A Musical Interlude...

... Something a Little Different

Old Crow Medicine Show
I Hear Them Now

The song's a couple years old now, but I think touches on the angst deep into our national psyche. Hope and warning all rolled into one.

Do you think our leaders "hear them all"?

Ebert's - "I'm safe on board. Pull up the life rope"

Thanks to the wonderful Chicagoan Driftglass, I came across this column by Roger Ebert.

Wow. Simply wow.

Now, how come we cannot have the discussion about health care reform in focus on the basic, moral soundness of caring for all? I suppose its because if that discussion were to break out into the mainstream, many, many citizens would discover the ugly truth about politics in our age. That is, the ultra-small, ultra-wealthy elites have long used and continue to use the "rubes" in ways that pit them against each other and their own interests.

More interesting, why is the Administration not using the basic, compelling moral argument to defend progress in national health care?????

His column is so full of straight up good plain talk that I can hardly believe it was published at all, let alone in a major city daily. For example:

Federal Death panels would decide who lives or dies. This, very frankly, is a lie. The nearest thing we have to a death panel in the United States is an insurance company claims adjuster. Some readers wrote that they or their loved ones were denied tests or treatment by their insurance companies, especially in the case of "pre-existing conditions." One, who had a brain tumor, says he was denied coverage of the treatment by an adjuster, as if he'd known about the tumor at the time he took out his policy some time earlier. Think about this. Unless we die violently or in an accident, we all die of a pre-existing condition. The condition is called "life."

and

A nation is a mutual undertaking. In a democracy, we set out together to do what we believe is good for the commonwealth. That means voluntarily subjecting ourselves to the rule of law, taxation, military service, the guaranteeing of rights to minorities, and so on. That is a cheap price to pay....Yes, even the senior citizen at that Arizona town hall meeting who screamed at his congressman: "Keep the government's hands off my Medicare!" He didn't know Medicare is a federal program, and he didn't want to know.

Ebert really says it best:

I believe universal health care is, quite simply, right.

And that, quite simply, is where this serving patriot stands.

By Drifty's definition...

... I am a liberal too.

"... people who take an interest in such things believe that power should be used to carve a few acres of justice and fairness out of the jungle of human nature: everybody pays, everybody benefits, everybody sacrifices a little, and so long as those things get done, we agree to stay out of each other’s way."

As they say, read it all. The Age of Bush

Guess Who's Not Going to CIA

So it's breaking today that John Brennan says he's not the guy for the CIA. One "former senior intelligence official" told Washington Post's Joby Warrick that Mr. Brennan's withdrawal was "a tragedy." Seems that this unnamed source would not agree with many fellow citizens who felt that the 25-year intelligence veteran's advocacy of rendering alleged terrorists to foreign nations ("an absolutely vital tool") and the use of illegal and morally repugnant "enhanced interrogation techniques" more than disqualified him from leading the CIA.

Mr. Brennan noted in his publicly released note to the President-elect that he had "been a strong opponent of many of the policies of the Bush administration such as the pre-emptive war in Iraq and coercive interrogation tactics, to include waterboarding...the fact that I was not involved in the decision-making process for any of these controversial policies and actions has been ignored." Well, he might have opposed the Iraqi War, but his own statements, amply documented, contradict his plea that he opposed coercive interrogation techniques. At No Comment, Scott Horton gives a good analysis of Mr. Brennan's credibility problem:

As a company man, Brennan was quick to justify and support what was done. As an “independent” analyst for broadcast journalists, he also provided support and cover for practices from waterboarding to the use of psychotropic drugs. As an adviser to the Obama campaign, Brennan experienced an unconvincing epiphany and came to reject President Bush’s “program” along the same lines as his boss. The timing and circumstances of Brennan’s conversion suggest that it was dictated by political expedience and not ethics.

Perhaps Mr. Brennan is trying to salvage a portion of his legacy and credibility in the era of "teh Google." Maybe he decided that staying in business securing (or not) the passport records of U.S. citizens is much more lucrative than running the CIA. Whether Mr. Brennan pulled the plug on himself, or whether the plug was pulled for him as a result of the advocacy of psychologists, bloggers and activated, concerned citizens, his withdrawal from consideration is but a small step towards righting the horrifying wrong of detention policies in the so-called War on Terror. Either way, this is far, far from a tragedy. If you don't believe me, take some time to watch Torturing Democracy and tell me why any advocate of current policies should get a paycheck from the taxpayers.

Glen Greenwald discusses this development much more eloquently than I can -- It's a good thing that "the C.I.A.’s secret detention program remains a particularly incendiary issue" and that anyone associated with it -- let alone someone who defended it -- will have a difficult time being appointed to a position of high authority. Now let's hope that no other retreads (John McLaughlin) or morally compromised politicians (Jane Harman) get the nod to lead any portion of our intelligence community.

And that, my friends, is some change I can believe in.

(This - Gates Staying on as Defense Chief - not so much.)

"All their troubles proceed from us."

Over at the Hullabaloo, Digby absolutely nails one out of the park with her analysis on our new rump party - the GOP.

