Daniel Okrent admits NYT killed story on Bush's Bulge

The Emperor's New Hump

Not My President

Salon reports: you decide. Is it unpatriotic for me to say that Bush is Not My President? Well, I would never actually be allowed to speak to him or attend any events of his, so he clearly doesn't think he's my president either.

A bigger question, of course, is whether I want to be patriotic in a country that condones torture by promoting those who promulgated the policies that produced it. And the alliterative answer to that is: no. Not just at present.

A new book on the Nuremberg trials just came out.: "Said Hanz Frietzsche, senior minister in Joseph Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda: "I can defend myself in one sentence, 'I did it as a German patriot.'"

Lock Up the Little Old Ladies!

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Our Battered Constitution:

In one hearing that led up to Monday's decision, Judge Green attempted to see how broadly the government viewed its power to hold detainees. Administration lawyers told her, in response to a hypothetical question, that they believed the president would even have the right to lock up 'a little old lady from Switzerland' for the duration of the war on terror if she had written checks to a charity that she believed helped orphans, but that actually was a front for Al Qaeda.

Reuters: U.S. General Says It Is 'Fun to Shoot Some People'

Yippee Kie Yah, MothaFuckas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Marine Corps general who said it was "fun to shoot some people" should have chosen his words more carefully but will not be disciplined, military officials said on Thursday.

Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and is slated to be portrayed by star actor Harrison Ford in an upcoming Hollywood movie, made the comments at a conference on Tuesday in San Diego, California.

"Actually it's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling," Mattis said.

"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said during a panel discussion. "You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

Volunteers for Prosperity: Your Tax Dollars for Jesus

Yesterday I mentioned a federal program Bush created in 2003 to funnel your foreign aid dollars into Christian organizations: Volunteers for Prosperity. Today I'm reading the 2004 VfP annual report, touting the recipient organization of a $200,000 grant called Partners for Christian Development. Actually, they've since changed their name to "Partners Worldwide: Christian Businesspeople Transforming Lives." Max Weber would have gotten a kick out of these guys -- here's their explanation of their 'spiritual foundations':

Partners Worldwide grieves when people are unable to image God through satisfying, productive, self-supporting ordinary daily work.   But neither passive acceptance nor guilt-based activity are options because we are privileged to be co-workers with Jesus Christ whose promise is “I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5a). 

Partners’ special focus is actively seeking out ways to affirm and create satisfying God-imaging daily work for everyone*, especially for those living in poverty because of pervasive conditions of high unemployment. As members of Partners Worldwide, we see all ordinary daily work, both for ourselves and for those with whom we partner, as joyful expressions of our calling to image God as He originally intended in His good creation.  We believe working toward this goal for everyone will be blessed with surprising results because it is based on this biblical promise:  “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15*)

As Christian Partners we seek out ways to partner with other Christians to provide jobs and opportunities for profitable personal and business growth so that everyone, especially those unemployed and otherwise marginalized, will be more fully empowered to image God through productive, satisfying, self-supporting daily work.

It's not that I have a problem with Christian charity. I have a problem with using public funds for Christian charity.

We have no idea how much of our public funds are being diverted to 'faith-based' organizations, because none of the departments involved are required to keep track of it. Who needs accountability, when you've got Jesus?

Oops, sombody pooped on my 'Parity': A mental health coverage rant

So I just got off the phone with our crapporific health insurance carrier, trying to get pre-authorization for my shrink visits so that they'll deign to reimburse some of the money I pay.

Even though there's supposed to be what they call "parity" for "biologically-based mental illnesses", which my particular illness (DSM IV 296.26, with a side order of 300.4) is, the insurance companies have devised all sorts of insane ways to avoid paying the bills. It's true that they try desperately not to pay ANY of our medical bills, but they're particularly awful about mental health.

First of all, if I don't get "pre-authorization," they penalize me by only paying half, rather than 80% (after my out-of-network deductible, of course, because any decent shrink is out-of-network..), of my 'eligible expenses'. Second, they farm me off to some 'behavioral health' division (Why is it 'behavioral' if it's biologically-based?), with a totally different claims address. Third, they needed crap from me like my shrink's Tax ID number and some number I'd never even heard of that proves she can prescribe for me. "She's prescribed for me before," I said, "I'm pretty sure she's allowed to." Fourth, they tried to only authorize 20-minute medication management appointments. No, I told them, I have 50-minute psychotherapy with medication management. Fifth, they gave me authorization for 8 sessions, after which my shrink will have to fill out a 'treatment plan' to get them to authorize another 8 sessions, and so on.

