Supporting one of the two major-party candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign offers no solution for anything

glenn...

For those who are extremely dissatisfied with the status quo in American political life and are seeking ways to change it, supporting one of the two major-party candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign as the principal form of activism offers no solution. That’s not an endorsement for resignation, apathy, non-voting, voting for a third party, or anything else. It’s just a simple statement of fact: on many issues that progressives themselves have long claimed are of critical, overarching importance (not all, but many), there will be virtually no debate in the election because there are virtually no differences between the two candidates and the two parties on those questions. In the face of that fact, there are two choices: (1) simply accept it (and thus bolster it) on the basis that the only political priority that matters is keeping the Democratic Party and Barack Obama empowered; or (2) searching for ways to change the terms of the debate so that critical views that are now excluded by bipartisan consensus instead end up being heard.

[...]

How can you pretend to vehemently oppose the slaughter of foreign civilians, the deprivation of due process, a posture of Endless War, radical secrecy, etc., when the President behind whom you’re faithfully marching is an aggressive advocate and implementer of those very policies? It’s certainly possible — based on lesser-of-two-evils rationale — to vote for a President who does these things while simultaneously opposing those policies. But for those who insist that all political salvation lies exclusively within the Democratic Party: the only course of action to reconcile these conflicts is to de-prioritize them, to decide they no longer really matter, and thus remain content with a President and a Party who does these things with such abandon.

watching the 2012 presidential campaign go forward and knowing that the garbage that's been shoveled at us during 2011 is nothing compared to what's coming our way between now and november is, for me, one of the most depressing ways imaginable to start a new year...

if sticking my head in the sand could do anything other than foster delusion and denial, i'd do it... unfortunately, i believe that keeping my fingers on the pulse of what's happening is a good thing... i believe we all have an obligation to keep ourselves informed... it's part of what human beings are here for... how can we look out for each other and contribute to our common good if we deliberately choose to be ignorant...? equally unfortunately, staying in touch has consequences for fundamental serenity if not basic sanity... sigh...

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Rumors and denials swirl around Karzai

hmmmmm... as i sit at my desk here in kabul and read the following article from the guardian, i have to ask myself, what's next...? karzai can't be overly thrilled with this, but, on the other hand, afghanistan is crying out for leadership and karzai ain't steppin' up...

The US and its European allies are ­preparing to plant a high-profile figure in the heart of the Kabul government in a direct challenge to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, the Guardian has learned.

The creation of a new chief executive or prime ministerial role is aimed at bypassing Karzai. In a further dilution of his power, it is proposed that money be diverted from the Kabul government to the provinces. Many US and European officials have become disillusioned with the extent of the corruption and incompetence in the Karzai government, but most now believe there are no credible alternatives, and predict the Afghan president will win re-election in August.

A revised role for Karzai has emerged from the White House review of Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by Barack Obama when he became president. It isto be unveiled at a special conference on Afghanistan at The Hague on March 31.

As well as watering down Karzai's personal authority by installing a senior official at the president's side capable of playing a more efficient executive role, the US and Europeans are seeking to channel resources to the provinces rather than to central government in Kabul.

A diplomat with knowledge of the review said: "Karzai is not delivering. If we are going to support his government, it has to be run properly to ensure the levels of corruption decrease, not increase. The levels of corruption are frightening."

Another diplomat said alternatives to Karzai had been explored and discarded: "No one could be sure that someone else would not turn out to be 10 times worse. It is not a great position."

ok...? got that...? now check the official denial...

The State Department Monday rejected as nonsense a published report that says the United States and key allies want to create a new senior post in the Afghan government to bypass President Hamid Karzai. The comments came as the Obama administration neared completion of a review of U.S. Afghan policy.

Officials here are not volunteering any ringing endorsements of the way President Karzai is handling his job, but they are rejecting the notion that the United States and European allies will push for creation of a new executive post in the Afghan government - a prime minister or a similar mandate - to dilute Mr. Karzai's powers.

this story didn't make it into the guardian because it sprang fully-formed from somebody's vivid imagination... oh, and, btw, the official denial comes from - wait for it - voice of america news...! mmmm-hmmmm...

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"Removed" video restored - for a while, anyway

i had a post up the other day, a clip from a local newscast in ohio describing the kind of degrading and quite likely criminal behavior that was inflicted on a perfectly innocent woman by sheriff's deputies in stark county, ohio... the video was subsequently removed from youtube, citing "copyright violation..." it's now back up, at least for the time being...



meanwhile, i've continued to read posts at other weblogs screaming bloody murder about the strip search of a woman in saudi arabia who was "caught" at a starbucks, drinking coffee with a man... commenters to those posts have been quick to engage in islamophobia and to decry the heathen conduct of the "thugs" who live by the koran... my point is, we've got our own "thugs" right here...

i have the same visceral reaction to people in the u.s. attacking the behavior of people of other countries that i do to those who sanctimoniously drive around with bumper stickers reading "free tibet..." should the "thugs" in saudi arabia be stopped...? absolutely... should tibet be free...? no question... but, ferchrissake, people, wake up and smell the coffee, and, once you have, look out your kitchen window to see what's happening in your own backyard...

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Domestic Abu Ghraib - our corrupt police state [UPDATE] [UPDATE II]

brasscheck tv...

This is common treatment for women in US jails

The is absolutely nothing unusual about women being stripped naked and left without covering of any kind in cold jail cells for hours at a time.

It's a popular humiliation technique used in corrupt police departments throughout the country.

If it weren't for this video, a TV local station's news report, and the Internet, no one would know that this particular event ever happened.

Keep in mind that this woman called the police for help after she was assaulted.

