The Unknown Candidate: From The US Department of Shame

Friday, May 05, 2006

From The US Department of Shame

Senate Defies Bush on Spending
The Senate ignored President Bush's veto threat yesterday and easily passed a $109 billion emergency spending bill for war and hurricane recovery costs that also brimmed with favors for farmers, the fishing industry, and the states of Hawaii and Rhode Island.
Cleaning Up Congress
The so-called lobbying reform bill that just passed only adds fuel to the fight for real change on Capitol Hill.
Progressive Federalism Under Attack
All across the board, Republicans, now that they control all three branches of federal government, have jettisoned their former ideology of "state's rights." They've reverted to what some of us expected all along was their true philosophy—seizing power wherever they can and holding on to it for its own sake. Progressives, in retreat at the national level, have responded effectively by embracing local battles.
George And Mahmoud Play Chicken
Two crazy messianic leaders face off. Does anyone think this is really about some centrifuges?
$100 Rebate: Rise and Fall of G.O.P. Idea
The rise and fall of the Republican $100 rebate offers a window on how Washington sometimes works in a slapdash way, featuring in this case Congressional aides who misread the political climate and lawmakers desperate to hang onto their jobs. It is a story, as well, of how concepts and plans can be reduced to sound bytes that make them seem absurd.
U.N. grills U.S. on torture ban
The UN was grilling the United States on its compliance with the global ban on torture today for the first time since Washington declared war on terrorists, focusing on allegations of secret CIA prisons and flights transferring suspects to other countries for possible torture.
Bush Clears the Way for Corporate Domination
About the following interview with Antonia Juhasz, Joshua Holland writes, "Juhasz shows that the invasion of Iraq - an invasion that was as much economic as military - was the centerpiece of a larger project: the creation of a New American Century in which the end-goal of American foreign policy is to enrich the corporate elites, and dissent at home will not be tolerated."
How Not to Fight Terrorism
David Cole writes, "At a secret CIA 'black site' prison, the United States is holding the alleged mastermind of Sept. 11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. And at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, it has Mohamed al-Qahtani, who the government now claims is the real would-be 20th hijacker. But the administration can't try either of these men, because any such proceeding would turn into a trial of the United States' own tactics in the war on terrorism."
Constitutional Cafeteria
It seems that Bush has asserted the right to ignore, as the Boston Globe puts it, "vast swaths of the law" simply because he thinks that these laws are unconstitutional. Michael Kinsley writes, "Legitimate outrage comes when the president acts in flagrant violation of the Constitution, defending his actions unconvincingly, disingenuously or not at all."
It's Showdown Time in Pakistan
The Bush administration is asking for a Tora Bora-style aerial bombing of the Taliban foothold in the Pakistani north and south Waziristan tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. The Taliban are integrated into the local population, and there would be high civilian casualties. This is considered acceptable as civilians would be deemed Taliban sympathizers.