I'm taking off ...

Politizine will be on hiatus for a little while. I should be back online sometime in July.

Best,
Tony

Lots of stuff on the campaign front ...
Kerry says Bush misled Americans on war It looks like Kerry has finally decided to come out swinging. It is about time; but too little, too late? We'll have to wait and see.
Former Bush Intelligence Insider Assails Counterterrorism Tactics I was going to post this earlier but I spaced it. This is a pretty good piece about Bush's rush to war. Not surprisingly, the guy is now a Kerry advisor.
Empty words won’t beat Bush John Edwards is profiled in this column but listen to this:
"The first thing you notice about U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, one of the major Democratic candidates for president, is how devastatingly handsome he is."
Oh brother.
Kucinich sees California as 'springboard to the presidency' No word yet on if the NH Greens will be backing Kucinich.
Try Telling Clark He’s Not a Patriot Conason has a column on former NATO General Wesley Clark's whose campaign is going nowhere fast.
Bush Takes Strong Stand Against Iran Nuclear Plans As it all slips away, Bush will find a way to distract the masses.
Impeachable Offense The case can be made that Bush should be impeached. I never thought I would say this but I kinda miss the guy who couldn't keep his cigar and penis out of the interns. Clinton was a disgusting pig and deserved to be impeached, but he never let our friends and neighbors die for oil in the 21st Century's Vietnam. What is the body count so far since The Shrub declared "victory?" Forty-five dead? Pathetic. God help us all.
Gore rally: Just count all the no-shows Few attend draft Gore rally.
Will We See Gore TV? Gore wants to create an alternative TV and radio network. Good for him! Hey, Al, where can I send my radio demo? I can't get on the air anywhere else!! However, the problem isn't just creating a "liberal" network. The problem is that new agencies are profit-motivated. So, they don't dig up the stories that need to be told. More politics in news isn't the answer; more news in the news is the answer.
Middle Class and Out of Work I missed this from the Boston Sunday Globe magazine. Pretty relevant these days since I know all kinds of people un- or under-employed, basically running on fumes. The problem with the economy is more the collapse of the dot-cons and Sept. 11. The politicians have bankrupted the country by eliminating tariffs on imports which pushed the manufacturing base to flee overseas to cheaper labor. The simple fact remains: The American public can pay via welfare or subsidize the employment force via tariffs. Either way, we pay. Isn't it better to have people employed?

Five part series on drug use in baseball
Wow - this thing came out of nowhere. Howard Bryant of the Boston Herald has just unveiled the first of a five part series on steroid use in baseball ["A Tainted Era?"]. Excellent so far. And pretty relevant points about offensive players - as in hitting champions; not assholes - putting people in the stands. I can hardly wait to read the rest of it.

Living the life of Kerry
Yesterday, the Boston Sunday Globe began its seven part series on the life of Sen. John Forbes Kerry, presidential candidate. What a life - boating with JFK, forming a debate society at the exclusive St. Paul's School in Concord, NH, and then to 'Nam ... These kinds of features really do make you want to puke. But even in reading the first two, you get a real understanding for the guy and why he is the way he is. The entire series can be found here ["John F. Kerry - Candidate in the making"].

Capuano for govenor?
Rep. Mike Capuano, D-Somerville, made the rounds at last week's Democratic [issues] Convention which kicked off the official start of Kerry's campaign. The Boston Sunday Herald gave Capuano a "who's hot" listing for reportedly impressing delegates who are all abuzz about him taking on Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006. Of course, this should surprise no one. The Herald has always had a soft spot for Capuano, endorsing him in the 1998 8th Congressional District melee. Then again, they also broke the "Capuano accused of favoritism in mobster land deal" story on their front pages so ... who knows? However, I would add, that while he hasn't been specifically relevant in the legislation department, Capuano has been a pretty good representative - consistently voting with and supporting the Progressive Democratic Caucus.

Also in The Buzz ...
The latest number of taxpayers who have taken the option to file under the state's 5.85 percent rate are in: Out of 2.265 million returns only 1,132 filers have opted to pay more in taxes, adding $130,732 to the state's general fund. Hmm. So much for finding the revenues, eh?

