Irish Trojan in Tennessee

A Dodd scandal, and a Courant catastrophe

By Brendan Loy

The Waterbury Republican-American evidently does not believe in God and Senator Dodd. Well, maybe the former, but certainly not the latter. :) In an editorial Monday, the Rep-Am's editorial board calls Dodd "Tammany Hall's senior senator" and scolds the national media -- as well as, in a subsequent editorial, the Hartford Courant -- for failing to more vigorously cover "the sweetheart mortgages he got from Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Nozilo." (Countrywide is described as "the Enron of subprime mortgages.") "This scandal has legs," the editors assert.

I haven't followed this at all, so I have no idea whether it's a big deal; I just saw the link on InstaPundit, and since it involves Connecticut's, er, other senator, I figured it deserved a post.

Meanwhile, in other Connecticut news -- and speaking of the Courant -- the Nutmeg State's paper of record is eliminating 60 newsroom staffers and reducing the number of news pages in the paper per week from 273 to 206. Here's the memo to staff. (Hat tip: my dad.)

It's times like these I'm really happy I went into law instead of journalism.

Bush lied!

By Brendan Loy

Or not.

Bob Dole: Bob Dole is angry. Bob Dole.

By Brendan Loy

Bob Dole told Scott McClellan today that Bob Dole thinks Scott McClellan is a "miserable creature," a "total ingrate," a greedy bastard, and a poor excuse for a man. (Bob Dole, of course, knows a thing or two about manhood.)

"If all these awful things were happening," Bob Dole wrote in an e-mail to McClellan, "and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job." That, says Bob Dole, would have taken "integrity and courage."

Instead, Bob Dole wrote, McClellan chose the path of greed. Bob Dole added that Bob Dole thinks McClellan should donate his book proceeds "to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.'"

Bob Dole also pointed out that McClellan is hardly unique in this regard. "In [Bob Dole's] nearly 36 years of public service, [Bob Dole has] known of a few like you," Bob Dole said. McClellan, says Bob Dole, is just another "miserable creature" who doesn't "have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," but instead "soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

"You’re a hot ticket now," Bob Dole concluded, "but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"

According to Politico, Bob Dole "signed the email simply: 'BOB DOLE.'"

What?

By Jay Johnson

No snarky commentary on the Bush chest bump at the Air Force Academy graduation yet?

I'm very disappointed.

UPDATE BY BRENDAN: Here's a photo of the bump in question:

(Via the Denver Post.) Heh.

Gay marriage legalized in California

By Brendan Loy

The California Supreme Court has overturned the state's gay marriage ban...

...and it's not even the top story on Drudge. (Nor is Mark Halperin paying enough attention to realize that Florida, not California, is the "Sunshine State," last time I checked.) I'm not sure if this reflects a decrease in the level of national polarization caused by this issue, or if everybody is just too wrapped up in talking about President Bush's "bulls**t...malarkey" at the Knesset to pay attention.

But anyway: there it is. Gay marriage, legalized in California, by order of the court. Andrew Sullivan has more, of course, as does Boi From Troy.

Here's the opinion (PDF), which I haven't read, and probably won't for the moment. (After work, I'm going to see James Carville tonight.)

This being California, there will undoubtedly be a state constitutional amendment initiative to overturn the ruling -- but, on that front, Sullivan notes:

One key fact: the ruling takes effect in 30 days - which means thousands of couples will be able to marry long before any initiative attempts to reverse it. So the initiative question becomes: do you want to divorce thousands of already-married couples? Or do you want to keep things as they now are? That's a big advantage for the pro-equality forces.

Indeed.

UPDATE: More from Sullivan -- including a point that seems to contradict the above-quoted passage, though I may be misunderstanding him -- in a post titled "Judicial 'Activism'?":

As usual, the lazy critics are uninformed. The California court has not over-ruled the legislature: in fact, the legislature has voted for full marriage equality twice already. And the court has not "created" a right to marriage for gay couples. It has argued that if the state has conceded that domestic partners should have, under state law, all the benefits and responsibilities of married couples, the designation of a separate and distinct category must be suspect, under strict scrutiny, to the inference that the designation is based on a desire to deny gay couples equal dignity and recognition. This is the same point I've made in the past; isn't constructing a separate and distinct category an example of pure animus? You have conceded the substance, but cannot concede the name. Since no heterosexual couple's rights would be affected in any way, what exactly is the rationale for maintaining the distinction? Except bias?

One other political note: the Republican governor of the state, Arnold, has already come out against the ballot initiative designed to reverse this ruling. And the initiative will not be able to affect the thousands of marriage licenses that will be granted before then. So the legislature, the governor and the court have all now supported equality. So back to the people ... for one last chance to keep the stigma in place.

