Katrina

I haven't commented much on the devestation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Most of the rest of the media is taking care of that and there is nothing else I can really add.

But I just ran across this first-person narrative from CNN's Jeanne Meserve who is in the deep South. There are a couple of things she says that put this disaster into perspective:

"I truly believe that apart from 9/11 this is one of the most significant events that has ever hit this country. Anybody who tells you this disaster is going to be rectified in a matter of months hasn't seen the situation."

And...

"A woman coming down to the police, close to hysterics, saying, 'My elderly mother is in a building over there, she needs dialysis. She can't get it. She is dying. Can you help me?'

And the police had to say, 'There is absolutely nothing we can do. We don't have a precinct house. We don't have communication. There is absolutely nothing we can do for you.'"

And today Gov. Kathleen Blanco ordered the evacuation of New Orleans. An entire major American metropolis! Evacuated! Folks, this is huge; it really does seem like something out of "The Day After Tomorrow."

Of course my thoughts and best wishes are with the people of New Orleans and Biloxi and the entire Gulf coast.

It's times like these when the blue and the red converge and we become purple states; when the true UNITED States of America shows its true colors.

If you would like to donate to the cause you can do so here.

Update: Will Bunch wonders if things needed to be this bad. (Hat tip, Gil.)

Saturday Night Fever Relapse

From Dark Horizons: Barry and Robin Gibb have expressed an interest in casting British pop hottie Robbie Williams in a remake of "Saturday Night Fever," according to Britain's Daily Star.

A friend of the Gibbs says: "They have always wanted to remake the film and bring out a more modern version and Robbie is the ideal candidate to play Tony (Manero - the John Travolta character) - he can sing, dance, is a good-looking lad and has loads of charisma."

For my money, Robbie should have been cast as a steward in Wolfgang Petersen's remake of "The Poseidon Adventure." I can picture it now...Robbie running around hot, sweaty, and shirtless with Josh Lucas!

In the mean time, his new CD is scheduled for release in Europe this fall.

Another August Memo Ignored

Andy Towle has the goods.

George's HumpDay

File under "What the fuck!?"

Guilty As Charged

At the risk of sounding like your stereotypical 'mo, I have to admit that I absolutely love Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" album. I received the 25th anniversary "dual disc" version from Amazon yesterday and I have been listening to it non-stop since the mail guy at work dropped it in my box.

Produced by Barry Gibb and released in 1980, "Guilty" is Streisand's best selling album to date. The disc is filled with superbly written songs, from the opening chords of the title track to the powerhouse vocals and lush orchestral arrangements of "Make It Like a Memory." Gibb's songs are truly the perfect showcase for Streisand's beautiful voice. My fave rave? "Run Wild." Pure Gibb, powerful Streisand. That simple.

The DVD part of the disc includes an interview with Barbra and Barry, taped during this summer's recording of "Guilty Pleasures" (the new venture between the two), as well as two outtakes from the 1986 Streisand video "One Voice."

But the recommendation here is for the original album. Remastered for the anniversary, it is truly one of pop music's best written, best produced, and best performed albums.

Order "Guilty" or "Guilty Pleasures" here.

Katrina, Katrina

NEWS CLIP OF THE DAY (via Wonkette), live from New Orleans on Fox Jazerra:

SHEPARD SMITH: You’re live on FOX News Channel, what are you doing?

MAN: Walking my dogs.

SMITH: Why are you still here? I’m just curious.

MAN: None of your fucking business.

If you've seen Smith's work on Fox, you'd know that it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

See the video here, courtesy of Crooks & Liars.

The Naked Truth

Brian Ellner, candidate for Manhatten Borough President, has started running a new ad. Take a look.

(Courtesy of Towleroad.)

Back from SF

It was a quick trip, but a huge thank you to Larry, Trevor, Smokey, and Thor for that "fantabulous" BBQ. Lobster, tri-tip, good wine, and wonderful friends. We had a blast!

