Prometheus 6

It's everyone that believed him.

Anyway…

Congress Cops Out on Gun Violence

When President Bush signs off on Congress's fecklessness and approves the $388 billion omnibus spending bill, he will be ratifying the way his fellow Republicans used their juggernaut budget process to undermine one of his most touted programs: special aid to state and local governments to prosecute black-market gun crimes. Mr. Bush had earmarked $45 million for local grants next year, but Congress saw fit to erase these funds in the frenzy of passing the take-it-or-leave-it bill. Congress also erased an additional $106 million the administration wanted for tracking illegal gun purchases by children.

Quote of note:

The 18th annual governor's conference, an event chaired by Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, drew an audience primarily of women to hear high-profile speakers including Oprah Winfrey and Queen Noor of Jordan talk about improving the lives of women at home and in the workplace.

The governor's opening speech was interrupted when about 15 nurses -- who had paid the $125 entrance fee to the one-day conference -- unfurled a banner inside the Long Beach Convention Center, held up signs and chanted "Safe Staffing Saves Lives.''

As the group was escorted out and continued to chant, Schwarzenegger tried to continue his talk about the contributions of California women.

"Pay no attention to those voices over there," he said. "They are the special interests. Special interests don't like me in Sacramento because I kick their butt."

At tribute for women, governor derides protesting nurses
He dismisses group opposing his policy as 'special interests'
- Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Inquiring minds want to know…

She's on the trail Clarence Thomas blazed.

Quote of note:

The newly named commissioners are Gerald A. Reynolds, former assistant secretary for the office of civil rights in the Education Department, and lawyer Ashley L. Taylor of Richmond. President Bush intends to designate Reynolds the commission chairman, succeeding Berry, and to name Abigail Thernstrom, already a commission member, as vice chairman.

Civil Rights Chairman Resists Ouster by Bush
Associated Press
Tuesday, December 7, 2004; Page A05

President Bush moved yesterday to replace Mary Frances Berry, the outspoken chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission who has argued with every president since Jimmy Carter appointed her to the panel a quarter-century ago.

Apparently there's beef between the DNC and DLC branches of the Democratic blogosphere. This is as close as I'm getting to all that noise.

Frankly, I wouldn't get that close had Liza of Culture Kitchen not spotted a comment from Hal at Hellblazer that sums up the whole problem with the discussion. And let me say this, because I do it at least quarterly: Hal rocks. Liza says "read the whole thing." I don't. You got all you need from Hal.

Watt to Lead Congressional Black Caucus
Tuesday December 7, 2004 5:01 AM
By JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Mel Watt, a North Carolina Democrat whose document condemning the war with Iraq became policy for the Congressional Black Caucus, was elected the group's leader Monday. He pledged to pursue more frequent meetings with the White House.

"My attitude would be to treat this new election as a possibility of a new beginning and to aggressively say to the president, 'We would like to reinstate our regular meetings with you if you would be willing to do that,'" Watt said.
[P6; Oh, yeah, that sounds aggressive…]

Despite that olive branch to the Republican White House, Watt gave little signal the all-Democratic group of black lawmakers would change its historically left-leaning policies.

My first reaction to this was, if we get back from the federal government the same proportion of services as the proportion of taxes we pay, it's a deal.

A little later…you know, sometimes it looks like what the so-called leaders of the Conservative movement really want isn't secession but discorporation.

Quote of note:

Supporters of the change insist the disproportionate effect on blue states is a coincidence, but they acknowledge that the proposal could hurt most in states that voted against Bush.

"Let me put it like this: It certainly isn't something that's a discouragement," said one prominent conservative. "Yes, we talked about this. The fact that it hits blue states is not something that's been missed among Republicans."

Proposal Would Hit Blue State Taxpayers

Quote of note:

Want to talk real power? If the faculty clubs are blue, corporate management offices are red. In the name of diversity, let's trade some liberal sociologists for conservative oil executives.

Those Poor College Conservatives
By Ellen Goodman
Saturday, December 4, 2004; Page A23

…The authors of the faculty survey put it this way: "The social sciences are pretty much a one-party system." They add, "A campus that had six males to one female would be universally recognized as very lopsided." So, they infer, is a campus that's 7-to-1 Democratic.