Speaking of the Governator, he has reiterated that he respects the Court's ruling and opposes its reversal.

Happy May Day!

By Brendan Loy

In honor of May Day, Sen. Joe Lieberman would like to remind you that it's a "good question" whether Barack Obama is spending today contemplating the plight of the proletariat and listening to songs like this:

;)

In other news, Pajamas Media asked me to elaborate on my Obama/Wright post in an article for their site, so I did. It's not my best work, and both liberals and conservatives will find plenty to dislike in it. But I hope it's at least food for thought.

With "analysts" like these...

By Brendan Loy

...who needs P.R. hacks?

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found. ...

[C]ollectively, the...several dozen...military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks. ...

In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.

A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.

(Hat tip: copndor.)

Today's stupid politicians file

By dcl

Today's edition, primarily because it will annoy Brendan.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions. I can think of two, neither of which cast St. Joe in a particularly elegant light.

Jim Kelly for Congress?

By Brendan Loy

Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly is reportedly considering a run for Congress as a Republican.

Let's see: he can serve in the House for four years, run for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in 2012, win in a stunning upset, make a national name for himself, and then in 2016, when President Obama is termed out...

...can you say Kelly-Norwood '16?

You may scoff, but the ticket has some major built-in political advantages. First of all, they'd win the normally Democratic state of New York in a landslide, by uniting nostalgic Bills fans and grateful Giants fans. And secondly, they'd have no problems motivating the conservative base. After all, nobody knows how to aim for the right like Scott Norwood! It'd be a vast wide-right wing conspiracy!

:P

(Hat tip: Hugging Harold Reynolds. To all my Buffalo readers, including my wife, I apologize. I couldn't resist.)

Karl Rove: my iPhone makes me cool

By Brendan Loy

Karl Rove on his iPhone: "I love it. My life has changed. I have a shred of coolness."

Heh. He goes on. ("I mean it is just shocking how much better, how much more productive I am.") He also sings the praises of his aforeblogged MacBook Air.

The big question is, which effect is more pronounced: hip Mac products making Karl Rove cool, or evil Karl Rove making hip Mac products less cool? :)

Resignation

By Brendan Loy

The New York Times busted out its MAN WALKS ON MOON / CLINTON IMPEACHED / U.S. ATTACKED headline style for Governor Spitzer's resignation:

Meanwhile, the Post, Daily News and Newsday all seem more interested in the latest revelations about the identity of the governor's call girl than about the fact that, er, the governor resigned yesterday. Heh. God bless tabloid journalism. (And some people say the interest in this story is primarily prurient in nature. Puh!)

He's a killer candidate

By David K.

Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress.

Alternate headlines considered: 
-  Kevorkian hopes to inject some honesty into Congress
-  He's dying to be elected

Spitzer to resign this morning

By Brendan Loy

As the New York Post first reported, and now the New York Times is reporting as well, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is expected to announce his resignation this morning at around 11:30 AM EDT.

Here, incidentally, are this morning's Post and Daily News front pages:

Daily Trojan staffers to "grill" Bill Clinton

By Brendan Loy

USC Daily Trojan staffers will get to ask Bill Clinton questions as part of a mtvU series designed to "take some of the top college reporters from across the country and have them grill key policy makers and influencers." The forum will be taped on Sunday, and "highlights" will be posted on mtvU.com Sunday evening, followed by a full broadcast on March 26 at noon. The other college newspapers participating are the Howard Hilltop, Smith Sophian and Tulane Hullabaloo. More info here and here.

Blogger Alex Weprin writes, "The hope is that in selecting top college journos, the forums will be serious, substantive talks, and not gossip," so "I wouldn’t expect too many 'boxers or briefs' questions here."

Mississippi predictions?

By Brendan Loy

Polls close in Mississippi at 7:00 PM tonight. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the candidates' percentage totals?

And, as a bonus, at what date and time will Eliot Spitzer resign?

The New York papers on Spitzer

By Brendan Loy

(Via the Newseum. More after the jump... including a few New Jersey and Connecticut papers thrown in for good measure.)

Feds suspected bribes, discovered sex

By Brendan Loy

This is interesting. According to ABC's The Blotter, the federal investigation of the "Emperors Club VIP" prostitution ring actually started as an inquiry into suspicious money transfers from Governor Spitzer's account that "initially [led] agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes."

So basically, everyone else who got caught in this investigation has got to be pretty pissed at Spitzer for ruining the fun. ;)

Spitzer, by the way, is expected to resign in the next 48 hours.

CNN Breaking News

By CNN

New York Times reports Gov. Eliot Spitzer admits involvement in a prostitution ring.

