The Hollywood Liberal

Terra, Terra, Terra
Amazing, it’s been such a quiet four years…amazing how suddenly the fear card comes out in the Summer before another presidential election.

It has been such a quiet four years…amazing how suddenly the fear card comes out in the summer of a another presidential election.

Never did this manifest itself more than just after the Democratic Convention, on August 1, 2004, just after Kerry’s acceptance speech, Ol’ Tommy Ridge came out got all orange while saying this:

“But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the President’s leadership in the war against terror. The reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan. Such operations and partnerships give us insight into the enemy so we can better target our defensive measures here and away from home.”

Of course, this terror alert turned out to be so much bullcrap, based on old information conveniently rolled out to steal Kerry’s thunder — and some even noticed at the time. Leading Ridge to come out two days later and say this:

“We don’t do politics in the Department of Homeland Security.”

Except of course…as we found out later:

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level

Wolf Blitzer is going to fluff that beard a lot the next few months.

(pic via Annoy.com)

Ill. Gov. Cuts Funds to for Wrongful Convictions

To balance the budget, Illiniois Governor Rod Blagojevich has vetoed funds earmarked to prevent and correct wrongful convictions:

In a state known for sending innocent people to prison, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has angered prosecutors and defense attorneys alike by vetoing millions of dollars lawmakers set aside to fight wrongful convictions and support sweeping death penalty reforms.

One budget cut eliminated first-time funding for a Downstate advocacy group with several key court victories on behalf of convicted defendants. Another veto blocked funds for videotaping interrogations in murder cases under a law championed by Barack Obama when he was a state lawmaker.

More than $5.5 million approved by lawmakers to prevent or correct wrongful convictions was among the $1.4 billion Blagojevich vetoed this month to bring the state budget in line, according to interviews and a review of budget documents. The vetoes included money to support the reforms he signed five years ago to ensure the integrity of the state's capital punishment process.

I can't help but wonder had Obama, who worked so hard for some of the reforms, been attending to his day job as well as campaigning, whether he might have talked some sense into Blagojevich. These cuts should have been something, even as a Senator no longer in state politics, he fought the Governor tooth and nail on.

Overnight Two

Baseball Caps and Sunscreen: McCain’s Melanoma Cover-Up
McCain has a history of melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer — one most sunscreens won’t protect against.

Open Thread and Diary Rescue
This evening’s Rescue Rangers are Louisiana1976, PaintyKat, a synthetic cubist, jlms qkw, larsstephens, and drbcladd, with vcmvo2 as editor. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote  ~ Jean George Nathan ~ The diaries up for rescue tonight are: Bad officials, bad policy jeph brings us a MOVIE REVIEW: Darwin’s Nightmare. This documentary chronicles how globalization and an all-consuming fishing trade are destroying the town of Mwanza, Tanzania- and potentially
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LeftWord: The Best Liberal Blog Posts

Election Central Sunday Roundup
John McCain tries to deny he ever used the word “timetable” in regards to leaving Iraq in 16 months, then spits out a list of even shorter timeframes that would be fine by him. That and other political news in…

Injured vets pull Cheney invite
Group felt security demands were Draconian and unreasonable.

…O’Reilly, Savage, Hannity on shooter’s reading list
…O’Reilly, Savage, Hannity on shooter’s reading list

57 die in suicide bombings across Iraq.
In Iraq today “four suicide bombers believed to be women struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300 in one of this year’s deadliest attacks.”

In Iraq today “four suicide bombers believed to be women struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300 in one of this year’s deadliest attacks.”

Internal Justice Dept. Report Cites Illegal Hiring Practices
For nearly two years, a young political aide sought to cultivate a “farm system” for Republicans at the Justice Department, hiring scores of prosecutors and immigration judges who espoused conservative priorities and Christian lifestyle choices.

Kaine in ‘Serious’ Talks With Obama
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had “very serious” conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.

Unfinished Business at Freddie, Fannie
Lawrence Summers, Wash Post

Gallup: Obama Opens His Largest Lead
Sen. Barack Obama now leads Sen. John McCain among national registered voters by a 49% to 40%, according to the latest Gallup Tracking Poll.

“The margin, coincident with the extensive U.S. news coverage of Obama’s foreign tour, is the largest for Obama over McCain measured since Gallup began tracking the general election horserace in March.”

R2000: Obama Holds Double Digit National Lead
A new Research 2000 national poll finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 51% to 39%, with Bob Barr getting 3% and Ralph Nader getting 2%.

Broder on Obama. So Athletic. So A-R-T-I-C-U-L-A-T-E
David Broder talks about Barack Obama in a way he would never talk about a white candidate. [A]s millions of Americans who watched the primary campaign learned, Obama is invariably articulate and well-spoken. There would be no verbal gaffes. And so athletic!

David Broder

David Broder talks about Barack Obama in a way he would never talk about a white candidate.

[A]s millions of Americans who watched the primary campaign learned, Obama is invariably articulate and well-spoken. There would be no verbal gaffes.

And so athletic!

When, on the first day of the trip, he stepped onto the basketball court at the air base in Kuwait and sent his first three-point shot cleanly through the basket, you knew the gods had decided to favor him.

If only newspapers hired black editors.

A Misguided Proposal to Protect IP

A proposed law would empower the federal government to seize your computer if you use it to violate a copyright law by downloading a song or movie for which you didn't pay. Doesn't that penalty seem a bit excessive?

The bill would also empower the federal government to bring civil suits for copyright infringement — doing what the RIAA now does in its abusive lawsuits against (mostly) college students who download copyrighted music. This seems like the kind of “big government” that conservatives should deplore. If copyright holders feel infringed, they should bring their own lawsuits rather than counting on the government to do it for them. Surely our scarce federal resources are better spent elsewhere — repairing bridges, building levees, strengthening port security, and doing the countless other things that benefit society as a whole rather than businesses that should spend their own money to protect their own intellectual property.

