Bluenecks

Mr. Peabody's Welfare Train

2007-08-19T13:24:00.001-05:00

Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher has been insisting all summer on a special legislative session to give huge incentives for a proposed Peabody Energy coal gassification plant. As Kentuckians for the Commonwealth point out, this is a massive corporate welfare scheme designed to benefit the world's largest coal company--a company which posted $600 million in profits last year. Among the possible windfalls: an 80% corporate tax rebate that will ultimately cost the state $800,000 for every job the plant might actually create. Unfortunately, state Democratic leaders seem to be willing to go along (not suprising when the centerpiece of gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear's energy plan is the oxymoronic "clean coal").

KFTC is calling for concerned citizens to e-mail House Speaker Jody Richards to voice their opposition to this corporate give-away, and to call for a state energy policy that shifts our priorities to renewable resources.

Where's the Media?

2007-08-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

I shined my shoes and gave a speech about the ridiculous cost of the war today, and a lot of cool people showed up. Our MoveOn press conference went off without a hitch: we did our prep work, had our report, made our speech, held our giant check, and waited. The trouble is that our three TV network stations and one newspaper did not bother to show up.

WNOX, and WIVK sent reporters and did an interview. Ann Lloyd of WUOT rang me up a couple of hours later and did a phone interview. We even got on the AP daybook. But where were print and TV? The newsrooms got plenty of calls, and they all got a release.

Everybody should send them an email and ask why they didn't cover this important story.

WBIR TV 10 News
email: news@wbir.com

WATE TV 6 News
newsroom@wate.com

WVLT TV 8 News
steven.crabtree@wvlt-tv.com

Knoxville News Sentinel
news@knews.com

Getting Active

2007-08-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten active with Operation Democracy, and we are doing a press conference on Thursday where we will be releasing a report on the cost of the war to East Tennesseans.

Shock and Awe for Tennessee Taxpayers: Knoxville Project Democracy Members Release Cost of War Report

MEDIA RELEASE: Date: 11:30 A.M. Thursday August 16, 2007, location: Whittle Springs Middle School, 2700 White Oak Lane, Knoxville, TN 37917. Contact: Todd Duren 865-660-1980, tdurenATbellsouthDOTnet

Local members of Operation Democracy, an activist arm of MoveOn.org, will release a report on Thursday that details the costs of the war in Iraq to East Tennesseans. They will gather in front of Whittle Springs Middle School to talk about the potential benefits to education, healthcare, energy, and the Federal budget from ending the war.

Each and every day, it is becoming more evident that the Bush Administration is wasting billions of taxpayers' dollars on an endless, religious civil war that cannot be won. On average, $275 million is spent every day on the war in Iraq—that is an average of $4,100 for every household in the United States over the course of the war. And those costs are continuing to rise with no end in sight.

Last month, Congress voted for an additional $100 billion in spending. That makes the total funding appropriated for the war in Iraq so far $456 billion. The cost to Tennessee taxpayers alone is $7.03 billion. And Tennessee taxpayers in the 2nd congressional district are paying $778 million for the Iraq war.

Setting New Priorities

If we had that money back we could do a tremendous amount to benefit East Tennessee.That same amount of money—$778 million— could pay for 3800 new elementary school teachers, 54,000 children with health care, provide 144,000 homes with renewable electricity*, restore TDOT's $12 million bridge replacement funding cuts, and still have enough left over to pay off $182 million on the the $8.9 trillion national debt—a debt that has been entirely created by the Bush administration.

The money being spent in Iraq could be used to improve the lives of Americans instead of putting them at risk. Congress must act quickly to rein in this reckless president and bring an end to this war.

Operation Democracy: Because Democracy is not a Spectator Sport

*tradeoffs are calculated by the National Priorities Project.

So Long Turd Blossom

2007-08-13T17:32:00.000-05:00

I called for his firing on this blog 18 months ago, and finally he's gone. This morning White House political adviser Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove announced his resignation August 31, one step ahead of a Congressional subpoena and Valerie Plame's book.

Rove began his political career at age 19 by stealing his opponent's letterhead and typing "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing." Later he trained GOP campaign volunteers to through the opponent's trash.

But the biggest of all the Rove smears was the Plame affair, a controversy that outlasted the attention span of most Americans, but luckily not that of Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. It began after Valerie Plame's husband Joe Wilson wrote an article accusing the Bush administration of faking intelligence in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, an article that has turned to be entirely true. What does Turd Blossom do? He decides to smear Wilson's wife. Both Rove and his assistant Scooter Libby told Robert Novak that Plame was a CIA agent, and that she got Wilson sent to Niger to look for the non-existant uranium the Bush administration later claimed was a justification for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since it is a Federal crime to reveal the identity of a CIA agent, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald investigated. Finally the mystery was solved on February 12, 2007, when Robert Novak testified under oath that he got confirmation on his article from Karl Rove that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. Earlier this month Rove dodged a Congressional subpoena, sending his assistant instead.

This resignation marks the end of W. His spell over America is broken. The problem is that we have to wait 17 months before we're rid of him.

Kentucky Summer

2007-07-30T21:57:00.001-05:00

Since our senior Kentucky senator, Mitch McConnell, became Senate Majority Leader, the whole world has discovered what we knew here in the Bluegrass for two decades--he's the ultimate Republican rubber stamp. Despite his massive campaign war chest, Mitch has become the target of outraged activists who are ready to expose his blatant disregard for will of the people, and is now drawing a challenge from Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who is organizing an exploratory committee (not that Stumbo is baggage-free, but he's got the name-rec to command some big money). As part of the Americans Against Escalation in Iraq's "Iraq Summer" campaign, folks were camped out at Mitch's house in Louisville over the weekend, as documented over at DitchMitch.com. It's all working up at a national "Take a Stand Day," scheduled for August 28. Learn more here.

New film for anti-war organizing

2007-07-30T06:46:00.000-05:00

The Media Education Foundation's new documentary, War Made Easy, premiers in a couple of weeks. Based on Norman Solomon's 2005 book by the same name, War Made Easy provides a video history of the ways in which presidents and pundits have sold America on war throughout recent history, and how the media has happily tagged along. The producers are hoping that activists will use the film to organizing screenings as a launching pad for new anti-war activities. I ordered my copy just now.

Purplenecks

2007-07-26T07:26:00.001-05:00

Todd and I started this blog two years ago this month as a way to vent our fury over the Iraq War, and to give voice to a seemingly long-forgotten segment of the American electorate--Southern progressives. Bob Moser over at the Nation shows how under the leadership of Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee's "50-State Strategy" is meant to rebuild not just the "solid South" but to create a meaningful capacity for progressives to win elections even in notoriously red states, and so far it's working--that is, if the Democratic party insiders don't eviscerate the strategy. Whole thing here.

Blogs to Watch

2007-07-17T21:41:00.000-05:00

Jen over at Little Lost Country has a great speech about why you should watch CSPAN even when it's a bit dull. It's no surprise that my favorite blog Huffington Post is plugging the debate big time. Over at The Smirking Chimp they point out that blogger Bob Geiger broke the story of the filibuster yesterday. And Air America is taking credit for the whole thing.

And, um, am I the only one expecting Lieberman's face to split open and a crab person to emerge and take over the Senate?

Our Message to Republican Filibusterers

2007-07-17T20:49:00.000-05:00

Background on Filibusters

2007-07-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

While I try to find the USB cable for the camera, let me post this email correction from my friend John Stewart, who served on Hubert Humphrey's staff and is quite the progressive political veteran:

"Todd: Actually it’s 3/5ths (60 votes) not 2/3rds (67 votes). It used to be 67 votes and it was in 1964 when we broke the Southern Democratic filibuster against the Civil Rights bill. But Rule 22, that governs the cloture process, was changed in 1976 (I believe) and now it’s 3/5ths. Your idea of a slumber party for peace is terrific. We will check it out. Cheers, JohnS

P.S. These all night sessions almost never work because the filibusterers have to keep only a couple of senators on the floor talking, but the other side has to produce 51 senators when there is a quorum call to keep the Senate from adjourning due to the absence of a quorum. That is, all the pressure is on the good guys and it is very difficult to keep them within reach on quorum calls. LBJ, as majority leader, tried all night sessions in 1960 during a civil rights debate and failed miserably. It will be interesting to see how Harry Reid does 37 years later. JGS"

Welcome to the Slumber Party!

2007-07-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted here, but the excitement over tonight's filibuster got me off the couch. It looks like the Levin/Reed ammendment might have a chance, forcing Bush to get most of our troops home by April '08.

My family and I decided to stay up late to watch it all on CSPAN. Actually, I decided, but the kids were sent off to bed just now by the Chainman of the Board, my wife Karen. But not before we shot a photo of the family holding a "Slumber Party for Peace" sig. I'm planning to send a link to the pic to Alexander and Corker, who have just voted No in the first of probably several votes tonight.

We've heard some good speeches, including my favorite for righteous indignation by Senator Mikulki of Maryland, and the most persuasive so far (in my opinion) from New York's Senator Schumer. Check Think Progress for live blog coverage of the floor votes, and check back here if you stay up late.

Oh, and leave a comment.

Happy Christmas (War is Over)

2006-12-19T12:44:00.000-05:00

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?

The song recorded written in 1971 by John Lennon speaks to us more than ever on this Christmas without peace on earth. As my family and I prepare for the highest of Christian holidays, I challenge you to resist this war by word and deed as part of your personal holiday celebration.

It is clear to Americans this holiday season that we have made a horrific mess of Iraq, and something — everything — has got to change. Four years ago we invaded a sovereign nation based on fear of another attack like 9/11. President Bush used his state of the nation speech in 2003 to convince us Iraq was pursuing chemical and nuclear weapons. Colin Powell claimed in his speech to the UN that evidence of WMDs had been found. With these mistruths, Bush made it seem patriotic for Americans to support a war against a nation that had not attacked us.

The most notorious of the administration lies were the claims that Iraq had doomsday nuclear and chemical weapons, and that our enemy Al Qaeda was being aided by Iraqi’s bloody president Saddam Hussein. These lies, conveniently referred to as “bad intelligence,” have been repudiated again and again by books, government reports, and the media.

Despite our voting to oust the Republicans last November, things in Iraq are going from bad to worse. Elections have brought neither peace nor stability. al-Sadr’s Mahdi army, a true terrorist organization supported by a large faction of the Iraqi government, has replaced Al Quada as the main concern in Iraq. Baghdad is in shambles. Formerly integrated neighborhoods are being ethnically cleansed. Peace-loving citizens are long gone, and the few middle class residents who remain must be protected by armed militias. Nearly 3000 Americans soldiers are dead, many more are maimed, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been bombed, shot, burned, and tortured to death on our watch. Bush cannot deny it any longer — this is a civil war.

So what will we do about it?

No matter how soon you think we should redeploy, I urge you to insist on an immediate and complete withdrawal for the clear and simple reason of political expediency. The physical and political reality is probably that our soldiers will not come home in large numbers for at least a year and a half. It could well take that long just to round up billions in gear and leave town with guns aimed to the rear.

In the meantime, here are three simple things you can do to help bring peace on earth this Christmas:

Forward this message with a personal comment to your entire address book. Click on the envelope graphic below to do so.
Join or start a peace vigil.
Write a “get out of Iraq” letter to the editor of your local paper.

This Christmas, it’s not enough to sing carols and give gifts. If we really want peace, we must act.

It was true in 1971, and it’s true now: War is over if you want it.

