mjh’s blog

just as you were supposed to be

Maybe I just have unreasonable expectations of the Albuquerque Journal. Perhaps I misunderstand notions like “paper of record” or “above the fold.” It may well be that I don’t appreciate the terrible pressure newspapers are under to give the people what they want and to compete with all the media choices at hand.

Still, I am shocked and disappointed to find on the front page, above the fold, an ad, er, “article” on a new department store in town. An “article” that gushes about “the most anticipated retail outlet to hit Albuquerque in years.” (I know I’ve had trouble sleeping — I thought it had to do with the shifting balance of political power, the clash of radical religious fanatics and the destruction of the world by us all.) But, of course, “You have probably already heard and seen … ads— a year’s worth. You may have wondered where the stores were. And you may have been flush with anticipation, just as you were supposed to be.” “One Journal reader has called the newspaper regularly for an opening date.” (Every village has an idiot.)

I do, actually, appreciate that people have to shop and we all want affordable choices. I have no gripes with the shoppers at this store, nor its employees. Anymore than I have a gripe with the readers of the Journal or most of its employees. My gripe is with the editors who see this as one of the most important stories of the day in all of New Mexico. If that’s true, we are almost beyond hope. mjh

PS: Barely a week has passed since my last swipe at the Journal’s front page editor(s) (mjh’s blog — Saguaro-gate). I risk harping my one note and further alienating 25% of my readership (I hope you weren’t the one calling the Journal regularly!). For what it’s worth, in the last week, I held my tongue when the great dilemma facing high school team mascots dominated the front page.

ABQjournal: [deleted] Plans to Bring a Fresh Look to Albuquerque’s Retail Market By Susan Stiger

Is Heather Wilson a Racist?

I don’t ask that provocative question because Wilson is white, went to a predominately white school, works in an overwhelmingly white institution and chooses to live in a state with a very small Black population. These are not reasons to assume she is a racist — they all apply to me, as well.

I ask the question because of a question Wilson asked Madrid in debate. Wilson asked Madrid why she doesn’t condemn Al Sharpton as a racist and anti-Semite. Regrettably, Madrid hedged the question. We liberals don’t like being forced by others to condemn our allies. Ours was the big tent before the Republicans stole the concept (and stuck us with the cleaning bill). Condemnation comes more naturally to the arrogant, the self-righteous and the powerful.

I have no reason to believe that Wilson is a racist. Clearly, she is an opportunist, looking to drive a wedge between Jews, Blacks and Hispanics. Admittedly, not nearly as big a wedge as Sharpton himself has done, but Wilson is happy to sow ill-ease among constituencies that tend to favor Democrats. It’s the Rovian Way. The referendum this fall is on the tactics of sleight-of-hand, divide & conquer, and keep them all afraid. Will it continue to work?

Can anyone tell me what Wilson said when Trent Lott waxed nostalgic for the lost opportunities of the segregationist Strom Thurmond’s presidency; gosh, if only ole Strom had won. Funny — I remember Wilson’s thoughts about Janet Jackson’s breast, but not what she had to say about Lott or Thurmond. Someone, please remind me.

Segregationists are by definition racists. Where did they all go when they fled the Democratic party in the Sixties? Did they just stop voting? What an odd coincidence that the Republican Party took over the South in the same period. Not that any Southerners or Republicans are racists anymore.

The sad truth is that bigotry, racism and hate are human qualities that most of us are capable of and too many of us express without shame or self-awareness. There are Republican racists and Democratic racists, black, white, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian racists. Even atheist racists. Denying that or pretending to be holier than someone else doesn’t change that fact. It just confirms the human frailties that unite us, even as our words divide us. mjh

PS: I take offense at Wilson’s arrogant invocation of her Honor Code. I also attended an institution with a simple and rigid honor code. Unless she is working at cleaning up the US House of Representatives, which sorely lacks an Honor Code — and I see NO evidence of that — she is clearly in violation of her Honor Code and mine. Expulsion is the only punishment.

[update 10/1/06]

ABQjournal: 300 Turn Out for Speech by Sharpton By Debra Dominguez-Lund, Journal Staff Writer

“Why denounce Democrats when you can ask your own Republican leaders— President Bush and Karl Rove— why they stood next to me at the Voters Rights Act signing at the White House this summer?” asked Sharpton, the 2004 Democratic presidential primary candidate. “I was invited to the White House and acknowledged by them, now I await sister Wilson to denounce them, too.”

