Conservative Ecstasy

Mon 10/31/05 at 6:55 pm

It is a remarkable sign of the times that within hours of the nomination of Alito we can read a kind of point-counterpoint in which he references O’Connor in a decision and she references that decision in a later rejection. There is no doubt: he’s no O’Connor. mjh

Samuel A. Alito Jr. Profile

Samuel A. Alito Jr., 55, is a jurist in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia. Nicknamed “Scalito,” or “little Scalia,” by some lawyers, the federal appeals court judge is a frequent dissenter with a reputation for having one of the sharpest conservative minds in the country. …

In 1991, he was the lone dissenter in a 3rd Circuit decision striking down a Pennsylvania law’s requirement that women tell their husbands before having an abortion.

Bush Selects Alito for Supreme Court

Citing previous opinions of O’Connor, Alito wrote that an abortion regulation is unconstitutional only if it imposes an undue burden on a woman’s access to the procedure. The spousal notification provision, he wrote, does not constitute such a burden and must therefore only meet the requirement that it be rationally related to some legitimate government purpose. …

“In addition,” he wrote, “the legislature could have reasonably concluded that Section 3209 [the spousal provision] would lead to such discussion and thereby properly further a husband’s interests in the fetus in a sufficient percentage of the affected cases to justify enactment of this measure. . . . The Pennsylvania legislature presumably decided that the law on balance would be beneficial. We have no authority to overrule that legislative judgment even if we deem it “unwise” or worse.”

The case ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which upheld the appeals court decision, disagreed with Alito and used the case to reaffirm its support for Roe v. Wade , the 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

On the spousal notification provision, O’Connor wrote for the court that it did indeed constitute an obstacle. The “spousal notification requirement is . . . likely to prevent a significant number of women from obtaining an abortion,” she wrote.

“It does not merely make abortions a little more difficult or expensive to obtain; for many women, it will impose a substantial obstacle. We must not blind ourselves to the fact that the significant number of women who fear for their safety and the safety of their children are likely to be deterred from procuring an abortion as surely as if the Commonwealth had outlawed abortion in all cases,” she said.

Plus, it “embodies a view of marriage consonant with the common law status of married women, but repugnant to our present understanding of marriage and of the nature of the rights secured by the Constitution. Women do not lose their constitutionally protected liberty when they marry, ” she said.

“The Constitution protects all individuals, male or female, married or unmarried, from the abuse of governmental power, even where that power is employed for the supposed benefit of a member of the individual’s family.”

Newsday.com: Alito provoked no controversy at confirmation hearing 15 years ago By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Fifteen years ago, Samuel Alito told senators at his confirmation hearing that judges shouldn’t “step over the line” into lawmaking or “try to pigeonhole the case or to import a judge’s own view of the law into the law,” records showed Monday. …

Alito’s confirmation to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was noncontroversial, with the full Senate approving his nomination on April 27, 1990, by unanimous consent, which meant that there was no opposition among the 100 senators. Nominated on Feb. 20, Alito was rated well qualified by the American Bar Association.

Transcript: Sen. Schumer’s Remarks on Alito Nomination

A preliminary review of his record raises real questions about Judge Alito’s judicial philosophy and his commitment to civil rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights, the rights of average Americans which the courts have always looked out for.

Now, it’s sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O’Connor who would unify us.

America needs unity now. America needs reaching out to one another more than ever. But the president seems to want to hunker down in his bunker and is more concerned about smoothing the ruffled feathers of the extreme wing of his party than about governing all of America and changing history for the better.

SCHUMER: This controversial nominee, who would make the court less diverse and far more conservative, will get very careful scrutiny from the Senate and the American people.

The president had an opportunity to nominate someone in the mold of Sandra Day O’Connor, a mainstream, albeit conservative, who would unite the country, not further decide us. At first blush, Judge Alito does not appear to be a Sandra Day O’Connor.

It is an immutable law of history that when a president tries to govern from the extreme, his presidency and the country end up losing. Democrats learned this when we governed from the far left. President Bush will learn this as well. …

QUESTION: Why do you think the president nominated Judge Alito?

