Jon Stewart interviews "Cheney" author

Via Democratic Underground, Jon Stewart: Time to End the "Traitor" Talk

The other night on The Daily Show, our next to last, best American Journalist - Jon Stewart - directly confronted Cheney Biographer Stephen Haynes on the tendency of the Administration and it's supporters to cast aspersions on the patriotism of those who are critical of the War in Iraq.

Click here for more.



(Stephen Haynes' book is entitled Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President.)

UPDATE: Click here for Oscar's Saturday Comics

Bill Moyers shares some thoughts on his fellow Texan, Karl Rove

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In-depth article about Charlie's case, by Ronald DuPont

In the High Springs Herald...

Having not eaten since Sunday night, Alachua political activist Charlie Grapski sat in a jail cell interview room Thursday and made allegations of mistreatment by police and of inadequate medical treatment or no treatment at all inside the county jail.

With multiple black bruises on his arms, a 2-inch cut on his face and sleepy, red eyes, Grapski sat in a locked room at the Alachua County jail and spoke with High Springs Herald Editor Ronald Dupont Jr., who sat on the other side of a steel grate.

At least four times during the interview, Grapski stopped talking, stared partway at the ceiling and lost track of time until Dupont called his name.

Click here to read the rest.

Update from Jessica in the comments:

FYI, I called the jail and you can put money in Charlie's account with a credit card, so he can buy things in the jail store, by calling this number: 1-888-277-2535


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Happy birthday, Demetrius!

A very happy birthday to Demetrius!

(jc created this graphic for Demetrius' birthday last year, at my request. I just had another one of those pangs of missing her all over again.)

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Charlie update

Thank you SusanD for pointing out this comment from the end of an old thread...

"Charlie is being held at the Alachua County Jail, 3333 NE 39th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32609. Phone #352 491-4444 Ext.4

He will be pleased to get messages of solidarity from you. Also calls to the jail to express concerns for his safety are encouraged. He was brutalized by the APD when arrested and in the jail when resisting the strip search.
Michael Canney | Homepage | 08.16.07 - 12:29 am

Update: I just found this article, which was written in March:
Corruption Watch: Alachua FL must reform

Another update, from the comments in the current thread...

Charlie has been charged with 6 felonies, a psychiatric evaluation has been ordered and bail has been set at $60,000. A bail reduction is being sought.

Thanks for posting the message up front. Check the latest newspaper at: highspringsherald.com

It won't be online until later tonight. Please spread the word.

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Rethinking Assumptions

Today is the Feast of the Assumption, a holy day of obligation in the Roman Catholic church. I recall a priest once trying to convince us that they were really holy days of *opportunity*. That "re-framing" didn't really work for me.

But since then, I've learned that there were stories of holy men in the bible being "assumed" into heaven without dying first.

So no, I didn't actually go to church today. But, before the day is over, I wanted to be sure to celebrate the Assumption as I now understand it.

Girl power! W00t!

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Action alert: Postal rate hike would harm smaller publishers

Hat tip to it's simple if you ignore the complexity at My Left Wing, I want to draw your attention to an important action alert from Free Press.

Postal regulators have accepted a proposal from media giant Time Warner that would stifle small and independent publishers in America. The plan unfairly burdens smaller publishers with higher postage rates while locking in special privileges for bigger media companies.

In establishing the U.S. postal system, the nation's founders wanted to ensure that a diversity of viewpoints were available to "the whole mass of the people." Time Warner's rate increase reverses this egalitarian ideal and threatens the marketplace of ideas on which our democracy depends.

It's time stand up for independent media. Demand that Congress step in to stop the unfair rate hikes.

Click here for more.

On an unrelated topic, this link was posted in the comments:
Grapski charged with striking police

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Guess who this is...

Demetrius has been modeling some new animals in 3D so that we can have a wider range of species in our section of animal designs. This week he's been working on members of the bear family--polar bear, panda bear and brown bear. And it struck me that he just had to do this...

Do you know who it is?

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Open Thread

Daughter in Ohio singing with her fellow choir camp participants.

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Rove resigns. Meaning...?

Via Crooks and Liars, Karl Rove has resigned.

What, exactly, does that mean?

