The Blue State

Blue Blogs: Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the other liberal blogs are posting:

Crook& Liars: 'No Dishonorable Discharge For Anti-War Marine'

A military panel has recommended a general discharge for an Iraq war veteranwho wore his uniform during a war protest and later responded with an obscenityto a superior who told him he might have violated military rules.

Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh participated in the protest in March, clad in auniform that had his name tag and other insignia removed. After he wasidentified in a photo caption in The Washington Post, a superior officer senthim a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops fromwearing uniforms without authorization.

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at theMarine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend another-than-honorable discharge, choosing instead the general discharge. Readon…

RawStory: 'Op-ed:Deploy Rove's smear tactics against al Qaeda' America is losing theinformation war against its enemies in the Middle East, argues a guest columnistin a suburban Chicago newspaper, and the key to victory is deploying "ourgovernment's supreme opinion manipulator" Karl Rove to unleash some of thesame smear tactics against terror leaders he became famous for using againstdomestic political enemies Readon... 

TPMMuckraker: 'Senate Judiciary Hearing GetsStarted' We're reportinglive from the Senate Judiciary's latest hearing on the politicization ofthe Department of Justice. U.S. The first witness will be Attorney GeneralAlberto Gonzales' first appointed U.S. Attorney, Bradley Schlozman, of theWestern District of Missouri. The second witness we'll hear from is Todd Graves,the U.S. Attorney that was ousted to make room for Schlozman.Schlozman is being sworn in. More coverage is on the way. You can also followalong with video here.

NewsHounds: 'Fox & Friends Pushes 'Culture ofCorruption' For Democrats' Since there was an indictment of one DemocraticCongressman, Rep. William Jefferson (D) yesterday, Fox and Friends played upthis amounting to a 'Culture of Corruption' among the Democrats when in fact outof the eight representatives now being investigated for corruption, sevenof them are Republicans. Readon...

Comment: Jefferson should get what he deserves and then some.But when FOX reports on Rosie and not on real issues, then make the Jeffersonissue their cash cow??...please.

ThinkProgress: 'Leahy reacts to Guantanamo dismissals'“Every time this Administration has been called upon to create a workable andfair system, it responded by seeking to remove judicial review and discretionand narrow the procedures even further. I hope this time the Administration willwork with us to create a better system. The place to start is byrestoring the hallmark of justice known as the Great Writ of habeas corpus sothat there will be a check by an independent court to guarantee that basicsafeguards and the rule of law are followed. That will also begin theprocess of restoring America’s reputation for justice around the world.” Readon...

Glenn Greenwald: 'Thegreat right-wing fraud to repudiate George W. Bush' The great fraud beingperpetrated in our political discourse is the concerted attempt by movementconservatives, now that the Bush presidency lay irreversibly in ruins, torepudiate George Bush by claiming that he is not, and never has been, a"real conservative." This con game is being perpetrated by the verysame conservatives who -- when his presidency looked to be an epic success --glorified George W. Bush, ensured both of his election victories, depicted himas the heroic Second Coming of Ronald Reagan, and celebrated him as theembodiment of True Conservatism. Readon...

Blue Nightowl Clips

Here we go with tonight's batch of the top political clips making their rounds on the blogs tonight:

TB No fly list (Thnaks to Crooks & Liars for vid)

Bill O Blames Secular Progressives for TB Scare

The Nexus Of Politics And Terror Part 1 (Thnaks to Crooks & Liars for vid)

Jon Soltz on Countdown (Vote Vets .org always a worthy post)

Tucker Carlson Discusses New VoteVets.org Ad

Blue Blogs: Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the other liberal blogs are posting:

 

ThinkProgress: 'U.S. Media Blows Coverage Of Bush’s ClimateSpeech, Needs Tutorial From International Press' After President Bush gave aspeechyesterday outlining his energy and climate change strategy, the U.S. mediaquickly heralded Bush’s “new” policy as a “shift” from his previouslydismal environmental record:Read on...

Commentis Free: 'Brazil does it better' Biofuels cut emissions and offerhope to the poor, but the rich must make their contribution.

