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Friday, November 10, 2006
Does Anybody Feel a Draft?Ray Robison wonders whether the Democrats, including Charlie Rangel and John Murtha, will pursue a draft of young men and women now that they have been elected to majority positions in both houses. As such, it is possible that Congressman Rangel’s latest draft proposal will come up for consideration in the House. With Murtha riding heard over the Democrats, he may well push them to approve Rangel’s draft legislation submitted earlier this year. Rangel and Murtha both served in the military at time of war in Korea and Vietnam respectively. The draft was in effect at the time each man was in the military. Both have called for it publicly or submitted legislation. How long can it be until they get what they asked for now that they are in charge of the House?My suspicion is that this was just a way of scaring young people, who we know voted heavily for Democrats this time around. If the Democrats ever actually instituted a draft, I suspect you'd see a large percentage of those youngsters deserting their newfound party.
The Extent of Terror in the UKWe don't often get this kind of data in the US: Dame Eliza, who rarely speaks in public, gave a speech to a small audience on Thursday, detailing what she believes her organisation and the UK is facing.
She said that, since the 7 July bombings, five further major conspiracies in the UK had been thwarted.
"Today, my officers and the police are working to contend with some 200 groupings or networks, totalling over 1,600 identified individuals - and there will be many we don't know - who are actively engaged in plotting, or facilitating, terrorist acts here and overseas," she said.
"Today we see the use of home-made improvised explosive devices.
"Tomorrow's threat may - I suggest will - include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology."
Thursday, November 09, 2006
How They Stole the Midterm ElectionGreg Palast has a must read column about how the Democrats stole this election! What's that? It's actually about how the Republicans stole this election? Sheesh, they didn't do a very good job of it!
Brainster On the Radio!Sorry for the late notice but I will be on Constitutional Public Radio in about 20 minutes with my friends Andrea Shea-King and Mark Vance to discuss the election, Robert Gates, and other current events. You can listen in live here, and participate in the chat here.
Impeachment WatchIt's been awhile for this regular feature here at Brainster's, but the results of Tuesday's election clearly indicate that impeachment is on the table. Except Nancy Pelousy insists that it isn't. But Pelosi made clear on Wednesday she plans to rein in any revenge seeking Democrats who have dreams of bringing the president up on charges of ''high crimes and misdemeanours'' over the war in Iraq.
''I have said, and I say again, that impeachment is off the table,'' Pelosi told reporters. ''Democrats are not about getting even.''However, apparently even Pelousy's constituents disagree with her: This is not an abstraction. Indeed, the question was put to the voters as Proposition (or Measure) J:
"Shall it be City policy to call for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney?"
We the People of San Francisco answered thus, according to the SF Department of Elections:
MEASURE J
VOTE FOR 1
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . 92,136 59.35
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,100 40.65The Booman Tribune, one of the larger liberal blogs, is willing to wait until after the trial: "We won't rest until they're frog-marched out" or otherwise resign in disgrace. Goodbye Rumsfeld. This website is still dedicated to exposing crimes and punishing hypocrisy. I'll be pushing for accountability and vigorous oversight. At the same time, I do not want, or expect, the new House to push for impeachment. What I want them to do is conduct public hearings of White House officials, under oath, and investigate pre-war intelligence, the energy plan, war profiteering, NSA wiretapping, officially sanctioned torture, and violations of our treaty obligations. I expect those hearings to expose criminal wrongdoing in a very organic way.
We should pursue Cheney first and foremost. If facts emerge that are so damning that even Republicans have to concede that Cheney must be leave office, then we should have them quietly go up to Naval Observatory and ask him to resign (for health reasons if necessary to save face). If he refuses, we impeach. But we only impeach if we are virtually assured of winning in the Senate. And we will only be assured of that if the facts that emerge from honest and open hearings warrant it.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
One Piece of Good NewsHeather Wilson appears to have held off Patti Madrid. Kudos to Chris, Mario Burgos, Pam, Kitty and Third Wave Dave!
The Mourning AfterOkay, that was a bad night. The good news is that the Democrats won largely by moving to the middle. Their one effort at nominating an antiwar leftist kook went down in flames, with Neddy Lamont losing by ten points. What comes next? Obstructionism and investigation is my best guess with John Conyers oiling up the impeachment machine.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
CNN Forgets About Party Identification in Order to Push Democrats WinEarlier today, CNN correctly recorded that two independents had won Senate races today; Joe Lieberman and Bernie (Socialist) Sanders. But now that the Senate is in reach, CNN suddenly thinks those guys are Democrats:  This is boosterism at best. The Democrats are not, despite CNN's fervent hopes at 48 seats; they're at 46 with two independents that will certainly caucus with the Democrats. So why not star the 48 in the Democrats' column and admit that's why you did it? I don't disagree with the decision, I disagree with the lack of disclosure.
Democrats Win BigI don't know how to sugar-coat this. You can kind of look at 48-48 as of tonight and say that's a split decision, but in fact in Senate seats voted on tonight that's 21-8 for the Democrats so far. I predicted a week or so ago that the Republicans would lose the House; the Senate is still very much up for grabs.
Election Night ChattingI'll be in the chatroom with my friends Andrea-Shea King, Mark Vance and all the CPR Radio regulars tonight starting at 7:00 PM Eastern. I also recommend listening to Hugh Hewitt, who will be covering the election on Salem Radio Network tonight. I think (but I'm not sure) that you can listen in here. If you want to chat and listen to the smartest people about politics today, please join me!
