Governmentium

No... energy... can't... lift fingers to blog... "Scalito." Posting this... instead...

A major research institution has announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science - "governmentium." It has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons and 111 assistant deputy neutrons for an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons that are further surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like subparticles called peons.

Governmentium has no electrons and is therefore inert. It can be detected, however, since it impedes every reaction it comes into contact with. A tiny amount of governmentium can take a reaction that normally occurs in seconds and slow it to the point where it takes days.

Governmentium has a normal half life of three years. It doesn't decay but "re-organizes," a process where assistant deputy neutrons and deputy neutrons change places. This process actually causes it to grow, as in the confusion some morons become neutrons, thereby forming isodopes.

This phenomenon of "moron promotion" has led to some speculation that governmentium forms whenever sufficient morons meet in concentration forming critical morass. Researchers believe that in governmentium, the more you re-organize, the morass you cover.

...thunk.

Peace terrorist apprehended

Jesus General has the goods.

Why I bother

The vast majority of Americans are too busy living their lives to waste time on political blogs. Maybe they've never cared about politics, or maybe they've given up because it's hopeless, or maybe they're working far more effectively than we at change in some direct way, or maybe they think we're just delusional and should get a life. In short, most people I know wouldn't spend a minute doing what I do. But here's why I bother:

Sen. Kennedy,

I find your dKos diary -- "This Indictment Is Not the End" -- truly disheartening. Your unwillingness to honestly name that which has ripped apart our country since 2001, reads more like the reflexive equivocation of a career politician, than the call from a champion of the people.

You sir, more than anyone here and perhaps the majority of your colleagues, know well that the premise of "failed intelligence" is a disception. And by promoting the image that this administration was incompetent, and not willful, you are doing your country a grave disservice.

In truth, the Bush adminstration's "intelligence" was a ringing success, accomplishing exactly that which they sought, before crumbling into dust: Saddam Hussein has been removed and we have an occupying force in the heart of the Middle East. ...

[Emphasis added.] This is the intro to a long letter to Sen. Edward Kennedy posted this evening on DailyKos by Todd Johnston. Mr. Johnston is nobody famous as far as I know. He's just a thoughtful working adult with no special access to any persons of power. He doesn't spell or punctuate especially well. And yet I know his letter will be carefully read by a Kennedy staffer. It will be certainly be brought to the senator's attention. Sen. Kennedy may even read the letter himself, and he will most definitely be involved in crafting a reply. He might even sit down and type it himself.

Why? Because Daily Kos is the largest political blog on earth. It averages 2 million page views per week and rising. Its audience is educated, affluent, overwhelmingly Democratic, and activist - 63% have donated money to political causes. According to a recent study, it outranks the top five GOP blogs combined. And if Mr. Johnson's letter reached the top of the Kos recommended list (which it did), then it will be read by all those activists along with every other legislator in DC on both sides of the aisle, all of the strategists and most of the media. You can bet Sen. Kennedy will pay attention.

Daily Kos got where it is through a combination of luck, timing, and smarts. Media windbags may have painted the site as hard left, excitable, dismissible... but those who visit on a regular basis understand that its population is diverse and generally thoughtful, with writers from the far corners of law, politics, business, academia, media, and even some of those continents way over there in Europe. The main thing Kos readers have in common is that they are SERIOUSLY pissed off. That doesn't mean they're foolish or naive.

I don't write much on that site. But it's the daily visits of people like me - asking questions, commenting, pushing up the stats, sending more people to the site, responding to calls for action, sending money - that have built the first stirrings of a left wing echo chamber. People are hearing us, and it is starting to make a difference.

Citizen Johnston puts some excellent questions to Sen. Kennedy about Iraq, intelligence, weapons, and the runup to the war. Imagine the senator reading this section knowing that a million people of influence are looking over his shoulder:

[W]here were you in 2003? In his State of the Union address, President Bush lied to the American people, citing debunked and forged intelligence. The president directly contradicted the Oct. 1, 2002 National Intelligence Estimate to state as fact that which George Tenet had called "weak" and "not particularly significant" four months earlier.

You and your colleagues allowed this campaign of fear to continue without significant challenge, as our soldiers were used like chess pieces and poker chips. And you were not hoodwinked by misrepresentations and hidden documents, because as we now know, in 2002 the CIA told Congress "that the Africa story [was] overblown" and that Iraq's reported attempt to purchase uranium was "one of the two issues where [the CIA] differed with the British." (SSCI report on the IC's Prewar Intelliegence Assessment). ...

or this one:

So why, Sen. Kennedy, is there such a deficit of courage and leadership that our country's best hope for redemption sits on the shoulders of a former U.S. ambassador?