Save Yourself, Blame Bush

Save Yourself, Blame Bush - washingtonpost.com By Joe Scarborough

I can’t help but feel sorry for my old Republican friends in Congress who are fighting for their political lives. After all, it must be tough explaining to voters at their local Baptist church’s Keep Congress Conservative Day that it was their party that took a $155 billion surplus and turned it into a record-setting $400 billion deficit.

How exactly does one convince the teeming masses that Republicans deserve to stay in power despite botching a war, doubling the national debt, keeping company with Jack Abramoff, fumbling the response to Hurricane Katrina, expanding the government at record rates, raising cronyism to an art form, playing poker with Duke Cunningham, isolating America and repeatedly electing Tom DeLay as their House majority leader?

How does a God-fearing Reagan Republican explain all that away?

Easy. Blame George W. Bush. …

Republicans on the Hill [have done] little more than rubber-stamp Bush’s domestic and international agenda because lawmakers were intimidated by his power and his popularity with the Republican base.

Even when the administration would not give generals the troops they needed to win the war in Iraq, Republican leaders did nothing. When the president refused to veto a single spending bill while the deficit spiraled upward, Republican leaders looked away. And when chaos was reigning in the streets of New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast in Katrina’s horrific aftermath, Republican leaders remained mute.

That silence — proof that it is better to be feared than loved in politics — has had devastating results. The United States is more divided than ever, our leaders are despised around the world, our fiscal situation is catastrophic and congressional approval ratings are the lowest ever. Since nothing sharpens the mind like a political hanging, Republican leaders in the Senate and House are finally considering doing what effete newspaper editorialists have suggested for years: throwing Bush overboard.

Of course, the mere suggestion makes some Republican loyalists shudder. Being a faithful follower of Brother Bush has long been synonymous with loving Jesus, supporting the troops and taking a stand against sodomy. But no more. Many of the conservatives who put Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich in power are counting the days until Bush goes to Crawford for good. Some mutter that their leader’s governing style looks more like Jimmy Carter’s every day — and among that crowd, there is no harsher insult.

Soldiers Are Dying Because of Gays god GOP

I’m sure you’ve heard of that Baptist church whose congregation is on a bizarre and inhumane mission to punish grieving families at funerals. In their tiny, twisted minds, god kills soldiers (even straight ones) because America tolerates gays. (The flip side is god will reward America for punishing gays.) These are horrible, horrible people and more proof there is no god or he’s not as decent as you’d like to believe.

I’ve been wondering how these Baptists vote. Do they strike you as communists/socialists/feminists/Liberals/Democrats? Yeah, me neither. mjh

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight By Karen DeYoung, Washington Post Staff Writer

The war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded.

A 30-page National Intelligence Estimate completed in April cites the “centrality” of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the insurgency that has followed, as the leading inspiration for new Islamic extremist networks and cells that are united by little more than an anti-Western agenda. It concludes that, rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position, according to officials familiar with the classified document. …

The latest terrorism assessment paints a portrait of a global war in which Iraq is less the central front of actual combat than a unifying battle cry for disparate extremist groups and even individuals. “It is just those kinetic actions that lead to the radicalization of others,” a senior counterterrorism official said earlier this summer. “Surgical strikes? Nothing is surgical about military operations. They tend to have impacts, affects.”

That description contrasts with Bush’s emphasis this month on offensive military action in Iraq and elsewhere as the United States’ principal road to victory in the global war.

“Many Americans . . . ask the same question five years after 9/11,” he said in a speech in Atlanta earlier this month. “The answer is yes. America is safer. We are safer because we have taken action to protect the homeland. We are safer because we are on the offensive against our enemies overseas. We’re safer because of the skill and sacrifice of the brave Americans who defend our people.”

But “a really big hole” in the U.S. strategy, a second counterterrorism official said, “is that we focus on the terrorists and very little on how they are created. If you looked at all the resources of the U.S. government, we spent 85, 90 percent on current terrorists, not on how people are radicalized.”

Saguaro-gate

Thank goodness the Albuquerque Journal is on top of Saguaro-gate. In a front page, above-the-fold article, the top news of the day is the criminal misuse of saguaros in a political ad that points out Heather Wilson’s close alignment with Duhbya. I note there was no argument about the facts in the ad, just the graphical error.

Will the Journal be exposing the shocking fact that major advertiser, American Homeland Furnishings, sold coyotes wearing bandannas, something never seen in the wild?