The findings of the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) underscore an enormous challenge facing the planetearth: how to reconcile the wellbeing of the world's six billion inhabitantswith the growing threat to the global environment. The IPCC reports convey aclear and dramatic warning about the downside to modernity and industrialisation.Clearly, we can no longer remain indifferent to the impact of climate change onhuman communities and the biosphere. Readon...

TheHuffington Post: Kevorkian Out of Prison After 8 Years' COLDWATER,Mich. — Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed "Dr. Death"for claims that he participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, left prisonafter eight years Friday still believing people have the right to die.A smilingKevorkian, now 79, said it was "one of the high points in life" as hewalked out with his attorney. Readon... (posted because I am a "pro" Jack kinda guy)

Another HuffPo story: 'Baghdad Embassy Plans Turn Up Online'WASHINGTON — Detailed plans for the new U.S. Embassy under construction inBaghdad appeared online Thursday in a breach of the tight security surroundingthe sensitive project. Computer-generated projections of the soon-to-becompleted, heavily fortified compound were posted on the Web site of the KansasCity, Mo.-based architectural firm that was contracted to design the massivefacility in the Iraqi capital. The images were removed by Berger Devine YaegerInc. shortly after the company was contacted by the State Department. Readon...

TPM Muckraker: 'InterrogationTechniques Came from Cold War Foes' Manyof the controversial interrogation tactics used against “war onterror” detainees in Guantanamo, Iraq and Afghanistan are similar tostrategies the United States feared its worst enemies would use against capturedsoldiers during the Cold War. Timemagazine catches this connection in a recently declassified report, "Reviewof DoD-Directed Investigations of Detainee Abuse,” that has receivedlittle media coverage. The same potentialenemy tactics the U.S. military trained forces to face during the Cold Warbecame interrogation strategies used on enemy combatants. Readon...

RawStory: 'MichaelReagan: 'Let the military go do what it does best, kill people and break things'On Thursday, MSNBC's Scarborough Country discussed the rapid increase in USmilitary casualties in Iraq and the latest Gallup Poll, which shows 54% ofAmericans wanting to get out of Iraq and only 25% saying to stay the course. Inlight of these facts, Joe Scarborough asked conservative commentator MichaelReagan, "What can a president do but abandon a bloody and unpopularwar?"

"Shut off the television sets," Reagan responded. "I mean,when was the last time you heard a body count on the other side? ... All youhear about is the body count of Americans, not the job that they aredoing."

He continued, "If I was there with the president of the United States,know what I'd tell him? I'd tell him shut off the press, let the military godo what it does best, kill people and break things. ... Give them somepositive news about what these soldiers are doing that are fighting. Yes,they are dying, but they are doing such a fabulous job ..." Readon...with VIDEO

I'd tell him shut off the press, let the military go do what it doesbest, kill people and break things.

Yes, they are dying, but they are doing such a fabulous job

Whatdisgusting words.

The Blue State on MySpace

This morning we launched The Blue State on MySpace -- our first major effort in a long line of upcoming finger-crossing attempts to branch out to a wider audience.  If you have a MySpace account, feel free to add us into your top-five.

My hunch is that most of our readers do not have a MySpace.  Our goal, instead, is to bring MySpace users to us -- specifically younger Americans.  We have some basic motivations behind this:

• Helping young adults register to vote.
• Encouraging them to find a cause or candidate and volunteer their time.
• Introducing them to the blogosphere.
• Creating a forum on MySpace for political discussion.

As a young American myself, I know that my generation is pretty much ignored by the Washington establishment.  Instead of just sitting here on my backside and complaining, I'd rather do something about it.  By bringing more of my generation into the game, we will mean a lot more as a voting block to those in power.

http://www.myspace.com/thebluestate

Memorial Day Blue Blogs

Today's theme is "Troop Support" and lack of.

Think Progress:CBS Exposes Bush Admin’s ‘Outrageous Delay’ InProviding Marines With Bomb-Resistant Vehicle' While President Bush has beenbusy politically demagoging funding for the troops, CBS Evening News highlighteda disturbing report tonight that the administration waited over a year beforeacting on a “priority1 urgent” request to send blast-resistant vehicles to Iraq, the so-calledMine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Readon with Video...

