February 21, 2008 archive

Congressional races round 2: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware

Here’s part three of the second round of congressional races.  Earlier parts are here

Colorado has 7 representatives: 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans.  Filing deadline May 29, primary August 12

Connecticut has 5 representative, 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.  Filing deadline May 3, primary August 12

Delaware has 1 representative, a Republican.  Filing deadline July 25, primary Sept 9

Chicken Little As Red Herring

You’re waking up to the exciting news that a falling satellite has been shot out of the sky, thus preventing a potentially dangerous crash landing, with a potentially dangerous release of toxic gas. The Pentagon is proudly showing off the video. On television, it will likely be the most played clip of the day. You can expect much hyperventilated cheerleading from the usual professional hairpieces. But there’s one aspect to the story that I don’t expect the TV news to cover. It’s tucked in this New York Times report:

Completing a mission in which an interceptor designed for missile defense was used for the first time to attack a satellite, the Lake Erie, an Aegis-class cruiser, fired a single missile just before 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the missile hit the satellite as it traveled at more than 17,000 miles per hour, the Pentagon said in its official announcement.

It almost sounds good. As if the most expensive weapons system in human history was finally being put to positive use. But what if that was the purpose, all along? Two days ago, the science journal Nature had this:

A plan by the US government to shoot down an out-of-control spy satellite has been described as a cynical tit-for-tat move in response to China doing the same last year. Scientists and arms-control experts fear that the operation will create damaging debris and weaken international efforts to ban space weaponry.

On 14 February, officials from the Pentagon, White House and NASA announced plans to use a ship-based missile to strike the satellite as it passes roughly 240 kilometres overhead. The satellite, which belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia, dropped out of control after its launch in December 2006, and would re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around early March if no action were taken.

The strike is necessary to prevent the dispersal of around 450 kilograms of hazardous hydrazine thruster fuel onboard, according to James Jeffrey, assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser. If the fuel survived re-entry, it could be dispersed over an area of roughly 20,000 square metres, although “the likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small,” he says. “Nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was the possibility of death or injury to human beings.” The Pentagon denies that the shoot-down is to protect classified technologies on the satellite.

But scientists familiar with both satellite re-entry and the US missile defence system question the decision. The chances that the tank, which is 1 metre in diameter, will survive and strike land are extremely small, says Geoffrey Forden, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. “Most likely it will land in the ocean,” he says. The reasons given for the plan “don’t sound too credible to me”, he adds. “I think they’re doing it mainly to tell the Chinese that we can blow up a satellite too,” says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “This gives the US cover to carry out a test.”

And I’m guessing that the corporate media will do their job to ensure that such cover is provided.

Freedom Rider: Democrats Target Kucinich for Defeat w/poll

Via Blackagendareport.com and by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley.

It’s an interesting look at what’s going on with his re-nomination campaign in OH-10.

Docudharma Times Thursday February 21

This is an Open Thread:

When the New York Times said God is dead

And the war’s begun

Alvin Tostig has a son today

Thursday’s Headlines:McCain’s Ties To Lobbyist Worried Aides: Missile Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From Its Orbit: Europe: Nato vows to protect north border of newborn Kosovo: What was the Amber Room, and has it really been discovered at last?: Africa: Kenyan athletes accused of organising violence in political tribal clashes: Fighting ‘traps’ Darfur refugees: Asia: South Korea’s next president cleared of fraud: UN envoy to raise Suu Kyi poll ban with Myanmar: Middle East: How Labour used the law to keep criticism of Israel secret:  Anti-US cleric’s cease-fire in doubt: Latin America: Colombia guerrillas to free politicians: Cuba expected to turn over new leaf in farming


U.S. Payments To Pakistan Face New Scrutiny

Little Accounting for Costs To Support Ally’s Troops

Once a month, Pakistan’s Defense Ministry delivers 15 to 20 pages of spreadsheets to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. They list costs for feeding, clothing, billeting and maintaining 80,000 to 100,000 Pakistani troops in the volatile tribal area along the Afghan border, in support of U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

No receipts are attached.

In response, the Defense Department has disbursed about $80 million monthly, or roughly $1 billion a year for the past six years, in one of the most generous U.S. military support programs worldwide. The U.S. aim has been to ensure that Pakistan remains the leading ally in combating extremism in South Asia.

But vague accounting, disputed expenses and suspicions about overbilling have recently made these payments to Pakistan highly controversial — even within the U.S. government.

Speaking about Lobbyists,

And Immigration.

Think they don’t mix?

Well, GOP lobbyist had no work permit

And guess who he worked for:

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

The muses are ancient.  The inspirations for our stories were said to be born from them.  Muses of song and dance, or poetry and prose, of comedy and tragedy, of the inward and the outward.  In one version they are Calliope, Euterpe and Terpsichore, Erato and Clio, Thalia and Melpomene, Polyhymnia and Urania.

It has also been traditional to name a tenth muse.  Plato declared Sappho to be the tenth muse, the muse of women poets.  Others have been suggested throughout the centuries.  I don’t have a name for one, but I do think there should be a muse for the graphical arts.  And maybe there should be many more.

Please join us inside to celebrate our various muses…

Guerrilla Media Warfare: Redux

This essay is to consolidate suggestions and comments from my previous essay on the subject.  I’m going to keep this to the point, partly because I’m in a rush since I won’t be around tomorrow (Thursday…wait, that’s today), but mostly because it doesn’t need much more.  Please reference the last essay for the idea as originally outlined.  I’ll be back late in the evening to see what else has developed.  If anyone wants to contact me directly, that information is available on my profile.

Lights at Night Linked to Breast Cancer

Reprinted by permission from THE ENVIRONMENTALIST

A study of NASA satellite data, overlaid with reported cancer statistics, has identified nighttime exposure to lighted areas as a risk factor for breast cancer:

Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries.

“By no means are we saying that light at night is the only or the major risk factor for breast cancer,” said Itai Kloog, of the University of Haifa, who led the new work. “But we found a clear and strong correlation that should be taken into consideration.”

Recommendation below the fold…

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Well, just a personal reminiscence from a couple of hours ago.

I do try to pay attention to ‘once in a lifetime’ or maybe every few year events.  I’m a big fan of the America’s Cup for instance and never fail to watch the coverage.  I am also a big sucker for astronomy and as a matter of fact my homebrewing friend has keys to an observatory with a real live jive telescope.

They even have a dome.

Of course you can’t heat an observatory (warps the optics, creates heat waves out the observation slit, and who wants to pay the bill even if you were willing to be that environmentally incorrect?) and it’s inconvenient to hook up sometimes, so most of my observations are by eye.

If you know where to look there’s a lot to see.

It’s hard to miss something obvious like a lunar eclipse unless you’re busy blogging.  Even the pollution from the driveway lights can’t hide it.  Planets like Saturn and bright stars like Regulus are pretty visible too if you know where they are (planets are noticeably non-blinking and look… rounder than stars).

Meteors are a little tougher to convince yourself you’re seeing.  They’re mostly not streaky at all.  Instead they look like stars, maybe just a little redder.  What you notice is that they seem to wander, and at first you’re saying- nah, just my eyes.  You need to frame them against a fixed object (like the side of a house or a tree branch, although real stars will do) and then you find that they really dart around quite a bit.

The tell tale is that they’ll get fuzzy every once in a while, like really fizzling bad fireworks.

Not much else to see, so once you have it’s always the same.  That can be a disappointment like so much astronomy, NASA pictures really are much better than real life in part because they capture hours worth of photons and your eyes are instantaneous.

Still, saw me a shot down spy satellite tonight.  No telling when that will happen again.

The Weapon of Young Gods #12: Tourniquets

I’m sitting in Harbor House waiting for Justin when the pain comes back. I squirm and shift my weight in the little booth near the door as the dull ache enveloping everything below my navel gets sharp and angular. Over at the other end of the diner the waitresses clink silverware and yell at the cooks as they get ready for the dinner rush. They haven’t been over to check on me in ten minutes, but that’s because I said I was expecting someone. Expecting someone, sure. Well I was, but now I’m expecting someone else. That should be funny, but it’s not.

Previous Episode

Raping New Orleanians…

Alright, Betts and I are racing to get our Federally Flooded house ready for us to return to. (Try paying a mortgage, and rent on what is basically a home that passes as a dumpster AND paying for contractors and the materials.) Material costs have gone up over 30% because the home building industry is going down the tubes due to the junk mortgage B/S. The Gulf Coast is the only place left for the home building industry, and they are fucking us royally.

Since we have to buy four bathrooms and three kitchens for the Trans Compound, we needed to get some lavatory faucets for our baths in the main house. It came in around $200 for the lavs. (I don’t buy junk.) What shocked me was that our kitchen sink stuff is running at $270. Sweet Zombie Jesus, they are just chunks of metal.

Our carpet company really helped us out for the two carpeted rooms in the house: Lowe’s wanted almost 250% more and we got better products. We also caught a sale on some area rugs that we need since the bulk of the house is done in Terrazo tile. (Wake up in the middle of the night needing to potty? Running across tile is torture. I want our tootsies to be warm.)

So I now present an essay/diatribe from last August concerning the insanity of our our consumer society that I witnessed after joining a buying club when it comes to potties:

(Crossposted from GentillyGirl  

LA-01: Meet Gilda Reed’s Republican Opposition

Docudharma Note:  When I set up an account here, I originally intended NOT to simply cross-post my dKos diary.  That said, this is different.  I'm proud to be part of the 24 hours of blogging for Gilda Reed, progressive candidate for Congress from LA-01.  This is my entry in the round-the-clock blogging on dKos:

I was two years old when my family left Methuen, MA, for New Orleans. My mother, a NOLA native, didn't care much for Boston winters. She told my dad she was going back home with us kids and he was welcome to join us. My parents initially rented a house on Bonnabel Blvd., in Old Metairie, then bought a house not far away on Dream Ct. They moved closer to the lake when we outgrew that house, and that's where they lived out their lives.

T. Hale Boggs represented Metairie/Jefferson until his death in 1972. His wife Lindy succeeded him in the LA-02 seat and continued to represent the suburbs until the 1980 redistricting put Metairie/Jefferson in LA-01. There are still more Democrats registered in LA-01 than Republicans. It's just a matter of reminding them that Dems have done better by them historically than Republicans ever have or ever will.

This is what they will remember:

They'll remember the mold that covered the walls when they returned after evacuating for the storm.

They'll remember how they ripped out the walls of the houses they worked most of their lives to build and pay for.

 

They'll remember how so much of what they owned was carried away by trash collectors as worthless. (BTW, these photos are from my house.)

But most importantly, they'll remember the man who did absolutely nothing to help:

and they won't be too well-disposed towards those who think he did a good job.

Like Steve Scalise.

Gilda's opposition on the Republican side consists of Steve Scalise of Jefferson, Ben Morris of Slidell, and Tim Burns of Covington. Polls indicate that Scalise currently leads this field, with Morris five points behind him. (There is a 33% “Uncertain” in this race.) In spite of the large Uncertain percentage, my money is on Scalise, because the Republican money is on him.

Steve Scalise is 42 years old, from Jefferson, LA. He is married and has one daughter. His degree (from LSU) is in Computer Programming, and he lists his employment as a Computer Systems Analyst with Diamond Data Systems, a Metairie company specializing in DoD work.

In actuality, Scalise is a career politician, having been elected to office for the first time at age 30. He has been a Louisiana State Representative for the past 12 years (District 82). Scalise was unable to stand for a fourth term because of Republican-initiated/supported term limits. In spite of numerous expressions of interest in running for LA-01, Scalise ran for the State Senate (District 9), in the fall of 2007. His opponent in that race, former JP School Board member Polly Thomas (R-Metairie), predicted the exact situation that is unfolding now–that if PBJ were to win the LA-GOV race, Scalise would immediately qualify for LA-01, in spite of not even having been sworn into the office for which he was currently running. Thomas was savagely attacked by Scalise in the campaign for suggesting that he would abandon District 9 (if he were to win LA-01, Scalise would serve in one legislative special session and never represent the district in a regular session). Since the general election for LA-01 is 8-May, Senate 9 will be without representation, since there will be no time for a special election to fill the remaining 90% of Scalise's term.

Scalise is Roman Catholic, a graduate of Archbishop Rummel High School.

Scalise's positions on various issues:

Iraq

Scalise lists “Strong National Defense” as an issue for his campaign, but there is absolutely no reference to the current Middle East wars on his website. The disrespect this does to our troops as well as the intelligence of the voters of LA-01 is incredible.

