Now there are Republican ads calling Sotomayor a friend of terrorists (still trying to get that tack to work). They are calling her “radical” – of course her judicial record is anything but.

The word “perseveration” keeps coming back to me. Having grown up around someone with Asperger’s syndrome, I know what perseveration looks like. For those who don’t, here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Perseveration is the uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder.

If an issue has been fully explored and discussed to a point of resolution it is not uncommon for something to trigger the re-investigation of the matter. This can happen at any time during a conversation. This is particularly true with those who have had traumatic brain injuries.

Those with Asperger’s syndrome also display a form of perseveration in that they focus on one or a number of narrow interests.

I am wondering if the happy little Wikipedia elves shouldn’t add a line in here about super-right-wing-nut Republicans.  They keep revisiting these ideas over and over, even after their repeated failure and even after being shot down by the majority of Americans.  Is it that they believe if they say them often enough they’ll find a sufficient number of sheep to follow?  I suppose it’s possible this could work, but their arguments are so distasteful and obnoxious that they make a mockery of intelligent discourse in American politics. I am convinced these are the people who truly hate America. They claim they are the ones who really love America, but what they really love are their batshit crazy ideas.  I’m not sure there is a group that shows more disdain for Americans, and what is America but Americans?

If Hugo Chavez thought he was earning points by being all clever and cute with the sulphur comments – he’s really quite the fool and does not get Americans at all. Even people who CANNOT STAND GW find themselves feeling a little defensive when a big mouth gets up at the US-funded (mostly, let’s be honest here) UN and says such things. It doesn’t really make us think – oh, I’m so sorry Hugo feels this way, let’s get him and his ilk out of office to avoid future embarrassment. The people who are embarrassed were embarrassed long before Hugo made his remarks.

I wonder if this is how the government is run in Venezuela – do people just insult each other in public? Has this resulted in great improvement in the some prime indicators of a country’s “health”? For example, there was a significant reduction in the infant mortality rate between 1970 and 1990 – since 1990, not much improvement.

In the last thirty years Venezuela’s people have gotten poorer, and the number of the extremely poor has, by some estimates, tripled. These are pretty much the poorest people in South America at this point in history. Maybe Hugo should focus some of his ire on his own country’s leaders.
Don’t get me wrong – I think GW is a huge embarrassment, and if the person complaining about him were a legitimately decent and effective leader, I would be even more embarrassed by such comments. In this case, it just seems like a little man trying to raise his importance in the world by being all blustery and confrontational and “tough” on the U.S.

The problem is – they are a huge part of our crushing dependence on oil. Everything these days seems to come back to the fact that the United States – once the country 10 steps ahead of every trend – is now 2 steps behind, and it’s having a sickening effect on our foreign policy (not that our foreign policy in South America/Central America was anything to be proud of in the past).

Frankly, this president will never get the actual disapproval rate he should, because you have a certain group of people who would give him a thumbs up even if he put babies heads on sticks – “He must have a good reason!” The Kool-Aid Drinkers don’t care what he does – it’s what he represents, the smug arrogrance of self-rightiousness that pervades the extreme reactionary right that has hijacked the Republican Party.

OK, on polls, does anyone understand the way this newspaper is showing the approval/disapproval numbers?

From TPM Cafe:

I think Fitgerald was looking for the absolute sure thing, someone who would be left with no room to wiggle, and no way out other than to make a deal: information ion exchange for a reduced sentence. This is a classic tried and true method for taking apart all kinds of organized crime: sink the hook in the small fry and use them to work your way up the food chain to the big game fish. He wants to nail Rove, and maybe Cheney too, on the big counts; but to do that he has to prove intent. To prove intent, he has to prove there was a plan, and to do that he has to have someone who was on the inside who is willing to say “This is what was said, and this was the intended goal.” Barring some spontaneous confessions or documents that have not yet been destroyed, that’s the only way to successfully prosecute the bigger crimes. To do that he will need Libby.

In discussions with others following this story, quite a few people believe this might be Fitzgerald’s strategy.

Raw Story sees it as a bold move:

Raw Story writes:

The lawyers said that in the past month Fitzgerald has obtained explosive information in the case that has enabled him to pursue broader charges such as conspiracy, and civil rights violations against targets like Rove. Rove could also provide information that would allow Fitzgerald to target additional officials.

