have 700,000 of our working-age adults -- nearly 20 percent of our workforce -- that don't have a high school diploma because they worked in jobs like textile and furniture and tobacco. Well, we've gone out and actually -- Virginia is a pretty big NASCAR state. We partnered with NASCAR and got Elliott Sadler to be our spokesperson, and we got a "Race to the GED" program, encouraging people to go back and at least get that certificate so they can qualify for 21st century jobs."

Ah yes, NASCAR, the magic bullet for the centrist DLC Democrat. Once his point was made about the “sensible center” the rest of the speech almost had a tone of “we can just govern better:”

"What did we do? Well, we had to make some cuts. But we also used it as a chance to totally reform Virginia state government. We changed everything from the way we buy light bulbs to the total consolidation of our information technology services to completely reexamining all of the state's real estate portfolio in a way that can save the taxpayer money. Ultimately, as Ethan indicated, we had to close a $6 billion shortfall.
We then went about reforming our tax code with a Republican legislature. We were successful in that, in what's been called the most extensive tax reform in the nation in more than a decade. That allowed us to make historic new investments in education, the key to our future. But at the same time, we kept the focus on making our academics more rigorous, and we actually followed and made sure that those new dollars were held accountable in how they were spent in our schools. Because ultimately -- ultimately it's only the results that matter."

Ok. you can manage the government better. The question left in my mind after hearing this is, “Where is the vision?” Where is his central theme about where he wants to take us? At this stage of the game where its to early to lay out any concrete plans I wouldn’t expect details or rhetorical flourishes tied to some grand plan. What I WOULD like though is some idea of how he sees us as a nation. John Edwards, “Two Americas” is a perfect example. I didn’t need any specifics the first time I heard him make that reference in the summer of 2002. But it gave me an idea of where he wanted to take us.

Then there is what he didn’t say that troubled me. It would have been nice to hear about Iraq and some idea of where we fit into the world from a foreign policy perspective. But Iraq seemed almost verboten and I dare say he didn’t even utter the name once. How one can give a speech and not utter a word dealing with the issue of Iraq and it’s drain on our economy, not to mention our armed forces which is directly related to national security is beyond me. It’s almost a tacit nod to the current policy with a wink indicating we’d be better managers. Well, the way things are currently going, the team leaders in a paint ball tournament would be an improvement over the leadership currently in place. Current poll numbers indicate the electorate already understands this, all too well.

All in all the entire speech had a ‘holistic’ quality about it. Before I get to my point about that, first let’s take a look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of ‘holistic:’ “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.” That seems to be Mark Warner’s entire approach based on this speech: “We can run the government better than they can as a whole.” Somewhere we’ve got to come up with more than that. We’ve not only got to come up with ideas that oppose their entire program, they have to be ideas that the voting electorate can grasp onto and visualize. There has to be a model backed up with policy ideas that seems sensible and cost effective. I’m not talking about wonkish, white paper blather, I’m talking about casual remarks that form an idea the average voter can hang their hat on. As a voter looking for someone to do just that my advice to the former Gov. would be to start crafting an outlook and vision that shows us the possibilities of where we can go. Not just “we can be better drivers.”

Having covered the substance of his speech I would like to say he looks quite photogenic and he had a Kennedyesque delivery to his speech. He can be very self-effacing in a way to allow his listeners to feel he understands their world, their circumstance. That is the one refreshing thing I sensed in this speech and he easily conveyed it. The GOP’s brand of populism always has, as it’s main central theme, the “I’m one of you” rhetoric. The electorate is smart enough and aware enough to know that politicians on that level are anything but “one of us.” Though the former Gov. did give me the sense in his speech he understands the score, “out there.” I need more than that. A lot more.