Guns

Scalise has been the NRA's go-to guy in the LA legislature for over a decade. He has authored legislation for the gun lobby on several occasions, most notably a bill to retroactively prohibit municipalities in the state from suing gun manufacturers.

Abortion

Scalise is pro-life and has a 100% pro-life voting record with the Louisiana Right to Life Federation. The Louisiana Family Forum named Steve Scalise “Outstanding Family Advocate.” The LFF closely aligns themselves with Radical Cleric Dobson and Focus on the Family as well as Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. Favors no exceptions for rape and incest.

Flood Protection

Scalise's campaign website says he supports funding 100-year-storm protection for Southeast Louisiana, yet he stands by the records of his predecessors. His friend David “Diaper Dave” Vitter, and PBJ both fully supported the Cheney Administration's ongoing underfunding of flood control projects for Southeast Louisiana. Scalise offers no explanation for this conflict in his words and actions.

Housing

Opposed re-building of affordable housing initiatives post-storm.

Healthcare

Voted last year to cut 1,532 state jobs from the budget, most coming from the Department of Health and Hospitals. Adamantly opposed to rebuilding Charity Hospital New Orleans, even though it was one of the state's largest employers, teaching hospitals, and the primary source of healthcare for the metro area's uninsured.

Education

Voted last year to cut $177 million in education funding from the state budget. Supports tuition tax deductions for families that have children in parochial schools.

Marriage/Gay Rights

Chief architect of the 2004 “Defense Of Marriage Amendment,” which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The amendment overwhelmingly passed in the legislature and at the polls. It was upheld in several court challenges and is now a part of the state constitution. Supports restricting no-fault divorce.

Voting Rights

Took the lead in deveoping “ballot integrity programs” for the LA Republican Party. The plans included increasing the number of Republican “poll watchers” for the 2002 Landrieu-Terrell Senate race.

Smoker's Rights

Opposed a ban on smoking in Louisiana restaurants (the ban passed and went into effect on January 1, 2007). What is significant about Scalise's opposition is that he did what one of his primary benefactors, the Louisiana Restaurant Association, told him to do. In many states, state-wide smoking bans are welcomed by restaurants, lest a county-by-county patchwork create inequities. In Louisiana, however, restaurants are gambling venues. By banning smoking, video poker players who want to drink, smoke, and gamble, have to go someplace else. That has caused a huge drop in restaurant gambling revenue. Scalise conveys the impression that he is a gambling opponent, but he serves a special interest that has made a lot of money from video poker in the last 15 years.

The Company He Keeps

  • Scalise's “Honorary Campaign Chairman” is former LA-01 Representative and almost-Speaker Robert Livingston. Livingston was forced to resign in the midst of House deliberations on the impeachment of President Clinton for being involved in a sex scandal, because he was implicated in a sex scandal. (Livingston is referred to as “almost-Speaker” of the House because he was Majority Leader at the time of Newt the Gingrich's resignation in 1996. Gingrich quit because he failed to deliver on his pledges to expand the GOP majority in the chamber. Livingston resigned before he could be elected Speaker. I point these things out here because I am utterly amazed at how many young progressives are ignorant of the GOP antics of the 1990s.)
  • Supports Senator David “Diaper Dave” Vitter, in spite of his involvement with prostitutes.
  • Endorsed by the House Conservatives Fund, who are also endorsing Adrian Smith (NE-03), Bill Sali (ID-01), David Davis (TN-01), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Jim Jordan (OH-04), Michelle Bachmann (MN-06), Peter Roskam (IL-06) Tim Walberg (MI-07), Vern Buchanan (FL-13), and Jim Ryun (KS-02).
  • There are numerous “whispers” floating around Scalise, the sort of stuff that sounds like it comes right out of a Karl Rove-operated campaign. We cannot confirm any of these sorts of allegations at the present time, so we will not dignify them here. No doubt his Republican opponents will pull out those guns before the 3-March closed primary.

    Rebuilding Louisiana: Gilda Reed 24-Hour Online Fundraiser

    Help us support Kossack Candidate Gilda Reed for Congress in Louisiana's 1st District! She's running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Bobby Jindal. We'll be posting diaries about Gilda for the next 24 hours to raise support and bring attention to her candidacy. Please join us and learn more about this great Democratic candidate!

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