Off to San Francisco, Back on Monday

At the Dawn of History...

(From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

President Hart?

Former Senator Gary Hart (Democrat-CO) penned an excellent op/ed piece for the Washington Post on Wednesday. He provides good advice for Democrats going into the 2008 presidential cycle:

History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.

But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on?

...To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."

...At stake is not just the leadership of the Democratic Party and the nation but our nation's honor, our nobility and our principles. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a national community based on social justice. Harry Truman created international networks that repaired the damage of World War II and defeated communism. John F. Kennedy recaptured the ideal of the republic and the sense of civic duty. To expect to enter this pantheon, the next Democratic leader must now undertake all three tasks.

...No Democrat, especially one now silent, should expect election by default. The public trust must be earned, and speaking clearly, candidly and forcefully now about the mess in Iraq is the place to begin.

Who now has the courage to say this?

Well, I know of one. If the former Democratic senator from Colorado threw his hat in the ring, I'd be all ears.

Bush Below 40%

For the first time in his presidency, George W. Bush's job approval rating has dipped below 40%. According to an American Research Group poll, only 36% of Americans approve of the President's job performance.

From 50.7% of the popular vote in November to 36% approval less than a year later?

Hate to say I told you so, but...

Super-duper Busy

Sorry for the lack of posts these last few days. I had to spend a few days in Sacramento and have been swamped at work since getting back on Monday. Things should calm down a bit after today.

Buyers' Remorse?

Results of a new state-by-state poll conducted by Survey USA suggest a large majority of Americans may be suffering a huge case of buyers' remorse. (Better late than never, I guess.) Some interesting tid-bits:

-President Bush's job approval rating is at 50% or above in only nine states, all of which were solid "Republican red" in the 2004 Electoral College (Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, Texas, Alabama, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma).

-His rating in Ohio, the state that handed him the 2004 election, is an anemic 37% - with a whopping 60% disapproving. (Not even John Kerry could have lost Ohio had Bush had those numbers on Election Day.)

-And as Chris Bowers points out, the President has lost independent voters in massive numbers. Sen. Kerry carried independents by 1% last year. It can easily be argued that Bush's strong showing in this demographic won him the states he needed to cobble together his 286 electoral vote victory.

That said, with independents disapproving of his job performance in huge numbers, it can also be argued that the nation is suffering from a nasty case of buyers' remorse. But they obviously suffered illusions of grandeur in the last election, thinking that things in a second Bush term were going to somehow get better.

All the tell-tale signs were there, yet they chose to return George W. Bush to the White House.

And now they're kicking themselves in the ass.

Back on Monday

My partner and I are headed up to spend a few days with the "in-laws." I will return to the blogsphere on Monday.

35 State Strategy

Stockton, over at Distance, posted an excellent essay last week suggesting the Democrats lower their goal of a "50-state strategy" and shoot for a more realistic "35-state strategy" by targeting such western states as Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.

The Fascists Throw A Party

Fascist Party loyalists gathered Sunday to further plan their Hitler-esque takeover of America.

Perspective this morning from the New York Times.

Paris Hilton Is a Bitch

A little bit of fluff news for your Tuesday.

Happy Monday

Happy Saturday, From Beautiful Santa Barbara

Happy Saturday from beautiful Santa Barbara, California. Another summer weekend beckons so let us set aside all thoughts of record gas prices - and let's not even think of foreign countries that begin with the letters I-R-A.

Get out there and enjoy that beautiful star we call the sun & all the wonder it has to offer; enjoy it with close friends, a tremendous meal, and a fine bottle of wine.

Or if you prefer the solitude of a good summer book, I highly recommend "The Trouble Boy" by Tom Dolby. I devoured it in one sitting.

Would you rather stay in this weekend and curl up on the sofa with a good DVD? Rent the BBC series "The Vicar of Dibly." Dawn French, of the Saunders and French comedy team, shines as Geraldine Granger, the saucy vicar of a sleepy English village.