If you want the finest PR unlimited funds can buy, vote Republican. If you are tired of the same-old fear tactics, stay-the-course and admit no errors, vote Democratic. mjh

ABQjournal: Anti-Wilson Ad Poses Prickly ProblemBy Jeff Jones, Journal Politics Writer
Copyright © 2006 Albuquerque Journal

Democrats have unintentionally revived a prickly topic with a new TV pitch targeting Republican Rep. Heather Wilson.

Their high-dollar ad in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District features dozens of saguaro cactuses, which don’t grow in New Mexico and have long been a thorn in the side of New Mexico purists who know better.

[mjh: This is the most emailed article on abqjoural.com today. Sigh. We get what we deserve.]

Sleeping Gas

Remember a few months ago, when gas prices passed $3 per gallon? People were angry and weren’t going to stand for it. Somebody should do something, they muttered at the pumps. Congressional hearings were held. Our commander-in-chief-executive, the failed oil tycoon, talked about hydrogen cars again.

Leave aside that it was ridiculous to be upset at such relatively cheap gas. Ignore that we haven’t had shortages like we had 30 years ago, during the oil embargo that taught us nothing except that we’ll pay anything for a fix (what an ironic use of that word).

Now, gas prices are in free-fall less than 2 months before a crucial election. Simple market forces at work? Or could it be:

(1) Corporations know that Republicans serve them better than Democrats;

(2) Foreign oil producers know that Republicans serve them better than Democrats.

Wouldn’t want the rabble roused. Go back to sleep. mjh

Line Up

Bloggers have taken over The Line (KNME, Fridays, 7pm). Which should remind us all that talking and writing are not the same skills, though if anyone obscures the difference, it’s bloggers.

The ousted/retired creator of The Line, Steve Lawrence, disdained bloggers. New host, Gene Grant, is one.

Last Friday, every panelist but, um, uh, Professor Margret Montoya, was a local blogger. Scot Key, who teaches the 3 S’s in Albuquerque, joined Montoya’s side, opposed by Whitney Cheshire and Mario Burgos.

Burgos brags that Cheshire said, “Geez, you almost make me look like a Democrat.” That’s because she knew saying, “You make me seem almost reasonable,” wasn’t a big enough insult.

On the other hand, it’s harder to get furious with Mario Burgos looking at his cherubic face than reading his text.

At one point, Mario admitted sounding like a broken record in response to a question on public transportation downtown: if it were feasible, somebody would be providing public transportation already. Let the infinitely wise market decide for us! Consider the hilarious implication that everything that is profitable already has a supplier (bad news for future entrepreneurs and start-ups). Or does Mario mean we just need to be patient? Do nothing until someone sees a way to get rich doing it. Garbage would pile up in the street in the meantime.

Thank the creator that market-worship wasn’t the attitude of the Founders. Or does Mario believe corporations would have written the Constitution given enough time (after all, they’re re-writing it as fast as their pawns can — there’s a mutually profitable venture). But maybe Mario has a point: corporate devotion is politically profitable. Suggesting that all of us pay our fair share for the good of the community is much less profitable. mjh

cosmos

Book ‘em, Dan-o

This week, working on the book, I had alternating periods of productivity and backsliding as I cut out some of the text I had written. Early in the week, I struggled with a chapter on computer utilities. I want this book to be practical and I don’t regard many of Windows’ utilities practical for my needs. But I recognize that some of those utilities are very important among people supporting other users, especially on a network. I risk disappointing the more technical reader either by leaving out some tools or putting them in with a caveat to the more general reader, whom I risk insulting by suggesting this may be “more than you need.” But, hell, there are things here that I’ve never, ever needed.

On the other hand, I had great fun with the Photo Gallery chapter. This new application contains many cool features for working with photographs, as well as some maddening inconsistencies between it and other applications.

Next week, another dreadline, er, deadline. mjh

Major Problems At Polls Feared

Major Problems At Polls Feared By Dan Balz and Zachary A. Goldfarb, Washington Post Staff Writers

In the Nov. 7 election, more than 80 percent of voters will use electronic voting machines, and a third of all precincts this year are using the technology for the first time. The changes are part of a national wave, prompted by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and numerous revisions of state laws, that led to the replacement of outdated voting machines with computer-based electronic machines, along with centralized databases of registered voters and other steps to refine the administration of elections.

But in Maryland last Tuesday, a combination of human blunders and technological glitches caused long lines and delays in vote-counting. The problems, which followed ones earlier this year in Ohio, Illinois and several other states, have contributed to doubts among some experts about whether the new systems are reliable and whether election officials are adequately prepared to use them.

