Reading my local tabloid, the NY Daily News, I was a bit overwhelmed about all the topics of interest that were covered. This entry will be a quick run-through of various stories that caught my eye.
More Depressing Bush Appointees: There was of course the usual depressing President Bush related news. Slate magazine had two articles yesterday that tried in some way to put a good face on the appointments of Elliot Abrams and John Negroponte to key positions. First, there is talk of liberals being in a troubling position because they might support the democratic ends but not the dubious means used by the other side. The real problem is that not only does corrupt means suggest corrupt ends, but also the Bush Administration's own words suggest they are not really totally supportive of democracy anyway.
As to Negroponte, Fred Kaplan puts asides his dubious record (human rights in Central America, promoting war in Iraq because of an overblown WMD threat, and so forth -- the second thing particular trouble for a new intelligence czar) because he might actually bring real power to the job. This is not a totally stupid argument, but a controversial Bush crony is still just not a great choice.*
Porn Republicans: Moving to the editorial page. Errol Louis, a local columnist that provides very good criticism of political skullduggery, discusses James Guckert aka Jeff Gannon, the Republican plant at White House press conferences qua gay porn star. This is one of the things that drives one to wonder how in the hell the Republicans are controlling the government.
This guy was recently connected to a partisan paper (Talon News, which I recently used as a source elsewhere to discuss Republican economic polices) that was allowed to go to the press conference under an assumed name without undergoing a full background check, apparently to ease his job of lofting softballs to the administration. Louis in fact notes that Guckert actually appears to be connected to the Valerie Plame affair as well, since a story he wrote suggests access to juicy details for which government investigators should be interesting in.*
CK and SS: Charles Krauthammer has an editorial on how "Bush [Social Security] crisis script is pure fiction." He refreshingly suggests that much of what President Bush is offering is "fictional," including any suggestion private accounts are relevant to reforming the system. Nonetheless, his spleen is concerned with the fact that there is a problem; one "the chief reformer" (ROFL) does not help by basically being full of shit. Oh, and the Democrats' plan is "to stick their heads in the sand." Well, no -- they have several ideas; they just find Bush's rhetoric as fraudulent, overblown, and counterproductive. Krauthammer, however, is a partisan hack, so skips over this.
Finally, CK is partially right to be dismissive of the "piece of paper" (government bonds) deposited to back-up the SS trust fund. Al Franken is pissed off by such rhetoric because our government has an obligation to back government securities and suggesting they are worthless is a libel on our government. True enough -- the problem remains, Al, that we have to find a way to pay-off said securities. As Franken and others suggest, there are some fairly easy ways to tinker with the system to allow us to do so. Not that "the chief reformer" (yes, still ROFL) has made it any easier especially, his tax cuts and Medicare Bill (true cost rising by the day).
Deanna Allen: It is outrageous that the military is "chaptering out" Deanna Allen as a result of some rowdy business she was involved in at a party to blow off some stream. The local tabloid's editorial board found this outrageous too, though their paper did not find it troubling to repeatedly print tabloidish pics such as her showing her breasts on camera.
The blame really lies on superiors who were not able to keep order, including over much worse activities than this. As to Pvt. Allen (already demoted), at worst some disciplinary actions should have been taken, though I do not really think mud wrestling or whatever at a party is exactly something we should care about. But, okay, discipline does matter -- this penalty however is just too extreme, especially since guys have done worst for years without even a reprimand.
Proposed Legislation: Sen. Clinton is sponsoring the Count Every Vote Act, similar to legislation that failed to receive committee hearing last session, but might get more attention now that the Republicans are offering their own version. The bill would require verified paper records for electronic voting machines, make Election Day a federal holiday, require early voting in each state, and restore voting rights to felons who completed their sentences.
Probably too broad to pass in full, but lots of good stuff. I'm dubious about early voting, liking the idea of one election day -- making it a federal holiday would help many of the problems that early voting addresses. The verified paper trail at a minimum is just plain necessary for the integrity of the franchise. The felony provision is imho quite fundamental too, though its chances of passing are probably small.
Councilwoman Gail Brewer (D-Manhattan) has put forth legislation that would be the first in the nation concerning the question of accurate advertising respecting starting times for movies. "Pre-feature content" (not just previews, but increasingly, ads) at times push back starting times in multiplexes as much as fifteen minutes past the listed times.
I doubt this really is necessary, since moviegoers recognize the fact, plus the exact times would not be consistent at any rate. Nonetheless, it definitely is one of my pet peeves -- I actually enjoy movie previews, though after awhile repeated viewings are tedious, and starting late allows rest room breaks and purchasing overpriced goods from concession stands. Still, the growing use of ads is downright annoying.
One more thing: Just what legislation respecting transferring interstate class action suits to federal courts that was signed by the President into law will wrought is unclear. Various legal minds suggest probably nothing TOO much, especially in the short term. The law received some key Democrat support in the Senate, but is seen by some as hypocritical because state rights Republicans are increasing federal power and in effect criticizing states.
Nonetheless, neither side is ever fully consistent, and this sort of area is clearly a legitimate (if perhaps not necessary) use of national power. And, Republicans supporting legislation that helps big business [the President's suggestion today that it is in place to help the small business owner is not to be taken seriously]. Shocking! Seriously, this legislation might be trouble, but less than some rhetoric probably suggests ... and there's a lot more to worry about at the moment.
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* Branzburg v. Hayes is the 1972 Supreme Court decision that rejected a claim of press privilege to resist testifying in front of a grand jury when the result would threaten their relationships with sources. It was a 5-4 decision with a brief concurrence by Justice Powell that some appeal courts gave more weight than it might deserve in order to supply the press some protection. It is a quite interesting opinion as are the dissents (Justice Stewart's dissent had a chance of being the majority opinion), especially because of the range of issues touched upon.
** Another issue is that he was only appointed ambassador to Iraq about a year ago. Is this really the time to switch horses in mid-stream? Let's bypass the fact he was apparently the fourth choice. Finally, such caveats from the NYT doesn't breed secure thoughts: "What he has not consistently demonstrated is the kind of bedrock commitment to democratic values, professional independence and frank relations with Congress that he will need to successfully do a job whose powers have already been dangerously diluted."