UPDATE BY BRENDAN: Josh Marshall: "Fox saying Spitzer will resign; me saying, no kidding."

UPDATE 2: Here's his statement. No resignation yet, just an apology, and a statement that "I will report back to you in short order." Whatever that means.

More details from the Times on what happened:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.

The wiretap recording, made during an investigation of a prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP, captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.

The Smoking Gun has more on Emperors Club VIP, "which charged up to $5500 an hour for one of its 50 prostitutes, who operated in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, and Paris." And TPM Muckraker has more on "Client 9."

Anyway, back to the Times article...

The governor learned that he had been implicated in the prostitution probe when a federal official contacted his staff last Friday, according to the person briefed on the case.

The governor informed his top aides Sunday night and this morning of his involvement. He canceled his public events today and scheduled an announcement for this afternoon after inquiries from the Times.

The governor’s aides appeared shaken, and one of them began to weep as they waited for him to make his statement at his Manhattan office. Mr. Spitzer was seen leaving his Fifth Avenue apartment just before 3 p.m. with his wife of 21 years, Silda, heading to the news conference.

The Times was apparently working this story all night yesterday, and they're expecting another long night tonight. A memo has been sent out to the staff: "Obviously, we're going to have much late news, thanks to the governor. So we really need you to file all nonrelated stories as early as possible. It's going to be a long night...."

NY governor Spitzer reportedly admits involvement in prostitution ring

By Brendan Loy

WTF?

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.

Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He is set to make an announcement about 2:15 this afternoon at his Manhattan office.

Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.

I imagine this will cause levels on schadenfreude on the Right similar to those experienced on the Left over the Larry Craig incident.

UPDATE: As governor, Spitzer is a superdelegate, and he has endorsed Hillary. So has Lieutenant Governor David Paterson -- and he, too, is a superdelegate, not because of his elected position but because he's a DNC member. So if Spitzer were to resign and lose his superdelegate status, and Paterson were to replace him as governor, there would be one less superdelegate from New York State, and one less vote for Clinton. Just saying! :)

Diebold leaks election results

By David K.

SPOILER WARNING: Do NOT watch the below video unless you want to know who is going to win in November.

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

R.I.P., W.F.B.

By Brendan Loy

William F. Buckley, Jr., has died. He was 82.

Buckley was, of course, the founder of the National Review. More broadly, he was sometimes described as the "father of modern conservatism." Or, as George F. Will once put it, "Before there was Ronald Reagan, there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry Goldwater there was National Review, and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind."

I love the lede in the New York Times obit: "William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn." (What witty remark would Buckley make if he could respond to the New York Times praising him? Heh.)

Buckley remained a National Review contributor right to the end, as can be seen here. Indeed, after he was found dead at his desk, his son said, "He might have been working on a column." Buckley also continued to make headlines, such as when he criticized the Bush Administration in 2006 for displaying "the absence of effective conservative ideology."

It was National Review's The Corner that first broke the news of his passing this morning, and of course there are now a whole bunch of WFB tributes on the site from different Corner contributors.

And here's what some other bloggers are saying about his passing.

Frequent Irish Trojan contributor Texasyank writes:

The case can be made for Buckley as the most influential journalist of the second half of the 20th century. He was most responsible, first, for separating conservatism from the outright bigots and John Birchers, and second for making the defeat of imperial communism seem achievable--which, in the end, it was. When the cracking of the Soviet Empire finally occurred in the 1990s, when what Buckley had envisioned as far back as the 1940s finally happened, it happened with such a thoroughness and such a repudiation of the past that many were drawn to believe it was inevitable. It was not. The defeat of the Warsaw Pact happened because men like Buckley were able to give voice to an idea, and because men like (to list a partial honor role) Eisenhower, Dulles, Kennedy, Rusk and Reagan put that idea into action.

Personally, when I think of William F. Buckley, Jr., I always think of three classic WFB witticisms that my dad always used to quote when I was growing up. One is Buckley's famous line: "I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University." The other two lines come from a debate when Buckley was running as a third-party candidate for mayor of New York City. Asked what would be his first act upon being elected mayor, he replied, "Demand a recount." And asked whether he wanted to make any further remarks, he quipped, "I am satisfied to sit back and contemplate my own former eloquence." (My dad -- and subsequently I -- have often misquoted this as "I prefer to contemplate the eloquence of my previous remarks." But I assume the Wikipedia version is accurate. Anyway, same basic idea.)

Anyway. Rest in peace, Mr. FuBuckley.*

*My dad -- who, it should be noted, has greatly admired the man since his (i.e., my dad's) days as a young Goldwaterite -- often calls him "William FuBuckley," pronouncing the "F." as part of his last name. No idea why, but I like it. [UPDATE: Maybe this is why?]