And Booman Tribune breaks down the particulars of the case in regards to the most serious issue – releasing the name of a covert agent:

All of the elements, at least of the Espionage Act (if not the Intelligence Identities Protection Act), have been made out in the indictment. So, why go to all the trouble of setting up the factual predicates for violations of the classified information statutes in the indictment (especially when he didn’t have to) and then stop short of charging them? …read the article

Also check out Crooks and Liars on the topic.

CNNN did a segment on asking Americans on the street who they think we should bomb next. Some funny, some sad, but poor Australia looks like the “real” target.

And you really want to know why Bush won the last election? Vidi this.

CNNNN discovers Americans support war on Kyrgyzstan, ‘wherever it may be’

Reduce Funding for the Centers for Disease Control
Under the House-passed appropriation level, the CDC’s funding increased 25% over last year, a significant infusion given the current fiscal situation. Savings: $25 billion over ten years ($9.7 billion over five years)

Probably not a good idea if we are talking military quarantines – might not want the most important organization when it comes to infectious diseases begging for funds.
I’m seeing chickens. I’m seeing their heads cut off. I’m seeing them running around…
The military solution being the “big” proposal now is a bit frightening. Anyone who owns parrots and lived through the Newcastle’s epidemic in Southern California a couple of years ago, knows just how crazy government gets when they have free range (arrghh, more bird references). Folks ran around willy nilly grabbing birds, even expensive endangered parrots that were NOT sick, stuffing them in bags screaming for their lives, then pumped in the killer gas. I attended a lecture at UCLA Law School on the outrageous behavior and some of the stories would curdle the milk of any civil rights-loving American.
We certainly don’t want to short-cut preventive measures such as vaccines and Tamiflu by figuring if it gets really bad GI Joe can save the day. I know this administration thinks the military can solve all our problems, but the military has its limitations. Well, unless you live in a junta or North Korea or the former Soviet Union…
Don’t get me wrong, if it took a lot of well-publicized failures and corruption scandals to get the Bush administration to take avian flu seriously, atleast they aren’t putting their heads in the sand (hey, bird references work!) anymore. Don’t ignore this memo: H5 N1 determined to strike in the U.S.
UPDATE
World Health Organization on human-to-human transmission.
Original post date for this entry 10-5-2005

Okay, headline in poor taste? Or mere coincidence:

“Bird Flu Strikes Turkey”

Fortunately, more and more people are catching on that the current powers-that-be are more concerned about corporate profit than the average American. From the looks of this bill, they certainly don’t care if your children can breathe the air. I love these run-around bills that find a way to push through bad legislation by saying it is SPECIFICALLY for America! America! Guess they figure most people are just too preoccupied with stopping gay marriage to care about give-aways to companies that have made record profits in the past few years, even though the implications of the latter will have repercussions that go far beyond your neighbor’s bedroom.

What makes this worse is the fact that they had to keep the vote open and arm-twist to get the last few votes they need. It seems many of our politicians believe democracy ends once you win an election.

Nancy Pelosi spoke about the Act:

“A vote that was supposed to take five minutes took more than nine times that long because the indicted Republican leader of the House of Representatives needed extra time to twist the arms necessary to pass a bill that is against the interests of the American people, against consumers, against taxpayers, and against the environment.

“Our country’s democracy is based upon every American having his or her voice heard on the floor of Congress. Republicans have shut down debate here. Now they are shutting down the reasonable outcome of a vote. (via Daily Kos)

I would be willing to consider this proposition if there were also a proposition that required corporations to get signed permission from all stockholders every year before giving company money to political causes/candidates. You know, as a stockholder, I don’t like it when a company I’m invested in uses my money to support political causes I might not agree with. Fair is fair.

It would be interesting to hear more discussion of the ninth:

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Bizarre statements such as this, from Florida’s Needelman, are what confuse me:

“This is a movement by Second Amendment haters who don’t want to believe the Constitution exists,” said Rep. Mitch Needelman, R-Melbourne, a co-sponsor of the bill. From Florida Today

Why is it that if someone does not believe the Second Amendment says anything about using deadly force in a bar fight if you think you are in danger does that mean you don’t want to believe the Constitution exists? Unfortunately, this sort of “dumbed down” version of reality seems to appeal to a lot of voters.