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OMG Have we arrived?

by Subway Serenade



From the Washington Post

Democrats appeared to be on the run, disorganized and demoralized. But outside of Washington there was hope. Grass-roots Democratic activists had seen the future of our politics in Howard Dean -- plain-spoken and unapologetic. His presidential candidacy had come up short, but its fresh, optimistic approach -- predicated on offering clear contrasts between the two parties -- was poised to redefine the party.

Dean was elected chairman of the Democratic Party despite predictions of electoral doom by the usual suspects in Washington, including the Democratic Leadership Council. In the House, Democrats chose Nancy Pelosi to lead them over current DLC Chairman Harold Ford, who warned of disaster if Pelosi won. Calling her a "throwback" who practiced a "destructive and obstructive" style of politics, Ford proclaimed, "I don't think Nancy Pelosi's kind of politics is what's needed right now." Today, Nancy Pelosi is the first female speaker of the House.

I remember "The Wizard of Oz" well. After getting through the flying monkeys, we had to fight through fields of opiates, then when we finally got into the Emerald City we were told by those living in opulence inside that we would have to fight the evil outside, which for all we knew could have been caused by those ordering us to fight.

Oh, and we had to fight the evil unarmed and unprotected.

But then we vanquish the evil and return to the castle, only to find that those who ordered us to fight were themselves buffoons, and their leader was in fact, a very bad wizard who tries to buy off his embarrassment with trinkets and paper, leaving the big question entirely unanswered.

"When do we go home?"

And the answer is so simple, Glenda is surprised we didn't figure it out for ourselves.

They who rule have said that we have no brains, no heart, no nerve and that we'll never go home again. That we have nothing to look forward to than war and toil and death.

That's what The American People, and the Peoples of the World are waking up from. There IS no place like home and we will have it.



...And we will make it new again.

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Washington Post Op-ed by Markos and Susan G

I just found out via Firedoglake that Markos and Susan G penned an op-ed for the Washington Post. They do make some good points.

But, if anyone feels so inclined, this would appear to be a good opportunity to write to the WaPo addressing the extent to which Markos speaks for the "left" or the "netroots".

The Washington Post
1150 15 St. NW
Washington, DC 20071

and by e-mail at:
letters@washpost.com

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Open Thread

This curse is related to the "magical" phrase Abracadabra, which is actually of Aramaic origin: avhadda kedhavhra, meaning "disappear like this word"... Alternatively, the words translate as "I create as I speak".

Talk amongst yourselves.

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This is what I hate about politics

Apparently (according to a front page post on Booman Tribune) Harold Ford is going to face off against Markos "The Great and Powerful Kos" Moulitsas on Meet the Press this Sunday. I'm guessing the idear for this match-up came about as a result of this statement made by Harold Ford on Fox News.

I would have gone to Daily Kos and told them, I think they’re wrong the way you go about practicing your politics. If you’re serious about winning the war and bringing the country together, get another message and another set of tactics…

Which tactics would those be, Harold? The ones where you cozy up to and make kissy faces with the people who will never be on your side no matter how "moderate" and reasonable you try to come across? The tactics where you buy, hook, line, and sinker, Bill O'Reilly's "spin" that Daily Kos is/are the "bad Democrats", because you think you can play that to your advantage? And that perceived advantage is so valuable to you that you can't possibly do the minimal, cursory research it would take to learn that "Daily Kos" is not as monolithic as you suggest.

Harold, do you seriously think that the way to "bring the country together" is to paint a Snidely Whiplash mustache on a segment of the Democratic party, and then celebrate that you and the Republicans now have a common foe? That's just freakin' sad.

I won't be rooting for Markos either. As far as I've been able to discern, his only core value is winning. Period. That, and I think he's an arrogant ass.

This is, of course, not the only thing I hate about politics, but it's a pretty good example of the petty pointlessness of it. And all this energy and air time is being directed toward something other than making things better for people. (Pssst! Millennium Development Goals, people!)

So I won't be watching Meet the Press. I'll be in church listening to my daughter sing with the choir. And I should probably spend some time in quiet contemplation, because I really don't know what's next. Part of me would like to tune out all of politics as Somebody Else's Problem. But I don't know that I could ever do that. A few years ago, I promised Someone that I would work to help "heal the world", and I meant it. I guess I need to connect with some other people who feel the same way, and start working together on one little part of the world that needs fixing.

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Open Thread

I've made some additions to my shared items, including some reflections by Terrance of The Republic of T on last night's Visible Vote 08 candidate forum.