UPDATE: In comments, my dad points out that "Fuhbuckley" is the more appropriate spelling. :) He also reminds me of another of his favorite legendary Buckleyisms, which I neglected to mention but which is perhaps the best of all, reproduced here, from a  letter to the editor published in the National Review:

          Dear Bill:
Three cheers to Dr. Ross Terrill. He slashed you to bits as you have been doing to yourself for the past year. Cancel my subscription.
Wm. W. Morris
Green Valley, Ariz.

             Dear Mr. Morris:
Cancel your own goddam subscription.
Cordially, WFB

Heh.

Protest disrupts Kelley event at Berkeley

By Brendan Loy

Bill Kelley, former deputy counsel to President Bush and current Notre Dame Law School professor, got a taste of life at a slightly more liberal university when protesters disrupted an event he was participating in last week at UC-Berkeley. There's a photo:

He looks somewhat perturbed. The Daily Californian article doesn't say, however, whether Professor Kelley was branded a "war criminal" by the protesters. (The event's moderator, Professor John Yoo, was.)

As usual with such protesters, they were very interested in free speech, so long as they were the ones speaking. "As the panelist discussion progressed, protestors continuously shouted at Yoo," according the Daily Cal.

And their shouts weren't even relevant to the topic at hand -- while the protesters were rambling about torture and executive power, the panelists (who included USC professor Susan Estrich, another noted war criminal*) tried to have a discussion about why voters should carefully consider potential Supreme Court nominations in making election decisions this fall, something you'd think the protesters would agree with. But, you know, heaven forbid scholars get together to talk about such things. They must be shouted down! They're war criminals! They're evil fascists!! Bush=Hitler!!! *sigh*

Said Ethan Rarick, director of the Center on Politics at the Institute of Governmental Studies: "We're fine with people coming to express their opinions, even on the panelists and participants, but it should not disrupt the event."

*...and by "war criminal," I mean "antiwar liberal feminist."

Rendell's at it again

By Brendan Loy

You may have heard that Ed Rendell made some controversial remarks about Barack Obama and some voters' readiness, or lack thereof, for a black president. I just thought it would be worth noting that this sort of thing isn't a first for Rendell. He has a history of not having very much faith in the American people when it comes to their potential reactions to barrier-breaking candidates. I vividly remember the controversy -- and the wonderful New York Post headline, "DEM BIG STIRS VEEP FLAP" -- that he caused when he commented in 2000, during Al Gore's vice-presidential selection process, that: "I don't think anyone can calculate the effect of having a Jew on the ticket. If Joe Lieberman was Episcopalian, I think he'd almost be a slam dunk." Two days later, Gore picked Lieberman, and the rest is history. Say what you will about Senator Joe, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone contend that his Jewishness cost Gore the presidency.

P.S. These days, the far more controversial portion of Rendell's 2000 comments, among his fellow Democrats at least, would be his statement that Lieberman is "maybe the finest person in politics." Heh. You don't hear too many Dems saying that anymore...

Watch out! Cheney wants a gun!

By JLR

Almost exactly two years after Dick Cheney shot his friend, Harry Whittington, Dick Cheney has broken ranks with the rest of the Bush Administration and decided to oppose the DC gun ban.

I just thought the timing of his announcement was a little ironic :-)

The check's in the mail

By Brendan Loy

Well, not really. Not until May, in fact. But the economic stimulus package is headed to President Bush's desk, and he will sign it.

You can view the full text of the bill in PDF form here, or in HTML form here (click the bottom link).

The state of the baby is strong!

By Brendan Loy

In honor of President Bush's final State of the Union address (which is now underway; liveblogging below), Loyette wore a very Republican-looking outfit today:

I'm not sure she likes President Bush, though:

Don't worry, darlin', most Americans feel pretty much the same way. :)

P.S. Loyette is four weeks old today!

State of the Union liveblogging

By Brendan Loy

powered by Hipcast.com

UPDATE: Above, you can listen to a live audioblogged clip of President Bush being introduced.

In case you're wondering, CNN reported that Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is the odd man out of the State of the Union tonight, preserving the line of succession in case the unthinkable happens.

I wonder if Kempthorne was as momentarily alarmed as I was when the TV signal, on CNN at least, appeared to cut out for a split-second. It came right back on, but my heart skipped a beat there. If somebody blew up the Congress, that's how it might look on TV, no? Everything's normal, and then -- [no signal].

Anyway... President Bush just said if we don't pass new trade agreements, it will "embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere." You mean like Mike Huckabee and John Edwards? :)

UPDATE 2: Heh. Great minds think alike. Or something.

UPDATE 3: Did I just hear some guy loudly yelling something at the tail end of the round of applause for the success of the surge?