Looking for some ecclectic mid-August tunes for the iPod? Here are a few summertime tunes I have been listening to lately...

She's Not Innocent - Antigone Rising

The One I Love - David Gray

Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley - Robert Palmer

Catalina Kiss - Acoustic Alchemy

My Love Is Always - Saffron Hill

Now, get out there and enjoy your Saturday.

George & Dick's Windfall

Oil prices have reached record highs yet again. I'm sure George and Dick, both Texas oil men, couldn't be more pleased.

But I wonder...when those 62,040,610 Bush voters head to the gas station and pay $75.00 to $100.00 to fill the gas tanks of their SUVs, do they still feel the pride? Is their Republican president still the apple of their eye?

Do they realize if a "President Gore" had presided over such a huge increase in gas prices they would have thrown him out of the White House without hesitation?

Contemptuous George and the Dead Soldier's Mother

Coward.

Mr. Bush said he grieves for every death in Iraq. "It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel about the death that takes place."

Yet there was no sign Mr. Bush intends to meet Ms. Sheehan. In fact, there were reports he is travelling solely by helicopter when he leaves the ranch in an effort to avoid racing past the protester in a limousine.

Via the Globe and Mail.

McCain / Kerry in 2008?

Remember all the talk last summer about the possibility of a Kerry/McCain "unity" ticket? I thought Kerry and McCain would have made a great team and argued so in April of 2004.

But the same ticket in reverse?

Some are suggesting the two are talking about it.

N vs. Q

IraN resumed work on its nuclear program on Wednesday, making it clear that they have no intention of bucking to U.N. pressure.

Excellent commentary on the matter, as posted here last week, from the Guardian.

Yet, we are fighting a war in IraQ because we were told they had nukes. It turns out they didn't.

Mr. President, with all of our resources being poured into Iraq, how do you intend to deal with the IraN threat? (Sir, that is the one that ends in "N," not "Q.")

UPDATE: A draft resolution calling for Iran to resume full suspension of its uranium enrichment activities was submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency today.

UPDATE 2: UN atomic watchdog director Mohamed ElBaradei said he would issue a new report on Iran's nuclear program on September 3, adding there was 'a window of opportunity' for more talks between Tehran and the European Union.

Barbara Bel Geddes ("Miss Ellie") Has Died

Barbara Bel Geddes, known the world over for playing Miss Ellie on the long running TV drama "Dallas," died Monday at her home in Maine.

In addition to playing the Ewing family matriarch on the CBS soap, Bel Geddes is also remembered for her 1948 Oscar nomination for supporting actress in "I Remember Mama" and for originating the roll of Maggie the Cat on Broadway in "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof."

I admit, I was a huge "Dallas" fan from the start and remained one of the few loyal viewers when the show ended in 1991 (I admit, I did boycott the show during the 9th season when producers tried to explain Bobby Ewing's return by making the entire previous season a dream.) Miss Ellie was always my favorite character. My thoughts are with her family this week.

Why do conservatives hate fallen soldiers?

The President is right, my friends. We are fighting evil; we are fighting evil in the form of radical right-wing Fascist nut jobs who are apparently super-natural and can hear dead people disparage their mothers.

Right-wing bitch-tress Michelle Malkin has sunk to a new low. Last night on Fox Jazeera's "O'Whiney Factor," she launched a vile, cowardly smear attack on Cindy Sheehan:

O'Whiney: I think Mrs. Sheehan bears some responsibility for this [publicity] and also for the responsibility for the other American families who lost sons and daughters in Iraq who feel this kind of behavior borders on treasonous.

Coulter...oops!...I mean, Malkin: I can’t imagine that Casey Sheehan would approve of such behavior.

Jesus, man! What the fuck!? The man died while fighting for his country and, mind you, he died on the wings of the President's lie.

Had this been Molly Ivins spewing such venom on, say, CNN or MSBNC, the right wing Fascists would be up in arms, demanding apologies and holding hearings that would lead to revoked broadcast licenses.

