Nobody Goes to Jail

Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.

"Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That's your whole story right there. Hell, you don't even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."

I put down my notebook. "Just that?"

"That's right," he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. "Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there."

— Excerpt from Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail? by Matt Taibbi.

That Rolling Stone article is a must read. Matt Taibbi explains how the entire system that is designed to monitor and regulate Wall Street is so fucked up that it actually serves to protect financial criminals. This is how the system works for the richest:

Criminal justice, as it pertains to the Goldmans and Morgan Stanleys of the world, is not adversarial combat, with cops and crooks duking it out in interrogation rooms and courthouses. Instead, it's a cocktail party between friends and colleagues who from month to month and year to year are constantly switching sides and trading hats. At the Hilton conference, regulators and banker-lawyers rubbed elbows during a series of speeches and panel discussions, away from the rabble. "They were chummier in that environment," says Aguirre, who plunked down $2,200 to attend the conference.

And these super-wealthy elite criminals are amazingly skilled at whipping up a distracting frenzy of populace rage against... unbelievably... health care, socialism, and unions. I don't know what will convince them to re-aim their pitchforks.

Being Hard on the Bieber

I never dreamed the world would give me reason to blog about this kid:

"You guys are evil... Canada's the best country in the world. We go to the doctor and we don't need to worry about paying him, but here, your whole life, you're broke because of medical bills. My bodyguard's baby was premature, and now he has to pay for it. In Canada, if your baby's premature, he stays in the hospital as long as he needs to, and then you go home." — Justin Bieber in his recent Rolling Stone interview.

So my first thought is that our health care system must be pretty awful if a 16 year-old Canadian pop idol is speaking out against it.

No, wait, my first thought is why the hell should we care what Justin Bieber thinks.

My second thought is that our health care system must be pretty awful if a 16 year-old Canadian pop idol is speaking out against it.

My third thought is that Glenn Beck will now have to work Bieber into one of his grand conspiracies. Wait, maybe that was my second thought.

Okay, my fourth thought, and hopefully final thought on this topic, is how mean it is to ask these loaded political questions to a dumb kid. I'm really not sure how I would have answered the same questions at that age, especially that question about abortion. Bieber said, "I really don't believe in abortion. It's like killing a baby?"

When the reporter pointed out that sometimes women are raped, Bieber said, "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."

Well, many people including myself cringe at the idea that rape is somehow predestined and "happens for a reason," but don't overlook the last part of his statement, "I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." I think that indicates a lot of empathy that is completely missing in our increasingly angry political atmosphere. And maybe his opinion isn't set in stone or he realizes that there is still a lot he doesn't understand.

Either way, I'm thankful my parents never pushed me out on stage with a microphone and a funny haircut.

Oh wait, I have a fifth thought! If the wingnuts sink to the level of attacking this kid on his pro-Canada health system views, then they better watch out. Just look what Bieber's rabid tween fans did when that obscure jazz singer Esperanza Spalding won the Grammy for best new artist! Don't mess with them!

Repealing the 20th Century

Remember when the Republicans unveiled their so-cool-it-hurts Speak Out America website last year? Remember the hilarious free-for-all that resulted on their open suggestion forum?

Remember the hundreds of "new ideas" that went something like, "The USA don't need socialist measures such as 8-hour work days, weekends off, paid vacations, banning child labor, or the minimum wage if we want to stay competitive against giants like India and China."

Remember I commented that some Republican candidates would actively support these "constructive" proposals?

Well, it kind of makes me sick to say I was right. Missouri State Sen. Jane Cunningham (R) wants to eliminate child labor laws in the state of Missouri. The bill would, among other things, eliminate the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen.

What the hell is this supposed to accomplish? The party that doesn't want corporation to pay taxes also wants to permit corporations to enslave children?

And just in case you need more evidence that Republicans want to "take our country back... to the 19th century," the Kentucky Senate recently approved legislation to allow the Christian Bible to be taught in public schools. Of course, they claim they want to teach it as literature, but we all know that's bullshit. It will be impossible to hire an unbiased teacher for such a controversial course.

The Republicans are seriously pandering to the nuttiest fringe of their party. Moderates have little to no interest in radically regressive legislation that turns us into a third-world country. And yet, somehow, I don't think we've reached peak insanity yet.

That's A Wrap

Laugh at the punny headlines, but also read Ethan Zuckerman's blog about Mubarak's resignation. Ousting a dictator is not enough. Egyptians must rebuild their government now, and then comes the question of our era: what role will Facebook play in the transition?