UPDATE 4: Hopefully next year at this time, we'll have a president who can say "nuclear."

UPDATE 5: "Our message to the Iranian people is clear: When Iran gets her freedom, boy, you'll get your motor car!"

UPDATE 6: "America opposes genocide in Sudan"?!? Well that's a relief! Here I thought we supported it! Seriously, what kind of weak-ass language is that... ridiculous!

UPDATE 7: A-ha... it sounded dumb because he flubbed the line, plus there was an inappropriate applause break. He was supposed to say, "America is opposing genocide in Sudan and supporting freedom in countries from Cuba and Zimbabwe to Belarus and Burma."

UPDATE 8: BOB DOLE!!!

UPDATE 9: Mark it down: he said "he State of Union will remain strong" ... at 10:02 PM. It was the second-to-the-last sentence of the speech.

Lame.

UPDATE 10: Who are these dorky congresspeople kissing Bush's ass on his way out? "You make me proud to be an American"? Gag me. Methinks the audio feed is a bad idea for the maintenance of these people's dignity...

UPDATE 11: I agree with Fox's Fred Barnes -- the best line of the speech was: "Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the I.R.S. accepts both checks and money orders." Heh. I laughed out loud.

UPDATE 12: Bush just almost shared a Lieberman-like kiss with Barney Frank! Teehee.

UPDATE 13: Charles Krauthammer is the creepiest-looking person on earth.

UPDATE 14: OMG! Nancy Pelosi was "mouthing"!

Looks more like she was chewing gum or something.

UPDATE 15: Good opening to Sebelius's speech. All about bipartisanship, etc. Very Obama-esque!

UPDATE 16: Here's the text:

I'm a Democrat, but tonight, it really doesn't matter whether you think of yourself as a Democrat...or a Republican...or an Independent. Or...none-of-the-above.

Instead, the fact you're tuning in this evening tells me each of you is, above all...

...an American, first.

You are mothers, and fathers. Grandparents, and grandchildren. Working people, and business-owners. Americans, all.

And the American people - folks like you, and me - are not nearly as divided as our rancorous politics might suggest.

In fact, right now, tonight, as political pundits discuss the President's speech - chances are, they'll obsess over the reactions of Members of Congress.

"How many times was the President interrupted by applause? Did Republicans stand? Did Democrats sit?"

And the rest of us will roll our eyes and think, "What in the world does any of that have to do with me?"

And, so, I want to take a slight detour from tradition on this State of the Union night.

In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more:

An American Response.

A national call to action on behalf of the struggling families in the heartland, and across this great country. A wakeup call to Washington, on behalf of a new American majority, that time is running out on our opportunities to meet our challenges and solve our problems.

UPDATE 17: A possible reason to vote against McCain: we'd be replacing a guy who pronounces "nuclear" "nukular" with a guy pronounces "Washington" "Warshington."

Senate threatens to meddle with tax rebates

By Brendan Loy

Prediction: the Senate will back down. Nobody benefits politically from headlines like "Senate May Scuttle Stimulus," particularly not when the public will feel that it has essentially already been promised $1,200 per couple. The Republicans need this to pass, because they'll be the ones primarily blamed for a recession, and they need the voters to think they tried to do something to stop it. And the Democrats need to avoid painting themselves into a corner where they're the "obstructionists" who prevented Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Public from getting a $1,200 check in the mail. This is one issue where both parties in both houses will find some way to work together, in relatively short order.

Bush, Dems agree to send me money

By Brendan Loy

The White House and Congress have reached a tentative deal on an economic stimulus package:

Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for gaining rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including low-income earners who make too little to pay income taxes.

Families with children would receive an additional $300 per child, subject to an overall cap of perhaps $1,200, according to a senior House aide who outlined the deal on condition of anonymity in advance of formal adoption of the whole package. Rebates would go to people earning below a certain income cap, likely individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples with incomes of $150,000 or less.

People would have to have earned at least $3,000 in 2007 to receive the rebates, the officials said.

I don't know whether this is economically or fiscally sound, but I could certainly use $900. The big ugly red number on my budget spreadsheet thanks you, President Bush and Congresswoman Pelosi. :)

UPDATE: It sounds like some of the information in the original article was incorrect, or I misunderstood it, or some combination of the two. Money quote (literally):

Under the deal, nearly everyone earning a paycheck would receive at least $300 from the Internal Revenue Service. Most workers would receive rebates of $600 each, or $1,200 per couple. Families with children would receive an additional payment of $300 per child [up to a cap of $1,200, i.e., you can get credit for at most four children]. Workers who earned at least $3,000 last year -- but not enough to pay income taxes -- would be eligible for $300.