In other news, Talk Like a Pirate Day is just over a month away...

Talk amongst yourselves.

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Run, dammit!

Another draft Al Gore type site I thought you all might enjoy...

http://www.rundammit.com

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Open Thread

I got a kick out of some of the Photoshopped signs here.

You can play with a Warning Sign Generator here.

I've been trying to come up with some clever "warning sign" designs (but definitely not caution sign designs) for t-shirts and such. This is the only one I've got so far. It's what we think every time we see one of those signs.

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Some thoughts on Hillary

In response to a diary making the rather asinine argument that Hillary's nomination is a "done deal" and we need to stop fighting it, Demetrius had a few things to say. I thought his comments were worth sharing here. -Renee

I actually really used to like Hillary. This was before she became a politician. She seems doomed to be the kind of politician I hate. Having James Carville's hand up her backside moving her mouth certainly doesn't help her AFAIC.

One thing I learned shopping for used cars is that if they know you aren't willing to leave without That Car you will never get the deal you want/deserve. If they know you are really willing to walk away the advantage shifts to your side. Democrats have been playing us that way for YEARS. I know I am going to work against Hillary in the primary. But, I'm probably part of a very small minority of Democrats who isn't sure, even, if he would vote for Hillary in the GE. As important to me as electing Democrats is - just as important is changing the political "game". Hillary is the antithesis of changing the political game. A shift is just beginning to occur. And, I'm not so bent on electing Democrats that I'm willing to turn the game back over to the old consultants and power brokers in Washington.

But, that's just me.

It was Bill that said "fall in love in the primary, and fall in line in the general." The problem is that they are not willing to let us fall in love in the primaries, anymore. Earlier and earlier we are expected to give up on what/whom WE want and support the Presumptive Nominee.

We get all this "It's a done deal...", "He/She's inevitable", "There's no point in voting for anyone else.", "There's no point in building anything but a shoe shop..." " crap before the primary. We got stuck with Kerry the last time and we bent over and took it for the Team. Never again!

Hillary seems far more interested in gaming political advantage than in doing what is right much of the time. She strikes me as lacking for real political courage. Either her judgment, or her commitment to principles I share, or both are cast into doubt by her voting record (...particularly giving a "known drunk" the "keys to the car".) I don't want another Bush - who runs every decision thru his/her political wing. I want a president who is more interested in good governance than winning re-election.

Hillary has learned the old political game. But, she doesn't seem to have learned good governance. If she has learned anything else, why won't she admit her mistakes (especially Iraq) and apologize for them? ('Cause some consultant advised her not to look "weak" or "wishy-washy"?) What do you call someone who is in possession of all the facts but is none the wiser? ...Other than "Dubya".

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The "You work for us" summer tour

Via Firedoglake. (If you find any other good links about this effort, please feel free to share them.)

Dear Elected Members of Congress: Welcome to the “You Work For Us Summer Tour.” Coming to a public venue near you. And that is a stone cold promise.

This is your LiLo Don’t Drink And Drive Night at the minor leagues accountability moment, members of Congress. What group am I with when I call to make an appointment for me and a few hundred of my closest friends? I’m with “people who vote.” We are pissed off and disgusted. And you work for us, so we’ll be discussing your performance evaluation every opportunity that we get. We’ll be calling for an appointment shortly, so make a little space on your calendars.

You thought you were getting the month of August off to head out to friendly little senior centers and county fairs where you get to do your political shuck and gladhand and eat some homemade pie? Not so fast, slick.

Now that Congress has handed over the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the standard of probable cause as if they were mere wisps of nothingness that weren’t hard won from Runnymede through to the American Revolution and beyond, I have to wonder what has become of the fourth amendment in all of this mess? And, worse, whether Congressional leadership on either side of the aisle cares beyond getting the legislation out of the way so they can head out for vacation?

Marty Lederman has put together an exceptional series of expository links on the FISA legislation — bless him for it, because it is all I can do to get past furious this morning. The question I keep asking staffers and strategists: what in the hell were you thinking? And the “this is a difficult situation” response that I keep getting? Not. Good. Enough.

Click here for more.

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Happy birthday, Thankful

Since I heard you like German chocolate cake...

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08-06-01

Blue Gal reminds us that this is the 6th anniversary of the Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S. daily briefing. You know, the one Bush ignored.

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