The bill enjoys the misguided sponsorship of Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy and Evan Bayh. Can't they find something more productive to do with their time?

Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.

ABC’s “This Week” - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

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CBS’ “Face the Nation” - Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I.

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NBC’s “Meet the Press” - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

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CNN’s “Late Edition” - McCain and Obama.

The Vast and Dangerous Transfer of American Spying to Mercenary Companies
Johnson considers just how incompetent and unscrupulous a thoroughly privatized intelligence ‘community’ has turned out to be.

The New Knitting: This Is Not Your Grandma’s Arts & Crafts
To casual observers it may look like adults making toys and keeping them, but embroidery hoops and homemade clothes are officially cool.

White House: Leaders Should Listen To Public And International Opinion
White House Irony Watch… The Bush Administration’s statement today on its new sanctions against Zimbabwe call into question just how much of a sense of self-awareness they have. Quoting President Bush: “No regime should ignore the will of its own…

The Daily Muck
Four aides to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer have been cited by the N.Y. State Commission on Public Integrity, with misusing the New York State Police. The citations stem from a highly contentious relationship between Spitzer and former New…

Schiavo debate relived in Valley
Should govt. be able to overrule family members in case of comatose woman?

McCain Caves To Right Wing On Gay Adoption, Says Orphans Shouldn?t Have Gay Parents
Earlier this month, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) took an extreme position on gay adoption, telling the New York Times he believes in “traditional” families even if it means leaving children in orphanages. “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay […]

Earlier this month, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) took an extreme position on gay adoption, telling the New York Times he believes in “traditional” families even if it means leaving children in orphanages. “I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption,” he said.

But in follow-up statement, McCain aide Jill Hazelbaker backtracked, stating, “McCain could have been clearer.” She added that the senator would support gay adoption if there were no alternative:

However, as an adoptive father himself…he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative.

Interviewed on ABC today, however, McCain reverted to his original radical position, telling George Stephanopolous that he does not support gay adoption in any circumstance:

McCAIN: I think that family values are important, when we have two parent — families that are of parents that are the traditional family.

Q: But there are several hundred thousand children in the country who don’t have a home. And if a gay couple wants to adopt them, what’s wrong with that?

MCCAIN: I am for the values that two parent families, the traditional family represents.

Watch it:

McCain didn’t acknowledge that a two-parent family can also consist of same-sex parents. Unlike his spokeswoman, he also didn’t recognize that rejecting adoptions by same-sex parents means leaving thousands of children with no parents. As Winnie Stachelberg and Robert Gordon noted, about 130,000 children wait in the foster care system each year for a permanent home. And every year, half of these children are never placed.

In the interview, McCain repeatedly said that he is “for the values and principles that two parent families represent.” He also said preserving traditional families is “not the reason why I’m running for president of the United States.” Just seconds later, however, he reversed course and bluntly stated, “I’m running for president of the United States because I want to help with family values.”

For Obama, Hurdles in Expanding Black Vote
MACON, Ga. — Amanda Bass, a volunteer for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, had already tried once to get Wilmer Gray to register to vote. But when she glimpsed him in a black T-shirt and White Sox cap again on a recent weekday at the main bus stop here, she was determined to give it…

Will Obama’s Overseas Trek Pay Off?
Dan Balz, Washington Post

Genocide’s Epic Hero
Aleksandar Hemon, New York Times

Obama Gets Bounce From Overseas Trip
When asked about the political ramifications about his recent trip abroad, Sen. Barack Obama told the New York Times, “I wouldn’t even be surprised if in some polls we saw a little bit of a dip because we’ve been out of the country for a week.”

However, at least two daily tracking polls show Obama getting a decent 6-7 point bounce.

Before the trip:

• Rasmussen: Obama 46%, McCain 46%
• Gallup: Obama 45%, McCain 43%

After the trip:

• Rasmussen: Obama 49%, McCain 43%
• Gallup: Obama 48%, McCain 41%

Another McCain Veep Rumor
Marc Ambinder: “On Sunday, McCain hosts a group of political allies and major fundraisers at his ranch in Sedona, AZ.  That’s a fact. The rumor is that he’s going to use the event to introduce his vice presidential choice to his inner circle, and then, on Monday, introduce the choice to the world.”

Pull Up A Chair…
After everyone giggled about it through PUAC last weekend, Mr. ReddHedd and I went out on a date yesterday evening — first one we’ve had in ages — and saw Mamma Mia. As promised, it’s a hoot. Although, honestly, Pierce Brosnan…hottie, but not a crooner. Christine Baranski, though — just awesome, the whole way through.

After everyone giggled about it through PUAC last weekend, Mr. ReddHedd and I went on a date yesterday — first one in ages — and saw Mamma Mia.  It’s a hoot.

Although, honestly, Pierce Brosnan…hottie not a crooner.  Christine Baranski, though — just awesome.

As we laughed through the film, it occurred to me:  (1) I need more girlfriends, not necessarily pals who dress up in platform boots and sing ABBA songs, but the sort who will be there through the laughs and tears…in person.  

Lately, I’ve been neglecting the human side of my life.  Making political changes is a hard thing to fight for, but you can’t lose sight of what you want more of in the end, either.  

And (2) laughter is contagious, and we all need more of it.

So, with that in mind, what are your favorite feel good, laugh until you cry or dance your feet off movies and songs?  Let’s talk fun, laughter, smiles, and friendships this morning.  Pull up a chair…