So, at least in theory, Becky and I should be in line for $1,500, not just $900. Sweet!

But, hmm... I wonder... are the earning floors for married couples calculated jointly or separately? Also, can we somehow make the IRS aware of Loyette's existence, which they normally wouldn't know about until April? :)

The article doesn't specify when the checks are to go out, except to say that it will happen "quickly."

In any event, this isn't a done deal yet:

Congressional aides cautioned that it was too early to say that a deal had been finalized, and the finishing touches will be made over the next day or so as party leaders try to get their rank and file to buy in on a deal. ...

With both sides conceding on issues important to their base, there is potential to upset the delicate bipartisan truce prevailing on Capitol Hill, which is why leaders of both parties want to quickly advance the package before partisan rancor tears down any negotiations. ...

There are indications already that the Senate — the world's most deliberative body — may slow things down when the stimulus package passes the House.

"There are reports that a deal may be close on the House side. The Senate will want to speak, as well," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "We want to ensure that Congress does its utmost for the American economy and for the American people.”

P.S. The L.A. Times notes that party leaders "have set a deadline of Feb. 15 for passing the legislation."

Issues with independence

By Mike Wiser

Stanley Fish has an interesting opinion today about why it's bad to be a political independent.  Speaking as an independent, I obviously don't think it's such a bad thing, but the article is relatively well written.  Essentially, the writer argues that humans are by nature factional, and that once you start trying to actually do anything rather than speak in meaningless generalities, you'll end up with disagreements about terms or priorities, and then you'll need to unite with like-minded people in order to accomplish something.  Further, an independent as President would face more politics in trying to get something done than a member of one of the two major parties, as that President wouldn't be able to count on a large bloc of automatic support.

These arguments are valid as far as they go.  What I feel the author has overlooked, though, is another reason why many people become independents: the fact that there is more than one political axis.  If you align things are a purely left-right axis, I come out pretty much dead center.  So does another of my college friends.  When you look at two axes, on the other hand, he and I come out as diameterically opposed, as he's essentially a populist and I'm essentially a libertarian.  We come out in the middle on a single axis because when looking at the broad scale, the number of issues on which we greatly favor the Democrats balance the number of issues on which we greatly favor the Republicans--it's just that, for the two of us, many of those positions are opposite to each others'. 

I'm sure there are some people who are independents because they gain satisfaction from not belonging to a major group, or who may feel superior to others for their lack of assumed allegiances.  The author does, however, completely ignore that some people might be independents because on the, say, 4 issues that matter the most to that person, two positions are taken by the Republicans and 2 are taken by the Democrats, and the person thus doesn't have greater loyalty to one side or the other on policy as a whole, but must make decisions more on the basis of the particular Republican or Democrat offered as a choice.  By not addressing that aspect, I see the argument as fatally flawed.  Thoughts?

A decade since Monica

By Brendan Loy

InstaPundit's "Happy Monicaversary" post (which contains a comparison of Matt Drudge to Edwards R. Murrow -- heh) reminds me to link to this London Times article, which I had made a mental note earlier this week to do today. Yes, it's the 10th anniversary of the day the Lewinsky scandal broke on the Drudge Report. (Here's Drudge's original post about the scandal.) "Happy Monicaversary, everyone!" writes Rogers Cadenhead. "I trust that you don't need to be told how this anniversary should be celebrated." Heh.

I wasn't reading Drudge on January 17, 1998 (it was the Lewinsky scandal that really brought him to prominence), but I remember January 21, 1998 -- the day the MSM caught up with the story -- very well. The Pope was in Cuba, the networks were falling all over themselves to cover the historic confluence of Catholicism and Communism, and then all of a sudden -- sex! lies! blowjobs! perjury! impeachment! THE END OF THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY!!! It's hard to fathom now, but it really did seem, for a while there, like ol' Billy Boy was doomed. (And if the economy had looked then like it looks now, he might have been!)

Anyway, I'm sure Hillary Clinton is most appreciative of the opportunity to engage in a bit of nostalgia. Nothing like a Monica flashback to remind us how wonderful the Cilnton years were! ;)

An even more nostalgic date will be arriving for Hillary on the day after the South Carolina primary, January 27: the tenth anniversary of the date she coined the phrase "vast right-wing conspiracy." I wonder if any conservatives are planning 10th birthday parties for the VRWC?

A missed opportunity

By Brendan Loy

It occurred to me tonight that, with all the talk of "Super Duper Tuesday," "Pooper Scooper Tuesday" and so forth, I really ought to have referred to yesterday's Michigan primary as "Yooper Tuesday." Alas!

Mildly amusing politics/Star Wars thingy

By Jay Johnson

I looked at this once and though it was kinda funny.