Traffic reporters ...
Back to today's Herald: "Roads Scholar" writer Robin Washington has a short and funny piece about visual markers used by traffic reporters on the radio ["Follow your favorite landmark to gridlock "]. He interviewed a number of commuters who all said they didn't know where the markers referenced in traffic reports were. Hey, Robin, tell the traffic people to slow down when they talk. They whip through the reports so fast you often don't know what the hell they said!

Dean wins Wisconsin straw poll
This story made the national wires thanks to Drudge. Presidential candidate former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean handily won a straw poll conducted at Wisconsin's Democratic Convention Saturday [WisPolitics.com]. The most curious thing about this is the national committee's overbearing hand discouraging attendees from casting votes because it believed the poll would sap energy and resources from campaigns. Only 352 out of 1,162 delegates voted. For shame! Actually, it is the exact opposite of what the DNC says. These kinds of polls can buoy a campaign and give it the electability component it might need to succeed, especially in these very cynical times.
However, I would contend that the DNC doesn't like straw polls because the process takes power away from super-delegates and elected officials who essentially choose the nominee and limit the support to a handful of candidates that idiot Terry McAuliffe deems worthy. Note Rep. Dennis Kucinich albeit low third place finish, although ahead of Edwards, Gephardt, Graham, and Lieberman. Nice political site, too.

This morning ...
There are some pretty interesting stories in the news this morning. First, the sad news that bones found in Palmer, Mass. are those of missing lifeguard Molly Bish. I hope that this can bring come closure to the family. This regional story didn't really make the national news the same way other missing women and children stories have.

Note to TV News Editors: I wish that these stories would stay local. I am really sick of turning on my local news and hearing about a 9-year-old girl abducted in San Jose or the latest in the Laci Peterson investigation. I can get this from FoxNews or MSNBC! Please, report the local news. There is so much of it going on that you are missing.

State democrats have finally gotten their way and made history in the process, as noted in the Boston Globe this morning. A new report card will be filed every March by the state committee analyzing whether or not elected democrats adhere to the party platform ["'Report card' to grade Democratic lawmakers"].
On prank value alone, this is pretty cool. It will drive House Speaker Tom Finneran and others bonkers.
But in the end, it is a whole hell of a lot about nothing since most voters will never receive the report card and most voters don't read the numerous report cards put out by special interest groups. The key to getting bad representatives out of office is to find good candidates to challenge them.
Unfortunately, most progressives are either too obsessed with "the movement," or they think running for office, gathering signatures, and begging for money to run a serious campaign, is beneath them.

Speaking of the Globe, why the hell do they cover so much stuff in Framingham, while ignoring stuff going on in Somerville, Cambridge, or Boston neighborhoods? Every day there is something about Framingham. Does anyone even read the Globe in Framingham?

I will post some political updates sometime tonight or tomorrow afternoon. There has been a lot of interesting sh*t going on.

Texas democrats as terrorists, part whatever ...
Yesterday morning, Dan Kennedy of the Boston Phoenix pointed us to the latest on this unbelievable scandal ["In Texas Feud, a Plane Tale of Intrigue"]. It is worth going through the Post's stupid registration process [enabling cookies, typing in your birth year and zip code] to read this one.

It seems like every time I have tried to get on blogger the last week, the site has been down. Hence, there haven't been many updates. Oh well.

Green Party successes!
Here are two recent stories via Common Dreams about a green elected mayor in NY and what Maine's only green rep. is doing to get stuff done:
["'Green' Candidate Wins N.Y. Mayor Race"]
["A Party of One in Maine"]
I love the democrats in Maine. 'A green won? Sh*t, we'll have to redistrict him out!' Typical. Even when you challenge the status quo - and win - they will always be out to get you. In West's case, four times is a charm. Maybe there is hope for all the rest of us losers out here.

