Sowing Seeds

This past week New York Times columnists Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof weighed in on the Dubai Ports World deal. They are not joining the frenzy of opposition.

From Friedman:

As a country, we must not go down this road of global ethnic profiling - looking for Arabs under our beds the way we once looked for commies. If we do - if America, the world's beacon of pluralism and tolerance, goes down that road - we will take the rest of the world with us. We will sow the wind and we will reap the whirlwind.

If there were a real security issue here, I'd join the critics. But the security arrangement is bogus and, I would add, borderline racist. Many U.S. ports are run today by foreign companies, but the U.S. Coast Guard still controls all aspects of port security, entry, and exits; the U.S. Customs Service is still in charge of inspecting the containers...The port operator simply oversees the coming and going of ships...in the most cost effective manner.

From Kristof:

[Former] Secretary of State Cordell Hull used to say that "when goods do not cross borders, armies do." If we want to promote global markets, as an avenue to peace, we have to practice what we preach.

...It was counterproductive for Republicans to get so hysterical about national security that they justified locking up hundreds of Muslims after 9/11. And, it's just as wrong for the Democrats to get hysterical today.

Democrats have so many legitimate reasons to criticize President Bush - from ruining our nation's finances to despoiling American wilderness - that it's painful to see them scaremongering in just the way that Mr. Bush himself has.

I have to say, I agree with Friedman and Kristoff. What many people fail to take into account is that this "war on terrorism" is just as much about ideas as it is about military might. We want to encourage modernization in the Arab world. We want to encourage an environment where every Arab can experience positive, personal growth and opportunity. We want the moderates of this region to win the war of ideas over the Muslim radicals.

The United Arab Emirates is an ally in a part of the world where we need all of the allies we can muster. By letting this Dubai deal go through, we help plant the seeds of hope in a part of the world where centuries of hoplessness have taken a devestating toll.

Monday Madness

GEORGE MICHAEL ARRESTED: Pop singer George Michael has been arrested on drug charges after he was found slumped at the wheel of a car in London's West End.

RAKING IN THE RED-STATE DOUGH: Quote of the Day:

According to Variety magazine, some of the strongest audiences [for "Brokeback Mountain"] have been in Tulsa, Oklahoma, El Paso, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa and Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock is the place George W Bush calls his spiritual home and may well be the site for his presidential library. Greenwich Village it ain’t.

-Andrew Sullivan, in yesterday's Sunday Times.

THE DUMB-ING DOWN OF AMERICA CONTINUES: An Arizona State Senate committee has approved a bill that would allow college students to reject any reading assignments they find culturally offensive.

Happy Birthday, Chloe

Amerika

From the Associated Press:

Houston's police chief on Wednesday proposed placing surveillance cameras in apartment complexes, downtown streets, shopping malls and even private homes to fight crime...

(My italics.)

As the hard right turn toward Fascism in the United States continues.

Guliani/Rice in 2008??

Andrew Sullivan has been smoking some serious crack if he thinks the Republican Party would nominate a pro-choice, gay-marching, New York liberal and a single African American woman with a credibility gap as their presidential ticket in 2008.

Administration was looking at Iraq on 9/11/01

Via OutragedModerates.org: The notes of a Department of Defense staffer, taken during a meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the afternoon of 9/11/2001, provide further proof that the administration had decided on that day that it would blame Sadaam Hussein for the attacks, despite the fact that it was quite obvious early on that Osama bin Laden had no ties to the Iraqi leader.

Let's all say it together: Impeachment.

"Brokeback" Wins Big at BAFTA

While Jake Gyllenhaal has received numerous nominations for his portrayal of Jack Twist in "Brokeback Mountain," he actually had a rare win at last night's British Academy Awards. The film is, in my opinion, still the favorite to win the Oscar, despite what Roger Ebert thinks.

Gibb Brothers Reunite

Barry and Robin Gibb reunited this past weekend for the first time since the death of their brother Maurice, performing at a charity concert in Miami.

File under "Puh-leez!"

Nick Lachey is seeking spousal support from Jessica Simpson.

Picture of the Day

Made me spit up my coffee! (Courtesy, The Huffington Post)


I suggest you read the accompanying story as well. Republican operative Mary Matlain calls NBC White House correspondent David Gregory a jihadist for going after the very legitimate news story of the Cheney hunting accident. Reason #infinity why the Republican government is so wrong for America.

Update- Josh Marshall calls the Vice-President and his staff on their shit:

Mr. Cheney is a man of deep moral cowardice. Makes a mistake and shoots his friend; blames the friend. Only he won't do it directly. So he gets underlings to do it for him...He's afraid of accountability. That's why he's such a fan of self-protecting secrecy...It's the same reason why he's such a notorious prevaricator -- lies to avoid accountability...These are all the hallmarks of a moral coward.

Happy Presidents Day

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the lack of posts, folks. I was called to San Diego last minute for a work project and then called back to the office last night for an "all hands on deck" type situation. Postings will be minimal through next week.