SCHUMER: Well, as I said, I think that the president received so much criticism from the extreme wing of his party that he felt, in his position right now, that he couldn’t afford to alienate them further. And they demanded fidelity to their viewpoint.


WWSD? What Would Scooter Do?

Mon 10/31/05 at 3:45 pm

Remember that Duhbya was going to restore dignity and honor to the White House, at the same time he united the country. Missions unaccomplished. mjh

White House Ethics, Honesty Questioned
55% in Survey Say Libby Case Signals Broader Problems
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane, Washington Post Staff Writers

A majority of Americans say the indictment of senior White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby signals broader ethical problems in the Bush administration, and nearly half say the overall level of honesty and ethics in the federal government has fallen since President Bush took office, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News survey.

The poll, conducted Friday night and yesterday, found that 55 percent of the public believes the Libby case indicates wider problems “with ethical wrongdoing” in the White House, while 41 percent believes it was an “isolated incident.” And by a 3 to 1 ratio, 46 percent to 15 percent, Americans say the level of honesty and ethics in the government has declined rather than risen under Bush.

In the aftermath of the latest crisis to confront the White House, Bush’s overall job approval rating has fallen to 39 percent, the lowest of his presidency in Post-ABC polls. Barely a third of Americans — 34 percent — think Bush is doing a good job ensuring high ethics in government, which is slightly lower than President Bill Clinton’s standing on this issue when he left office. …

The survey of 600 randomly selected Americans represents a snapshot of initial reactions to the Libby indictment.

Criminalizing politics by Robert Novak [Yes, THE Robert Novak]

In today’s polarized climate, both parties have contributed to the criminalization of politics. But Democrats, losers in both elections and the world of ideas, have turned to using the criminal process over the last two decades. …

Big of Novak, whose central role in the “Plame Affair” is still undercover, to allow that “both parties” have had a role in something he despises the Democrats for doing. Yes, indicting Scooby (sic) Libby for perjury is the same as impeaching the President. mjh

The Criminalization of Criminals by James Moore

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 forgetfulness; 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.


Wilson Favors Anti-Torture Rules

Mon 10/31/05 at 3:34 pm

I’m no fan of Wilson, but I am happy to see her break with the House leadership and the White House. Duhbya wants the CIA to remain free to torture as needed — and surely wants more than just the CIA to be free to torture. How can anyone doubt that torture isn’t supported from the top down. mjh

ABQjournal: Rep. Wilson Favors Anti-Torture Rules By Michael Coleman

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the Bush administration wants to exempt the Central Intelligence Agency from new anti-torture rules under consideration in the Senate.

The Senate voted 90 to 9 earlier this month to change a defense spending bill in a way that would prohibit harsh or degrading treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody anywhere in the world. According to the Post, the Senate wanted to close a loophole in current law.

The White House reportedly opposes the Senate’s broad definition of what is and isn’t acceptable treatment of those detained by the United States. The House defense spending bill contains no such change.

Wilson, a New Mexico Republican, Air Force veteran and member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the news report troubled her.

“It makes no sense to me,” Wilson said. “The United States government has a responsibility to live up to our obligations in both the Convention on Torture and the Geneva Conventions.”

Truth About Torture By Michael Hirsh

The Bush administration has consistently maintained that it is not U.S. policy to abuse prisoners. But Bush has threatened to veto the entire appropriations bill if it contains McCain’s language — all in an effort to preserve the right to treat prisoners in whatever way the president decides is necessary. Last week Vice President Dick Cheney, with CIA Director Porter Goss in tow, met with McCain to try to persuade him to exclude the CIA from any restrictions. The administration also sought to cut out the term “regardless of physical location,” McCain said in an interview. The Washington Post, in a harsh editorial, later branded Cheney “the vice president for torture.” Cheney’s spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said she had no comment on the McCain meeting. CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Dyck also declined to talk about it. But John Yoo, a former Justice Department official who drafted an August 2002 memo that justified rough methods, said last week that the administration should continue to treat terrorists differently overseas because they “do not operate according to the Geneva Conventions.”