Teresa's cash off limits to Kerry
["Wife's Fortune Out for Kerry's Campaign"]

So much for political experts
You have to love the political experts sometimes.
This morning on "Meet the Press," the usual political newspaper pundits sat and talked shop with host Tim Russert. David Broder, Al Hunt, Robert Novak, and William Safire, pretty much agreed that no one is following the democratic candidates running for president and agreed that Bill and Hillary Clinton are smothering the party with their celebrity status. Russert mentioned yesterday's candidate forum in Lake Placid and one of the pundits, I believe it was Novak, said that no one was interested in the primaries. Of course, you expect this from the conservative Novak and I didn't think anything of it.
Then, I opened the Boston Globe and saw buried in a short Associated Press story that "about 1,000 people attend[ed] the forum on rural issues ..." Here is a more extensive story in the NYT: ["Plenty of Campaigning at Rural Issues Forum"]
This is astounding. One thousand people in Lake Placid; population 4,000, with a New York primary that is late in the game. Who says no one is interested or listening? Get a clue pundits, get a clue.

Nader: Greens looking at Dems
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader confirmed that some greens are thinking of not running a candidate in 2004: "Nader: Greens considering backing Democrat in 2004"
I can confirm that there has been some discussion both publicly and privately about what the greens should do in 2004.
According to an email I received earlier this week, NH Greens had dinner with Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Friday night in Concord, in an effort to woo support from the collection of activists in that state.
Here in Massachusetts, activists have been discussing plans to schedule a series of forums on the topic, in an effort to find some common ground with progressive democrats. While nothing has been confirmed, the plan is to start having the meetings sometime in September, although that could be too late to really do any good.
On the national level, there has been some discussion amongst some of the party hierarchy and long-time activists and founders of the party, with generalized proposals being floated.
I would say more, but you will have to wait for the book …

Torture!
A Brit photoshop girl developed pictures of British soldiers torturing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners of war: ["My horror at PoW sex abuse pics"]

A scandal that needs to grow and grow ... or Democrats as terrorists part whatever
["Texas tussle stirs up a scandal"]

So much for charity saving us ...
Conservatives always say that charity can be a replacement for government spending. Well, maybe not: ["Nonprofits cutting back as funding dries up"]
And this doesn't even include the 70 percent cut in funding for rape crisis centers across the state. Shame on the Mass. Legislature!

Boston exec pay
Whoa!: ["Hub's best paid execs: One made $55M last year - is he really worth it?"]

1/20th of 1 percent pay higher taxes
The Boston Herald is also reporting in their The Buzz column this morning that a mere 1,052 residents have opted to pay higher taxes in 2002: ["A duty-free approach"].
Eh, I thought the state was in a fiscal crisis? How come all the people who are clamoring for higher taxes are paying them voluntarily?

Just when I thought I had seen it all ...
John Cusack for President
Too bad he is telling them to stop.

Invasion Iran?
"Pentagon planning massive covert attack on Iran" "The Pentagon is advocating a massive covert action program to overthrow Iran's ruling ayatollahs as the only way to stop the country's nuclear weapons ambitions, senior State Department and Pentagon officials told ABCNEWS. " Whoa.

Clean Elections killed in the state Senate
Earlier today, during a budget hearing, the Massachusetts State Senate voted by voice vote to kill the Clean Elections law ["Senate votes to kill Clean Elections during ongoing budget debate"].
This is absolute despicable. The Clean Elections Law was supported by almost 70 percent of the people in 1998. I didn't support the law when it was put on the ballot; I didn't think there should be the strict qualifying contribution standards in the law which made it impossible for "normal" people to run. Advocates said during the 1998 campaign that without the qualifying contributions, the Legislature would kill the bill. Well, they killed it any way. But in reality, "normal" people can't get 6,000 qualifying contributions of between $5 and $100 from people to run for governor. Ask Green-Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein about how hard it is for normal people to run as Clean Elections candidates. But, the people voted on it and the Legislature should have abided by the people. Same with the seat belt law that the Legislature, thankfully, were kept from implementing an enforcement mechanism into the law yesterday. However, like always, they didn't. They stuck their thumb in the eye of the voters and in a voice vote no less, so that none of us know how our senators voted. Sickening.

Liars, liars, and more liars ...
Just about everyone fibs at one time or another. A little fib here, another there, no problem. But when you start getting into the big lies, then you will have some problems. Below are some examples of some of the lies going on right now. So much for restoring "honor and integrity" to the White House, eh Mr. President?
"The Case for War is Blown Apart" The Brits are going absolutely haywire over the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
"Tax Law Omits Child Credit in Low-Income Brackets" Surprise, poor workers and families don't get jacksh*t in the Bush tax cut.
"Was the case for invasion built on deception?"
"Lying, Like Gambling, is a Virtue: The Republican Party 2004 Playbook"
"Will new jobs-counting method affect 2004 election? Change in Labor methodology could alter perception of employment health" This article is a must read: Corporations cut over 500,000 jobs over three months and the feds decide to count military workers for the first time in history in order to doctor the job numbers. Give me a break. However, the unemployment numbers have always been doctored in one way or another. The real unemployment numbers are much higher than most people think. Accurate "unemployment" numbers would include people who aren't working, people in prison, people who were collecting but fell off the rolls, etc.

Bought and paid for?
The Center for Public Integrity [via newsmax.com] is reporting that FCC has been showered with nearly $2.8 million in travel and entertainment over the past eight years, largely from the same industries the agency regulates: ["FCC Takes Junkets at Industry Expense "]

Moore's site hacked!
Filmmaker Michael Moore's Web site was hacked sometime on Sunday although it was quickly fixed. World Net Daily is reporting the incident as an exclusive ["Michael Moore website in Oscar hack attack"] but it looks like the Dumb Celeb blog beat them by a couple of hours ["Michael Moore"]. They even have a screenshot of the page! The hacker placed a link to a site ["revoketheoscar.com"] requesting assistance in petitioning the Academy of Arts and Sciences to rescind Moore's documentary award for "Bowling for Columbine," claiming that Moore lied in the production of the film rendering it "fiction" and not a "documentary." Revoketheoscar.com leads to another link: ["Truth About Bowling"]; a devistating indictment by attorney David Hardy, claiming that Moore doctored numerous footage, dates, facts, and other information to promote his anti-gun violence agenda. Since I haven't seen the film, I can't really comment on the legitimacy of the specifics. But if the claims are true, this is a serious problem.

Texas democrats as terrorists, the investigation continues ...
["DOT latest to investigate search for Laney's plane; Inquiry will probe FAA's role during walkout by Democrats"]

"Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta opened an inquiry Friday to determine whether the Federal Aviation Administration inappropriately helped look for one of the Democratic state representatives who left Texas to shut down the state House last week."

Keep it coming, Houston Chronicle! You'll get the smoking gun.

More hocus pocus?
The Sept. 11 Commission was told Friday that the military was so unprepared for the attacks that it scrambled unarmed fighter jets to meet the hijacked airlines: ["Military unprepared for 9/11 attacks"]
And what have we been spending th0se trillions on all these years?

Creepy news about implanting chips in humans
"Barcoding humans: The era of implanting people with identity chips is up on us"
In the Boston Globe no less. All I can say is this stuff gives me the creeps in a major way. I guess all those people who called me a nut 10 years ago when I started talking about this openly will have to apologize.

Misuse of federal resources, shredding documents ... hmm ...
On "Meet the Press" this morning, Tim Russert had a pretty interesting conversation with four U.S. Senators involved in the intelligence committees to discuss what the hell is going on in Iraq. However, towards the end of the discussion, Russert brought up a Washington Post editorial from Friday's newspaper addressing the very strange - and dangerous - use of the Homeland Security Dept. to track down democrats in Texas who refused to participate in voting on a redistricting bill ["Questions in Texas"].
Here is the full quote that Russert asked the senators to comment on:

"Alas, how this misuse of federal security resources occurred may be a question that state records can shed little light on. The day after the search was called off, the Department of Public Safety ordered the destruction of 'any notes, correspondence, photos, etc. that were obtained' in the investigation. The department, in a statement, said it did so because federal rules prohibit retaining 'intelligence information that is not related to criminal conduct or activity' -- and the search was not a criminal matter. But are Texas authorities usually this diligent about this particular civil liberties requirement? The public deserves convincing evidence that the document destruction was routine, not an effort to cover something up ... The public is entitled to know how a Cabinet department formed to protect America from terrorists ended up looking for Democrats who didn't want to show up for work."