The piece of self-propelled human garbage who runs this Sheriff's Department is Timothy A. Swanson.

He says - and I quote - that the thugs who work for him "did everything by the book.

Here's his web site: http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us/

and we wonder how something like the atrocities at abu ghraib could have happened...

[UPDATE]

ah, yes... let's not look at what's happening in ohio, ferchrissake... we'd MUCH RATHER demonize our middle east brethren...

Saudis Arrest, Strip Search Woman for Having a Business Meeting With a Man

Posted by Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network at 1:17 PM on February 5, 2008.

Doesn’t it give you a warm fuzzy feeling that these misogynist thugs are our allies?

[UPDATE II]

here's what it says on the youtube site...

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by WKYC-TV"

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Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure - "I am Not GAY"

Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure

do ya suppose THIS'll do him in...?

Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations can't be disproved, have come forward since news of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea. They say they had sex with Craig or that he made a sexual advance or that he paid them unusual attention.

They are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his famous statement, "I am not gay, I never have been gay." Those words, spoken on live national TV on Aug. 28, are now memorialized on a just-released-for-Christmas Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure.

the article comes complete with audio clips of David Phillips, Mike Jones, Greg Ruth, and Tom Russell, talking about their sexual encounters with the senator, AND this disclaimer...

Audio clip disclaimer: Some of the audio interview excerpts contain explicit descriptions of sex not appropriate for children and listeners who find such content offensive. The Statesman provides the excerpts so Idahoans can hear these accounts and decide for themselves about accusations against Sen. Craig.

c'mon, larry... 'fess up... you'll feel SO much better about yourself...

(thanks to john at americablog...)

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The Center for American Progress' "Progressive Growth" report ignores constitutional crisis

here's the lead-in...

The Center for American Progress released such a comprehensive economic strategy today, called Progressive Growth, which outlines the means to restoring American growth, security, and economic opportunity.

so, lessee...

√ the economy...

√ climate change [PDF]...

√ innovation and education...

√ economic growth...

_ restoring the constitution...

putting this kind of stuff out creates the strong - and WRONG - impression that, when the new < cough, cough > DEMOCRATIC president is inaugurated on 20 january 2009, if this kind of plan is implemented, the trees will burst into leaf, a million roses will bloom, and the milk and honey will flow in abundance, and that's simply not true... all that same shit that george and his criminal compadres have put in place will still be there, and i, for one, don't want ANY future president, but especially hillary or rudy, sitting in the oval office contemplating how best to use it...

and, yeah, yeah, yeah... i KNOW the report is about an ECONOMIC strategy, but, ferchrissake, we're not going to even HAVE a goddam economy if we don't get these jokers out of office and restore our founding document and the rule of law to their rightful place as the foundation of our country...

guess we'll have to leave that to dennis, eh...?

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Sidney Blumenthal writes a letter to Karen Hughes

it's long... it's thoughtful... it's honest as shoe leather... and it deserves to be read, despite the fact that offering any guidance to anyone in the bush administration is a pathetic joke...

So far, to be honest, you have earned a reputation for being out of touch, for spouting platitudes without understanding the underlying issues. You are seen as oblivious to the concerns and sensibilities of groups of foreigners with whom you have met. However noble the abstractions of your rhetoric, your speeches are uniformly received as irrelevant propaganda. Even after objective observers have called attention to this pattern, you have done little to adjust. While it would be unfair to put the entire burden of transforming the image of the United States on you, it is a sad fact that your actions have deepened cynicism about American motives. And your inability to change has been consistent with the administration's unwillingness to shift course in the face of demonstrable failure.

If you still wish to succeed, you must finally come to terms with how you and the administration are perceived. Self-awareness is the first step to recovery. Denial has been more than this administration's pervasive state of mind; it has become its prevailing strategy. When other rationales have been shown to be false, hollow or self-undermining, denial has invariably become the last defence.

[...]

Perhaps if you look closely at the problem, the solution to your dilemma may appear. Your words are not forging a new reality. Lying about the war in Iraq, or torture, is not building the bridges of understanding you are so fond of talking about in your speeches. Instead, empty words only fritter away at your ability to influence. There is power in truth.

You might also use your acquired skills in diplomacy among your colleagues in the inner circle of the White House. Perhaps you could talk to them about the dangers of politicising and militarizing fear.

[...]

While you are rethinking how to calm fears and rebuild America's image as a global leader perhaps you ought to begin to think of yourself not as a tool of the Bush administration but as a citizen of the world, not as a propagandist, constantly trying to formulate a hollow ideological phrase or distraction, but as someone who can admit mistakes and correct them.

yeah, well... words upon words upon words, and not a single goddam one of them make the slightest bit of difference...

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George is not only in denial about Iraq

every facet of george's life is a testimonial to denial, and, as with the alcoholic parent, the rest of the family are the ones doing the suffering...

With a veto fight looming, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) said Monday that President Bush is in a state of denial over Iraq, "and the new Congress will show him the way" to a change in war policy.

meanwhile, the co-dependents line up to support the principal cause of our problems... chief among them, spokeswoman dana perino...

"I fear that they are talking themselves into believing that we are not facing a determined enemy — a sworn enemy of the United States, and they do this at our peril."

"It's important that everyone understand that this is an enemy determined to kill innocent Americans, innocent Iraqis to destabilize the region," she said. "Short of understanding the seriousness of that, the consequences could be dire."

i am so unutterably tired of listening to this empty appeal to our fears as justification for an illegal war, undertaken under false pretenses, that was solely for the purpose of securing vast oil resources and making the u.s. the dominant power in the middle east... it's such a patent load of garbage but they never stop dishing it out...

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