Military.com: 'Iraq's War Dead Live On - Online' WASHINGTON - Army Pvt.Clinton Tyler McCormick is buried in Florida, but his photo and his words arestill online. They haven't changed since he logged in to his MySpace.com profileon Dec. 26, 2006 - the day before he was killed by a makeshift bomb in Baghdad.In earlier wars, families had only the letters that Soldiers sent home; often,bits and pieces were removed by cautious censors. Iraq is the first war of theInternet age, and McCormick is one of many fallen Soldiers who have left ghostsof themselves online - unsentimental self-memorials, frozen and uncensoredsnapshots of the person each wanted to show to the world. Readon...

I think these 2 posts and the video speak most of what we feel. Have a goodday and be safe.

Ahh, the good ole' days when there were only 2041 U.S. military deaths (it's a sad day when a statement like that can be made).

Blue Blogs: Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the liberal blogs are posting today: Blog Search

TheRaw Story - 'Halliburton shifting focus to the Mideast' DUBAI, UnitedArab Emirates - Halliburton will shift some 70 percent of its capital investmentover the next five years to the Eastern Hemisphere, which includes oil and gaszones in the Middle East, Russia, Africa, the North Sea and East Asia, thecompany’s chief said Tuesday from his new headquarters in Dubai. Dave Lesar,arriving for his first week in United Arab Emirates, said Halliburton Co. wouldquickly expand its Mideast operations as it targets $80 billion in new businessover the next five years — 75 percent of which lies in the eastern hemisphere,mainly the Middle East. Readon...

TPM Muckraker -'DoJ Doc Dump 9: Return of the Dump' Thereyou have it, yetanother pile of emails from the Justice Department.

At first viewing, I don't see any significant new information -- just moreafter-the-fact justifications for the firings, more talking points, morediscussions of PR strategy. But I'm just a humble, human muckraker. So if you dosee anything new, please let us know in the comments. To identify the document,use the number in the lower right-hand corner of the page. Readon...

Treasureof Baghdad - 'Triggers' A bright ray of sun coming inthrough the window shades woke me up. My head was pounding and my mouth was dryas if I was sleeping in the desert. I opened my eyes slowly trying to reduce thelight's unforgiving effect on my pupils. I scanned the room. My full-bookcase,my TV, an empty glass. I peeled the blanket off my chest slowly like a prisonermaking his escape.

I sat on the bed cradling myhead between my palms. What happened? Where was I? Ah! I remembered. It was anightmare. Readon...

The Guardian's Commentis Free - 'America's reputation is in tatters. But afterBush, recovery could be swift' The next US president will inherit a legacyof global mistrust. Restoration of its authority must begin with a painful exitfrom Iraq

Former US president JimmyCarter lambasted Tony Blair over the weekend for participating in George Bush'sIraq adventure. Carter might show a little more gratitude. It is Bush'sachievement to have displaced him from the ignominy of bottom place in the rollcall of modern American chief executives.

Historians will surely judgethat Bush's two terms of office have done much more damage to US interests, andindeed to those of the world, than Carter's blunders a generation ago. A fewmonths ago I heard a British diplomat in Washington bemoan the horrors of thecurrent administration. We must just somehow stagger through to the end, hemuttered. I said that it seemed rash to assume the next US president would beperfectly to the taste of Britain, or the world, because few people elected tothe White House ever are. He said: "Nothing, absolutely nothing, could beworse than what we have got now." Readon...

SFGate - 'Bush could double force by Christmas' TheBush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combattroops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showedMonday. The actions could boost the number of combat soldiers from 52,500 inearly January to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year if the Pentagonoverlaps arriving and departing combat brigades. Readon...

Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the other liberal blogs are posting today:

Hounds: 'Fox hides their own poll results' Viewers of last night's Republican presidential "debate" on FOX wereinvited to text in votes for their favorite candidates in anunscientific poll. But let them just try and find those results: goodluck!
Clicking on FOX News Pollsbrings one to a page (dated May 2, 2007, but in tiny gray notation atthe top of the page, not obvious in the text of the article) thattrumpets "Rudy Giuliani gets highest rating." Read on...