Silver Flu Bullets

Mon 10/31/05 at 3:31 pm

Silver Flu Bullets By Anne Applebaum

Americans and their leaders will have to get over their love affair with intelligent design. Polls show that most don’t believe in evolution. But it is actually impossible to talk logically about bird flu, or any other rapidly evolving and constantly changing virus, without using the language of evolution — specific words such as “mutant,” “recombination,” “genome” and “selection.” Without that language, a sensible popular or political discussion, let alone a scientific discussion, is impossible: We’re stuck talking about the virus “jumping” from birds to humans, as if it were a magic bug with a mind of its own. We’re stuck thinking that a virus is a hex that can be lifted with a single lucky charm, not something that will change over time.

We’re also stuck with magic solutions: silver bullets, protective amulets, Tamiflu prescriptions. And until we are willing to elect the politicians, pay the businessmen, and support the scientists and science educators who can come up with something better, that, I’m afraid, is all the flu preparedness we’ll ever have.


ABQ RIDE - City of Albuquerque

Fri 10/28/05 at 12:55 am

I rode the Rapid Ride bus today. I parked for free at the Uptown Station (between NMEFCU and Coronado Shopping Mall (I saw a bike chained to a fence, but did not see a bike rack). When I arrived at 12:27pm, a bus was waiting; it left a minute or so after I boarded. At Uptown, there may have been half a dozen folks. Along Central we picked up quite a few more, including bike commuters; it felt half-full, but I didn’t count heads (or make much eye contact, except when a women on a neighboring bus made me smile).

The trip from Uptown to the Downtown Library at 5th and Copper took about 1/2 hour, but I was busy with the newness of the experience and with the wireless connection, which worked great for me. Sitting with my TabletPC, the infinite newstand/library of the Web at my fingers. I even sent email to my wife, telling her I was on my way.

All for one buck (each way). Highly recommended.

When I exited the bus, I was surprised to see the library partly surrounded by a fence. Even more surprised by the picket line. Between 30 and 50 men and women marched with signs for a carpenter’s union. They had a lively chant, demanding many good things like decent wages and health care for all, plus “no justice, no peace!” Right on! I don’t expect to see a word of this in the Journal or on TV. You got to get out of your car to meet the people.

It has been a few years since I walked around downtown as much as today. Great to see several large murals — we need more. We walked from the City-County Building on the Plaza to the new Flying Star on Silver near Eighth. Beautiful place, great service, OK food. I felt so urban/urbane, sitting on the balcony, browsing the Web for the cost of the new lofts across the road (up to $360K!). Felt like visiting a big city, though I had to stop myself from saying hello to everyone I passed. mjh

ABQ RIDE

Rapid Ride travels an 11-mile route along Central Avenue from Unser to Wyoming, then north on Wyoming to the Uptown shopping district.

ABQ RIDE - City of Albuquerque
Rapid Ride Now Has Wireless Web Access

Using the Rapid Ride just got a lot more interesting for the business commuter and college student. All of the city’s 12 Rapid Ride vehicles now have wireless web access. There are 83 hot spots along the route that allow the buses to establish a connection from zone to zone. This new technology will allow passengers with laptop computers to surf the internet, check email, send reports to work or chat with friends. Now, many people will find their commute time to be productive time.

Map of Route
http://www.cabq.gov/transit/pdf/05aprrapidram.pdf


Commuter rail gains support

Fri 10/28/05 at 12:53 am

Commuter rail gains support by Bob Golfen, The Arizona Republic

A commuter rail system that uses existing freight-train routes throughout the Phoenix area is being touted as the future backbone of public transportation in the Valley. …

A lot of the current discussion about commuter rail is fueled by the success of new systems throughout the West, Dickey said, including New Mexico and Utah, which are building passenger systems on former freight track beds.


Don’t Bank on ID Fading

Thu 10/27/05 at 11:14 am

I don’t read Winthrop Quigley every week, but I have found a couple of his columns informative and worth reading. He’s not just an AmeriCog stoking the Capitalist Machine. That’s why it’s too bad his column today is effectively buried in Business Outlook (it’s standard location). Though he includes a business reference, his topic transcends it.