And that is exactly what should happen to Bitch O'Whiney, Michelle Malkin, and Fox Jazeera.

How dare they!?

Quote of the Day

"I have a policy proposal: Anyone who doesn't believe in evolution shouldn't enjoy the benefits of evolution. No eyes, no walking upright, no opposable thumbs. It's back to the primordial ooze for members of the Kansas Board of Education."

-Dan Savage, who is filling in for Andrew Sullivan, commenting on the recent decision by a Kansas Board of Education that wants to push creationism over evolution.

American Mom

This morning, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin takes up the issue of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed last year in the Iraq war, who is sitting outside the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, waiting for a one-on-one meeting with her son's Commander-in-Chief.

Marin does an excellent job of tying Ms. Sheehan's requst for answers to the American public's growing pessimism over how the President got us into this war and his administration's miserable conduct of the day-to-day operations over there.

Key quotes:

Sheehan wants a face-to-face meeting with the president to tell him to stop saying that our continued commitment to this awful war "honors" the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for their country. Sheehan doesn't believe we honor anyone by putting new lives on the line. Not more of our own soldiers. Not those of the so-called "coalition forces." And not innocent Iraqi men, women and children for that matter either.

So Sheehan is parked in a ditch, living in a tent, some distance from the president's ranch and refusing to pack up and go back home to California.

I wondered when Bush left Crawford this morning to come here to Illinois if he left his ranch by car and therefore traveled down his driveway in the vicinity of Sheehan? Or was he lifted out by helicopter, flying up and out over her head? Either way, she is down there in Texas today and Bush is here.

The reason the president is taking time away from his summer ranch vacation to come to Illinois is to sign a big transportation bill outside of Aurora. It involves a lot of money, $286.5 billion for all sorts of projects. Of that amount, Illinois will get hundreds of millions of dollars to build bridges, shore up infrastructure and create some new roads. All in all, those things make a difference in people's lives and so there will be a load of politicians standing behind the president, chief among them House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and other members of the Illinois congressional delegation.

...These are the kind of events that people in public life love. It's a way to focus on the positive.

The Iraq war is not a positive. That's why for two years we haven't been allowed to view soldiers' flag-draped coffins coming into Dover Air Force base...And that's why the administration would rather use terms like "coalition forces" rather than actually name the countries supporting us. After all, just how many troops do we really think can be supplied by Albania, Azerbaijan and Estonia?

...We are only a third of the way through August, and 31 more soldiers are dead. Car bombs. Insurgent attacks across the country. Carnage in the cities as well as in the countryside.

Thousands more of our wounded are coming home to rehabilitate their broken bodies and in some cases, tortured minds.

And as Sun-Times reporter Cheryl Reed has shown us in stunning detail, we talk a good game in this country about honoring the troops and respecting our veterans, but we fall disgracefully short of putting our money where our mouth is.

As the financial cost of this war approaches $200 billion and as we are fast moving toward our 2,000th casualty, something has to change.

Cindy Sheehan, waiting down at the end of the president's driveway in Texas, is right about this war.

I highly recommend the entire column. You can read it here.

Condi on Crack

From the new issue of Time Magazine:

[Secretary of State Condoleeza] Rice told TIME she believes the insurgents are "losing steam..."

Uhh, 'scuse me Madame Secretary. Are you smokin' crack?

Etheridge Says She Is Cancer Free

In spot of good news (because we could use it right about now), singer Melissa Etheridge told the TV show "Extra" that she is fully healthy and cancer free.

Etheridge's latest single is a superb remake of Tom Petty's "Refugee."

Dana Reeve Has Lung Cancer

On the heals of the death of Peter Jennings of lung cancer, Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, announced this morning that she has the disease.

"I have an excellent team of physicians, and we are optimistic about my prognosis," she said.

The Reeves have a 13 year-old son.