And what role will Facebook play in the next revolution? History is set to repeat itself in Algeria already as their government shuts down the internet and deletes social-networking accounts. It doesn't surprise me that these repressive governments ruled by elderly men can't do anything right when it comes to social networking. Ever try to explain Facebook to your parents?

Don't Let Them Eat Cake

Good news everybody! The U.S. is not the fattest nation. According to a recent world report on obesity, other rich, industrial nations like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are fatter. So... the First Lady should scrap her child obesity campaign, right? Not so fast, fatties. More young people are having strokes, and that's not something we want to become the world leader of.

Halfway to Sunset

I didn't expect to be blogging about the USA Patriot Act again this year. I assumed the extensions to the Bush-era anti-terrorist surveillance bill would pass without fuss, and the sun would fail to set yet again. But something happened.

The House didn't pass the USA Patriot Act extension. Apparently they considered it so uncontroversial that they moved it to the floor under a provision that requires a two-thirds majority to pass. One-hundred-twenty-two Democrats voted against it, and they were joined by 26 Republicans, including eight freshman "tea party" candidates. Of course, the headlines will read that it was some kind of "tea party rebellion" that thwarted the extension, ignoring the 122 nays from the Democrats, and ignoring that most of the tea party caucus voted to pass the extension.

Seeing this new Congress in action leads me to a few questions: are the TP candidates posing as libertarians or authoritarians? What happened to the "small government" rhetoric? They certainly have a strange understanding of freedom as Rachel Maddow pointed out last night. Just look at their policies:

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And yet Congress went through all that trouble to read the Constitution on the House floor just to cast votes against the Fourth Amendment a month later.

The bright side is that the issue of civil liberties can be common ground for the right and the left, but Glenn Greenwald has these sobering thoughts:

Last night's unexpected Patriot Act vote illustrates the tantalizing promise of such an alliance. Things would be vastly improved on the civil liberties front if the American Right was even minimally faithful to the political principles they claim to support. But the nature of that movement means that last night's vote is far more of an isolated aberration than anything likely to change the bipartisan dynamic in a positive way. Indeed, the very weak status of civil liberties in the U.S. is compellingly illustrated by the fact that an alliance with this deeply unprincipled and authoritarian movement is one of the few viable means for stemming the tide of the erosion.

Greenwald also believes that the Patriot Act extensions will indeed pass when they are voted on again in a few weeks under standard procedures that require a majority for approval.

But with more attention on the issue now and the votes of some unallied Freshman, maybe they will surprise us again? They do seem kind of fickle.

Don't Trust Me

So here's the mundane question of the week: "Is the Internet making kids dumb?" Seems a marginally scientific study found that seventh graders, after being asked to research the 'tree octopus' and being directed to the Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus site, believed that the tree octopus was real.

Then this group of students (25 of them to be exact) were told that the story of the endangered cephalopods was actually a decade's old hoax. Har har. What a way to kid a kid. However, even after being let in on the joke, about half the students continued to believe the species was real.

The researcher, Dr. Donald Leu, concluded that "anyone can publish anything on the Internet and today's students are not prepared to critically evaluate the information they find there." I must agree.

In fact, his statement reminds me of an incident a few months ago with a friend and her nine-year-old niece. The niece said that her teacher told her to never trust Wikipedia because anybody can edit it. Well, I think my response was something like "you should be skeptical of everything on the Internet."

But a better answer would have been more like "the world is a stream of unfiltered data, and you need to be skeptical of everything, even your teachers and your schoolbooks. But at least on Wikipedia you can click the 'discussion' tab and find out the who, what, and why behind edits. Also, every article has a thorough reference section that lists sources independent of Wikipedia. I'm shocked your teacher would blacklist such a useful resource."

Ironically, if any of the kids in the aforementioned study had looked up Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus on Wikipedia, they would have learned it was a hoax.

Wikipedia is one awesome and important piece of the Internet, and kids shouldn't be scared away from it. The trick we need to teach kids is to not passively read it, but to purposefully edit it. By taking part in a project that is both cooperative and complex, I think kids will become better thinkers.

And I believe this was actually the point of Dr. Leu's research: A new type of literacy is required for this generation of students. This isn't about the Internet making them dumb. It's about the presumption that kids are innate Internet experts when in reality they must be taught a whole new set of comprehension skills.

