In a strategic move that would make Josh Lyman proud, Senate Democrats are working every third day this week in order to prevent President Bush from making controversial recess appointments. According to congressional and Constitutional rules, the Senate needs to meet on the day following three consecutive days off to remain "in session". And by keeping the Senate in session (and out of recess), Senate Dems can keep Bush from making any recess appointments.
If anyone is worried about this strategy keeping Democratic Senators away from home on this holiday weekend, you should be reassured by what these pro forma sessions actually entail. In each case, a Senator (Jim Webb D-VA, Byron Dorgan D-ND, and Jack Reed D-RI have volunteered to participate) opens a session and then closes it again. In all, the process takes less than half a minute.
And with that little effort, the Senate has been able to prevent a series of controversial under-the-radar appointments. The leadership was most concerned about Bush's nominee for Surgeon General, James Holsinger Jr., who has a record of being prejudiced towards the LGBT community. What does Bush think qualifies Holsinger to be America's doctor? Well, I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with Hope Springs Community Church. Holsinger was an original founder of the Church that "ministers to people who no longer wish to be gay or lesbian." Holsinger believes that homosexuality is "an issue not of orientation but of lifestyle." I'm happy that the man who might be our next Surgeon General has such a firm grasp on these issues...
So in light of the nightmare situation that has been avoided, on this Thanksgiving I'm giving thanks for the quick-thinking Senate Dems leadership...
Congratulations to Vice President Al Gore on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier today. According to the committee who awarded Gore with the prize, he "is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted" to battle climate change.
Gore has promised to donate his monetary prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.
One story that is likely going to be rehashed now that Gore has won this award is whether or not he will reconsider a bid for the US Presidency. The DraftGore movement, based out of San Francisco where Gore lives part-time, has reenergized lately. They've collected almost 200,000 supporter signatures, and, last week, ran an ad in the NYTimes urging Gore to make another run for office.
In the past, Gore has been somewhat evasive in answering the question, saying that he did not see himself running for President, but refusing to rule out the possibility. Now that the spotlight is on him, we'll see if that promise stands.
Again, kudos Vice President Gore, an award well deserved.
I'm not even going to waste energy typing this all out-- just watch this video. Ann Coulter's perfect world includes all Jews being "perfected" into Christians. Wow.
In an interview with the New York Observer, Coulter said the following:
If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democrat president. It’s kind of a pipe dream, it’s a personal fantasy of mine, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women. It also makes the point, it is kind of embarrassing, the Democratic Party ought to be hanging its head in shame, that it has so much difficulty getting men to vote for it. I mean, you do see it’s the party of women and 'We’ll pay for health care and tuition and day care — and here, what else can we give you, soccer moms?'
She is just so special. And by special, I mean speshul. read more...
So, apparently some idiot has been setting garbage can fires in Senate bathrooms for the past week. That's weird enough, but weirder is that they've done it at least half a dozen times over the past two weeks without getting caught.
Four of the fires were set yesterday between 10:45 am and 2:00 pm in women's bathrooms in Dirksen and Hart. You can read all about it at DCist, but I just wanted to bring this semi-bizarre story to everyone's attention.
'Cause seriously, who would do this? I can't imagine that whoever it is won't be caught eventually, and what thrill could he (or probably she) possibly be getting out of it? I may be quasi-delusional from a long day at work, but now that I'm thinking about this, I'm wondering-- what are the chances that this is someone communicating via smoke signals? That would be pretty badass. And with that speculation, this post has officially derailed from its original purpose of informing you about the sketchy SOB (Senate Office Building, get your minds out of the gutter) firebug, so I will leave you with the ever-wise words of Smokey the Bear: "Only YOU can prevent wildfires."
In this case, I guess we're talking about garbage-can fires, but still. Senate interns-- keep an eye out.
Some enterprising activists have taken to the streets to express their displeasure over the current state of the DC Vote fiasco by affixing stickers that read "DC BALLOT BOX: Your vote goes here" to trash cans around the city. DCist covered this story first, and they don't know who is responsible for the guerilla marketing campaign, but it's fantastic.
For those who are interested, one more super cool photo:
In an early morning email from campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle, the Clinton campaign (FINALLY) announced that it raised an astounding $27 million in the third quarter-- $22 million of which can be spent during the primary, and almost $10 million more than she had been rumored to have raised.
By bringing in such a large haul and out-raising Obama's camp for the first time, the Clinton campaign might just have solidified its already-apparent front-runner status.
Before we (and by we, I mean me) start celebrating, however, I think it's important to look at these numbers in context. First, and Chris Cillizza also pointed this out over at The Fix, $22 million is not "substantially" more than $19 million, especially when you consider that so far this year, Clinton's primary fundraising still lags behind Obama's by several million dollars.
If anything, Clinton's fundraising this quarter (along with Obama's) shows that this race has all but eliminated the other candidates from the running. The two campaigns are going to be running smart, disciplined, and expensive campaigns in the early states that the other campaigns have no hope of matching.
Beyond that, however, I don't know how significant this victory is. Very few people outside of Washington will notice these process stories (and ever fewer will care if they do). But for someone on the side that I'm on, it's nice to be on top for once.
And sidenote-- the "personal" note from Hillary included in the email? The Fix says it's a nice touch... I'm not so sure. I think I'm leaning towards annoying, condescending touch. Thoughts?
I understand the title of this post. My roommates understand it. You understand it. (Maybe not you, Adam, but I'm sure if you ask one of your roommates, they'll explain...)
Apparently, the code is too complicated for the US Navy to crack. The subtle nuances of using initials and acronyms to represent larger concepts is far beyond the comprehension of this particular service branch, and in order to bridge such a significant cultural gap, the Navy has started leading trainings for its recruitment officers in order to make sure they understand the "youth of tomorrow". And sidenote-- Aren't we the youth of today? And the adults of tomorrow? Anyway...
A PowerPoint presentation that the Navy is using in these training sessions has begun to circulate the internet, and is worth combing through for pure entertainment value. At one point, for example, the presentation points out that today's typical teenager "has always been online" and "has never known a world without digital phones." Because of such global communications technology, his "best friend may be Chinese". Wonkette's reaction was pretty great: "My god, Chinese?? Ye gods, is nothing sacred in this godless post-9/11 Facebook world?" I heart Wonkette. (And I'm not just saying that so I can demonstrate my nifty knowlege of teen slang, I really do heart Wonkette).
Another great slide presented a pop quiz on teenage culture; questions asked of the recruitment officers addressed topics as diverse as the Black Eyed Peas, emoticons, the Video Music Awards, and Brangelina's baby. I'm not going to lie, those are all important parts of my life, but I was stumped by their question on Degrassi: The Next Generation. I must have missed that trend.
The presentation did eventually get around to more serious topics, such as our generations' over-reliance on planners (excuuuse me for being organized...) and our general apathy towards the Navy and military service in general. It seems to blame such feelings on our parents' "coddling", but I tend to think the war in Iraq might have something to do with it...
Anyway, if you want to sift through the presentation in it's entirety, you can download it from Danger Room, who was first to post it online. There's a link in the first paragraph.
OMG, have fun reading, and ttyl!
According to a November 2006 study put out by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the global livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. Now environmental groups around the country are using the scientific study to encourage vegetarianism among environmentalists.
There was an interesting article in today's NY Times about the uneasy relationship between environmentalists, climatologists (and, specifically, Al Gore) and the vegetarian and animal rights activists who see a clear solution to the problem of global warming. Matt Prescott, Manager of vegan campaigns for PETA, charges in the article that "you just cannot be a meat-eating environmentalist", and his opinion is characteristic of the views of his organization and others like it. To them, Gore's decision to focus on vehicle emissions is a clear abnegation of the reality of the situation. Check out the article here. It's well worth the read.
I noted while watching the debate last night that Joe Biden seemed to be doing a lot of Hillary Clinton's dirty work for her. He was incredibly outspoken in his criticism of both Edwards and Obama, allowing Clinton to stay mostly above the fray and then twice agreed with answers she provided. Towards the end of the debate, Clinton returned the favor, and agreed with a comment of Biden's, then moments later, he made a semi-awkward, semi-conspicuous plug when he referred to the next President as a "he or she".
Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post's political blog The Fix, saw an even bigger trend emerge, and he writes in a blog post today that "The Democratic field split into two factions Tuesday night at the AFL-CIO forum in Chicago, with Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Joe Biden (Del.) and Chris Dodd (Conn.) on one side and Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) on the other."
Cillizza's argument is well-developed and deserves a read!
(And btw, that picture is not even from last night. It just seemed too good to pass up!)
This might not be completely relevant to the subject of this blog, but there's a song I've been listening to for the last two days that I can't get out of my head. Written and performed originally by James Taylor, the song is called "Shed a Little Light". I heard it for the first time on Friday, during an episode of West Wing (where else?). The song begins:
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together..."
A few weeks ago, I was asked by a conservative friend of mine to define my beliefs. Am I liberal or progressive? And if I saw a difference, what was it? A few weeks before that, I attended a conference held by People for the American Way's Front Line Leaders Academy. We spent much of the weekend talking about the same questions: What did we believe? Why did we believe it? How do our beliefs manifest themselves?
I'm not going to say that listening to a little James Taylor changed my life. That would be overly simplistic and, you know, not true. But I do know that in this song Taylor is saying something, and it's something important.
