Seeing the Writing on the Wall, Lieberman Starts Talking Up "Respect" For Obama

The Washington Monthly Saturday reports that Joe Lieberman is starting to try to rewrite history as he begins to backtrack on his criticism of his party's nominee, Barack Obama. Steve Benen in his Political Animal column says:

LIEBERMAN HASN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO HIMSELF.... Joe Lieberman adopted the role of Republican attack dog early on, but as the election draws near, he's hoping the political world has a very short memory.

Lieberman, a self-proclaimed "independent Democrat" who was chosen by McCain to make the case against Obama at the Republican National Convention in early September, said his comments have been within bounds.

"When I go out, I say, 'I have a lot of respect for Sen. Obama. He's bright. He's eloquent.'"

My hunch is, Lieberman sees the direction of the political winds, and hopes to convince Democrats that while he's been a McCain sycophant, he's always been "respectful" towards Obama.

Lieberman, in other words, has to hope Democrats haven't been paying any attention at all. The party is supposed to forget, for example, when Lieberman argued that Obama doesn't put "country first."

And the time Lieberman said it was a "good question" to ask whether Obama is a "Marxist."

And the time Lieberman ironically accused the Obama campaign of "sleazy tactics."

And the time Lieberman, at the Republican National Convention, falsely accused Obama of trying to undermine the troops

"Respectful"? Nice try, Joe.

The article is here. The comments alone are worth the visit!

Sarah Palin and the AIP

We learn more and more about John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin every day. And we're learning more and more about our 50th state as well. We've learned just how under populated Alaska is. Anchorage is the largest city with a population of approximately 280,000 people. Fairbanks is second with only 31,000 people and Juneau, the capital, has just 30,000. The fourth largest city, Wasilla, the town where Sarah Palin started here political career, has just 9000 people. The entire state of Alaska, the largest state by far as measured by land mass, has a population of only 670,000. Alaska is almost two and a half times as large as the next nearest state, Texas, but it's total population is less than that of the 17th largest city in America, Fort Worth, Texas.

Despite the over $14,000 per person that Washington sends to Alaska every year (the largest per capita recipient of any state in the country), a surprising number of Alaskans aren't exactly happy to be a part of these United States. About 13,000 Alaskan's are registered with the Alaskan Independence Party - the third largest political party in Alaska. The AIP was founded in 1984 to explore whether the 1958 vote by Alaskans authorizing statehood was legal and to work to explorer alternatives to statehood including remaining a territory, becoming a commonwealth, and even complete secession.

Another surprising fact is that as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin supports the "good work" of the AIP (aka AKIP). (Her husband, the "First Dude" Todd, was actually a member of the party in 1995 and 2000.) She even addressed the AIP 2008 Convention, welcoming their members and lauding their efforts. Here's the video:



To get a better taste of just what the AIP is about, here's an audio clip of John Vogler (AIP founder pictured above) expressing his feeling about the United States. Is someone who supports such an organization really qualified to be Vice President of the United States?? What does this say about her judgment? What does her selection say about John McCain's judgment?

Now We Know Just How Much the McCain Campaign Stinks

We all know the StraightTalk Express has been running in the ditch for quite some time - bending the truth right and left, but now we know exactly just how bad it has gotten. Appearing today on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Rove declared that the McCain campaign had gone "one step too far... beyond the 100% truth test." Chris Wallace amazingly enough asks "do they need to be 100% passing the truth test." An amazing exchange to be sure:

The interview ends with Rove saying the McCain campaign needs "an adult" to help them determine how far they should go with their ads. I think we'd all agree that the McCain/Palin campaign needs a lot of adults to help them do a lot more than run their campaign.

Supreme Court Does Exxon's Bidding

Not a bad day when your team of lawyers saves your company $2 billion!