Don't trust my conclusion though. Check out Dr. Leu's PowerPoint presentation yourself.

His Legacy Continues

Former President George W. Bush planned to speak at a big charity event in Switzerland later this week, but apparently his plans have been scrapped due to the threat of "massive protests."

The organizers of the protests are calling for Bush and his administration to be held accountable for war crimes. Good. Somebody has to do it if the U.S. won't.

Bush's recent book is basically a signed confession. And more importantly, two victims of torture in U.S. detention have recently prepared a criminal complaint against Bush.

So it's not just the protests and rioting Bush and his buddies fear -- it's falling into the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Whether anybody in charge would be brave enough to prosecute a former U.S. president, I don't know. But many free people in democratic and civil nations view Bush as a third-world tyrant -- like Pinochet. And just like a cowardly despot, Bush is safest traveling to authoritarian countries like China and Saudi Arabia.

And that grim reality reflects on our nation. I'm not sure how the world can ever take us seriously on the issues of democracy, human rights, or basic decency with Bush still jaunting about.

And finally, a friendly note to European countries: if Bush gets a little forgetful again and plans a visit to your country, don't announce your plans to arrest him ahead of time!

Gaming The System

The Daily Show and Kristen Schaal get it: we can't let the drugged, under-aged, or mentally disabled game the system by getting all those complimentary abortions.

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Looks like the Republicans have been forced to rewrite their ancient and dangerous definition of rape, but that doesn't matter much. We saw their true colors and we know what they really think of women, we know how cruel and dismissive they are of rape survivors. And despite this new change in language, they're still banning federal aid for the most vulnerable women.

Fool Me Once...

Well here we go again. Remember when the undercover pimp and whore team seemingly got ill-conceived advice from ACORN? Well if that video tape splice job was good enough to bankrupt ACORN, why not try it again with that other imaginary monster, Planned Parenthood?

A Planned Parenthood employee was caught on tape giving advice to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute inquiring on how to obtain services for sex workers as young as 14. Let's not be fooled again.

Most of the media will ignore the fact that, just as in the ACORN incident, the organization's staff immediately alerted the local authorities.

I expect the MSM to also ignore the reality that, had the prostitution ring been legitimate, the first step to helping those underage sex workers would be getting them into Planned Parenthood, getting them tested and treated for STDs, and transferring them into the hands of child protective services.

Thank god Planned Parenthood would be there if such a situation arose. Of course, the video tapes could be seen as a wake up call to crack down on prostitution rings, but no... somehow the right-wing doesn't recognize that as the problem! They will, of course, contort this story into a cry to cut subsidies to Planned Parenthood. They don't want their tax dollars going towards abortion. Funny, but I don't want my tax dollars going towards killing civilians in our various wars, but I digress...


It's no secret that the right-wing hates Planned Parenthood, and this hidden video con job is quite predictable. But the Republicans have one more related scheme that is absolutely disgusting. The GOP plans to drastically redefine rape. According to the new house majority it is only really rape if it involves force. Don't you see? They're closing the "loopholes" so fewer women will qualify for federal assistance. No exceptions for statutory rape. No exceptions if the victim was drugged or given excessive amounts of alcohol. No exceptions if the victim has limited mental capacity.

I suppose to the dirty old men of the GOP those victims are all whores anyway.

The idiot GOP is making this bill their top priority. An online opposition is organizing now. Check it out.

Now Is The Time

The president spoke on Egypt today. His speech was short and easy to digest. I think his most substantial point was that the privileged people who serve in positions of political power do so at the will of the people, and therefore, the Egyptian people have every right to change their government. He commended the protesters and the Egyptian military for their professionalism. He said we're committed to a partnership between the United States and Egypt.

Oh, and he said the orderly transition must begin now.

Except Egyptian President Mubarak only said he will not seek another term -- he still refuses to step down or lift the emergency law.

I never really understood people who stick around where they're not welcome.

Anyway, John Bolton (remember him?) was singing McCain's old tune to bomb Iran. It really does sound like a broken record now.

Oh, and somebody at Fox News is having trouble finding Egypt on the map.


I have an idea. Let's not bomb anybody until we all master geography.

Half A World Away

So I suppose I've been failing as a blogger by not even mentioning the monumental events going on in Egypt... I guess a revolution catches us all by surprise. But honestly, I've watched these things before. I think we all have. And these uprisings often have hopeful moments and then? They're squashed. Remember Tianamen Square?

But the story in Egypt is still unfolding, and there is room for hope. The Egyptian Army says it will not use force against the people during tomorrow's March of a Million.

(YouTube video.)

I don't know what to expect from my own government. My hope is that they will support Democracy and stop propping up dictators. Am I asking too much?

Publish Fearlessly

"If we're talking about creating threats to small publishers to stop them publishing, the U.S. has lost its way. It has abrogated its founding traditions. It has thrown the First Amendment in the bin. Because publishers must be free to publish." — Julian Assange on 60 Minutes.

The Birthers Rebirth

This could be filed under my long forgotten "Dinner with My Parents" series, however I didn't have the tapes rolling tonight. But let me just recap that my father is an ultra right-wing septuagenarian raised on WW II propaganda and the fear of Communism -- in case you didn't know.

We had a little family dinner tonight that included me, mom, dad, my oldest sister and her husband whose birthday we were celebrating. My dear old mom had to let us in on an unusual dream she had: for some surreal reason she was walking behind President Obama and he turned around and told her that she shouldn't talk to him "like that" and she should show more respect. I'm not even going to touch that with a ten foot dream-catcher (or something). I'll leave that up to my new-agey friends with their dream dictionaries and "dream cards."

But what followed at the dinner table was, of course, my father ignited in a slightly paranoid factless rant about the president. According to my father, "they still can't find Obama's birth certificate." What? What bullshit! Is this starting up again?

Why yes, it is, and it's a lesson on how the right-wing ignores reality. If the WorldNetDaily headlines read, "Hawaii governor can’t find Obama birth certificate," then is it any surprise that what the Hawaii governor actually said was that there is a recording of the birth in the State Archive!

If WorldNetDaily quotes the Hawaii governor as saying this has "political implications," is it any surprise that his complete quote was about how the birther nonsense has "a political implication for 2012 that we simply cannot have."

Reasoning is hopeless. Birthers will think what they want to think, facts be damned. And they certainly won't pay $100 to shatter their most cherished belief, though that was a very creative idea by the Hawaii state legislature.

I'm tempted to say it just doesn't matter what the old folks cling to. The people who believed this drivel in 2008 will continue to believe until 2012 and beyond. But what disturbs me more is my sister who is not dumb -- but maybe a teensy bit gullible -- and doesn't have time to investigate this stuff on her own. She listened to our father with genuine intrigue -- well I hope to god she was faking it, but probably not.

It's been said "if you repeat a lie often enough they believe it to be fact," and that's the strategy of the conservative media outlets: create a false sense of controversy in order to pander to the delusional birthers and sway any possible "fence sitters."

Though arguing with the illogical is futile, let me just say, yes mom and dad, Obama is an American, and he does in fact deserve a little more respect.

Making Their Own News

The alternate title for this blog post was "America's Dumbstupid moment."

After President Obama gave his State of the Union address the other night, CNN made the inexplicable decision to allow Michele Bachmann to deliver a rebuttal speech -- not for the Republican party which she is a member of, but for the "Tea Party" (better known as the teabaggers).

Next year I will insist on airtime for the "Dorkmonger Party." Who's with me?

Here is Rachel Maddow's thoughts on the equal billing of the teabaggers "official" response:

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I'm wondering if, as more and more Americans get a look at these "alternative" candidates in action, are they going to flee back to the mainstream candidates?

Color Coded Conditioning

One day you'll tell your grandchildren about this, but they won't believe you. They'll say in disbelief, "you mean they had a color coded chart to tell you how scared to be?"

"Yes," you'll tell them. "And for nine long years it only varied from yellow to orange and back again."

"Why did they change it to orange?"

"Usually to make us forget about a Democratic National Convention or a Republican scandal."

But then a wizened smile will grow across your face and you'll say, "but the comedians and snarky bloggers ridiculed the dumbstupid thing and eventually the government gave up their dang rainbow charts."

Then your precocious little grandkid will pipe up with, "now when they want us to forget they use the neuralyzer!"

"sigh."

"Grams, tell me more about the good-old days!"

Comedy and Tragedy

I haven't had time to really digest tonight's State of the Union Address, but at times, didn't Vice President Biden and Speaker of the House Boehner kind of mimic the ancient comedy and tragedy masks?

And maybe that division is appropriate? We're going to build railroads, we're going to cut spending, we're going to invest in education, we're going to cut spending, it's our generation's Sputnik moment, but we're going to cut spending.