I looked at it again and thought, ehh, this is stupid, but I've already started the blog post.

I report, you decide. Or don't. It's really OK either way.

What is Dick Cheney hiding burning?

By Brendan Loy

"Bring wood and oil!"

It seems there was a fire in Dick Cheney's office this morning:

The historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House caught fire this morning, and D.C. firefighters broke windows and doused the second and third floors with water in order to extinguish the two-alarm blaze. ...  

[Witness Katie] Johnson said the smoke appeared to be concentrated in or near the ceremonial office of Vice President Cheney.

Oh, but it gets better:

[D.C. fire department spokesman Alan] Etter would not speculate on exactly where the fire originated -- citing both the early stage of the investigation but also a request for discretion by the U.S. Secret Service.

It's a cover-up, I say! A cover-up!! Cheney lied, buildings fried!!!

What was Vice President Cheney burning, you ask? Well, isn't it obvious? His weekly "ceremonial" kitten-and-puppy pyre (their cries give him strength!) caused a bit more smoke than usual this week, and now those nosy media and police types are sniffing around. They'd better watch themselves. If they get too close to the truth, Dick Cheney will shoot them in the face.

Nancy & Harry, you're doing a heckuva job

By Brendan Loy

InstaPundit notices that it's a bad press day for the Democrats.

The art of compromise is alive and well in D.C.

By Brendan Loy

Sounds like both parties on Capitol Hill are being very mature:

The two sides are, in some cases, refusing even to speak to each other about the massive omnibus and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bill.

Senate Republicans refused to meet Democrats Tuesday on spending and House Democrats rejected the Senate’s AMT “patch,” preparing a new version paid for with corporate tax increases.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered the majority’s plans with a proposal that would require Democrats to accept virtually all of President Bush’s demands on spending.

McConnell demanded that Democrats also provide $70 billion for the war with no strings attached.

McConnell further demanded that Democrats agree to immediately fund the addition of Ronald Reagan's face to Mount Rushmore, and also that the national anthem be changed from "The Star-Spangled Banner" to "America, F*** Yeah." Harry Reid said he'll do those things if McConnell and the rest of the Republican caucus will each personally donate $10,000 to Planned Parenthood, and also agree to change "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to "one nation, under Hillary Clinton." Reid further demanded that the Republicans publicly declare that sodomy, not baseball, is now America's national pastime. "You're an asshole, Reid," McConnell stated upon hearing of the proposal. "I know you are, but what am I?" Reid replied. The two men then proceeded to begin slapping each other and pulling each other's hair.

Al & George

By Brendan Loy

Heh:

Hey, wasn't there a SNL sketch about this?

A Lott of goodbyes

By JLR

Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss) has announced his retirement, effective sometime in December or January.  Though his temporary replacement will be nominated and placed by Republican Governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, this is a stunning turn for Republicans in the Senate.  As the #2 Republican in the Senate (and formerly the #1 Republican and Majority Leader), Lott made himself a lot of friends and made himself a lot of enemies--especially after his comments about how it would have been great if a segregationist candidate (Strom Thurmond) had won the 1948 presidential race.

What's my take?  Anytime a powerful conservative decides to leave either house of the Congress, I'm perfectly happy.  Of course, chances are good that Arizona Senator John Kyl, who is loads more conservative than most of the Republicans in Congress, will take over as minority whip.  Then again, it's possible that someone else might overtake him.  It's also possible that either Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) or Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), both of whom are more moderate than Kyl, might run for the #3 spot. 

In all, though, it probably won't matter much between now and--at the very least--2009 when the new Congress takes over.  As long as Democrats maintain a majority, it seems much less likely that this change will have a major effect on legislation.  True, a conservative leadership on the Republican side of the aisle would make bipartisanship more difficult (just as a liberal leadership on the Democratic side would).  However, the immediate impact would not be as large as it would have been if the Republicans still controlled the Senate.

Turkey, you're doing a heckuva job!

By Brendan Loy

It's Thanksgiving, which means it's time for the annual presidential turkey pardoning:

You know, when President Clinton was in office, a turkey had to donate $5,000 to his presidential library to get a pardon.

P.S. The Washington Post has an article on the history of the turkey-pardoning tradition, which apparently doesn't go back nearly as far as is annually reported. (Hint: 1989, not 1947. Bush, not Truman.)

UPDATE: Welcome, InstaPundit readers! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Jim Namnath elected in Marin County

By Brendan Loy

In my earlier post about yesterday's elections across the country, I failed to mention the really big news: Jim Namnath, of Jim & Toni fame, was elected to the board of trustees of the College of Marin, ousting incumbent Harry Moore. The other three incumbents were re-elected. (Indeed, Jim was the only candidate for any local office to buck the status quo trend.) Congratulations, Jim!

