Wife Beating OK; Dog Fighting Not So OK

Here's an interesting piece by Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle. It makes a good point that could be made stronger if it recognized the wife beating that pervades professional sports. It's not unusual to read of a professional athlete who was convicted of beating his wife but I can only recall one instance of a league taking notice - a $600 fine and two game suspension for Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings. Oh but he got a 72 game suspension for fighting fans in the stands. Guess you have to hit your wife during the game to get the league's attention. And how would that work?

U.S. Presidential Candidates' Healthcare Plans in Detail

Today's Huffington Post published a comprehensive, detailed comparative look at the healthcare proposals of all Presidential candidates; Democrat and Republican. It is compiled and written by healthcare professionals whose intent is that we be fully informed regarding whom we're voting for.

If you read it in full (click on title above) you cannot fail to see the stark differences between the parties, and the substantive disparities between the second tier and first tier Democratic candidates. Further, you will gain insight into the priorities of the candidates and their approach to problem solving, willingness to make real change, and realistic proposals for success.

I doubt that anyone would honestly be able to deny that John Edwards offers the deepest, most detailed proposal with Hillary Clinton a close second and Barrak Obama hot on their heels.

Our healthcare problem is perhaps the most intractable domestic issue we face and, I for one, want to be dead certain that my choice for President gets it. That s/he understands the issues involved and is willing to go outside the box to design a system that will rival those of other industrialized nations. It simply isn't acceptable that we continue spending 18% of our GDP on healthcare and still have 47 million people without healthcare coverage, and are way down the list on infant mortality, and life expectancy.

Susan Blumenthal, M.D. says, "While many Americans feel uninformed about the views of their elected officials on scientific, medical, and health research, most seem to understand the importance of providing necessary funds for medical studies. A poll conducted by Research!America in February 2007 found that the vast majority of people in the United States believe that science is very important to our health (86%) and competitiveness (78%) as a nation. Sixty-nine percent of Americans believe that scientific research is critical to our economy, 97% of Americans think it is important for the United States to be a global leader in scientific research, and 91% believe that it is essential in eliminating diseases, such as cancer. It is not surprising, then, that 83% of those polled in a 2006 survey indicated that they were more likely to vote for a candidate who supported increased funding "to find cures for and to prevent disease"."

We are losing people every day. Citizens who choose to live in other countries where they have access to full healthcare coverage via a national healthcare plan funded by their taxes.

I urge you to read this article and share it liberally with your e-list. What we do with healthcare in the next five to 10 years is crucial to the longevity of our population and, I believe, our nation. We've lost credibility throughout the world over the last six years as a result of an indescribably bad foreign affairs posture. We can't afford to continue with our heads in the sand on the most important domestic issue we face.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

So, Vice President Cheney is having his heart pacemaker replaced tomorrow. I guess that means that George W. Bush will actually get to be President for a few hours.

Rough Justice

George W. Bush is one slimy dude. His view of justice thinks it's OK to;

a) permit Karla Fay Tucker to be executed and then laugh,

b) sign the death warrant for a man whose lawyer slept through his trial and then snicker when asked about it,

c) execute a great-grandmother who murdered her abusive husband.

He even thinks it's OK to invade a country that posed no risk to us, resulting in nearly 4000 American deaths and 25,000+ injuries - to date - and then cut funding to the VA that takes care of the injured.

But when one of his own lies to the FBI, obstructs justice, and is convicted in a court of law he just can't stand to see him pay the price (30 months in jail) meted out by that court. This gives new meaning to the phrase compassionate conservatism. He's only compassionate toward conservatives.

It's clear his lawyers have been working on Scooter Libby's commutation of sentence for some time. He issued a statement within a couple of hours of the appeals court deciding - unanimously - that Libby must go straight to jail. And of course he didn't have the backbone to deliver the news in person, choosing to issue a written statement instead.

It's now time for Congress to find out what Libby knows that George W. Bush doesn't want us to know. Clearly, it must be enough to endanger his tenure as President and/or Dick Cheney's Vice Presidency to risk short circuiting the legal process. John Dean reminded us, the other day, that he knows all about stonewalling from personal experience via Watergate. They only do it when they have something to hide. This administration is stonewalling Congress. They have something to hide.

Libby should be subpoenaed before the House Judiciary Committee, granted immunity, if necessary, and questioned about what really happened re the outing of Valerie Plame's status with the CIA. I'm convinced that Dick Cheney is behind all of this and should be impeached. While they're at it, it's time to get tough about the politicization of the Justice Department: institute impeachment proceedings against Alberto Gonzales.

Remember 50 Republican Senators voted to convict Bill Clinton of lying over a sexual liaison which, although sleazy, was not illegal. They wanted to remove him from office. But when one of their own lies and obstructs justice, is convicted, and sentenced to 30 months in jail, George W. Bush sees it as "excessive."

Hello!!!! Wake up, Republicans! Do you really want to be associated with an unprincipled, holier than though cretin who not only believes he is above the law but isn't even smart enough to learn that our constitution is what separates us from other 'sort-of' democracies? It's what demands that we be a nation of laws, not of men (and I use MEN advisedly).

I've had it with this mess and demand that Congress take action - NOW! I'm calling Nancy Pelosi's office and the Whitehouse. And I'll continue calling until I see some results.

Hardball?

I just emailed Chris Matthews' show, Hardball, the following:

"Well, you've succeeded in sinking to a new low in television "journalism." You gave Ann Coulter an HOUR of air time to spew hate speech and sell books at the expense of our country. Elizabeth Edwards is right, hate speech drowns out a serious discussion of the issues and America's voters desperately need to learn about the candidate's positions on the issues.

Although I don't let Coulter off the hook this message is about those responsible for this situation. I completely blame you, Chris Matthews and Tammy Haddad, for using Coulter to stir up controversy and attract attention to the show. Keith Olbermann named Coulter as the "Worst Person in the World" following this shameful episode when you should have been the recipients of the award.

Serious people could do a lot of good given a full hour of airtime yet they're lucky if they get 5 minutes on this show where the host construes rudeness as hardball. Interrupting people doesn't constitute hardball. That requires tough questions and follow up questions asked in an atmosphere where the interviewee is treated as an adult and viewers can hear what they're saying.

I've written to the show before but I suspect this will be the last time I do because I simply can't stomach the crass commercialism that masquerades as journalism, and because I have no respect for personalities who trade in controversy rather than real journalism. I don't read the National Enquirer so why would I watch "Hardball?" "

Tammy Haddad is the Executive Producer of Hardball, a position that carries weight. A quick Google of her name reveals that she has Executive Produced The Maury Povich Show and Larry King Live. She has also been a Senior Broadcast Producer on the Today Show. I guess that helps to explain why Hardball looks like a tabloid. You can watch this gutter dwelling swill if you want but I'm out'a here.

Best Editorial Cartoons of the Week

Bob Geiger offers his weekly compilation of the best editorial cartoons. Tell us which one you like best. (click on title above).

Don't We Have a Constitution, Not a King?

"Bush has issued a directive that would place all governmental powers in his hands in the case of a catastrophic emergency" according to Marjorie Cohn of AlterNet. "If a terrorist attack happens before the 2008 election, could Bush and Cheney use this to avoid relinquishing power to a successor administration?

"Bush quietly issued an unconstitutional bombshell that went virtually unnoticed by the corporate media.

"The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed on May 9, 2007, would place all governmental power in the hands of the President and effectively abolish the checks and balances in the Constitution." Cohn goes on.

In case of a "catastrophic emergency" the new directive reads, "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government" continuing, the President proposes that the three co-equal branches of government would be "coordinated by the President, as a matter of comity with respect to the legislative and judicial branches and with proper respect for the constitutional separation of powers." The Vice President would help implement these plans.

Dictionary.com says comity means, "mutual courtesy; civility." In other words, the Congress and the Courts would be treated with courtesy but would have no power. I don't know about you but I don't trust George W. Bush, or any president, with so much power and surely even the poor souls who voted for him would have to concede that we fought a revolution in 1776 to get rid of King George and don't need another one.

Bet you didn't even know our president had issued such a directive back on May 9th. Probably because the MSM was too busy worrying who Anna Nicole's 'baby daddy' is, or whether Paris Hilton would serve out her 45 day term, or Harry Reid had called Peter Pace incompetent (although he is).

Read the full story (link under title above) and post your thoughts as to what you plan to do about this signing statement?

a) ignore it and hope for the best
b) demand that Congress confront him and take action (I'm not sure what)
c) pack up and move to Canada

A nod to David Pollak for ferreting out this story.

The day that was in Massachusetts

Massachusetts made history this week: its lawmakers refused to allow fundamentalist extremists to place on the ballot an initiative challenging the right of gay and lesbian people to marry in their state. The scene was suspenseful and emotional and I commend to you a "blow by blow" description of the action provided by John Aravosis of America Blog (click on the title of this post).
I'm not a person who wants to marry but I certainly want the right to chose, and be assured that as I read John's narrative tears came to my eyes.

Gays & lesbians in America have struggled long and hard to gain every one of the civil liberties they enjoy against a very vocal, well funded, fundamentalist minority who do not speak for the majority in this country. It is gratifying to know that a state legislature stood up to protect one of the most fundamental rights our country can offer. Deval Patrick, Mass.'s new Governor, deserves a pat on the back for his very vocal support of the LGBT community. He stood shoulder to shoulder with them in pushing back a cynical bid to relegate gays & lesbians to permanent 2nd class status.

The Governor of California certainly wouldn't have provided such leadership. Our State Assembly and Senate passed a bill last year to legalize marriage for gay & lesbian Californians and he vetoed it. Mark Leno is carrying the same bill (AB43) through the Assembly again and it should pass that body and the State Senate. Our Governor promises to veto it again and I hope the State Legislature keeps sending it back to him until he gets the message.

In the meantime we could support his efforts by sharing this blog post with every Californian we know and urging them to pressure their State Legislators to sponsor the bill and lobby the Governor to sign it. Many non-gay Californians support marriage equality and their voices carry weight. A call or email to the governor (916-445-2841 or http://www.govmail.ca.gov) in support of AB43 from our non-gay family members, neighbors, and friends will take just a few minutes and you'll feel better about yourself for doing it, trust me.

Witnesses to Alleged rape speak out

I am outraged! A 17 year old girl was raped, perhaps gang raped, by members of the De Anza College baseball team and although three witnesses saw it happen and rescued her from the scene the DA says there is insufficient evidence to bring charges.


"One of the guys who was in the room said 'This is her fault. She got drunk and she did this to herself,'" said April Grolle, one of her rescuers. Lauren Chief Elk didn't believe him: "You have to be conscious to consent to something, and that was not the case at all."


Watch video of these two young women as Lloyd LaCuesta of KTVU Chanel 2 reports this horrible story (link under article's title above) and then decide whether you think these eye witnesses are credible.


It is simply unbelievable that this case isn't going to be prosecuted.


The parents of these men should be examining the values they imparted to their sons. What kind of man believes that a woman who gets drunk and gets raped did it to herself? Bottom line he isn't a man at all. He's an animal.

89% of California parents favor sex ed for their teens

Well, well, well, who knew?

"Politicians and evangelists may push abstinence-only sex education -- the nation's policy for the past decade -- but according to the state's first-ever sex education poll, a startling 89 percent of California parents want their children to receive a comprehensive education that includes information about contraception and STD protection."

According to the Contra Cost Times (link above) a random-dial telephone poll conducted last year by Quantum Market Research and funded by the California Wellness Foundation revealed that fully 89% of California parents have come to realize their kids need information.

To further quote the CCTimes:

"A long awaited study of more than 2,000 teens who had gone through federally funded, abstinence only programs was delivered to Congress last month. The findings? Abstinence-only doesn't work."

I commend the Contra Cost Times for bringing this information to our attention. Now let's pick up the ball and run with it. Let's pass along the information to parents everywhere and encourage action to ensure that our teens have the information they need about sex, STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and how they intersect.

Shaha Ali Riza dumps Paul Wolfowitz

Small wonder. This is a case, once again, of a competent woman being pushed aside to accomodate a man.

Shaha Ali Riza was employed at the World Bank when Wolfowitz came there. I'm not surprised that she was angered at her treatment. I would be too.

By all accounts she is a brilliant woman who had a job that she liked and didn't want to be moved out of the way. I would have demanded consideration, too, if I were being required to give up a job I loved because of a situation I didn't ask for, or cause.

When is society going to stop viewing women as appendages to men who can be moved around as pawns on a chess board?

Separation of Church and State

What has happened to the separation of church and state in the U.S.? I would argue that it has nearly been abolished. Although we still say that we separate church and state, we have come to accept co-mingling of faith and policy. If you think I exaggerate I urge you to watch the first segment of this week's Bill Moyers Journal (link above).

Ironically, the religious rights' success may lead to its downfall. Some Americans are beginning to "sweep the scales from their eyes;" recognize the danger in blurring the line between church and government.

Over reaching has historically lead to the failure of popular movements, e.g., the Salem witch trials. I choose the witch trials deliberately because of the similarities it bares to the religious extremism we see all over the world today - and that includes some of the extremists heard on Sunday mornings here in this country.

A recent poll revealed that the fastest growing ' religious' group in the U.S. is atheists. So the pendulum (a hallmark of democratic societies) is beginning to swing in the other direction and may lead to a time when an agnostic or atheist is elected to national office. The arc of the pendulum will have swung from puritanism to secularism. I hope I live to see it.

Fascism? You Be the Judge

I can't add anything to the message offered at BushFlash.com (link above). I urge you to watch a short video and then decide whether fascism lives in the U.S. today.

The Cost of the Iraq War

The Iraqi Parliament, last week, voted to demand that the U.S. give them a time line for leaving their country. I know, the MSM didn't pay much attention to it but I did.

The Iraq War is costing us so much that it's hard to keep up with: 3,372 combat lives; 25,000+ injured; 100,000+ Iraqi lives and on and on...

CostofWar.com (link above) offers a graphic demonstration of the cost in dollars. Learn what we could be buying with the money, e.g.,

a) Healtchare for 255 million children
b) 7.3 million additional teachers
c) Head Start for 53 million children
d) Four year scholarships at public universities for nearly 21 million students, or
e) 3.9 million additional public housing units

Take a few minutes to check out how much the cost of the war could buy in your community. Just in San Francisco it would pay for:

a) 70,000 college scholarships
b) 13,000 public housing units
c) a year of Head Start for 190k children
d) Healthcare for 860k children

We don't even have that many people in San Francisco. It would pay for Healthcare for everybody in San Francisco for a year.

If Iraq wants us to leave, why are we staying? This is stupid, let's just stop it.

I believe that the Iraqi people must continue their civil war, or not, based on their own imperatives, and that the presence of "Coalition" troupes encourages growth of radical extremist factions. Until the U.S. pulls its troupes out of Iraq the Iraqis will have no incentive to negotiate seriously with one another. In other words, I believe that we are the problem.

If you agree with me call, email, or write your Congressmember and Senators. Remind them of the cost of the war and assure them that you expect them to stop it! No ifs, ands, or buts, just STOP IT!

And feel free to use any of the statistics provided above.

Pot Luck

I see the Vatican has just decided that unbaptized babies can now go to heaven. It's amazing that these men believe it is so, just because they say it.

It's been disclosed that the network hosting the emails involved in the US attorney firings was the same network that hosted Ohio's 2004 election results. The "...official" Secretary of State website -- which gave the world the presidential election results -- was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's firing of eight federal prosecutors." according to Alternet.org. And all we hear about is the "stolen election" in Nigeria. Why am I not surprised? And they wonder why people turn to the "alternate" media.
I recommend http://english.aljazeera.net and http://news.bbc.co.uk/ They cover America better than our MSM does.

So the White House Special Council is looking into potential violations of the Hatch Act which requires that all official communications must be preserved and that officials must not perform political duties while working. This because White House officials used a private email system hosted by the RNC (probably by the same guys mentioned above) for political communication from the White House and apparently used it for some official communication. Some say it was done to cover up political decisions regarding the US Attorney firings. Somehow I can't imagine the Bush White House knowing the difference between politics and policy.

So the U.S. Supreme Court has decided what kind of abortions doctors cannot use and this bunch of old farts doesn't hesitate to make such a decision. Even more appalling is that in the process Justice Anthony Kennedy opined that the court had to protect women from making bad decisions. What gall! What balls! What ignorance! What arrogance! Hello!!!! Women and their doctors are perfectly capable of deciding how to manage their reproductive health.


This week on muni: A #37 driver couldn't get the wheelchair pickup to work. She permitted the passenger to drive onto the plate and when she couldn't get it to work began yelling at the passenger. She even said, "Are you deaf?" I explained that he was obviously a quadraplegic and probably couldn't turn around. She finally got off her ass and walked three feet to explain that the passenger would need to wait for the next bus. She's the same driver who refuses to drive into the bus zone; stops in the line of traffic so passengers have to walk into the street to board. I think her driver number was 7170. Today I had a driver on the F-Market line who ran a red light and then a block later waited for a green light to turn red. He was looking right at it. I can't tell you his number because there wasn't one on his sleeve. And it's only Tuesday. But Nate Ford, the head of Muni says the worst of the trouble is over. I guess he just means the trouble with the Metro.


So it's Sego v Sarko in France. I understand Segolene Royal is considered an "empty suit" in France while Sarkozy is scary conservative. Not a good scenario. Of course countries don't elect male empty suits so why would they elect a female one? Right? On second thought maybe it won't be such a difficult decision. It would be nice to see France elect a woman.


Mary & Kevin Tillman and Jessica Lynch had to go to Washington to tell the truth about Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan and Lynch's capture by the Iraqis. Too bad we can't depend on the chain of command to take care of that.


Will Fredo resign? Will W fire him? I don't see W firing him. He doesn't have the balls. And Fredo will hang on until the bitter end even though he is an embarrassment and will be a drag on his party during the '08 political races. Talk about clueless.

So, what do you think?

Sex Education Done the Right Way

Thanks to the Contra Costa Times for an informative article about how sex education should be done:

"Our Whole Lives, a joint product of Unitarian-Universalists and the United Church of Christ, has proved a popular draw at both churches. Executives could not provide an exact number of the churches that offer the program, but each has trained more than 1,000 teachers...

"Our Whole Lives stresses the value of abstinence, but unlike some faith-based programs, it also includes extensive discussions of birth control, safe sex practices and sexual orientation."

" Today, Unitarian and United Church of Christ youths from California and 12 other states will lobby their congressional representatives to free up more money for comprehensive sex ed programs in public schools."

It's about time we have a responsible approach to teaching children about reproduction. Kudos to the CC Times. Read the full article via the link above.

Firing of US Attorneys

Say what you will about bloggers but some of them are dogging this story to our advantage. Josh Micah Marshall is leading the way. Today he says,

"This isn't about the AG's lies. It's not about the attempted cover-up. It's not about executive privilege and investigative process mumbojumbo.

This is about using US Attorneys to damage Democrats and protect Republicans, using the Department of Justice as a partisan cudgel in the war for national political dominance. All the secrecy and lies, the blundering and covering-up stems from this one central fact."

Read his full post (link above) on Talking Points Memo. You might want to Bookmark his sight.

Josh seems to have more spine than the NY Times. Today's edition went way out of its way to avoid using the L word. An article by Eric Lipton and David Johnston reads, in part:

"An accumulating body of evidence is at odds with the statements of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales...

The conflicts between the documentary record and Mr. Gonzales’s version of events have contributed to an erosion of support for him in Congress...

The disparities are giving Democrats in Congress a rationale...

As attorney general, Mr. Gonzales has become a central figure, and increasingly, critics say, the emblem of ineptitude, in the swirl of contradictions, memory lapses and conflicting testimony that has defined the unfolding story behind the removal of the prosecutors.

Mr. Gonzales also said, more explicitly: “I never saw documents. We never had a discussion about where things stood.” This directly conflicts with documents released late Friday..."

What does Gonzales have to do to get the main stream media to call a spade a spade?

This is one of the reasons I turn to blogs for the real story these days. Main Stream Media (MSM) is way too skittish about legalities; much more so than our CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, Alberto Gonzales.

What is the real reason 8 U.S. Attorneys were fired?

Things we know to date:

a) Alberto Gonzales was talking with the White House in January 2005 about firing all of the U.S. Attorneys at a time when he was still the President's Council,

b) Alberto Gonzales was subsequently nominated to be Attorney General,

c) Gonzales has claimed he was opposed to firing all of the U.S. Attorneys and he swore to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in 2005, he would set aside politics and act a-politically as A.G.,

d) One of the fired U.S. Attorneys was apparently contacted by a Republican Senator and a Republican Congressmember about investigating Democrats in order to shore up that Congressmember's re-election campaign,

e) One of the fired U.S. Attorneys had successfully prosecuted a Republican Congressmember, sending him to prison, and was pursuing further action in the case,

f) One of the fired U.S. Attorneys was in Arkansas - where Sen. Hillary Clinton lived for many years. He was replaced by Karl Rove's assistant.

g) Karl Rove is the President's "political brain,"

h) The Patriot Act contained a little known provision permitting the White House to replace U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation, and

i) We know that the firings, although originally proposed in 2005, were pared to a more manageable number and actually completed in 2006-07.

Does this appear to constitute a LOT of coincidences? or

a) Was Alberto Gonzales appointed A.G. to ensure that the firings would happen at a strategically advantageous time and sufficiently prior to the '08 Presidential race to avoid speculation?

b) Was Karl Rove's assistant appointed to the Arkansas post in order to disrupt Sen. Clinton's '08
Presidential campaign efforts?

c) Were the other U.S. Attorneys replaced by people the White House knew would be helpful during the next Presidential race?

d) Did Alberto Gonzales ever stop representing the President? Does he understand that the Attorney General represents the people?

Just wondering...

Sentinels of Freedom help Wounded Warriors

The Sentinels of Freedom, founded in late 2003 by a father of three soldiers, is a non-profit that offers disabled service members comprehensive assistance to help ease the process of re-entering civilian life. And founder Mike Conklin, a resident of Danville CA and a realtor, told the Contra Costa Times (link above) that his employer, will help take the program national. "RE/MAX pledged to commit whatever it takes to cover all expenses for at least five years," said Sentinels co-founder Dan Coleman.

A quick review of Sentinels' website reveals their mission is: "...to provide life-changing opportunities for men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who have recently suffered severe injuries and now need the support of grateful communities to realize their dreams."

"...scholarship recipients receive housing, transportation, employment and education assistance, and are connected to a team of caring volunteers who provide guidance, mentoring and friendship during the four-year program."

"You get a financial planner, an educator, a doctor, a military officer, maybe someone from the clergy, all working together," Conklin said. "They basically walk at the person's side for four years."

The Army's Wounded Warrior program said they believe Sentinels is the first group of its kind. Tim Poch, their spokesman, told the CC Times, "Some groups help with jobs, some with housing, but (Sentinels) is the first that has offered an entire package." They've done some great things for several of our soldiers" he continued.

This looks like a great example of the private sector taking up the slack where our federal government fails to meet its obligation to take care of our troops.

If you have expertise, and a desire to help our wounded warriors, check out some of their success stories at http://www.sentinelsoffreedom.org, then call them at 888-888-9193.

Evangelicals slam torture, support green living

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), "the group that was run by Ted Haggard, the gay-prostitute-frequenting meth-buyer," which represents 30 million people, half of all evangelicals, (that's huge) "take a stand for something Jesus would do - oppose torture and embrace being a true steward of the earth" according to John Aravosis of AmericaBlog.

The more extreme elements of the religious right, tried to get the spokesman of NAE fired for issuing pro-environmental statements (link to Reuter's story above). At the same time "...Jerry Falwell has publicly questioned the science of global warming", Dr. James Dobson..."regards climate change as a distraction from issues such as abortion," and Carrie Gordon Earll, spokeswoman for Focus on the Family says, "We also agree that God's creation needs to be protected, but we disagree over whether global warming is man-caused and can be man-corrected."

I guess protecting "God's creation" is a matter of interpretation - but that's consistent; this bunch typically says one thing and does another - until now.

Does this mean civil war in the religious right?