I don't know how we can talk about cutting spending without talking about cutting the defense budget, but that topic never seems to come up. Well, President Obama did mention it -- "The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without" -- but I dread the fear-mongering that will ultimately prevent that move.

The energy independence thing is a really cool idea though. Of course, it was cool when Jimmy Carter talked about it... and every president since then.

I know President Obama's speech was supposed to be a bit of a pep talk for our nation, but for whatever reason, I'm feeling overly cynical tonight. At times I felt like Obama was groveling to the teabaggers. At times I thought he was trying to make John Boehner cry.

The Final Countdown

I don't want this to sound like a eulogy, because obviously Keith Olbermann is alive and kicking, but he has now parted ways with MSNBC. I remember there was a time when I had totally given up on the wasteland of cable news -- maybe even all mainstream news -- and then I found a sane, progressive, articulate and unapologetic voice in Keith Olbermann.

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I'm going to miss him. I hope he finds a new home on another forum... though I'm really hoping it's not a sports network. I know he loves sports, but I think such a move might be a waste of his talents.

Keith, don't let this be the end! I'm counting on you!

When the Sun Never Sets

The USA Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2001. A big opportunistic anti-terrorist bill, it was proposed after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and of course, we were told the legislation would keep us safe.

Russ Feingold was the only Senator to vote against the bill. The rest of them, well, I doubt they even read it. It was called "The Patriot Act" after all. But here is what they were approving:

The Act dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expanded the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded law enforcement powers can be applied.
...
Opponents of the law have criticized its authorization of indefinite detentions of immigrants; searches through which law enforcement officers search a home or business without the owner’s or the occupant’s permission or knowledge; the expanded use of National Security Letters, which allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search telephone, e-mail, and financial records without a court order; and the expanded access of law enforcement agencies to business records, including library and financial records. Since its passage, several legal challenges have been brought against the act, and Federal courts have ruled that a number of provisions are unconstitutional.

The concerns were well founded. It has since been revealed that the NSA, under the direction of George W. Bush, spied on everyone, specifically targeting journalists. Under President Obama, there hasn't been any change. Now we know that the FBI has even circumvented the minimal checks on their power when demanding telephone records.

Of course, we weren't to worry. The surveillance state was only temporary. There were "sunset provisions" in the Patriot Act. Many of the provisions were set to expire in 2005. The war on terror would be over by then, right? LOL.

The USA Patriot and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 was passed in July of that year. It was reauthorized again in 2006, and then, well, quite a history of reauthorizations follows, sometimes adding new measures for fighting terrorism or new powers for the Secret Service.

For some reason I was lead to believe that there would be no torture and no warrantless wiretapping under President Obama. But apparently executives rarely give up executive power.

In 2010 (you may have missed this), the Patriot Act with no reforms was extended again. You can find the final vote on the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives site. Yes, that is the correct link to the vote. It was weaseled into a bill titled "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act." I'm not shitting you. The bill passed by Unanimous Consent.

The extension was only for a year though. Just one more year, yeah, right. Anyway, as you would guess, though hardly notice, the Patriot Act is up for renewal again. I don't expect anybody to make a fuss. Most people probably feel it doesn't apply to them. You don't need civil liberties until -- you know -- you actually have something unpopular to say.

The Patriot Act is anything but patriotic. Let the sun set.

What We've Learned

Nine days have passed, and the willful blindness hasn't even slowed down yet. Besides the total absence of even the glimmer of personal responsibility that Senator McCain and I have evinced, we learn from all this that the right lives in a perpetual state of victimhood.

We learn that the right doesn't even recognize the irony of its claim of being unfairly blamed for the violence of others, when it has spent the last several years doing exactly that to Muslims — particularly American Muslims. We also learn that the right can simultaneously insist no political party or inclination can be blamed for Tucson — while it itself blames the Democratic party and the left, for Tucson.

We learn that the Right does not understand that if you — if we— foment a political environment in which politics are to be settled by violence, or the threat of violence, or in a rhetorical tide of violent imagery, it no longer matters what those politics specifically are, or if the hearer even understands your politics or agrees with your politics — he may hear only the permission to be violent.

And ultimately we learn — especially from Mrs. Palin's foolishness — this template of what the right would do in an actual open-and-shut slam dunk case in which a partisan of the right attempted to kill one of the left. The right would blame that victim blame him or her for not having brought enough security. Or for not having brought a gun.

— Keith Olbermann, Special Comment, January 17, 2011.

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