Quigley offers his own decent take on the fallacy of equating Intelligent Design with science. I consider it anti-science new-speak — “dumbing down” taken to a new aggressiveness. Still, I’m happy to see Quigley weigh in on the side of light in the struggle against the New American Dark Ages (NADA).

ABQjournal: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong in Science Class By Winthrop Quigley, Journal Staff Writer

Intelligent design has no long-run future in America’s science curricula because the dominant philosophy of the United States is not evangelical Christianity, it is capitalism.

American business simply will not tolerate the further dumbing down of its future workforce’s science education with metaphysical speculation masquerading as biology. It cannot afford to. …

Regardless of any spiritual angst one might feel, the fact remains that ID is bad for business.

Corporate America, especially its technology companies, is very worried about losing its competitive advantage over India, China and other Asian countries because of a poorly educated workforce. …

And here is Quigley’s logical flaw, made worse by ignoring the true meaning of the quote he then takes from Friedman.

Thomas L. Friedman in his book “The World Is Flat” said every major company he interviewed for the book “is investing significantly in research and development abroad. It is not ‘follow the money.’ It is ‘follow the brains.’ ”

In our current global economy, it is cheaper to go to the PhD’s than hire them here. Heartless and soulless, corporations build their headquarters where the tax structure benefits them (which is also where their executives and boards live) and they build their offices and factories where they find the optimal combination of cheap but just-adequately skilled labor.

While Rio Rancho schools are working to put non-science into their science program, a kid in India is preparing to take our kids’ technology jobs. I promise you, the Indian kid is not wasting his time studying ID. …

[Intel] will build its new plants where the workforce is properly trained.

When that happens in enough communities, watch ID quietly leave the science classroom

Though I enjoyed and respect the piece and encourage you to read the whole thing, I think Quigley makes an important mistake. He believes Capitalism will save the day (perhaps he is an AmeriCog, after all). Yes, business will realize that slack-jawed workers aren’t good for the company. Unfortunately, Quigley overlooks the value of slack-jawed consumers (isn’t that why we have Channel One in schools?). It may be that it is in business’s interest to employ cheaper and smarter Chinese PhD’s to come up with new products for rich and ignorant American buyers.

Or, perhaps we should look to Evangelical Colorado Springs for the model of business in the NADA. Super-zealot employees and consumers must yield the highest profits.

Get your authentic replica of Jesus on a dinosaur now! mjh

See BugMeNot.com if you are not a Journal subscriber.


Keep Judge Rudd Campaign

Wed 10/26/05 at 10:52 am

Keep Judge Rudd Campaign

Judge Rudd will seek her second four-year term in 2006. She needs your support. During her first term, she has increased the court’s caseload 60%, started a major computer automation of the court’s docket system, proved her commitment to public awareness and outreach through her “Judge is In” TV show, Albuquerque Journal column, and numerous speaking engagements. She has served our community with integrity, dedication, and hard work.

Note: I developed the campaign website and MRudd is my long-time companion of 24 years (as of this week).


Majority of Americans Reject Theory of Evolution

Tue 10/25/05 at 7:51 pm

Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that God was not involved.

For the record, I am with that 15 percent. And, though I sincerely believe in a diversity of views and mutual tolerance, I see that 51 percent as part of a New American Dark Ages (NADA). I know they aren’t all bible-thumping literalists who believe there were dinosaurs in Eden and on the Ark; but a frightening number of them are and this ignorance is clearly contagious and spreading.

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 808 adults, interviewed by telephone October 3-5, 2005. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points.

On the other hand, I’ll believe in god before I put too much stock in divining the views of 300 million people from the responses of 808. Those who trust polls and statistics are welcome to explain their validity in comments. You’ll find me as hard to move as Jesus on a dinosaur. mjh


The Week After Wolf Awareness Week

Tue 10/25/05 at 6:46 pm

Compare the following stories and note that wolves were re-introduced in Yellowstone 10 years ago. In that whole region, they number around 900. Wolves were released in New Mexico about 5 years ago. We’re supposed to believe that 6 pairs will sustain the population. Nonsense. mjh

Feds study gray wolf delisting - billingsgazette.com

By MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff

Federal officials on Monday said it may be time to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will begin an in-depth look at the wolf population and decide whether to propose delisting the wolf. …

In order for wolves to be delisted, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming need approved plans to manage wolves once responsibility is passed to the states from the federal government. …

Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and portions of Idaho in 1995 and 1996.