Well, let us not forget that campuses are still lacking in the old-fashioned kind of diversity. As for lopsided? Among full professors, 87 percent are white and 77 percent are male.

Opening Bell In Battle for Top D.C. Job
Mayoral Scramble Poised To Be City's Costliest Ever

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 6, 2004; Page A01

One morning last week, nearly 500 Washington business leaders, community activists and senior citizens gathered in a chandeliered ballroom at the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel for a lavish, $20,000 breakfast featuring eggs on brioche, honey yogurt and the first big speech of the 2006 race for D.C. mayor.

The size of the crowd and the size of the tab were impressive. And the affair quickly established the host -- D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5) -- as a credible contender in a campaign that is starting earlier, attracting a larger crowd of potential candidates and shaping up to be more expensive than any in city history.

I love the whole idea of NASA. Have loved it since the Gemini program. NASA is at least partly responsible for my reading habits (science fiction and science), the technology developed by NASA has literally changed the world for the better (and note, please, it was not and never would have been the product of a market-based effort).

But dammit, we should not still be getting surprises of this magnitude from this damned appropriations bill. It's frightening to think you can just write a paragraph funding a $16 billion dollar expenditure and

• It passes!
• Everyone is unaware it was in there
• Knowing it was added without consulting the rest of the world it will still be dealt with as valid

DeLay's Push Helps Deliver NASA Funds

And I said it again. And again. And again:

Novak. I want Novak. Where the HELL is Novak's subpoena?

Quote of note:

Al Hunt's tweak on “The Capital Gang” was the closest any of Novak's colleagues have ever come to asking him about the case on the air. Even Hunt's challenge was more of a reportorial reflex than anything else. He told me recently that he has “conspicuously avoided the topic” because Novak is “a close friend…it's uncomfortable.”

Bob in Paradise

I just happened to overhear the roundtable on This Week.

David Brooks has no idea what an average human's life is like. I say this because of his justifications for uncreating Social Security: that it's a "New Deal" program, and most people can afford to fund their own retirement.

How many of you can fund your own retirement? Myopia of the elites is a problem with everyone's elite.

And George Will said (in a way which leaves me unclear whether he shares the position or is merely reporting it) that the argument for this uncreation will be that it helps poor folks save, gives them a vested interest in the economy and is a good idea even if Social Security is not going broke.

I think we should reconsider the urgency with which this is being pursued.

First, let's look at the official figures on when, barring any change, Social Security is projected to become insolvent.

The maximum projected trust fund ratios for the OASI, DI, and combined funds appear in table II.D1. The year in which the maximum projected trust fund ratio is attained and the year in which the assets are projected to be exhausted are shown as well.

The project:

We need to break the code by building a Republican dictionary. Here's a small list I've put together to get us started. Please feel free to add your own contributions by clicking here. I'll be publishing more examples in the coming weeks.

The first follow-up was quite successful:

…Toward that end, I'm publishing a small sample of the new dictionary entires I've received below. We may even create a small book or extended pamphlet using the most creative examples submitted. Many thanks to those who took the time to write and apologies to those whose ideas we weren't able to include in this post. But watch this space. We're going to continue posting additional entries in the weeks ahead. And please click here to suggest your own contributions.

In the course of trying to shape the world such that all loose change rolls downhill into their pockets, Senate Republicans are considering trying to eliminate the filibuster. The Weekly Standard has an article just chock-a-block full of false memory syndrome:

Republicans say judicial gridlock was a big loser for Democratic Senate candidates this year. They point especially to the unseating of outgoing minority leader Tom Daschle.

"Tom Daschle's defeat was very instructive," says Texas Republican John Cornyn. "Until then, the Democrats had calculated that all of this was beneath the radar of most of the electorate, and that there wasn't any penalty to be paid. . . . But I think that one of the reasons Daschle was defeated was because of obstructing the president's judicial nominees." Cornyn believes this may chasten Daschle's colleagues.

Lift a Pint for Coalitions
By DAVID BROOKS

I spent much of last week talking with Republicans about Social Security reform, but I didn't expect to find myself salivating over the phone. I was in a hotel room in St. Paul when I connected with Senator Lindsey Graham. As he spoke, I could hear Irish music in the background. I could hear laughter and conviviality. It turned out that he was calling me from a pub in Dublin.