In a polarized political climate, in which elections are routinely marked by litigation and allegations of incompetent administration or outright tampering, some worry that voting problems could cast a Florida-style shadow over this fall’s midterm elections. [mjh: Especially if Republicans defy all odds and polls and make gains in control of the House and Senate.] …

What is clear is that a national effort to improve election procedures six years ago — after the presidential election ended with ambiguous ballots and allegations of miscounted votes and partisan favoritism in Florida — has failed to restore broad public confidence that the system is fair. …

Twenty-seven states require electronic voting machines to produce a paper trail available for auditing during a recount, but an analysis of Cuyahoga County’s paper trail by the nonpartisan Election Science Institute showed that a tenth of the receipts were uncountable.

Nonlethal weapons touted for use on U.S. citizens

Nonlethal weapons touted for use on U.S. citizens By LOLITA C. BALDOR, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON — Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns, said Secretary Michael Wynne.

“If we’re not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,” said Wynne. “(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press.”

In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal

In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal
Millions to Go to Digging Up Dirt on Democrats
By Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post Staff Writers

Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies, GOP officials said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads.

The hope is that a vigorous effort to “define” opponents, in the parlance of GOP operatives, can help Republicans shift the midterm debate away from Iraq and limit losses this fall. …

GOP officials said internal polling shows Republicans could limit losses to six to 10 House seats and two or three Senate seats if the strategy — combined with the party’s significant financial advantage and battled-tested turnout operation — proves successful. Democrats need to pick up 15 seats to win control of the House and six to regain power in the Senate.

Against some less experienced and little-known opponents, said Matt Keelen, a Republican lobbyist heavily involved in House campaigns, “It will take one or two punches to fold them up like a cheap suit.” [mjh: noble Republican rhetoric.]

Those in Power are Slanderous and Smug

Dana Milbank - A Reprise of the Grand Old Party Line By Dana Milbank

“I listen to my Democrat friends, and I wonder if they’re more interested in protecting terrorists than in protecting the American people,” House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said.

One of his listeners, offering Boehner the chance to rescind that charge, asked if he really meant to accuse Democrats of treason. “I said I wonder if they’re more interested in protecting the terrorists,” he replied, repeating more than clarifying. “They certainly don’t want to take the terrorists on in the field.”

The majority leader’s charge of treachery was no accident. Two months before Election Day, Republicans have revived the technique used with great success in 2002 and 2004: suggesting that the loyal opposition is, well, not so loyal.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) seemed to have the same talking points yesterday. In a fight for his political life, Santorum worked himself into a rage on the Senate floor, hollering: “If you listen to the Democratic leader, our lesson is: . . . Let’s put domestic politics ahead of the security of this country. That’s the message.” …

The aid-and-comfort line may not work as well this time, if only because polls show broad disenchantment with Bush and congressional leadership. And, unlike in 2002, Republicans have unified control of the government and find their security agenda being hamstrung by GOP holdouts as well as Democrats. But don’t discount the influence of Treason Season: A Zogby poll released yesterday showed Santorum closing the gap with Democratic challenger Bob Casey.

As is often the case, Vice President Cheney launched the current round of sedition suspicions. The idea “that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq,” he told NBC’s Tim Russert on Sunday, “validates the strategy of the terrorists.” …

Santorum said Democrats “can’t face the reality that we have a dangerous enemy out there, an enemy that wants to destroy everything we hold dear.”

Boehner, giving reporters an off-camera briefing in his office, was decidedly calmer. In shirtsleeves and sipping a Diet Coke, he told the group coolly: “I have no fears about losing our majority. None.“
- - -

MTP Transcript for Sept. 10 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC

Cheney: So you look at situation today in Afghanistan or even in Iraq, and you’ve got people who have doubts. They want to know whether or not if they stick their heads up, the United States, in fact, is going to be there to complete the mission. And those doubts are encouraged, obviously, when they see the kind of debate that we’ve had in the United States, suggestions, for example, that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists. …

MR. RUSSERT: But this stuff here is real important. This article says that in 2002, the U.S. pulled its Special Operation forces out of Afghanistan and, and really did lower down the volume in seeking—in going after Osama, which is at the exact time that President Bush said, “I don’t spend much time on him,” talking about bin Laden.

VICE PRES. CHENEY: He’s not the only source of the problem, obviously, Tim. If you killed him tomorrow, you’d still have a problem with al-Qaeda, with Zawahiri and the others. But bin Laden has been a top priority for us from the very beginning, he continues to be a top priority today. That hasn’t changed.