Rather Goes Back to the WellWhat a maroon! Donna Martinez said she asked Rather if he stands by the story, which questioned Bush's fulfillment of his guard service during the Vietnam War. CBS retracted the story after bloggers and then the national media challenged the authenticity of the documents on which the story was based.
"He said the story is true, and that what he thinks that what people didn't like is that he reported the story," Martinez said.
I Voted!The poll watchers all said turnout was heavy in my strongly conservative district. Good sign!
A Trip Down Memory LaneWith Mark Steyn serving as the tour guide. It's worth contrasting the fawning media admiration for Kerry's truncated tour of duty with their total lack of interest in Bob Dole's years of service two presidential campaigns earlier. That convention night in Boston was one of the freakiest presentations in contemporary politics: a man being greeted as a combination of Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington for a few weeks' service in a war America lost. But Kerry is the flesh-and-blood embodiment of the Democratic straddle, of the we-oppose-the-war-but-support-our-troops line. That's why anti-war Dems, outspinning themselves, decided they could support a soldier who opposed a war. And as Kerry demonstrates effortlessly every time he opens his mouth, if you detach the heroism of a war from the morality of it, what's left but braggadocio? Or, as the senator intoned to me back in New Hampshire when I tried to ask what he would actually do about Iraq, Iran or anything else, "Sometimes truly courageous leadership means having the courage not to show any leadership." (I quote from memory.)
Monday, November 06, 2006
Vote Today!We forget that this little experiment called democracy is only 230 years old. As Mrs G reminds us: 
Out of TownI'll be travelling on business today and won't have many updates. Check out some of the wonderful sites on my blogroll.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
The Amazing Race Recap: My Old Kentucky HomeThe teams start out with the task of flying to Madagascar. Once there they must locate the Black Angel, which in a cunning bit of work by the Madagascar Tourism Board, has recently been painted white. The Beauty Queens pass up the car they partially wrecked last episode and take another team's car. This results in the Cho Brothers nobly taking the damaged vehicle. As it works out, the first flight does not leave for many hours and thus the BQs gain nothing but more enmity from the other teams. David and Mary, the Cho Brothers and Team Gump take the lead briefly, but pass up the angel because it is too pale. Team Recovery and Rob & Kimberly correctly make the stop. Intersection: The teams must join forces. The options are Fast Forward, or take a Detour. The first two teams decide to try the Fast Forward in an effort to kayo Team Coal Miner. The Beauty Queens are stuck since there is no team to join with them for awhile. Team Coal Miner and Team Gump arrive and join forces, and eventually the Chos are forced to unite with the Beaty Queens. The Detour tasks involve Mattresses or Paper, but since nobody takes the latter we'll ignore it for now. In the Mattress competion, teams must cover 8 mattresses with slipcovers, then haul them about a mile to a house where they will collect their next clue. At first it looks like Team Gump and Team Coal Miner might jump ahead, as the guide for the Chos and the BQs disappears. But smartly, the Chos run ahead to find the house where the mattresses are to be delivered, then return to bring the mattresses and depart comfortably ahead of the other team. Meanwhile, Team Recovery and Rob & Kimberley have discovered the treat awaiting them at the Fast Forward: Cowlips! Mmmmm, cowlips! As usual, it is described as a local delicacy. It looks as though they may have quite a bit of trouble with finishing their plates. Is there another way for Team Coal Miner to survive despite the likely possibility that they will not arrive first at the mat? The teams split up after completing the Detour and head to the Roadblock. This time, they must deal with the bureaucracy of the Rubber Stamp. They must search stalls for rubber stamps of a plane, a train, an automobile and a ship. The Beauty Queen assigned to this task finishes first, with the Chos in hot pursuit. Now to the Pit Stop at a cathedral. Meanwhile Team Recovery is complete with their cowlip treat and are encouraging Rob & Kimberley, who's ralphing like crazy. However, somehow she finishes and they are on their way to the Pit Stop as well. The Beauty Queens arrive first, and win a trip to Hawaii, complete with a helicopter tour of the volcanoes. They seem noticably more pleased this week. Rob & Kimberley are next, and are quite bummed to learn that their gastronomic feat did not win them a leg of the race. Then comes team recovery, followed by the Chos. Mary finishes before the Gump representative, but of course when they arrive at the mat, Phil tells them that they must serve the half-hour penalty for failing to arrive first after the prior episode's last-place finish. It certainly appears unlikely that they will beat the Gumps, and sure enough, Gump #2 show up with about 20 minutes to spare. Much sobbing and weeping as Team Coal Miner are Phil-Liminated and head back to Kentucky, sadder and wiser. Well, sadder, anyway. I liked them and their loyalty to their alliance, but they got their problems on TAR the old fashioned way; they earned them. As always, check out the terrific recap by Eric the Viking Pundit.
Ted Kennedy, Commie RatYet another reminder about the folly of sitting on ones' hands. There has been a flurry in the press lately concerning the alleged letters written by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and first carried to Leonid Brezhnev and later to Yuri Andropov. The initial one, written in 1979, was an offer to work with the Soviets and against then President Jimmy Carter, who, in Mr. Kennedy’s estimation, was working a bit too hard in thwarting the USSR’s goals in their wild and woolly Afghanistan adventure.Now granted, it is hard to treat the notion that Jimmy Carter was being too tough on the Soviets and anything other than laughable. But remember that if "Sheets" Byrd ever retires, Teddy would be the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, with effective veto power over Supreme Court Justices. Forget about Alito and Roberts ever getting confirmed.
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