The Marriage of Hayek and Rawls

2006-12-12T07:28:00.000-05:00

As friends of mine know, I've been grasping for several years now at how to reconcile my leftist and libertarian tendencies, and in the last several months it's become clear I'm not alone. A great deal has been made of the defection of small "l" libertarians from the Republican to the Democratic camps, especially in the recent mid-term elections, and a whole sub-genre of blog discussions has emerged on this new trend.

Now more thoughtful people than myself have entered the discussion and are offering some suggestions that are both philosophical and pragmatic on how this fusion of classical liberalism and modern progressivism might work in practice. Check out Brink Lindsey's essay from the New Republic on "Liberaltarians." The essence of his argument is that a winning combination can be made of marrying leftist social goals with libertarian political means.

More thoughts on this over at Freedom Democrats.

Even lame ducks can crap on a Constitution

2006-11-13T18:35:00.000-05:00

President Bush is going to try to ram approval of his illegal wire-tapping scheme through Congress while he's still got enough Republicans to rubber stamp his ideas. Please contact your Congresscritters asap and urge them to stop this nonsense. The Bill of Rights Defense Committee offers some talking points here.

Now What?

2006-11-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little post-election post: I am, of course, happy with the overall outcome yesterday. Like I said a few days ago, I don't expect some new dawning of liberty across the land. But I will definitely sleep easier knowing that there is at least one branch of government organized to place a check on executive power for the next two years.

Perhaps Rumsfeld's resignation is more satisfying than even the election...nah, not THAT satisfying, but pretty good nonetheless. That he stayed this long is a sign of the President's incredible arrogance.

The Democrats have to get moving and fast. They need to make some real legislative decisions so that when two years has passed they are still not running on a theme of, "Vote for us 'cause we didn't make this mess." Listening to John Murtha blather on rather incoherently on NPR this morning about the Dems' vague proposals for Iraq didn't inspire much confidence. I'm not smart enough (or maybe I'm just too bleary-eyed from staying up late last night) to say exactly what the Democratic agenda should be, but this should be the first order of business if there's any hope to make this win meaningful. Perhaps a good start would be reviving the Jeffersonian ideals of the party as a legislative philosophy?

A Long Night

2006-11-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

I hit the hay around midnight, with the Corker camp jubilant and key Senate races still hanging. Republicans are two seats ahead in the Senate races this morning, 49-47. Missouri went to McCaskill in the wee hours. Key states still up for grabs are Montana, Virginia. Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania flipped for the Democrats.

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 228
Democrats: 194

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 47
Democrats: 49

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 22
Democrats: 28

Dems Win the House

2006-11-07T23:18:00.000-05:00

CNN has just called the House for Democrats!
TENNESSEE SENATE
Corker: 53%
Ford: 46%

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 133
Democrats: 154

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 46
Democrats: 47

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 15
Democrats: 25

Descrimination Legalized

2006-11-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

Sadly, the amendment 1 gay marriage ban is passing overwhelmingly in Tennessee. We have voted 81%–19% to put discrimination in the state Constitution.

With much of Memphis is still not reported…
TENNESSEE SENATE
Corker: 51%
Ford: 48%

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 117
Democrats: 129

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 46
Democrats: 45

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 11
Democrats: 22

More Updates

2006-11-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

Ford is gaining as polls are closing in Middle and West Tennessee. TENNESSEE SENATE
Corker: 53%
Ford: 46%

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 60
Democrats: 69

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 44
Democrats: 43

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 9
Democrats: 20

Latest Update

2006-11-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

Disappointing news in the Tennessee Senate race. With only 4% reporting:
TENNESSEE SENATE
Corker: 56%
Ford: 43%

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 28
Democrats: 37

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 42
Democrats: 32

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 7
Democrats: 12

Watching the Returns

2006-11-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

OK, I’m home from work and have the TV on to watch the results. We’ve got a few friends coming over after we get the kids to bed. I’ll post the results in box score form like this:

U.S. HOUSE
Republicans: 17
Democrats: 30

U.S. SENATE
Republicans: 42
Democrats: 30

GOVERNORS
Republicans: 7
Democrats: 12

Stay tuned for updates. For those of you watching the tube like me, here’s a drinking game: Every time CNN mentions “voting irregularities” you take a drink. My prediction: We’ll all be hung over in the morning.

Support the Troops: Vote for Change in Iraq

2006-11-06T23:31:00.000-05:00

Today’s the day that the Democrats are going to retake the House. America is ready for change in Iraq and they are throwing out the party that got us in this mess. Do your part by voting today. General Wesley Clark stars in these great TV spots by votevets.org. Forward to your friends.

Marriage Rights are Human Rights

2006-11-05T17:34:00.000-05:00

“America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the other way round. Human rights invented America.” — Jimmy Carter

This Tuesday conservatives in eight states, including my state of Tennessee, will ask voters to legalize anti-gay discrimination. Sine the value of a democracy is measured by how it treats its minority citizens, I hope voters in those states will reject legalized discrimination and allow same-sex couple equal rights under law.

The religious right is distracting voters from the war, the economy, foreign policy, and healthcare with divisive wedge issues like this. Many conservative evangelicals are still delivering votes for the GOP on this issue. At least conservatives like this writer for Idaho’s New West understand that marriage rights are civil rights, declaring, “A vote for HJR 2 [a gay marriage ban] isn’t a courageous blow against the forces of evil. It’s a fear-based, irrational and mean-spirited blow against basic civil rights.”

The following states will have referendums on gay marriage bans next month: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin. If you are voting in one of these states, click on its link to read more about the issue in your state.

This one matters

2006-11-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

Unless you are living in the mountains sans any telecommunication devices or even the U.S. mail (an occasional dream of mine), you know Tuesday is Election Day. The "Brushfire" has been burning low lately, due to my ridiculous work and school schedule, and though I always feel fantastically ambivalent on Election Day, I felt some obligation to offer a grunt to two about the occasion, since I think this one actually matters.

You all--my friends and family who love me enough to actually spend time reading these idle ramblings--know that the most important issue to me these days is civil liberty and the exploding, uncontrolled, ghastly growth of unchecked, unrestrained, and unconstitutional executive government power. This election is important because it's a genuine opportunity for the American people collectively to protest this unacceptable and un-American situation. With all three branches of the federal government controlled by one party, there is no effective way to promote the checks and balances that preserve the core principles of our republic.

Realistically, I harbor no illusions that a change in the leadership of Congress will suddenly bring a new wave of small-government, pro-liberty energy to Washington. The quality of candidates from either of the major parties is pitiful. Extremely few opposition candidates are actually running on a platform of checking restrained government power. But my sincere hope is that a divided government will at least promote more thoughtful debate and dialogue, and possibly even stop some of the more egregious examples of anti-liberty activities, whether they are core constitutional issues like free speech, torture, and privacy, or broader issues such as lying about American foreign policy objectives and actions, or restricting free speech and commerce on the internet.

At any rate, it matters little whether the next Congress does anything specific to address the war in Iraq, health care, the environment, education, or any of the typical election-year issues that are a concern to voters, if we continue to lose the central freedoms that made America great in the first place. If we lose the Constitution, we lose everything. And that's why I'll bother to go to the polls on Tuesday, and why I'll be hoping for a regime change in Washington.

I’m Calling for Change

2006-11-04T12:42:00.000-05:00

Today I did some volunteer work to help win Congress back from the GOP. I was calling voters in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, where Democrat and former University of Tennessee football player Heath Shuler is running against long-time incumbent Charles Taylor.

It was really easy to do, and I got a warm response from everybody who answered. MoveOn.org organized this Call for Change program. All I did was click buttons on a website to get the numbers. The website gives you the basic things to say, but encourages you to be real and honest, unlike a recent robot push poll call I got from Bob Corker’s campaign. I talked to some folks who sounded African American and were already supporting Heath Shuler. I could even tell the callers where their polling place is!

If some of my Blueneck friends want to get involved, go to the MoveOn website and click on the Call for Change link at the top. It’s really easy and only costs a little time and some long distance minutes on your calling plan. And on Tuesday night when you’re watching the returns you can know you did your part to help.

In their Own Words: GOP war leaders explain why they cannot be trusted

2006-10-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

Here we are, a week out from the election. What can I write that would wake up the fence-sitters and otherwise same Americans to the fact that the party in power lied to us about Iraq and deserves some old-fashioned “democracy-building” upside their heads? How about this: list what they have said (with sources) and contrast it with what other folks (mostly Democrats) have said. This isn’t my original idea — it comes from Stupid Quotes About Iraq by Daniel Kurtzman. Since it seems to be so hard for some of us to tell truth from fiction and wisdom from idiocy, I’ve added labels for the slow learners. In all-caps.

STUPID: “My answer is bring ‘em on.”
—President George W. Bush, July 2, 2003 (Source)
WISE: “War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.“
— John McCain, May 6, 1999 (Source)

LIE: “I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.”
— Vice President Dick Cheney (Source)
WISE: “The administration needs to speak honestly with the American people. Exaggerating our progress in defeating the insurgency or in creating an Iraqi army paints a dangerous picture.”
— Sherrod Brown (Source)

STUPID: “As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
—Donald Rumsfeld, Dec. 8, 2004 (Source)
WISE: “It’s easy to sit in your air-conditioned offices and send them into battle.“
— Jack Murtha (Source)

LIE: “My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.”
–Vice President Dick Cheney, March 16, 2003 (Source)
TRUTH: Asked in a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll whether they view the U.S.-led coalition as “liberators” or “occupiers,” 71% of all respondents say “occupiers.”
(Source)
LIE: “Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of other countries.”
— Colin Powell, on Iraq’s WMDs, Feb. 5, 2003 (Source)
TRUTH: “…it turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong and in some cases, deliberately misleading.“
— Colin Powell, May 2004 (Source)

STUPID: “Freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”
–Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding “stuff happens,” April 11, 2003 (Source)
(Source)
WISE: “If we have a chance of succeeding and bringing stability and democracy to Iraq, it will mean learning from our mistakes, not denying them and not ignoring them. ”
— Carl Levin

STUPID: “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
— President Bush, May 2, 2003 (Source)
http://politicalhumor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=politicalhumor&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.state.gov%2Fp%2Fnea%2Frls%2Frm%2F20203.htm
SMART: “After a brilliant offensive campaign to destroy the Iraqi military forces, we have settled into a very dismal and dangerous occupation.”
— Jack Reed

This one is my favorite because it proves this President has contempt for the truth. Has he not heard of a little thing called videotape? Or YouTube?

LIE: “Well, hey, listen, we’ve never been “stay the course,” George. We have been — we will complete the mission, we will do our job, and help achieve the goal, but we’re constantly adjusting to tactics. Constantly.”
— President Bush, October 22, 2006 (Source)
TRUTH: “We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed, and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century.“ — President Bush, August 30, 2006 (Source)

Among the 10 Worst

2006-10-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

Rolling Stone magazine has announced its estimation of the 10 Worst Congressmen from the worst Congress ever, and the Bluegrass state made the list: Rep. Hal Rogers, who is one of Washington's Kings of Pork. Talk about betraying the Conservative Soul. The archconservative National Review called Rogers a "disgrace." (Not my district, for what it's worth....).

The Conservative Soul

2006-10-16T06:53:00.000-05:00

Stayed up late last night watching Andrew Sullivan on C-SPAN's Q&A. Sullivan is promoting his new book, The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get it Back.