There is a section of Ephesians (Again, with my West Wing education. It's possible I should skip the rest of school and just keep watching West Wing.) that tells us that we must be subject to one another, and now James Taylor's singing the same refrain. It's gotta mean something-- this responsibility to one another that everyone's talking about-- right?
If you boil down my beliefs... really reduce my progressivism to its most basic principles, I believe in that same responsibility. I'm committed to affordable health care, a quality education for all, civil rights and civil liberties, conservation, and helping those who need it the most. All of it is pretty much common sense if you start with a fundamental responsibility to your brothers and sisters.
Anyway, I just couldn't get the song out of my head. Give it a listen, and maybe post a little about your progressivism...
Max Blumenthal, contributing writer to The Nation, The Huffington Post, and Media Matters, recently released a short documentary-style video showing a behind the scenes look at the College Republicans National Convention. It's a must-see video that exposes the inherent contradiction in the pro-war views espoused by College Republicans who refuse to serve in the armed forces.
Thanks to Chris D. for pointing this out!
It was when Dispatch brought out the African Children's Choir that I knew last night's concert was going to be a little different from the band's shows I'd seen before...
The concert was titled Dispatch: Zimbabwe, but, to be honest, I was a little cynical about the motivation behind the show. When I first heard the band was reuniting for three nights at Madison Square Garden, I was beyond excited. I love Dispatch, and I was anxious for any shot to see them, now that they've been defunct for three years. The purported purpose of the show was to raise money and awareness for the people of Zimbabwe who are suffering countless horrors and have little hope or opportunity to change. It was a noble goal, to be sure, but not necessarily attainable.
"How much could a rock show do?" I wondered. In the end, I wasn't sure how much it mattered, and I wanted to see the concert so I bought tickets, and made the trip from DC to NY to find out.
When I made it to the Garden, my faith in Dispatch to effect change through music was tested even more. I stepped out of Penn Station and into a sea of teenagers wearing tie-dyed concert t-shirts and $200 Tory Burch flats. My friend commented that it was like our prep school "Lawrenceville threw up on the Garden."
The audience (including us) was there for the show, not the cause.
But when we made it inside, a bunch of NGOs were tabling next to the souvenir stand. While I bought a nifty new t-shirt, my friend stopped by the KickAids table, and learned about their efforts to use what they call "grassroots soccer" to bring AIDS awareness and prevention education to children in Zimbabwe and other African countries devastated by the disease. It was a pretty cool group with a pretty cool idea, and they completely understood their audience. For a donation of $10, you got a woven bracelet that had KickAids beaded onto it. I saw tons of people wearing them, and the group must have raised a decent amount of money.
During the concert itself, the band interspersed their (amazing) performance with short documentaries about the problems facing Zimbabwe. The half of the audience that wasn't too drunk or stoned paid attention, but the videos weren't particularly informative, to be honest.
The best part of the show, and the band's best attempt at fulfilling the mission of the concert, were the handful of songs during which they were joined by the African Children's Choir. The choir is a really talented group of kids, and they were able to bring African dance to a very American genre of music and make it work really well. The kids were the more effective part of the show for the audience, as well. Every time they took the stage, the audience completely woke up and started paying attention to what the band was saying.
Okay. Now that I've rambled for what feels like pages (and for that, I apologize), here's my question:
As progressives, we are for fairness and equality and education and healthcare and social change and political integrity. We are for all these things in America, and we are for these things everywhere else. If music or celebrity can be used to open the eyes and ears of people who might not otherwise pay attention, is that enough?
In the aftermath of Dispatch: Zimbabwe (and on a much larger scale, Live Earth) , can "awareness" events really effect change? Or are they (as I've sometimes thought) just vanity events for the organizers?
I don't know if it really matters, but it's what I'm thinking about right now.
Thoughts?
P.S. Go listen to "Elias" by Dispatch if you don't already know the song. It's about a man they met while traveling in Zimbabwe, and the death of his brother to AIDS is what inspired this weekend's concerts.
Kudos to the House for passing important legislation today that will make it easier for America's youth to attend college!
The bill, which passed 273-149 (47 Republicans joined Democrats), cut almost $20 billion from subsidies to lenders, increases available loans and grants, and affords loan forgiveness for those who need it the most. Although President Bush has gone on the record opposing the bill, it is likely he will sign it into law later this year.
While the bill itself is a huge step in the right direction, it also represents a larger ideal. This Democratic Congress was elected on a promise to do work for the American people, and its commitment seems resolute.
It's only been half a year since Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House, and I look forward to seeing what she and her progressive colleagues achieve in the future.