In a pub. Well, that explains his support for destroying the "security" part of "Social Security."

Graham added that he would love to embrace the sort of bill that his New Hampshire colleague John Sununu is proposing, which would create private accounts and wouldn't reduce benefits or raise taxes to pay the transition costs. But like most smart Republicans I spoke with this week, Graham realizes that you can't pass a major entitlement reform without significant Democratic support.

I can't say you're stepping on the newspaper's first amendment rights by refusing to talk to specific employees of the newspaper.

On the other hand, Ehrlich goes for the "liberal bias" bullshit because he knows how many people's brains shut off as soon as the hear (or say!) the term.

The quote of note:

In subsequent radio appearances, Mr. Ehrlich contended that Mr. Nitkin and Mr. Olesker had "no credibility" and had fabricated quotes. He said his ban was "meant to have a chilling effect" on their reporting.

Maryland Governor Is Sued Over Step Against Journalists
By JAMES DAO

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 - The Baltimore Sun filed suit against Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Maryland on Friday, asserting that he violated the paper's First Amendment rights by prohibiting state employees from talking to two Sun journalists.

The Cost of Congressional Caprice

The pork-stuffed omnibus spending bill that Congress rushed to passage without reading largely remains a $388 billion national secret. But laugh lines are gradually leaking out. For instance, why not spend $100,000 for the Punxsutawney Weather Museum in Pennsylvania, considering the annual drollery of Groundhog Day? And once the lawmakers put the taxpayers in for $25,000 to finance mariachi music in Nevada, hey, why not go for $350,000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland? As for that $50,000 for wild hog control in Missouri, it's in the same spirit as the $335,000 to protect sunflowers from blackbirds in North Dakota.

Now that you have the conclusion, read the analysis.

The Culture War in Alabama: A Theory

…So let me put it all together: The christian coalition and the republican party have been endoctrinating Alabama voters for months with this ridiculous clap-trap about judges and taxes, which actually has nothing to do with race. They know, though, when the rest of the country hears that Alabama wouldn't get rid of the racist language in its constitution, they'll assume, not unreasonably, that it's a purely race-related matter. They also know that there are many Southerners (and yes, Zell Miller is their poster boy) who resent being called racists by Yankees [sic].

So the christian coalition gets to make the blue states hate Alabama even more, because the blue states think Alabama is racist. Alabama will hate the blue states even more, because they're sick of the Yankees in New York telling them how to run their state. And who wins when there's a lot of anger and resentment in the air? The people that play politics with really emotional issues. The Christian Coalition, in a nutshell. They get to perpetuate the culture war, reinforce stereotypes, and make sure the possibly vulnerable Republican governor of Alabama has a easier time in '06 (is it '06? I might be wrong), maybe help keep the South solid in '08 for Guiliani or McCain, who might be having problems against Edwards.

Harley Sorenson's column in the San Francisco Chronicle wove in a couple of letters which deserve to be individually noted. Here's the second.

A second e-mailer, who said he was from Europe, had an unusual point of view: He is a liberal happy that Bush won reelection. Read on:

"As I am against the American empire, I am happy that George W. Bush won the election, whatever frauds there might have been.

"The U.S. seems to be going the same way the U.S.S.R. did. If, hopefully Bush will be followed by someone like Perle or Cheney, it will not take very long.

"It is only sad to see all the ones tortured and murdered in Iraq, Palestine and other places, but hopefully the U.S.

Harley Sorenson's column in the San Francisco Chronicle wove in a couple of letters which deserve to be individually noted. Here's the first.

"I read your column about Bush's four more years. I agree with all of it. I, too, lament the scuttling of the greatest successful experiment in human free spirit. But I think there is another side to it.

"Regardless of what Mr. Bush did in office or to get reelected, he did not vote himself in. And irrespective of the rigging that probably did happen in Ohio, Florida and elsewhere, roughly 59 million people voted for him. Alarmingly, many of these voted based on their faith.

"That is scary. They said in essence that while there was looting of taxpayer money to repay campaign contributors, an untruly reasoned war killing thousands abroad and allowing millions to starve at home, and robbing millions more of health care, it was consistent with their faith-based value system.