it's a wonderful economy! (not!)

cross-posted at skippy and a veritable cornucopia of other community blogs. for those who thought runs on banks were a thing out of 30's movies, think again. the current sub-prime mortgage crisis didn't do countrywide's banking subsidiary any good last week. reuters: withdrawal slips in hand, customers lined up at countrywide bank branches on friday to take back their money, as parent countrywide financial corp. tried to assure investors and depositors that it and its bank were stable. countrywide bank issued a statement friday that liquidity issues affecting its parent did not affect federally insured deposits at countrywide bank. countrywide bank said it has more than $107 billion of assets and 105 banking offices. thursday, countrywide, the largest u.s. mortgage lender, said it drew down an entire $11.5 billion bank credit line as a credit shortage limited access to short-term cash. by noon friday, more than 40 countrywide customers had been served or were waiting in line at the branch in a los angeles suburb, waiting upward of an hour and a half to withdraw money from their accounts. the countrywide folks wanted to make it clear that the bank was solid, even if the mortgage firm had to borrow a bit of cash: countrywide financial corp (cfc.n: quote, profile , research) provided further details on the $11.5 billion it drew down to improve its liquidity, a friday regulatory filing showed. the calabasas, california-based company said about $660 million was borrowed under an agreement that matures nov. 16, 2007, $2.64 billion under an agreement that matures on may 7, 2008, and $60 million under an agreement that matures may 8, 2008. it also said it borrowed $6.44 billion and $140 million under separate agreements that mature on may 10, 2011, and $1.54 billion under an agreement that matures nov. 17, 2011. let's hope they didn't borrow it from countrywide! of course, anyone will tell you that panic is what causes panic...that, and the fact that the gop ponzi scheme of the last two decades is starting to fall apart. asspress sez that the stop-gap bandaids the fed is trying will do no good: the federal reserve swept into the market this past week to offer a calming hand, but that's still no panacea for the fundamental problems wall street faces. big institutional investors from hedge funds to investment banks are still wrestling with credit problems spawned by distressed subprime mortgage loans. the housing market still looks gloomy. and the wave of takeovers that drove stocks to new highs this year has dropped off considerably. the fed's discount-rate cut and injection of billions of dollars into the banking system alleviate only some of the stress. wall street observers say there is still plenty of risk and that the aftershocks from the failure of billions of dollars in subprime loans have yet to be felt. "what the fed did was about consistent with putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound," said chris johnson, founder of cincinnati-based johnson research group. "you have a situation where the subprime concerns have spread, and there are still a lot of things going on in this market that are just wrong." investors are really hankering for a more important interest-rate cut — in the federal funds rate — when policymakers meet next month. that would lower borrowing costs on everything from school loans to mortgages and help stimulate the economy. but there's a catch even with a fed funds cut — it would take months for the benefits to be felt. investors must also take into account that it's the dead of august — not exactly a time of the year known for big market comebacks. who cares about august? we've still got october coming up!

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things, The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away. "Ozymandias", by Percy Bysshe Shelley "The fact is that Americans have been squandering the infrastructure legacy bequeathed to us by earlier generations. Like the spoiled offspring of well-off parents, we behave as though we have no idea what is required to sustain the quality of our daily lives. Our electricity comes to us via a decades-old system of power generators, transformers and transmission lines—a system that has utility executives holding their collective breath on every hot day in July and August. We once had a transportation system that was the envy of the world. Now we are better known for our congested highways, second-rate ports, third-rate passenger trains and a primitive air traffic control system. Many of the great public works projects of the 20th century—dams and canal locks, bridges and tunnels, aquifers and aqueducts, and even the Eisenhower interstate highway system—are at or beyond their designed life span. "The blind eye that taxpayers and our elected officials have been turning to the imperative of maintaining and upgrading the critical foundations that underpin our lives is irrational and reckless. "America’s gross domestic product in 2006 was $13.2 trillion—we can afford to have world-class infrastructure. As a stepping-off point, we should insist that our elected representatives publicly acknowledge the risk of neglecting the bridges, roads and other essential hardware that goes into making a modern civilization. Then we should hold them accountable for setting priorities and for marshaling the requisite resources to repair our increasingly brittle society." --An editorial from Popular Mechanics magazine

Adding Insult To Injury

Houston Chronicle: Short of Purple Hearts, Navy tells vet to buy own PEARLAND — Korean War veteran Nyles Reed, 75, opened an envelope last week to learn a Purple Heart had been approved for injuries he sustained as a Marine on June 22, 1952. But there was no medal. Just a certificate and a form stating that the medal was "out of stock." "I can imagine, of course, with what's going on in Irhe Korean War, U.S.Militaryaq and Afghanistan, there's a big shortage," Reed said. "At least, I would imagine so." The form letter from the Navy Personnel Command told Reed he could wait 90 days and resubmit an application, or buy his own medal. After waiting 55 years, however, Reed decided to pay $42 for his own Purple Heart and accompanying ribbon — plus state sales taxes — at a military surplus store. If this bullshit doesn't piss you off, you're a ghoul. What the fuck is next, huh? Are soldiers gonna have to buy their own ammo and Humvees?

Down There

3 Rescue Workers Killed at Utah Mine HUNTINGTON, Utah (AP) -- The search for six miners missing deep underground was abruptly halted after a second cave-in killed three rescue workers and injured at least six others who were trying to tunnel through rubble to reach them. It was a devastating turn for the families of the six men trapped in the Aug. 6 collapse at the Crandall Canyon mine and for the relatives of those trying to rescue them. It's not known if the six are alive. All rescue workers were evacuated from the mine Thursday evening and work underground was stopped. Asked if the search would be suspended, "that's something to be determined," said Rich Kulczewski, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesman. The cave-in at 6:39 p.m. was caused by a mountain bump in which pressure can force chunks of coal from walls of the mine with great force. Seismologists say such a bump caused the Aug. 6 cave-in that trapped the six men more than 3 miles inside the central Utah mine. That led to the frenetic effort by rescuers to dig through the mine toward the men and drill narrow holes atop the mountain in an attempt to learn their whereabouts and perhaps drop down food and water. It was not immediately clear where the rescuers were working or what they were doing when Thursday's bump occurred. Underground, rescuers had advanced only 826 feet in nine days. Before Thursday's cave-in, workers still had about 1,200 feet to go to reach the area where they believe the trapped men had been working. Mining officials said conditions in the mine were treacherous, and they were frequently forced to halt digging because of seismic activity. New York Times: It is beyond belief that in this Information Age, when new technologies can eavesdrop on any conversation and track people around the globe, rescue teams have no way to communicate with the six miners trapped underground in the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. Instead they are drilling holes in the ground to where they guess the miners might be. It needn’t be so. For too long, the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress allowed mine operators to put off making needed investments to ensure their workers’ safety. And last year when a string of coal-mining disasters — that killed 48 miners — forced Congress to enact new safety legislation, it still gave companies far too much time to install communications systems that might have helped find the Utah miners. There is technology available today that combines cable and wireless systems to link miners far below the surface and teams above. This technology does not guarantee perfect communications in the case of a cave-in or other accident, but it is certainly much better than nothing. Rather than requiring that such systems be installed immediately, the mining legislation passed last year gave mine operators — many of whom resisted all new safety standards — until 2009 to develop and install more sophisticated two-way wireless communications systems that could resist cave-ins and penetrate through the layers of rock and coal. The bleak outlook for the six miners in Utah, who have been trapped underground for more than a week, underscores how urgent it is to have some way, even if imperfect, to track and communicate with miners in case of another disaster. There have always been invisible people doing the dirty work that nobody else wants to do. They're the people who clean the filthy toilets, remove the road kill from our highways, and mop up the vomit and blood left behind. Throughout the years the invisible people picked cotton, built the railroads, fought in wars, and worked in the toxic waste dump called Ground Zero. Most of the time we forget that everything in this country that we enjoy has been brought to us at a terrible cost. Some of the invisible people that we ignore are miners. They help keep us warm. However, it's uncomfortable to think about it too much, so we pretend it's magic and make it go away. Sometimes it works. We only see them when they're dead.

I no longer fear the Kucinich Revolution: Part 2

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge Read Part 1 HERE. Going back and watching Kucinich in earlier debates via YouTube, one thing I noticed was how he usually said thank-you for the question and was always very polite but firm and stern in his beliefs. Since I published Part 1, I heard in response two distinct voices, "Thank God people are starting to get Kucinich!" and the other was "He can't win." Well, neither can Hillary but that doesn't stop people from supporting her and dumping stink-loads of cash in her bank account. She is the only Democratic candidate that will motivate conservatives to come to the polls and vote AGAINST her. Obama and Edwards don't fuel that level of hatred. And in America, that is saying a LOT about Obama. At least America is maturing on ONE issue. There was one other minority position, but it was the most disturbing. Paraphrasing here, "We tried voting our beliefs with McGovern and you saw where that got us!" Friends, the Republicans ALWAYS vote on their beliefs and they are more successful than the Democrats. Why must progressives lower their standards? The Republicans don't. Since I have been voting, conservatives got two terms for Reagan, one for Bush Senior and TWO for Bush Junior - the later being the WORST PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. The fact isn't the Dems fail because they vote their beliefs, the Dems fail because that can't articulate what they believe in. Jesse Helms was bat-shit crazy but he constantly won and he had NO problem articulating his beliefs. Well, this is true to a point. Dennis Kucinich always speaks his mind, directly to the point with nary a waver. You know where he stands. My question is, do you know where YOU stand? SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

See You In September, With A Report We Wrote In July

In a story in the LA Times yesterday "Top general may propose pullbacks" Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel report that Petraeus may announce pullbacks from some areas in Iraq, including al Anbar province and a turnover of those ares to Iraqi forces. I'm somewhat mystified by this process as it appears that, at the White House, they seem to know already, in other words, today, what they are going to report in September, in other words, a month from today. In fact it seems that they began writing their "field report" weeks ago... in the White House. I'm not sure why exactly, but this somehow reminds me of reports I hear from teachers with experience in the "no child left behind" follies, who have described to me the specter of spending weeks and weeks of classroom time devoted to "teaching to the test" in order to maintain mandated academic ratings and the flow of federal funds. Taking the test is mostly a charade, passing the test, a foregone conclusion, an exercise in making things look good on paper. In other words, as Junior might say every few seconds, in the case of Iraq they are writing a "report" which will contain recommendations that will allow us to draw conclusions, that were decided on in the White House more than a month ago. They will do, in this instance, what they have done so unsuccessfully for the last 7 years, they will start from a set of erroneous facts, ask for recommendations or intelligence from the field, cherry pick the recommendations and intelligence to find those nuggets that fit their assumptions, ignore the rest, have the advertising guys in the White House cook up a great big pot of bullshit stew, order the military and diplomats to sign off on it, and have Petraeus and Crocker carry the wholly fraudulent, putrid mess up to capitol hill and serve it to congress, where as we well know "they'll eat anything." The LA Times says: Despite Bush?s repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government. And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report?s data. I'm clear out here in Dayton, Ohio and I can tell you this, long before the General and the Ambassador board the plane in Baghdad next month, long before the admen in the West Wing have finished tweaking and spinning the "report from the field" I could write it myself. In fact, for less than the price of two first class, round trip tickets from Baghdad to Washington, I'll personally write all the General's "field reports and recommendations" to Congress for the next calendar year, and I'll throw this one in as well. The situation in Iraq is steadily improving, but we still face challenges and a lot of hard work, in other words the enemy is still out there trying to hurt us, in other words the evil ones still want to kill Americans. Therefore we will continue the current troop levels through the end of the year, in other words sometime in February and the General will report back at that time. In other words then. Until then we will continue the hard work of writing the General's next report. I don't know how much it's going to cost the taxpayers to ship Petraeus and Crocker, their respective staffs, roadies, valets, hairdressers whatever, from Baghdad to the Hill and back to the Green Zone, but I can deliver the kind of reports that the President needs quickly, efficiently and at greatly reduced cost to the taxpayer from my world headquarters right here in Dayton, Ohio. All they have to do is send me the conclusions... data, by telegraph is okay. Bob Higgins Worldwide Sawdust Related Stories and Sources: Top general may propose pullbacks Petraeus: Troop Reduction Plan Seen

Bill Richardson: not a man of science.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeHe blames his faux pas on jet lag, but I don’t believe a word of it. During the Democratic debate on the Gay-centric network, Logo, Bill Richardson was asked if he believed homosexuality was something you are born with or is it a lifestyle choice. He said it was a choice… twice. I am getting very, very tired of people running for office who lack BASIC scientific skills and curiosity. Homosexuality is not something that a few humans opt to engage in, but it is something that occurs with all mammals and most of the animal kingdom. It has been reported in Time, Newsweek and on all major news outlets - how Richardson could have missed this is anyone’s guess. The whole incident brings up the issue of what else Richardson doesn’t know? Does he really know how to get out of Iraq? Does he really know what the Centers For Disease Control is supposed to do? How about Los Alamos? Will he be able to fix NASA? That will take some brains - educated brains. The next debate for Richardson should be on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.” From the looks of it, that is where we need to start with him.

Action alert: Postal rate hike would harm smaller publishers

Hat tip to it's simple if you ignore the complexity at My Left Wing, I want to draw your attention to an important action alert from Free Press. Postal regulators have accepted a proposal from media giant Time Warner that would stifle small and independent publishers in America. The plan unfairly burdens smaller publishers with higher postage rates while locking in special privileges for bigger media companies. In establishing the U.S. postal system, the nation's founders wanted to ensure that a diversity of viewpoints were available to "the whole mass of the people." Time Warner's rate increase reverses this egalitarian ideal and threatens the marketplace of ideas on which our democracy depends. It's time stand up for independent media. Demand that Congress step in to stop the unfair rate hikes. Click here for more.

The question Bush can't answer.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThat is the big question isn't it? I know Cheney is the real President and Bush is the puppet, but how will things go without Rove? Will Rove simply phone it in? I don't think that level of governmental and media manipulation can occur if you are in the middle of Texas armed with nothing but a Blackberry. My theory is, the push into Iran will continue along with everything else on Cheney's to-do list, but Rove won't be around to hold together what is left of the GOP. That was something Rove was good at, keeping the Republicans in Congress on track even though BushCo was ripping the nation apart. Without Rove's hands-on cheerleading / arm twisting / bald-faced lies, I doubt the Congressional GOP will stay on track with President Bush as much as they have been. What will keep them on board? Cheney's warm, loving presence? If anything, Rove's departure may destabilize the GOP. At some point, they know they will need to start covering their ass and without Rove's people management skills, there may be a sea change coming for this White House. SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

It's Not Just The Humidity

Guess who this is...

Just for fun... Demetrius has been modeling some new animals in 3D so that we can have a wider range of species in our section of animal designs. This week he's been working on members of the bear family--polar bear, panda bear and brown bear. And it struck me that he just had to do this... Can you guess what this little guy's name is?

Freep this poll! (Soldiers & Body Armor)

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge You go to war with the body armor you have or don't have - as the case may be. Usually, it is a definite LACK of body armor that is the problem. It is a sad state of affairs when families and support groups need to be the ones buying and supplying body armor to the troops in need instead of the Pentagon. Thousands of soldiers dead and ten's of thousands wounded - many of which die to a lack of sufficient armor. If you are a frequent reader, you know I founded BooksForSoldiers.com four years ago. Most of what we ship are books, DVDs, CDs, snacks, video games and magazines. Frequently we get requests for other items like tube socks, boots and even once got a request for IV pump batteries. It really strikes our heart when we get a request for body armor. Military approved body armor goes for about $1000 whereas our standard care package is about $25. This is one of the many reasons we need the money from the VAJoe.com contest. This coming holiday season is going to be brutal with all the new surging troops on top of the extended deployments. If you have the time, I beg you to take 30 seconds out of your day and help us out. Click HERE and vote for Books For Soldiers. To those of you who have voted, thanks. SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. The contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The top prize is $1000. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

Raina Rose

Raina Rose is a seriously talented singer/songwriter/guitarist from Oregon who doesn't take herself too seriously. Some musicians create black holes that suck all the light, warmth, and laughter from the room because they're trying so hard to educate the audience that there's terrible injustice in the world and we're doing nothing about it. Usually, after listening to these bleak poets, what I want to say to them is, "You're right! Why am I sitting here?", turn off the CD and run away. I want to hit them in the face with a gooey cream pie. No, I'm not saying art shouldn't be informative, but there has to be a necessary balance so people don't feel like killing themselves. There has to be space for hope somewhere in there. And Raina Rose, her tongue not-so-firmly in cheek, is a mischievous tease who enlightens you without insulting your intelligence. Her music is joyful, buoyant, exhilarating, and radically silly. It's smart, grin-inducing artistry that's thankfully grounded in the real world. As George Clinton said, "Move their asses, and their minds will follow." Enjoy.

Did The Rooster Call Up the Sun or Did Rove Get the Last Laugh?

Did The Rooster Call Up the Sun or Did Rove Get the Last Laugh? The only certainty my grasshoppers is that the cherry blossoms of spring will become the turd blossoms of summer Karl Rove also known as "Turd Blossom" in that colorful native patois spoken by the Texas Chicken hawks announced today that he is leaving the rapidly sinking Scow of State that is the Bush administration effective the end of August. His reason for leaving, taken verbatim from the official Washington departing rats exit speech is of course, to spend more time with his family. When asked by one of the fully interchangeable talking heads of the White House press horde if he was being forced out, TB replied, "that sounds like the rooster calling up the sun" which I believe is another expression in that curious Pecos dialect that these birds use among themselves. Only Molly Ivins could decipher and translate the curious Texas Pig Latin these guys speak in private. I miss Molly. In the weeks ahead there will be endless testimonials to Rove as the master architect of two successive (if not successful) terms in the White House and hundreds of references to his intellect and political genius. Genius, when used to describe any aspect of the Bush administration, in any context, I feel, seriously dilutes the term. Whether he is departing to spend more time barbecuing, dove hunting and billing and cooing with his Texas Rose while writing his memoirs or scurrying out of town under a cloud of suspicion, subpoenas and potential indictments is open to argument. Perhaps, with all the other foul public relations odors wafting around the White House these days they may have decided to set this particular sack of scent outside the door and some distance downwind before the congressional recess is over. Either way, August is adieu for Turd Blossom, the administration, today, is publicly mourning his loss while beatifying his holy name and as I listen with half an ear the media "analysis" of his departure drones steadily on in the background, as it probably will for days unless Paris Hilton goes on another toot. My personal favorite memory of Turd Blossom comes from reports of the White House Correspondents Dinner last April when he recoiled from Sheryl Crow. When she and Laurie David tried to ask him if he might consider taking a fresh look at global warming science in light of the reception of "An Inconvenient Truth," Rove fled, he fled from Sheryl Crow, I will remember him that way scurrying across the room like Little Miss Muffet, in terror of Sheryl Crow. Before he leaves town there will of course be a round of going away parties in his honor, and he'll probably be invited to about half of them but I don't think he will be absent from Washington long, he leaves behind his shield of executive privilege and I seem to remember that there are a few folks in the House and Senate who really want to talk with him. In his goodbye photo op on the White House lawn this morning it struck me that Turd Blossom, the boy from the west, born in Denver and raised in Sparks, Nevada, has almost none of the drawl one might expect while the guy next to him, scion of eastern aristocrats, born in Connecticut, product of Skull and Bones, has cultivated a Texas two step drawl so dense you could whet your pocket knife on it. Bush called Rove his friend, in fact, he said, "you could call him my dear friend." Rove is if anything, the ultimate Bush loyalist, first as an assistant to GHW Bush after having being investigated as a minor player in the Watergate affair. When he was dispatched by Poppy to deliver car keys to Junior in November of 1973, Turd Blossom reportedly fell in love with the Shrub at first sight (politically speaking). "Huge amounts of charisma, swagger, cowboy boots, flight jacket, wonderful smile, just charisma - you know, wow" he recalled years later. He's had his chubby little fingers in everything in the administration for the last seven years without getting seriously burned and may have been the only person that Dick Cheney was wary of. There are many, myself included who would love to see him in handcuffs and that may yet happen but I'm not betting on it. He'll be around, there will be subpoenas to fight and a book to write, which I think that he should title "Reality is What You Say It Is" the ultimate Rovism, and I wish I could say: Thank God and Greyhound he's gone but I'm afraid that it's not true, we're stuck with his legacy, pictured below: Bob Higgins Worldwide Sawdust Related Stories and sources: Who is Karl Rove Karl Rove Karl Rove, Adviser to President Bush, to Resign Rove to Resign

Meanwhile, Somewhere In A Parallel Universe...

With Rove gone, how far will Cheney go?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeA great many of us have looked forward to the day when Rove left the White House for good, but have we really thought about a post-Rovian BushCo White House? I haven't. I have sometimes thought Cheney chaffed a bit at Rove's apparent closeness to Bush Junior - there were some places where the VP couldn't tread due to Rove's position. Cause God knows, anything that would disrupt Cheney's Fourth Branch Of Government is a bad thing. We have all seen how far Cheney is willing to push his power WITH Rove firmly planted in the Oval Office, but will Cheney now see ANY limits? How much of a impediment was Rove to Cheney? Don't get me wrong, I am glad Rove is gone, but I don't think the Democrats have a strategy in place to handle "All Cheney, All The Time." SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

They're Talking Draft, That Ought To End The War, Right

Draftees At Drill Preparing For The War To End All Wars 1917 Lieutenant General Doug Lute, the "War Czar" known around the White House as the "General of least reluctance" is talking "Draft." Expressing his concern at the stress and strain of repeated lengthy deployments on the troops as well as their families the General said: As an Army officer, this is a matter of real concern to me. Ultimately, the American army, and any other all-volunteer force, rests with the support and the morale and the willingness to serve demonstrated by our ? especially our young men and women in uniform. And I am concerned that those men and women and the families they represent are under stress as a result of repeated deployments. General Lute, who accepted the position of War Czar after the rest of the General Staff either fled in stark terror at the prospect of accepting such a potentially career ending position or simply hid out in the Senior Officer's head in the Pentagon until the position was safely filled, did not actually use the "D" word, but, in response to questions from National Public Radio's Michele Norris on Friday in an interview for "All Things Considered" he definitely left the door wide open in this exchange: Norris- You know, given the stress on the military and the concern about these extended deployments for an all-volunteer military, can you foresee, in the future, a return to the draft? Gen Lute- You know, that's a national policy decision point that we have not yet reached, Michele, because the ? Norris- But does it make sense militarily? Gen. Lute- I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table, but ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another. Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well. It would be a major policy shift, not actually a military, but a political policy shift to move to some other course. Norris- Do you agree with that assessment that there is a real pressure point in the spring ? that that's when the Pentagon will face some tough decisions about either extended deployments or reducing the time spent at home? Gen. Lute- Yes, I do agree that come the spring, some variables will have to change ? either the degree to which the American ground forces, the Marines and the Army in particular, are deployed around the world to include Iraq, or the length of time they're deployed in one tour, or the length of time they enjoy at home. Those are, essentially, the three variables. Personally, I read that to mean that there have already been discussions on this at the "policy" level ( else the General would not have let it pass his highly skilled Czarist lips ) and it will likely become Bush's next "Plan B" in the spring. The Republicans will tag along as will the acquiescent Democrats after a few obligatory public tugs at their Master's sock, because none of these people want out of Iraq as long as they are being paid so handsomely by those who will ultimately profit from American hegemony in the oil rich region. I would like to think that drafting a hundred thousand college age children of the wealthy to serve in the Mesopotamian morass would hasten the end of the war but it probably will not. The younger generation of chickenhawks will receive the same deferments as their fathers and the children of the working class will slog off to die in a civil war that will continue into the next decade, probably embroiling Iran in the hideous stew because we want control of their oil as well. We're not building the Disney World of embassies in Baghdad to fix traffic tickets, run consular affairs or replace lost passports for the occasional hapless tourist and we're not building extensive permanent military bases all over Iraq to turn over to the tenuous control of Iraqi security forces who will likely surrender to the first Jihadist who points a weapon in their general direction. I am being unfair to the War Czar though because he doesn't like that title, preferring instead the title of Deputy National Security Adviser (Asst to Stephen Hadley) or Assistant to the President (Junior): Norris- I'm just curious, What do you think of the term war czar? Gen Lute- It's actually an unfortunate term because it doesn't describe my job at all. Norris- But it's often how people describe you. Gen Lute- That may be, but it wouldn't be my choice of how I describe the job. What I'm trying to do here is actually facilitate the very hard work that's taking place on the ground and link it to the very hard work that's being done here in Washington across the departments of the executive branch with the priorities of what's required on the ground reflected in the efforts here in Washington. I'm in charge of about 15 people. Now that's not exactly very czar-like, but what I am able to do is make sure that efforts are aligned properly. Editor's note: HUH? Is that a job? Norris- Well, you know what they say in Washington sometimes ? that power is concentrated. Gen Lute- [Chuckles.] Well, I have 15 very qualified people, and we're working very hard to do our best to contribute to this effort. All of this I take to mean that the draft is coming, and Canada had best be prepared for another influx of young American expats, possibly beginning next spring. I also learned that it only takes two months for a highly trained General Officer to pick up the irritating habit of using the words "hard work" in nearly every paragraph if you place him in the company of those who spent their Vietnam years as Yale cheerleaders, members of the Cornell Glee Club, or simply having "other priorities." Bob Higgins Worldwide Sawdust 'War Czar' Concerned over Stress of War on Troops Bush War Adviser Says Draft Worth a Look Selective Service plans "readiness" tests for military draft Bush War Czar Considering Military Draft