A lot of you know that when the New Jersey legislature decided to establish same sex civil unions a few months back, I was hesitant to celebrate. I had concerns that any institution that claimed to be "separate but equal" could truly ever be the latter. A recent dust-up with international shipping magnate UPS proves that the law is much weaker than even I imagined. On the front page of today's Newark Star Ledger, there is an article that describes the struggle faced by UPS employee Gabriael Brazier to have Heather Aurand, Brazier's same-sex partner, covered by her company health insurance. UPS denied coverage to Aurand, claiming that their decision was the fault of the NJ Legislature.
In a letter to Brazier, UPS wrote that the NJ Legislature, in enacting the state's civil union law, "did not go as far as Massachusetts and afford same-sex couples the ability to marry. Had the New Jersey Legislature done that, you could have added Ms. Aurand as a spouse under the plan." In other words, because NJ law does not call couples joined in civil union "spouses", they are denied equal benefits by UPS and 160 other companies who employ citizens of the Garden State.
Members of the legislature have expressed surprise that the law has been misinterpreted so severely, but I wonder how genuine their responses are. The applicable federal law on this subject-- the Defense of Marriage Act-- is clear. Corporations like UPS that employ people across state lines are governed by federal law, and federal law alone. The are allowed-- even encouraged--to deny benefits to partners in same sex unions.
The New Jersey legislature isn't naive. They have-- collectively-- been around the block quite a few times. In the face of this new loophole, the intentions behind their actions are questionable. Now that they've done something it takes off a lot of the pressure to do more. Did they pass the civil union law to stave off debate of the true issue?
Even if the legislature had the best of intentions, the law they passed was, quite frankly, a wussy move. New Jersey is one of the bluest states in the nation, and if progress is not going to start there, where will it begin?
Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality sums up the difference between marriage and civil unions just about perfectly. "In the real world," he is quoted as saying, "civil unions are to marriage what artificial sweetener is to sugar. It's not the same thing and it leaves a bad aftertaste."
A semi-amusing take on American foreign policy from the good folks at MadTV.
Alan Simpson, former Republican Senator from Wymoming, contributed a great piece about gays in the military to today's Washington Post.
Simpson rightly points out the sheer ridiculousness of discharging patriotic gays and lesbians from our armed services when we clearly could not need them more.
Check it out...
Okay, so he's not actually my Congressman, I'll admit it. And he's not technically a rocket scientist, either, just a nuclear physicist who served for a few years as the head of the Nuclear and Scientific Division of the Office of Strategic Forces at the State Department.
But Rush Holt is pretty smart. And pretty experienced. And he'd make a damn good Chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
For those of you who haven't been following the drama, Congresswoman Pelosi has held back on revealing her choice for the position, long after she revealed her picks for other top posts. Her hesitancy, it seems likely, comes from the fact that she has a difficult decision to make. The most obvious choice (and current senior Democrat on the Committee), Jane Harman (D-CA) is an unlikely pick, given her poor relationship with Nancy Pelosi, as well as her general complacency when faced with Republican and White House demands over the past few years.
The next ranking Democrat-- Alcee Hastings (D-FL)-- is a similarly troubling nominee. Though he has served ably on the Intelligence Committee in recent years, he has more than a few skeletons in his closet. For a Democratic Party that was handed its majority based mostly on frustration with Republican corruptness, his indiscretions might simply be too much to overlook. Twenty-five years ago, then federal judge Hastings was impeached by the Democratic House on charges of perjury and bribery, and then removed from his office by the Democratic Senate. It is interesting to note that a younger Congresswoman Pelosi was one of the House Democrats who voted to impeach Mr. Hastings.
Given the two most senior choices are so ill-suited to chair the committee, I-- and many others in the liberal blogosphere-- feel it is time for some out of the box thinking.
The first name that comes to mind is Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ). He is exceedingly qualified, intelligent, and has a record of standing strong against Bush's Republican party. Perhaps more importantly, as David Corn points out on his blog at The Nation, "this would be a change for Pelosi to send a signal: the Democrats do regard national security seriously and are willing to put aside political concerns to do the right thing. She would be saying, merit matters most when it comes to protecting the United States."
That seems like a pretty good message to send.
So, personal opinions aside-- I am, admittedly, a big fan of Rush's-- Congressman Holt would be an excellent choice for the Chairmanship. He is both an exciting (the Rocket scientist joke never gets old) and responsible choice, and Congresswoman Pelosi should think long and hard before giving the job to anyone else.
I don't have much time to write about this, but everyone should check out this frightening editorial from today's New York Times.
It's about the latest radical ideologue to be given a high-level appointment in the Bush administration, despite a complete lack of knowlege or experience in the field.
What happened to moving forward in a more sensible, bipartisan manner, President Bush?
... a Democratic House, Senate, and the majority of state houses across the nation.
Plus, I have a class that let me color a hand turkey:
What are you thankful for? Leave a comment with your most thanks-worthy memories of the last year (politics-related, or not).