I have seen Sullivan before, even read some of his stuff, but I was really impressed with him last night. He's a gay, HIV-positive, passionately Catholic Englishman, Harvard-educated PhD in political philosophy and a powerful advocate for classic conservatism, a la Edmund Burke, William F. Buckley, etc. Listening to Sullivan talk about politics, faith, being a gay conservative, etc., was captivating, especially his take on how doubt is the heart of real faith and good politics. If there was ever a manifesto for how the Republican party betrayed its own principles, and what it might look like if they ever found their way again, it's The Conservative Soul. See the interview here.

A Presidential Disaster

2006-10-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

I must have missed this one when it made the news a week or two ago, and I couldn't believe it until I saw it for myself: President Bush describing the war in Iraq as a "comma" in history.

An Example

2006-10-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

What would a "Freedom Democrat" look like? Paul Gessing over at Free Liberal says take a look at Florida Congressional candidate Frank Gonzalez. He promises to be the Democrat "Ron Paul."

Liberty Dems

2006-10-03T07:36:00.000-05:00

At Cato Unbound, Markos "Daily Kos" Moulitsas makes his case for why libertarians and libertarian-leaning folks belong with the Democrats (at least for now). From a purist libertarian perspective, his argument doesn't work, of course, but neither do the arguments for the libertarian-Republican coalition promoted by the folks over at the Republican Liberty Caucus (Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul notwithstanding). If libertarians are serious about having some actual influence over the political world, working with one of the two parties is an evil necessity, and the Republicans ain't it. For more see the Freedom Democrats blog (with more discussion of Kos' article).

Moulitsas' is the first in a series on the topic. More perspectives will be posted at Cato Unbound.

Back in June Reason's Jesse Walker made some libertarian suggestions for "How to be a Half-Decent Democrat."

Our Elder Statesman

2006-10-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

Former President Jimmy Carter lays the smack down on the Bush administration in an interview with ABC News. Among his comments: how success in Afghanistan was abandoned to pursue Iraq, the government's dishonesty, Rumsfeld's failure of leadership, and Clinton's efforts to stop Al-Queda.

Read Some Banned Books

2006-09-25T20:37:00.000-05:00

The American Library Association is observing its annual Banned Books Week, calling attention to the endless attempts to censor everything from 1984 (a bit ironic, no?) to Captain Underpants. Also, a good list of banned books is available from Google.

Thanks to Katherine Mangu-Ward at Reason for the links.

Open the Government

2006-09-17T09:33:00.000-05:00

Paul McMasters, a columnist for the Gannett News Service (which owns the Louisville Courier-Journal, among many other newspapers), has a great piece out today on the dangers to democracy when government secrecy is on the rise. And when information isn't withheld, the facts are often distorted or ignored by members of Congress when they debate important issues, according to a new research study.

Open the Government's Secrecy Report Card 2006 has just been released, documenting the unprecedented rise in government attempts to make unclassified information off-limits to the public. Check out Open the Government's website, and their great animated video, "Are We Safer in the Dark?"

The End of Iraq

2006-08-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

I just watched Peter Galbraith on C-SPAN's Q&A discussing his new book, The End of Iraq. Galbraith, a former diplomat with tons of personal experience in Iraq, especially among the Kurds, retreads some familiar territory in describing the terrible blunders the Bush administration made in its hell-bent invasion of Iraq and total cluelessness about how to handle the country post-Saddam (though he does offer some mind-blowing anecdotes, like the story of three Iraqis who visited the White House shortly before the invasion and discovered that President Bush was not familiar with the Sunni-Shiite divisions within Islam!).

The C-SPAN interview was weak in that host Brian Lamb did not probe Galbraith for his specific ideas about what do to in Iraq now that the mess has been made. Reviews of the books indicate that the author is an advocate for a divided Iraq, which he calls "three states in one nation." Clearly a Kurdish partisan, Galbraith suggests that the US could maintain its military presence in the region via an independent Kurdistan, and essentially turn over the remainder of the country to the already-politically stable Shiite south, and a Sunni-governed central area. He argues that such a division would quell the sectarian tensions that currently dominated the so-called unified Iraqi nation and actually gain us a military advantage against Iran (how, I'm not sure; guess I'll have to read the book).

free speech, the flag, and property rights

2006-08-25T06:36:00.000-05:00

A big stir up in Louisville this week involving education, free speech--and a lesser appreciated liberty these days: property rights.

A week ago today 7th grade social studies teacher Dan Holden decided to burn a couple of small American flags in class to provoke debate and thought about free speech among his students. I was a seventh grade social studies teacher myself once upon a time, and still work in the education business (now as an administrator), and I've got to admire Mr. Holden's courage: I really believe he thought he was responding to what educational research has been telling us for a long time: many students learn visually and emotionally--they have to be engaged to learn and remember. I am quite certain those students will never forget the day Mr. Holden burned a flag in class.

I hope they also understand and remember his point. I'm not sure they will, and Mr. Holden may pay a heavy price for his educational riskiness. There was an (easy to expect) outcry from parents, who were both outraged at his actions but also concerned about safety issues involved when teachers set fire to classroom objects. Mr. Holden has been placed on non-instructional duty while the Jefferson County Public Schools investigates his case.

The real issue Mr. Holden has revealed, however, is not that flag burning is protected speech. It's one more subtle, and one that civil libertarians often miss: that free speech is inextricably linked to property rights.

I do not have an absolute right to free speech. Most people get that slander and liable are not protected speech--but the issue is bigger than that. I ultimately have free speech only on property that belongs to me, or where I have gained the permission of the property owner. I cannot burn flags in the middle of McDonald's, for example, unless for some strange reason the company's ownership is okay with me doing so. But I could burn a flag in my front yard, or perhaps in a public park, for all the world to see. I could not steal my neighbor's flag and burn it (this is theft and destruction of private property), nor could I brandish the burning flag in my neighbor's face (wanton endangerment), nor could I yell and scream in a way that would disturb my neighbors in the quiet and peace of their own homes (disorderly conduct). But if it's my flag in my yard and I'm not infringing on anyone else's rights, then I have freedom of speech and the freedom to burn it.

Mr. Holden was not, of course, in his yard. He was at work and acting in his capacity as an employee. I hope the JCPS understands Mr. Holden's intent, but if they decide that flag burning is not an acceptable activity for their employees, they are completely within their rights to restrict his speech. I hope they give him a second chance, and that he understands the limits of speech in the work place, but more importantly I hope his students have an even richer understanding of liberty than perhaps even Mr. Holden intended.

A peacenik goes to war

2006-08-22T06:27:00.000-05:00

My opposition to the war in Iraq has been a focal point of my political thinking since Bush started speeding the nation toward this conflict in 2002. Despite international and widespread domestic pressure to the contrary, Bush proceeded with the invasion and left us with a terrible mess. Frustration over the war, and Americans’ blind acceptance of Bush’s justifications and continued use of misinformation was a major reason Todd and I started this blog just over a year ago: we felt the need to do something to speak out.

Now, four years since the war-talk began in earnest and three and a half years after the invasion, America is at a crossroads. The national consensus is that the war was a mistake and that the government has committed a terrible blunder in its prosecution. Folks are angry and want change, but there is no greater clarity on what to actually do in Iraq than when our tanks first entered Baghdad. Democrats may capitalize on this frustration by winning elections this fall (and I hope they do), but ultimately they need to offer some solutions. And with a heavy heart, I have decided that “Bring the troops home now” is not the right solution.

To make myself clear, I offer a dozen well-documented reasons why Bush has been a disastrous president on this issue: His administration:

1. Decided in advance to invade Iraq before there was intelligence to justify such an invasion.
2. Exaggerated intelligence about WMD’s.
3. Exaggerated the connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
4. Are either liars or morons: If the intelligence was falsified or exaggerated, that’s inexcusable dishonesty; if the faulty intelligence was believed, that’s inexcusable incompetence.
5. Ruined our international reputation by promoting this faulty intelligence in the world community and then proceeded without genuine multilateral support.
6. Invaded Iraq without an adequate understanding of sectarian tensions within the country and assuming it would be a quick in-and-out operation.
7. Invaded without allocating enough manpower or equipment to properly secure the country, in direct defiance of the requests and advice of generals in charge on the ground.
8. Devoted untold resources to this invasion that should have been used in the struggle against Al Qaeda (and just where is Osama, anyway?).
9. Declared “Mission Accomplished” when the invasion was over, but long before the war was won.

10. Continues to insist on a connection between Iraq and 9/11, even though he admits Iraq had "nothing" to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
11. Uses the war in Iraq and the broader “war on terror” to defy the Constitution and restrict the very civil liberties that make America free.
12. Refuses to acknowledge any of these mistakes, or to articulate a viable strategy for actual victory in Iraq.

Liberals, libertarians, populists and independents may have allowed their anger over all these screw ups and acts of dishonesty to cloud clear thinking about the current reality of the situation. While the invasion may have been misguided and mishandled, I have become convinced that to pull out of Iraq would leave the Iraqi people in the midst of chaos, further destabilize the Middle East, and encourage actual terrorist organizations and activities. At the risk of having my liberal membership card revoked (and getting some serious grief from my friends), here are my arguments for fighting for a stable, free Iraq with a long-term, maybe permanent, US military presence:

1. This has been said so many times it’s a cliché, but it’s true nevertheless: if we leave Iraq the already near-civil war will turn into an all-out bloodbath. After wrecking the country’s infrastructure and wiping out its government, we have a humanitarian duty to help these people avoid total annihilation (liberals, after all, aren’t about taking a “screw ‘em” approach to disadvantaged peoples).
2. While there may have been no actual Iraq-Al Qaeda connection before the war, the Sunni insurgency, embodied in folks like the late terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is clearly driven by the same ideology as the Islamic extremists who committed the 9/11 atrocities. Though not intentional, the war in Iraq has opened a new front against our actual enemies, and a post-American Iraq dominated by the Sunni insurgency will be a certain haven for real terrorists.
3. A three-state solution, while worthy of consideration, has to guard against Shi’a dominance. A post-American Iraq dominated by Shiites would be a haven for expanding Iranian influence in the Middle East. This, to me, is the sole argument for insisting on a unified Iraq.
4. Iran (especially a nuclear-armed Iran) and Syria pose serious threats to the region and to the international community because of their unabashed support for terrorism. The recent war in Southern Lebanon was a result of an emboldened Hezbollah, well-armed and supported by Syria and Iran. And while I’m pleased the fighting has ended, Hezbollah has reason to claim victory in the conflict because they have survived to fight another day.
5. The greatest threat to freedom in the world is religious extremism, whether it is Islamic extremism in the Middle East or Christian extremism at home. Just as we need to fight for changes in political leadership within the US, we must be prepared to fight against organizations and regimes worldwide that use their extremist ideologies to attack innocents and threaten governments. This is no phantom threat, and it will not be defeated quickly. A semi-permanent military presence in the Middle East might offer us some advantage in influencing the region and provide a degree of deterrence against Iran, Syria and other legitimate threats.

So, how do we actually “win” in Iraq, when the situation seems so un-winnable? I think at least three broad responses point the way. First, we need to abandon the idea that we’re getting out anytime soon. If Iraq has any hope for becoming a semi-stable, semi-free nation, it will take a long time. Our desperate, well-intentioned effort to get the country back on its feet and set up a government before the government was secure may have actually encouraged the insurgency. They saw a great opening in the instability.

Secondly, we are going to need a much larger commitment of troops and resources to secure Baghdad and Anbar province. Michael Gordon, interviewed on Fresh Air last week, is co-author of Cobra II, considered “the definitive history” of the Iraqi invasion. Gordon carefully documents how the Bush administration defied the wisdom and advice of military generals in carrying out the war, and expresses his hope that the war can eventually be won by making a long-term effort to provide security, nurture democracy, and eventually support the government in taking care of itself. I might add that this will be more than a military commitment. Major humanitarian efforts need to be enhanced to rebuild the country’s civic and social institutions and especially its economy.

Finally, we need a regime change here at home. Rumsfeld and Rice should be fired for their arrogance and incompetence in deciding to go to war and in prosecuting it, and Bush should be impeached for his failure of leadership. This won’t happen, of course, and so the most realistic thing we can hope for is a change in Congress, which by controlling purse strings and acting as a check on the Executive branch may influence the direction of the war. To do this, though, Democrats will need a unified and coherent strategy on the war, something a little more substantive than “Stay the course” or “Bring them home.” So far, they have not put forth such a strategy. America and Iraq can’t wait much longer.

The argument, of course, is that the extremist ideologies and sectarian violence runs so deeply in Iraq that they will never make peace with themselves, will never tolerate our presence and will never open up to democratic or economic reform. I think liberals should be careful using these kinds of generalizations about whole groups people (I have been guilty of this myself), and also careful about self-fulfilling prophesies. Americans may not have the political will for the long-term fight involved in securing and supporting Iraq (and this is largely because of the failures of the Bush administration in the invasion and occupation), and so I recognize the most likely outcome here is an eventual pull-out of Iraq before the nation is secure. The result will be just as we have predicted: violence, destabilization and more terrorism. We can blame this on Bush, and that may make us feel better, but the truth is that we will make it happen if we get out now.

So, against all odds, I am staking out a new position on the war. It was wrong, it was handled wrongly, and to simply leave now without a post-war plan would be wronger still. Liberals, libertarians, independents, populists, and conservatives need to pick up the pieces the Bush administration has left and try to make something positive, productive and peaceful from the results.

BLUE DEED OF THE WEEK

2006-08-20T18:39:00.000-05:00

Support Judge Anna Diggs Taylor

“On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, a federal judge from Detroit, ruled that the Bush administration’s much-vaunted domestic spying program was unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it. Could this be the beginning of the American people waking up from the long national nightmare that has been the Bush administration and its “war on terror?” Let’s hope so.”
—Jackson Sun

call: 313-234-5105 and let Judge Taylor know you stand behind her!

Ron Lewis needs to buy a clue

2006-08-18T21:53:00.000-05:00

Mike Weaver, Democratic candidate for Kentucky's 2nd Congressional district, got some headlines this week by offering to pay for part of motorists' gasoline at a Ratcliff station on Wednesday. Weaver paid the difference so that drivers could get gas for $1.20 a gallon, the same price as when Congressman Ron Lewis, Weaver's Republican opponent, was first elected in 1994.

Lewis called it a cheap stunt, which of course it is. But then Lewis asked the U.S. Attorney's office to investigate whether the Weaver event was in fact vote buying.

Give me a break. I really think voters are going to respond to that. Maybe Lewis should have gotten his gas at Weaver's station and used his savings to buy a clue.

"No Kings in America."

2006-08-18T06:57:00.000-05:00

A major victory yesterday. A U.S. district judge declared the Bush spying program unconstitutional. Anybody want to go to Cincinnati to protest outside during the appeal?

Dispatch from Indiana's "Bloody 8th"

2006-08-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

Today NPR's Morning Edition featured a report from Indiana's Eighth Congressional District, where I used to live. This Southwest district of a Very Red state has been so hotly contested in recent years it earned the name the "Bloody 8th." Linda Wertheimer profiles the race between Republican incumbent John Hostettler and Democratic challenger Brad Ellsworth, mayor of Evansville. It looks like in Indiana, like elsewhere in the country, the Dems are running on a platform of "We're not to blame for the mess; vote for us instead." Still, Hostettler must be running scared from the sounds of the tacky smear ad he's airing against Ellsworth.

“Screw Diplomacy, I Say We Kicked Some Islamic Fascist Butt!”

2006-08-15T10:31:00.000-05:00

Leave it to W to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. No, I’m not talking about Iraq, where we’re trying to stave off civil war over three years after he swaggered aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln under a “Mission Accomplished” banner. I’m talking about Lebanon. Last week he invented a new “Fear Factor” term: “Islamic fascists.” Yesterday he used it for Hezbollah during the first day of a fragile cease-fire in South Lebanon.

Then he continued to beat a dead horse by bragging that Hezbollah had been defeated. I’m going out on a limb here to say that’s probably not the best way to build trust in a fragile peace, ya think?

Mr. Bush: diplomacy sometimes requires that you keep quiet and listen, something it appears you can only do during a national disaster when Americans are stranded on their rooftops.

For a sane insider opinion on the South Lebanon massacre, Read this article by Jewish-Lebanese-American Henry Picciotto.

Cracking down on "decency"

2006-08-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

I live in Kentucky's Second Congressional District, where Republican Ron Lewis is facing his first serious challenger in Mike Weaver. We got a slick, one-page, double-sided mailing from Lewis this week proclaiming his accomplishments for our district. His list:

Combating methamphetamine
Expanding access to affordable health care through Medical Savings Accounts
"Cracking down on broadcast decency" (sic; italics mine; I loved the delightfully ironic typo)
"Protecting the institution of marriage"
Providing tax relief by trying to make permanent the $1,000 per child tax credit, ending the marriage penalty, and offering tax incentives for parents who adopt.

I have no problem with Lewis' ideas for medical savings accounts and tax relief (though they benefit a restricted portion of his constituency). The rest is relatively useless crap that does not match up with the highest priorities of most Kentuckians.

Mike Weaver has a chance to make a change in Congress, but he's got to be willing to articulate an agenda that has more relevance and meaning than Lewis. I'm waiting....

Nashville: The "New Ellis Island"?

2006-08-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

Bob Moser writes a fascinating, in-depth and flat-out disturbing piece for the Nation about Tennessee's current immigration battles. Most interesting is how well-meaning, idealistic populists can, in times of social distress, turn their anger toward the wrong people. Story here.

Reason offers a lengthy look at why there is, in fact, no immigration crisis, and how not to deal with a non-problem.

Big Terrorist Plot Uncovered

2006-08-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

I just saw the lead story on NPR: a plot to blow up planes between Britain and the US has been uncovered. More on the story here. I'm sure that the GOP will respond to this in a partisan manner and attack Dems as weak on terrorism...

Gimme That Old-Time Dissent

2006-08-10T10:59:00.000-05:00

Check out Joshua Micah Marshall’s articlein Time on how Lieberman lost the nomination the old-fashioned way — by getting too comfortable with Washington insiders and losing touch with his constituents back home. Here’s a quote:

Many pundits claim that Lieberman’s defeat is a replay of the way Democrats tore themselves apart over Vietnam. It’s an appealing thought for Republicans. And it has got nice drama. But those pundits are either being disingenuous or are caught in a time warp. Democrats are actually fairly united on the Iraq War in their opposition to it — which is actually where most Americans are right now. And though many Senators are not as full-throated in their opposition as the base of the party, you don’t see any successful challenges being made against other Senators who aren’t ready to bring the troops home.

The GOP Reacts to Lamont Victory

2006-08-10T09:11:00.000-05:00

Click here to hear the GOP strategy in November. Heh, heh!

The Lamont victory in Connecticut is a shot in the arm for real Democrats — the kind who will stand up to the President and his do-nothing party in Washington. But winning back the Congress will be a long uphill battle.

The war will be issue number one in mid-term elections. 62% of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the war, they only give Congress a 36% approval rating, and almost two-thirds think the country is on the wrong track. While high gas prices and healthcare costs are important, Americans are most concerned about the war.

There are 29 open house seats. The Dems need 15 to win back control of the house after 12 years in the minority. Can ballance be restored in Washington? Here are some races to watch. Email me with other suggestions.

Democrat Nick Lampson is planning to take back Tom Delay’s House seat in Texas’s District 2. He’s now running against Wallace, who’ll be a write-in candidate. Could be a feather in the Democrats’ cap.
New Jersey Republican Tom Kean Jr. is in a dead heat with incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Menendez.
Virginia’s anti-war Democrat Jim Webb is trailing 11 points in his bid to beat pro-war GOP incumbent George Allen for the Senate.
Wisonsin’s 8th district Republican House speaker John Gard is running against Democratic challenger Steve Kagen, who was leading by ten points in last month’s poll I read.
GOP Rep. Bob Nay of Ohio has just dropped out due to the Abramov scandal. GOP choice Joy Padgett may be ineligible. Democrat Zack Space is the nominee who hopes to retake the seat in November.

Meanwhile Back in New Orleans

2006-08-10T07:05:00.000-05:00

This just in…

NEW YORK A photographer for the Times-Picayune of New Orleans who has undergone severe personal trauma since Hurricana Katrina hit was arrested Tuesday after trying to get police to shoot him to death. Full Story.

We shouldn’t forget that a major American city is still functioning in the third world, and that thousands of our citizens are barely coping as they wrestle with insurance companies, roll the dice with a levee system no better than it was pre-Katrina, and try to get back to normal life in a city where things will likely never be normal again.

I’ve written quite a bit about NOLA in my blog called Tennessee Crowbar Krewe.

A "certain kind of Democrat"

2006-08-09T19:52:00.000-05:00

Lots of passionate banter among my co-workers today about the Connecticut primary (among my colleagues are an Iraq war veteran, a libertarian-leaning Republican, and a centrist Democrat Connecticut native). The general consensus of everybody but me: the Dems just committed political suicide by nominating somebody too liberal to win, and the Republicans will steal the seat in November.

Maybe they're right, but I think Leiberman has to be held accountable for his support of the war and his feeble opposition to the rest of the Bush administration's tyrrany. What have the Democrats stood for lately that clearly makes them different from the Republicans (I'll give you the minimum wage as an exception)? To make my point, I opened up the pages of this week's Time magazine and read the following words:

The Congressman who is running to replace retiring Bill Frist as Senator from Tennessee has voted to outlaw gay marriage and to repeal the estate tax, and wants to amend the Constitution to ban flag burning. He supports getting rid of the andgun ban in the nation's capital and says the Ten Commandments should be posted in courtrooms around his state. He favors school prayer, argues that more troops should have been sent to Iraq and wants to seal the border with Mexico.

The Congressman in question is, of course, Harold Ford, Jr., and the article goes on to proclaim that a "certain kind of Democrat" like Ford has a real chance of winning in the Volunteer State this year. But I have to wonder, what exactly do Tennesseans "win" by a Ford election? Maybe, perhaps, they hold the line somewhat against the forces of rabid, reactionary, theocratic conservatism. But that's it. And if that's what we've become, then we've lost so much ground against the forces of the right that we need far more creative thinking than this.

Don't get me wrong: I live in Kentucky, land o' McConnell, and I wish I had a Democrat like Ford to vote for up here (up here where the name "Ford" also once meant a "certain kind of Democrat"--but that guy was a genuine centrist who makes Harold Jr. look like a member of the John Birch Society). What's a Dem to do? I know exactly what I would have done in Connecticut last night....

We the Peephole…

2006-08-09T13:02:00.000-05:00

Newsday political cartoonist Walt Handelsman has a great animated send-up of the Patriot Act called “Pirates of the Constitution,” complete with a George W. Bush parot. I hope Gary gets a kick out of this one while he’s polishing his Lamont for Congress button.

Strip Lieberman of Committee Assignments

2006-08-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

Check out Daily Koz for his response to Lieberman’s independent bid for the Senate. I’m with him. Clinton said vote for Lieberman because he’s a “good Democrat.” Now he’s proven that he’s not. Email Harry Reid now and ask that he protect the party and strip Lieberman of all committee assignments. The voters of Connecticut have spoken and now Lieberman is saying “screw you” to the voters and the party. He’ll now get GOP money and support.

Here’s my email:

Senator Reid:

As a loyal registered Democrat who wants to see my party retake the Senate, I urge you to strip Joe Lieberman of his Committee Assignments and give them to a real Democrat. It is now completely clear that Lieberman has no intention off respecting the voters or the party.

Thank you for your voice of dissent on the War in Iraq. The Lamont victory is proof that the people are behind you. Keep fighting the good fight to bring our soldiers home.

The Democrats have a chance to really make a change now. Lamont has proven the party can win only when it stop being afraid to lose. No more Republican-Lite. Let’s stand up for Democratric values and win back the Senate.

A Whole New Ballgame

2006-08-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

With 86% of precints reporting in Connecticut, it looks like the impossible has happened. Lamont did it. He beat Lieberman and set an example for how to win in '06 and '08. Here it is folks, plain and simple: Be a real Democrat and stop apologizing for Bush's war in Iraq.

It's a whole new ballgame now. Look for Jack Murtha and Harry Reid to start getting more respect. Look for Hillary, who's already called the war a huge mistake, to continue her 11th-hour conversion. Look for the press to start paying more attention to antiwar Presidential hopefuls like Kucinich and Feingold. And look for Democrats to start planning photo ops Crawford Texas where antiwar mom Cindy Sheehan has bought land nearby W's ranch with money from her son's death.

I'm thrilled. I'm ecstatic. And I'm hoping Harold Ford, Jr, the next Senator from Tennessee, will have a change of heart on the war.

Iraqis Are Quietly Fleeing

2006-08-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

Baghdad Burning, the most-read blog from Baghdad, says Iraqis are being forced out of the city by Sadr's followers. It appears that middle class Iraqis of all ethnic and political stripes are being targeted.

Since the beginning of July, the men in our area have been patrolling the streets. Some of them patrol the rooftops and others sit quietly by the homemade road blocks we have on the major roads leading into the area. You cannot in any way rely on Americans or the government. You can only hope your family and friends will remain alive- not safe, not secure- just alive. That’s good enough.

Bareheaded women are insulted and attacked on the streets b y Islamic Extremists who were release under the occupation. Riverbens says hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have left her country this summer, and that she is thinking of giving up on her beloved country to keep herself alive.

A New Pentagon Papers?

2006-08-08T17:04:00.000-05:00

Vietnam antiwar hero Daniel Ellsberg just published a thoughtful article calling for military personnel to publish any evidence they have of lies and deceit in the Iraq War.

Democrats More Trusted on National Security

2006-08-08T15:39:00.000-05:00

A Question from Tony Snow’s Press Gaggle today in Crawford:

Q Tony, there’s a new Washington Post poll out today as to which political party people would trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism? And Democrats got 46 percent, Republicans got 38 percent. Are you concerned that in this particular category, in which Republicans have always done better than Democrats, here, as well as in other categories, Republicans are falling behind?

Still haven’t seen any exit polls for Lamont today, but I can already hear the Dems beating their swords into plowshares. Hillary is running to the front of the antiwar pack to act like she’s leading it.

Help Iraq by Leaving

2006-08-08T15:09:00.000-05:00

This interview explains why invading and occupying Iraq was a bad idea and why the best thing we can do is give the Iraqis space to find there own way, forcing Sunnis and Shiites to make some compromises and set up a shared government that works.

The longer we stay to help, the longer it will take to work things out. Not because we do things badly, but because we “do things” at all. Things like taking three years to restore water service because we are upgrading the entire system. Things like cozy up to "local leaders" who are just back from exile in Iran and have no street cred anyway. Former British Diplomat Rory Stewart talks to Dave Davies on Fresh Air.

ID cards and "secret laws"

2006-08-07T19:56:00.000-05:00

I've had several friends question the standard civil libertarian criticism of national identification card efforts, and I'll admit that it's a complicated issue. But John Gilmore's case points out the dangers. Gilmore has been fighting since 2002 to get an explanation for why Americans can't fly on airplanes without identification, when there is no such law on the books dictating such. Turns out the FTA issues "secret" guidelines to the airlines, which normal citizens may not view but neverthless must obey. This is just plain scary. Details on Gilmore's website.

Waving at the Ford Bandwagon

2006-08-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

I just got this email from Chris Jackson, a blogger for Harold Ford Jr.:

Hey Todd, how have you been? Hope you are well.

The reason I am emailing you is in regard to helping me in the blogosphere in support of Congressman Ford this fall. As you know, he will be facing Bob Corker in the general election this November, so he is going to need all the help he can get.

Already, conservatives, moderate and hardcore alike, are falling in line on the blogosphere for Corker. I am hoping we can do the same thing for Congressman Ford. This race is crucial as you know. Not only can we elect a Democrat here in Tennessee, but this race would give us control of the Senate if we were to win.

Now I know that you do not agree with the Congressman on every issue. I respect that. However, I hope we can all put aside our differences and work for what is best for this state and nation.

We can’t allow Bob Corker to be our next U.S. Senator. We have already saw what a Republican millionaire Senator can do for us.

So will you be willing to part of the Ford Grassroots Blogsquad? We need good people like yourself to stand behind the Congressman in this campaign. The Republicans are standing behind Corker now. Lets show them that we are ready to take this country back.

I hope you will stand with me in the coming months as we try to defeat the extremism of Bob Corker and the Republican Party.

Please email me back to let me know.

Thanks, Chris

It’s tempting to jump on the Ford bandwagon. Our state needs a Democrat to restore balance in the Senate and bring back representation for moderate and liberal Tennesseans that has been sorely lacking for so long. But as I wrote here and here, I’m not beating the drum for Ford until he changes his position on the war. He is out of step with Tennesseans. Here’s my reply to Chris:

Chris:

I appreciate your interest, but I’m not a “solid” supporter of Ford. I met him recently in Nashville, of course I will vote for him. But as my blog shows, I don’t agree with Ford’s position on the war, gay marriage, and immigration reform. I hope that Jack Murtha will have some affect on Ford, especially concerning the War in Iraq.

If Lieberman loses in Connecticutt tomorrow because of his unquestioning support for Bush’s war in Iraq, it will be a whole new ball game for the Democrats, and we may start to see some real change. That is what we progressives in the party are hoping for. I believe that Democrats including Ford could make some strong gains if they would have the courage to agree with a majority of Americans that this war is harming American soldiers, our economy, our domestic and foreign policy.

I wish you well in the Ford campaign — clearly we need to break the GOP’s stranglehold on our Congress, and to replace Frist with a Democrat. I hope we get a REAL Democrat and not Republican-Lite. I believe the party of my parents and grandparents cannot start winning again in Tennessee until we stop being afraid to lose. We need to stand-up to right-wing fearmongering, stand up to big oil, stand up to the healthcare industry, and stand up for our brave soldiers who have become the world’s biggest target in Iraq.

I do hope you’ll drop by Bluenecks and leave comments.

Best,

Todd

The Friggin’ Obvious Award

2006-08-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

General Abizaid finally managed to find his ass with both hands yesterday and admitted that Iraq might be on the brink of a civil war. I mentioned this to my wife across the kitchen table. Her reply: “No shit, Sherlock!”

With the daily body count spiraling upwards and only 35% of Americans believing it has been worth the cost in dollars and lives, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared before Congress last week asking for more money and to keep our soldiers in Baghdad. News flash people: we’ve spent over $301 billion to date in a war that could easily last another decade. Just ask Rumsfeld, who predicted a 12-year run back when Bush was gleefully calling himself a “war President.”

To say we’ve overextended ourselves in Iraq doesn’t begin to describe the orgy of spending, bombing, spending, rebuilding, and — oh yeah — more spending. And what the hawkish GOP knows is that it’s the Americans in diapers who will get stuck with the bill.

Up in Connecticut, Joe Lieberman may be the first Senator to wake up and smell the coffee. Lieberman is being challenged by an anti-war Democrat. Why? Because Lieberman can’t admit that this war is dragging America to the poorhouse and creating more terrorists than we can kill. Democrats have senior leaders who are preaching the truth: Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Jack Murtha, who both publicly oppose the war and have the ears of Washington. Can someone please change the batteries in the Democrats’ hearing aids?

Meanwhile back in Baghdad, Three years after Bush declared the war won, the average daily death toll from all sides has risen from 20 per day in 2003, to 36. Sectarian violence including hideously creative bombings, kidnappings, and executions continue to increase. Even worse, our soldiers face mounting accusations of murders, rapes, and executions. The fact of the matter is this: America wants to see this end soon, like today. Meanwhile the Republican leaders of this military spending spree are running lose with our credit card.

Support Tennessee Families: Vote No on 1

2006-08-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

My daughter Chloe’s best friend is Katie. They met at the same school, they sit together at church, and they’ve been to each other’s birthday parties. So this summer when my daughter got two tickets to “Barbie in Fairytopia,” Chloe wanted to invite Katie. The girls had the time of their lives. They clapped for Barbie, they booed the bad dragons, and they feasted on popcorn and cotton candy.

The thing is, Katie has two mommies. This may seem odd to some people, but it’s becoming more common in Tennessee. These two women met, fell in love, had a ceremony in front of family and friends, and managed through artificial insemination — like many infertile couples — to have a child. And here’s the shocker: Katie is great. She is a perfectly normal 4-year-old girl.

This discriminatory amendment also threatens a spouse’s right to make medical decisions, the right to medical information, inheritance without a will, child custody after one parent’s death, and Social Security Survivor’s benefits. Do Tennesseans really want to say to Katie that she can’t be on either of her parent’s health insurance? Do we really want to make it unconstitutional for her parents to share all the legal rights that Chloe’s parents do? I don’t think so. We Tennesseans are better than that.

A vote either way will not affect church beliefs or policies one whit. Just as the State recognizes marriages between divorced people and the Catholic church does not, gay civil marriage would not affect any church anywhere, nor require it to perform ceremonies. I am proud though, that Katie’s family joined our church and has been welcomed in the Christ-like fashion more churches are coming to support.

A recent survey shows that there’s no nationwide majority to support a gay marriage ban. Let’s stop the far-right minority from stirring up descrimination. Our Constitution promises liberty and justice to all Americans. Doesn’t that include Katie and her two mommies? Do the right thing for Tennessee families on November 7 and vote “No” on 1.

Take this pledge to vote “No” and tell your friends.

Freedom for Crazy Talk

2006-08-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

Kevin Barrett is one of those nutjobs whose hobby is to run around proclaiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were in fact planned and orchestrated by the Bush administration (as much as I detest the Bush administration, this is just silly).

Kevin Barrett also happens to be a part-time lecturer at the University of Wisconsin. This seems perfectly normal. Many nutjobs also happen to be college professors (no offense to my many friends and family in higher education). However, there is no evidence that Mr. Barrett has ever discussed his oddball views in class or that his ideas influence his teaching at all--and this has been confirmed by a investigation on the part of UW's chancellor. Nevertheless, a number of Wisconsin legislators are trying to get Mr. Barrett fired from his job.