Today, the population is estimated to be around 900. Numbers have declined recently in Yellowstone, Wyoming and portions of Montana, according to some of the latest numbers. The population appears to be still growing in Idaho, Bangs said.

ABQjournal: Mexican Gray Wolf Treated for Injuries After Being Hurt by Trap By Tania Soussan Journal Staff Writer

An endangered Mexican gray wolf was being treated by a veterinarian Tuesday after she was spotted running around in the wild with a steel leg-hold trap stuck on a front leg. A researcher working with the wolf reintroduction program saw the alpha female of the Luna Pack with her mate and two 6-month-old pups feeding on an elk carcass in a large meadow southeast of Reserve on Saturday. He tried unsuccessfully to shoot her with a tranquilizer dart.

On Monday, a helicopter with a professional gunner aboard was able to catch her in a net gun, said wolf recovery coordinator John Morgart of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque.

"She was very mobile," he said. "She was running around and dragging this trap." The wolf was tranquilized and the trap removed, but there was extensive damage just above her paw. She is being evaluated by a vet in Arizona and likely will be returned to the wild soon. Even if her paw or leg has to be amputated, she could go back to her pack, Morgart said.

"Canines in general do adapt very quickly to life on three legs," he said. The trap could have been set legally to capture a coyote or other animal, but Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officers are conducting a routine investigation to make sure there was no foul play involved, Morgart said.

ABQjournal: Wolf Releases May Be Restricted Next Year
By Tania Soussan Journal Staff Writer

Releases of endangered Mexican gray wolves likely will be severely restricted next year under a policy approved recently by the multiagency group overseeing wolf reintroduction in the Southwest. The Adaptive Management Oversight Committee adopted a moratorium on releases and several program rules during a meeting Thursday in Arizona, said wolf recovery coordinator John Morgart of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque.

If there are at least six pairs of successfully breeding wolves in the wild at the end of this year, no new wolf packs without experience in the wild will be released in 2006 In addition, a controversial new rule says wolves that have killed livestock three times must be permanently removed from the wild, either by trapping or shooting.


Evangelical Colorado Springs

Tue 10/25/05 at 1:39 pm

Political kingpin: Focus on Family leader’s influence quietly spreading
By STEPHANIE SIMON, Los Angeles Times

A recent poll for PBS found that 77 percent of white evangelicals view Dobson favorably. Other Christian leaders were far less widely trusted; Pat Robertson’s approval rating stood at 55 percent and Jerry Falwell’s at 46 percent. …

A campaign against Sen. Ken Salazar last spring, on the issue of judicial filibusters, provoked such a barrage of calls and e-mails that the Colorado Democrat called Focus on the Family "the Antichrist of the world." (Salazar later apologized, saying he meant only that the ministry’s approach was "unchristian.")

Dobson devoted just 7 percent of his $142 million budget last year to explicitly political activities, such as the Salazar campaign. This year, 5 percent of the budget has been set aside for politics. …

Some references are subtle; a pamphlet called "When a Loved One Says ‘I’m Gay’" attributes same-sex at tractions to unhealthy family dynamics, but also lays some blame on "today’s ‘gay-affirmative culture."’

Other political references are overt: A recent edition of the ministry’s flagship Focus on the Family magazine defined conservatives as championing democracy, human rights and "the cause of freedom around the world" while "liberals defend civil rights, abortion, pornography and homosexuality." …

Don’t you love it when the Radical Right calls themselves everything good and the left everything wrong. mjh

The calls reinforce the ministry’s view that America’s moral foundation is crumbling — and must be shored up with political action to curb pornography, end abortion, revoke no-fault divorce laws and stop recognizing gay relationships as legitimate.

Gazette.comGod’s BUSINESS By PAUL ASAY, THE GAZETTE

Religion is big business in Colorado Springs, and business is booming. More than 80 national Christian nonprofit organizations with combined revenue of nearly $1 billion make their headquarters in El Paso County [Colorado]. …

Other cities — including Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta — have more Christian nonprofits than Colorado Springs. But this city is unusual because of its smaller population, and because of the size, profile and influence of some of the ministries located here.

These ministries are more than big fish swimming in a midsized pond: They’re leviathans.

Of the more than 80 Christian nonprofit headquarters in the region, four (Compassion International, Young Life, Focus on the Family and The Navigators) have revenues of $100 million or more.

Their influence is far-reaching….

Fourteen Springs-based ministries each have revenue above $10 million; 32 earn more than $1 million. All the 80-some groups The Gazette studied have a national or worldwide focus, and many are household names — at least in evangelical households.

“In my book, I would put it (Colorado Springs) as the (nation’s) most influential Christian city,” said Rusty Leonard, founder of the charity watchdog MinistryWatch, based in Charlotte, N.C.  …

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO COLORADO SPRINGS? Very little of that nearly $1 billion finds its way into the local economy. …

But all that activism has its negative side. Many residents bemoan Colorado Springs’ evangelical reputation.

“We’re so known as a community that’s dominated by a certain socially conservative philosophy,” Skorman said. Those who don’t share that philosophy, he added, feel unwelcome. A few companies have shied away from locating here because of its evangelical presence.

That evangelical unease extends to more secular charities, too, who believe that many of the city’s Christian organizations only support like-minded charities.

“I think there’s a lot of backlash against the cause of Christ because Christians don’t seem to care about anything but proselytization or evangelism,” said Yonker, of Elevation Group.

These Christian nonprofits often like to do business with Christian-oriented companies, too.


Spy Cops

Tue 10/25/05 at 12:02 pm

Some people will read the following and dismiss it as small town politics. I see it as a tale of using police to intimidate citizens. Note the mayor took this police tape and gave a transcript to the paper’s major advertizer — he could only have wanted them to stop advertizing, in hopes of damaging the paper financially. So much for a free press.

Sure, this mayor is a pissant and the cop a willing stooge, but this is a story being played out all across the New and Improved AmeriCo, where the police are merely the security guards for those with power. mjh

ABQjournal: Publisher: Taping, Report Payback
By Martin Salazar
Journal Northern Bureau

Wood was never brought in for questioning over the comments that she says were made in jest. And the Colfax County District Attorney’s Office in Raton declined to pursue any charges against Wood after reviewing the information, said Bill Kitts, chief of the Angel Fire Police Department.

"I think they were taping me to harass me," Wood said in an interview Thursday.

Kitts denies the taping was politically motivated.

This isn’t the first time the village government has been accused of retaliation.

Earlier this year, the village severed ties with the local Chamber of Commerce in part because the chamber refused to sign a contract that would have banned it and anyone associated with it from criticizing the village or its officials.

The latest incident occurred Sept. 22. Marcia Wood had gone to Village Hall that afternoon in hopes of getting information for a story the paper was working on. Wood claims Village Administrator John Pape told her he would never talk to her. Wood then went to see Mayor A.L. "Bubba" Clanton. She said she complained that the village had been stonewalling the paper for months, and at some point told the mayor, "Bull(expletive), Bubba." The mayor called for an officer, and officer Christina Roth showed up. The Sept. 23 report, which describes the office visit and the recording later that night, says Wood called the mayor a liar and was escorted out. …

The report does not say why the conversation was being recorded. … Kitts said the two weren’t told they were being recorded, and under state law, there was no obligation to do so. …

Wood said a few days later she got a call from a friend telling her about rumors concerning the conversation. She said she later learned that the mayor had given the report to an Angel Fire Resort employee and had instructed the employee to give it to the company’s chief executive officer. The resort is the paper’s major advertiser, she added.

Wood said she got a copy of the report from the resort CEO.