If I had diabetes, would my endocrinologist have to fill out a treatment plan every 8 times I saw her, justifying my continued need for treatment for my diabetes? Would I have to get preauthorization before initiating treatment with my endocrinologist for my diabetes? No, and no. Is someone who is in the throes of mental illness more, or less, capable of managing a pre-auth process than someone with diabetes?

You can take your parity, kids, and shove it up your ass.

Department of Gray Lady Understatement: Reprisals Edition

The NYT published an editorial today on the fate of the lawyers who mounted the Ohio vote challenge. Apparently Ohio's AG is now pushing the State Supreme Court to sanction the lawyers for their 'frivolous lawsuit'. The AG, of course, is representing Ken Blackwell, he of the "that paper's not thick enough" voter registration rules. What's the Times say about this?

One of the strengths of our democracy is that citizens are free to question the results of an election. But four lawyers who did just that in Ohio, contesting President Bush's victory, are now facing sanctions. These lawyers, and other skeptics, may not have cast significant doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome. But punishing them for trying would send a disturbing message.

YA THINK?

And also: does the Times really need to pretend that the 'disturbing message' is a sort of side effect of the whole thing, rather than the entire point? What possible reason is there for punishing these lawyers except to send exactly the disturbing message that it ain't okay to challenge election results?

Why not just shoot them, send them off to re-education camp, or send them on a mission for Volunteers for Prosperity, part of the USA Freedom Corps?.

Stench of Death Department: Public Sphere

Also, educated labor pool (see also NYTimes article on the death of reality-based information about evolution).

AlterNet: Whacking Libraries:

In the depths of the Great Depression, not a single public library in America closed its doors. Banks went under, farmers went bankrupt, millions of people were out of work and out of luck—but the American public clung to its libraries, not only because of their inherent value to our society, but also because they are symbols of community strength and hope.

How lame, then, to see public officials today—from George W. Bush to city council members—reaching for the budget axe to whack library funding, forcing branches to close, valuable services to be eliminated, and hours to be cut. In a time of unprecedented wealth in America, in a time when governments dump billions of taxpayer dollars into corporate subsidies and boondoggles, our so-called leaders are failing the people by going after these true public treasures.

Stench-of-Death Department: Journalism

Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington / White House-friendly reporter under scrutiny:

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website.

Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is 'committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers.' It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as 'bringing the conservative message to America.'

Called on last week by President Bush at a press conference, Gannon attacked Democratic Senate leaders and called them 'divorced from reality.' During the presidential campaign, when called on by Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Gannon linked Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, to Jane Fonda and questioned why anyone would dispute Bush's National Guard service.

My only comment on the SOTU

Nothing much to say about the SOTU. But one thing caught my eye. From C-span's transcript: "We will pass along to our children all the freedoms we enjoy -- and chief among them is freedom from fear."

Our president is peddling pipe dreams.
Freedom from fear does not come from spreading peace through making war.
It does not come from the sniffy-dogs, the lines at the airport, the PATRIOT act, or the department of homeland security.
We gain freedom from fear only when we realize that there is no freedom from fear.
Today the world appears poised to become a more, not less, dangerous place. Can our president protect us from the effects of global warming? Can he save us from our hurricanes and our earthquakes? Can he avert the avian flu pandemic, even now brewing in Vietnam? Fear? It's all around us. This president makes us sick with it (as if we weren't already sick enough) and then comes along, all innocence, and offers us a Kool-Aid cure. As long as we continue to seek freedom from fear, we will not find it. It lives, with doubt, in the hollow place inside us. Arise, America, and reject the lies of those who would proclaim that hollow space filled up! Let us learn instead to live with it, and then we shall be free of the fascist drive to certainty and wholeness! As some Buddhist monk said to some Buddhist seeker, this glass we drink from is already broken.

But we have the Best Medical System in the World!!!!!

Half of Bankruptcy Due to Medical Bills -- U.S. Study

Vitriol

Kevin Drum points to the following Fred Barnes Quote (originally noted by Sully):

Senate Democrats have enough votes to block major Bush initiatives like Social Security reform and to reject Bush appointees, including Supreme Court nominees. They may be suicidal, but they could undermine the president's entire second term agenda. At his news conference last week, Bush reacted calmly to their vitriolic attacks, suggesting only a few Democrats are involved. Stronger countermeasures will be needed, including an unequivocal White House response to obstructionism, curbs on filibusters, and a clear delineation of what's permissible and what's out of bounds in dissent on Iraq.

This rhetoric sounds suspiciously like a James Dobson childrearing manual.

And also, Mr. Barnes, I say to you "We have not yet begun to obstruct!"

Mr. Orwell's Neighborhood

Ashcroft Defends Tough Policies (washingtonpost.com): "Outgoing Attorney General John D. Ashcroft forcefully defended some of his most controversial policies and statements yesterday, arguing that aggressive law enforcement and intelligence gathering were 'expansions of freedom' that helped prevent terrorist attacks on the United States."