Bob Shrum: Political Grim Reaper

I'm not sure why Jon Corizne latched on to the infamous Bob Shrum of Shrum, Devine & Donilon but somehow he managed to win anyway. Chris Bowers over at Mydd tells us about the lastest candidate Bob Shrum's firm is backing: Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island in his race to be the Democratic challenger to Sen. Lincoln Chaffee. I'll leave it to the redoubtable Mr. Bowers to sum up the latest effort of Shrum's firm::

"In case you need any more convincing that 2006 is a change election, outsider Senate candidate Matt Brown in Rhode Island gained 24 points on establishment candidate and Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse. And he did it with a $100K ad buy introducing himself and his stances to the voters. His issues are reform and a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
And Whitehouse? Well his consultants are Joe Hansen, direct mail racketeer, and Mike Donilon, of famous Shrum, Devine & Donilon heritage. Man do those guys know how to blow a lead.
A 24 point swing is just amazing, and shows that outsider progressive candidates are quite viable in this environment. In case you are wondering, yes, this does have strong implications for Connecticut."

Blow a lead? That's not blowing a lead, that's torpedoing an entire campaign. Shrum has been involved with every Presidential campaign, with the exception of Bill Clinton, since Walter Mondale's 1984 debacle. What really put Shrum's name in the hall of political infamy was his stewardship over Michael Dukakis' blown 17 point lead. Mr. Whitehouse's blown 24 point lead isn't what's fascinting about that story. What's compelling is Mr. Whitehouse hiring on Shurm's firm to run his campaign considering their national record. By now, every Democratic party candidate should have this guy on the do not call list. Actually, a restraining order should be put out not allowing him within 500 miles of your campaign. Either Mr. Whitehouse lives in an isolation tank or his judgement is seriously impaired. I guess one way to look at it is from a Darwinian perspective: Mr. Shrum helps thin out the herd.

Since Corizine and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida are exemptions to the Shrum rule of instant campaign death one can only hope he finds one more candidate to assist: Joementum. Oh please, if there is a God let Shrum and Joe Lieberman find one another.

Update: I have since discovered that Whitehouse is the true liberal in this race. I should have known that Shrum would only back a DLC'er in state races. Matt Brown is DLC certified. Great. Let's hope against hope that Whitehouse can buck the "Shrum curse" and come out of this. If not this will only add to the Gumpian "Stupid is, is stupid does." Whitehouse really should have his head examined.

From Stolen Elections to Cruella De Ville

One of the goals of this blog is to examine the Florida political landscape from a different perspective using different news sources other than the conservative based, bought and paid for corporate media. Yes, corporate media news sources will be employed in a triangulation approach, if you will, to contrast different angles of the story. Hence, “Politics: Florida News Hat Trick” will be a regular feature of ‘Truman’s Conscience.’ Three news stories will be chosen for the reader to consider in light of the corporate media’s attempt to either ignore or discredit the source of the piece. Please let me know what you think.

First, Anthony Lappe of Guerrilla News Network writes an excellent piece revisiting the meltdown here in Florida and Ohio. The money quote of the piece gives it the right flavor for those of us who know in our hearts the Florida electoral process was subjugated in an extralegal coup: “But for a small contingent of left-wing activists and progressive Democrats, Ohio was Florida Redux – a ruthless Republican coup orchestrated under the absent gaze of the lapdog media.” The most satisfying aspect about the article is the sources:

Fooled Again?
Wed, 15 Feb 2006 18:22:00 -0800
By Anthony Lappé
In his new book, Mark Crispin Miller argues Bush stole the White House, twice
Editor’s note: If you asked everyone in the U.S. whom they thought won Florida in 2000, half the country (or more) would most likely tell you Al Gore, including Al Gore. But pose the question, who won Ohio in November 2004? and it’s an entirely different story. For most Americans, George Bush earned a commanding mandate on November 2, 2004. The race in Ohio, officially decided by 118,000 votes, was close, but was no Florida. There were no hanging chads or Jews for Buchanan. Democracy worked and the guy with the most votes won. But for a small contingent of left-wing activists and progressive Democrats, Ohio was Florida Redux – a ruthless Republican coup orchestrated under the absent gaze of the lapdog media. In GNN’s new documentary American Blackout, we detail some of the more egregious examples of voter suppression. As the Conyers Report documents, there is substantial evidence that heavily Democratic (and African-American) precincts in Ohio didn’t have enough voting machines, voters were intimidated and valid votes were discarded. Yet for most on the left, it’s still an open question whether Republican shenanigans actually prevented a Kerry win. What does Kerry think? In his new book, American Vertigo, Bernard-Henri Lévy writes he met up with a “haggard, ghostly” Kerry a few weeks after his loss. According to Lévy, the defeated candidate faintly whispered in his ear, “If you hear anything about those 50,000 votes in Ohio, let me know.”
In his new book, Fooled Again, NYU media critic and outspoken Bush-basher Mark Crispin Miller (The Bush Dyslexicon) says he knows where to look. In Fooled Again, he lays out what he says is a definitive case that Kerry won Ohio, and thus the election. Recently, GNN’s Anthony Lappé conducted this interview with Miller about his controversial allegations: (Read more)

There is a nice piece from Alternet.com that includes the 2000 Florida election debacle. In an excerpt from “How to Steal An Election,” author Andrew Gumbel does a nice job outlining the forgotten dots that still need connecting with this money quote from the piece:

“In Florida, well-known voting rights activist Bev Harris claimed to have found the backup data to Volusia County's computer tabulation machines sitting in garbage bags ready for disposal, the suspicion being that county officials might have falsified the official count and then set about destroying the evidence. But she never actually produced the allegedly discarded data, or even the videotapes she said she had made of her find.”

There is no doubt this book is a future resident of my home library. The article starts off by outlining his overall point:

“A few days before the November 2004 election, Jimmy Carter was asked what would happen if, instead of flying to Zambia or Venezuela or East Timor, his widely respected international election monitoring team was invited to turn its attention to the United States. His answer was stunningly blunt. Not only would the voting system be regarded as a failure, he said, but the shortcomings were so egregious the Carter Center would never agree to monitor an election there in the first place. "We wouldn't think of it," the former president told a radio interviewer. "The American political system wouldn't measure up to any sort of international standards, for several reasons." (Read more)

I hadn’t known about former President Jimmy Carter’s feeling before. Another consequence of the lapdog media, I’m sure.

I see the Florida GOP community finds itself in a no win situation with Katherine Harris. I loved Mel Martinez’s backhanded endorsement recently as he grudgingly admitted he would endorse her candidacy and make public appearances with her. It’ll be interesting to see if she opts to appear with her boy, the faux President of the United States with a below 40% approval rating seeing how she was the key component of the electoral coup of 2000. The Palm Beach Post made a nice point about the trepidations the GOP still holds for her candidacy:

“It's an uphill battle — as it invariably is for a challenger facing an incumbent. Until recently, the GOP political hierarchy has been noticeably cool to a Harris candidacy. Their concern, it is frequently said, is that although Harris could easily win a primary election, she cannot attract enough independent voters to defeat Nelson.” (Read more)

Though polls show a tightening of support for her bringing her numbers into the low 40’s, Bill Nelson for the moment seems to be sitting quite comfortably. But hey, this is Florida and as we are well aware of by now strange things can happen at the ballot box. Only time will tell.

"Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie."
~Tony Montana, "Scarface" (Dick Cheney, Choose any interview)

Go to Firedoglake right now for her latest post on Cheney's troubles. Huge, hat tip to her and yes, I pilfered the "Scarface" image of Cheney because it was just too damn good to pass up. It's so perfect and the quote above from the movie "Scarface" epitomizes the entire persona of Cheney and the entire WH contingent.

Just for effect here is the entire quote the post header was lifted from:

"What you lookin' at? You're all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So...what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. This is the last time you're gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!" - Tony Montana