Ok everyone...send positive and healing thoughts to this wonderful woman.

Masculine Overcompensation

Robb Willer, a sociology doctoral candidate at Cornell University, will present findings at an August 15 meeting of the American Sociological Association that show men who are made more insecure about their masculinity will display more homophobic attitudes, will support the Iraq War more, and would drive an SUV.

Courtesy of AmericaBlog, via Dan, who is handling himself quite nicely while sitting in for Andrew.

Focus on Bigotry

(Via Andy Towle)
Focus on the Family, the group that represents the radical right wing of the Fascist - err - Republican Party, has sunk to a new low.

Beware! Your child could be - gasp! - gay. Here is a list of "tell tale" signs. I find #4 particularly amusing:

"A strong preference to spend time in the company of girls"

Ummm, isn't that what Focus on the Family wants these boys to do?

The memo also offers "professional help."

Then again, homophobic parents can always resort to killing a potentially gay child before they reach kindergarten.

I'd be amused if it weren't so damn scary.

The President Resigns

Sorry.

No.

Not that one.

Rather, on this date in history.

True Patriots

JEFF HOWE (Hat tip, Brian):

Soldier Jeff Howe, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, has been discharged from the army for placing an ad on a gay website, under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Howe, 32, enlisted in the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, taking a leave of absence from his job in corporate marketing. He was already open with family and friends about his sexuality, but his desire to help his country exceeded his concern about the military's gay ban.

Unlike most young Americans, Howe felt the need to serve his country following the 9/11 attacks. He put his personal life aside so he could answer the calling (heard by so very few) of his generation.

The U.S. military brass weakened a nation by discharging a loyal soldier like Mr. Howe.

Who is the true patriot here?

CINDY SHEEHAN:

File this one under "What the f*ck?"- According to his diary on DailyKos, David Swanson says

Cindy Sheehan [whose son was killed in Iraq and who wants a meeting with President Bush] phoned me from Texas a few minutes ago to say that she's been informed that beginning Thursday, she and her companions will be considered a threat to national security and will be arrested.

Her son was killed in the line of duty and his commander-in-chief can't give her five minutes out of his five week vacation?

Who is the true patriot here?

"Discovery is home."

Pork Oil

News item (August 8): President George Bush signed an energy bill he called vital to the U.S. economy.

News item (Same day): Oil and gasoline prices hit new records.

Peter Jennings, 1938 - 2005

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings died tonight of lung cancer.

Friedman Gets It

Another excellent column from Thomas L. Friedman. This morning he discusses why the recent energy bill is bad for America.

This bill...contains massive pork slabs dished out to the vested interests who need them least - like oil companies - and has no overarching strategy to deal with the new world.

...we are in a war. It is a war against open societies mounted by Islamo-fascists, who are nurtured by mosques, charities and madrasas preaching an intolerant brand of Islam and financed by medieval regimes sustained by our oil purchases.

Yes, we are financing both sides in the war on terrorism: our soldiers and the fascist terrorists. George Bush's failure, on the morning after 9/11, to call on Americans to accept a gasoline tax to curb our oil imports was one of the greatest wasted opportunities in U.S. history.

The new energy bill includes support for corn-based ethanol, but, bowing to the dictates of the U.S. corn and sugar lobbies (which oppose sugar imports), it ignores Brazilian-style sugar-based ethanol, even though it takes much less energy to make and produces more energy than corn-based ethanol. We are ready to import oil from Saudi Arabia but not sugar from Brazil.

The sum of all lobbies. ...

It seems as though only a big crisis will force our country to override all the cynical lobbies and change our energy usage. I thought 9/11 was that crisis. It sure was for me, but not, it seems, for this White House, Congress or many Americans. Do we really have to wait for something bigger in order to get smarter?

I have often said that Friedman should run for president. In fact, I was so disenchanted with the Democratic field in last year's primary election that I cast a write-in vote for Mr. Friedman.