The ending's pretty good, too:

Forgive me if am I not compelled, Senator Kennedy, to step forward at your call to arms, the timing of which, quite frankly, feels a little like opportunism. To be clear, no one wants this adminstration held accountable more than I, but during this current dearth of leadership, I've been learning to do it myself.

So, I am instead compelled to ask "where were you, Sen. Kennedy, when your country needed you most," because the indictment of I. Lewis Libby did not result from the "Kennedy Investigation."

Senator Kennedy is friend not foe, but friends need to be held accountable when it's a matter of importance. This is such a matter. And while he may not give us satisfactory answers, he will at least think about the questions. In my tiny way I helped make this possible. And that's why I bother.

Now what?

Raw Story - controversial, inflammatory, loaded with popups and other annoying features but usually accurate - reports what happens next:

Those close to the investigation say inquiry expanding... State Dep't and National Security Council figures probed... Rove may be in hotter water: Sources say he was offered a perjury deal but turned it down.... At least three officials in the case have agreed to provide additional information, setting the stage for an explosive, continuing probe... Lawyer for Joseph Wilson plans 3 p.m ET press conference; Civil suit expected...

For what it's worth.

Waiting for justice

I like the way James Moore puts it:

Leaking the names of CIA agents is not politics; it is a crime. Lying to congress about evidence for a war is not politics; it is a crime. Failing to tell a grand jury that you met with a reporter and talked about the CIA agent is not forgetfullness; it is a crime. Deceiving your entire nation and frightening children and adults with images of nuclear explosions in order to get them to support a bloody invasion of another country is not politics; it is a crime. Anyone other than Karl Rove and Lewis Libby and Tom Delay who does not get this, please raise your hand. The three of you will need to stay after class for further instruction in civics.

We're all hoping that Mr. Fitzgerald's announcement today marks the beginning of the end of our national nightmare.

Diversion #643

Do yourself a favor and drop in one last time at Harriet Mier's Blog to say goodbye to the plucky ex-nominee. And do NOT miss her link to Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog (keeping track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to).

Another hopeful sign

Are Democrats starting to get the hang of this media thing? First, Reid frames the Miers withdrawal as Bush caving to the radical right. Then, Pelosi gives a press conference:

Q. To follow up on the other question about the agenda, when do you think we might be able to get an idea about the Democrats' agenda that you were talking about?

Ms. Pelosi. When we are ready to do so. As I said, it would be helpful if there were no arrests, subpoenas, or indictments on whatever day it is. We would like a clear shot at it.

Heh. Hat tip Mike S.

Push polling

If it works in elections, why not use it all year long?

Toadies & brownies & suckups, oh my!

Paul Begala, a Clinton survivor, has an insider's appreciation of living through bone-crushing stress in a bunker White House while a federal criminal investigation unfolds under klieg lights. He says Bush has to be feeling mighty poorly right now.

Even better, he notes an important difference between Monicagate and Treasongate (aside from their subject matter, purpose, the number of people killed by them, the intellect of the presidents involved, and every other single thing): the president's ability to listen.

Whereas Clinton called in tough-minded advisors and listened to them, this president "likes having his assed kissed." The Miers-Bush correspondence "belongs in the Brown Nosers Hall of Fame." The current staff - "a C team if ever there was one" - is loaded with "weak-kneed toadies," "suckups and sycophants," throne-sniffers, over-the-shoulder-lookers, and people who have stopped taking notes in meetings but continue to assure the Beloved Leader he's the victim of a partisan plot.

Best paragraph ever written about our titanic mediocrity in chief:

The last thing this President wants is the first thing he needs: someone to slap his spoiled, pampered, trust-funded, plutocratic, never-worked-a-day-in-his-life cheek and make him face the reality of his foul-ups.

Hope he doesn't get it anytime soon.

Hat tip brandido.

Don't be distracted

The Miers withdrawal is no surprise, nor is its timing. Jeff Feldman warns us that this is just the first in what will be a blitzkrieg of distractions thrown our way and offers some pointers for getting through the next 24 hours:

1. The White House will be running a communications strategy, so beware of anything they say. In the past 24-hours, the President has given a series of speeches discussing every aspect of his presidency (e.g., business as usual). But they will go on the attack very soon.


2. Listen for magic words. Expect the White House to try to control debate by repeating keywords over and over again. So far, they have been quiet. But the specter of 9/11 is never far off. Beware of White House spokesmen who try to discuss 9/11.


3. Stay focused. The real issue tomorow is crimes committed by the White House to trick the American people into supporting a war. There is no other issue that comes close to this, tomorrow.


4. Do not talk about whether we should stay or pull out of Iraq. That is an important topic, but it will be a distraction tomorrow. The issue is crimes committed against the American people by top officials at the White House.