Think Progress: 'Petraeus: September Report On Escalation Will Not Say ‘Anything Definitive’ ' Offering another sign that the administration plans to continue itsescalation of the war in Iraq into 2008, U.S. commander Gen. DavidPetraeus now says that he will not have “anything definitive” to say about the war in his September review. Read on...

The Raw Story: 'Doctors 'close to cure for baldness' Down the centuries, bald men have resorted to a range of desperatemeasures to restore their lost hair. Today, however, the first realhope of effective treatments is reported by an American team arisingfrom research that could also lead to scar free surgery. Read on... (I had to post this out of respect for the back of my head)

Crooks & Liars: 'Turley on NSA Spying: “I don’t know of a more potential charge of impeachment” ' George Washington University Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley  says that the latest NSA warrantless wiretapping revelations  –  wherein the administration knowingly broke the lawand continued spying on American citizens after top DoJ officialsrefused to certify the legality of the program — make this a "clearimpeachable offense." Read on w/ Video...

I would have added more here, but Typepad was taking forever to upload posts.

If anyone would like to suggest a blog to be considered for the "Worthy mentions", please feel free to leave in comment section (it will be welcomed)

Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the other liberal blogs are posting today:

Crooks & Liars: 'Bush's Dobson meeting is not a Good Sign'

In early 2003, literally just a few weeks before the president would launch a war with Iraq, Bush met with TV preacher Pat Robertsonto discuss the conflict. The president reportedly told thetelevangelist that he believed there’d be minimal casualties, and soonafter, began the invasion.

With this background in mind, I was not at all encouraged to see that Bush is now discussing Iran with James Dobson. Read on...

Think Progress: 'Study: Feds Prosecuted Only 38 Cases of Voter Fraud Between 2002-05, 14 Were Thrown Out' In today’s Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson highlights a little-noted studyon the politics of voting fraud published in March by Lorraine Minnite,a political science professor at Columbia University, for a groupcalled Project Vote. Thestudy “makes unmistakably clear” that “the government’s failure toprosecute or convict more than a handful of people for voter fraud isn’t for lack of trying.” Read on...

The Huffington Post: 'McCain, Clinton, Romney, Edwards, Giuliani Refuse To Release Tax Returns'

Five of the six presidential front-runners -- Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain , R-Ariz., former Republican Gov. Mitt Romneyof Massachusetts, former Democratic Sen. John Edwards of North Carolinaand former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- are as yet refusing torelease their tax returns.

"It's very unusual," said Mary Boyle of the good government groupCommon Cause. "For the past almost 35 years, it has been tradition mostcertainly in the White House as well as almost every presidentialcandidate to disclose their tax returns -- and for some reason we'renot seeing it this year." Read on...

TPM Muckraker: 'Comey Details Gonzales' Hospital Visit' It took little more than 12 hours after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty announced that he will resign for Alberto "I accept responsibility" Gonzales to lay the U.S. attorney firings at his feet. As many have pointed out, Gonzales barely gave McNulty any time to turn around before he stabbed him in the back. Read on...

Treasure of Baghdad: 'Silencing the Truth' In a war zone, the truth factor plays a big role. Journalists areusually the tools for this truth. To let the world hear and see howreal life looks like in

Iraq

,journalists-Iraqi and western- sacrifice themselves to let the newstakes its way to the viewer, reader and listener. This is a fact thatno one can argue about. But when there is a ban on the freedom of thepress, the world should be completely alert because the suffering ofthe innocent people will not be heard anymore. Read on...

Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

The News Hounds - 'How FOX is Becoming More Fair and Balanced'
So, are they reporting more critically on various and numerousRepublican scandals? Are they calling for the resignations of Gonzalesand Wolfowitz? Are they expressing doubts about the "surge" in Iraq?Are they getting behind most Democrats and some Republicans indemanding troop withdrawal plans? Or are they applauding the sunsettingof tax breaks for the uber-wealthy? No.  They are simply not reporting on the news and politics much at all anymore. Read on...