Many on the left would disagree because of his position on out-sourcing and globalization (a position with which I agree) and because of his support for the war in Iraq (a position with which I disagree to the extent that the President lied to get us there). Despite those two issues (and I admit they are big issues), Friedman's credentials are solidly liberal.

I highly recommend his latest book, "The World Is Flat," as well as his collection of columns, "Longitudes and Attitudes."

Novak Snaps

My, my, my! A certain pro-Bush news columnist who is a major figure in a certain CIA-leak investigation seems to have snapped.

CNN suspended commentator Robert Novak indefinitely after he swore [said "That's Bullshit!"] and walked off the set Thursday during a debate with Democratic operative James Carville.

A CNN spokeswoman, Edie Emery, called Novak's behavior "inexcusable and unacceptable." Novak has apologized to CNN, and CNN apologizes to viewers, she said. "We've asked Mr. Novak to take some time off."

Hmmm. One has to wonder: Is the pressure of the investigation getting to Bob?

Video can be seen here, courtesy of Crooks and Liars.

Of the Novak suspension, Wonkette asks: Does this mean that MSNBC will give Novak his own show?

My feeling is, Fox Jazeera has already made ovetures.

Amsterdam Gay Pride

Amsterdam officials expect 400,000 visitors for Sunday's gay pride festivities.

The usually tolerant Netherlands has a reputation of being at the forefront of social change and since the 1970s Amsterdam has been 'the gay capital of Europe'.

Amsterdam hit a low point earlier this year when American journalist and gay activist Chris Crain said he was beaten up here by Dutch youngsters when he walked hand in hand with his boyfriend on Queen's Day, the Dutch national holiday April 30.

He wrote a column about the experience in the Washington Blade magazine that received widespread media attention here. In response the Amsterdam municipality invited Crain and his boyfriend to be guests of the city during gay pride.

Crain himself was happy to be back in Amsterdam for his first gay pride weekend here. Although Crain says he is still more vigilant of his surroundings now he still plans to hold hands in public.

"It's gay pride weekend, we'll be holding hands for sure this weekend."

Hear, hear Chris!

Amsterdam is an absolutely wonderful city. My partner and I had the pleasure of spending a few days there during our recent European vacation and I can't wait to return.

To all our Dutch brothers: Happy Pride!

Victory From Defeat

Courtesy of Hesoid, via DailyKos:

1974

U.S CONGRESS

JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIDT (Rep) 52%
BILL CLINTON (Dem) 48%

Clinton attempted to launch his political career when he was 28 years old by challenging an entrenched Republican incumbent Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt in 1974. Hammerschmidt was first elected to Congress in 1966 to serve Arkansas’ Third district, which is in the northwestern part of the state, and a Republican stronghold. Hammerschmidt had received 77 percent of the vote in the 1972 election. Clinton came close, losing by only 5,000 votes out of 170,000 votes cast. Although Clinton was narrowly defeated, the race drew statewide attention.

Democrat Paul Hackett lost Tuesday's special election by the same small margin, in a solidly Republican district.

As I said yesterday, we haven't heard the last of Hackett.

Hoochie Coochie Confederate Crap

After all the pre-release hype, it turns out "The Dukes of Hazzard" sucks.

I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked!

Odd & Ends

I'm swamped again this morning and need to get out of the house and to the office, but a few things before I go...

IRAN:

The Guardian has an excellent editorial this morning on the possibility of a nuclear Iran.

The lesson of Iraq is that engagement with a difficult regime is more likely to encourage change than sanctions and war.

CONTEMPTOUS GEORGE AND THE LONG, LONG VACATION:

As our troops in Iraq have one of their bloodiest weeks ever, their commander-in-chief is enjoying a vacation that most "Americans can only dream of" - five weeks worth of R&R at his Texas ranch. According to the Washington Post, Mr. Bush will surpass Ronald Reagan's record for longest presidential vacation time.