A stunning GOP sweep in Newington

By Brendan Loy

My normally "blue" hometown of Newington, Connecticut unexpectedly swung Republican in yesterday's election, with 35-year-old Jeff Wright -- the older brother of one of my high-school classmates -- defeating Maureen Klett for mayor, and Republicans taking over majorities on the board of education and, for the first time in 16 years, the town council. My dad says it was a "tax revolt." Wright is the first Republican elected mayor of Newington since Rodney Mortensen won on the GOP line in 1991. (Mortsensen subsequently won as an independent in 1993, and again as an independent two years ago. Democratic mayors were elected in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.)

Here in Knoxville, by contrast, Election Day was a real snoozer. Most of the races were decided at the primary stage.

In South Bend, all the incumbents won. In Mesa, voters approved the construction of a $250 million resort and adventure park. And in Denver, a series of infrastructure bonds and tax increases appears likely to pass.

In Kentucky, indicted Republican governor Ernie Flitcher was defeated in a landslide. But in Mississippi, another Republican governor, possible vice-presidential contender Haley Barbour, won easily. More results of national interest here.

Also, back in Connecticut, the statewide debut of optical scan voting machines, replacing the venerable old lever machines, appears to have gone well. Of course, voting systems always perform "well" -- until there's a close election. :)

Any interesting election results where y'all live?

UPDATE: Via Anonymous Hoosier, news of another stunning Republican mayoral upset -- in Indianapolis, where underfunded outsider Greg Ballard ousted an incumbent Democrat who had been expected to cruise to an easy victory. Some are calling it "the biggest upset in Indiana political history." The Star says "voter anger about rising taxes and crime blew massive change into the City-County Building, from the mayor's office to the council, where Republicans also recaptured the majority they lost four years ago."

UPDATE 2: Elsewhere, Democrats were more successful. (Hat tip: Angrier & Angrier.)

Happy Halloween!

By Brendan Loy

"Trick or treat!"

"Give me some f***ing candy or I'll shoot you in the face!"

UPDATE: Here's a far less scary jack-o-lantern... well, unless you're a Rockies or Yankees fan:

More Red Sox pumpkins here.

By the way, credit for the Cheney pumpkin (Dick-o-Lantern?) goes to Bill Z Bubb. (Hat tip: Phillip Torrone.)

FEMA, providing comedy in troubled times

By Brendan Loy

FEMA: the federal agency so ridicluous, you can't really satirize it. Their latest stunt? A fake news conference:

The U.S. government's main disaster-response agency apologized on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters in a hastily called news conference on California's wildfires that no news organizations attended.

Heh!

FEMA "issued the apology after The Washington Post published details of the Tuesday briefing." Shocking! Somebody noticed! Who'd have thunk it? Jeez, these people can't even be incompetent competently.

"We can and must do better, and apologize for this error in judgment," FEMA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a statement. "Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received."

"Error in judgment"? LOL! In what conceivable universe could anyone have thought that this was the correct judgment, so as to make such an "error" possible?

No actual reporter attended the news conference in person, agency spokesman Aaron Walker said.

A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the incident "inexcusable and offensive to the secretary."

"We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated," spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. She said the department was looking at the possibility of reprimanding those responsible.

Oh, that's good. Better yet, why don't you set up a committee to study the issue of whether a reprimand would be appropriate. And then create a panel to read that committee's report. And then ignore it and give the offending parties the Congressional Medal of Freedom instead.

God bless America.

Ann Coulter comes to USC

By Brendan Loy

Shockingly, she criticized liberals.

Quote of the day

By Brendan Loy

"I oppose prosecution of pretty much all victimless crimes. As with socialism, I respect much of what social conservatism tries to accomplish, but disagree with the means. A government can't plan a society's moral development any better than its economic development; the cost to our freedom, the pain of enforcement, and the unintended consequences outweigh the dubious benefit derived from forbidding consensual transactions between adults. Society functions most efficiently when individuals are essentially sovereign in their liberty, allowed to do whatever they like so long as they do no others harm. Sometimes those efficiencies are cruel, and expose the least attractive aspects of the human psyche, but the monopoly on force the state enjoys is a cudgel, not a scalpel, and is poorly suited to performing brain surgery." --Dave Price. (Hat tip: Glenn, again.)

Catholics vs. Buddhists?

By Brendan Loy

Notre Dame may have Touchdown Jesus on its side, but USC has the Dalai Lama!

But wait: does that mean we're tarred via guilt-by-association with President Bush? D'oh!

Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize

By Brendan Loy

This should have posted earlier this morning as a CNN Breaking News alert, but something didn't work right. Anyway... Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming.