LIBERADIO(!)

If you want to see this recap in a funny little movie, go here.
And even though it’s a cartoon, it makes the whole thing seem a whole lot worse. Weird.
(Hat Tip: Cecily Friday)

Okay, let’s take stock:

1. The Majority Leader of each house of Congress (Frist in the Senate, DeLay in the House) is embroiled in allegations of or investigations into ethical misconduct.
2. A Special Prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the leak, likely from the Bush administration, of the name of a C.I.A. agent to the press.
3. The federal procurement director has been arrested (it’s a special pleasure being able to reference quality background journalism on concerns shared by The Weekly Standard…) because he had unfortunate ties to Jack Abramoff, himself an ethically challenged individual whose name cross-references with Mr. DeLay, Ralph Reed, and possibly even George W. Bush via Karl Rove.
4. The president has been nearly exhibitionist with the anti-meritocracy he’s been building.

And this all seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone remember Duke Cunningham, our friend from California? I’m not sure who’s more fucked*: the GOP or the American people?

I mean, granted, we have our own homegrown problems (cf. Operation Tennessee Waltz, which was a wonderfully bipartisan scandal), but can we not, as a country, do better than this in terms of our own representation? I don’t care whether you’re a partisan or what your political philosophy is (unless that philosophy is based on greed and cronyism): this is unacceptable behavior from elected officials.

Publicly financed elections, anyone?

*If you’re disappointed in my choice of language, don’t blame me. I learned it from watching our Vice President!

Senator Barack Obama addresses the blogosphere as part of the blogosphere: “Let me be clear: I am not arguing that the Democrats should trim their sails and be more “centrist.” In fact, I think the whole “centrist” versus “liberal” labels that continue to characterize the debate within the Democratic Party misses the mark. Too often, the “centrist” label seems to mean compromise for compromise sake, whereas on issues like health care, energy, education and tackling poverty, I don’t think Democrats have been bold enough. But I do think that being bold involves more than just putting more money into existing programs and will instead require us to admit that some existing programs and policies don’t work very well. And further, it will require us to innovate and experiment with whatever ideas hold promise (including market- or faith-based ideas that originate from Republicans).

Our goal should be to stick to our guns on those core values that make this country great, show a spirit of flexibility and sustained attention that can achieve those goals, and try to create the sort of serious, adult, consensus around our problems that can admit Democrats, Republicans and Independents of good will. This is more than just a matter of “framing,” although clarity of language, thought, and heart are required. It’s a matter of actually having faith in the American people’s ability to hear a real and authentic debate about the issues that matter.

Finally, I am not arguing that we “unilaterally disarm” in the face of Republican attacks, or bite our tongue when this Administration screws up. Whenever they are wrong, inept, or dishonest, we should say so clearly and repeatedly; and whenever they gear up their attack machine, we should respond quickly and forcefully. I am suggesting that the tone we take matters, and that truth, as best we know it, be the hallmark of our response.” Read more…

Let’s us pray: Dear God, Please keep Mr. Obama a sane and reasonable politician and protect him from the cesspool of Washingtonian politics so that he may serve the people of this great country a long, long time. Perhaps one day as President. And please, God, keep his voice clear and strong so that it may rise up and silence the deafening rhetoric of political ideologues (and you know who they are, Lord.) Thank you. Amen.

NY Times: “Defying the White House, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed Wednesday to regulate the detention, interrogation and treatment of prisoners held by the American military….the measure passed, 90 to 9, with 46 Republicans, including Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, joining 43 Democrats and one independent in favor.” This is a really nice way to start the day! You go, Senator Frist!

It’s a good thing Tom Cruise doesn’t live in Indiana.

More from yesterday’s press conference…

THE PRESIDENT: Just got to keep asking for the vote. First of all, the Republican Party should never take a vote for granted, and neither should the Democrat Party. [mary: agreed] And therefore, that means you’ve got to go out and work hard for the vote and talk about what you believe. And I try to do so, with not a lot of success, although I improved. But I was disappointed, frankly, in the vote I got in the African American community. I was. I’ve done my best to elevate people to positions of authority and responsibility — not just positions, but positions where they can actually make a difference in the lives of people. I put people in my Cabinet; I put people in my sub-Cabinet. [mary: and how does this affect the lives of african-american citizens?] I’ve elevated people from all walks of life, because I believe there’s a responsibility for the President to reach out. And so it’s not a matter of tone, it’s also a matter of action. And just got to keep working at it, April.” [mary: it's a matter of poverty, job creation, and institutional racism. Not who you "elevate" to cushy government jobs!]

The Iraqi Shias and Iraqi Kurds have Out-Delayed the master, Tom Delay. From the BBC: “The two-thirds majority needed in three provinces to defeat the constitution will now be counted from all registered – as opposed to actual – voters.” More…

UPDATE, 10/05/05: Iraqi Lawmakers Reverse Election Change for Charter

Excerpts from today’s press conference…
President Bush: “My own judgment, as I said earlier, is that obviously there’s a federal role, but the true engine for growth is going to be the private sector. That’s where things are going to happen in an expeditious way. That’s where you’ll find a lot of hope and opportunity that will develop. I mean, there’s going to be a lot of construction jobs. And the fundamental question is, do we have the wherewithal and the skill to train people to do the jobs that will exist. You’ve got people that may not — were — able to be electricians. But we have an opportunity to train them to become an electrician, because that’s where the jobs will be.”

Wow. It may come as a surprise to those of you that believe me to be a communist, but I agree with President Bush. The role of the Federal Government is to offer immediate help in the time of a national crisis. We know that the feds failed to fulfill their role during Hurrican Katrina. Let’s hope they now know that their role is real, and not simply a platform for posturing during an election. But I digress. President Bush is also correct that the private sector can offer opportunity and jobs and be a true engine for growth in the ravaged area. But! (and there is always a “but” with the Bush people), we won’t know the answer to the following vastly more important questions until it may be too late: 1) Will the opportunities created by the private sector include the building of affordable housing? Will the jobs created by the private sector to rebuild the affected areas pay a fair and living wage? Will the jobs created by the private sector come with health insurance? Will the private sector provide the educaton and training needed for their employees to build careers rather than simply work a job? In other words, will the private sector take on the long-term health and well-being of the people who they will hire to help them profit from the rebuilding effort? Or, will the private sector seek only the fastest and most affordable way to maximize their profits?

Our friend Lee Drutman knows that corporate money is corrosive to American Democracy. And corporate money begets private contracts from the Administration. So, the chance that the owners of the corporate money will realize their civic responsiblities is…

From the NY Times: “A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader.”

I guess this second indictment is also part of the pesty vast left-wing conspiracy. It’s funny, it really bugs the Foreman of the Grand Jury that Mr. Delay doesn’t knows that it’s not the District Attorney but the Grand Jury that hands down indictments. I guess Ol’ Delay is just trying to squish the truth. [Hat Tip: Crooks and Liars]

Near the end of of ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos dropped this bomb: “Definitely a political problem but I wonder, George Will, do you think it’s a manageable one for the White House especially if we don’t know whether Fitzgerald is going to write a report or have indictments but if he is able to show as a source close to this told me this week, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were actually involved in some of these discussions.”

Doh! or Rove! Time will tell.

[Hat tip: Think Progress]

Monday, 10/03/05, 7 to 9am, WRVU-FM, 91.1 – Tony Garr will be our guest during the 8 to 9am hour. Garr is the Executive Director Tennessee Health Care Campaign, a statewide, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, working for affordable, accessible and quality health care for ALL Tennesseans. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign believes that the TennCare cuts enacted by Governor Bredesen are wrong and not necessary. They have a plan and a petition.