That's ironical

Quote of the Day: "Meeting with victims of Saddam Hussein's torture chambers in recent weeks, Bush declared, 'the tyrant was a law unto himself.' Apparently, the irony was lost on our president."

-Rep. Jane Harman (Democrat-CA), in an op/ed piece in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle.

The right wing pops a clot

As predicted, the right wing is popping a clot over the upcoming "Will and Grace" episode in which Britney Spears is to play the host of a cooking show called "Cruci-fixin'"

The amateurs at KEYT

The shooting this week at the Santa Barbara postal facility in Goleta is the biggest news story in this area since last year's mudslides in La Conchita. Yet our ABC affiliate, KEYT-Channel 3, fell flat on their face during last night's 6:00pm newscast.

Anchor Debby Davidson read off the wrong telepromtper. Videotape for reporter Martha Bull's lead story didn't work, causing Bull to stumble into a babbling ad-lib that made me want to change the channel.

But I didn't...and boy, was I sorry.

For the next several minutes the Channel 3 news team showed how amateurs cover a major news story. Bad writing, piss poor on-camera performances (from both reporters AND anchors), and then - to add insult to injury - while anchor C.J. Ward was listing the names of the dead, the on-screen graphics changed from pictures of the deceased to an over-the-shoulder picture of another story.

I realize this is market #119, but please! A major story like this breaks only once in a while and the folks at KEYT couldn't rise to the challenge. Pitiful.

Cruci-Fixin'

Mrs. Federline (aka Britney Spears) has signed on to guest star in an upcoming episode of "Will and Grace." She will play the right-wing host of a cooking segment on Jack's cable access show. The segment's name? "Cruci-fixin'."

If you listen real carefully you will hear James Dobson's blood pressure crashing through the roof.

For wearing a t-shirt

That is why Cindy Sheehan was arrested in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives last night.

The Philadelphia Daily News has this little tidbit:

Did you know that in 1971, the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to arrest a man who wore a "F--- the Draft" T-shirt into the courthouse? (Cohen v. California, you can look it up.) So now Alito's on the court for 45 minutes and your civil liberties are already going down the toilet. You were warned.

Cindy's arrest was unconstitutional and the charges against her should be dropped immediately.

The rapid turn toward Fascism continues.

UPDATE: Capital Police have dropped the charges against Ms. Sheehan saying they were "mistaken." The thing of it is she shouldn't have been arrested in the first place.

Bush & "Brokeback"

Carol Marin has a superb essay this morning on how "Brokeback Mountain" may be too steep for President Bush. Money quote:

Before it's too late, it would be wonderful if President Bush could discover some sense of curiosity about the people he serves, how they live, what they really fear, and why their support of him has been dropping like a rock.

It might not be such a bad idea to go see "Brokeback Mountain" before the only thing left to say is "Goodnight and Good Luck."

SOTU

A few quick thoughts on the President's State of the Union speech:

On Iran: Mr. Bush didn't really address what is bound to be the most important foreign policy issue of the next several years, relegating it to a few sentences in the middle of his speech. I have argued time and time again - since the 2000 campaign - that Bush isn't up to the job of president and his response to Iran's current regime and their quest for nukes is yet another piece of proof that my arguement was valid.

On Iraq: "Second guessing is not a strategy," he said. Perhaps not, Mr. President. But refusing to admit mistakes and alter policy accordingly isn't second guessing. It's a failed strategy. At the very least one has to wonder how Donald Rumseld is still Secretary of Defense.

On wire-tapping: Bush went for the jugular with the line "We will not sit back and wait to be hit again." (I couldn't believe it. Isn't that exactly what he did in August 2001 when he was given a Presidential memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the United States?") This administration thinks it is above the law. The FISA courts? FuhGetAboutIt! Geneva Conventions? Never heard of 'em! If the President of the United States is able to break the laws without fear of impeachment, then the terrorists have succeeded in their quest to ruin America. Shame on Mr. Bush and his administration and shame on the Republican-led Congress.

On energy: "America is addicted to oil," said the oilman from Texas. The President's call to be more energy independent is way too little, way too late and I can't help but think that Mr. Bush's heart really isn't in the proposed policy. If he's serious, then good for him. But bigger steps need to be taken. Our energy policies should have been gutted and reformed on 9/12/01. They weren't. And this "half policy" proposal doesn't give me confidence that the adminstration is serious.

On education: His initiative to increase successful math and science students in the United States is a step in the right direction, but like energy it is too little too late. This sort of policy should have been put into place on 9/12/01. We've lost precious time, but what's done is done. This a good place to start but we need to focus like a laser beam on this issue.

Finally, when President Bush boasted that "the state of our union is strong," I couldn't help but compare it to when President Clinton said it. Back then it was true. We were safe, at peace, with an economy that held promise for everybody. Today, the illusion of a strong union is based on back breaking deficits, a faulty war policy, and with the terrorist responsible for 3,000 murders on America's homeland still at large.

Seems to me the state of union could be stronger.