Watching some of the most tawdry and infuriating Republican Senators knife their fellow citizens over the so-called bailout of the automakers (once again spinmeisters, please use the phrase Auto Industry RESCUE, eh?) has just about put me over the edge. Jerks like Jeff (I can outdrawl any of y'all) Sessions and Mitch (I can't believe I won) McConnell whine and complain becasue they are asked to save American jobs. Funny, I didn't hear of their principled stand against auto companies when they fell all over themselves to squeeze their own citizens into giving HUGE taxbreaks and subsidies to relocate foreign automakers into thier own states. Given that states like Alabama have long lived off the proceeds of federal taxes paid by workers from Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, the venality and hypocrisy of these pearl-clutching hissy fit mongers is pretty much beyond the pale.

In a sinking economy, the failure to save jobs - any jobs - is exceptionally stupid, nay criminally negligent. Economists and industry analysts are already warning that failure among the Big Three will cost HUNDREDS of BILLIONS in economic losses, revenue shortages and costs - seems like a LOAN of some TENS of BILLIONS is more than a good deal in this situation.

And please don't cry "moral hazard" now. Congress and the Bush Administration crossed that threshold months ago when they started subsidizing banks, insurance companies, mortgage brokers (and most importantly, their extraordinarily well paid corporate leaders). Just like these titans of our unraveling economy, the Big Three are simply "too big to fail." Indeed, several HUNDRED BILLION dollars already flowed to major banks with the caveat that they should get the "credit markets working again;" yet, consumers can't get loans to buy cars and (obviously) the Big Three cannot get them either!

But the part of this entire sad, sad episode that torques me off the most has to be the shameless displays of know nothingism and aggreivement from the Rump GOP. As Digby notes, its a stench that can not be salved since "All their troubles proceed from [the rest of] us." That "us" being the rest of our progressive, fair-minded, patriotic and good natured nation. As Digby notes:

It means they are not a majority, which is the good. But it also means that it is far more conservative and consumed with a sense of its own victimization at the hands of the rest of the country. That makes them dangerous, even in their relative weakness... Losing the last of their moderating regional and ideological ballast leaves them with nothing but a 250 year old chip on their shoulders and they have quite a vivid history of acting in very destructive ways toward the nation as a whole.

Well, maybe it is time to knock that chip off some shoulders. One can only hope. But, given the spinelessness of so many of our Democratic leaders lately, its a slim hope at best.


(PS - to understand what MUST happen to auto industry leaderhsip, if the Feds get to call any "Rescue"-related shots that is, check out Driftglass' solution. Come to think of it, Drifty's idea of a "bigger axe" would work pretty well for the "federally rescued" financial industry and in Congress too!)

Well at least he's not running Veterans Affairs

Only 13 Democratic senators voted against Joe Lieberman? Are you kidding me? This guy made an absolute mockery of party loyalty - above and beyond Zell Miller and only 13 Democratic senators opposed his retention of a committee chairmanship? Much less any leadership role?

Let this be an immediate object lesson on the difference between the GOP and Democratic Party right here. Apparently, you can be forgiven almost anything - even campaigning against you own party's nominee and still keep you job when you lose. Now that is FORGIVENESS. Call me crazy, but I cannot even begin to imagine a similar outcome if the roles were reversed. And they keep telling me that they are so much more Christian than I am!

That said, I hope that Holy Joe will greatly note and forever remember (sorry Abe!) what happened today -- because I'm quite confident at least 13 of his colleagues, his new President and a whole host of howling mad citizens will not.

I'm with many of those folks. Magnanimous? More like foolish. A prodigal son? Unlikely. Frankly, I don't care about what he might bring to the future. Holy Joe should pay a greater penance for his sins of yesterday before being trusted once again in a powerful leadership position. As DDay says, "don't say you weren't warned."

I guess bottom line is this. Loyalty, it appears, is for the rubes. Maybe this is something that American automakers, their workers and the millions of others who depend on them better figure out right quick. These Americans are about to learn just how far that loyalty will get them. (Hint... its not very far....)

(Thanks Firedoglake for once again leading in an important cause.)

F the F'in Yankees!

Today would have been Steve Gilliard's 44th birthday. I've missed this patriot often over the past couple of years. And I especially missed him in this past election campaign. Somehow, I think he was still around, and the legion of followers who are "fighting back" are Steve's mark and memory in our world. Truly and often, the good die all too young.

I for one will never forget the hornet's nest he stirred when he put Michael Steel in blackface! Or his human and humane coverage of the NYC transit workers strike. Or the long treatises on history. Or the (waaay) optimistic predictions that the GOP would get its due (they finally did this year). Or the typos! To go back to Steve's archives today is to relive the agony and the ecstasy of these past Bush years - and miss all over again that wonderful voice he gave to so many of us.

The folks at the Group News Blog are keeping Steve's fighting spirit alive and well. Thanks for all that you do and reminding us today about the man we miss from our midst.

Steve, I miss ya! And yeah, F the effing Yankees!

I sure hope not

What a wrong way to start the new Congressional session.

(From Fighting Liberals)
Jane Hamsher reports that Lieberman was offered Chairmanship of Veterans Affairs. Joe Lieberman has always failed to support veterans. On this, Veterans Day Weekend let me just say HELL NO to that rat bastard sitting on Veterans Affairs, let alone chairmanship.