Politics: The rare or extinct animal, the liberal leaning Republican popped up at the Democratic Convention last night in the form of Jim Leach. BTW, Michelle looked good and all, but her speech did not like thrill me or anything. Her story is impressive, and watching Biden last Saturday sound enthusiastic and feisty was nice, but there are limits to words, you know. The bottom line is action, and she has walked the walk. That is what ultimately counts. Also, she seems to have an edge, which I like, that does is not really allowed to come out in such a context.
I felt like Glenn Greenwald watching the talking heads over at MNBC talking about McCain's repeated use of his POW experience in reply to questions like how many houses he (vs. "elite" Obama) has. Rachel Maddow stated the obvious -- that doesn't work after awhile. [If ever, imho.] Pat Buchanan, on the other hand, that tough guy from the streets, took the usual line -- hey, it works. Let's see how it sells. Substance does not matter, right? As Glenn notes today, apparently, they do not do that very well. Thankfully, there are some Rachels around to fill in the gap.
Abortion: I don't regularly read it, but the Broadsheet blog over at Salon often has some interesting tidbits and conversation starters. A recent entry references an abortion friendly blog ("What to Expect When You're Aborting") and my usual pet peeve that something millions have done in the last two decades is rarely publicly expressed, especially in popular fiction. As the link to the abortion tee shirt controversy notes, in this context, silence empowers the other side.
Book: I referenced it in a recent post, but David Iglesias' autobiographical take (co-written by David Seay, who also served that function for a book written by a friend of DI, though DI didn't make the connection), In Justice, is a good read. As he noted, the guy is a three-fer: evangelistic, Hispanic and veteran (Navy), but was totally screwed over for basically doing his job too well. An in depth look at the issue is best taken elsewhere, but the personal (an important hook these days) and a quick primer on what is at stake value of the book is clear.*
To emphasize the point, David Iglesias' life story (and the fact early on he was a loyal Bushie / fan of Gonzo) might be helpful for some who do not know what is the big deal. It's Bush's Justice Department, right? So, they have carte blanche and all, right? No, they do not, especially given the fact that independence is particularly important when dealing with prosecutors. And, even if you argue partisan firings are acceptable, these were done in such an incompetent fashion with the top guy delegating things to young political officials. Finally, simply put, some of the firings smelled of obstruction of justice. You can't do that.
To go back to the first topic, the fact that a clear understanding of just how far off the rails -- including historically speaking -- this administration is tends to not adequately be covered is atrocious journalism. In fact, even liberal blogs do not do an adequate enough job (Glenn Greenwald is a fav in part because he does go back and compare and contrast, with damning quotes too) of comparing them to past administrations. There are some attempts to do so, including getting old hands to comment (e.g. John Dean), but not enough.
The past is not always better, but comparing the present to past actions is still quite telling. When, e.g., nearly no for cause firings occurring in the same administration is contrasted to seven on one day ("nothing to see here"), it's notable. Compare not just to Clinton, but Bush I and Reagan. It's helpful.
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* For instance, referencing a law review article ("Train Wreck at the Justice Department") by another fired U.S. attorney suggesting Gonzalez be investigated for obstruction of justice.
When Marty Lederman (Balkinization, former Clinton OLC guy) discussed the congressional investigation of the matter, referencing a Slate article on the topic by some other somewhat conservative centrist sounding sorts, he had trouble finding any crime involved. Pissed me off at the time; the fact such at times too weak willed sorts are so upset at current events underlines how bad they are.