In a country where freedom of speech is no longer valued, why should academic freedom be any different? But what is freedom if not the liberty to engage in crazy talk? When college professors can be fired for crazy talk (especially crazy talk outside the classroom), then there is no hope for freedom at all.

Taking Down My Yard Sign

2006-08-02T16:40:00.000-05:00

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Democrats won’t start winning until they stop being afraid to lose. Fielding candidates that are “Republican Lite” is not the way to re-take the House.

I like Harold Ford’s scrappy attitude, but he’s on the wrong side of the war and voted to criminalize churches that aid illegal aliens even in normal food pantry and family aid programs. As a Christian I believe in the Bible’s teaching against oppressing the poor and foreigners.

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns” — Deuteronomy 24:14

So far Ford’s only TV spot attacks big oil — an easy and deserving target — but I fear Ford would bring more of the same for Tennesseans who are not as far-right as President Bush. I want to see the GOP headlock on Congress broken, so I’ll hold my nose and vote Ford. I’ve had progressive friends at my home who have questioned Ford’s positions. Maybe He’ll change his position on at least one of these issues, but until then I like can’t wave the Ford flag anymore.

The Pledge doesn't need protection

2006-07-31T18:00:00.000-05:00

Will somebody please explain to me how this stuff can even be constitutional? I want somebody to protect me from these Christofascists...

Why freedom matters (Iranian edition)

2006-07-31T06:59:00.000-05:00

Why does all this free speech and civil liberties stuff matter? Just consider the negative case examples, such as Iran, home of the deep-dish "elastic loaf."

This Week's Outrages

2006-07-30T15:14:00.000-05:00

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) is still calling on Americans to contact their Senators and urge them to oppose Arlen Specter's Senate Bill 2453, which will essentially overwrite the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and give the Executive Branch free reign in violating our right to privacy. BORDC has established a webpage through which you can send Senators a faxed messaged at no charge to you.

Brian Fogarty finds parallels between modern America and 1920's Germany.

Lest you think I exaggerate, see what happened when the Missouri Public Service Commission tried to investigate the NSA-telephone company data base scandal--they got sued (for the record, the Kentucky PSC refused to even ask any questions).

And in the air, too: U.S. Air Marshalls are apparently under pressure to make sure they find enough suspicious airline passengers to meet their "quotas."

Looking for inspiration: My buddy Mike and I put away several beers yesterday while trying to figure out a way to more effectively fight the tyrants (letter writing obviously isn't going to do anything but assuage our consciences)...no great ideas were revealed, but we did find some inspiration re-reading Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. I'm not too keen on being locked up at the moment, though (Thoreau's primary proposal)...I do welcome friends' ideas for more effective ways to fight the Man.

Full text of Thoreau's Civil Disobedience here.

I Stand with Harold, Mostly

2006-07-26T06:18:00.000-05:00

Today I met Tennessee’s Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. Harold Ford Jr. has a lot going for him — a moderate Democratic platform, youth, experience in Congress, and a GOP field that’s eviscerating each other in the primaries.

He appeared before an enthusiastic crowd at the Howard Office Building in Nashville today. He led by criticizing W for vetoing the stem cell research bill and ended with the quip, “If the Republicans can support Vice President Cheney, surely you can support me.” The desperate humor was unneeded though, since he had the crowd behind him all the way.

The only time they didn’t cheer was when he talked about the war. Although Harold Ford Jr. nearly got into a fistfight defending Jack Murtha on the floor of Congress, he still thinks we need to keep our troops in a country that wants us out. When he explained that a pullout would play into the hands of the Iranians, I think I could hear the grass dying. There was not a clap or cheer to be heard.

Congressman Murtha will be in Nashville in a few weeks to fundraise for Ford. Maybe he can convince Ford to get on the right side of this issue and support a pull-out. He’s got my vote, but if he had a change of heart about the war he’d have thousands more.

The Bush Legacy (or lack thereof)

2006-07-24T18:26:00.000-05:00

CBS News interviews conservative icon William F. Buckley, who says that thanks to his failure as a small-government conservative and his ill-conceived foray into Iraq, "there will be no legacy for Bush."

Another conservative heavy, George Will, also takes a swipe at W.

Links thanks to Reason Hit and Run and JABBS.

Overkill

2006-07-19T17:18:00.000-05:00

A new book-length report is out from the Cato Institute, available in its entirety here. Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America documents the increasingly common activities of the police who have used excessive force (usually in pursuit of non-violent drug offenders) and often damaged the property of--and sometimes killed--innocent people.

Check out this interactive map that documents where many of these raids have taken place (maybe in your neighborhood).

Hail, Caesar!

2006-07-19T07:16:00.000-05:00

Every day I am more impressed by the analogy of what's going on in Washington to the Roman Senate making Caesar the emperor.

Yesterday Attorney General Alberto "September 12" Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and explained that the President forbade the Justice Department to investigate warrantless wire tapping, and that was just fine by him.

Not that it matters much. Committee chairman Arlen Specter has drafted a "compromise" piece of legislation that essentially gives the Bushies the power to do anything they want. (The ACLU is sponsoring a letter-to-the-editor campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of this proposed law.)

Reason's look at Specter, who is obviously more talk than anything else.

Tennessee’s God-Given Right to Gay Bowling Leagues

2006-07-17T12:12:00.000-05:00

It’s been months since I’ve posted here on Bluenecks. I’ve been busy with other projects, family vacation, my other blogs, blah blah blah. I’ve missed rattling on about things, but Gary has kept things rolling quite well in my absence.

I’m finally back, blogging about the latest effort by the extreme right to divide and conquer America: banning gay marriage. This is an issue that gets people pretty riled up, but it shouldn’t. I say if you don’t like gay marriage, then don’t have one. It’s really no more threatening to you than that. I mean, what are folks really afraid of, that gay people will do boring married stuff like the rest of us? I mean, if Jerry Falwell really wants to curb “the gay lifestyle,” wouldn’t he want all of “them” to start recycling, join bowling leagues, and buy SUVs?

I’ve spent some time — at least the time since breakfast — thinking about marriage on three levels: personal, civil, and spiritual. Here’s my take on things.

Marriage is a personal commitment. When my wife decided to spend the rest of her mornings with my coffee breath and bad hair, it was a commitment that I still can’t really fathom. At its heart marriage is a wonderfully insane idea, like electing a decent President. And we can’t exactly blame the 50% divorce rate on gay marriage, right? I think we straight folks managed that all on our own.

The spiritual aspect of marriage is unaffected by this November’s vote or any other. If we believe our relationship is more than just legal cohabitation — and don’t we all believe that? — it comes from a higher power than the Tennessee Legislature. It’s obvious that spiritual marriage is completely unaffected by what other couples do, gay or straight.

So that brings us to the only aspect of marriage in question in November: the civil aspect. This was the part of marriage that I paid the least attention to when Karen and I got all lacy and tuxy and everyone statrted tossing rice, flowers, and garter belts. But our marriage licence gives my wife and I the right to split up any money, debts, and all our other stuff fifty-fifty, including my unopened boxes of crap from graduate school. It gives us equal parenting privileges for our two daughters. It gives us the right to share health insurance benefits, inheritance without a will, and lots of other rights so basic that I’m probably forgetting some of them right now. We know couples who lack those same rights because they are the same sex. If their child gets hurt at school and has to go to the hospital, at least one of the parents can find out nothing more than her name, rank, and serial number from the hospital.

These civil rights are what we are voting on in November, and what all Tennesseans deserve equally under the law. It’s basic democracy folks, and fair-minded Tennesseans get that. This law will not change people’s personal or spiritual commitments, but a successful amendment banning gay marriage in Tennessee will limit the rights of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens of our state. So whether or not you like the idea of boys marrying boys and girls marrying girls, vote “no” on TN 1 in November. It’s good for democracy, it’s good for Tennessee, and it’s simply the right thing to do.

Take a Stand
If you agree that equal marriage rights are important, go to Vote No On 1 and take the pledge there. I did it and you can to. Our state is too important to us to let the extreme right control it.

In the wake of Independence Day...

2006-07-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

In the news this week....

Bloomberg's reported last week that the NSA solicited customer calling records from AT&T before the 9/11 attacks.

From "The Reformer," a look at the president's legal reasoning for why he's above the law.

And from the USA Today, the government gives $1 million to fund research on ways to roll back the Freedom of Information Act.

Muzzle Awards

2006-07-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Check out this year's annual Muzzle Awards, recognizing the enemies of free speech. Sad thing is, they only focus on the New England region. We Southerners could probably outdo 'em....

USA Today clarifies

2006-07-02T12:35:00.000-05:00

Much of the energy behind civil liberties criticisms of the Bush administration's domestic spying programs came from the big USA Today story in May. In that story, the newspaper quoted high-level sources in the telecommunications industry that said ATT&T, Verizon and BellSouth had cooperated with the NSA to create a massive database of customer calling information without warrants. Yesterday the paper clarified, saying that they could not support the allegation that Verizon and BellSouth participated in the program. Evidently the jury is still out on AT&T. The article in yesterday's paper quotes a number of members of Congress involved in investigating the allegations.

While I'm pleased that the complicity of the phone companies wasn't as broad as it first seemed, the whole thing just again comes down to a single issue: if the Bush administration had simply followed the law set out under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), none of this would have been an issue. It's a government that has no respect for the separation of powers inherent in our Constitution that has created this problem for the phone companies and the American people.

Bush: Laws don't apply to me

2006-06-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

My buddy Scott mentioned this to me several weeks ago, and I couldn't believe it was true. Sadly, it is: President Bush has signed over 750 "statements" during his presidency that essentially say certain laws don't apply to him if following the law would impinge national security. And we keep slouching toward dictatorship...

AT&T won't even bother with privacy now

2006-06-22T07:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks to our friends at Reason for pointing out this story: AT&T has changed its privacy policy. Customer information now belongs to them, not to you.

Who needs a warrant when you've got a housing inspector?

2006-06-22T07:01:00.000-05:00

The police in Buffalo have found a way around getting search warrants: bring along a housing inspector.

Joining the lawsuits

2006-06-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

My buddy Trent out in Texas clued me in recently to the idea of signing on to the class-action lawsuit that has been filed against the phone companies for violating customer privacy. The lawsuit was filed by New Jersey public interest lawyers Carl Mayer and Bruce Afran. Mayer maintains a blog that gives instructions for how anyone can join the lawsuit as a plaintiff.

House committee demands NSA share information

2006-06-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

A small victory yesterday: the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution demanding that the NSA share records of their requests for customer calling information from the big phone companies. The resolution will go to the full House for approval.

Meanwhile, the government is scrambling to try to help the phone companies by requesting that all the class-action lawsuits filed by customers upset over privacy violations be consolidated into one case.

Rhode Island police: citizens have too much privacy

2006-06-18T18:14:00.000-05:00

A bill working its way through the Rhode Island legislature points to just how slippery the slope of civil liberties abuse is going to get. Details here.

Some comic relief

2006-06-17T12:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my friend the Spaniard, some comic relief on the NSA spying scandal.

Freedom and the Flag

2006-06-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

It's a sad fact that we have to keep fighting efforts to protect the core liberties enshrined in the Constitution. Senate leaders, in another election-year ploy, are trying once again to pass an amendment banning flag burning. The irony, of course, is that while they will do this in the name of patriotism, they will be curtailing freedom of speech: the same freedom that protects my right to write these words and your right to read them. Please sign this petition lobbying the Senate to once again defeat this un-American proposal.

