Oy, indeed. A warhawk troll post.

Posted at August 14, 2008 6:19 PM in response to Fire Robert Gates NOW!

Why did Obama jump on the bandwagon for having NATO membership extended to Georgia?

Sadly, it's a bandwagon he'd already been on for some time. It's the Serious People's position, an unthinking follow-up to the Clintonite NATO expansion doctrine.

Politically, Obama's people see that the media and pundit/policy narrative is the simple-minded "Georgia good, Russia bad" -- and some of them share that perspective. Either way, no one was equipped to tell the U.S. public any grown-up truths of the kind Hartung's laid out here.

The best hope for future policy is that he doesn't believe it and is only saying it for political purposes. That's what many Obama fans are trying to comfort themselves with, and it's admittedly cold comfort.

My own view is that taking the uncritical, pro-Georgian position for political reasons misses a big opportunity to slam McCain and Bush for ignorant recklessness; having a milder version of their policy is the worst of both worlds.

Posted at August 14, 2008 5:37 PM in response to Georgia: Background to War

not a seat we need to worry about in November

Who's "we"? Primary challenges to progressive Democratic incumbents are reactionary, crap politics.

Organizations who back them don't deserve a dime.

Something tells me Tinker's positions on sex education, contraception, abortion, and anti-discrimination issues wrt lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals are not exactly a festival of progressive values.

She's African-American and a woman. She's no progressive. But EMILY's list cares more about the gender than the policies.

Posted at August 6, 2008 4:17 PM in response to Nasty Attack Ad Hits Jewish Dem Congressman For Visiting "Our Churches"

In items about state-level politicians, it would help a lot if TPMMuckraker would identify their party. Most out-of-state readers have no idea, and the in-state media that are usually linked don't mention it because their readers already know.

For instance, I know the NC governor is a Republican because he's been in office a good while and because I'm only one state away. But I have no idea what party Alaska's governor represents. I'd guess Republican, just on the basis of their other statewide pols, but...

Posted at July 21, 2008 2:44 PM in response to The Daily Muck

I believe I can answer that question: 1992.

Driving home from my father's funeral in South Carolina the week before the election, I literally could not find a radio station whose ads were not entirely Republican campaign commercials. Even black gospel stations! By the time I got to Statesville NC, I couldn't stand it any longer and stopped to buy some tapes.

I concluded that Clinton was going to win the election, and that the Republican effort was to save the downticket races.

Posted at July 16, 2008 9:53 AM in response to Polls Show Close Races In North And South Carolina

Nathan,

Did you or JoAnn blog about the Chamber of Commerce decision (either before or after the ruling)?

It seems horrifying in its scope, almost flatly unbelievable, and 7-2?

That I knew nothing about this until your post is a wake-up call.

(But that's no excuse to bash FISA concerns as "goo goo process"; you know better, and even if you really think that, it's a bad tactical approach if you're trying to build allies here).

Posted at July 11, 2008 8:54 AM in response to Do Blogs Take Labor Issues Seriously?

The Senate could be voting on the FISA bill containing immunity as early as next week

No 'could be' about it. The vote will take place on Tuesday, July 8th. Three amendments will be offered (in what order isn't known):

Dodd-Feingold-Leahy to strip the immunity provisions. Needs 51 votes to pass; an immunity-striking amendment in February got 32.

Specter to (per Electronic Frontier Foundation) "allow the court to deny telcoms immunity if it found that the government's surveillance activities were unconstitutional"; 60 votes needed.

Bingaman to stay the court cases until the release of the report of an investigation into the program by the Dept. of Justice Inspector General (mandated by the FISA bill); 60 votes needed.

Commenter cboldt at Firedoglake lays out the procedure on Tuesday:

The cloture motion to limit debate on final passage was filed on Thursday, June 26th. So, what will happen on Tuesday, July 8th, is:

- debate three amendments (5 hours)
- vote on three amendments
- debate final passage (1 hour)
- vote on the already-filed cloture motion relating to final passage
- if cloture is invoked, immediate vote on final passage

This is the ballgame. Get your Senators on the record between now and Tuesday morning.

Posted at July 6, 2008 1:35 AM in response to A Time-line Of Obama's Statements On FISA

Blessings on you, Dan K.

Posted at June 25, 2008 4:04 PM in response to "I know I'm not part of this, but it kind of makes you feel like you are."

Readers of this post might be interested to read a critical review of the author's book on his experiences at Ketziot, Prisoners: A Muslim & A Jew Across The Middle East Divide.

Posted at June 24, 2008 10:16 PM in response to How Ketziot Never Could Have Prepared Me for Abu Ghraib

More travesty of a mockery of a sham.

In September 2007, the massacre in Nisour Square was only the largest and latest in a string of killings and other crimes by Blackwater.

The next administration needs to dry up the funding from all branches of the federal government to this private army.

Posted at May 9, 2008 6:01 PM in response to Feds Unlikely to Charge Blackwater for Baghdad Shootings