Shockingly - although not really - the senators sloughed off any serious comment about the editorial or the use of a terrorism organization to track down the democrats. In fact, most of the senators started giggling about the whole incident like it was some sort of pattycake game or sleepover party. And everyone wonders why a lot of us fear our politicians and don't trust the democrats who should have used this question to attack DeLay and the other nuts in control of Congress.

Just when you thought it was safe ...
While Bush campaigns for reelection, using the dead of Sept. 11 and the invasion of Iraq, as campaign props ["Bush '04 fund-raising cites war on terrorism"], the Pentagon is making moves for regime change in Iran ["Pentagon sets sights on a new Tehran regime"]. But the beauty of life is when it is all explained simply and humorously by column goddess Maureen Dowd ["Yo, Ayatollahs!"].

... but Nigella makes life worth living
Joyce Millman from the Boston Phoenix nails it right on the head this week about why some of us absolutely love Brit cook doll Nigella Lawson: ["Beauty and the feast"]

"Curvy, orally fixated, and unabashedly foodosexual, the dark-haired Lawson glides around her home kitchen in soft focus (her shows are filmed, not taped, and there’s no studio audience). Her slightly almond-shaped eyes glitter as she dips her fingers into one concoction or another and sucks them clean, emitting little mews of pleasure."

Mmm ... meow.

Herald confirms Whitley's on
["WRKO axes McCarthy and Vigue"] Dean Johnson makes an interesting point here about demographics. Whitley attracts an older crowd and the advertisers are looking for younger demos. Also, that WRKO is being "bled" by WTKK, the FM talker over at 96.9.

Texas Democrats as terrorists, Part 5
["DeLay admits to role in hunting for Democrats; DPS focus of 'potentially criminal' action"] Friggin' whoa!

"DeLay said his staff used public information at the Federal Aviation Administration to track former Texas Speaker Pete Laney's airplane."

This is outrageous! They can't do this. Is there any mechanism by which officials can be punished for misuse of the Homeland Security Department? If there isn't, there better be something put in there after this incident. Or better yet, let's just rescind the legislation. I would bet we would all truly be a lot safer then.

'Dr. Loudmouth' fan sentenced to jail for disturbing the peace
A California woman has been sent to jail for 10 days as punishment for not turning her radio down while listening to Dr. Laura "Loudmouth" Schlessinger: ["Judge sends message loud, clear"] This punishment seems kind of extreme - unless you lived next door to the woman. I don't understand why she just didn't turn down her radio, especially while listening to the truly awful Dr. Loudmouth. I also can't believe that there is nothing about what the noise ordinance is or whether she was given any warnings before being taken to court in the story.

Pols: $500 just isn't enough; and neither is the spending
Leaders in the supposed "great and honorable court" known as the Legislature had a hearing yesterday to raise the campaign contribution limits from $500 to $1,000. ["Double take: Rep floats fat campaign $ bill"] Some reforms were also added to the measure. However, this bill is an incumbency protection act. The legislators have very few challengers as it is now, without the increased donation. Common Cause and others are right to try and stop this.
On another story, also in the Boston Herald, the state senate has loaded down their version of the budget with more pork and pet projects:["Pull of pork: Senate leaders cash in as fees rise, aid sinks"] Eh, correct me if I am wrong but I thought there was a fiscal crisis going on? More cash for the racetrack industry? Sound barriers along Route 1? Give me a break. State Sen. Charlie Shannon is my state senator, and I also cover him as a newspaper editor. I guess I will have to give him a call this morning.