More from the PSC: We "cannot act"

2006-06-14T07:27:00.000-05:00

I finally got a response to my e-mail messages from the Kentucky Public Services Commission yesterday. Andrew Melnykovych, communications director for the PSC, wrote:

"As this is a federal matter, the Kentucky Public Service Commission has no jurisdiction and therefore cannot act on your request. As you may know, the Federal Communications Commission has reviewed this matter and stated that it will not pursue an investigation."

I replied that since it was the phone company in Kentucky allegedly sharing private information of a Kentucky customer who was calling from Kentucky to other places in Kentucky, it sure seems like a local matter to me. I am awaiting clarification.

Liberty deferred...for now

2006-06-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

According to the Washington Post, the judge hearing the ACLU's challenge to the Bush domestic spying program has deferred a decision pending another hearing on July 10. It's not clear from the story why.

ACLU v. Bush

2006-06-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

A judge in Detroit heard testimony today from a group of plaintiffs represented by the ACLU that the government's warrantless wire tapping program is unconstitutional. "The government's arguments that the president, alone, can decide to spy on Americans without a warrant are fundamentally un-American and contradict the vision of the founders of our democracy," argued ACLU attorney Ann Beeson. The government replied that the plaintiff's views of civil liberties and the Constitution are "extreme." Details here.

How to be a half-decent Democrat

2006-06-12T15:11:00.000-05:00

I've written here before about the potential appeal of the Democractic Party to libertarians. Reason's Jesse Walker writes about how this might work. He acknowledges that there won't be any Democratic front-runners who come out wearing the "libertarian" label, but they ought to at least be half-decent at being a Democrat.

Public Service Commission: "That's not our job"

2006-06-09T16:26:00.000-05:00

I talked with Matt Brody, a complaint investigator for the Kentucky Public Services Commission on the phone today. No one seems to know who reads the e-mails sent to the generic PSC e-mail address, but Mr. Brody was very willing to take my call and discuss my concerns about the phone companies participating in illegal government spying on American citizens. Then he explained that the PSC has no jurisdiction over such matters, but can only focus on telephone rates and customer service issues ("Like if your phone is out of service."). The "feds" are the ones who are responsible for my concern. I explained that the "feds" had already made a statement that they had no intention to investigate. Mr. Brody suggested I talk to the Kentucky Attorney General. I think I'll do that...

Meanwhile, we're learning more about Sen. Arlen Specter's compromise with the White House over the NSA spying program. According to the Washington Post, the new bill Sen. Specter is introducing will grant blanket amnesty to anyone who authorized the warrantless wiring-tapping, just in case it is decided that this is, in fact, illegal. A strange decision since everyone keeps insisting that there was nothing illegal going on.

I called Sen. Specter's office today and talked to a perky woman on the phone about my concerns and let her know that I wanted the Senator to make sure his bill forced the government to get a FISA warrant to spy on any American. She said she'd pass along the info. I'm looking online for the text of Specter's new bill, but it's not posted yet.

Specter sells out

2006-06-07T18:57:00.000-05:00

Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was the only Republican leader in Congress to make much of a stink over the NSA spying scandal. He's even suggested legislation requiring the Bush administration to get approval of the spying program from the super-secret courts set up for such purposes under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But yesterday Sen. Specter sold out, agreeing to a compromise with the White House brokered by Sen. Orrin Hatch. The deal allows a challenge to the spying program in a FISA court, but only from someone the government deems a plaintiff with legal standing (someone who can prove he or she has suffered damage as a result). Since the administration can simply say, "We can't share any information about this program because of national security," it may be virtually impossible for anyone to establish themselves as having legal standing.

Worse than the "compromise," however, it that the deal paves the way for legislation by Sen. Mike DeWine that will essentially attempt to legalize the whole NSA program. I'm not sure how you can legalize something that is so secret you can't describe the details. Also not sure such a law would be Constitutional anyway, but these jokers don't seem to give a rip about the Constitution.

Adding insult to injury, the Judiciary Committee met yesterday to question the government about its decision to investigate journalists who report on the government's "classified" efforts to violate Americans' civil liberties. Seems that the Bush administration's response to these allegations is to consider prosecuting reporters under old espionage laws. The guy they sent up to the Hill to answer questions basically wouldn't answer any. The senators threw a big fit...and then went home....

Boycott Bellsouth!

2006-06-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

This week’s Knoxville Voice has a detailed story by Dane Baker on BellSouth and accusations of cooperation in NSA spying. This is great new local publication with a great design too. Check it out here.

Oh, and we’ll be dropping our land line and all business with BellSouth if the FCC will not investigate, including my DSL account. I urge others to do the same. Unfortunately, in order to avoid companies that have caved to the NSA we may have to use tin cans and string. Too bad Qwest isn’t a provider in my area. Anyone in their service area should sign up and tell them it’s because they have the balls to defend customer privacy.

And Gary: you should take your formal FCC complaint and rock out, my brother! We’re with you. The Constitution is with you. Do it!

FCC commissioners should investigate or resign

2006-06-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

I filed a formal complaint with the FCC today regarding the allegations of telephone company collaboration with the NSA's spying programs. Of course, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said last week that the commission would not be investigating anything. So, I decided that if the commissioners can't do their jobs, they should resign. I e-mailed Mr. Martin and the other commissioners and said, in part:

As the chief regulatory agency for the telephone companies, I want to ask that the FCC immediately launch an investigation of telephone companies to ascertain the scope and nature of their cooperation with this government surveillance. The FCC should investigate what information was shared, how it was shared, and by what means it was shared. While the investigation takes place, the FCC should issue an immediate cease and desist order to stop the telephone companies from taking any further actions of this nature.

Now, I know that last week you said the FCC would do no such thing, that the FCC did not have the power to subpoena NSA officials to testify and share information. But if the FCC has no such power, then who does? The FCC is the only logical agency for determining what happened. If indeed you are constrained in launching an investigation, then I would ask that you resign in protest immediately.

I am a proud American and an ardent supporter of the Fourth Amendment. I do not believe that we have to choose between national security and individual privacy. The U.S. Congress has established procedures by which intelligence agencies may legally engaged in surveillance of suspected criminals under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. I expect that all agencies of the U.S. government would respect this law, and that the FCC would enforce it.

Please respond to this message by e-mail or phone to let me know what actions the FCC intends to take as a result of these revelations. I appreciate your attention and your service to the American people.

You can e-mail the commissioners too:

Chairman Kevin Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov
Michael Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Jonathan Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov
Robert McDowell: robert.mcdowell@fcc.gov

June is bustin’ out all over…

2006-06-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

It’s springtime: the season when a man’s fancy turns to blogging. Looks like Gary and I have been burning up the keyboard of late. Here’s my email to our conservative anti-Iraq respresentative Jimmy Duncan:

I agree with you that the Iraq War has been a national folly that disctracts us from the real war on terror and has run up a record national debt.

I would urge you to work with Congressman Murtha and develop legislation to get us out. You have written, “The so-called neo-con architects of this unnecessary war have led people down a primrose path in the opposite direction of and very much against every traditional conservative position. ”

Former Marine Jack Murtha said over a year ago that “The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction.”

Murtha describes a plan that involves what he calls the “‘three R’s;’ to redeploy to the periphery of Iraq, to reallocate funding from the war to our unmet homeland security needs and to re-engage with other countries to put pressure on Afghanistan and fight a more effective war on true terrorism.”

As our representative it seems clear to me that you can make a stand in a public way against Bush’s policies in Iraq. Forging an alliance with like-minded Democrats on the war would show willingness to set aside divisive politics for a larger and historic goal:

Bringing the national folly of the Iraq War to an end.

The spirit of George W (not the one you're thinking)

2006-06-01T06:45:00.000-05:00

Daniel Schorr, NPR's emeritus political commentator, on how little acts of dishonesty on the part of our President shouldn't sit well with Americans. From yesterday's "All Things Considered."

BellSouth would "absolutely" cooperate with investigators

2006-06-01T06:34:00.000-05:00

I had a great conversation yesterday with Joan Duncan, who works in the Kentucky legislative and regulatory office of BellSouth. She left me three messages on Tuesday to call her. Like Jeff Battcher, the VP for corporate communications, Ms. Duncan stepped away from the prepared BellSouth script and categorically denied that BellSouth had shared any information with any government agency. She said the company was "devastated" by these accusations, as they have built their corporate success on their reputation and customer goodwill. I told her I was sincerely impressed by the outpouring of response I'd received from BellSouth and that I was pleased that they were speaking in broader terms than the original public statement.

"It sounds like what needs to happen now is a broad investigation by the Public Services Commission to verify what you're saying," I said. "I'm sure BellSouth would want to cooperate with such an investigation in order to clear your name?"

"Absolutely," Ms. Duncan said. "We work with those folks on a regular basis and we'd welcome the chance to confirm our version of what happened."

Murtha blasts military over Haditha

2006-05-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

The day after Memorial Day, former Marine Congressman Jack Murtha talked to NPR about Marine killings in Haditha. After an IED killed an American, U.S. Marines shot 24 unarmed Iraqis last November. Murtha says that this is a crime and that there has been a cover-up:

“They knew that the original explanation that an IED caused the casualties was not true the day afterwards. The Marine corps knew it. And you gotta remember that the chain of command in Iraq is not to the commandant of the Marine corps. The chain of command is through General Casey to General Abizay. Two months ago I told General Abizay, “General, you gotta get this out in the public. You gotta get this investigation over with.” They just told me a week ago it’d take two more months. This happened six months ago! It’s unconcionable that it would take this long to… to, uh, have an investigation. I heard a lance corporal on one of the stations this morning say he was there the next day carrying out the body of a young child that was shot through the head. So the next day they knew that it wasn’t an IED that killed him. They knew that it wasn’t an explosive device. There was no shrapnel, there was no firefight. This is what worries me. Who in the chain of command stopped the investigation? Who tried to cover this up? Because not only the Marines knew it, the Iraqis knew about it. Because they paid the victims of this thing. If it had been an explosive device by the Iraqis they wouldn’t have paid ‘em. It breaks my heart that Marines would be involved in something like this, but you can’t let it go.”

Murtha is a Vietnam vet and a big supporter of the military who crawled way out on a limb awhile back and said the troops need to be out by the end of this year. This incident will no doubt renew efforts to end the conflict there and bring troops home.

Email Murtha using this online form to thanks him for his public stand and efforts to protect our troops. Email your Congressman and demand that he or she support Murtha’s plan to Redeploy, Reallocate, and Re-engage.”

BellSouth: "We did not do it."

2006-05-31T06:27:00.000-05:00

I've got to hand it to BellSouth: they didn't mess around with my complaining e-mails. I got no response from any of the "management team" folks, but I got replies from every person listed as a media contact, and had three messages on the phone when I got home from a staffer in their Legislative and Regulatory office (I'll call her back today). Most of their messages just repeated verbatim from the stiffly-worded statement the company released last week denying that BellSouth had any "contracts" with government agencies to "provide bulk customer calling information."

However, Jeff Battcher, BellSouth's vice-president for corporate communications, stepped away from the script and responded to my inquiry head-on. He wrote, in part:

"BellSouth has not provided the NSA or any governmental agency any customer calling information. We are not aware of the NSA having ever contacted anyone at BellSouth. We have insisted on a retraction from USA Today for their false and unsubstantiated statements. Hope this helps. There is no spin, we did not do it. We have never even been asked."