Of course. Cuz freedom is slavery, poverty is prosperity, and war is peace.

For fairness' sake, I looked for a transcript of the original comment to see if the notoriously leftist WaPo was misquoting. Couldn't find it, but I did find a propaganda website run by the DOJ, www.lifeandliberty.gov. Oh, and why not check out the White House Office of Faith-based Initiatives while you're at it?

Wondering why I'm not live-blogging the SOTU? I have a migraine, and don't want to vomit. I will read the transcript tomorrow, which is slightly less nauseating.

Beware: Buffy Reference!

Does anyone else think that Michael Chertoff looks remarkably like one of The Gentlemen?

Thank God this Philip K. Dick story I've become stuck in still has Buffy!

Biscuit's plane accidentally set down in a Philip K. Dick story

In this story, the newspaper headlines include:

Terror suspect C released
An Egyptian terror suspect known only as C has been freed after being interned in the UK under anti-terror legislation for more than three years. [Guardian Unlimited]

Athletics: New steroid found
The World-Anti Doping Agency says it has unearthed a new "designer steroid". [BBC News]

CO2 emissions put corals at risk
Israeli scientists predict coral reefs could begin to collapse in as little as 30 years from now. [BBC News]

Also, in this story, there are highway signs like this one, courtesy of Orcinus, who also reminds us that plenty of people still hate Jews.

And something called research-intensive rapid response blogging: " a new blog ready to revolutionize the world of research-intensive rapid response. Debuting in tandem with the State of the Union address on Feb. 2, Thinkprogress.org will give journalists and the public real-time access to American Progress’s highly regarded rapid response operation for the first time ever." (From TPM)

Also via TPM, I learned that a powerful organization called the GOP, headed by a chimpanzee, controls the government in this Philip K. Dick story. The GOP's control appears to stem from something called their 'branding strategy,' which is devised by a ruthless pumpkinheaded person called Karl Rove, and promulgated to the 'media' through press releases, advertising, political theater, and Mr. Rove's minions, who resemble Nazgul. Right now, for example, this 'GOP' is working on dismantling a reasonable-sounding social insurance program that is extremely popular and saves many old people from abject poverty. In this quote from a newspaper, two minions (one, a minor person named Santorum who apparently has sex with dogs, the other, even more minor, referred to only as a 'congressional aide'), release the new words to be used in describing the planned abolition of the popular social insurance program:

At the center of the GOP pitch is a language "branding" plan that Republicans hope will undercut Democratic criticism of Republican plans. For instance, the GOP has been pushing to move from describing the investment accounts as "private," preferring to use "personal," which they believe is less loaded politically. Similarly, Santorum said Friday he preferred to avoid calling costs associated with the creation of the accounts "transitional," favoring the use of "prepaying." A senior GOP Senate aide acknowledged that both of these semantic changes are part of the party's broader strategy to reframe the Social Security debate.

I first thought this must be a joke -- but it turns out this 'GOP' has been very successful with Orwellian word games in the past.

In this Philip K. Dick story, the country is engaged in several wars at once: a War on Terror, a War in Iraq (this one is a War to Bring Democracy and Freedom to the Middle East, although at one time it apparently was a War To Rid the World of Dangerous Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Hands of a Madman Who Cavorted With Terrorists), and a War on Drugs. There may be more wars, I'm not sure yet. These wars are invoked as justification for all sorts of bizarre behavior on the part of the government and individuals.

Also, there is something called The Bill of Rights, a mythical document created at the country's founding and still invoked regularly by some citizens in need of defenses against the government. However, more and more of the country's inhabitants, especially the younger generation, are unaware of it, don't believe in it, are shocked to discover it exists, and when told what rights it guarantees, find they disagree with it. The more modern citizens believe that the Bill of Rights, like another mythical document, the Geneva Convention, which apparently set down the laws of war, is "quaint" and "obsolete". The current wars are not being fought according to the Geneva Conventions, and all those who call for a return to them are "branded" traitors. It is said that those who cling to these ancient documents "aid the terrorists" and "hate freedom."

The more I find out about this story I'm stuck in, the more terrified and bewildered I am. It has given me an awful migraine, this Philip K. Dick story. I think I will have to go lie down for a while, and perhaps when I get back up, I will be in a more pleasant story. If not, I will continue to write about what I find in this strange story-land. I have read that if I appear too much to be "aiding the terrorists" I may be seized myself by the Homeland Security Department, and subjected to something called "waterboarding," a process by which, if I understand it correctly, I am drowned repeatedly until I confess to being a witch and having evil lesbian sex with Satan.