Alleged Desecration of Bodies Investigated

Tue 10/25/05 at 6:56 am
I think the important part of this story is not that bodies were burned — our culture says that’s hygienic, not desecration. What’s important it that we turned that against the Taliban, that we taunted them for being "women" — yes, repeatedly. We have a "Psy-Ops", a concept worthy of 1984, a corp whose job it is to fuck with people heads. Who is to say we don’t have a domestic version of the same?

It is stunning and almost hilarious that Rumsfeld has said he wants to get to the bottom of this. The taunts could have been written by him and, whichever commanding officer did write them must have thought he was doing what his bosses — Rumsfeld and Duhbya — want. We need for officers and soldiers to come forward, to say, to hell with the Commander-in-Chief, your loyalty is to the nation. Tell us what these bastards are making you do! mjh

Alleged Desecration of Bodies Investigated

U.S. Military Acts to Control Muslim Backlash After Incident in Afghanistan
By Bradley Graham, Washington Post Staff Writer

Stephen Dupont, the Australian journalist who took the video, said the airborne troops who burned the bodies indicated they had been ordered to do so purely to dispose of them. "They said to me, ‘We’ve been told to burn the bodies because the bodies have been here for 24 hours and they’re starting to stink,’ " Dupont said in an interview on the network’s Web site. "So for hygiene purposes, this is what we’ve got to do." It was later, he said, that the psychological operations team decided to use the event for propaganda purposes. "They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban, so the Taliban could attack them," he said. [mjh: who gave the order?]

USATODAY.com - Pentagon probing taped burning of bodies

Stephen Dupont, an Australian cameraman who shot the video, said the troops who burned the bodies were U.S. Army paratroopers he joined during combat missions. He said that other American soldiers used a loudspeaker later to goad Taliban members, calling them “cowardly dogs” and “lady boys” for not retrieving the bodies. … Later, Dupont said, psychological operations troops gave the taunting statements over loudspeakers to anger and flush out other Taliban.


Making Their Own Reality

Mon 10/24/05 at 8:53 pm

A few conservative blogs take some delight in Democratic frustration at not having the usual mugshot of Tom "The Hammer" DeLay ("I am the federal government"). Must be nice for DeLay to have connections protecting him.

Actually, I’ll take the picture of the grinning fool who thinks he can fake his way out of this. There are limits to "making your own reality." DeLay is a certifiable scoundrel who deserves shunning, if not imprisonment. mjh

|| RedState.org

This is the best-looking mug shot I have ever seen. As such, it is an oddly compelling portrait of this oddly compelling man at this oddly compelling moment in his life. On CNN this morning, correspondant (sic) Sean Callebs said, "[b]ut think about it, at some point later today, pictures of DeLay’s mug shot could be plastered all over the TV, plastered all over the Internet. Certainly something the GOP doesn’t want to see." Gosh, I’m not so sure. Tom DeLay has never looked better. He looks bright, personable, confident–certainly not guilty. Who would have thunk a mug shot could turn out to be good propaganda?

DeLay Smile May Foil Democrat Campaign Ads

DeLay, an 11-term Texas congressman and former pest exterminator famous for enforcing GOP loyalty, faced a tough reelection campaign even before the indictment.

In the 2004 elections, DeLay won 55 percent of the vote, a relatively weak showing for a veteran House leader. His challenger next year is expected to be former Rep. Nick Lampson, who lost his seat in 2004 after he was forced to run in a new district under a redistricting plan pushed by DeLay.

For his mandatory booking Thursday, which caused him to miss voting on a gun industry bill popular in his home state, DeLay did everything he could to prevent images of the event from being committed to film.

mjh’s Blog: Counterpoint to Eulogies by Tim Wise

It’s why a bona fide moron like Tom Delay can brag about not having a passport (because, after all, why would anyone want to travel abroad and leave ”Amur’ca,” even for a day) and not be seen as the epitome of a blithering idiot, and why he could probably be elected again and again in thousands of white dominated congressional districts in this country, and not merely in Texas.

mjh’s Weblog Entry - 07/29/2003: "Contempt for the public" by Paul Krugman

Another answer may be that in modern America, style trumps substance. Here’s what Tom DeLay, the House majori