Let's just hope he doesn't overlook another bin Laden memo while pretending to clear brush and cut down trees for the cameras.

THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING:

And finally, it seems Martha Stewart has violated the terms of her house arrest. As a result the domestic domanatrix will have to serve an additional three weeks. Details here.

Warning Shot

As expected, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett (Democrat-OH) lost his bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is a congressional district considered to be quite conservative. Last November President Bush won it with 67% of the vote and Rep. Rob Portman blasted his Democratic opponent 71% - 28%. But, oh how things can change in nine months! The results of last night's special election:

JEAN SCHMIDT (Rep) 57,974 (51.59%)
PAUL HACKETT (Dem) 54,401 (48.40%)
(Two write-in candidates received 0.01%)

Such a huge shift in voter sentiment (in a solidly Republican district) points toward an uphill battle for the Republicans in 2006. As Charlie Cook noted before last night's contest:

If Schmidt's victory margin is in double digits, this tells us that there is not much of an anti-GOP wind in Ohio right now. If the margin is say six to nine points for Schmidt, then there is a wind, but certainly no hurricane. A Schmidt win of less than five points should be a very serious warning sign for Ohio Republicans that something is very, very wrong...

Yes, there is a bit of victory in this defeat. And I doubt we have heard the last of Paul Hackett.

Update: Superb analysis on this election over at the Democratic Underground.

Keeping Current

Current TV, the brainchild of former Vice-President Al Gore, made its debut on Monday. Unfortunately, my cable provider (Cox) has chosen not to add the network to their system. Channel upon channel of utter shit, and Cox can't spare one channel for this innovative venture.

Through the Back Door

Running late this morning and will be swamped all day. In the mean time, check out editorials (pro and con) regarding the installation of John Bolton to the United Nations:

New York Times

Washington Post

San Francisco Chronicle

OTHER NEWS:

Ohio Congressional Race-

A special election is being held today in Ohio's 2nd congressional district to replace former Rep. Rob Portman (Republican-OH) in the House of Representatives. The Republican candidate, Jean Schmidt, is favored to win in a rather conservative district, but the Democrat, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, is giving the GOP a run for their money. Great coverage from the scene by the Swing State Project.

Blair Will Not Run Again-

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced that he will stand down in the next general election. Although he has up to five years to do so, the Guardian reports that Mr. Blair may call the next general election in 2007 (at which point he'll have been P.M. for ten years), still others expect him to fulfill his promise to serve out a "full term" of five years.

Blair's decision is expected to pave the way for Gordon Brown to become the next leader of the Labour Party and, should they keep a majority hold in the House of Commons, the next Prime Minister.

Contemptuous George and the Recess Appointment

So, the deed is done. George W. Bush installed John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations via recess appointment, bypassing confirmation from the U.S. Senate, which had serious, legitimate questions it wanted answered before voting on the nomination.

Of course, this shouldn't surprise anyone. This is how Bush operates. When things don't go his way either Daddy fixes it (Arbusto Energy) or he does an end run around the Constitution (the 2000 election and now, Bolton).

So the United Nations is stuck with this guy until the next congress is seated in January of 2007.

It's just another day in the life of Cry-Baby George.

Time For Recess

UPDATE: A senior administration official has informed NBC News that Bush will install Mr. Bolton today.

Excellent perspective from Jeremy Dibbell regarding the possibility of a recess appointment by President Bush to install John Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

I'm not going to size up the many ramifications of a recess appointment yet... the deed is not done, and there will be ample time for discussion after the fact if and when the president takes that step. For now, we cannot let up: we must make perfectly clear that no member of the Senate, Republican or Democrat, Bolton proponent or opponent, should sit quietly by and let a presidential nominee get away with submitting an untruthful disclosure form to the Senate. "I forgot" is hardly an adequate defense for such a serious omission, and no senator, no American, should be satisfied with it.

Still, we are talking about the arrogant Contemptous George here. He does't give a shit what the Senate or the American public say.