Pandagon - 'How Newport, Oregon Supports Our Troops' Lincoln County Democrats invited our VeteransForPeace Squadron13 bus tomarch with them in the “Loyalty Days” parade which took place onSaturday May 5th, 2007. The parade organizers were informed ahead oftime that a bus would be included in their entry and permission wasgranted. When we showed up 2 hours prior to the parade start to get ourregistration number we were met with confusion and bureaucratic mumbojumbo. Initially a Lincoln County Sheriff showed up and told us that wecould not take part in the parade. Unable to counter our insistencethat our bus was registered he called for the parade organizer, PattyLouisiana, who would make the final determination. Patty showed up anddid her best to explain why we could not be in the parade. On camerashe said our message of peace “doesn’t support the spirit of ourcommunity…” Read on ...(My Comment: classic "bait and switch" or "invite then un-invite". This link ' Newport v. The First  Amendment' is in the above story, but worthy on its own from Squadron 13 a site about peace.

MyDD - 'Americans Overwhelmingly Reject Notion of Invading Iran' For those who believed that the Bush administration's days of trying to heighten hostilities with Iranwere over, think again. Over the weekend, Vice President Dick Cheneystood on an aircraft carrier not far from Iranian territory threatening Iran with military force. Now it was already clear a few months ago that the Bush administration's saber rattling with Iran was not effective. And new polling from CNN underscores this reality. Read on ...

FireDogLake - 'Fingerprints'  Last week Keith Olberman reported a story that is also available in Newsweek right now.

Remember a couple/few weeks ago Paul McNulty was complaining thathis testimony might not have been accurate because he was not properlybriefed for it? At the time I thought that sounded a little weaseleylike he was blaming his staff for his own lack of candor.

I may owe him an apology, or more accurately, half an apology.

According to the Newsweek/NBC reporting there was a meeting to prepare McNulty and his aide: Read on...

Raising Kaine - 'Great Job, Kenton!' This is one of the best articles I've seen in the Virginia blogosphere in a long time.  At all of 12 14 16 years old, Kenton Ngo understands economics and oil markets better than a lot of...ahem...much older people.  Here's Kenton: Read on...

Worthy Mentions from the Liberal Blogosphere

Here are what some of the other liberal blogs are posting:

The Salon - 'Poor, poor Gonzales'

Republicans, many of whom seem too dense to comprehend the damage he's inflicting on the Justice Department, express sympathy for the attorney general's ordeal.

May 11, 2007 | If the House Judiciary Committee session Thursday starring Alberto Gonzales produced few revelations about the suspicious dismissal of eight (or nine or more) U.S. attorneys, the hearing did clarify a critical political reality. No matter how discredited he is -- and no matter how much damage he continues to inflict on the Justice Department -- this attorney general will not resign. Read on...

Think Progress - 'Yet another purged U.S. Attorney?' “A former West Virginia federal prosecutor said Friday the White House fired him in 2005 in the middle of a corruption and vote-buying investigation but never told him why.” Read on ...

The Daily Background - 'Michael Moore fears Bush Administration might block upcoming healthcare exposé' - Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore has made a secret “backup” copyof his next film, should the original masters be seized by the BushAdministration. The film, “SiCKO,” is expected to blast the US healthcare system as well as the Administration for failing to take care ofAmerican citizens.

The Supreme Irony of Life - 'What is Wrong with Us'

Did the United States make a mistake in sending troops to Iraq?
by age

Age:

18-29 Yes - 56% No - 41%
30-39 Yes - 48% No - 50%
40-49 Yes - 52% No - 47%
50-59 Yes - 61% No - 38%
60-69 Yes - 62% No - 37%
70-79 Yes - 70% No - 28%
80 Yes - 69% No - 26%

Notice the age range highlighted.

I'm in my mid-thirties, Atriosis a year or two younger than I am, and he wonders why there is thisdisparity, or reversal actually, for those in this age range, on thequestion of was Iraq a mistake. Read on...

The Huffington Post - 'Billions of Dollars in Oil Money Missing in Iraq'

Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq's declared oilproduction over the past four years is unaccounted for and could havebeen siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draftAmerican government report.

Using an average of $50 a barrel, the report said the discrepancy was valued at $5 million to $15 million daily. Read on...