What is wrong with this picture:

June 25th, 2008: Justices Cut Damages Award in Exxon Valdez Spill:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Scotus-Exxon-Valdez.html?hp

February 2nd, 2008: Exxon Sets Profit Record: $40.6 Billion Last Year:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/business/02oil.html

This $500 million punitive damage award amounts to 1/80th of Exxon's profit for ONE year and they've had almost 20 years to come up with the money since this "accident" occurred in 1989! That isn't a punitive damage. It's simply an inconvenient cost of doing business - sloppy business. Even the original $5 billion damage award would have only cost Exxon 12% of this years profits and considering that the original oil spill caused oil prices to jump, Exxon really didn't lose anything in the long run. Good work if you can get it! Too bad about those thousands of local Alaskan residents who lost their entire livelihood - not to mention the wildlife and habitat that was destroyed and altered forever.

The right-wing rails against activist judges that legislate from the bench, but that only applies when they don't agree with what the court is doing. Today the court legislated new limits on punitive damages that the law does not declare. No foul though since they were doing it to the advantage of the richest corporation on the planet!

This is a prime example of what is at stake in the November election. Do we continue to tilt the court away from protecting the public and holding corporations accountable for their actions or do we halt this trend and start moving our justice system back to a more sane footing? I think the answer is clear and so is the choice in November!

Update on the Prosecution of Don Siegelman

Back in February, I posted about the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Siegelman was a respected and well liked Democratic Governor whose political career was ended by a politicized indictment, seemingly directed by the Alabama Republican machine with direction from the highest levels of the Bush Administration and Justice Department. A Republican, Bob Riley, narrowly defeated Siegelman in a highly suspicious and disputed gubernatorial race. Siegelmanwas subsequently conviction of bribery and has been serving a 7 year sentence in prison. 60 Minutes detailed the story in The Prosecution of Don Siegelman wherein Karl Rove and other Republican officials have been implicated for their involvement in this political prosecution.

Partly as a result of the 60 Minutes story and the resulting publicity, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 27th released Siegelman on bail pending his appeal. The House Judiciary Committee has also launched an investigation into the handling of this case (Probe Sought in Alabama Prosecution). The 60 Minutes update can be found here. More details can be found at the following links:

Ex-Ala. governor to be freed on bond

Freed Alabama Ex-Governor Sees Politics in His Case

Last week, Congressman John Conyers, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (aka the "Mustache of Justice" in the House) announced that he has called Karl Rove to testify before his committee regarding his involvement in the Siegelman case, the apparent political firing of federal prosecutors, and other similar issues. Rove has until Thursday to appear before the committee or face legal action. For more details, see the following:

Conyers closing in on Rove

If you think this issue goes to the very core of our judicial system and the rule of law in America, contact Congressman Conyers and you own representatives (go to Contact Congress) and let them know you want Congress to hold the Executive Branch accountable for their actions. In the United States of America, we should not be holding political prisoners!

COW Pays Chris Shays a Visit

Connecticut Opposes the War (COW) paid a visit to Congressman Christopher Shays last Saturday. A group of around 25 anti-war activists met at Ellsworth Park in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. Cable Channel 12 interviewed COW organizer John Murphy and he explained the terrible price the country and the state has paid for the past five years of this disastrous war. The eventual cost of the war has been estimated to top $3 trillion and in addition to the terrible cost in lives, priorities at home such as education, health care and housing are facing budget cuts.

The group marched approximately a fifth of a mile down Seabright Ave. to Beacon St. where Congressman Chris Shays has a home on the Bridgeport Sound. Four members of the group along with State Representative Jack Hennessy went to the door to present Shays with a letter expressing that his support of Bush's war and John McCain who said we will stay in Iraq 100 years if we have to is not acceptable. Chris Shays' wife came to the door and spoke to the group and indicated that Chris was not at home, that he was actually in the Middle East on his 20th visit there.

Afterwards, Rep. Hennessy spoke with Cable Channel 12 saying that "It seems like he's in the Middle East more than he's at home and I don't know what he's seeing over there because he is saying that the war is having a positive effect and that is absolutely untrue."

After meeting with Mrs. Shays, members of the group went door to door passing out leaflets explaining the cost of the war and encouraging the area residents to contact Shays and Senator Joe Lieberman to tell them to end the war now.







For more information about Connecticut Opposes the War, go to www.ctcow.org. Also, for information about our national priorities, visit www.nationalpriorities.org

The Political Prosecution of Gov. Don Siegelman II

More evidence is coming out point to a Republican conspiracy to indict and convict former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. This new evidence implicates Rob Riley, the son of the state's current Republican governor. The Huffington Post is reporting that new court documents and official testimony suggests a wide conspiracy to not only prosecute Siegelman, but to also profit from the case. Don Siegelman is currently serving a 7 year sentence as a result of this politically motivated conviction.

People would be shocked to think that in America, political prisoners are being sent to jail. Surely this can't be happening in the United States. Such is the state of justice under the current administration where all policies are political. Congress must begin an investigation of the case so that the public can see what has happened to our Justice Department and so we can begin to heal the damage to the rule of law that has been inflicted over the past 7 years. Call or email your congressman and ask them to push Congressman John Conyors to open a Judiciary Committee investigation into this matter.

It's Time for Impeachment Hearings to Begin.

President Bush this week vetoed a bill that could have finally ended the debate over waterboarding and torture by the United States. Instead of restoring our nation's standing in the world and setting us on a course to rejoin the league of nations that have signed the Geneva Conventions and that condemn torture of prisoners in any form, President Bush continues to support a policy that violates our values, diminishes our moral authority in the world, puts our own soldiers at risk and ultimately makes us less safe. It seems clear that this president sees himself as above the law and above answering to the American people who elected him (maybe).

Since becoming President and Vice President in 2001, George Bush and Dick Cheney have sought to increase the power of the Executive Branch. They have abused executive privilege and they have flaunted Congressional efforts to exercise their Constitutional power of oversight. They have violated domestic and international laws by ordering illegal wiretapping and by authorizing torture of prisoners held in US custody. They have done these things in an atmosphere of fear that was triggered by the events of 9/11. However fearful we Americans are about the security of our nation, we should not allow our leaders to overthrow the Constitution.

Leaders across the political spectrum have argued convincingly that Impeachment was created by the Founding Fathers as an ingenious and invaluable tool to prevent just the type of expanded Executive power we are witnessing today and that threatens the very foundation this nation was built on - most importantly that in America, no man is above the law.

For a balanced assessment of this topic, one can read the transcript or watch the video from Bill Moyer's Journal from this past July. Bruce Fein, a life-long conservative that worked in the Reagan Justice Department and wrote the first article of impeachment against Bill Clinton and John Nichols, a liberal correspondent with The Nation and author of the book The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism, both argue that impeachment of this administration is not only necessary, but it is America's duty in order to prevent this and future Administrations from exercising Executive powers not bestowed by the Constitution.

If you agree with this assessment, then you can take action by going to http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/. Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida is spearheading an effort to convince the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, John Conyers, to convene impeachment hearings pertaining to Vice President Cheney. Twenty members of Congress have already signed on to this effort. You can sign up to support this effort as well and let Congress know that you support the checks and balances that are spelled out in the Constitution. For more on this movement, go to http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/ or http://www.democrats.com/ and let your voice be heard.

Remember When America Had a President That Could Inspire A Country to Greatness

Having lived through the last seven years of the Bush administration, it is easy to forget that America once elected eloquent men who's command of the English language could inspire and uplift a nation struggling through bleak and trying times. Almost nightly, David Letterman with his Great Moments in Presidential Speeches segments reminds us that the current inhabitant of the White House is to say the least challenged in the inspiration department. His insistence in mispronouncing the important word nuclear, "nucular", is a continuing source of embarrassment for wordsmiths everywhere.

It is comforting to know that these last seven years are generally an aberration in American history. As a nation, we have been blessed with eloquent and inspiring leaders, from the Founding Fathers to Abraham Lincoln to John Kennedy and on occasion Bill Clinton. However, perhaps one of our greatest and most inspiring leaders was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Seventy-five years ago this week, FDR was first inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States. He came into office in the midst of the Great Depression and starting with his inaugural speech, he began to lift a nation from its despair. Unlike todays leaders who have skillfully used fear to manipulate a nation facing a crisis, Roosevelt rejected that very fear and offered the country hope that through common sacrifice, all boats could be lifted.

On Tuesday, the 75th anniversary of FDR's inauguration, The Brattleboro Reformer editorial paid tribute to this inspiring leader and we are reminded that when we elect people to office that truly believe that government can solve problems, great things can be accomplished. FDR's legacy is still with us today, despite the efforts of conservatives to reverse his many achievements. His words can still inspire us to work harder to carry on his legacy. We need it today more than ever!

The Political Prosecution of Gov. Don Siegelman

The firing of US Attorneys in 2006 brought to light the unprecedented politicization of the Justice Department under the Bush Administration and their chief strategist, Karl Rove. Why eight federal prosecutors, all appointed by George W. Bush, and with good performance evaluations were fired in the middle of a presidential term has caused a lot of people to wonder what it was that they were or were not doing that the White House didn't like. Perhaps a better question that should be asked is: What were the other 85 prosecutors doing that the White House approved of.

Sunday night, 60 Minutes provided a sad and disturbing glimpse into one possible answer to that question with regard to the federal prosecutors in Alabama. The Prosecution of Don Siegelman tells the story of how a respected and well liked Democratic Governor of Alabama had his political career ended by a politicized indictment, most likely directed from the highest levels of government, and following conviction is now serving a 7 year sentence in prison. This story should be viewed by everyone who cares about the rule of law and justice in America:

Siegelman's attorney has asked for an independent prosecutor to investigate the corruption in this case:

http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/022508/D8V1JV3O2.shtml

Some are calling on Congress to investigate this abuse of the justice system. If you are as outraged by this story as I was, call your congressman and ask them to push Congressman John Conyors to open a Judiciary Committee investigation into this matter.

An interesting side note, check out Karl Rove's reaction today when he was confronted by a Siegelman supporter:

Free Don Siegelman:

The Sad State of OSHA Enforcement

I just watched a disturbing Frontline episode from a couple of weeks ago: A Dangerous Business Revisited. It was a follow-up to a story from 2003 where Frontline, the New York Times and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation teamed up to investigate the sorry state of worker safety at a number of iron pipe foundries in North America all owned by McWane, Inc.

The show makes it clear that the Bush administration has slow-rolled enforcement of worker protection rules at OSHA. Only when the Frontline story brought the case to the attention of the Justice Dept. and environmental laws were used to go after McWane and its executives did any real improvements occur at the plant. Thanks to Frontline and prosecutors at the Justice Dept., McWane is finally being held accountable for their reckless behavior that has injured and killed workers for years. Clearly more needs to be done to improve working conditions for American workers, but this documentary gives some hope that things can change.

Bush Administration Hiding Inconvenient Truths from Public

This administration never ceases to amaze. Time and again when the news on their performance has not been good, instead of doing something to fix the problem, they have simply swept the evidence under the rug and made it harder for people to find out what they are up to. Yesterday, Think Progress and The Carpetbagger Report pulled back the covers on another attempt to pull the wool over our eyes. With the economy tanking, the Economics and Statistics Administration is shutting down EconomicIndicators.gov website as of March 1st. Really unbelievable. Check it out here:

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/economic-indicators/

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14575.html

Off we go!

Off we go into the wild blue yonder. Put your tray tables up and fasten your seatbelt. It may be a bumpy ride!