NY Times:
House Ethics Panel Says DeLay Tried to Trade Favor for a Vote. “In a statement, Mr. DeLay said that he had not meant to violate House rules and that the panel had never ruled on this type of activity before.” See The Credit Mobiliere Scandal, one of the many scandals during the Grant Administration.
Read the House’s code of official conduct. You’ll find it interesting.
NY Times:
Debt Relief Deal for Poor Nations Seems to Be Near. Noone’s going to mention who started the initiative in America, however.
People will see what they want to see.
Another woeful performance by our President, a reasonable and optimistic performance by Mr Kerry. In any historical political environment, everyone would agree Mr Kerry clearly won the debate.
Mr Bush, on the defensive, hunkered over the podium. Thinly veiled petulance. Reacted strongly to Mr Kerry’s remarks; I assume he thought off-camera, as per debate agreement. Awkward pauses to gather thoughts, subsequently very poorly expressed. A couple of times he’d hit on something he’d rehearsed, and go to town. But very rarely. I still can’t tell what the babble about a “Japanese Summit” was about. And the “MOO-lahs.” Gawd. Better than “MEW-lahs”, I guess.
Mr Kerry made a few gaffes, was a bit too policy-wonkish at times. Never ruffled at anything Mr Bush said. No doubt the right wing spin machine will come out of this screaming that he wishes to mortgage our liberty to the United Nations and foreign influence. “Global test.” Oh, are we going to be sick of that in a week. I feel in the end, he should have used his summation to express that he not only has faith in our troops and America, but faith in us, the American people. A couple of missed chances, in other words. We’re all getting so very tired of Vietnam, in all forms, no matter how applicable.
Both men lost me a couple of times, but Bush far more. I didn’t catch Mr Bush, during his ‘character’ answer, say he respected Mr Kerry for his war service. Did you? Everything in the usual laundry list, but not that.
Ultimately, Mr Kerry will be judged on “presidentiality”, and accuracy of his facts. Does he seem like a flip-flopper, or does he seem statesmanlike? Everything he said will be micro-nitpicked. I think he succeeded admirably in throwing off the opposition’s negative impressions. More importantly, he took the fight, which was previously centered on himself, and dumped it straight on Bush’s unadorned head. Exactly what needed doing ... and, I’ll point out, more than Ronald Reagan was able to do with Carter in 1980 [which, as in this race, should have been slam-dunk easy].
Mr Bush will be judged on whether he could manage to put two words together coherently, whether he was able to stay on message, and not poop out before the end. He did all three, so everyone will be screaming ‘victory!’ He receives the same low-standard accolades that Mr Reagan enjoyed while in office. Any other Chief Executives in history were expected to know their dossier inside and out. It was beyond Reagan, and it’s clearly way beyond Bush.
My favorite soundbite of the night: “Of course I know Osama attacked us.” What heights of political discourse we have risen to! Ranks on the same list as Nixon’s “I am not a crook.”
So much for debate in America today. Reminds me once again of the Gore/Bush debates, how everyone agreed Gore clearly won the first, until the spinmeisters turned it on its head two days later. “Mixed messages.” Oh, yes. Mixed messages. We’ll be getting a lot of those in the next week. Where’s my foil hat?
Washington Post:
Plan Would Let U.S. Deport Suspects to Nations That Might Torture Them. “... would apply to non-U.S. citizens who are suspected of having links to terrorist organizations but have not been tried on or convicted of any charges.” The Republicans would wash their hands, condemning unjudged individuals to torture at the hands of others. Sounds familiar. PBS, Religion and Ethics has an interesting article, and links at the bottom.
Due process, right to a trial, 5th amendment to the Constitution, was recently affirmed for prisoners at Guantanamo.
Prior law, Supreme Court opinions:
“The article is a restraint on the legislative as well as on the executive and judicial powers of the government, and cannot be so construed as to leave congress free to make any process ‘due process of law’ by its mere will.’’
“It is now the settled doctrine of this Court that the Due Process Clause embodies a system of rights based on moral principles so deeply imbedded in the traditions and feelings of our people as to be deemed fundamental to a civilized society as conceived by our whole history. Due Process is that which comports with the deepest notions of what is fair and right and just.’”
My italics.
Independent.UK:
Addiction behind the burka: how Afghan women use drugs to cope with legacy of war. “War trauma is by far the biggest factor among those using opiates. Even if they didn’t start abuse during the war, the nightmares are still with them years later.”
NY Times:
The Republican party seems to be taking the imminent release of “Fahrenheit 9/11” on DVD very seriously. They clearly understand the power of myth.
NY Times:
Senate Opens Hearings on Lobbyists for Tribes. And the name DeLay pops up again. “The two - Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist, and Michael S. Scanlon, a public relations specialist and former aide to Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader - sold themselves to the tribes as influential Washington operatives whose experience and relationships would reap great rewards for Native Americans.” Scalp ‘em. That’s what I say.
NY Times:
The Russian government says “let’s go” to Kyoto.
BBC:
Russia may ratify Kyoto tomorrow.
