January 13, 2009 archive

I am so very proud to be markin’ the 50th anniversary of Alaska becomin’ part of these great United States!  Alaska became the 49th state in 1959.  I must apologize though, because technically I’m wishin’ Alaska a belated happy birthday since statehood became official on Jan 3rd, 1959.  Wouldn’t you know it, I needed a few extra weeks there to realize that 2009 – 1959 = 50!  But what the heck, we’ll be celebratin’ all year with things like commemorative license plates and commemorative stamps.  As you can see it’s a very pretty stamp, but unfortunately can only be used to ship extremely large packages:

1. The Washington Independent reports Schlozman broke federal law and lied to Congress. Bradley Schlozman was a central person in the U.S. attorney firing scandal. From the report:

   The evidence in our investigation showed that Schlozman, first as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General and subsequently as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General, considered political and ideological affiliations in hiring career attorneys and in other personnel actions affecting career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division. In doing so, he violated federal law – the Civil Service Reform Act – and Department policy that prohibit discrimination in federal employment based on political and ideological affiliations, and committed misconduct. The evidence also showed that Division managers failed to exercise sufficient oversight to ensure that Schlozman did not engage in inappropriate hiring and personnel practices. Moreover, Schlozman made false statements about whether he considered political and ideological affiliations when he gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee and in his written responses to supplemental questions from the Committee.

   The Independent adds Schlozman emails indicate a Republican voter suppression strategy.

   The report released this morning by the Justice Department is a pretty damning account of the tenure of Bradley Schlozman, the infamous U.S. attorney and head of (politicizing) the Civil Rights Division. at the department. The report details email conversations between Schlozman and “voter rights” guru Hans von Spakovsky, who was special counsel to the assistant attorney general.

   The email exchanges solidify what reports on the U.S. attorney firing scandal suggested: that the politicization at the agency was part of a coordinated effort to disenfranchise voters, at the expense of Democratic candidates.

   And the Washington Post adds Study finds rightwing ideology fueled Justice Department hirings. The DoJ inspector general’s extensive study of department’s hiring practices between 2001 and 2007 found “former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bradley Schlozman, favored employees who shared his political views and derided others as ‘libs’ and ‘pinkos'”.

   “The report’s release was delayed by more than six months after inspector general agents referred the case for possible prosecution by authorities in the District. But prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to pursue the matter last week, according to lawyers involved in the case.”

Four at Four continues Bush administration officials cash in, Congress set to restore the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and EPA creates big loophole for major polluters.

Here are the rules.

The other day George Will, of all people, was comparing Obama refusing to prosecute Bush and Cheney to Ford pardoning Nixon.

If a far right crazed wingnut can get it right, why can’t the rest of us?

This comparison is one that we can use to good effect, but only if we do it continuously and loudly.

A friend of mine a couple of days ago, a nearly unquestioning Obama supporter, said to me, and I quote:

No argument from me.  Ford should have been stood against the wall and shot for that pardon.  Nixon cooling his heels in the clink for a few years would have prevented this mess, no doubt.

Ford’s pardon of Nixon was the beginning of the end of any hope Ford had of being politically effective, and absolutely killed his future chances for reelection.

So let’s see… if Obama doesn’t want a political blood bath that might define his first term as him being a bush enabler and a torture excuser and might drown him, then he’ll tell Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor, and answer Fertik’s question directly himself, instead of hiding behind excuses and Joe Biden, since according to Biden it is not the job of the president or the vice president, but of the Justice department.  

Bush Holds His

Final Press Conference And

Lies Out His…… He Also Acts Like A Spoiled Child

Israeli forces step up offensive as UN chief tours



By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Israeli forces tightened their hold on the outskirts of the city of Gaza today as United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon pressed for a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants.

In clashes on the edges of the city, Israeli forces killed 12 gunmen, some of them Hamas members, medical workers said.

“We are tightening the encirclement of the city,” Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg told reporters touring Israeli positions.

UN Secretary-General Ban was heading to the region for a week of talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria aimed at ending the bloodshed.

“My message is simple, direct, and to the point: the fighting must stop. To both sides, I say: Just stop now,” Ban told reporters before his departure.

As more Chinese lose jobs, protests grow bolder

Economic woes shining a light on social issues

By Ariana Eunjung Cha

BEIJING – For months, the Communist Party had been able to deflect anger about factory closings toward the companies themselves. The party managed to come off as the benevolent savior by handing out cash to make up for unpaid salaries. The strategy stopped working at the Jianrong Suitcase Factory in late December.

When offered 60 percent of their wages to disband their protest and go home, the workers pushed back at riot police sent to keep them locked in their factory compound in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan. According to several witnesses, more than 100 irate workers broke through the cordon, some shouting, “There are no human rights here!”

USA

Obama’s Plan to Close Prison at Guantánamo May Take Year



By WILLIAM GLABERSON and HELENE COOPER

Published: January 12, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, people briefed by Obama transition officials said Monday.

But experts say it is likely to take many months, perhaps as long as a year, to empty the prison that has drawn international criticism since it received its first prisoners seven years ago this week. One transition official said the new administration expected that it would take several months to transfer some of the remaining 248 prisoners to other countries, decide how to try suspects and deal with the many other legal challenges posed by closing the camp

Wow, only a couple days, and look at all the replies I got on my first post “I Want to go to America”!!!!!

Some were kind of funny. I know how to swim. Dang.

Splashbaby, Iowa:

Wow, skankhatergirl. Are there bombs blowing up every day where you live? That must be scary. Its so safe here. What is Israel like? I like to swim a lot, I’m going to be on the Swim Team when I get to High School. Are there lakes and pools there? Or is it a big desert? I’d love to be your friend!!! I’ll teach you to swim. I’d love to go to a rave but my parents would totally kill me for that. But we have dances at our Jr High that are kewl too. You could come to those.

PS: Who do you think is thehottest band?

Some were really mean.

L.A.Starr367, California:

Don’t come to LA. There’s too many of dark people here already. Some Chicano skank stole my boyfriend, and we already hate the immigrants we got. Why can’t we white people stick together? I waz gonna kick her butt, but my old boyfriend stuck up for her, and so did my former so-called best friends. They called me hater. They ain’t ever seen hate like I’m gonna give them. Like I said, don’t come to my school, we don’t need no Jew girls either.

Sounds like SHE is skankier than the Skank at my school. OK, LA is out. But, I only got the one like that, the rest were nice.