Replacing the Empire Culture: A Podcast Interview With Author David Korten

The topic below was originally posted in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal as well as Worldwide Sawdust and The Peace Tree. “There is a culture war in America, but it is not between liberals and conservatives, who in fact share a great many core values – including a commitment to children, family, community, personal responsibility and democracy. It is between the lower and higher orders of our human nature. It is between an imperial politics of individual greed and power and a democratic politics based on principle and the common good. It is between Power Seekers at the extreme political fringes who remain imprisoned in an Imperial Consciousness and the realists of the political mainstream who truly want to solve the problems that beset us all.” David Korten wrote those provocative words in his book, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community published last year by Berrett-Kohler. Korten worked for more than thirty-five years in preeminent business, academic, and international development institutions. He eventually turned away from the establishment and instead worked with public interest citizen action groups. He is the co-founder and board chair of the Positive Futures Network and Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures, an associate of the International Forum on Globalization and a member of the Club of Rome. He serves on the boards of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economics and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. In his early career, Korten set up business schools in low-income countries starting with Ethiopia, hoping to help establish a new class of professional business entrepreneurs would be the key to ending global poverty. He also completed his military service stateside during the Vietnam War as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, with duty at the Special Air Warfare School, Air Force headquarters command, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Following his service in the military, Korten was a faculty member of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business where he taught in Harvard’s middle management, M.B.A. and doctoral programs. Korten also served as Harvard’s adviser to the Central American Management Institute in Nicaragua and later joined the staff of the Harvard Institute for International Development, where he headed a Ford Foundation funded project to strengthen the organization and management of national family planning programs. When Korten left academia in 1970 he moved to Southeast Asia where he lived for almost fifteen years, serving as a Ford Foundation project specialist and later as Asia regional advisor on development management in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His work there earned Korten international recognition for helping to engineer the development of intervention strategies for transforming public bureaucracies into responsive support systems dedicated to strengthening community control and management of land, water and forestry resources. Korten ultimately broke with the international aid system when he became convinced they were actually increasing poverty and environmental destruction and impervious to change. During the last five years of Korten’s work in Asia he coordinated with leaders of Asian nongovernmental organizations on identifying the root causes of development failure in the region and building the capacity of civil society organizations to better facilitate positive global level change. Korten’s life experience abroad convinced him that the United States was actively promoting both at home and abroad – the very policies responsible for, inequality, environmental devastation and social disintegration. At that point a friend advised Korten he would best serve the cause of ending global poverty by returning to the United States and educating his fellow Americans about the destructive role of corporate imperialism. Hence, Korten returned to the United States in 1992 to share with his fellow Americans the lessons he had learned abroad. Ironically, Korten’s original motivation for international travel as a college senior in 1959 was to persuade the world’s poor to reject revolution in favor of America’s political and economic system. Instead, as he writes, Korten found himself learning far more from the people he hoped to teach: “The subsequent experience of working for some thirty years as a member of the international development establishment profoundly changed my worldview. I had gone abroad to teach. Far more consequential than what I taught was what I learned – about myself, my country, and the human tragedy of unrealized possibility. Ultimately, I realized I must return to the land of my birth to share with my people the lessons of my encounter with the world.” In 1995 Korten published an international bestseller, When Corporations Rule the World and followed that up with The Post Corporate World: Life After Capitalism several years later. Korten agreed to a podcast interview with me about his current book, life experience and worldview. Please refer to the media player below. The interview is approximately fifty-six minutes. This interview can also be accessed at no cost via the Itunes store by searching for Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Washington Post Op-ed by Markos and Susan G

I just found out via Firedoglake that Markos and Susan G penned an op-ed for the Washington Post. They do make some good points. But, if anyone feels so inclined, this would appear to be a good opportunity to write to the WaPo addressing the extent to which Markos speaks for the "left" or the "netroots". The Washington Post 1150 15 St. NW Washington, DC 20071 and by e-mail at: letters@washpost.com