That's the kind of frankness I was hoping for: an unequivocal denial. I couldn't really ask for more from BellSouth, and I'm pleased with the response. AT&T and Verizon, like the White House, will neither confirm nor deny the allegations. Looks like the logical next step would be a thorough government investigation to verify BellSouth's claims and see what the other companies have been up to. Of course, the FCC and the Kentucky Public Services Commission are the only agencies that have not responded to any of my messages so far.

Heroes In Wars not of Their Making

2006-05-30T11:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and I actually did something to commemorate our lost servicemen and women. My daughter Chloe and I went to the Memorial Day Ceremonies here in Knoxville, sponsored by the American Legion. There was a short program that included comments from a veteran and an active duty marine, and ended with a rifle salute and taps. It was a moving experience and I’m glad I went.

It’s important to support the troops as we speak and act in opposition to the Bush administration policy in Iraq. It’s important because military personnel act under orders. They don’t get to choose whether a war is just or a strategy is wise. No matter what the situation or the consequences or the risk, our active duty military, reserves, guard, and veterans put their lives on the line.

Yesterday I also did some online reading. I read the tragic story of the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. In the spring of 1975, American-supported South Vietnam was falling to Communist forces from the north. Panic reigned in the streets of Saigon. The city was surrounded and the only hope for escape lay with the American military. The brass in Washington had waited too long to begin the evacuation, so that soldiers were faced with thousands of Vietnamese at the airport and embassy begging to be taken along.

When the evacuation finally began, Americans and Vietnamese friendlies were to be plucked out of the chaotic and violent city by helicopter and carried to waiting ships. Master Sergeant John J. Valdez was the Staff Non Commission Officer in charge at the American Embassy, and was on the last chopper out of Vietnam. Marines secured the U.S. Embassy against surging, desperate crowds. They followed orders to let in some and keep out others. When they finally had to bar the gate and retreat inside the building, desperate crowds drove a truck through the gate and eventually overran all but the embassy roof. Valdez and his Marines maintained order in chaos, and saw to it that hundreds of personnel made it out that night on waves of helicopters.

The choppers stopped coming with only Valdez and ten of his men left on the roof in the middle of the night and shooting below. When the last few choppers finally came, Valdez and his men flew out of a city in despair. The term “hero” is usually reserved for victorious armies, and the Americans withdrew in defeat. But decades later, Valdez writes in his first-hand account,

“The men were great, and I’m not exaggerating. These kids were really good. They responded to all my commands. Considering how many young, new troops I had, they all worked as a unit. The kids were great ....I should say, the Marines were great.”

A more hopeful example of heroism and American foreign policy is the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. In another example of true heroism, 73,000 American soldiers as well as 83,115 British and Canadians followed orders to hit the beaches at D-Day. By the end of that single day of fighting, around 2500 were dead. Yet without the sacrifice of those soldiers Europe would probably have fallen to one of the most evil regimes of the twentieth century. The soldiers who hit the beach had no choice in the matter. The artillery exploded, the boats got as close as they could, the machine guns chattered, and Americans died in the surf and on the beach on the way to winning a war.

On the beaches of Normandy, soldiers charged out of waterlogged metal boxes into deadly gunfire that cut them to pieces. Many landing craft sank in rough seas. Others jumped off the boats in deep water and had to struggle out of heavy packs to keep from drowning. Once on the beach they faced cliffs in some places, razor wire in others, and wide low-tide beaches with hellish noise and smoke everywhere. Deadly accurate gun emplacements in concrete bunkers. had been preset into deadly patterns the Americans walked into. The wounded and dead were everywhere. Soldiers washed up onshore and corpses lay half-buried in the sand.

American Sergeant Leonard Lomell was part of a ranger company assigned to knock out some big guns and set up a roadblock along a coastal road. In his first-hand account, he tells how they lost a third of their men when their boat sank. Lomell was shot as soon as the gate dropped on his landing craft. Despite a flesh wound in the side, Lowell struggled acted as platoon leader. His men climbed a rope up a cliff, fought the enemy crater-to-crater, made it to the road, blew up telephone lines, evaded a large armored German force, and destroyed an artillery emplacement that arial reconnaissance had missed. For his heroism that day, Lomell received the Distinguished Service Cross.

The difference between these two stories is in the policies and strategies, not in the bravery of our soldiers. One incident signaled defeat while the other lead to victory, but individual bravery has nothing to do with victory. In fact it is discipline in the face of overwhelming risk that constitutes bravery.

As we continue to struggle with a present-day war in Iraq, let’s always remember that bad policy does not make a bad soldier. On the contrary, it is under these circumstances that true heroism shines.

Listening In

2006-05-30T06:43:00.000-05:00

Good piece from Seymore Hersh in the New Yorker this week on the NSA spying program and the FISA law that it likely violates.

Raising "Bell"

2006-05-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

I am not going to write a letter to the telephone company (see Thursday's post). That's ridiculous.

Today I found a bunch of BellSouth's media relations contacts on their webpage and sent nearly every one of them an e-mail asking for a detailed accounting of how much of my customer or calling information was shared with whom and when, and suggested that I would no longer use BellSouth's services if this issue wasn't resolved to my satisfaction. In total, I e-mailed eight people, including their communications manager, the vice president for corporate communications, their director of media relations, their consumer services manager, their "reputation" manager, their "governmental affairs' spokesperson, and two people listed as Kentucky's media contacts for Bellsouth.

Then I found a webpage listing the Bellsouth management team, but no contact information was provided. However, I'm guessing the format of their e-mail addresses are the same as those of the media contacts, so I e-mailed Duane Ackerman, the chairman and CEO; Mark Feidler, the president and COO; and E.C. Roberts, Jr, Bellsouth's Kentucky president. So far none of the e-mails have bounced back, so hopefully they will all have a little message waiting for them when they return from their Memorial Day holiday. I'll keep you all posted as to any responses I get.

I did find the actual press release Bellsouth issued denying that there was any "contract" with the NSA and that no "bulk customer information" had been provided. I'm not interested in contracts or "bulk" information. I just want to know what happened to my information. I've e-mailed Jeff Brattcher, whose name is on the press release to find out more. According to the USA Today, when questioned as to whether any contracts exist between Bellsouth and the Defense Department, which oversees the NSA, Mr. Brattcher did not know the answer.

BellSouth is not answering the phone

2006-05-25T18:16:00.000-05:00

Today I called BellSouth customer service to ask for details about how much of my own calling information had been shared with the government. A pleasant fellow named Mr. Richardson answered my call, and politely explained that "At the present time there is no documentation that we can share with the public." I then asked who I could talk to to get more information. He typed furiously into his computer and said that the only thing he could do is refer me to the public statement BellSouth issued recently in which they denied having any "contract" with the government to povide customer calling information.

I pointed out that this statement just stated that there was no contractual agreement to share information, not that no information had been shared. Again, Mr. Richardson referred me to the statement. I asked to speak with someone in the media department who was responsible for the statement. He said he did not have that information, but gave me an address where I could write a request: 500 Chastain Blvd NW, Ste 505, Kennesaw, GA 30144. "I thought this was as customer service line," I said. "It is, sir, but I can only give you information about your account here."

"This is about my account," I said, and went on to say that I have been considering dropping BellSouth in favor of internet phone, and that if I couldn't be sure BellSouth was going to protect my privacy I had no incentive to stay with the company. "I understand, sir," Mr. Richardson said.

I did look at the BellSouth website to see if there was any other contact information, but all they give you is the customer service line. Funny, how you can't get any service there when it comes to your privacy.

Lobby the FCC, KPSC, KTA...everybody!

2006-05-24T16:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the regulatory agency charged with enforcing the nation's communication laws, said the FCC would not be investigating the allegations that the nation's biggest phone companies turned over records of their customers to the National Security Agency without warrants. The chairman claimed that such an investigation might reveal national secrets. Again, how convenient!

You can sign a petition to demand that the FCC take some action on this matter here.

For Kentucky residents, contact the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the chief regulatory agency for the Commonweath's telephone companies. Demand that they launch an immediate investigation of the phone companies' activities here Kentucky and that they issue an immediate cease-and-desist order regarding all such releases of customer information until the matter is resolved. E-mail them at psc.consumer.inquiries@ky.gov or call them at 1-800-772-4636.

You can also e-mail Forest Skaggs III, Executive Director of the Kentucky Telephone Assocation, the main telecom trade group in the state, to demand that his organization investigate and take some action. His e-mail address is forest@kta.org.

I want my inalienable rights back!

2006-05-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

I'm fed up. I know, I know...you've heard me rant and rave about politics before, but things have really, really gotten out of hand. First there was the Orwellian-named "Patriot Act," which allowed the government unprecedented powers to spy on average Americans, including your library records, without any judicial oversite. Then it was revealed that the FBI was keeping tabs on peaceful political groups who opposed the war in Iraq and the government's abridgement of civil liberties. Then the bombshell that the National Security Agency was listening to phone calls without getting a warrant from the super-secret courts established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1976 (which allows investigators to get warrants after the fact in emergency situations). Now, we have learned that in cooperation with the phone companies, the government has been tracking the phone calls of nearly every American. Efforts to investigate all these issues have been squashed in the name of "national security." How convenient.

What disheartens me the most is that so many Americans have decided that all of this okay because we have to catch terrorists. As one loud senator put it, "You can't have civil liberties if you're dead." That's a great soundbite, but it's terribly misguided because his comment suggests that we are forced to decide between our civil liberties and our security. We don't. I don't mind the government using all the available technology to track and investigate people whom they have a legitimate reason to believe may be terrorists. The law gives us a mechanism for doing this through the secret FISA courts. But our current leaders have ignored this law, and in effect, ignored the basic philosophy of the Constitution. "I don't care if they watch me," you might say, "I have nothing to hide." Alright, neither do I. That's not the point: the point is that there's nobody to keep any tabs, checks or limits on what these government agencies are doing. And that's un-American.

Our nation's founders believed that government power concentrated in the hands of a few is dangerous. That's why they created the system of checks and balances that distributes power into three different branches of government. The founders didn't have a problem with the government protecting people's security, but they believed that the judicial branch ought to have some oversight of the process. While the executive branch is protecting our security, the judicial branch is supposed to be protecting our freedom. The executive branch has now decided they can ignore all that.

Americans of all political persuasions ought to be outraged. We don't have to surrender our liberties in the name of security. The FBI and NSA and White House just need to follow the law as it is written: go to the secret courts, get warrants, and spy away. Whether you are liberal, conservative or libertarian, that ought to be common sense, common ground suggestion.

I'm fighting back. I don't necessarily expect to win, and you may think I'm paranoid, but I fully expect to be the target of more government surveillance for doing so. But somebody has to defend these basic American ideas. I've started by signing this petition to the phone companies demanding that they stop cooperating with warrantless government spying. encourage you to sign the petition also. I plan to follow up with a phone call directly to BellSouth. I'll keep you posted. I also encourage you to call your congressional representatives to demand a full investigation of the FBI/CIA/NSA/White House spying program. You can get more information here. I also plan to start a local chapter of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, which lobbies local governments for resolutions that call for local support of civil liberties. I'm going to document my battles on this blog.

This feels like a meager, tiny little stab at a vast, secret, pervasive government power structure, but it's the best I can do for now. I hope you'll consider joining me in this struggle.