5. Read the White House website. This will help to understand what strategy they are launching.


6. Use only the President's name. This crisis is about the President of the United States, the people he hired, the decisions he made and the methods he used. Do not get distracted by too much talk about the names of aides.


7. Read a variety of news sources. Follow the story in a variety of media (e.g., print, TV, blogs) to get a full picture of what is going on. Don't become a CNN zombie.


8. Talk to co-workers and friends about what's happening. It is important that all Americans follow what is happening. Spread the news. Be the media.


9. Keep following the story. It is likely that the story will change several times before it is over.

Somewhere I heard rumors of an actual Bork nomination in the wind. Other tinfoilers are warning of Terra Alerts. Be prepared.

Iraq was not a mistake.

It was treason.

Please go read. This is important.

In her own words

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day… No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

Rosa Louise Parks, 1913-2005
Rest in Peace

(arrest photo via Boingboing.net)

Your tax dollars, their rules

Jesus H. Christ. First the Bush Administration uses Katrina to suspend Davis-Bacon. Then they give no-bid contracts to Halliburton and other out-of-state friends. Then Halliburton fires 75 local electricians and replaces them with, among others, illegal immigrants.

Great way to rebuild community. (Hat tip Aravosis)

The heart of the matter

It's finally happening: they're attacking each other in public. And for what? They have to be sweating bullets over Treasongate, even if they do call it just a lil' old technical perjury. But did it get them riled enough to go for blood? No.

Was it... losing Osama Bin Laden, not finding WMD's, faking the connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein? ...Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, forged Niger documents, 51 ignored FAA warnings about Al Qaeda hijackings? ...school dropouts, intelligent design, fear of Avian flu, skyrocketing deficits, increased abortions, explosive government spending, ...even the tragic aftermath of Katrina? No. It was Harriet Miers.

I know these folks have been waiting biblical eons to claim their Total Victory of Righteous Dominion Over the Courts Forever, but still. All that fabled discipline, undone so fast? It's startling.

Mind you, I am not complaining. Listen:

Harriet Miers is an abominable writer. Harriet Miers has offended United States Senators. Harriet Miers is a broken promise to the social conservative movement. Harriet Miers has a wretched grasp of the very Constitution she will supposedly defend on the Supreme Court. All these things are irrelevant. Right now, she is to ascend to the highest court in the land because George W. Bush is comfortable with her.

Those are the words of Josh Trevino, a fiercely conservative and influential writer for the other side. He continues:

This personal-comfort-as-principle is not merely the measure of the President's men, but of his governance. It is the enshrinement of whim and gut feeling as analysis. It is the elevation of Kentucky windage to a faux science. It is the same phenomenon that expresses itself cruelly in Iraq, erratically in policy, and as farce in the judiciary. …

Neither Left nor Right, Democrat nor Republican may justly claim that Harriet Miers stands at the cusp of the Supreme Court by dint of any sense of responsibility, conscience, propriety or mission. How then do we explain her? How do we interpret the stupefying accident of history whereby we must consider this titanic mediocrity as an arbiter of our very Constitution?

The answer lies in the titanic mediocrity who leads our nation.

"The titanic mediocrity who leads our nation." Gaze at those words a moment and smile. Who cares what made them speak out, when they get to the heart of matter like this?

Hat tip to mcjoan and to this writer (link now broken).

Danger! Danger! Danger! (framing alert)

I'm with Digby on this one:

...I seem to be unusually sensitive to Republican rhetorical hanky-panky ("pro-life," "tax relief," etc), and I couldn't help but notice some spanking new jargon bubbling up into the mainstream:

...the deeper meaning here is ideological: George W. Bush’s father was committed to a realist understanding of foreign policy. This served him well in Iraq, and not so well in Bosnia. George W. Bush, on the other hand, has become a leading proponent of democratic transformationalism; he believes it is America’s job to help non-democratic countries become democratic. The realists don’t believe that the internal organization of another country is any of our business; George W. Bush, evidently, does.

[snip]

Are the conservatives turning against the neoconservatives?

They’ve been doing so for some time. Just read George Will. Their complaint is that neoconservatives aren’t conservative; they’re liberals with guns. [emphasis added.]

You got that? "Democratic transformationalists" are "liberals with guns." Those are the clowns that got us into that stupid mess in Iraq.

In other words, the term "conservative" has been surgically removed from the failed ideology of neoconservativism and replaced with the word "democratic." This of course is purely coincidental, no associations to a certain political party should be inferred.

Cheny, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Feith: l******s with guns. (First rule of framing: don't repeat the enemy's frame.) Be on the alert. We've been warned.