CNN:
Judge blocks part of Patriot Act. “U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero struck down a provision of the Patriot Act that authorizes the FBI to force Internet service providers and phone companies to turn over certain customer records. The companies are then barred from ever disclosing the search took place.”
NY Times:
At House Hearing, Quips, Insults and Some Official Business. The circus continues to entertain. Representative Rohrabacher needs to consult history and take a course in international sovereignty. Mr Armitage, going from hidey-hole to hidey hole? Tell that to folks in Zabul and Kunar, and the south of Afghanistan in general. We pay warlords for not overthrowing the fragile government. That’s democracy?
Washington Post:
House passes repeal of DC gun bans. “Voting 250-171, the House approved the D.C Personal Protection Act, which would end the District’s ban on handguns and semi-automatic weapons, roll back registration requirements for ammunition and other firearms and decriminalize possession of unregistered weapons and carrying a gun in one’s home or workplace.” My italics.
Reuters:
Kyrgyzstan Seizes Nuclear Bomb-Grade Plutonium. Someone’s getting serious.
Scientific American:
Vietnam Veterans Had Higher Death Rate than Other Vets after Discharge. Wait for Gulf War Veterans to get some coverage. From stats I’ve seen, as many as 1/3 of deployed personnel in Gulf War I are on disability, the result of war-related sickness. Birth defects, for post-war children, too. Heart defects, etc. No word yet on Gulf War II. I won’t quote hard figures, because all the sources I hit vary widely. Something like 11,000 GWI vets are dead already. But go look, and Google the subject for yourself.
Good news, though, for Gulf War Syndrome sufferers. It’s been traced, for the first time, to neurological damage.
I see this reported in Australian sources,
and here. But not in major American news media sources. North Korea says it has created nuclear weapons?
Later, 12:30 PM: The Straits Times has it. Still no reports on major American media sites.
Even later, 2:49 PM: Apparently this is being treated as ‘crying wolf’ at the moment. I wonder.
Evening, ~6:30 PM: Finally, the Boston Globe and CSM pick it up. Thanks for noticing, Alwin.
Knight-Ridder:
Group criticizes Bush in ads aimed at Hispanics. Another 527.
CSM:
US economy now faces $50-a-barrel oil. “In the past, high oil prices have preceded recessions. For example, in 1979, oil peaked at about $75 in today’s dollars and that lead to a recession in 1980. Economist Bob Brusca of FAO Economics in New York says the high prices may prompt the Federal Reserve and other central banks to reconsider their tighter monetary policies.” Batten your financial hatches, hedge your financial bets until this situation clears a bit. That’s my take.
Chronicle of Higher Ed:
The end of easy oil. “In spite of high energy prices and rising concerns about energy security, consumers and policymakers alike have all but stopped talking about the ways we use energy, how much we waste, and what might be changed.” Not all of us have stopped talking about it. But it seems it is time to devote some space to new and old efficient energy technologies, just to jog the collective thought processes.
NY Times Letters to the Editor:
Bush, Kerry and a Debate that isn’t. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater ... does noone remember Lincoln/Douglas? It is an opportunity for Mr Kerry to show he can think on his feet ... if he chooses to do so, and ‘break script.’
“It is true that many of these resolutions are at variance with the positions I have here assumed. All I have to ask is that we talk reasonably and rationally about it. I happen to know, the Judge’s opinion to the contrary notwithstanding, that I have never tried to conceal my opinions, nor tried to deceive any one in reference to them. He may go and examine all the members who voted for me for United States Senator in 1855, after the election of 1854. They were pledged to certain things here at home, and were determined to have pledges from me, and if he will find any of these persons who will tell him any thing inconsistent with what I say now, I will resign, or rather retire from the race, and give him no more trouble.”
— A. Lincoln.
Would that we could ever experience that kind of integrity again.
Later: New Yorker plays with debate rules. I would have shown up with a Claus-ian bag of flip-flops, monogrammed on the soles with Bush wind-changes. Every time he brought up a flipped policy point, I’d throw it to the audience. Anger and self-righteousness, thundering from the podium won’t help Mr Kerry. But a carefully measured amount of humor will. Ridicule, sans wit, will fall flat.
NY Times:
Alaska Weighs Relaxing Rules of Exploration. Instead of destroying the tundra, one could also design vehicles and wheels that would lessen any damage.
NY Times:
Hurdles remain for overseas voters. “But last month, a Zogby poll of Americans who had passports found that they supported John Kerry over Mr. Bush, 58 percent to 35 percent.”
Spiegel.DE:
30 days and 2,368 attacks. Via vowe.net.
Personal favor.
Before October 2, check that your voter registration information precisely matches your driver’s license. Republicans in New Mexico are fighting to prevent citizens from voting. I’m going down to check mine tomorrow. It’s a damn dirty campaign.
Reuters:
Bush disputes favorable treatment in Guard. Where’s your flight logbook, sir? Only the most dissolute person would toss their flight logbook.
CNN:
Another piece of fluff from the House of Representatives. Cirque du DeLay.
